I have heard that the fruit of the Russian Olive is the major source of food
for Starlings in winter east of the Cascades. That being the case there are
more Starlings in spring because of Russian Olive that can compete for nest
cavities. At least at Malhuer NWR in Oregon, the spread of Russian Olive is
detrimental to birders in that it expands the habitat available to migrant
passerines, and therefore makes vagrant searching more difficult.


I very much agree with Steve Mladnow in regard to his comments about not
continuing to open up every freshwater and brackish pond or wetland to allow
them to become tidal. Doing so will not have a appreciable effect on salmon
recovery. A series of freshwater shorebird scrapes along the coast and
Puget Sound would provide high tide opportunities for shorebirds. One area
that could be easily used as a shorebird resource is the fresh water
impoundment area at the southern end of Willapa Bay (on the refuge). If the
water was dropped there during shorebird migrations the result would be
spectacular.


Jeff Gilligan, Portland.