>Can anyone out there help me with this question? The song sparrows that
>breed in Seattle are resident - that is, they are on their breeding
>grounds year round. For a proposed study of song sharing, the lab I am
>part of would like to find a site that
>
> 1) Is less than a day's drive from Seattle (the closer the better)
> 2) Has a migratory population of song sparrows
> 3) that are common enough locally that we could study a group of
> 10-20 males on adjacent territories

Song Sparrows are common breeders in the stream bottoms on the east side of
the Cascades (Manastash Canyon, Umtanum Creek, etc.), but at least some are
resident, possibly all. They are one of the few species you see in such
situations during the winter. The same is true about the marsh populations
in the Columbia basin. Songs also breed in wetlands fairly high up in the
Cascades, and I'll bet these birds pull out in winter, but I haven't seen
any place with 10-20 males on adjacent territories, usually just individual
pairs here and there. I'm no help at all.....

Lots of Song Sparrows from farther north migrate through eastern WA,
probably confusing the issue.


I agree entirely with the pleas of those who call for editing messages so
only the essential part of the message to which you are responding is
included, and it precedes your response.

Dennis Paulson, Director 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