Hi Tweets,

So what's a low-grade migrant? I guess that's a migrant that may not
make you excited by its rarity (like a burrowing owl or a ferruginous hawk)
but is still great to see as evidence of the natural cycle.

The last two days at our place in Seattle we've seen a few migrants
moving through. HERMIT THRUSHES seem to be moving now, typical
I think, for mid April. Marissa saw 2 in our yard this morning. We have
seen at least one several times this winter, but not two before. I saw a
couple of other Tweeters reports of them, as well as a Swainson's Thrush
heard at Ridgefield which I suspect may have actually been another Hermit.

Also showing up in the yard have been an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER,
a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD (uncommon here in the domain of the Anna's
Hummer) both seen/heard yesterday and today we had our first of the
season WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS (uncommon here) and a FOX
SPARROW, a species we entirely missed last year.

So these species may be low-grade in their excitement-inducing factor,
but are certainly welcome anyways. With the lousy forecast for the week
I expect things will slow down a bit, but am eager to see what the next
push of migrants may bring - common species or otherwise.

good birding,

--
Jim Flynn
merlinmania at comcast.net
Seattle, WA