After reading Dennis' thought about an acorn crop failure I thought I should report what I saw in such an area this week.

I was down in an oak forested part of Klickitat Co. earlier this week looking in part for a pair of Acorn Woodpeckers I found nesting there earlier this year. At that time I also saw Lewis Woodpeckers in the same vicinity. The most I could find this trip were 3 flickers. Being disappointed and wondering why, I started looking for acorns on the trees and on the ground. I found some of the 'hats' on the trees, but only occasionally a complete acorn. What ones I found under the trees were broken but a few were not. At least one that I broke open was rotted inside. It seemed to me very little food even for leftovers. The squirrels were also very scarce.

What these observations mean I'm not experienced enough to know but maybe someone could comment on what would be expected at this time of year in that area.

Joseph Higbee
Spanaway, WA
Mailto: jvhigbee at hotmail.com