Subject: [Tweeters] Walla Walla County Black-throated Blue Warbler
Date: Nov 16 12:09:09 2007
From: Gina Sheridan - gsherida8502 at yahoo.com


Although Mike Denny already reported that Harold &
Karen Cottet, and I saw the female BLACK-THROATED BLUE
WARBLER (BTBW) on 11/11/07 in Walla Walla, I wanted to
add a few details.

Unlike the illustration in Sibley which shows BTBW
females with white undertail coverts, this adult
female bird had buffy yellow color that extended from
the throat all the way through the undertail coverts.
In other respects, this bird matches the field guides
nicely (i.e. distinctive facial pattern, slaty-blue
tail and wings, and white handkerchief patch on the
primaries).

Under sunny skies, but breezy conditions, passerines
were reluctant to show themselves. As Mike and
Merrylyn Denny helped us search the riparian corridor
for the bird, we did see a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK,
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, BEWICK'S WREN, WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROW, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, DARK-EYED JUNCO, and
NO. FLICKER. After working the area for over ninety
minutes, we finally found the BTBW in a rabbitbush.
Fortunately, we did have good views of the this
excellent bird (state lifer for me, ABA lifer for the
Cottets).
Since it had been too long since I had birded with the
Dennys, it was as much fun to see them again as it was
to see the BTBW.

Other birds that we encountered on our trip included
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, THAYER'S GULL (adult), HERRING
GULL, RING-BILLED GULL, and CALIFORNIA GULL on the
gull roosts along Hwy 12 (near the paper mill). At Ice
Harbor Dam, we saw two PACIFIC LOONs, six WESTERN
GREBEs, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, DC CORMORANT, six BARROW'S
GOLDENEYE, COMMON GOLDENEYE, COMMON MERGANSER, AME.
WIGEON, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, NO. PINTAIL, MALLARD,
LESSER SCAUP, RING-NECKED DUCK, BUFFLEHEAD, AME. COOT,
WHITE PELICAN, CANADA GOOSE, and CACKLING GOOSE -4.
Finally, there were a couple of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKs,
near Connell (Franklin Co.).

Gina Sheridan
Spokane, WA


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