Hi Tweeters,

This morning at 6:00 Eddie Rose found an immature Ancient Murrelet in
his yard on the west side of Yakima, as it was pushing itself across
the snow, penguin-style, towards the water feature at the front of
his house. He and his wife, Janet, put it in a bird cage and tried
to feed it. Janet showed a photo to her boss, a birder, who
identified it. They called the WDFD but they didn't seem too
interested, and finally got my phone number. I picked the murrelet
up this evening and put it in my bathtub. It seems to be resting quietly.

Eddie bought a few small goldfish, after the murrelet refused shrimp
and tuna fish. We fed it three fish earlier this evening and will
try some smashed shrimp soon.

My wife and I will be driving it to Seattle tomorrow, if it survives
the night, to release it at Myrtle Edwards Park on the north end of
the Seattle waterfront. This is the third Ancient Murrelet to be
found in Yakima County. The first was found on Nov. 20, 1950. It
now resides at the University of Puget Sound. The second was found,
alive, on Nov. 20, 1951, in an irrigation ditch near Mabton. Two
days later it was found dead and partially eaten.

Photos of this Ancient Murrelet can be seen in the new photos folder
on my website.

Denny Granstrand
Yakima, WA

* Denny Granstrand *
* Yakima, WA *
* dgranstrand at charter.net *
* Denny's bird photos can be seen online at: *
http://granstrand.net/gallery/