o Snowy Owl sightings o Flycatchers, warblers hang around o Black Phoebes out in force o Prairie Falcon numbers up

The weather was mostly drier and warmer than normal, except for the last week of December. An irruption of Snowy Owls into the lower 48 states, including Oregon and Lane County was big news-we'll see if they stay around for the new year or not. A number of semihardy species (i.e., flycatchers, warblers, etc.) were found during the period, most likely because of the mild weather. Large numbers of Black Phoebes were found during the period around the Eugene/Springfield area. Larger than normal numbers of Prairie Falcons were found during the period in the outlying areas of Eugene/Springfield.

Details of the latest birds are HERE

Birding Eugene Website Announced

A team of Lane County Audubon Society (LCAS) members has released access to a new website (BirdingEugene) that describes several birding sites in and around Eugene. Barbara Gleason, Steve Gordon, Kit Larsen, and Art Farley worked together over the past couple of years to gather relevant information and create the website.

Each birding area page includes a map for navigation to reach the site, a general description of the site, and a discussion of common bird sightings for the site. The webpage also includes pictures of the birding area, as well as photos of several birds typically found at that birding area. Clicking on the bird name under its picture takes you to the Cornell Laboratory for Ornithology website for information about the bird species, including its song.

LCAS is providing the following link to the BirdingEugene website http://web.me.com/artfarley47/BirdingEugene/Welcome.html). Contact Art Farley at art (at) cs.uoregon.edu if you would like to add to a given site description or if you would like to discuss adding a new birding site. Together we can make this a valuable resource for our community.