>We spent Sunday afternoon at McNary Dam looking for the Ross' Gull -
>alternating between the small sand bars and the outflow pipes at the
>Dam. We didn't see it and, from talking to various people from
>different locales, noone knew of a sighting after Thursday. There were
>only a handful of Bonaparte's gulls in the area, apparently many have
>departed for parts unknown. Anyway, a beautiful clear day and we saw
>plenty of interesting birds.
>On a totally unrelated note, I have seen Orange-crowned Warblers at the
>Everett Sewage Ponds twice in the past couple of weeks. How common are
>they in winter?
>Brenda Senturia
>Seattle, Washington

My heart goes out to all you after-Thursday people, but, as Brenda wrote,
it's an interesting area to visit anyway.

Orange-crowns are the third most likely warbler to encounter here in
winter, after Yellow-rumped (locally common) and Townsend's (uncommon but
widespread). Areas especially productive of insects often "hold"
insectivorous birds such as warblers that might have otherwise flown
farther south. After Orange-crowned, all warblers are quite uncommon to
rare here in winter.

Dennis Paulson phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416