Subject: [Tweeters] Sisters,
Date: Jul 26 20:41:26 2008
From: johntubbs at comcast.net - johntubbs at comcast.net


Hi Everyone,

I made it to Sisters today, but too late to do any significant birding. However, another example of one person's rarity is another's 'oh, yeah, those are here all the time' birds occurred at my friend's house. Visiting their backyard feeders was a flock of at least six Pygmy Nuthatches, vocalizing incessantly as they made trip after trip to the sunflower feeder, quickly snatching a seed and flitting into a nearby tree to consume (or store) it. There was at least one fledgling begging, but it appeared the adults were pretty much ignoring it. My friend and his wife, when asked about the birds, said that they were there off and on every day, and being non-birders they had no idea they were nuthatches, let alone Pygmy Nuthatches...and didn't seem to be too impressed by my excitement at seeing them!

One other surprise I had earlier in the day was finding an active BANK SWALLOW colony at least a mile away from the Columbia River along Highway 197 south of The Dalles. Since it's right along the road, presumably it's well known among local birders, but if anyone is interested in the location, you can e-mail me off-line for info.

John Tubbs
Snoqualmie, WA
johntubbs at comcast.net