Date: 7/12/26 1:12 pm From: HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] White Owl that transformed into an albino pigeon
I think my biggest blunder was with fish, As a professional fish biologist. In my defense, fish are hard to identify at times, even. by pros, but this one time....
Jack and I were newly-graduated bios working an adult trap on a research project. Netted out an upstream-migrating salmonid. Bright, chrome bright, silver with only a few black spots. It was in the 400mm length range. We identified it as a steelhead jack, a young male.
Fortunately for us, we individually tagged each fish. And, we trapped all upstream and downstream fish. This fish showed up a few months later heading downstream after spawning. It had successfully spawned. As a Coastal (Searun) Cutthroat. He not only changed sex, it changed species. We saw "her" a few more times over the years and she was always a female cutthroat.
Again, in our defense, there a a number of instances where genetics have shown instances where cutthroat look externally like rain bows and vice versa.
Hal Michael
Olympia WA
360-459-4005
360-791-7702 (C)
<ucd880...>
> On 07/12/2026 12:47 PM PDT Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> Hi Tweets,
>
> I’ve been just delighted reading these mis-ID stories! So glad none of us is alone in that. I’m really grateful to Odette for helping us see that.
>
> It’s also nice to know that it’s not just us humans who are guilty of this challenge. Back in 2009 I spent quite a while in Lincoln Park watching a Barred Owl stalk something wiggling in the grass. The owl snuck up quietly, slowly, carefully as his prey moved slightly about—then pounced. Which was when he discovered that this enticing prey had been Sacculus plasticus…a plastic bag.
>
> He looked around, apparently hoping no one had witnessed this embarrassing encounter - but there I was. As we looked at each other, https://www.flickr.com/photos/trileigh/55389343293/in/dateposted/ I could just hear him begging me not to tell. Then he decided to vacate the premises https://www.flickr.com/photos/trileigh/55389394849/in/photostream/ before a conspecific caught him in his mistake.
>
> (It was a long time ago, so the photos aren’t as good as they might have been today.)
>
> In all humility,
> Trileigh
>
> Trileigh Tucker
> Gw’alali Valley, West Seattle
> NaturalPresenceArts.com http://naturalpresencearts.com/ > tri@seattleu <dot> edu
>
>
> From: Odette James via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026 at 3:55 PM
> To: <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
> Subject: [Tweeters] White Owl that transformed into an albino pigeon
>
> Trileigh Tucker
> Gw’alali Valley, West Seattle
> NaturalPresenceArts.com http://naturalpresencearts.com/ > tri@seattleu <dot> edu
> At least my embarrassing misidentification led to a fun list on Tweeters today of other people's oopsies. The albino pigeon is still on our property - it has transferred to the garden within our U-shaped building, and other residents have been emailing me or coming by with phone photos. It is a very noticeable bird, and I'm the most experienced birder in the building. Though, after night before last, not sure I can still make that claim . . .
>
> Odette
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