Subject: Evening Grobeak
Date: Jan 20 13:36:35 2000
From: Brice Matson - matson at myhome.net


Hello Tweeters,

This might be a common bird cuz I don't hear much about it on this
list but it is a new one to me. My family and I went to Nisqually
Wildlife Refuge, north of Hawk's Prairie, yesterday. The only
unusual stuff we saw were a female Downy Woodpecker and several
pairs of Common Mergansers (on the river), 2 pairs of Northern
Shovellers and a seal (unusual for us).

We were walking out the trail to see the seal and I saw a 'wild pear
tree', which turned out to be an ordinary tree full of Evening
Grosbeaks. I immediately dropped my camera and broke it so no
pictures of these flying fruits nor of the gulls fighting the seal
for fishing rights. The flock stayed in the tree for quite a while
and tolerated my noisy son, me walking up NOT to take a picture with
my broken camera and the gunfire from all sides of the refuge
(hunters, soldiers and/or road noise from big trucks).

Are these too common for others to report or what? There were a lot
of hard-core birders at the refuge the same day (judging from
knowldege and equipment) so are any of you on this list and did you
see the Grosbeaks? Plus, I assume the swallows at NWR are
year-round residents or something. Aren't swallows supposed to be
in Mexico or something for the winter?

Brice Matson
Cinebar, Lewis County, WA
mailto:matson at myhome.net