Subject: [Tweeters] Kent American Tree Sparrows
Date: Feb 12 16:19:13 2012
From: Tim Brennan - tsbrennan at hotmail.com



Hey Tweets!

I tried late yesterday afternoon for the American Tree Sparrows at the Kent Ponds, but at 4:45, things were pretty quiet, except for a Northern Harrier which greeted me at the gate. Today, I had better luck, dropping by at 3:00, and finding the sparrows in the trees that Adam described. They've been seen at several times throughout the day, from what I've heard - sometimes one, sometimes two.

I don't know how many I had, but it was at least two! It was a lifer for me, so they made me work for it a little - sticking to the inner branches and giving me one field mark at a time.... rufous cap... white wing bars... then another 10 minutes before my son said "What's that bird over there", and I saw the central breast mark before that one scurried away too! My brain has cut and pasted the field marks together, and I think it was a beautiful little bird!

Lots of singing in the yard lately, and on a wallk through Renton Park yesterday, I heard and then saw a Hutton's Vireo. Varied Thrushes singing at several points, and "Woodpecker Alley" on the north end of the park had a pair each of Northern Flickers and Pileated Woodpeckers.

-Tim Brennan
Renton