On Thu, 6 Jul 2000 21:36:22 -0700 "WAYNE WEBER"
<WAYNE_WEBER at bc.sympatico.ca> writes:
> Ileen and Tweeters,
> (Snip)
> Your birds are almost certainly Swainson's Thrushes. Veery is
> almost unknown west of the Cascades, although common in parts of
> eastern Washington. "Breeding Birds of Washington State" (Smith et
> al.1997) shows only one breeding-season record of Veery west of the
> Cascades--on the Whatcom/Skagit County line, presumably near Newhalem.
>
> Sincerely,
> Wayne C. Weber
> Kamloops, B.C.
> wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca
>
When I first purchased the property we live on in Skamania County in
1972, there were both Swainson's Thrushes and Veerys that were apparently
breeding here. A hermit who lived for several years in a small shack in
our woods first pointed them out to me when he found out I was a birder.
He asked what bird sang it's song in two directions, when I came out to
the property at dusk you could hear both the upward spiral song of the
Swainson's Thrush and the descending spiral of the Veery, he had presumed
that it was the same bird singing both songs.
We built our home in 1976 and I have not heard another Veery here.

Wilson Cady
Washougal, WA.
gorgebirds at juno.com