Lorna and I caught the Tri-colored Blackbirds this morning
between 6:30 and 8:30 AM. We spent most of the time enjoying
the many birds at the flagged location while trying to
catch the occasional views of the male tri-coloreds as they
slipped in and out. The birds that were easiest to view
were on the opposite side of the marsh from our location
and required at least 40X on our not so great zoom scope
(we aren't as lucky as to have a Questar). At that distance
we weren't sure we weren't being fooled by the lighting.

However, in the end we finally satisfied ourselves as to the
purity of the white on males.

On the way back out, about a quarter
mile from the flagged spot, we found a large mixed group
of blackbirds and starlings feeding in the vicinity of an
old farmhouse. The tri-coloreds were mixed in and we got
some great close-up views as the birds flew across the road
in front of us.

We tried to sort out the Tri-colored Blackbird calls
from the others, but found it difficult with
the several different species along with their begging
young.

Some of the other more memorable birds included:

--a male Yellow-headed with four begging young
--young Pied-billed and Western Grebes
--forty to fifty White Pelicans
--numerous Great Blue herons and Double-crested Cormorants
--shorebirds including dowitchers, yellowlegs, and phalaropes
(numerous shorebirds are scattered along Crab Creek)
--Lark Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, Lazuli Bunting, Vesper Sparrow
Mountain Bluebird, and Rock Wren among the many sagesteppe
birds

--Jerry <tangren at wsu.edu>
Wenatchee WA