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Sighting Requests by Location

Please send requests for sightings to the WOSNews editor at WOSNews AT wos.org.

Birds of Skagit County – Howard Armstrong, Gary Bletsch, Bob Kuntz and Jan and Keith Wiggers continue to collect information about the birds of Skagit County. Local birders and many people from other areas of the state have contributed interesting and valuable information. Please send your reports/records to either: Bob Kuntz, North Cascades National Park, 2105 Hwy 20, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284. (360) 856-5700, ext. 368. robert_kuntz@nps.gov, or Keith Wiggers, 902 District Line Rd, Burlington, WA 98233. (360) 757-0772. kwiggers@fidalgo.net

Leadbetter Point area, Pacific County – We could use your help. The marsh system that lies to the south of the Point (from the Oysterville Road north to the State Park boundary, about 3.5 miles long) is rarely visited by people who know their birds. Survey info in needed for this area. I can tell you how to access the one public area of the marsh and one private area (owned by The Trumpeter Swan Society). Any info we get will be useful -- species seen, breeding?, where, numbers, etc. Also, any info on butterflies or other wildlife is requested. Thanks. Martha Jordan marthaj@swansociety.org,  www.swansociety.org.

Birds of Yakima County - For a weekly column in the Yakima Herald-Republic newspaper, Denny Granstrand requests reports of recent bird sightings in Yakima county.  Please send reports by early Monday evening for inclusion in that week's paper to Denny Granstrand, osprey@nwinfo.net, or post to Tweeters.

Sighting Requests by Species

Please send requests for sightings to the WOSNews editor at  WOSNews AT wos.org.

Accipiters: Winter site fidelity study. Cooper's Hawks: Blue VID bands (Note right or left leg and engraved number and letter on VID band). Sharp-shinned Hawks: either one or two color (only) bands on the same leg (Note right or left leg and top/bottom color if two bands). Other leg has standard aluminum band. Note date, time and location. Report to Jack Bettesworth, 2569 12th Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119, 206-285-5276, jgbett@comcast.net.

American Crows wanted: dead or alive. We still want your observations of color-banded crows. If possible, please record the color and location (top/bottom left leg, top/bottom right leg) of bands. Recently banded crows now have TWO colors AND a metal (Fish & Wildlife) band on one leg, and two colors on the other. In addition, as part of our West Nile virus monitoring efforts in the Puget Sound area, we would like to know about any dead crows you observe. If they appear freshly dead, your county health agency may also want to test them for the virus. Report to: John Withey, jwithey@u.washington.edu, phone: 206-543-2764.

Burrowing Owls: Year-round sightings of banded burrowing owls in the Columbia Basin of eastern WA.  Owls banded during 2000-2004 will have a larger colored band on either the left or right leg in addition to a smaller aluminum band.  Owls banded as adults received a BLUE, GREEN, or RED band (males left leg, females right leg) while unsexed juveniles received a PURPLE or ORANGE band (left leg).  All banded owls are now adults.  The codes are unique, with two numbers and/or letters, next to or above and below each other, and with or without a horizontal or vertical bar separating.  If you see a banded owl and can read even a portion of the code or determine color, please note the date and location, which leg, and report it to Randy Hill at work (488-2668 ext14) or home (509-488-9418), or by e-mail randy_hill@fws.gov.

Clark's Nutcrackers:  Sightings are needed for a three year study of the distribution and timing of movements of nutcrackers throughout Washington, but especially in the Cascades, lowland western Washington, and Olympic Mountains.  Year round sightings are important, but sightings outside of the late summer months would be most valuable (November through June). Send information on the exact location, date and a conservative estimate for number of birds observed (for flocks) to: Teresa Lorenz, teresalorenz@fs.fed.us or 360-956-2271.

Cooper's Hawks: Color bands have been placed on over 850 nestling Cooper's Hawks in Victoria, British Columbia since 1996. This is part of a long-term study on its urban-nesting ecology. Each color band is uniquely coded with two vertical, alphanumeric characters and is placed on the left leg; black bands are on males, red bands on females. Please note band code and color, date, time, and location. To date, five different birds have been reported from Washington. Report all sightings to Andy Stewart, BC Conservation Data Centre, Victoria, B.C. (250) 387-9780, or e-mail to: andy.stewart@gems6.gov.bc.ca.

Merlins: The Merlin Falcon Foundation 501(c) (3) invites you to participate in a regional citizen-scientist investigation of the little known Coastal Forest Merlin. Please visit our evolving website at: www.merlinfalconfoundation.org We gratefully acknowledge your year around Merlin observations. Thank you for becoming a Merlin Steward and "Helping to Keep 'em Wild!"

Northern Harriers: Patagial markers have been placed on northern harriers as part of a long-term study of populations on Whidbey Island and in the Kent Valley. Please note the color of the tag (yellow, blue, green, or white), which wing it is on, the letter or number printed (in black) on the tag, and if there is a black circle around the letter or number. Note date, time, and exact location. Report to Jack Bettesworth, 2569 12th Ave W, Seattle WA 98119, (206) 285-5276. jgbett@comcast.net.

Songbird Survey:  We have colormarked ~500 crows as well as many other songbirds in the area and would appreciate any sightings of these. Be on the lookout for banded robins, Wilson's warblers, Swainson's thrushes, song sparrows, spotted towhees, Oregon juncos, winter and Bewick's wrens, and Pacific-slope flycatchers. If possible please record the color and location (top/bottom left leg, top/bottom right leg) of bands. Please report any sightings to Dr. John Marzluff, corvid@u.washington.edu.

"Streaked" Horned Lark Research: We colormarked ~80 "streaked" Horned Larks in Washington and would appreciate any sightings of these birds (coast, Puget trough, Columbia River islands, Willamette Valley, etc.). Please record the color combination (e.g., red over USFWS on right and white over red on left - right and left are the bird's right and left), location and date observed and send to Dr. Scott F. Pearson, scott.pearson@wadnr.gov.

Turkey Vultures:  The Olympic Vulture Study has been working on two concurrent studies: the fall migration at Salt Creek, and the demographics of our Pacific Northwest vultures. Any sightings from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho will be welcomed. As always, date, location, and number of birds is needed. If possible, report weather, time, and any aspect of behavior. Please send to Diann MacRae, 22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E., Bothell, WA 98021, or to tvulture@vei.net.

Saskatchewan Vultures: Information needed on turkey vulture sightings - Green herculite patagial tags were applied to the right wing of fourteen nestling Turkey Vultures in 2003, and to 30 birds in 2004 in central Saskatchewan in August. White numbers are readily visible with binoculars. Sightings of tag numbers can be reported to the banding office, and sightings of a tag, too high to read the number, can be reported to Stu Houston: houstons@duke.usask.ca, Phone 306-244-0742.

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