Harris's Sparrow at Tillamook

For me, as for 57,850 other birders in the U.S., a major part of the fun of the Christmas season every year is the chance to participate in a Christmas Bird Count. Yesterday I joined about 30 others at Tillamook on the Oregon Coast to see what we could find. I happened to be in the right place when the Harris's Sparrow popped out of a willow thicket and was spotted by one of my fellow counters. This was only the third sighting of this species in the 40-plus year history of the Tillamook Count. The Red-shouldered Hawk is also unusual anywhere in northern Oregon, but becoming more common. This one (also seen near Tillamook yesterday) was doing a pretty good job of blending in with his surroundings.