Even before John Tschopp, our birding correspondent, had finished crunching the numbers of the 2015 Pemberton Christmas Bird Count, things were looking good…
A local feeder watcher at Erickson Rd, Annette, has been looking at a rare Sparrow for two weeks.
John verified the sighting with his camera, proving the visitor to be a The Harris’s Sparrow. It is not even on the Pemberton list, which makes it so special.
The final numbers for the bird-counting efforts yielded a remarkable tally of 2963 birds – the second highest number in Pemberton Christmas Bird Count history.
10 different species were noted through the count week, with an additional 53 tallied on count day – an impressive effort from all the volunteer counters who are keep such close tabs on our habitat and the winged friends we share it with.
Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year to all.
The Wellness Almanac 
I’ve been to the Reifel bird sanctuary in Delta a few times, and birders we’re going nuts over the appearance of a Harris sparrow. I believe its winter range is usually the mid-southern US. Wintering in snowy Pemberton must be very unusual!