Subject: [Tweeters] Rusty Blackbird and a VERY "EXOTIC" Trip to the Mouth of
Date: Feb 4 16:04:28 2015
From: Blair Bernson - blair at washingtonadvisorygroup.com


Often when trying to find a bird the best thing to
do is to find a birder (or two) who has a camera,
scope or binoculars intensely on "something".
After almost an hour of looking for the Rusty
Blackbird at Crescent Lake WMA without success, I
saw two birders obviously looking at something.
Since it appeared that they were focusing on the
corn stalks in the middle of the NE field I
thought maybe it was some really good sparrow.
Turned out the two birders were Ollie and Grace
and they were viewing the Rusty Blackbird who was
happily consuming kernels of corn.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127293169 at N07/16420082916

I had earlier located the Franklin's Gull in a
large flock of primarily Mew Gulls in a field on
Frohning Road. Emboldened by those finds, I
headed off yet again to the Mouth of the Cedar
hoping to see and photograph the Palm Warbler. I
had a good look and photo last year but in 2015 it
has been a single buried glance and no photo.
When I arrived the groundskeepers were clearing
pine needles from beneath the pine trees - in
exactly the area where I and others have seen the
bird. So not auspicious and indeed I never
spotted the bird ... BUT drawn by some unfamiliar
call notes, first in one of the Evergreens and
then 10 minutes later over by the Boeing Buildings
behind the fence, I found two quite exotic, very
surprising and assumedly escapee birds. The first
was a Zebra Finch which was mostly buried in the
Evergreen.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127293169 at N07/16259824999

I have not yet identified the second bird and
would welcome help from Tweeterdom.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127293169 at N07/15826019343
One such find is perhaps understandable but twice
in one day at one place. Was there a convention
going on somewhere and they staged a mass escape.

I would have preferred a Palm Warbler...

--
Blair Bernson
Edmonds