COMMUNITY
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
A3
100 Mountain Bluebirds seen
during Christmas Bird Count
Northern Pintail,
Osprey, Red-
breasted Sapsucker
among other
highlights
By Tom Winters
For the Blue Mountain Eagle
On Saturday, Dec. 19, 11
birders spent a little over 46
combined hours in the field
looking for birds on the 40th
John Day Christmas Bird
Count. In addition, there were
three feeder watchers that
reported their sightings. The
weather was moderate this
year with temperatures gen-
erally above freezing under
overcast skies.
A slightly above average
number of species and indi-
vidual birds were seen this
year. As usual, there were
some highlights. Highlights
included a Northern Pintail,
which has been found on two
previous counts; an Osprey in
John Day, which has been on
only one other count; a Red-
breasted Sapsucker for the
second time in 40 years; two
Blue Jays in Mt Vernon, the
third time for this species;
and an astounding number
of Mountain Bluebirds. The
bluebirds have been found on
the count three times before
with a high count of two indi-
viduals. This year, 100 were
counted!
Special thanks go to the
Holmstrom, Lemons, Mullin
and Crown (Carter) Ranches,
and the Pikes for allowing
access to their properties, and
to Iron Triangle for allowing
access to the Grant Western
mill site.
Participants were Mike
Bohannon, Susan Church,
Karen Jacobs, Barb Mill-
er-Sohr, Larry Sohr, Clarence
and Marilyn O’Leary, Azadae
Soupir, Jamison Soupir, Jim
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
Contributed photo/Karen Jacobs
From left, Jamison and Azadae Soupir participate in the 2020
Christmas Bird Count Dec. 19.
Contributed photo/Tom Winters
A pair of wood ducks on the
pond at Clyde Holliday State
Park near Mt. Vernon during
the 2020 Christmas Bird
Count.
Ryan McKnab keeping track
of their yard birds.
Birds seen: Canada Goose
(131), Trumpeter Swan (3),
Wood Duck (17), Gadwall
(2), American Wigeon (5),
Mallard (125), Northern Pin-
tail (1), Ring-necked Duck
(5), Green-winged Teal (36),
Hooded Merganser (18), Cal-
ifornia Quail (406), Wild Tur-
key (155), Pied-billed Grebe
(2), Great Blue Heron (13),
Osprey (1), Northern Harrier
(7), Golden Eagle (3), Sharp-
shinned Hawk (4), Cooper’s
Hawk (5), Bald Eagle (17),
Red-tailed Hawk (47), Rough-
legged Hawk (45), Virginia
Rail (1), American Coot (4),
Rock Pigeon (40), Eurasian
Collared-Dove (257), Mourn-
ing Dove (59), Barn Owl (2),
Great Horned Owl (3), Belted
pecker (7), Hairy Woodpecker
(5), Northern Flicker (19),
American Kestrel (13), Log-
gerhead Shrike (1), North-
ern Shrike (2), Steller’s Jay
(2), Blue Jay (2), Califor-
nia Scrub Jay (30), Black-
billed Magpie (81), American
Crow (8), Common Raven
(80), Black-capped Chicka-
dee (25), Mountain Chickadee
(24), Red-breasted Nuthatch
(10), Brown Creeper (1),
Pacific Wren (2) Marsh Wren
(1), American Dipper (4),
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (15),
Mountain Bluebird (100),
Townsend’s Solitaire (42),
Hermit Thrush (2), American
Robin (3,641), European Star-
ling (604), Bohemian Wax-
wing (2), Cedar Waxwing
(118), Dark-eyed Junco – Ore-
gon (250) and slate-colored
(5), White-crowned Sparrow
(14), Song Sparrow (5), Spot-
ted Towhee (1), House Finch
(37), Cassin’s Finch (21),
Pine Siskin (9), Lesser Gold-
finch (17), American Gold-
finch (16) and House Sparrow
(123).
Only one species was seen
during count week (the three
days prior and after the count
day) that was not seen on the
count day, that being some
Bushtits.
Over 400 Grant County students receiving wellness kits
Kits going out to
students in all Grant
County school
districts in lieu of
Teen Health Fair
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
Eagle file photo
Wellness is being delivered
in Grant County.
Over 400 local students
will be receiving kits in the
coming weeks including
yoga mats and exercise cards
from John Day-Canyon City
Parks and Recreation District
and several other community
organizations, according to
Community Counseling Solu-
tions Substance Abuse Coor-
dinator Lisa Weigum.
Weigum said, typically,
CCS hosts the Grant County
Teen Health Fair every spring,
but due to COVID-19 the
Grant Union High School stu-
dents practice CPR on dum-
mies during the high school’s
yearly teen health fair in 2018.
The event, which is typically
hosted by Community Coun-
seling Solutions, was can-
celed due to COVID-19.
organization could not host a
traditional teen fair. In lieu of
holding the event, CCS and
various community organiza-
tions sent out the health and
wellness kits.
Weigum said the teen fair,
which is an all-day event,
covers various health-related
topics, including substance
use disorders, mental health,
healthy relationships, oral
health and the importance of
sleep, nutrition and exercise.
She said CCS and the other
partners will keep the youth
mentally, physically and emo-
tionally healthy and connected
to the community.
“We want our kids to know
their community cares about
them,” Weigum said.
Other organizations that
participated from the Grant
County Community Health
Improvement
Coalition
include Oregon State Uni-
versity, Open Campus; Fam-
ilies First; Advantage Den-
tal; Department of Human
Services; Grant County 4-H;
Grant County Health Depart-
ment; Blue Mountain Hospi-
tal; Eastern Oregon Coordi-
nated Care Organization; and
Heart of Grant County.
From left, volunteers serving Christmas dinners include Tony and Amy Franklin, Squeeze-In
owner Shawn Duncan, John Day Chief of Police Mike Durr, Pam Durr, Levi, Luke, Noah and Will
Blood, Patty and Glen Ross and Kristi O’Brien.
Squeeze-In serves up nearly
400 Christmas dinners
Blue Mountain Eagle
People in Grant County
filled their bellies this
Christmas.
According
to
Squeeze-In Restaurant and
Deck owner Shawn Dun-
can, her staff and volun-
teers served up nearly
400 meals via pick up and
delivery.
Duncan said the din-
ners were made possible
by Russ and Tara Young,
Grant County Seniors and
an anonymous donor.
“I am just grateful that
we were in a position to
feed so many people,” she
said.
Duncan said a line of
people snaked around the
building at one point.
She said the meals
included turkey, ham,
mashed potatoes, green
bean casserole, stuffing
and a dessert.
Eagle photos/Steven Mitchell
Amy Franklin scoops up green bean casserole for a to-go din-
ner Friday as the Squeeze-In fed nearly 400 people on Christ-
mas Day.
The Eagle/Steven
Mitchell
From left, Patty
Ross, Kristi and
Cassi
O’Brien
pose during the
Squeeze-In’s
Christmas dinner
event.
John Day
DMV
office
is open by appointment
and ready to serve you.
Visit www.oregondmv.com to
make your appointment today
or call 541-575-1503.
We appreciate your business & support.
Babette Larson,
Broker, GRI
Office: 541-987-2363
ddwr@ortelco.net
Lori Hickerson,
Principal Broker, GRI
Office: 541-575-2617
ljh@ortelco.net
Sally Knowles,
Broker, GRI
Office: 541-932-4493
sknowles@ortelco.net
www.dukewarnerrealtyofeasternoregon.com
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