...crow! Well, that will teach me to go owling in a crow roost. Still, it was a great start to the year with the Kent-Auburn CBC. I think the third bird of the year was Virginia Rail - two of them on the Soos Creek Trail before the sun came up. The whole count circle picked up 120 species, and our area had 70 once we added in some woodpeckers from feeder watches.

I worked in a stop at my home to check the feeders, warm up and get coffee. The first yard bird of the year was a new yard bird - a flyover of 4 Tundra Swans! At the time, I disregarded a call that I'd heard, and as a group, we said "probably Trumpeters...", but I rechecked it, and it looks like four Tundra Swans were headed south over my Renton home from....? on their way to....?

Happy 2012!

-Tim Brennan
Renton