1/27/04

Birders:

What a fine day it was. Partly cloudy, temperature about 66 F. I was joined by Glenn, Kent, and Bill. We had hoped to see the heron that I saw on the way in to work this morning but alas no such luck.

The unusual bird of the day was a Turkey Vulture, no doubt scanning for students dying off from the rigors of Caltech. Thanks to Bill for spotting that one. The common bird notable for not
being seen was the House Finch.

The species count was 19, which is about typical for the last week of January. Next month should be the best month when the previous record of 28 was set. However, I fear the high level of
construction now going on may knock our numbers down some.

We are soon to lose Bill Schaefer who is finally really retiring and moving to Northern California. He so far has shown no inclination to fly down on Tuesday mornings for the walk. On the plus side I believe I have recruited a new member who plans to join us next week.

The list for the day:

Rock Dove	Scrub Jay	Mockingbird
House Sparrow	Mourning Dove	Anna's Hummingbird
Acorn Woodpecker	Crow	Yellow-rumped Warbler
White-crowned Sparrow	Bushtit	Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Turkey Vulture	Black Phoebe	American Goldfinch
Band-tailed Pigeon	Starling	Gull
Cedar Waxwing

Alan