Hi.

I live near the Arboretum, on 28th and E. Ward. Saturday night I exchanged
greetings with a Great Horned Owl as I skiied through the Arboretum. I'm
fairly sure it was a Great Horned Owl because of the size, shape, and call
(hu-hu-huu, hu hu). My husband swears he saw horns.

I also share the neighborhood with several hawks, but I'm having difficulty
nailing down an identification for the different species. Earlier this week I
spotted one that had a robin red breast and a white band above the tail (on
the underside, not the rump). I'm sure it wasn't an oversize robin. And I
have spotted several times what appears to be either a sharp-shinned hawk or
a female merlin.

I also had the great fortune of observing a flock of golden-crowned kinglets
feeding in the Sequoia Grove in the Arboretum on Thursday, 12/26. I moved so
silently into the flock that one kinglet popped up mere inches from my face
as it traversed the branch. It was like standing among a thousand sweetly
tinkling bells.

And a song sparrow has been hanging around the feeder since the snow started.
Just one and he feeds with the juncos.

Best,
Wallis Bolz
28th and E. Ward, Seattle