Hi All,

With the recent sightings of the AMERICAN KESTREL (AMKE) pair in the Sammamish Valley, Marc Hoffman and I hung a Kestrel-size nesting box this morning about fifteen feet up in a good open location by a marshy meadow/blackberry kack area where I have periodically seen the birds. They were not around that location today, but Marc again saw them just south of 124th where it cuts across the Sammamish Valley, which is probably a mile north as the Kestrel flies from the box location. Since the pair was actively cavity hunting a couple of days ago, they may by now have found a location - but if not hopefully they will check out the new artificial option in the area. If they have chosen a natural cavity already, it is still quite possible we can locate that site as suitable nesting areas in the area tend to be accessible via a variety of trails, roads or building complexes.

We will keep the list updated if anything further develops.

Thanks again to Marc for assisting with the box, and thanks also to multiple other folks who responded and volunteered to help!

As a follow-up to my BREWER'S SPARROW post, unfortunately the bird did not make an appearance today at all - despite my sacrificing a fair amount of work efficiency to keep a close eye on the area it was seen yesterday. I suppose it's possible it may still show up again and if so I will pass the word, but unfortunately it appears that the bird may simply have taken a rest day on its (geographically/habitat-challenged) migration and then headed out again. Brian Bell and Michael Hobbs indicated that one of the few other records of this species on the west side of the mountains was in Marymoor Park in April, 2000, found by Gene Hunn. At least I got good looks and some decent images while it was here.

John Tubbs
Snoqualmie, WA
johntubbs at comcast.net
www.tubbsphoto.com