I conducted a one-person CBC today (the ELWAS CBC day) at Stillwater between
noon and 3 p.m. I walked and counted only one direction (north) between the
trail head on Highway 203 (Duvall-Fall City Road) and the second or northern
most WDFW parking area. There were virtually no hunters nor anyone else on
the trail, which had numerous blow downs but all were navigable with a
little climbing. After being unable to bird for a month it was amazing to
be out there and see, after the flooding damage and the effects of the
windstorm/rain, that life goes on. The habitat is changed but who knows if
for the better or worse? Here is what I saw (with a newly tuned up eye) in
the 34 degree afternoon sun from south to north:

3 Trumpeter swans in the old cornfield near the river
2 Ravens
3 Robin
4 Varied thrush
9 Fox sparrows (total)
4 Stellar's jays (total)
13 Song sparrows (total)
2 Bewick's wrens
5 Towhee (total)
6 Black capped chickadees
5 Golden crowned kinglets
7 Ruby crowned kinglets
1 Winter wren
1 Brown Creeper
(All of the above "chicklets" moving in a loose flock together with the
wren/creeper/downy)
2 Downy woodpeckers at the Harris Creek bridge
1 Pileated woodpecker same location
1 Red-tailed hawk mixing it up with 1 Northern Harrier (they put on a
continuing show)
2 Cormorants flying overhead
13 Mallards
2 Virginia Rail seen, others heard
5 Great blue heron
1 Kingfisher
2 Horned grebe
1 Marsh wren
3 Chestnut backed chickadees
1 Flicker
1 Red breasted sapsucker
3 White crowned sparrows

It was a very pleasant 3 hours.

Tom Mansfield, Seattle
tmiseattle at msn.com