Yesterday afternoon, I tried for the Duvall Bohemian waxwing and the
Carnation Harris's sparrow and dipped on both. The only birds making use of
the hawthorn bushes in McCormick Park at 3pm in the glorious sunshine were
pine siskins.



So I tried again today at a more traditionally birdy hour, arriving at a
much mistier and chillier McCormick park at 8.30am. At least some of the
inhabitants had changed - this time, the birds making use of the hawthorn
crop were robins. Once I thought I heard waxwing noise, but they turned out
to be starlings. No sign of waxwings in the park or along nearby sections of
the Snoqualmie trail on either visit.



Giving up on the waxwings, I headed out to 100th St north of Carnation.
Would it be third time lucky on the Harris's? I found Zonotrichia bouncing
about in the roadside brambles between the slough and the lawnmower track,
with most of the flock feeding in the field on the north side of the road.
The Harris's sparrow was out on almost bare ground about 150 feet from the
road - great for prolonged binocular views allowing me to study it from
every angle, hopeless for photography with my camera. This bird was
impossible to miss with its warm brown face, pale belly, and large black
splodges below the throat.



With my bird karma restored, and the mist cleared away, I returned for one
last try at the waxwing. At around 10.15am, a flock of 10 or so waxwings
flew into the biggest, fruitiest hawthorn in McCormick Park. Sadly, the only
outsized bird among them was a robin, and no amount of staring and hoping
could turn one of those cedars into a Bohemian. I followed the flock for
about 15 mins, during which time the birds spread around between hawthorn
bush and the nearby tangle of scrub, popping in and out a few at a time. I
would have loved to have stayed longer in case the Bohemian decided to join
them, but I had to bolt at 10.30 to make my 11am appointment in Bellevue.



Louise Rutter

Kirkland