I saw a Bohemian Waxwing among a flock of Cedar Waxwings in Omak on June 14,
1997.
Rahne Kirkham
rahne at mindspring.com
Federal Way, Washington

When asked why she was always so cheerful,
the old woman replied,
"Well, I just wear this world as a loose garment."
----- Original Message -----
From: WAYNE WEBER <WAYNE_WEBER at bc.sympatico.ca>
To: OBOL <obol at mail.orst.edu>; TWEETERS <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Cc: <linda at fink.com>
Sent: Friday, August 20, 1999 10:57 PM
Subject: Re: bohemian waxwing?


> Dear OBOLonians and Tweeters,
>
> Linda's bird sounds very much like a Bohemian Waxwing, although
> it's too bad that she did not see all the field marks. An August
> record of a Bohemian from Yamhill County sounds pretty unlikely, I
> know. However, I would not be too hasty to discount it. There have
> been at least a couple of unseasonable summer sightings of Bohemian
> Waxwings in extreme southern B.C. this year. On July 10, I had close
> looks at 3 Bohemian Waxwings at an altitude of less than 3000 feet
> near Merritt, B.C.-- in Douglas fir forest, not exactly breeding
> habitat. Also, on August 13, Chris Siddle and Chris Charlesworth, two
> of B.C.'s most capable birders, saw 4 Bohemian Waxwings near Dee Lake,
> SE of Vernon, B.C. This locality is at a higher altitude, but still,
> this was the first-ever August record for the heavily-birded Okanagan
> Valley.
> Tweeters-- has anyone seen Bohemian Waxwings in Washington
> recently? If not, keep a lookout for them-- they may be on the move
> early this year.
> With White-winged Crossbills and a possible Bohemian Waxwing
> showing up in Oregon in August, can the Northern Shrikes and
> Rough-legged Hawks be far behind? Egad, I hope so-- here in Kamloops,
> summer didn't really get started till early July this year!! :-)
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Linda Fink <linda at FINK.COM>
> To: Multiple recipients of list OBOL <OBOL at MAIL.ORST.EDU>
> Date: Friday, August 20, 1999 11:34 AM
> Subject: bohemian waxwing?
>
>
> >This morning as I went to the barn I heard a call note that was sort
> of
> >familiar but I couldn't place it. It was coming from a bird at the
> top of a
> >dead deciduous small to medium sized tree in front of the barn. I got
> my
> >binocs and it was a waxwing. The sound it was making was sort of
> >waxwing-like but much louder and harsher. The bird had white in its
> wings.
> >The name "bohemian" went through my mind but I didn't remember the
> field
> >marks. Contrary to good birding sense, I went in for my bird book to
> look up
> >the description instead of checking out all the field marks I
> possibly
> >could. Of course by the time I came out, the bird was gone. I did not
> see
> >the undertail coverts and I didn't notice if the belly was blushed
> with
> >yellow or not. But there was definitely quite a bit of white (more
> than
> >shows in Peterson's) in the wings and the call note was not like any
> waxwing
> >I've ever heard. Cedar waxwings are quite common here and I'm very
> familiar
> >with their thin call. This call wasn't thin. So could it have been a
> >bohemian? Or just a waxwing with some white in its wings and an
> unusually
> >harsh voice? I only saw and heard one.
> >
> >Linda Fink near Grand Ronde, Yamhill County
> >Linda Fink linda at fink.com
> >http://www.fink.com/linda/teenagers/
> http://www.fink.com/farm/5.html
> >
>
>