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. 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