Subject: [Tweeters] "Thick-billed"Fox Sparrow near Satsop
Date: Mar 20 18:43:18 2005
From: Ruth and/or Patrick Sullivan - godwit at worldnet.att.net


Hello Tweets,

Today despite relatively blustery/rainy weather my mother and I managed to bird a few hours from Luhr Beach to the Montesano area of eastern Grays Harbor Co. Bird activity due to the weather was quite slow,but we managed to locate a few noteworthy sightings. Of these, our main highlight was a "Thick-billed"Fox Sparrow that was briefly,but well observed at 1:15pm in a bramble patch 0.4 miles south of Hwy.12 along Keys Rd. The bird was readily noted within a bramble patch with up to 3-4 darker and browner "Sooty"Fox Sparrows immediately west of the road from a large metal gate and a wire fenceline,but the bird was far more shy and elusive than the typical "Sooty"Fox Sparrow on a behavior note. We were unfortunate in obtaining any photos of the bird for documentation and proof,but we plan to return to location within the next week when weather conditions improve.The bird during our brief observation was at time obscured by brambles,but was well observed in our Swarovski spotting scope clearly showing the large,conical grosbeak-like bill,being deepest at the base. The bird seemed to match the description of the bird reported by Steve Mlodinow on the 26th of February near Snohomish and the excellent photo illustrated in the sparrow book called "Sparrows of the United States and Canada, A Photographic Guide"by David Beadle and James Rising on page 183 photo 40.1. The heavy bill was bi-colored(being dull yellow to yellow-orange)at the base of the lower mandible and darker portions on the upper mandible and tip of the lower mandible. Like Steve Mlodinow's bird our bird matched the bird in this book,showing a rather plain gray back,face and head,then contrasting deeply by rusty wings(coverts and tertials)and tail. The heavy spotting on the breast didn't seem especially distinctive next to the nearby "Sooty"Fox Sparrows,but was much less apparent on the underparts and showed a clear definite spot in the center of the breast. The sides appeared dusky in tone with some minor spotting on the flanks. Steve Mlodinow indicated that the Snohomish bird's wings appeared brown and not rusty,but our bird definitely showed rusty areas from the wing to the tail as illustrated in the Beadle and Rising book,or perhaps it could have been labeled as "warm brown".

During our initial observation the bird descended into thick cover of the bramble patch at the same location approximately 25 feet from the edge of the road and never reappeared,despite extensive "pishing",etc,although the nearby "Sooty"Fox Sparrow remained somewhat active with our efforts. We returned to the exact location at 3pm,but were again unable to relocate the "Thick-billed"Fox Sparrow,as fairly heavy rain prevailed. In general this location is a good spot for wintering sparrows due to all the vast bramble patches/areas extending west of the road and is a location that we observed a single Swamp Sparrow on the 31st of December,2002 during a somewhat "invasion" of Swamp Sparrows in the immediate area. During our visit this afternnon a single female Rufous Hummingbird made a brief appearance before flying off to an unknown location.

Our day began with a windy,rainless visit to Luhr Beach in Thurston Co. that produced up to 5 Eared Grebes among more common waterbird species within the offshore waters. Also at this location a scoping of available mudflats of the Nisqually Delta yielded a gathering of 500+ Dunlin lifting and swirling around due to a nearby adult Bald Eagle. Next, a group of 8 Greater Yellowlegs were noted along Madrona Beach Rd. from a typical Mud Bay location at the mouth of Perry Creek. Continuing westward the rain became persistent as we arrived near Elma continuing heavy at times until we left the area in the late afternoon. A visit made along Wynoochee Valley Rd. east of Montesano produced a nice gathering of feeding gulls in open,partially flooded fields. Gull species at this location consisted primarily of Mew Gulls,but a careful scoping through the flock yielded smaller numbers of California and Ring-billed Gulls(including a single "rosy" bird), up to 8 Bonaparte's Gulls and 1 adult Western Gull. Earlier, before checking this location we ran into Ryan Shaw and Charlie Wright along Wenzel Slough Rd. that graciously mentioned to us that they observed a single Black-legged Kittiwake at or near this location amongst other gulls in open fields,but we were unable to relocate that bird. It would represent an exceptional sighting for this region and one that was most likely brought in by the recent heavy winds from coastal areas. In general this location north of Hwy.12 can be a good gull area during seasonal coastal storms.

We made a quick check along a portion of the Brady Loop Rd. complex,where highlights included up to 14 lingering Trumpeter Swans and 2 Am.Kestrels.



Good birding,

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