I stopped by the Spanaway Marsh (western end of 176th Street) early this
morning. I did not scan the ponds too much because I was mainly interested
in seeing if any of the "little guys" were back yet.

In addition to the usual winter residents, I heard what I believe to have
been a singing Warbling Vireo high in the tree tops. This would be early
according to the chart in the ABA Birdfinding Guide. Are there any other
birds that sing a song similar to the "receiver, receiver, receiver,
receipt" song?

I was disappointed to not see any Red-breasted Sapsuckers down in the "dip"
in the road, which I have seen here on every single trip before. But when I
got back to the car, I looked up and there were no less than 4 of them on a
single tree! (The oak trees at the horse guy's place). They were very
active, making squeaking sounds, and occasionally one would drop down to the
metal guard rail and start hammering away on it, too. Quite entertaining.

Here is a list of birds seen or heard (in no particular order, sorry, I'm
going from memory):

American Robin
Song Sparrow
Steller's Jay
Northern Flicker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Fox Sparrow (Slate-colored variety)
Dark-eyed Junco
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Black-capped Chickadee
Marsh Wren
Red-winged Blackbird
Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Double-crested Cormorant
Red-tailed Hawk
Varied Thrush
Warbling Vireo
Brown Creeper

Linda Adams
Puyallup, WA