Paula Vanderheul, an Audubon field-trip leader living in Port Hadlock, reported on local birding websites that a rare finch known as brambling, native to Europe and Asia, was in her backyard on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014.

Spotted around Vanderheul’s bird feeders, among purple finches, house finches and dark-eyed juncos, the female brambling stayed for five days feeding heavily on the birdseed that spilled from the feeders. The news of her arrival flew around the Washington birding community, bringing numerous bird watchers and bird photographers from as far as Richland to Port Hadlock.

This was the first known sighting of a brambling in Jefferson County in modern times. A male brambling was also seen in Neah Bay a few days earlier, to the excitement of many birders, although coastal sightings of this bird are not as rare.

Bird photographer David Gluckman, who was invited by Vanderheul to photograph the bird, said, “It’s always a treat to find and photograph a new bird, but this one was something special. It was a life bird for me and exciting to find in my home county.”

Although no one is certain why unusual birds such as snowy owls and bramblings seem to be showing up more often in our area, most birders agree that global warming may be a major factor.

For more information about bird sightings in Jefferson County, visit the Admiralty Audubon website,

admiraltyaudubon.org or on Facebook,

facebook.com/admiraltyaudubon.