Some of you may have heard that a group of people is doing a Big Year in King County. Matt Bartels leads the group with 231 species so far, approaching the King County single year record of 237, set by Dave Beaudette.

He is looking for the following birds in King County:

Long-tailed Duck
Red Phalarope
Ancient Murrelet
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Mountain Chickadee
Palm Warbler
Harris's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
Red Crossbill

And, should they decide to show up:

Common Redpoll
Bohemian Waxwing
White-winged Crossbill

Also unusual gulls or storm-blown pelagic species.

I did a Big Year in Washington in 2001. I added quite a few birds to my list as a result of tips from many folks on Tweeters. I am still grateful for the help and I am certain that Matt will appreciate your help as well in his current endeavor.

As the year 2006 draws to a close, please let Matt know if you come across one of the aforementioned species within King County. You can email him at mattxyz at earthlink.net

Let's help him break the King County record!!

Go Matt!!


Marv Breece
Seattle, WA
mbreece at earthlink.net