Hi Tweets,

Tracee Geernaert writes:

>Highlights for me were a flock of
>35-40 Greater White-fronted Geese flying up the Columbia

Yesterday, Michael Beck and I grabbed our lunches and escaped the office,
heading over to Gilbert Beach at the S end of Gilbert Road in Richmond where
there were five Greater White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons, all adults
(heavily barred black on belly--the juveniles' bellies are clear) as well as
a handful of Western Grebes Aechmophorus occidentalis just east of the line
of wooden dolphins and typically close to shore (for years, this used to be
the regular wintering place for a Clark's Grebe A. clarkii and at least one
occidentalis X clarkii hybrid, BTW). Also, in the foliage along the ditch on
the other side of the dike-top road, there were a bazillion migrant male
gambelii-race White-crowned Sparrows Zonotrichia leucophrys singing their
heads off, with one lonely, presumably-rsident pugetensis-race forlornly
proclaiming territory in this , and a Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago in
the ditch itself.

Sometime this morning, a flock of 30+ American Pipits Anthus rubescens
dropped into the vacant lot next to the office and were still pottering
around in the grass there when I left work in the later afternoon. The
majority were in subdued plumage, some quite pale, with perhaps 25% only
showing a rich buff or buff-chestnut on the underparts; none had the
distinct black necklace of streaks more familiar on southbound birds; at
most, their streaking was subdued grey, and on all but a few birds, the
back-streaking was absent or so subdued as to be invisible except at very
close range. There were no pale-legged variants in this flock. Don't know
why, but there's something very relaxing about watching a flock of pipits at
work.

And, nearly fifteen years after the first time seeing this, saw again
something very odd: surrounded by pipits, a Savannah Sparrow Passerculus
sandwichensis *walking* and looking like nothing so much as a Red-throated
Pipit A. cervinus.

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
mprice at mindlink.net