198 Union Bay 



It began with the manager's statement that he had seen a 

 curious bird, a remark that he frequently made at that time 

 of year. It was always followed by a discussion of color, size, 

 and general description, suggestions of possible identity, and 

 finally reference to the two bird guides which I usually 

 carried in the car. We were unable to settle the matter that 

 morning for I had left the guides at home. He said: 



"It's smaller than a bittern, but looks a little like one. It 

 raised a darkish crest when it flew away, and it scolded like 

 all get out." 



If I had been in a marsh in southern California I might 

 have thought it a least bittern or a green heron, but .the 

 possibility of those birds being in our city marsh seemed 

 quite remote. Nobody had heard of a least bittern being resi- 

 dent in the state of Washington. There was one subspecies of 

 the green heron on the Pacific Coast which might have been 

 considered as a possibility. It had been discovered in south- 

 ern California, was regarded as a desert form, and although 

 it had been reported in our state in the past, the reports 

 were not considered entirely reliable, and only one sight 

 record of the bird north of the Columbia River had been 

 accepted. This location was over a hundred miles south of 

 Seattle. 



The unknown visitor promised to be of great interest. 

 The manager and I discussed it in every detail. For three 

 mornings it had appeared on the float and had expertly 

 breakfasted on tadpoles. It was the size of a small chicken 

 but slimmer in build and its vellow-orreen legs made it look 

 taller. Its bill was sharp and strongly built and was estimated 

 by the manager to be three inches long. The bird's pose was 

 something like that of a great blue heron, with its neck out- 

 stretched when hunting, but with bodv compressed and neck 

 drawn in when at ease, in which position it appeared little 

 more than half its height when the neck was extended. Its 

 flight was weak and dangling. 



