Cliff Drake wrote:

> I visited Discovery park this afternoon and saw many birds of interest,
>including a Pileated Woodpecker, a Brown Creeper, Red Tailed Hawk, Many
>many Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows on the South Bluff. I also heard
>what I think was a Ring Necked Pheasant on the South Bluff. The most
>interesting thing was a Northern Flicker feeding it's young in a nest
>cavity not far from the visitors center. Seems awfully late, do they
>raise two broods?

It certainly could be a second brood. Flicker young were fledging in large
numbers back in late July and early August.

> I also saw several sparrows I was unable to properly identify, they
>were in the grassy fields between the North Bluff and Hidden Valley.
>Clear breasted, Rusty backed with lighter brown eye stripes and crown. I
>thought they might be Swamp Sparrows, but I'm not sure.

I would guess immature White-crowned Sparrows. The illustration of the
immature in the NGS field guide is wretched, making it look more like a
female House Sparrow than a White-crown. The immatures have marked head
stripes just like those of the adults except brown and gray rather than
black and white. The head often looks very slightly crested, or at least
angular rather than smoothly round. Almost any other book has a better
illustration.

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