Hi Tweeters all,

Just a few comments in response to recent sightings that I've skimmed.
I've been holding off, trying to avoid my all-too-common role of being the
one who injects a questioning note (go ahead and call it a critical note)
about reported bird sightings. But none of my co-critics seem to be around
now, so here goes.

There are two reasons for my responding. (1) These sightings are often
(always?) compiled, and we should be quite concerned with their accuracy.
That entails adequate documentation for reports of rare or unlikely species
before we accept them as part of the permanent record. (2) This list is a
very important source of information for its participants, and we should be
equally concerned with imparting information that might mislead, even if
ever so slightly. And I mean slightly; there's no reason for anyone to
think that Green-bellied Bugpeckers breed in North Tacoma (if they don't),
even if they're common in South Tacoma. You might ask, "who cares?" Well,
at least one person does.

A number of people have reported female common goldeneyes with broods from
various places in eastern WA in the last few weeks. To my knowledge,
common goldeneyes are quite rare breeders in the state, and reports of them
still need to be documented. Barrow's, on the other hand, are widespread
and common in the mountains and the northern third of the state east of the
Cascades. They breed in an amazingly wide variety of lake and pond
habitats within that zone. A breeding common was reported from Soap Lake,
Okanogan Co., a few years ago, and I remember thinking "a lake in the
middle of sagebrush is such unusual habitat for Barrow's, maybe it *was* a
common." Well, I visited that lake last weekend and saw a number of female
Barrow's and no commons on it. Bear in mind that female Barrow's don't
have an orange bill in the summer. I'm not implying one couldn't see a
breeding common goldeneye in the state, but it should be put in perspective
that what one is seeing is quite extraordinary and should be documented.

Boreal chickadee was reported from Mt. Spokane, Spokane Co. To my
knowledge, they are not known to occur in that county. Grasshopper sparrow
was reported from Cusick, Pend Oreille Co. To my knowledge, they are not
known to occur in that county or even in the habitat (moist meadows) that
characterizes Cusick. In both of these cases, the distance from known
breeding sites is not huge, but--in fact--these would be the first reports
of these species from these well-birded sites.

There were several reports of scaled quail on Umtanum Road (or "Wenas
Creek"). I didn't know there was still a population of this species extant
in Washington. These should be well documented, as their populations have
waned (and I thought disappeared) in the areas where they previously waxed.
The draft edition of the Breeding Bird Atlas lists no report of this
species in the state in the 9-year period of its efforts.

I welcome any comments that dispel my concern.

Tweeters involves a group of people communicating about a wide variety of
things, but our primary subject is real--the bird fauna of Washington and
elsewhere--rather than virtual, so it seems to me that elusive concept we
call "truth" should be one of our goals. We can BS about all sorts of
things, but "bird facts" are really bird facts.

Everyone who sends in their sightings sends them in in good faith, and I
intend my critical assessment of them to be educational, not discouraging.
I know it hurts feelings; I'm sorry. It's a nasty job, but someone really
does have to do it. When I was a teenage birder in Miami, the much older
guy I went out with never once accepted one of my sightings without
grilling me about it, and I guess that's what made me what I am today. ;-)

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