Good morning Tweeters,

Thanks to all who responded to my inquiry. The consensus was leucistic
(partial albino) Red-winged Blackbird.

Cheers,

Kara Whittaker
West Seattle

On Tue, Dec 30, 2008 at 7:01 PM, Gary Bletsch <garybletsch at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Dear Kara, Dennis, Gene, and Tweeters,
>
> Thanks for sharing this bird. This is the third one of these in the last
> two or three years in Skagit County alone.
>
> I like to call them "Giant American Redstarts." One came to my feeder a few
> years ago.
>
> Yours truly,
>
> Gary Bletsch Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA
> garybletsch at yahoo.com
>
>
> --- Eugene and Nancy Hunn <enhunn323 at comcast.net> schrieb am Di,
> 30.12.2008:
>
> > Von: Eugene and Nancy Hunn <enhunn323 at comcast.net>
> > Betreff: RE: [Tweeters] bird ID help please
> > An: "'Kara Whittaker'" <kara.whittaker at gmail.com>,
> tweeters at u.washington.edu
> > Datum: Dienstag, 30. Dezember 2008, 23:51
> > Kara,
> >
> > It's a bit hard to tell but it could be a leucistic
> > ("partial albino")
> > Red-winged Blackbird, individuals of which are reported in
> > this area from
> > time to time and can look really weird, like the bird in
> > the pictures.
> >
> > Gene Hunn
> >
> > 18476 47th Pl NE
> >
> > Lake Forest Park, WA
> >
> > enhunn323 at comcast.net
> >
> > From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu
> > [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On
> > Behalf Of Kara
> > Whittaker
> > Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 12:00 PM
> > To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> > Subject: [Tweeters] bird ID help please
> >
> > Hello Tweeters,
> >
> > A friend of mine who lives in the Skagit Flats area West of
> > Mt. Vernon asked
> > me for some help identifying a bird that visited his yard
> > last week. He
> > said,
> >
> > "We saw it about mid morning at our hanging feeder
> > first (black oil) during
> > the early (mild) part of our snowy period. These shots are
> > in a nearby
> > apple tree. Have not seen it since."
> >
> > I said the bill shape tells me oriole, but the plumage does
> > not exactly
> > match any of the species in my field guides, and all
> > orioles should be in
> > their tropical winter ranges by now. The dark hood and
> > upper back match the
> > Baltimore Oriole, which is an eastern species, but the
> > buffy streaked sides,
> > white underparts, and black/white tail aren't right for
> > this species.
> >
> > The two photos are posted here:
> >
> > http://s549.photobucket.com/albums/ii397/kara_whittaker/
> >
> > Thanks for your assistance!
> >
> > Kara Whittaker
> >
> > West Seattle
> > _______________________________________________
> > Tweeters mailing list
> > Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> > http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>
>
>
>