Tweets ? it was frigid but gorgeous today ? 23 degrees but crystal clear skies. Pre-dawn was glorious, with frost, a glow from the east, a SHORT-EARED OWL cruising the meadows, Venus, Jupiter next to the half-moon, and the sounds of geese on the lake.

Highlights:

Gr. Wh.-fronted Goose 1 in large flock of Cackling Geese
American Wigeon A couple of flyover flocks, plus 2 birds in slough
Bald Eagle Osprey-faced juvenile spooked geese often
Cooper?s Hawk Juvenile in ?Pet Cemetery? next to Pea Patch
Short-eared Owl Very dark ? almost called it Long-eared
Red-breasted Sapsucker Two sightings
Merlin Around 7:30 a.m. near East Kiosk
Varied Thrush Grace had one near the windmill
Spotted Towhee Maybe 20+
DARK-EYED JUNCO Huge flocks everywhere ? more than 100

For the day, 53 species. For 2015, a very low count of 150 species. Nine more species are on eBird from other birders, which is closer to a typical year?s count.

Happy New Year everyone!

== Michael Hobbs
== www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
== BirdMarymoor at frontier.com