Hi Folks,

Elaine had quite an interesting time in our Ferndale yard today while I was 
at work, and the excitement continued after I got home.  In the morning she 
had found a fairly late SWAINSON'S THRUSH, poking around the pokeberries, 
probably our fourth or fifth of the fall.  She was quite delighted when she 
heard our first-of-year RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH beeping around the yard, and 
our hope is that they will be around daily for the entire winter as they 
were two years ago.  We have not had Fish Crows around for the past couple 
of months, but Elaine counted a murder of about 130 FISH CROWs flying over 
early this morning, certainly our high count for the yard.  Her most unusual 
sighting, however, was a bird seeming to associate with the 20 or so juncos 
in the back yard--a very late male BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER.  Of course I 
had to check the yellow book, which gives a late date of 16 Nov.

The biggest surprise, however, came after I got home just before sunset.  I 
was walking the periphery of our acre lot hoping to hear the beeping of the 
nuthatch (I never did) when to my astonishment a WOODCOCK flushed from just 
across the back fence, flying from the corner of a neighbor's yard out over 
the fence into a small wooded area.  This actually was not a new yard bird, 
as I had flushed one from the end of our driveway on a very foggy morning 
last fall.  I never thought we would ever approach our excellent tally of 
122 species in the yard in 2008, but the nuthatch and woodcock bring our 
2009 yard list up to 117, so we are certainly headed towards another 
terrific year.

We did add another new bird to our all-time yard list recently--one long 
expected and hoped for.  A week ago, on Sun., 25 Oct, Elaine looked out the 
back door, and on the patio was a tiny little wren, our yard's first 
recorded WINTER WREN (yard bird #143).  When we created our 14 brush piles 
around the yard in 2006 and 2007 I had envisioned finding a Winter Wren in 
one of them some day.  We certainly didn't expect it on the patio where the 
sparrows and doves feed.  Then last Friday when I was walking around the 
yard a small wren that was flitting about one of the brush piles turned out 
to be another WINTER WREN (or maybe the same one).  This little bird had no 
fear, and hopped toward me close enough that I could no longer focus my 
binoculars on it.  Absolutely the best look I've ever had at this 
species--it looked just like it does in the field guides!

So, the exciting year of 2009 continues, even in the yard.

Stan Arnold
Ferndale (AA Co.)