Took a group of students around Spenser island this afternoon. There was a
scuffle ahead on the trail and it turned out to be two song sparrows in a
serious wrestling match. They broke apart, stood 6 inches away from each
other for a moment, then jumped back into it, one pinned the other on the
ground and pecked at its head 4-5 times. They separated a second time and
the "loser" sparrow hopped into the brush, the winner flew off. As we passed
by, the loser was still on the ground in the brush and one of my students
summed it up with: "Dude, you got dusted!"

Rob Sandelin
Naturalist, Writer, Teacher
Snohomish County
New email: nwnature at verizon.net