Tweeters,

In the attached note, Dennis Paulson described the BEWICK'S WREN, as
well as the BUSHTIT, as a "western Washington bird.... colonizing the
east side". Strictly speaking, this is not 100% accurate. BEWICK'S
WRENS have been present at least for many decades, and probably for
centuries, in Yakima County. Jewett in 1944 (Auk 61:288) described
the Bewick's Wrens of Yakima County as a distinct subspecies,
Thryomanes bewickii hurleyi, after John Hurley, who collected the
first specimen. Jewett at al. in "Birds of Washington State (1953)
describe this subspecies as "Known only from a very limited area
within the riparian belt along the Yakima River...". I found them at
Yakima Sportsmen State Park in 1964.

I've been unable to determine when the first specimen of the "Yakima
Bewick's Wren" (hurleyi) was collected, but it was prior to 1944. If
the population was different enough to be described as a distinct
subspecies, it is likely that Bewick's Wrens had been in the area for
hundreds or even thousands of years.

The 5th edition of the A.O.U. Check-list (1957) mentioned the Yakima
County population, but lumped it with all of the Bewick's Wrens of
western Washington in the subspecies, Thryomanes bewickii calophonus.
(In fact, Jewett et al. recognized 3 subspecies from the state.)

There is no denying the explosive range expansion of Bewick's Wrens in
the last 10 to 15 years into much of lowland eastern Washington and
parts of northern Idaho (and also into areas of northeastern Oregon
where they did not occur previously). However, did these wrens spread
up the Columbia Gorge from western Washington and Oregon, or did they
come from an expansion of the Yakima Valley population?

If the Yakima Valley birds are recognizable as a group from western
Washington birds-- whether or not they rate recognition as a distinct
subspecies-- then it might be possible to determine the origin of the
birds elsewhere in eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Certainly
from Jewett's description, the Yakima birds sound readily recognizable
("larger and coloration distinctly more dusky [than T.b. calophonus];
feet, tarsus and bill heavier and more bulky than in any of the other
northwestern races of Thryomanes"). A limited collecting program, or
even a banding program at several localities that involved taking
detailed measurements, might help to determine the origin of the E
Washington/ N Idaho population. It might make a worthwhile research
project for someone.

Sorry if this seems like nit-picking, Dennis, but it strikes me as an
interesting question that should be answered if possible.

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops, BC
contopus at shaw.ca



----- Original Message -----
From: Dennis Paulson <dpaulson at ups.edu>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2002 1:18 PM
Subject: Potholes Reservoir records


> Gary Shugart just informed me that he saw a flock of 20 BUSHTITS at
the
> north end of the Potholes Reservoir, Grant County, on Sunday, 20
October.
> He was camped there, and the flock moved through the willows and
then
> disappeared. I wonder if this is a first county record. Otherwise,
the
> willows were virtually birdless, the other birds a flock of
Dark-eyed
> Juncos and White-crowned Sparrows.
>
> He also said that BEWICK'S WRENS bred in the same place this summer,
that
> he heard several singing and saw juveniles, last sighting about a
month
> ago. They were reported north to the nearby Columbia National
Wildlife
> Refuge in the Washington Breeding Bird Atlas. This is two western
> Washington birds that are colonizing the east side, probably because
of
> anthropogenic alterations of the ambience.
>
> The times they are a changin'!
>
> Dennis Paulson, Director phone
253-879-3798
> Slater Museum of Natural History fax 253-879-3352
> University of Puget Sound e-mail
dpaulson at ups.edu
> 1500 N. Warner, #1088
> Tacoma, WA 98416-1088
> http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html
>
>