Tweets,

"Back in the saddle again" (Or is that "Back in Seattle again?..)

Just got signed up with a local outfit and my new address is:

festuca at olywa.net

I'll be re-subscribed to Tweeters right soon, and looking forward to =
joining back in on the discussions. Relatively free of the ethical =
constraints of using the 'work' computer to express my opinions and =
thoughts.

With the cold weather, we've been feeding like fools, (feeding the =
*birds* - I did my feeding frenzy at the several holiday dinners, and =
I'm still trying to lose the weight) and have used up almost 5 pounds of =
sunflower/millet mix since this last snow. Not to mention having ridded =
ourselves of several pints of bacon grease/stale peanut butter, etc.

One of the birds coming to the feeder has been a male Oregon Junco with =
considerable white feathering on the sides of the head and on the =
primaries and secondaries. He's in with a flock of ~30 other juncos =
(house finches and siskins are coming and going through the flock...). =
The strange thing about him is that he's *banded*. =20

Not that it's strange that he's banded - I've ringed several dozens of =
the critters this fall/winter already - but I haven't handled (let alone =
seen) a junco with such aberrent plumage around this neck of the =
woods/suburbs. Janet Partlow, my sub-permittee who's about 1/2 mile =
south of me, hadn't told me of banding one like this either.

Either I've got a bird from 'away' in the yard (it would be 'my' first =
'foreign' bird) or it's a bird that I banded in an earlier banding =
season (usually Oct - April in my yard) that had some of his feathers =
molt back in white. =20

Anyway, I've seen him three times now, and thought him unusual. I =
haven't unfurled the mist nets with this weather, but if he hangs around =
until after the thaw, I might try to re-capture him and find out just =
what's going on....

Anyway, it's good to be back.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Wash.
festuca at olywa.net