this is our third year at our present location. 1st year, saw no tanagers.
2nd year, one pair. 3rd year, four day bonanza, I don't know how many.
Previously I lived a mile away in a much less woodsy neighborhood and the
most exciting birds we got were stellers jays, so I can't really compare
beyond that.

One place that's been pretty reliable for me for numerous simultaneous
western tanagers during the migration but which I don't remember any
discussion of on Tweeters is Yancy Park in West Seattle. (I've lurked for
years but rarely posted). There are often a bunch of them there for about a
week, plus it's good for other stuff. It's close to my husband's workplace
so he takes birdy lunch walks there.

-Alyssa
Maple Leaf, Seattle
alyssasampson at attbi.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Wm Mulligan" <wmmulligan at attbi.com>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 5:22 PM
Subject: RE: Western tanagers


>
> This morning a pair ot western tanagers were feeding in a madrona beside
our
> house above the Fauntleroy ferry in West Seattle. These are the first
> tanagers we have observed here in over 20 years. Is this an irruption? I
> thought they were on the decline in W. Wash.
>
> Bill Mulligan
>
> We've had a bumper crop of western tanagers in our back yard and
surrounding
> yards the last two early evenings between 5:30 and 7:30 pm. Monday we saw
at
> least 4; tuesday at least 5 were seen at once including 3 males and 2
> females.
> A half hour after that bunch flew north a few more showed up from the
yards
> to
> the south and I don't know if they were repeats or new birds.
>
> One sat in a tree making his tribbit! tribbit! tribbit! call incessantly
for
> several minutes.
>
> Last year we only saw 2 tanagers total.
>
> Don't know if this sort of showing is old hat for other yard birders but
> it's
> pretty darn exciting for me!
>
> Our property and the surrounding yards feature a grove of huge black
locust
> trees, some smaller evergreens and deciduous trees and a lot of bushes, so
> we
> see some nice migrants and this is our best time of year. Still waiting
for
> grosbeaks.
>
> Alyssa
> Maple Leaf/Northgate
> Seattle
> alyssasampson at attbi.com
>
>
>