[obol] Upper Nestucca CBC--December 28, 2006

[Don Albright]

Eleven volunteers turned out in the sunshine for the 24th Upper Nestucca CBC
in the northern Oregon Coast Range on Thursday, December 28.  For the third
straight year, we tallied 52 species, which is the record high for the
count.  Weather was clear and sunny all day, but chilly, with frosty roads
and frozen ponds in places.  The deepest snow found anywhere in the count
circle was about an inch deep atop some of the highest peaks (around 3,000'
elevation).  All roads were free of snow, but some of the minor roads were
blocked by downed trees from the mid-December windstorm.

As is typical for the Coast Range, bird activity was slow.  One can spend a
lot of time in the woods up there without seeing or hearing any birds at
all.  However, it was a beautiful day to be out in the woods!

No rarities were found, but here are some of the highlights:

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES were out in good numbers, chattering on treetops in
the sunshine.  38 were observed, shattering the old count record of 13.
This comes after we failed to record a single Red-breasted Nuthatch on the
count last year.  Linda Fink demonstrated the benefits of walking CBC's over
driving by spending her entire day on foot, and counting 19 Red-breasted
Nuthatches.

A WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH was well-observed in the Nestucca drainage by
Barbara and John Woodhouse.  This is only the 4th out of 24 years this
species has been recorded on this count, and I think it's a rather unusual
occurrence on the west side of the Coast Range.

Pamela Johnston, Jesse Leavitt and Rick Heatrick spent time along the
southeast edge of the count circle where the Coast Range region begins to
blend into a more Willamette Valley-oriented environment, and picked up some
species we don't often find on this count, including:
20 MOURNING DOVES, the first time this species has been recorded on this
count.
3 WILSON'S SNIPES, the second record for the count.
2 CALIFORNIA QUAIL, the sixth record for the count.
5 KILLDEER, also the sixth record for the count, and
2 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, the fifth record for the count.

A few other notable observations:
3 TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS were near the summit of Grindstone Mountain (Tillamook
County), at around 2,500' elevation.  This species was never found on this
count until two years ago, and it's now been found three years running.
49 GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS were observed, breaking the old record of 24.
3 NORTHERN PYGMY OWLS breaks the old record of 2.
7 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were observed in two different clearcuts, for only the
third record on this count.
6 RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS breaks the old record of 5.

The biggest disappointment of the count was Wink Gross's failure to find us
Pine Grosbeaks in Sector 1  :-)

A few other notable misses:
Great Blue Heron--found on 19 previous counts.  Second year in a row we've
missed this species.
Common Merganser--found on 11 previous counts.
Bald Eagle--found on 15 previous counts.
Sharp-shinned Hawk--found on 10 previous counts.
Cooper's Hawk--found on 11 previous counts.
Evening Grosbeak--found on 10 previous counts.

Thanks to all who participated in the count this year.  And a special thanks
to Linda Leavitt, who again hosted us post-count with a warm house and warm
food.  Within a few days I'll get a complete count list to participants, and
anyone else who requests it.

Don Albright
Newberg, Oregon
donalbri at teleport.com