Hello everyone!?

I lived on Queen Anne all my life and every spring we get some spectacular birds migrating through.? Queen Anne really doesn't seem like a very birdy area, but in these last few years I've found some great birds.? Last Spring I had Black-headed and Evening Grosbeaks come through almost every day along with Pac-slope and Hammonds Flycatchers and one lonely Willow as well.? Warbling Vireos came by a couple times in small numbers and one day I had at least 35-40 Crossbills too.? I recorded?Vaux's Swifs?plus all five Swallows but Cliff and Rough-winged don't come nearly as often.

There was one Townsend's Solitaire last year that was around for less than a week?and this one let me get some cool pics of it.? It's cool to hear that a Solitaire came back here this year too.? I spotted the Solitaire?at the location where I've seen my Scrub-Jays for three years now.? When I first saw Scrub-Jays I visited them every day thinking that they would return more South any day now, but they never did!? I've?been lucky enough to watch them expand out of a little park to an alley much closer to my house.

My absolute favorite thing about Queen Anne though is the amount of Warblers.? By early May, I can't go a block without running into a flock!? It used to last like that for only a few weeks but, just this last week, the 16th, I had my first flock of Yellow-rumpeds arrive outside my window and yesterday I got photos of a Nashville Warbler.? I haven't seen them arrive this early on Queen Anne before, but I'm definitely not complaining.?

Anyway,?I just really?wanted to inform birders that Queen?Anne is actually surprisingly great?when it hits Spring Migration, and that if any of you guys want to meet up sometime please send me and email and we can totally make it work.??The birds will definitely pick up here in about 10 days or so if?any of you have time to?bird Queen Anne.? I've never seen another birder on Queen Anne, but?hopefully I might run into?someone this Spring.

Happy Earth?Day and happy Warbler migration!

Collin Vassallo
norrisbigelow at yahoo.com
Queen Anne, Seattle, WA?