Hello Tweeters,

I'm new to this list, and would like to share a sighting from last year.

On July 21, 1996 a "new" bird showed up on our doorstep. Miracle of
miracles, I was able to pick it up and with Peterson's Guide in hand my
husband and I were able to identify it as a juvenile Blackburnian Warbler.
He let out a squack during our examination and his parents showed up. Once
we were positive about our ID, we released him and the family disappeared.

Peterson says they are only found east of the rockies, but I found them
listed on the Washington Bird List. Does anyone know how often they have
been sighted in Wahington?

We have a 20 acre orchard in the Mid-Yakima Valley. We fed up to 80 quail
this past winter, and most are still hanging around as we still have brush
piles for them to hide in. In the winter, our bird feeder attracts sparrows,
house finches and juncos, which in turn attracts Sharp-Shinned and Cooper's
Hawks.

I started keeping a journal of our bird happenings in 1994 when we put up a
Kestrel Nest Box. This year we will have our 4th hatch. Due to our
enthusiasm for the Kestrel, more than a dozen other boxes have been put up
in our area. They are great mousers and a boon to orchardists.

Sue Ericksen
"Zillah" WA
ericksen at nwinfo.net