Greetings All

So, there have been a few N Cardinals found in the cen. Puget Sound during the last couple years. Bob Morse, if memory serves me correctly, tracked down the origins of one to a gal who released them. Again, if I am remembering correctly, a couple had been given to here from friends in the east (or she'd brought them back herself), raised a few more, and then they were released.

In any case, the bottom line was that there were a couple known escapes not far away from the first 2 sightings 1-2 years back.

Cardinals DO have some pattern of vagrancy and are partial migrants. There are 20+ records from Alberta, concentrated in May/Jun and again in the late fall/early winter. Interestingly, this is not that different from the pattern seen in Painted Buntings in the east (but very different from the PABU pattern of vagrancy in west. Different population with very different migration strategy -- see article be me and Robb Hamilton in North American Birds 2-3 years ago).

In any case, I would not rule out N Cardinal as a species that might some day occur in WA of its own volition. However, the recent spate of records from a localized area with at least one known release bespeaks of a non-natural phenomenon.

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow
Everett WA
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