10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016
Alan Vernon/Wikimedia Commons
Bird-watchers spotted a common ground dove (like the one pictured here), the smallest dove in the U.S., during the Columbia Estuary Christmas Bird Count late last month.
Birds: First event started with 27 birders at 25 sites
Continued from Page 1A
El Niño weather conditions,
including a persistent warm blob
of water off the West Coast, have
collapsed the food chain in lower
latitudes and pushed many species
of animals, from whales to birds,
north in search of prey. The week
before the count, Patterson said, all
sorts of unusual species had been
blown in from the sea because of
heavy storms. But by the time the
count came, he added, they had
gone back out. He added that some
birds, such as sparrows, were prob-
ably driven to the area avoiding
drought.
“The big picture is that the birds
are off the Pacific Coast,” Patter-
son said. “We can’t see them, but
they should be in California.”
Some unusual species on the
Columbia count, which Patterson
noted on his blog “North Coast
Diaries,” included an American
white pelican spotted at the Ilwa-
co, Washington, Boat Basin, a rock
sandpiper amid a flock of dunlin at
Fort Stevens State Park and a black
Phoebe along Ridge Road in War-
renton.
“Most of what we had was stuff
that either hung around because
of the weather … or being pushed
around by larger climatic factors
than El Niño,” Patterson said.
Upriver from the estuary’s count
was Wahkiakum, Washington’s,
count, centered on Clifton and in-
cluding Brownsmead and Knappa.
Andrew Emlen, the main organizer
for the count, said he is still compil-
ing results, but it looks like his group
found 116 species of birds.
“Unusual species include a north-
ern mockingbird that has been at
the same location of Puget Island
for over two years,” Emlen said in
an email. “Six of the endangered
streaked horned larks were found
at their year-round colony site on
Whites Island.”
The data from these local sci-
entists is funneled to the National
Audubon Society, which collects
data from hundreds of sites across
the Western Hemisphere.
Concern over the decline in bird
populations was growing, and orni-
thologist Frank Chapman with the
National Audubon Society proposed
the Christmas Bird Count as a non-
lethal way to observe birds over the
KROLGD\V7KH¿UVW\HDU¶VHYHQWVWDUW-
ed with 27 birders at 25 sites.
The count now includes tens of
thousands of volunteers. The Nation-
al Audubon Society reported nearly
500 counts, along with more than
14.4 million birds counted, between
Dec. 14 and Tuesday.
The southernmost count happens
aboard a National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration research
vessel in the Drake Passage between
South America and Antarctica. The
northernmost happens near Arctic
Bay in the northern Canadian prov-
ince of Nunavut. The count stretches
Cuatrok77/Wikimedia Commons
Andrew Emlen, organizer of the Wahkiakum Christmas Bird Count, said HDVWIURP*XDPLQWKH3DFL¿F2FHDQ
birders spotted a northern mockingbird (like the one pictured here) that to the Canadian island of Newfound-
land on the Atlantic Ocean.
has been seen on Puget Island, Wash., the last couple of years.
Results from these counts are
Don’t shoot
they would each take sides and go used to assess the health of bird
Prior to the 20th century, hunters D¿HOGZLWKJXQVDQGVHHZKRFRXOG populations and guide conservation
efforts.
engaged in the “side hunt,” in which produce the biggest pile of quarry.
Andersons: ‘We’re Port: It pays $6,000 annually to be a CREST member
amazed at the sense
of community’
Continued from Page 1A
Continued from Page 1A
Paige Anderson, 16, at-
tends Seaside High School,
and Michael, 18, attends
Astoria High School. A vi-
olist, pianist and composer,
Michael plans to attend mu-
sic school after graduation.
Paige sings in the choir and
recently performed in the
school’s ’80s musical.
After 20 years, Alexa was
ready to retire the scissors.
In Seaside, she went for a
manicure at Shear Pleasures,
happened to mention her pri-
or experience and promptly
received an invite to cut hair.
“If you ever want to know
anything about where you’re
living, cut hair,” Alexa said.
“Sometimes women can get
catty, but not in this shop.”
She now cuts hair
four hours a day, four
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Alexa loves the “whole feel”
of Seaside. “It’s magical,”
she said.
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ited the coast in 2012, when
they drove from Seattle to
San Francisco. “One of the
places we stopped was Sea-
side,” he said. “We pitched
a tent at Fort Stevens. The
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Promenade. We said, ‘We
love this place!’ I still have
the map. I circled it.”
“Everyone was happy
here,” Alexa added.
They took a second trip
in September 2013, drawn
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rants, golf and shops. That
tipped their decision to make
the move.
“You go
into the
convenience
store next
door, and
they say,
‘Oh, you’re
here for
your Grape
Crush.’ They
know what
you want.”
Chris Anderson
new Seaside resident
Members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, they found a small,
but welcoming, community
in Seaside.
“There are a lot of good
friends you have with the
church,” Chris said.
They share the church’s
commitment to volunteer-
ism and community, Alexa
added, volunteering with
the homeless shelter, beach
cleanup, Seaside Kids, and
always ready to help a neigh-
bor in need.
“We’re very happy to be
here,” Chris said. “We’re
amazed at the sense of com-
munity. You go into the con-
venience store next door, and
they say, ‘Oh, you’re here
for your Grape Crush.’ They
know what you want.”
Butch Smith, a Port of
Ilwaco commissioner that
Hunsinger invited to talk
about sea lions, said the
Washington port pulled out
of CREST because the port
manager, Guy Glenn, said
the agency wasn’t using their
services. Smith said many of
CREST’s services have been
provided by the private sector,
adding he does not think the
government should be com-
peting with the private sector.
“We decided if we needed
CREST, we would pay the
non-membership fee to hire
them.”
The estuary task force’s
activities have recently run
afoul of Port Commissioner
Stephen Fulton and the agen-
cy’s interest in South Tongue
Point.
The Port recently sent a
letter to the Oregon Depart-
ment of State Lands stating
its interest in acquiring South
Tongue Point, a former de-
pository of dredge sediments
by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. CREST is working
with Clatsop Community Col-
lege and the Columbia Land
Trust to turn the land into a
living classroom and restored
salmon habitat. The land has
interest to the Port and other
entities as an industrial site
located next to a deep-draft
shipping channel on the Co-
lumbia River and a derelict
railroad spur.
Fulton serves as the Port’s
representative on CREST’s
council of governments.
Scott Lee, chairman of both
the Clatsop County Board of
Commissioners and of the
task force council, recently
asked for Fulton’s resigna-
tion. Lee said Fulton has been
noncollaborative, threatening
Daily Astorian/File Photo
The Columbia River Estuary Study Task Force reported in December that it had per-
formed about $600,000 in wetland mitigation on 8.5 acres around Liberty Lane. CREST
has sent a letter urging the state not to sell the restoration site, which the Port of Astoria
is interested in buying.
and aggressive to CREST
staff and the organization as
a whole.
Of particular concern is
opposition by Fulton and his
employer — Warrenton Fiber
— to the replacement of the
Eighth Street Dam in War-
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bridge paid for by the Bonne-
ville Power Administration,
a primary source of funding
for CREST’s various salmon
habitat restoration projects.
Lee has questioned whether
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is serving the Port or his em-
ployer.
Fulton has never respond-
ed publicly to the accusations,
and didn’t touch on them at
Tuesday’s Port Commission
meeting.
Fulton said Tuesday that
CREST originally formed to
assist local governments on
issues regarding wetlands,
representing governments in
their negotiations with oth-
er governments. CREST has
morphed over the years, he
said, “to be primarily an agent
of BPA building salmon hab-
itat.”
Fulton said the Port pays
$6,000 annually to be a mem-
ber of CREST, compared to
an equivalent amount from
Clatsop County, $7,000 from
Astoria, $500 from Cannon
Beach and similarly smaller
amounts from other cities.
Robert Mushen, in his
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chairman of the Port Com-
mission, recommended the
Port have CREST’s director,
Denise Löfman, come speak
to the Port. He said Löfman
told him the fees paid for
membership are based on the
amount of work CREST does
for a member, adding there is
bound to be a record of such
work.
“I think it’s important for
the commission to hear both
sides of the story,” said Ex-
ecutive Director Jim Knight,
adding Löfman indicated she
is willing to come speak to the
Port Commission.
Knight said staff could
prepare a presentation on the
work the task force has done
for the Port.
One common criticism of
the Columbia River Estuary
Study Taskforce, which only
holds four meetings a year, is
the lack of a chance for coun-
cil members to provide input
to a group primarily run by
the staff.
The Port Commission
reached a consensus to have
Löfman come speak at the
next regular meeting, Jan. 19.