Hi Tweeters,

I saw a Black-billed Magpie today in the greater Seattle area, but was it THE Magpie? Probably but still...I was just floored when I was driving to W Sea to look for a Magpie after dipping on the Discovery Park Red-naped Sapsucker and found a Magpie at E Marginal Way South very close to where the 3200 block of S Horton Street joins Marginal. The Magpie was foraging on the ground on the waterfront side of Marginal. I spun a ueee and parked and carefully crossed the street, got some crappy pictures after it flew into some scrubby pine type trees then got a good enough pic after it flew into a bare branched deciduous tree.

There has been a Magpie in the greater Portland area too and it generated a lot of discussion on OBOL as to it's origins. People do sometimes keep them illegaly as pets, especially pirates according to some OBOLites. This bird did not seem tame in any way.

No Townsend's Solitaire for me but I'll take the Magpie. The Solitaire may have moved on because a Robin was foraging without a care on the juniper berries.

Kathy
Roosting in Kent, near Lake Meridian
(chukarbird at yahoo dot com)
Any driving directions contained within this message are given as a courtesy, beware, author is directionally challenged and will not vouch for them.