The Silverton CBC was held this past Wednesday the 30th. We had 21
energetic birders hit the field covering 7 sectors. With 2-3 person teams
in each sector, that is a lot of ground to cover! Three plus hours of
dense fog in the mid morning probably cost a few species. It was a cold
frosty day, but the water was open, the winds still, and the sunny
afternoon gorgeous.
We had 90 species which is right about average. The only unusual species
was a staked out HARRIS'S SPARROW. Other than that, there was really no
unexpected species to report. We did get several of the "hard to get" ones
including:
RUFFED GROUSE
VIRGINIA RAIL (at the Oregon Garden)
BARRED OWL
HAIRY WOODPECKER
PEREGRINE FALCON
GRAY JAY
HORNED LARK (flock of 60+)
AMERICAN DIPPER
CEDAR WAXWING
EVENING GROSBEAK
RED CROSSBILL
There were a few notable count week species, all either the day before or
after:
SNOW GOOSE
WESTERN GREBE
SPOTTED OWL
LONG-EARED OWL
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD
I haven't sifted thoroughly through all the data yet, but it is clear it
was a big FOX SPARROW year (more in next email).
Hope the fantastic weather holds for the weekend counts.
Roger Freeman
Silverton, OR
