Tweeters:
On June 24th, my husband and I saw a bird which greatly resembled the
Northern Wheatear. The bird's location was Sunlight Beach, Whidbey island*.
The bird in question was a brillant white with a black eye mask, black on
the wings, a slight blush of gray on the back, and about the size of house
Finch (six inches). It seemed much too small to be a Shrike and it behaved
more like a Finch. The bird lighted on a vegetable garden post close to a
bird feeder and bird bath, it then flew away. It was not a Mockingbird. Wish
we had purchased that digital camera! It did look like the male Northern
Wheatear in the Peterson's guide. We realize this is unlikely...

Lorraine Gibbs, Seattle, frequent visitor to Whidbey.

* Locations specifics: North on highway 525, take a left on Howard Rd (about
six miles from ferry), take a left on Bayview Road, take a left on Sunlight
Beach Road, proceed to bottom of hill, you may wish to park on the paved
road, then walk down the dirt dike road (Kohlwes). The bird was seen close
to the end of this road.