Hello Tweets and other birders,

The Redwing at Olympia(Washington State)was again noted sporadically and elusively throughout the day until at least 2:45pm by many observers from Washington and abroad including birders from as far away as Maryland and Massachusetts. The bird was observed today at a wide range of locations as far east as Percival Street west to 9th Ave. at the intersection of Cushing.Street. Up to 40+ birders were encountered today and the greatest crowds were noted during the morning before 10am,then small groups of birders noted the remainder of the day. We felt we kept an eye on the bird most of the day and at times it wasn't that easy and many enjoyed having us show them the bird primarily during the afternoon.The use of spotting scopes and FRS radios continued to be of great help,which allowed the bird to be tracked and viewed better.Much of the day was spent on foot walking from side street to side street and alleyways checking and searching for the Redwing,as the conditions remained very nice,calm and cloudy.The Redwing was first noted at 7:58am atop the large Sequoia tree with 2 Am.Robins at the intersection of 4th Ave. and Decatur Street by about 10 observers,where it remained for 5 minutes then quickly flew southeast in the direction of Plymouth Street. By 8:22am the bird was relocated at the intersection of 7th Ave. and Percival Street,where it remained off and on in the general vicinity and viewed by a small gathering of birders until 9:15am. At 9:50am the Redwing was again observed along Rogers Street between 8th and 9th Ave.,where it remained with a nice gathering of Am.Robins until 9:58am when it flew south into a large,dense Western Red Cedar tree. The bird remained hidden in the tree until a large group of Am.Robins and Starlings shifted and flushed at 10am from the immediate location flying northwest towards Decatur Street. By this time many birders had left the location for other objectives,but a few remained and wandered our way towards Decatur Street.

By 10:55am we relocated the Redwing along 6th Ave. between Milroy and Cushing Streets perched in a large birch tree with a mixed group of Am.Robins and Starlings,where it remained a short time until it flew with the flock and shifted towards Plymouth Street. At 11:20am the Redwing was again refound and perched atop a large deciduous tree along Decatur Street between 6th and 7th Ave. The bird remained for several more minutes,as we shared the bird in our spotting scope for a few joyful birders.The bird then flew in a southwesterly direction by itself and upon further searching was again relocated along 9th Ave. just west of Cushing Street in a nice gathering of Am.Robins. The bird was only briefly seen at this location at 12:15pm foraging in a Holly clump before ascending into a tall conifer tree,then the entire flock of Am.Robins shifted yet again in several northerly directions.

At 1pm the bird was relocated at the intersection of 4th Ave. and Cushing Street atop a deciduous tree,where it remained 5 minutes with 6 Am.Robins. The bird then quickly flew southeast towards the intersection of 4th Ave. and Decatur Street. The bird then was relocated in a large deciduous tree within an alleyway between Cushing and Milroy Streets,where many of us watched the bird. The bird then flew south and was relocated at the intersection of Cushing Street and 6th Ave., where it remained a few minutes for a few birders to see,then flew again to the northeast. At 1:20pm the bird was observed at the intersection of 5th Ave and Milroy Street,then it quickly flew into an alleyway between Milroy and Cushing Streets. The bird was then quickly relocated along 6th Ave. between Milroy and Cushing Streets,where the bird remained for a few minutes before flying to the intersection of 5th Ave.and Milroy Street. The bird then flew to the intersection of 4th Ave. and Decatur Street perched fairly tightly in a deciduous tree.The bird remained at this location for several more minutes,then seeming moved into a dense clump of Holly,but many of us figured the bird could have slipped out unnoticed. By 1:40pm the bird was relocated at the intersection of 6th Ave. and Cushing Street amongst a large gathering of Am.Robins,where it remained off and on until 2:35pm,where we left 4 birders to continue searching for the bird.


Again,the we enjoyed helping many,many birders see the Redwing and most everyone that came today eventually saw the bird with a little walking and searching. The bird really covered ground today and it seems it may show up almost anywhere,but never too far away from Am.Robins. There were many local birders and Olympia residents that just came to what all the attention was about after reading about the bird in local newspapers,etc. It was most helpful helping everyone see the bird,despite the bird being so elusive!


A few additional notable sightings encountered during the day included the following:

2 adult Bald Eagles
1 adult Cooper's Hawk(which may have caused the Redwing to be so elusive during the afternoon along with shifting,erratic flocks of Am.Robins and Starlings)
3-4 Red-breasted Sapsuckers
6+ Western Scrub Jays
1 Varied Thrush
3-4 Townsend's Warblers
1 Common Redpoll(heard and observed briefly by a few observers at the intersection of 6th Ave. and Plymouth Street,as it continued in a westerly direction.
1 Evening Grosbeak



Good Redwing searching,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net