Barring some last minute phone call from an absentee feeder
watcher....

The final total for the Columbia Estuary CBC is 125 with an
additional 5 count-week species, 33944 individual birds.
A combination of family obligations and storm related mishaps
cut our participant number down to 12 which left Lee, Steve
and I scrambling to cherry-pick 5 sectors between us.

Notables include a RED-NAPPED SAPSUCKER that was seen again
today, same tree, same house; 5 COMMON REDPOLLS in the
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH flock at Astoria Mitigation Bank;
6 SWAMP SPARROWS; 4 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS; 6 ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLERS; 11 ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS.

The most annoying count-week species is EMPEROR GOOSE which
was seen Saturday, but not seen yesterday or today. I'm
confident it will show up before the end of the week, though,
to taunt me...

Other count week birds include 27 SNOW BUNTINGS on the beach
at Camp Rilea (and not enough counters to get somebody out
there on count day) and 4 CEDAR WAXWINGS a block from my house
on Friday.

In "that's odd" news: both duck and gull number mysteriously
shrank between Wednesday and count day. All gull numbers were
way down. The gull flock at Wireless Rd went from 1000's to
100's, MEW GULLS especially seem to have left town. GREEN-
WINGED TEAL and NORTHERN PINTAIL numbers were also low. Scaup
numbers have been down all season.

WESTERN GREBE numbers were also way down and our most surprising
miss of the count was RED-NECKED GREBE.

A pdf of the complete results will be made available upon
request.

--
Mike Patterson
Astoria, OR
celata at pacifier.com

I'm not jealous or
Why I've never Seen Black-throated Blue Warbler in Oregon
http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/mbalame/archives/004174.html