Hello Tweets --

After finally being successful and knocking off, ..err um, rather 'ticking'
off jinx #337, the American Lake flashy adult LITTLE GULL (it was still there
flying around at noon, Sat.12/13, off the cement walk & pier at Harry Todd
Park) while in the great company of Barry Levine and Jack Stevens, I returned
home to ceremoniously and with great fanfare, add it to my slowly ever so
slowly growing Washington list which I am shifting over on to the NEW
checklist. Counting up the 'ticks' on the new checklist, I came up two short
of my running tally on 'old yeller'. Hmmm. Closer scrutiny revealed at least
two species missing from the new list. Did I miss some status change, revised
statement of policy, or something? Can someone who is keen on these matters
address this query?

(1) CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER -- Omitted. The wisdom of The Committee for the
Cordilleran Flycatcher status and situation in Washington is addressed on the
back cover of the new Checklist, when in fact I had thought records in some
parts of SE Washington had been accepted as full-blooded valid. However, in
the apparent absence of genetic studies and with Committee-stated evidence of
hybridization, I conducted a little test over in those parts last June where I
did some tape play-back experiments of Rocky Mountain (South Dakota, Colorado)
Cordilleran back to back with California and Oregon recorded Pacific-slope
calls and songs on birds I thought or suspected to be Cordilleran based on
calls of otherwise undisturbed individuals. Birds responding to the
Cordilleran were in my face instantly like flies on you know what, whereas,
the Pacific-slope play back was ignored completely. Hmmm, you say. There was
nothing systematic about all this; I was just piddling around. Granted,
Cordilleran Flycatcher was a 'write-in' on my old 'yellow' list as it never
was officially listed, but only more recently had I thought the 'species' had
become officially endorsed and valid in Washington.

So what's the poop? My little encouraging random experiments were conducted
in the Lewis Peak and Coppei Creek areas east and northeast of Walla Walla,
and along Asotin Creek, west of Asotin, 13-15 June 1997. Now, if current
wisdom still advises on the side of caution until more thorough genetic
analyses are done and I should withdraw the Cordilleran Flycatcher from my
list, I have no problem with that; it's only one bird amongst the multitude.
However, when it comes to genetic analyses, we might want to start analyzing
some of those pesky and endlessly controversial seagulls around here. "Oh No,
Mr. Bill. Oh No!" :-(( Look too closely and we might all each end up having
to subtract about ten. '-) ...On the bright side though, we'll probably get
to add several hundred variations of other things by the year 2050.

SCALED QUAIL -- Omitted. There was a thread on this species and quail in
general back in January 1997. Scaled Quail did in fact thrive or at least
occur briefly as an introduced species in the Lower Crab Creek area, Grant Co.
(where I saw one several years ago), but is presently believed extirpated from
the state. There may still be a few around and if so, extremely local in
isolated desert areas of the Lower Columbia Basin, and most likely perhaps in
the Juniper Dunes Wilderness Area, Franklin Co. However, I believe someone
posted to Tweeters that the WRBC would no longer accept reports of Scaled
Quail without photo documentation or specimen. In any case, Scaled Quail is
missing from the new checklist. Should it be or was it omitted because it is
an extirpated introduction? I'm not sure if 'extirpate' is just quite the
correct word here as that may refer to a deliberate elimination by man or by
man altering the habitat such that a given species can no longer survive.
'Extinct' sounds a little harsh for a species introduced by man and the
Washington Department of Game and which simply couldn't survive well here
naturally but may still exist in small isolated relic numbers. Is there
another more appropriate term I should be thinking of?

Thanks. --Richard

Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
47.56N, 122.13W
(Seattle/Bellevue, WA USA)
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God was my co-pilot,
but when we crashed in the mountains,
I had to eat him :-))
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