Hi, Tweets

It's almost turkey vulture time again. Early migrants often show up
in February and March/April are their prime spring migrant months for
our part of the country. Following are the winter sightings in the
northwest from November through January (plus a late October bird):

October 2009
04 -- 2 on the southeast side of Orcas Island

November 2009
17 -- 1 over Yakima heading west
19 -- 1 west of Yakima
23 -- 1 in a tree in Yakima
25 -- 1 soaring on blustery winds near the Skagit Waste Transfer
Station; 2 soaring over Lopez Island

December 2009
18 -- 1 near the Egypt grain elevator that flew onto a roadkilled deer
20 -- 3 flying over the Pend Oreille River (CBC)
23 -- 4 along with 17 ravens were near the Fern Ridge Reservoir, Oregon
29 -- 1 on Vancouver Island
31 -- 3 on north Lopez Island (dead deer on adjoining property)

January 2010
week of the 20th: 1st migrants seen in southwest Oregon

Thanks for your reports. I wonder with this somewhat warm weather in
the west if they will appear earlier. Keep looking up!

Cheers, Diann

Diann MacRae
Olympic Vulture Study
22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E.
Bothell, WA 98021
tvulture at vei.net