Greetings All

The vast majority of wintering Puget Sound Fox Sparrows are of the Sooty
forms, as Mike Patterson pointed out. Red Fox Sparrows have not been
documented in the Puget Sound during winter, but one that I saw on Spencer
Island during March 2000 was likely zaboria and was certainly not altivagans.
I saw a photo of one in the Willamette Valley in Oregon Birds from a few
years back, and that bird was again not altivagans, but either iliaca or
zaboria. I don't remember whether that was a winter bird or not, but given
the fairly northerly wintering range in the east, Red Fox Sparrows could
easily winter here in WA.

As far as Slate-colored Fox Sparrows, there have been a few documented from
winter in the Puget Sound, including one I videotaped at the Everett Sewage
Ponds last winter and one seen by Bill Tweit and myself (and nicely
documented by Bill) at Blynn in the Olympic Peninsula last winter. There are
also a few nicely documented winter records of Slate-coloreds from the
Tri-Cities.

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow