Update: Some photos added.
For the Leadbetter Point Christmas Bird Count (CBC), on December 18, 2010, we noted 100 species, plus three species for Count Week. Number of individuals: 36,784. Temps: low 34F, high 44F. Winds: generally brisk (5 to 10 mph) and often to at least 20 mph. Cloud cover 90% to 100%, rain about 60% of the day; some periods without rain, but at times 
heavy gusts and rainfall, and a few blasts of sleet and hail; 0.9 inches total precipitation. Wind and rain hampered views of water birds, and significantly decreased our ability to detect passerines. At least it wasn't raining all the time!
Our number of participants, 40 (36 field observers, divided among 5 sectors; plus 4 at feeders), was the highest
ever for our count (inching up from last year's 37, our previous all-time high). Our CBC circle is more than an hour's drive for many of our people, and for some it is three hours just to get to the edge of the circle. There are often overnight accommodations to consider, treacherous weather on local roads, and so forth. Congratulations and thanks to all who made the trip this year!
New for our CBC was one species, the Eurasian Collared-Dove, noted by the group in Ocean Park. This species has been present in Washington since 2000, and on the Long Beach Peninsula since 2005. This is the first record for our CBC. We should expect them to be more plentiful in future years, as they have become in the rest of Washington and the United States.
Notable species for our CBC were: (a) Spotted Sandpiper (1 noted by NE Bay Group, near Palix River, for only the fourth time since our Count began in 1974); (b) Palm Warbler (1 seen by three observers of the Point group, the 
second for our CBC, with the first in 2007); (c) Western Scrub-Jay (4 noted by portion of Oceanside group, in a residential area; 1 noted in the Bay Center area, and becoming gradually more common); (d) a very photogenic White-throated Sparrow, always a treat, seen in about half of our CBCs over the last twenty years.
Notable by their absence: Rock Pigeons, after a continuous run on our CBC since 1982. Three additional species for Count Week, not noted on Count Day: American Kestrel, Northern Pygmy-Owl, and Northern Shrike.
Thanks again to all; see you next year!