This gnatcatcher is almost surely one of several, if not many, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers that visit Washington every spring and fitting nicely into the "tip of the iceberg" theory. How likely is it that birders found the only individual in the entire state? Hardly likely. Hardy Canyon and the surrounding Wenas Valley have no special attraction to unusual birds. Yet every spring good birds are found in the area such as Least Flycatcher, American Redstart, Gnatcatcher, etc. Why, not because it has special magnetism for vagrants but because hundreds of birders spend a lot of hours looking there every year.

For every Indigo or Lark Bunting, Snowy Egret or whatever, found in Washington there are certainly dozens of others that are never detected. During any given week, the combined eyes of all the state's birders scrutinize an exceedingly small portion of the state. Even the most popular birding places such as the Walla Walla River delta or Tokland go unbirded for the most of the week while birds continue to move through.

The fear of disturbing this individual gnatcatcher should be kept in context. Treat it like any other bird would deserve.

Now get out there and find those other buggers!

Scott Ray
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" Scott Ray "
" Yakima, WA "
" scray at wolfenet.com "
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