I have had the surprise of a lifetime this week. I spotted a bird in my back yard that I did not recognize. So, I posted a picture on a birding site on Facebook. There were many random guesses, but one gal thought it was a Red-flanked Bluetail. I laughed and decided to post my querie on the Tweeters Listserve for a "real" answer. Low and behold, the FB gal was right. For only the 3rd time in history, this bird has been spotted in Washington State. It is normally found in Asia and Russia. Here is the yucky photo that got the birding world in an uproar (shot through my kitchen window from 40 yards away): I honestly thought it it was some juvenile form of a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I had not yet seen the tail, as it was dark and rainy when I first spotted her. By late afternoon that day, I was well aware of the uniqueness of the find. By Friday, my neighborhood was overrun with birders. They were covering every spot they could get access to. The end result was that the Bluetail was chased out of my yard, and was not seen for the next two days. The main problem was that folks were trying to get a view into my back yard, so they entered my neighbor's yard (with permission) and flocked to the back fence. This was where the Bluetail hangs out, but was frightened off. I had to ask my neighbor to deny access to her back yard. Within one hour, the Bluetail returned and foraged in my yard for the rest of the afternoon. I then figured out a solution to this problem: I set up a viewing area in my side yard. This area is a safe distance from my back fence, and has a very clear view of the Bluetail's favorite foraging areas. Win-win. I put up a rope to keep encroachment at bay, and it worked very well. I put out a call on Tweeters that I had a viewing area set up for all to enjoy. This kept the gawkers from trying to look over my back fence. I had 40 to 50 birders show up on Tuesday, and every single one of them got a good view of the bird. The rule was that you had to leave once you got a good view to make room for those that had not seen it. This worked remarkably well since the Bluetail was out foraging all afternoon. It was also a beautiful sunny day, which helped.

I finally had a chance to get some shots of my own, but she pretty much stuck to the dark shady areas, so my pictures are fairly grainy. Not that I am complaining! The Bluetail had a favorite perch under my forsythia. She foraged from there a lot (I call her she, but it may as well be a juvenile of either sex). This next photo is of her diving to the ground after an insect.   One of my favorite shots was an out of focus shot of her flying away. It clearly showed the blue on her back.  It took me two days to finally get a shot of her away from the Forsythia. She perched on a fence and on a brush pile.  This last shot was the one shot I was waiting for. Not in the sunshine, but a bit more open. She is a beautiful bird, and I hope for a few more days to spend with her.

One of the most amazing side benefits of this surprising find was that I have met a never ending stream of amazingly nice people. I am glowing with joy from all the warmth from everyone! Thanks one and all for making this journey a warm fuzzy experience.

One last look at that beautuiful tail!