This morning out on my nasty too warm and sticky walk (78 with fog after lots of thunder and lightening and heavy rain last night) I found a single male Williamson's Sapsucker working snag alders, a cottonwood and the moss in Big Leaf Maples right along the Preston Snoqualmie Trail just south of where the trail crosses Preston Fall City Road.

Very cooperative and easy to identify - the yellow belly and barred flanks first got my attention - then I was able to check off just about every field mark with black head, breast and back, a clean white postocular stripe extending to the top of the nape, a pencil thin white/beige moustache, red throat (indicating mature) and black wings with white barring on the flight feathers and a nice white patch on the wing coverts.

The bird was not at all vocal. In the same area I had Barred Owl just above the trail and a pair of Stellar's Jays with what I think was their second family this year...3 young just fledged birds. The Jay pair had brought through an earlier batch from their nest in a big Western Red Cedar in June.

Lots of Ravens moving up and down the Raging River this morning - making all of those great sounds.

Cheers and good birding

RobRob Conway Preston / Fall City, WAlatitude 47 32' 20" , longitude -121 54' 42" robin_birder at hotmail.com
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