Tweeters,

In January 2007, Patrick & Ruth Sullivan came to my yard to see the Gray-headed Dark-eyed Junco. They had seen an immature White-throated sparrow in the neighborhood and Patrick thought I stood a good chance of getting it for my Yard Bird Race list. When we looked at Sibley's illustration, I said I would be hard-pressed to pick it out of a flock of sparrows. Minutes later, Patrick summoned me to look at a bird in the front yard. It was an American Tree Sparrow. I asked him if that was as good a find as a White-throated. "Better," he said. I said that was good, because with its lovely rufous markings, it would stand out. I never saw the Tree Sparrow again, but from time to time I would try to memorize the immature White-throated's markings. Luckily for me, the White-throated Sparrow that finally showed up today was a beautiful white-striped adult and looked just like the Sibley illustration.

Also in the yard today: 1 Wilson's, 1 Black-throated Gray, 1 Townsend's, 2 Orange-crowned and 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers; 3 Cedar Waxwings, 2 Pileated Woodpeckers, 1 Red-breasted Sapsucker, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 2 Flickers, Killdeer, 25+ Mourning Doves, about 10 Violet-green Swallows, 3 Golden-crowned Sparrows, 2 first winter White-crowned Sparrows, 2 Song Sparrows, Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches, Bushtits, 2 Bewick's Wrens, 2 Spotted Towhees, 2 Purple Finches, 15+ House finches, 2 Pine Siskins, several Dark-eyed Juncos (one of the Juncos resembles the brown adult female Slate-colored D-E Junco illustration in Sibley's), 12+ Steller's Jays, 5 Crows, several Robins, Starlings, a House Sparrow, 1 rabbit, 2 Garter snakes and a tree frog. Four Ravens perched in the snag next door. I can hear now, in the distance, the calls of one of the two young Great-horned owls that have been in the neighborhood this month.

Sandy Daniels on the Enumclaw Plateau

Ladyhawk707 AT msn DOT com