Hi y'all, here's a 4-part post:

1.) Regarding west-side Chippie reports outside of the Pierce Co.
prairies, there are of course those near Sequim and on the San Juans,
where expected. Other locations from BBA data include: a probable near
Three Fingers (assumably above treeline here), another probable near
Carnation in King Co., another probable near Bellingham (maybe the
airport there?). A handful of possible breeding records include: 4 at
scattered locations in western Whatcom Co., a half-dozen along the Skagit
River northeast of Marblemount (including 3 probable records here), one
in Everett, one in Richmond Beach (Seattle), and one in Federal Way.
Observed records from the Skykomish River and Kitsap Peninsula also found.

2.) West-side breeding Kestrels: Besides the obvious locations (Ft.
Lewis area, Sequim, San Juans), these seem to follow the Chipping Sparrow
in west-side distribution. There are a number of possible records in
Pierce Co. just east of Tacoma, and a confirmed one from Federal Way
(could be the Evergreen Airport?). A confirmed record in King Co. is near
North Bend, and one at the Ross Dam in Whatcom Co. A number of possible
records are in western Whatcom Co., with a handful of records along the
Skagit River. On the Kitsap Peninsula, a probable breeding record is at
Gorst. A probable record in Clallam County is near Forks (probably the
Forks prairie). Other possible/observed locations are at scattered
locations, including one which appears to be above treeline in the
Olympics.

3.) Columbian Ground Squirrels apparently suffer from poor
representation in museum specimens. Dennis and Gene both report them
east to Harts Pass. Could you two provide specific locations? We have
*no* good records in that area, so that would be very helpful.

4.) I think many of us are buzzing up the same tree with the Kingbird
debate. I agree with Gene that WEKI now occur in many places dominated
by shrub-steppe. My point was that prior to farmhouses and such, would
they be in areas where no tree was found for miles? In the Palouse, they
seem to be common on fences and electric lines, and I've seen them
nesting on the sign at Kahlotus Ridgetop. But before fences, signs,
poles, etc., would they have been in the Palouse? I don't think so.
Would they have occurred in the Artemisia/Agropyron zone with no trees
for miles? Probably not. Tweets all seem to agree that WEKI prefer
large, strong structures to nest in. I have seen nests on electric
poles, in a large ponderosa pine, even in the back of a restroom. Seems
unlikely they would be in the areas mentioned above unless a tree was
near.

I have really enjoyed the kingbird thread so far, it's something I've
spent a bit of time thinking about. It's great to see other opinions on
the subject.

-------------
Michael R. Smith
Univ. of Washington, Seattle
whimbrel at u.washington.edu
http://salmo.cqs.washington.edu/~wagap/mike.html