Prineville, Oregon, CBC

Today, the last day of 2007, I indulged in another Christmas Bird Count, this time at Prineville in Central Oregon. On a beautiful sunny day, with the temperature below freezing, our group of about 20 counters found 88 species in the 15-mile diameter circle.

In one of those random, totally unexpected coincidences, for the second time during this CBC period (as at Tillamook on Dec. 22) I happened to be in the neighborhood when another vagrant Harris's Sparrow showed up, and was able to capture a quick photo. This bird was hanging out near a cattle feed storage tank. Also in Prineville, we found a group of six or seven Eurasian Collared Doves, a newly arrived species that is spreading rapidly into many areas of North America.