Hi Tweeters,

I took a short walk early this afternoon along Jim Pruske's bluebird trail along the Western Chehalis Trail in southern Thurston County, beginning where Waldrick & Military Rds. meet and going north. I didn't see any W. Bluebirds yet, but that could just have been bad timing on my part; there weren't even any swallows flying around during the 1.5 hours that I was there. It was cold, breezy, with off and on rain. Three small flocks (less than 10 each) of Red Crossbills flew in separately from the east; each landed in the Douglas Firs looking for nuts before flying off to the west. I was watching a pair of A. Kestrels through my scope that were sitting on a telephone wire that cuts across the cow pasture to the east when a second pair came in, scared off the first pair, and landed on the exact spots that the first pair had occupied. One of the original ones then flew back and landed on a lower wire just a few feet from the interlopers. A little later, I saw a fifth A. Ke!
strel f
lying in from the north. Both kinglet species were still in evidence as were Pine Siskins; White-crowned Sparrows were back in force, although there were no Savannahs out yet nor any Hutton's Vireos, although I've been hearing the latter in the woods by my house in Olympia for a week or so.

Good Birding,

Lonnie Somer
Olympia, WA
wheelermombi at comcast.net