Greetings Tweets!

In early December, 1994 my husband and I were driving down our then =
snowy driveway when I turned back just in time to see a small round head =
of a Northern Pygmy Owl peering back at me from the ground near our =
hanging feeders. We instantly stopped and walked back up the drive to =
see what was going on. The owl had a Varied Thrush in it's talons and =
was attempting to fly off with it. Since the thrush was obviously too =
heavy for the owl to take flight, the owl simply hopped across the yard =
to a small pile of logs. The owl wedged the thrush between the logs and =
began plucking it. We watched as the ingestion of the thrush took place =
over the period of four days with only two small leg bones left. The =
thrushes are usually regular visitors around our feeders in early winter =
and with a flock of 16 present that morning, the owl had easy pickings. =
We have also banded 16 Varied Thrushes during our regular banding =
station work. Weights average 121.1 grams with a high of 131 grams and =
a low of 108.8 grams. =20

This year the Thrushes arrived about 2-1/2 weeks ago when we had our =
first bout of cold temperatures and 3" of snow. They are now daily =
visitors around our neighborhood and early morning hours are filled with =
with their melodic voices. =20

Anyone curious about birding or regular sigthings around Leavenworth =
area, please e-mail me! I'd be happy to post regular sightings if there =
is interest.

Diana Peffer
Leavenworth, WA
djpeffer at nwinternet.com