Dear Tweeters,

A friend of mine saw seven Grey Partridge near Rockport today (12-31-08). Per Wahl and Paulson, these birds were present in Skagit and Whatcom Counties as late as the 1970's.

I was wondering if any long-time Washington birders know WHERE these birds were found in Skagit County. It was always my surmise that they were down on the flat, western parts of the county. However, Wahl's book on Whatcom County birds says that they were found around Van Zandt and even up to Glacier, so maybe Rockport isn't such a stretch.

I advised my friend that most birders would not consider the GRPA a presently countable species in Skagit County, since they have not been seen here in so long, and there does not seem to be any established breeding population. I certainly haven't ever seen one here.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch ? Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA ? garybletsch at yahoo.com ? ?