Howdy again,

I returned to the North Creek Business Park yesterday afternoon (12/31/10) for another look at the Harris's Sparrow. I was hoping for some photos and, yes, to see it in Snohomish County.

The sparrow first* showed up at about 1:45 (*the first time relative to my arrival; it had been seen by others earlier). I first noticed it in a sapling on the north side of the dike, and it flew down to feed on the seed scattered on the path. It then flew off to the east, disappearing into the cedar east of the suet feeder. Over the next several hours, it would reappear, often from the area near that cedar, and then after feeding it usually returned to that area. It was _always_ just south of the county line, never going more than 15-20 feet from the line but never crossing north of it.

At one point between 3:00 and 3:30, it flew up into a sapling, facing north and looking like it was certainly going to head that direction, which would take it across the pond and the county line. After about 30 seconds, it did fly, but made a hard right, landing in a tree that's growing out of the water. The bottom of the tree is probably in Snohomish, but it leans to the south, and the part the Harris's was in appears to be over land and most likely in King County. From there, it flew back to the aforementioned cedar. Painful.

After 3:30, the sun was no longer shining on the dike, and it really started to get cold. The Harris's disappeared soon after. My feet were becoming numb, but I stuck it out even though I was fearing low-grade frostbite. Finally, at 4:09, the Harris's flew in. I didn't see where it came from. I only saw it a split second before it landed on a branch. Presumably it came in from the Snohomish side, but still not good enough to count on my Snohomish list. It went back to feeding on the dike, occasionally flying back into the cedar or some other tree. Once it flew into a deciduous tree just west of the suet feeder. It was only about 3 feet above the top of the dike and a jogger was approaching fast. I thought for sure this was going to be it, but it just sat there as the jogger ran by. Then around 4:30, the sparrow disappeared again.

By now, I was really starting to worry about my feet, but I figured another 10 minutes wasn't going to do much more damage and the birds should all be finding a roost for the night by then. The shrubs on the Snohomish side looked like ideal habitat for that. At 4:37, the Harris's materialized on a shrub just below me. It sat there for about 30 seconds and then gloriously flew straight north, disappearing into the brambles on the northwest side of the pond -- in Snohomish County. Mission accomplished. My feet returned to normal about 20 minutes later.

John Puschock
Wedgwood, Seattle
g_g_allin at hotmail.com
http://www.zbirdtours.com