Tweeters,
This is a somewhat late response to Dennis Paulson's posting about Ruth Sullivan's photo of a partial albino red-winged blackbird. This past Monday at Crescent Lake in the Two Rivers Recreation Area just south of the Monroe prison farm I saw what has to be the same bird as I saw on June 7, 1998 and that Hugh Jennings reported from that same location at the end of March this year. See, my response to his posting below.
It is indeed a very cool bird. I wonder if it is the same bird that Ruth photographed in Olympia on March 11. It looks identical! When I saw the bird this past Monday, it was flycatching and I got to see another plumage feature that neither Hugh nor I had reported earlier. The axillars and underwing coverts were bright white.

Greg Toffic
Seattle




Hugh,
I wonder if this is the same individual I saw on June 7, 1998 at the same location. I had gone to the prison farm ponds to view the white-faced ibis, and made a stop at the parking lot at Crescent Lake. The blackbird was very territorial and would sing from both sides of the lake. It flew often, back and forth across the lake. From chest to vent it was white with bold black streaking on the sides of the breast and flanks. The underside of the tail was mostly white with a black tip. Rump was white. The innermost tail feathers were black and the outermost tail feathers were white. But the innermost of the outer tail feathers were black-tipped giving the appearance of an inverted "T" sort of like a longspur's tail pattern. I called it into the Birdbox because I was so taken by the striking appearance of this bird and I suggested that anyone planning to photograph the ibis should make a stop at the Recreation area to try photographing the bird. I never heard that anyone did, but it looks like here's another chance. It's a very striking redwing indeed
Greg Toffic
Seattle

>>> <Hughbirder at aol.com> 03/22 9:16 PM >>>
Joyce Meyer and I were at the south parking lot of Crescent Lake in the Two
Rivers WMA about 4-6 p.m. Wed. afternoon. We were there to show a den of Cub
Scouts some birds. While there we spotted this aberrant RWBL.

Its song was a normal RWBL's. The bill was typical and it had the red
shoulder patch with a light yellow bar below. It had a solid black head and
throat like a towhee. Its tail was black with white outer tail feathers like
a towhee. The breast and belly were white with dark vertical streaks similar
to an immature RWBL. Its back and wings were black with white flecks or
streaking. It had a white rump patch similar to a flicker. It had a dark eye.
The undertail was a dirty white color. This is the first time either of us
had seen a RWBL that looked like this. We decided it must be an albinistic
type RWBL. Anyone else have any ideas about this bird?

If you want to see a really neat bird - a partial albino Red-winged
Blackbird - check out this web site:

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/passerinephotos.html

This is the first bird I've put on the museum bird photos page for a very
long time, but I couldn't resist it. It showcases a few more of Ruth
Sullivan's great bird photos.

The text you will find there explains the bird a bit more.