Hello group,


I would like to receive opinions on this one: a friend and her neighbors, south of Sumner, have fed and watched birds for many years. They can identify all of the usual birds in our area. However, they have been puzzl ed by a recent sighting. The highlights of their description follow:


"The birds were first seen about a month ago, one to seven have landed on the fence, seen every one to five days, Blue undersides-beautiful blue in the sun (the person emphasized this several times during the conversation), grey or brown upper parts, about he size of a Robin, s maller than and not a Stellar's jay(I showed illustrations of STJA and other possible common birds- immediate no's) one was aggressive with a squirrel and was able to get the peanut from the squirrel, which it then pecked on for sometime".


I asked them several questions, in several ways to help identify the species, including showing illustrations in field guide, but I am stumped. Of, course, as always, some of their observations may have been incorrect.
I usually follow-up on leads like this because once in a while someone finds something very uncommon or rare in a residential neighborhood. I have asked for a photo, but they are not photographers. Any ideas?




Thanks,
Dan Reiff
mercer Island
























































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