Carol and All,

Given that this species has apparently been expanding it's winter range, and the
fact that there are two that have spent the winter in SC (where they are less
than annual during migration, to say nothing of the 3 Rough-legged Hawks that
are also wintering in the state), I suppose it isn't much of a surprise that
they are showing up.? It wasn't too long ago that Turkey Vultures in winter were
greeted with a great deal of skepticism....

If anyone on the Olympic Peninsula finds my light-morph bird wandering south,
let me know!

:)

Jeremy Kimm
Victoria, BC




________________________________
From: Carol & Lynn Schulz <carol.schulz50 at gmail.com>
To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Mon, February 28, 2011 2:19:02 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Nisqually Swainson's Hawk from Feb 2, '11


Hi Jeremy and Tweeters:
Marv Breece sent this msg to Tweeters in early Feb?about a Swainson's Hawk.?
There may have been another Swainson's seen in WA this winter, but I didn't save
that msg.? This Swainson's was spotted north of Olympia.
Yours, Carol Schulz
Des Moines



From: Marv Breece
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 10:13 PM
To: Tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] Nisqually Swainson's Hawk

Last Wednesday (2.2.11) I spotted an unusual buteo across I5 from the entrance
to the?Nisqually NWR in Thurston County.? The bird showed characteristics of a
Swainson's Hawk, but that would have been highly unusual as they are rare on the
west side of the state and do not winter in Washington.? The bird was not an
adult, which made identification difficult.?


Just a few minutes ago,?Bud Anderson confirmed the bird as a Swainson's Hawk.?
It's a two year old dark morph.? Photos of the bird are at:

http://www.pbase.com/marvbreece/image/132380665

Now that was a good day.

Marv Breece
Seattle, WA
mbreece at earthlink.net