Hello All,
Rainier Audubon did its CBC on 30 December this year. There was a great
turnout with many new people participating. The weather was cold and
blustery, but we were spared from the forecast rain. The species count at
present is 116 species. Final results are still out in the ether, but for
now here are some highlights.

Greater White-fronted Goose -- 10 near 212th Street.
Snow Goose -- 1 imm. flew over Kent Ponds and grazed near Kent Space Center.
Eurasian Green-winged Teal -- with 800 Green-winged in flooded fields near
204th Street.
Redhead -- a marshy area near Federal Way.
Green Heron -- near Glenn Nelson Park on west hill of Kent.
Glaucous Gull -- An immature on the north end of Frager Road.
Common Murre -- Several on the Puget Sound, recently missed.
American Dipper -- upper Cedar River.
Orange-crowned Warbler -- Frager Road.
White-throated Sparrow -- Several sites.
Common Redpoll -- One mixed in with a large siskin flock near Boulevard Lane
Park, east of Kent.

Again, official numbers aren't in yet, but some trends were obvious:

* Anna's Hummingbirds continue to increase.
* Varied Thrush were clearly below average numbers.
* Starlings and blackbirds were not found in large flocks.
* Siskins (and finches in general) found in quite large numbers.

Missed Species:
Black Scoter
Pacific Loon
Western Grebe (!)
Bonaparte's Gull
Western Scrub-Jay
Common Raven
Any owls (pending a couple of as yet unreported parties).

Thanks for everyone's help, and until next year!

Cheers,
Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, Washington