Subject: [Tweeters] Where are the Varied Thrushes?
Date: Jan 2 15:09:57 2017
From: B Boekelheide - bboek at olympus.net


To add to the curious discussion about Varied Thrushes, the Neah Bay Christmas Bird Count, held on Dec 18, 2016, and compiled by Charlie Wright, recorded a phenomenal 893 Varied Thrushes. It is the first official year for the Neah Bay CBC, and it looks like it might have the CBC high count of Varied Thrushes for the U.S., if not the world. A number of parties in the hills around Neah Bay reported big flocks of Varied Thrushes on the roads and roving around the clearcuts. Of course these could be local breeders from the Olympic Peninsula, or perhaps migrants from coastal BC and AK, so maybe different populations than birds typically seen in other places, like coastal CA. Regardless, there are apparently a lot of Varied Thrushes around Neah Bay this winter. We will see in future years if this continues.

Bob Boekelheide
Dungeness


From: B B <birder4184 at yahoo.com <mailto:birder4184 at yahoo.com>>
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] Where are the Varied Thrushes?
Date: January 1, 2017 at 2:27:49 PM PST
To: "tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>" <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
Reply-To: "birder4184 at yahoo.com <mailto:birder4184 at yahoo.com>" <birder4184 at yahoo.com <mailto:birder4184 at yahoo.com>>


We missed them on Edmonds CBC route but the week before they were plentiful in Neah Bay and on the road to get there.


From: "Eugene Hunn" <enhunn323 at comcast.net <mailto:enhunn323 at comcast.net>>
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] Where are the Varied Thrushes?
Date: January 2, 2017 at 7:59:40 AM PST
To: "'Jane Hadley'" <hadleyj1725 at gmail.com <mailto:hadleyj1725 at gmail.com>>
Cc: 'Tweeters List' <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>


Jane et al.,

Greetings from down south.

On the Varied Thrush issue, here?s a brief summary from the Sonoma Valley CBC which I compile:

?For the Sonoma Valley count we had a report of 3 in the Adobe sector (not where one might expect to find them) and Lisa is unsure about that report. Over our 12 year span we?ve recorded 25 to over 400 with a mean for the 11 years prior of 202. So to miss them entirely is extraordinary. I have had the same experience on both the Pt. Reyes count and the Santa Rosa count, so it?s region wide and maybe as far as coastal Washington. I imagine they have just stayed put in the mountains of dense coniferous forests rather than moving down and out. Global warming?? Who knows.?

Gene Hunn
Petaluma, CA