Dear Tweeters,

The Common Redpolls finally decided to turn up at the same time I did on Samish Island today (20 January 2012).

After parking at the Skagit County park with the basketball court (Samish Island Playground, on Halloran Rd), I walked down Blue Heron Road, down the S-curve, and made a left onto a private lane, Blue Heron Beach Lane, I think it's called.

There were fifty or more Pine Siskins there that caught my attention with their "Zzzzzzzip" calls. Then, in flew 12 COMMON REDPOLLS! I think this was my fourth try this month there for these wanderers.

At my feeders earlier, the usual Purple Finches and Evening Grosbeaks had obliged. Surpringly, the handful of Pine Siskins I've had at the thistle feeder were joined by 5 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, which are usually hard to find in Skagit in winter, especially upriver. However, this winter, there has been a flock here in the Cockreham Island area now and then, so maybe it's just the same flock moving around.

Oddly, today was the first day of this stormy period when no House Finches turned up at my feeder, but I did manage to find one at a feeder in Lyman.

So, six finch species: AMGO, CORE, PISI, PUFI, HOFI, and EVGR!

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch





Gary Bletsch?Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA?garybletsch at yahoo.com?"Nun," sagte ich, "wenn ich ein Taugenichts bin, so ist's gut, so will ich in die Welt gehen, und mein Glueck machen." Und eigentlich war mir das recht lieb, denn es war mir kurz vorher selber eingefallen, auf Reisen zu gehen, da ich die Goldammer, welche im Herbst und Winter immer betruebt an unserm Fenster sang: "Bauer, miet' mich, Bauer, miet' mich!" nun in der schoenen Fruehlingszeit wieder ganz stolz und lustig vom Baume rufen hoerte: "Bauer, behalt' deinen Dienst!"