We were out there from 6:00 AM until 9:00 AM this morning (oops
yeaterday) and the only bird that responded to our tape was one BHGB.
Are you saying that the bird is located 1/2 mile up the road from the
highway or 1/2 mile down the trail at the end of the gravel road? We
will try again tomorrow morning for the 7th time.

Glad you got to see it.

BTW--you are banned from this area for ONLY 32 days. Reason--you said
you would have called if you had our number. Let this be a warning to
other birders. :-))

Jerry (sentencing judge) and Sandy (parole officer) Converse
Grand Coulee, WA

S. Downes wrote:
>
> Tweets,
> Success, sort of. Went up to Northrup Canyon this morning, arriving later
> than I wanted (9:30) and proceeded to look for the Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
> At 1/2 mile up the road (I marked the spot with 3 large rocks) we had the
> bird actively singing at 10:00. Pretty sure that it was the bird, I
> proceeded to play the tape to try and see if the bird would come out into
> the open. The bird responded however it would never come into view. I
> followed the bird around a 100 yard stretch for 3 hours. The bird would
> stop singing for periods of 5-10 minutes and then start again. The end of
> the area where the bird flew this morning was also where I again placed 3
> rocks. At 1:00 the bird flew briefly, and I do mean very briefly into
> view. Tried to see the bird again until 1:40 and was greeted by another 40
> minutes of intermitent song but no view.
> The only look I got of the bird was a 3-4 second view as the bird flew
> from one patch of riparian area to another. The back while seen briefly
> had a mottled brown coloration and the white rump was a dirty white. In
> the brief view I had the rest of the bird looked like a typical male
> Rose-breasted grosbeak.
> For Jerry and Sandy Converse, I had not remembered to take along
> your number or I would have called, sorry won't happen again. Hope you can
> see the bird, maybe tomorrow.
> Its hard to know if the bird is always this secretive about being seen or
> if it was the time of day with which I was there. Also present were good
> numbers of Bullock's Orioles, Black-headed Grosbeak, 8-10 Red Crossbill.
> Having heard the Black-headed Grosbeak right next to this bird (in the
> same riparian area) the song is within the range of variation of
> Black-headed I believe, but this particular song was distinct enough that
> when it changed locations I could still seperate it from the
> Black-headed's. The best description I can give is a little more fluid
> than the BHGR and it seemed like a little quicker. I hate to use the word
> quality to seperate bird songs but I think of BHGR song as a quicker,
> bubbly song of a Robin. This bird today was similar to the BHGR, but the
> quality of the song was higher, seemed more refined. At the risk of
> quoting a field guide, when I looked in Peterson, I liked the way he put
> it. He said like a Robin that had taken voice lessons. So I saw the bird,
> I guess any time you can get the lifer you were after its success, but a
> few second visual of a bird you have been hearing for 3 hours feels like
> kinda of a let down. Good luck to anybody else that tries. Hopefully the
> bird will be more cooperative.
>
> Scott Downes
> sdownes at u.washington.edu
> Seattle WA
>