Hi Bob,
Congratulation on you find. I was there yesterday in the field looking for
this bird. Also direct on this Woodpile. Infact every time i been birding
in SEQUIM what been almost every weeked i been looking. The last time i saw
this rare Sky-Lark was on January 31th when i birded with Vicki Biltz. Most
birders realy dont know how rare this bird would be if it is the
Pekinensis, what would be an ASIAN species Comparing it with the Rustic
Bunting.I sent a copy from Joseph Morlan, which he mention to get photos of
the SKY-LARKS in Victoria.Well you already got some answer from Gary Marven
who saw many SKY-LARKS in 10 years. Is good i took so many good photos, so
eventual we will get an answer on this. I will go again this weekend to
keep it on the record .
Ruth

----------
> From: bboek at olympus.net
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: Sequim Skylarks, 2/28/99
> Date: Sunday, February 28, 1999 9:45 AM
>
> Tweeters,
>
> Thought you'd like to know that at least one Skylark remains in the field

> in Sequim/Dungeness (north side of East Anderson Road, 0.8 mi west of the

> Dungeness River bridge). It was there on 2/28/99 on the east side of the

> field, near a large pile of woody debris.
>
> Of interest, I received the following email from Darrell Clegg, Plymouth,

> England, about our skylarks' possible subspecies. Darrell and Steve
> Madge viewed Ruth Sullivan's pictures on Joe Morlan's webpage
> (http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/gallery.htm).
>
> As of today, I have received no real information about similarities or
> differences between the Sequim Skylarks and those on the Saanich
> Peninsula on Vancouver Island (someday I'll make the trip and look for
> myself). Again, is there anyone with enough familiarity with the Saanich

> Peninsula birds to make these comparisons?
>
> The drama continues: will these birds depart come spring, or stick around

> for the breeding season (the ultimate clue to subspecies?)?
>
> Bob Boekelheide
> Sequim
>
> Message from Darrell Clegg:
>
> >Hi Bob
> >Apologies if this is all old hat by now.
> >Steve Madge, author of "Handbook of the Bird Identification" and I have
> >just been having a telephone conversation, whilst looking at photos of
the
> >Skylarks at Sequim. We were both struck by how rufous the bird looks,
and
> >consider it to be probably A.a. pekinensis. Vaurie, in Birds of the
> >Palearctic Fauna 1959, p.57 says of pekinensis . Rich brown and black
> >markings in fresh fall plumage. Feathers are bordered with broad
strongly
> >buff edges. It is large, with a wing length up to 124mm. The fact that
the
> >primaries are exposed well beyond the tertials seem to support this.
> >Apart from A.a.japanensis, which some authorities consider a potential
> >split, the only other possibility is A.a. intermedia, which breeds over
> >most of East Russia and winters in Southern China. The plumage features
in
> >the photos however do not support this sub- species. Vaurie again
describes
> >it as "almost blackish" and the wing length is smaller, at between 106
and
> >113mm.
> >Darrell Clegg
> >City of Plymouth Library and Information Services
> >http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/star/library.htm
> >cleggd at plymouth.gov.uk