Subject: [Tweeters] Nash. Warbler, Chipp. Sparrow, W. Seattle
Date: May 7 22:06:32 2010
From: Jim Flynn - merlinmania at comcast.net




Hi Tweets,



Seems the change of weather is loosening the constriction that seemed to have been slowing migration these last few weeks (in my area at least).



This morning I was looking for warblers and vireos in the maple in our front yard when I spotted a bird that landed on the driveway across the street. I thought it was a House Finch as I'd just heard one call but I was very surprised when I lifted my bins and saw a breeding plumaged CHIPPING SPARROW! A first for me in the King County lowlands and a surprising yard bird, although my friend Penny had one in her W. Seattle yard several springs ago.



After work this evening my partner and I were sitting on the back patio when we heard a NASHVILLE WARBLER singing nearby. That was only our second occurrence here, as we saw 1-2 a couple of years ago when there was a big lowland invasion of them.



All in all we had 4 species of warblers today - the three "common" ones here included about 10 Yellow-rumps, including the continuing presence of several Myrtles, 1-2 Orange-Crowns and 1-2 Wilson's Warblers. The Wilson's Warblers first showed up here on Wednesday the 5th, as they seem to have shown up everywhere else on Tweeters that same day.



Good Birding!



Jim Flynn
Seattle, WA