Tweeters,

What a beautiful day we had yesterday, Wednesday 11/10! I had waited for a
dry day in the forecast, hoping that the TROPICAL KINGBIRD would stick
around. Coming from Federal Way, my wife Carole and I ventured out
northbound on I-5 during rush hour and arrived in Bellingham at about 10:30
am. We parked next to the Banner Bank off York Street. There were a couple
of birders on the bridge over Whatcom Creek already. As we walked up and
even before we got to the bridge, I spotted his Royal Highness the
"KING"bird on top of the fence around the Mayflower Moving Company. It is a
gorgeous bird, with its bright yellow front. It was actively hawking for
insects and after a short while, landed in some bare branches in a tree
about 50 yards upstream on the right side. This put it into the sun, but
still gave us satisfying views. It then disappeared from sight. We hung
around for about 20 minutes, hoping that it would return to the fence for
more great views. When it did not, we started back for the car. I stopped to
look at some sparrows and relocated the Kingbird right next to the trail, in
what I believe is a crabapple tree. It was enjoying the sunshine, preening
and fanning its tail. The chip in the upper bill was clearly visible.
It is just remarkable, how easy it was to locate this life bird. It brought
to mind the old saying about "stealing candy from a baby"! Thank you Joe
Meche for locating this rare bird and sharing it with us! After viewing the
Caspian Tern colony in August and now the Tropical Kingbird, it appears that
Bellingham is getting to be a great birding destination!

Good Birding!

Hans Feddern
Twin Lakes/Federal Way,WA.
thefedderns at gmail.com
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