Hi Tweets,

I was in Ellensburg, Washington the past two days.... without my binoculars. Today, I visited
Carey Lakes along the Yakima River to cool off while waiting for my son's test appointment
at Central Washington University. As I walked through the cottonwoods along the Yakima River, I
heard an unrecognizeable bird singing. I found the bird on the trunk of a small tree close to
the river rock of the old river channel I was standing in. I followed this tiny bird around
for about 30 minutes, watching it as it perched on the dead limbs of shrubs to nervously raise
and flick its wings as it sang. It was tiny and drab, warbler-like in song and appearance, with
a strong voice. I watched it for quite some time from about 10 meters distance. I could make
out very few field marks. It was about the size and shape of a Black-throated gray warbler but
it looked virtually all brown dorsally. The face looked dirty brown. The throat and chest were
light-colored, perhaps off-white or buff. It occasionally stretched out to glean an insect or
something from a twig using its very narrow, sharp beak. It occasionally flew to the ground. It was
clearly oriented toward the ground and low shrubs, never flying to a high perch.

I don't have a clue what this bird was. I saw a post on Tennessee Warbler tonight and this is one
bird that I looked at in my National Geographic guide and pondered for a minute or two. However,
I couldn't see any eye striping so the Tennessee Warbler seems not to fit. The Dusky Warbler, an
Asian species, is said to constantly flick its wings. This bird wasn't constantly flicking its
wings but it flicked them a lot. I'm sure it was something much less exotic than a Tennessee Warbler
or a Dusky Warbler; I just don't have a clue what. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I need to
spend more time in eastern Washington (with binoculars).

It was great to stand in the sunlit understory of this cottonwood gallery with cotton tufts and tiger
swallowtails drifting about. Also, a nice little Bank Swallow colony along the river here.

Kelly McAllister
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Olympia, Washington