[obol] Siskins,etc.

[Lars and Gail Norgren]

      The final entry of this week's Vancouver BC RBA
refers to the year long drought of PINE SISKINS
ending with a sighting of a flock of 200 birds. I
have seen them in modest numbers here in nw Washington
County since late Sept as a consequence of bird
counts I've made in the neighborhood. Inclement weather
and increased workload means that I largely ceased
the transects and point counts , so for about a month
I detected no Siskins. Then we got a sunny day last week
and I counted 150 PINE SISKINS on my usual 1 hr transect.
Most were in a single flock, which as with the Vancouver,
BC flock strikes me as unusually large. Fewer birds, but
still a large flock, passed my house the same day. I have
not noticed any this week.
     PINE GROSBEAKS are prominent on this week's Vancouver
RBA, possibly the most mentioned species. I tried for the
same species on my lunch break at Wink Gross' neighborhood
in the West Hills of POrtland. Jeff Gilligan commented on
the Boreal feel to his successful trip to Larch Mountain
(Mult. Co) in search of PINE GROSBEAKS. What a contrast
Wink's regular habitat provides! I have always thought
of the Portland Hills as a monolith of mature Doug-firs
with the all too infrequent Chestnut-backed chickadee
or kinglet. What I found was a very birdy neighborhood,
no doubt assisted by its southerly aspect and varied exotic
flora. AS soon as I parked the car I saw 3 BAND-TAILED
PIGEON, only the second time I've seen them in Portland
in December in 28 yrs.
     I saw no pine grosbeaks, so concentrated on the Hummingbirds.
I saw four and heard more. I presume they were all Anna's,
which I have tended to take for granted and ignore. A female in
the heart of a Deodar(Old World cedar) sat in one spot for a
long while, making a constant chipping sound. It seemed to have
some fine fiber protruding sideways from its beak. Could it be
gathering nesting material? Why would it sit in one place with
same for several minutes at a stretch? I have yet to detect this
species within 20 miles of my home in western Washington Co..
Greg Gillson recently brought it to our attention that they have
only been on the Forest Grove CBC the last three years. Their
mention on this week's Vancouver RBA shows that they still have
novelty value up there. 300 miles north of Portland or 30 miles
west we encounter a similar biological boundary.
     The most intriguing entry for me in BC this week was a SCRUB
JAY, whose breeding range ends 3km east of my house. The SCRUB
JAY in Sisters this week was probably my favorite posting of the
week. From many list members' perspective this is probably a trash
bird. Thank you one and all for reporting various near extra-limital
sightings of this fascinating species . I wonder how many have
been detected north of the Canadian border to date.
     I reiterate Bill Clemmons' plea for people to post things.
It doesn't have to be a Falcated Duck to be newsworthy. The continued
range expansion of Scrub Jays and Anna's Hummingbirds should be
documented. Their abundance in many of Oregon's backyards does not
change the fact that history is in the making. From a scientific point
of view things like this are far more important than all the year's
Asian vagrants combined.  Lars Norgren MANNING OREGON