>East of the Cascades, the high association of audubonii's to mature apple
>orchards and Russian olives would suggest these wintering birds are
>dependent on fruit for survival in the cold months. Can anybody corroborate
>this? Of interest, none survived the arctic outbreak end Jan through early
>Feb in Yakima County. Responses from the Tri-Cities to my query about their
>surviving down their appeared negative also. The only report I heard of was
>of a sighting about 15 March (B. Woodley) near Kennewick which would suggest
>a returning migrant. Perhaps a total dependence on fruit is not enough for
>wintering warblers?
>Andy Stepniewski
>Wapato WA

or perhaps they just can't eat enough to keep the furnaces in their little
bodies stoked? Persons feeding Anna's Hummingbirds in the Wenatchee area
report that the hummingbirds usually "disappear" when the temperatures drop
below 0 deg F in spite of deligent efforts to provide food.

--Jerry Tangren
<tangren at wsu.edu>