On Thursday December 30, 19 counters participated in the thirteenth
Wahkiakum Christmas Bird Count. The Wahkiakum Count straddles the
Lower Columbia River, including the Julia B. Hansen and Lewis & Clark
National Wildlife Refuges and the towns of Brownsmead, Knappa &
Westport in Oregon and Cathlamet, Puget Island and Skamokawa on the
Washington side. Weather was clear with a mild east wind, with a low
near 28 degrees F and a high near 40.

The preliminary species count is 114, six above average for this
circle and one short of the record. Two species were new to the
Wahkiakum CBC: a Redhead was at Little Island and a flock of
Sanderlings, long overdue for this count circle, were on Grassy
Island. A likely Gyrfalcon was at Knappa, a Black Phoebe was on
Little Island, and a Northern Mockingbird was seen on Puget Island. A
Wahkiakum CBC record of 19 Streaked Horned Larks were just inside the
count circle on White?s Island. A count of 116 Surf Scoters shattered
the previous record for that species. Other species uncommon in this
count circle included White-winged Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser,
Red-necked Grebe, Savannah Sparrow, and White-throated Sparrow.
Great Egret, once rare here, has now been seen for the seventh
straight year. Misses included Cooper?s Hawk (second miss in the
history of this count) and American Dipper (first miss). Many thanks
to all the people who helped count this year, and thanks to Willapa
Hills Audubon and Columbia River Kayaking for sponsoring the count!


-Andrew Emlen, compiler
aemlen AT centurytel.net