Nancy and I swung by Fish Park for an hour of birding before heading to the
shop for the day. Halfway through the park we spotted a bird we couldn't
ID. We also found it interesting that this new bird was being harassed by
four Robins. We finished our walk and were in the parking lot when we
noticed the unknown bird perched on a log. We had a nice long view of it
and still couldn't come up with an ID. Back in the shop I pulled out
several of my field guides and started up the Thayer birding software.
After a bit of research I decided that the bird most resembled a Northern
Mockingbird (NOMO). A little more reading had me doubting my ID as I found
that the NOMO is a pretty rare bird for this area. However, every other
bird I considered just didn't fit the field marks I had noted. Finally I
decided to ask a local bird expert for some help. I emailed Brad the
description and asked if he had any ideas. He came back with either the
Mockingbird or a Shrike. Well, I knew it wasn't a Shrike so now I was
wondering if we had actually seen the Mockingbird.

Amazingly, Brad stopped by the park yesterday afternoon and was able to
confirm the sighting. The NOMO provided Brad with good views near the
parking lot. He was there around 5:30pm last night.


Scott Pomtier
Poulsbo, WA
Hscott at thewildbird dot net



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