Subject: [Tweeters] Re: 2014 first ten (predictions)
Date: Jan 2 07:53:59 2014
From: Christine Southwick - clsouth at u.washington.edu


Okay, so I decided to do my first 10 birds too. Since I drove up to Deception Pass from Shoreline, starting at about 0815, the last three were ones I don't usually see as first-of-year birds.

1. American Robin (AMRO)
2. American Crow (AMCR)
3. Spottted Towhee (SPTO)
4. Black-capped Chickadee (BCCH)
5. Bewick's Wren (BEWR)
6. Anna's Hummingbird (ANHU)
7. Chestnut-backed Chickadee (CBCH)
8. Glaoucous-winged Gull (GLGU)
9. Rock Pigeon (ROPI)
10.Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA) saw at least 15, plus one Rough-legged Hawk during the drive up to and back.

Also saw a number of Great Blue Herons, but NO Bald Eagles.

Cranberry Lake, at Bowman Bay was filled with Common Merganser and a few Hooded Merganser. No Black Oystercatchers on the West Beach. No Loons floating through Deception Pass proper.

Glorious, awe-inspiring views of snow-touched jagged mountains, above the low-lying fog banks. Good food at a restaurant in Mount Vernon, with my partner and a good friend, plus a little retail therapy (while wearing my binoculars for bird-watcher advertisement).

Great way to start the New Year.

May all you birds be identified, and healthy!


Christine Southwick
N Seattle/Shoreline
clsouthwick at q.com

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On Wed, 1 Jan 2014, Pterodroma at aol.com wrote:

> Date: Wed, 1 Jan 2014 15:37:49 -0500 (EST)
> From: Pterodroma at aol.com
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: [Tweeters] Re: 2014 first ten (predictions)
>
> And the winners are.....
> ?
> OH NO!!!? A major upset with a total out of the literal wee hour?'black', an unforeseen?*wild card* to unseat the long standing #1
> champion Anna's Hummingbird of so many years in a row.? Geese..., Cackling Geese, CACKLERS!? 3:04am, I'm sitting out on the back porch
> bathed in the warm red and blue holiday lights around the trim there, stone dead silent, black and foggy, and I wasn't even out there
> with birds really on my mind at all, owls maybe, but a real long shot.? Then, suddenly busting up the utter?silence and calm, a noisy
> bunch of Cackling Geese flying over, maybe 2, 3, 4 dozen, who knows.? Coming from the north, maybe from Marymoor and heading south,
> and?gone as quickly as they came.? Had I?gone back inside?minute earlier, I would have missed them altogether?and would have never known
> the difference, and January 1 would have proceeded?nearer to traditional normal.? This goose?'upset' I thought was akin to the
> Seahawks?being upset by the worst team ever?in the NFL in the play offs not to mention the Super Bowl!? These night time?Cacklers could
> have at least waited a day or two,?or next week, next month,?or next Fall for that matter.? Good thing there wasn't any money riding on
> any of this.
> ?
> I didn't do so well this year as last, but predicting the first ten species?usually isn't too difficult, but?in sequential order,?1 thru
> 10 isn't exactly a science.? So here's the breakdown, 1 thru 11, #2 thru #11 being the first ten in the more traditional time window
> (0730-0830)?should or could the geese be disqualified or undone.??But a tick is a tick, so I guess?the geese?stand even if the
> circumstance was kind of freaky.
> ?
> #1 -- Cackling Goose (unseeded) at 0304hrs
> #2 -- Anna's Hummingbird (seeded #1) at 0737 and right on schedule
> #3 -- Song Sparrow (seeded #2)?at 0746
> #4 -- Spotted Towhee?(seeded #3) at 0747
> #5 -- Dark-eyed Junco (seeded #5) at 0749
> #6 -- American Crow (seeded #4) at 0754
> #7 -- Bewick's Wren (unseeded) at 0755
> #8 -- Northern Flicker (seeded #6) at 0756
> #9 -- Chestnut-backed Chickadee (seeded #9) at 0804
> #10 -- Red-breasted Nuthatch (seeded #7) at 0813
> #11 -- Common Raven (unseeded) -- at 0816
> ?
> Others 'predicted and seeded' yesterday (Dec 31)?but didn't show in time to make the 2014 first ten list, Ruby-crowned Kinglet (seeded
> #8) and Black-capped Chickadee (seeded #10).?
> ?
> Richard Rowlett
> Bellevue (Eastgate), WA
> ?
> ?
> ---------------------------------------------?
> In a message dated 12/31/2013 10:14:40 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, Pterodroma at aol.com writes:
> Hi Tweets -- It's that time again on the calendar.? That silly little game I play during the first hour or so?of every new
> year, trying to predict in correct sequential order the first ten birds that show up in the yard & feeders.? You might want
> to play your own version or whatever.? I've been doing dry runs for the past four early mornings and usually amass the first
> ten within the first hour of daylight (0730-0830hrs).
> ?
> Here's my 2014 predictions:
> ?
> #1 -- Anna's Hummingbird
> #2 -- Song Sparrow
> #3 -- Spotted Towhee
> #4 -- American Crow
> #5 -- Dark-eyed Junco
> #6 -- Northern Flicker
> #7 -- Red-breasted Nuthatch
> #8 -- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
> #9 --?Chestnut-backed Chickadee
> #10 -- Black-capped Chickadee
> ?
> I had a couple unexpected?'wild cards' during the past 4-days 'dry runs' that could muck things up.? Nice, but..., not counting on
> either.? Common Raven came in #5 of Dec 28, and Merlin came in #6 on Dec 29.
> ?
> For the first year ever, Varied Thrush does not make my first ten yard prediction list.? Could happen, but the odds are much lower
> than a more typical winter season.? Varied Thrushes just aren't around much so far this winter, at least here in my yard and
> neighborhood, or even in the Lake Hills Greenbelt for that matter.? I suspect that fact and the seeming?scarcity?of Varied
> Thrushes in the lowlands around here may be due to the 'snow drought' in the?Cascade foothills and mountains and they are just
> staying up there for now.
> ?
> I will report tomorrow once the first ten results are in.? Have a Happy birding?New Year!
> ?
> Richard Rowlett
> Bellevue (Eastgate), WA
>
>
>
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