Hello Tweets,

Today we were joined by Joe Higbee at the Nisqually NWR,where at least one of the "Red"Fox Sparrows was present at the previous location we observed two birds yesterday. This exact location is off limits and closed to the general public,as we found out this morning by a refuge personnel. We wish to add this information to clarify to birders in case they will wish to look for the "Red"Fox Sparrow. The bird was later observed from the main road away from the small service,but the bird was quite concealed by thick vegetation,as it foraged and scratched on the ground on fallen leaves. The lingering adult White-throated Sparrow was also again present at this location.

The "Red"Fox Sparrow at the Nisqually NWR is NOT of the 2 typical subspecies as Steve Mlodinow mentioned in his earlier posting,which most birders may be familiar with when they think of "Red"Fox Sparrow. The Nisqually bird strongly appears to be of the darker subspecies labeled as P.i.altvagans, which breeds in central British Columbia and southwestern Alberta. This particular subspecies is not depicted in most field guides,but is listed fairly well in "Sparrows of the United States and Canada" The Photographic Guide by David Beadle and James Rising. The Nisqually bird(s) seem to match the bird well that Keith Brady photographed in his Olympia yard this past fall.

We were able to get a few poor quality photos of the Nisqually bird this morning,in which we have placed one of these photos onto our website. This photo can be accessed from the following link along with our other photos taken yesterday of the "Red"Fox Sparrow: http://www.pbase.com/godwit/recent_photos/


While at the Nisqually NWR we also walked a portion of the McAllister Creek Trail from the main parking lot until a rain shower passed over us,then we decided to walk back. A few additional highlights noted from the Nisqually NWR included the following:

2 lingering immature Snow Geese(observed amongst large numbers of Cackling Geese)
1 Cooper's Hawk
1 dark morph "Harlan's" Red-tailed Hawk
1 Am.Kestrel
1-2 Peregrine Falcons
1 Virginia Rail(observed flying across a canal along the McAllister Creek Trail)
5+ Greater Yellowlegs
1 male Rufous Hummingbird
1 Brown Creeper
1 Lincoln's Sparrow


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit513 at msn.com