Yesterday was a very eventful day at my house. Song Sparrow fledglings
are growing in number and putting on quite a show. Black Capped
Chickadee Fledglings are starting to show up. Any day I am expecting
Towhee fledglings. Anyhow, I noticed an unusual bird just out my window
yesterday. Silvery gray, the bill reminded me of a grosbeak but there
was no color on the bird. I first saw it with a Song Sparrow but then a
male Western Tanager flew in and fed it. At first I was excited and
having not seen a cowbird fledgling before I did not put the pieces
together right away. I watched the pair off and on for several hours.
It was only the male Tanager that was feeding this bird, not the female.
I finally decided that the fledgling is indeed a cowbird. Grrr....
This is quite surprising to me considering I have not seen any cowbirds
in or near my yard at anytime. Tonight I plan on trying to locate the
female - it got too dark last night before I could try to find her. I
have the nest location narrowed to a few possibilities and I really hope
to see her around, taking food to the nest. I am thinking that if the
cowbird has fledged in the past couple of days the baby tanagers, if any
survived, should show up by this weekend. What are the chances that
some of the Tanagers survived? Any speculation on why only the male is
feeding the cowbird, other than maybe the female is still tending the
nest?

On a high note. I discovered an active Western Wood Peewee nest that
should be fun to watch. I may have a Wilson's Warbler nesting. I see
the male everyday rushing around but have not been able to figure out
where he might be going with all those bugs.

One final question - do Swainson's Thrush nest in the Puget Sound area?
If so, would they still be on nests? I have many of them around and
they act like they are tending nests but I have not been able to
determine if they are nesting or not. Thanks!

Cathy Wise
Snohomish, WA
cathy.wise at attws.com