December 31, 2006
Year's end review
I have been somewhat remiss in entries of late. Christmas Bird Count Season, a nasty cold and various other complications make for a nice tidy bundle of excuses, but I'm feeling much better and I finished my last CBC of the season yesterday so I have time for a year's end wrap-up...
It's not often that I get a new life species without leaving the county, so the flock of PINE GROSBEAKS I found on the top of Nicolai Mt in mid-December probably top the list of interesting stuff this year.
Pine Grosbeaks were only part of a winter finch irruption this season that also included lots of COMMON REDPOLLS and a shift in RED CROSSBILL varieties.
It looks like I managed about 232 species for the year in Clatsop County which is better than average and an additional 21 from limited forays elsewhere in the state, all slightly above average. Other interesting species that helped fill out this year's checklist included a very rare BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW and living, breathing, free-swimming HORNED PUFFIN (we usually find only dead ones, washed up on the beach).
I found my first county BLACK PHOEBE this summer near Camp Rilea, a few days after Neal Maine reported one from Circle Creek. I saw a second one in the fall at Svensen Island. This species has been steadily expanding its range northward and will probably be regular in years to come. Neal also saw an Eastern Kingbird this last spring and a late-fall juvenile WESTERN KINGBIRD had us thinking we'd found something more interesting for awhile.
We finished up the year with lots of rain and wind. This probably provided the conditions that brought a CATTLE EGRET to the Astoria Airport. An EMPEROR GOOSE also spent most of November and early December at the Airport.
For the Christmas Bird Count season we turned up an unusual RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER which was surprisingly cooperative for the camera.
Tomorrow I'll get up fairly early and do my traditional January 1st get-the-list-started tour of the county which will hopefully include some of the lingering usual species from the end of the year and maybe something new and unexpected....
Posted by mbalame at December 31, 2006 12:01 PM