Just to add a few more cents, I don't see how the mystery bird could have
been a harrier, with the color description of its underparts. But then
again, as you wrote, Don, people who don't know the species often don't
know what to look for and what to describe. To me an important component
of birding instruction should include information on anatomy and how to
describe a bird, but self-made birders, of whom there are plenty, aren't
really given that information. OK OK, I know birding is for fun, not
necessarily to have to learn a whole bunch of stuff.

To add to the mystery, on Sunday David Wilbur found floating in nearby Lake
Washington what appeared to be an immature Cooper's. Probably has nothing
to do with the real mystery bird, but it shows that it *is* immature raptor
time.

And, by the way, It's WEIRD not wierd. I think the saying is "I before E
except after C, and in words such as weird that I've recently heared." Or
maybe the bird was acting very nervous, and this was a typo for "wired
raptor."

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