Othello Sandhill Crane Festival--this weekend!

One sure sign of spring is the passage of sandhill cranes through Washington state, on their way to breeding grounds to the north.  Right now, many of these magnificent birds have congregated in the fields around Othello, WA.  

To see them up close, come to the 14th annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival, March 25-27, 2011!   It's a fun weekend full of talks, tours of the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, bike birding, geology, vendors and artists, the WSU Raptor Club, and (of course!) numerous tours to see sandhill cranes and burrowing owls.

For more information, check out their website at www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org, or call 1-866-SANDHIL (1-866-726-3445).  Hope to see you there!

Northern Flicker hybrid or integrade?

This flicker has been visiting our feeders recently. For how long, I don't know - I just noticed him a couple days ago. I have looked for images of flickers similar to this one but have not seen one quite like this. Maybe they are all different? It is orange shafted, like the flickers of the west usually are. However that marking on the back of his head is not like the the other hybrids I've seen in photos. They usually show a crescent shape. This is more of a v with the two lines barely coming together in the back. It's not real even and almost looks like someone used a magic marker on this bird.

I'd appreciate any comments on flicker hybrids from folks that have experience with them.