Yesterday I birded the Queen Anne area in Seattle with Randy and Dorothy Paulsen for the 2005 Seatttle Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

We had a few highlights as follows:

Peregrine Falcon - 1 flew over Kinnear Park; A few minutes later we spotted an adult on the Elliott Bay Grain Terminal. Same bird?

American Coot - 1 mottled (leucustic?) bird with "normal" coots at the south end of Lake Union.

Anna's Hummingbird - 8 individuals

Western Scrub-Jay - 2 birds on upper Queen Anne. The upper mandible of one jay was extended and down-curved, somewhat similar to that of a Northern Shrike. The other bird had a normal bill.

Orange-crowned Warbler - 1 bird well seen on lower Kinnear Park.

The weather was a gift. Warm, dry for the most part, and the air was still. A good day to count.

Marv Breece
Seattle, WA