From dougsantoni at gmail.com Mon Feb 1 12:34:17 2021 From: dougsantoni at gmail.com (Doug Santoni) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] "Slate-colored" Junco / Yard in Seattle Message-ID: <32F0B23E-3364-4383-9EEC-7E788A5D14D3@gmail.com> For the second time this winter, a ?slate-colored? Dark-eyed Junco has made an appearance in my Seattle backyard. Today?s bird is probably the same on I saw a couple of weeks ago. Plumage is consistent with the Adult Male ?Slate-Colored? illustrated in Sibley, with just a few hints of tan, but with fewer hints of tan than shown in the Adult Female. There is no contrast at all between the color on the head and that on the chest or or the back. The bird did NOT look at all like the Slate-Colored ?Canadian Rocky Mountain? species, nor did it look like the ?Cassiar? junco, which I do watch for. The Sibley range map suggests that Slate-colored birds are regular here in Washington, and implies that they?re ?easy to find.? My question to this forum: Are ?Slate-colored? Juncos commonly seen here? Doug Santoni Seattle, WA From drisseq.n at gmail.com Mon Feb 1 13:24:21 2021 From: drisseq.n at gmail.com (Nadine Drisseq) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Nikon Monarch 7 Rainguard Message-ID: Hi tweets, I lost my bins rainguard during 2019's CBC and despite trying to recreate it with cardboard and duct tape, calling nikon (who told me they do not provide replacement rainguards for sale). You folks whom blithely suffer this weather sans rainguards, will understand this torture. Recently, I bought both vortex and swarowski rainguards online, but neither one fits the Monarch 7. I am now at the point of buying a new pair of binoculars just so I can have a rainguard!! Anyone have any good ideas before I throw in the towel and buy a new pair of non-nikon binoculars? Yours in cyclonic sadness, N Drisseq -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From n3zims at comcast.net Mon Feb 1 13:31:43 2021 From: n3zims at comcast.net (Neil and Carleen Zimmerman) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] North Sound birding Message-ID: Hello tweeters, My wife, a couple of new friends and I went north on Sunday, January 31. We started at Rosario Head at Deception Pass State Park. Highlight for us was the sighting of 18 Marbled Murrelets. During the winter, Deception Pass attracts many seabirds. We went to West Beach in the southern part of the park. We were not disappointed. There were 3-4 hundred Red-throated Loons. The loons were spread out to the west as far as we could see. Also there were another four Marbled Murrelets, making 22 for the day. While there were other birds around, the Red-throated Loons were the stars. We worked our way north up to the little county park on Samish Island. Out on the bay was a large raft of Long-tailed Ducks. One of our group counted 124 birds. There were more spread out on the water in small groups. About half the birds got up and flew a little way to the west. They formed into a long line. They started diving from the end of the line. It looked like a long line of dominoes falling over. Interestingly, the only bird which didn?t dive was the one at the head of the line. They were fairly close to shore so we could see them displaying and hear them calling. It was a wet day but the wind speed stayed low. It was a great day of birding in the Pacific Northwest. Neil Zimmerman Brier, Wa n3zims at comcast dot net Sent from Xfinity Connect App -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcallisters4 at comcast.net Mon Feb 1 15:02:24 2021 From: mcallisters4 at comcast.net (mcallisters4@comcast.net) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Nikon Monarch 7 Rainguard In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <006b01d6f8ee$4df93190$e9eb94b0$@comcast.net> I am reluctant to recommend anything Nikon, in large part due to their lack of loyalty to their customer base (which you might excuse if you consider loyalty to have no place in business enterprises where making money is all that matters). My Nikon 70-200mm lens had a stuck focus ring. In my effort to have it repaired by an authorized Nikon service entity I found that the company, based a very rudimentary description of the problem, quoted me a price in excess of $600 for the repair, take it or leave it. I chose to leave it and found a Youtube video that described how to repair it myself, at the cost of a tiny droplet of glue. It?s been working fine for quite some time. It?s not the first time I?ve been disappointed by Nikon?s service to their customers. Too bad I?m heavily invested in their camera equipment. Kelly McAllister Olympia From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Nadine Drisseq Sent: Monday, February 1, 2021 1:24 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Nikon Monarch 7 Rainguard Hi tweets, I lost my bins rainguard during 2019's CBC and despite trying to recreate it with cardboard and duct tape, calling nikon (who told me they do not provide replacement rainguards for sale). You folks whom blithely suffer this weather sans rainguards, will understand this torture. Recently, I bought both vortex and swarowski rainguards online, but neither one fits the Monarch 7. I am now at the point of buying a new pair of binoculars just so I can have a rainguard!! Anyone have any good ideas before I throw in the towel and buy a new pair of non-nikon binoculars? Yours in cyclonic sadness, N Drisseq -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From n3zims at comcast.net Mon Feb 1 16:54:02 2021 From: n3zims at comcast.net (Neil and Carleen Zimmerman) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Nikon rain guard Message-ID: <27614d74-a7cd-4760-999e-7b136e8288d1@neils-iphone> Try calling Seattle Audubon. They have a box of odds and ends for binoculars. Sent from Xfinity Connect App -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From EdSwan2 at Comcast.net Mon Feb 1 22:32:49 2021 From: EdSwan2 at Comcast.net (EdSwan2@Comcast.net) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? Message-ID: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net> Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms that blooms for much of the winter. Anna's Hummingbirds fight to protect this territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend's Warbler able to forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This morning, I noticed that the female Townsend's appeared to be inserting its beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning for insects. Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend's? I have seen them drink from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar feeding from plants. Cornell's Birds of the World doesn't really have that much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting. It was a good warbler day with Townsend's, Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker. Ed in West Seattle Ed Swan Nature writer and guide www.theswancompany.com edswan2@comcast.net 206.949.3545 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Feb 1 23:42:37 2021 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] FNOTY-First Nest of the Year Message-ID: <34B73988-91E2-4C26-BA3F-72A482AB6745@gmail.com> Hello Tweeters, Last week on January 25, my wife was surprised to find a nest in a wooden, hanging chickadee nest box. She began doing the yearly nest box cleaning, by opening the hinged, full size, side of the nest box. It was completely filled with green moss. When she carefully pulled out the whole contents, she was stunned to find a small cup on top with two hummingbird ? ? eggs. She then carefully slid the whole intact contents back in, with no structural disruption. I am aware that some Anna?s nest as early as January, but we had never seen one this early and never in a bird box. I decided not to take a look inside the box, but watched from our living room window to see you if a female entered. I watched for about an hour. I did not see movement at the box. However, as I watched, a female landed higher in the Birch tree, one of its usual perches. Twice, a male bird landed within a few inches of her. They then mated. It is possible that it is an old, abandoned nest, but we won?t disturb it and patiently wait to see if there is activity. Black-capped Chickadees successfully nested there last year. We were surprised that the moss seemed fresh-green and not dry. Anyone else have Anna?s nest in nest boxes? Thanks, Dan Reiff MI Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Tue Feb 2 00:07:28 2021 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Hummingbird Video References: Message-ID: <37D7C6B2-E7D8-4B2E-9CDE-041EA1CB567C@gmail.com> Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > To: Dan Reiff > Subject: Hummingbird Video > > ? > My wife is a psychologist and made this fun little youtube video about self-care showing hummingbirds in a fountain. I hope you enjoy it! > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjC7QenA_e0&feature=youtu.be -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dennispaulson at comcast.net Tue Feb 2 01:03:04 2021 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? In-Reply-To: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net> References: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net> Message-ID: <24B5366B-C983-4031-8908-42A6578E9043@comcast.net> Ed, we have Townsend?s every winter coming to suet feeders. Quite a few times I have seen one land on a hummingbird feeder and apparently take some sugar water from along the edge where we had spilled it when filling the feeder. Yellow-rumped are also around all winter, but I haven?t seen one do that. Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Feb 1, 2021, at 10:32 PM, wrote: > > Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms that blooms for much of the winter. Anna?s Hummingbirds fight to protect this territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend?s Warbler able to forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This morning, I noticed that the female Townsend?s appeared to be inserting its beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning for insects. > > Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend?s? I have seen them drink from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar feeding from plants. Cornell?s Birds of the World doesn?t really have that much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting. > > It was a good warbler day with Townsend?s, Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped (Audubon?s) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker. > > Ed in West Seattle > > Ed Swan > Nature writer and guide > www.theswancompany.com > edswan2@comcast.net > 206.949.3545 > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From baro at pdx.edu Tue Feb 2 07:08:07 2021 From: baro at pdx.edu (Robert O'Brien) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? In-Reply-To: References: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net> <24B5366B-C983-4031-8908-42A6578E9043@comcast.net> Message-ID: Growing up in California where eucalyptus trees from Australia are widely naturalized It is very Abundantly seen that yellow-rumped warblers love to feed in eucalyptus flowers . As a result they get some sappy material all over their face that then has other dirt and grime stick to it . They look like a mess and it is sometimes fatal to them . I might say it's frequently fatal to them . So in this case I'm not sure whether they were going for some sort of nectar Or For insects attracted to the nectar . I would guess the former because you would think they could pick the insects out Without getting the sappy sugary material all over their face . I didn't try it but I think Googling it would give a lot of information . About the eucalyptus trees that is . Bob O'Brien Portland On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Dennis Paulson wrote: > Ed, we have Townsend?s every winter coming to suet feeders. Quite a few > times I have seen one land on a hummingbird feeder and apparently take some > sugar water from along the edge where we had spilled it when filling the > feeder. Yellow-rumped are also around all winter, but I haven?t seen one do > that. > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > > On Feb 1, 2021, at 10:32 PM, > wrote: > > Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms that > blooms for much of the winter. Anna?s Hummingbirds fight to protect this > territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend?s Warbler able to > forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This > morning, I noticed that the female Townsend?s appeared to be inserting its > beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning > for insects. > > Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend?s? I have seen them drink > from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar > feeding from plants. Cornell?s Birds of the World doesn?t really have that > much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew > from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting. > > It was a good warbler day with Townsend?s, Orange-crowned and > Yellow-rumped (Audubon?s) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or > hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker. > > Ed in West Seattle > > Ed Swan > Nature writer and guide > www.theswancompany.com > edswan2@comcast.net > 206.949.3545 > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From baro at pdx.edu Tue Feb 2 07:11:25 2021 From: baro at pdx.edu (Robert O'Brien) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? In-Reply-To: References: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net> <24B5366B-C983-4031-8908-42A6578E9043@comcast.net> Message-ID: Growing up in California where eucalyptus trees from Australia are widely naturalized It is very Abundantly seen that yellow-rumped warblers love to feed in eucalyptus flowers . As a result they get some sappy material all over their face that then has other dirt and grime stick to it . They look like a mess and it is sometimes fatal to them . I might say it's frequently fatal to them . So in this case I'm not sure whether they were going for some sort of nectar Or For insects attracted to the nectar . I would guess the former because you would think they could pick the insects out Without getting the sappy sugary material all over their face . I didn't try it but I think Googling it would give a lot of information . About the eucalyptus trees that is . Bob O'Brien Portland On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Dennis Paulson wrote: > Ed, we have Townsend?s every winter coming to suet feeders. Quite a few > times I have seen one land on a hummingbird feeder and apparently take some > sugar water from along the edge where we had spilled it when filling the > feeder. Yellow-rumped are also around all winter, but I haven?t seen one do > that. > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > > On Feb 1, 2021, at 10:32 PM, > wrote: > > Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms that > blooms for much of the winter. Anna?s Hummingbirds fight to protect this > territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend?s Warbler able to > forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This > morning, I noticed that the female Townsend?s appeared to be inserting its > beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning > for insects. > > Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend?s? I have seen them drink > from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar > feeding from plants. Cornell?s Birds of the World doesn?t really have that > much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew > from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting. > > It was a good warbler day with Townsend?s, Orange-crowned and > Yellow-rumped (Audubon?s) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or > hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker. > > Ed in West Seattle > > Ed Swan > Nature writer and guide > www.theswancompany.com > edswan2@comcast.net > 206.949.3545 > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul.bannick at gmail.com Tue Feb 2 07:11:47 2021 From: paul.bannick at gmail.com (Paul Bannick) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? In-Reply-To: References: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net> <24B5366B-C983-4031-8908-42A6578E9043@comcast.net> Message-ID: yes, this is common with the winter blooming Mahonia Arthur Menzies On Tue, Feb 2, 2021 at 7:09 AM Robert O'Brien wrote: > > Growing up in California where eucalyptus trees from Australia are widely > naturalized It is very Abundantly seen that yellow-rumped warblers love to > feed in eucalyptus flowers . As a result they get some sappy material all > over their face that then has other dirt and grime stick to it . They look > like a mess and it is sometimes fatal to them . I might say it's frequently > fatal to them . So in this case I'm not sure whether they were going for > some sort of nectar Or For insects attracted to the nectar . I would guess > the former because you would think they could pick the insects out Without > getting the sappy sugary material all over their face . I didn't try it but > I think Googling it would give a lot of information . About the eucalyptus > trees that is . Bob O'Brien Portland > > On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Dennis Paulson > wrote: > >> Ed, we have Townsend?s every winter coming to suet feeders. Quite a few >> times I have seen one land on a hummingbird feeder and apparently take some >> sugar water from along the edge where we had spilled it when filling the >> feeder. Yellow-rumped are also around all winter, but I haven?t seen one do >> that. >> >> Dennis Paulson >> Seattle >> >> On Feb 1, 2021, at 10:32 PM, >> wrote: >> >> Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms >> that blooms for much of the winter. Anna?s Hummingbirds fight to protect >> this territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend?s Warbler able >> to forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This >> morning, I noticed that the female Townsend?s appeared to be inserting its >> beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning >> for insects. >> >> Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend?s? I have seen them drink >> from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar >> feeding from plants. Cornell?s Birds of the World doesn?t really have that >> much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew >> from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting. >> >> It was a good warbler day with Townsend?s, Orange-crowned and >> Yellow-rumped (Audubon?s) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or >> hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker. >> >> Ed in West Seattle >> >> Ed Swan >> Nature writer and guide >> www.theswancompany.com >> edswan2@comcast.net >> 206.949.3545 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- Now Available: Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls at: http://paulbannick.com/shop/owl-a-year-in-the-lives-of-north-american-owls/ Paul Bannick Photography www.paulbannick.com 206-940-7835 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From baro at pdx.edu Tue Feb 2 07:39:42 2021 From: baro at pdx.edu (Robert O'Brien) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? In-Reply-To: References: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net> <24B5366B-C983-4031-8908-42A6578E9043@comcast.net> Message-ID: Really? We have a row of these 6 feet tall or more 200 ft long in front of our rural place . Now I haven't seen a winter warbler here in decades But maybe that's good . Paul, do you mean that they get sappy material all over their faces? Anna's hummingbirds practically live in these while they're in bloom But I haven't seen any Deleterious effects . In this case it seems likely they're going for nectar but I would guess insects as well . Bob O'Brien Portland On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Paul Bannick wrote: > yes, this is common with the winter blooming Mahonia Arthur Menzies > > On Tue, Feb 2, 2021 at 7:09 AM Robert O'Brien wrote: > >> >> Growing up in California where eucalyptus trees from Australia are widely >> naturalized It is very Abundantly seen that yellow-rumped warblers love to >> feed in eucalyptus flowers . As a result they get some sappy material all >> over their face that then has other dirt and grime stick to it . They look >> like a mess and it is sometimes fatal to them . I might say it's frequently >> fatal to them . So in this case I'm not sure whether they were going for >> some sort of nectar Or For insects attracted to the nectar . I would guess >> the former because you would think they could pick the insects out Without >> getting the sappy sugary material all over their face . I didn't try it but >> I think Googling it would give a lot of information . About the eucalyptus >> trees that is . Bob O'Brien Portland >> >> On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Dennis Paulson >> wrote: >> >>> Ed, we have Townsend?s every winter coming to suet feeders. Quite a few >>> times I have seen one land on a hummingbird feeder and apparently take some >>> sugar water from along the edge where we had spilled it when filling the >>> feeder. Yellow-rumped are also around all winter, but I haven?t seen one do >>> that. >>> >>> Dennis Paulson >>> Seattle >>> >>> On Feb 1, 2021, at 10:32 PM, >>> wrote: >>> >>> Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms >>> that blooms for much of the winter. Anna?s Hummingbirds fight to protect >>> this territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend?s Warbler able >>> to forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This >>> morning, I noticed that the female Townsend?s appeared to be inserting its >>> beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning >>> for insects. >>> >>> Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend?s? I have seen them >>> drink from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar >>> feeding from plants. Cornell?s Birds of the World doesn?t really have that >>> much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew >>> from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting. >>> >>> It was a good warbler day with Townsend?s, Orange-crowned and >>> Yellow-rumped (Audubon?s) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or >>> hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker. >>> >>> Ed in West Seattle >>> >>> Ed Swan >>> Nature writer and guide >>> www.theswancompany.com >>> edswan2@comcast.net >>> 206.949.3545 >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Tweeters mailing list >>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>> >>> >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > > > -- > Now Available: > Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls at: > http://paulbannick.com/shop/owl-a-year-in-the-lives-of- > north-american-owls/ > > > Paul Bannick Photography > www.paulbannick.com > 206-940-7835 > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zoramon at mac.com Tue Feb 2 07:44:27 2021 From: zoramon at mac.com (Zora Monster) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <664207BE-79FE-42C6-9942-AD0F86487903@mac.com> I have observed Townsend?s warblers foraging in my mahonia over the years. They always appear to be eating the blossoms as opposed to drinking nectar from them. Zora Dermer Seattle Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 2, 2021, at 7:18 AM, Paul Bannick wrote: > > ? > yes, this is common with the winter blooming Mahonia Arthur Menzies > >> On Tue, Feb 2, 2021 at 7:09 AM Robert O'Brien wrote: >> >> Growing up in California where eucalyptus trees from Australia are widely naturalized It is very Abundantly seen that yellow-rumped warblers love to feed in eucalyptus flowers . As a result they get some sappy material all over their face that then has other dirt and grime stick to it . They look like a mess and it is sometimes fatal to them . I might say it's frequently fatal to them . So in this case I'm not sure whether they were going for some sort of nectar Or For insects attracted to the nectar . I would guess the former because you would think they could pick the insects out Without getting the sappy sugary material all over their face . I didn't try it but I think Googling it would give a lot of information . About the eucalyptus trees that is . Bob O'Brien Portland >> >>> On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Dennis Paulson wrote: >>> Ed, we have Townsend?s every winter coming to suet feeders. Quite a few times I have seen one land on a hummingbird feeder and apparently take some sugar water from along the edge where we had spilled it when filling the feeder. Yellow-rumped are also around all winter, but I haven?t seen one do that. >>> >>> Dennis Paulson >>> Seattle >>> >>>> On Feb 1, 2021, at 10:32 PM, wrote: >>>> >>>> Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms that blooms for much of the winter. Anna?s Hummingbirds fight to protect this territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend?s Warbler able to forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This morning, I noticed that the female Townsend?s appeared to be inserting its beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning for insects. >>>> >>>> Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend?s? I have seen them drink from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar feeding from plants. Cornell?s Birds of the World doesn?t really have that much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting. >>>> >>>> It was a good warbler day with Townsend?s, Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped (Audubon?s) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker. >>>> >>>> Ed in West Seattle >>>> >>>> Ed Swan >>>> Nature writer and guide >>>> www.theswancompany.com >>>> edswan2@comcast.net >>>> 206.949.3545 >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Tweeters mailing list >>>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > -- > Now Available: > Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls at: > http://paulbannick.com/shop/owl-a-year-in-the-lives-of-north-american-owls/ > > > Paul Bannick Photography > www.paulbannick.com > 206-940-7835 > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garybletsch at yahoo.com Tue Feb 2 08:00:35 2021 From: garybletsch at yahoo.com (Gary Bletsch) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] binocular rainguards References: <1079989557.977450.1612281635003.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1079989557.977450.1612281635003@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, Until I bought a pair of Nikon binoculars at Seattle Audubon two years ago, none of the binoculars I had ever used had come with a rainguard that was worth using. I really like the one that comes with my Nikons; if the company is that bad at replacing lost ones,? I had better guard the guard! I used to bird with someone who had a very cool rainguard. She had a piece of soft, supple leather over her bins. There were two holes, one for each strap to go through. She'd just do a quick little flip, and the leather was out of the way. Another flip put it back in position to protect the lenses. It never seemed to get in the way or cause a delay. I always figured I'd try that method some day, but am too lazy to find a shoemaker and haggle for a scrap of soft, supple leather.? A synthetic material might make a good substitute, but such a material does not come readily to mind. The closest I can think is the amazing rubbery stuff that we have on some of our Ikea pseudo-tupperware. The glass food containers have these air-tight rubbery tops that stay on by suction alone. A large-sized piece of that stuff might make a good rainguard.? Before the Nikons, I always carried my binoculars under one shoulder when it was raining! Yours truly, Gary Bletsch -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From danmcdt at gmail.com Tue Feb 2 11:41:10 2021 From: danmcdt at gmail.com (Dan McDougall-Treacy) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? In-Reply-To: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net> References: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net> Message-ID: I've seen Townsend's Warbler feeding at mahonia at Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle, and Yellow-rumped Warbler feeding at our hummingbird feeder. Dan Dan McDougall-Treacy Seattle, WA danmcdt at gmail dot com 206.402.9426 On Mon, Feb 1, 2021 at 10:33 PM wrote: > Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms that > blooms for much of the winter. Anna?s Hummingbirds fight to protect this > territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend?s Warbler able to > forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This > morning, I noticed that the female Townsend?s appeared to be inserting its > beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning > for insects. > > > > Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend?s? I have seen them drink > from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar > feeding from plants. Cornell?s Birds of the World doesn?t really have that > much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew > from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting. > > > > It was a good warbler day with Townsend?s, Orange-crowned and > Yellow-rumped (Audubon?s) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or > hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker. > > > > Ed in West Seattle > > > > Ed Swan > > Nature writer and guide > > www.theswancompany.com > > edswan2@comcast.net > > 206.949.3545 > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdcheck at outlook.com Tue Feb 2 12:31:26 2021 From: birdcheck at outlook.com (Tweeters Administration) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] "Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia?" In-Reply-To: References: <028f01d6f92d$3ab9ada0$b02d08e0$@Comcast.net>, Message-ID: TOWA feeding on whatever ... (Mahonia and Camelias) For some who are devoted fans of Larry Hubbell and his "Union Bay Watch," we have enjoyed his recent (Jan 17, 2021) exploration of this behaviour in detail and quite gorgeously. The challenge is that the title doesn't give away the contents! https://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2021/01/lesprit-de-escalier.html Thank you, Larry, for the documentation in your photos, your many careful observations and the research you've included! Elaine C elc at u w dot edu ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Dan McDougall-Treacy Sent: Tuesday, February 2, 2021 11:41 AM To: Cc: Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? I've seen Townsend's Warbler feeding at mahonia at Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle, and Yellow-rumped Warbler feeding at our hummingbird feeder. Dan Dan McDougall-Treacy Seattle, WA danmcdt at gmail dot com 206.402.9426 ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Zora Monster Sent: Tuesday, February 2, 2021 7:44 AM Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Fwd: Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? I have observed Townsend?s warblers foraging in my mahonia over the years. They always appear to be eating the blossoms as opposed to drinking nectar from them. Zora Dermer Seattle From: Tweeters on behalf of Paul Bannick Sent: Tuesday, February 2, 2021 7:11 AM To: Robert O'Brien Cc: tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Fwd: Townsend's Warbler nectar feeding from mahonia? yes, this is common with the winter blooming Mahonia Arthur Menzies On Tue, Feb 2, 2021 at 7:09 AM Robert O'Brien > wrote: Growing up in California where eucalyptus trees from Australia are widely naturalized It is very Abundantly seen that yellow-rumped warblers love to feed in eucalyptus flowers . As a result they get some sappy material all over their face that then has other dirt and grime stick to it . They look like a mess and it is sometimes fatal to them . I might say it's frequently fatal to them . So in this case I'm not sure whether they were going for some sort of nectar Or For insects attracted to the nectar . I would guess the former because you would think they could pick the insects out Without getting the sappy sugary material all over their face . I didn't try it but I think Googling it would give a lot of information . About the eucalyptus trees that is . Bob O'Brien Portland On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Dennis Paulson > wrote: Ed, we have Townsend?s every winter coming to suet feeders. Quite a few times I have seen one land on a hummingbird feeder and apparently take some sugar water from along the edge where we had spilled it when filling the feeder. Yellow-rumped are also around all winter, but I haven?t seen one do that. Dennis Paulson Seattle On Feb 1, 2021, at 10:32 PM, > > wrote: Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms that blooms for much of the winter. Anna?s Hummingbirds fight to protect this territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend?s Warbler able to forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This morning, I noticed that the female Townsend?s appeared to be inserting its beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning for insects. Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend?s? I have seen them drink from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar feeding from plants. Cornell?s Birds of the World doesn?t really have that much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting. It was a good warbler day with Townsend?s, Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped (Audubon?s) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker. Ed in West Seattle Ed Swan Nature writer and guide www.theswancompany.com edswan2@comcast.net 206.949.3545 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From RichardAWalker at outlook.com Tue Feb 2 12:32:43 2021 From: RichardAWalker at outlook.com (Richard Walker) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] leather for rainguards Message-ID: You can buy small, about 8X10", pieces of leather in various colors and thicknesses at JoAnn Fabrics in their craft area. Richard Sent from Outlook -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cohenellenr at yahoo.com Tue Feb 2 14:04:55 2021 From: cohenellenr at yahoo.com (Ellen Cohen) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warbler feeding behavior References: <1710294778.1372430.1612303495615.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1710294778.1372430.1612303495615@mail.yahoo.com> I have a yellow hamamelis - a Townsend's warbler & ruby crowned kinglet have been battling over whose turf it is. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From josh.hayes at q.com Tue Feb 2 17:20:33 2021 From: josh.hayes at q.com (Joshua Hayes) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Second attempt at directions for Licton Springs barred owl Message-ID: <00b401d6f9ca$c587ce10$50976a30$@q.com> Hi folks, I got WAY more interest in this than I expected, so general directions to the park: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Licton+Springs+Park/@47.6985437,-122.34075 31,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x54901402613183e9:0x9e69353e68ec08ea!8m2!3d4 7.6985401!4d-122.3385591?hl=en And the owl has been generally seen in the woods on the northeast quadrant of the park, quite near the northernmost of the two bridges across the creek running through the wetland, ranging out toward the grass on the east side. Licton Springs Park is about two blocks due west of the North Seattle College campus. Having reported the darn thing, I have not seen it the last two days I've gone by there, so, caveat avem germen radicum eius. Cheers, Joshua Hayes Anatomy and Physiology, Biology Redmond High School, E-130 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 3272 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jgretten at gmail.com Tue Feb 2 21:33:29 2021 From: jgretten at gmail.com (John Grettenberger) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Comments on WDFW Land Aquisitions Message-ID: <8B13BA84-6339-46AE-92AC-439537578BEB@hxcore.ol> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com Wed Feb 3 16:55:26 2021 From: rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com (Roger Moyer) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Lewis County Rough-legged Hawk. Message-ID: I was doing a raptor survey today and came across a Rough-legged Hawk at the corner of Rush and Bishop Roads in Chehalis. It has been around most of the afternoon. I last saw it around the wetlands just east and north of the intersection. I've got photos I will include on Ebird and Western WA. Birds on facebook. Roger Moyer Chehalis, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kelsberg at uw.edu Wed Feb 3 20:14:39 2021 From: kelsberg at uw.edu (Gary A Kelsberg) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Okanogan 2/2 and 2/3 Message-ID: We drove through heavy snow over Blewett Pass on Tuesday hoping for clear weather on the Waterville plateau, but a large rockslide blocked Hwy 2 between Orondo and Waterville. We circled around through Brewster and drove the paved roads south, west, and north of Mansfield hoping to see Snowy Owls on snowy fields (others have reported them). We did find a Peregrine and half a dozen Rough-legged Hawks, plus many Horned Larks. Another birding couple we encountered at Bridgeport State Park said they also saw Snow Buntings. We saw three Saw-whet and two Great Horned Owls in the trees at the park. Wednesday was bright and sunny in the Okanogan Highlands and we saw several Bald Eagles and a Golden Eagle along Fancher Road, and some Gray Partridges (we had to turn around and approach from the eastern end of Fancher due to deep mud). The Highlands snow park was quiet except for little birds (White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, Mountain Chickadees and a distant woodpecker with a tantalizing tapping pattern), plus a boldly perched Northern Pygmy Owl. We enjoyed chatting with various masked people at their activities in the area but saw few birds, except for a flock of about 50 White-winged Crossbills feeding avidly on the cones of dead-appearing trees. Very few hawks in the highlands today, with large songbirds dominating (Common Ravens). Gary Kelsberg Seattle kelsberg at yew dot warshington dot ee-dew From mgfrrstr at comcast.net Thu Feb 4 11:08:53 2021 From: mgfrrstr at comcast.net (Mary Forrester) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] TOWA winter feeding Message-ID: <407871914.6068.1612465733725@connect.xfinity.com> For the past 3 years I've had one male Townsend's warbler spending a lot of time at my feeder. He (of course I don't know if he's the same bird) arrives early in December & then abruptly disappears at the end of April. I have only a window feeder and fill it with mostly Wild Bird's No Mess bird seed, together with some bits scraped from a suet log. Most of the visitors are chickadees, juncos & other seed eaters (many pine siskins this winter, of course), but the TOWA hangs out most of the day, feeding frequently. Until the siskins invaded, he was the most aggressive, chasing other birds off the feeder. I don't know if he eats any of the seeds, but expect he's going for the suet. He also appears to glean things from the twigs and leaves of a nearby apple tree, but I'm not able to tell what these are. Mary Forrester Mountlake Terrace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pdickins at gmail.com Thu Feb 4 13:44:09 2021 From: pdickins at gmail.com (Philip Dickinson) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Snowy Owl Message-ID: <5A759666-3D2D-4D0F-9C95-C0CFFCC02E1B@gmail.com> Fifty-minute search for Snowy Owl today covering several blocks turned up empty. Note that someone else failed to find it yesterday, too. It may finally have moved on Phil Dickinson Sent from my iPhone From benedict.t at comcast.net Thu Feb 4 14:09:04 2021 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (THOMAS BENEDICT) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] FOY...Orange Crowned Warbler In-Reply-To: <5A759666-3D2D-4D0F-9C95-C0CFFCC02E1B@gmail.com> References: <5A759666-3D2D-4D0F-9C95-C0CFFCC02E1B@gmail.com> Message-ID: <1412356702.419257.1612476545211@connect.xfinity.com> Here in Seahurst, WA we usually see Orange Crowned Warblers in spring and summer, but today one came to the suet feeder, along with our regular Juncos and Chestnut backed Chickadees and Ruby Crowned Kinglet. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Thu Feb 4 14:35:27 2021 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (birdmarymoor@gmail.com) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2021-02-04 Message-ID: Tweets ? We got rained on this morning, though nothing that challenged our rain gear. It was also quite intermittent. Always pretty dark, though, and damp. Not terribly birdy, but a few good sightings. Highlights: a.. Wood Duck ? at least two pair b.. American Wigeon ? quite a few today c.. Virginia Rail ? at least 6 different birds heard, boardwalk, and east of the East Meadow d.. California Gull ? adult with other gulls on Fields 7-8-9 ? First of Year (FOY) e.. ICELAND (Thayer?s) GULL ? initially spotted due to it?s bright pink legs. Also on 7-8-9 ? FOY f.. Cooper?s Hawk ? two sightings g.. Hairy Woodpecker ? female at Rowing Club h.. Marsh Wren ? after prompting, one sang east of the East Meadow ? FOY i.. Pine Siskin ? only 1 heard, near park office j.. COMMON YELLOWTHROAT ? Called and gave me a quick view, east edge of East Meadow. We?ve never had COYE before the last week in March before ? FOY The INDIAN PLUM is in full bud, and one at least one plant there were a few flowers open! Quite a bit of singing today, including from AMERICAN ROBIN. Also, some display bobbing by COMMON GOLDENEYES. A late scan of the lake turned up a couple of HORNED GREBES, and I noticed a ROCK PIGEON on my way out. Bushtit was the only real miss today. For the day, 60 species (albeit, several were heard-only and/or noted by only one person), a really good total for a rainy day in February. For the year, we?re up to 77 species. = Michael Hobbs = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alanroedell at gmail.com Thu Feb 4 15:33:51 2021 From: alanroedell at gmail.com (Alan Roedell) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Snow Bunting at Leque Island (eide Rd) Message-ID: A beautiful bird for little effort. A Discover Pass required to park in a very small lot. While we were eating lunch Wendy spotted a Sharp-shinned hawk skulking on the embankment below the highway. Fortunately it didn't check out the end of the short trail where the Snow Bunting was sitting in plain sight on a rock. This was easier than scouring the back roads in Eastern Washington for a glimpse of a flock flying away from you. Better days are coming. Alan Roedell, Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mattxyz at earthlink.net Fri Feb 5 06:13:34 2021 From: mattxyz at earthlink.net (Matt Bartels) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Guess the next five birds for the state - prediction round-up available in WOS News Message-ID: Hi all - Just following up after my requests to join the ?guess the next birds for the state? contest ? The summary of our predictions for this round are available in the latest issue of WOS News, here: https://wos.org/documents/wosnews/wosnews189.pdf#page=16 Take a look, if interested in seeing what birds we think are most likely to be lining up soon to come visit us. Thanks everyone who sent in their predictions! [and take a look at the entire issue here: https://wos.org/documents/wosnews/wosnews189.pdf ] Matt Bartels Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tatooshtakto at gmail.com Fri Feb 5 07:47:35 2021 From: tatooshtakto at gmail.com (Louise Kulzer) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] rough-legged hawk/short-eared owl encounter Message-ID: I spent the sunny morning this Wednesday on the Sammish flats. I saw an adult rough-legged hawk perched on a utility pole right along Bayview/Edison Road. I pulled over to look more closely at the RLHA and saw this behavior, for which there are two possible interpretations: Behavior observed: The RLHA flew into the field to the west of the road and landed on the ground about 300 feet out. It didn't hover and I stopped watching it as it was hard to see in the grass. Soon, however, I noticed (without binocs) the RLHA lift it's wings and another bird flying low and away from the RLHA . In checking with my binoculars, I saw the bird come back and strike the RLHA--the attacking bird was a short-eared owl. The owl attacked the hawk at least 3 more times, finally taking up patrolling to the west of the area the hawk was sitting. The hawk stayed put the rest of the time I watched (about 20 min) and was not attacked again, Story 1: Perhaps the RLHA noticed that the SEOW had made a kill and flew over and commandeered the item. The SEOW tried to regain the item by diving at the RLHA, but was unable to displace it and so resumed hunting. Story 2: The RLHA killed the item and the SEOW tried to take it from her . Which of the stories do you think is more likely? -- Louise Kulzer 206, 371-6295 tatooshtakto@gmail.com "...in this world I am as rich as I need to be." Mary Oliver -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dick at dkporter.net Sat Feb 6 02:06:42 2021 From: dick at dkporter.net (dick) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Someone's Spoiling the Story - and the Fun. Message-ID: Maybe Neah Bay is over-rated?https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/birdwatching/patagonia-picnic-table-effect-is-a-myth-study-says/Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ucd880 at comcast.net Sat Feb 6 08:41:35 2021 From: ucd880 at comcast.net (HAL MICHAEL) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Someone's Spoiling the Story - and the Fun. In-Reply-To: <202102061007.116A7UcE012180@mxout21.s.uw.edu> References: <202102061007.116A7UcE012180@mxout21.s.uw.edu> Message-ID: <1264019440.37535.1612629695587@connect.xfinity.com> I read the article and I think that the authors confused just what a rarity is and what draws people to an area. Having been to Patagonia, and the Rest Stop, there are essentially resident birds in the area that are found in few other places in the US. The Beard, and it's nest, the Black-capped Gnatcatcher, Five-striped Sparrow, and Violet Crowned Hummingbird were all in the area and at generally known locations. Having lots of good birders around allowed things like the Sinaloa Wren to be detected. And one was only a modest drive away from a number of other hummers and the Flame-colored Tanager, and other very localized rarities. This is very different from sighting, say, the Siberian Accentor last year down by Ridgefield. That was a bird which one would normally not even anticipate; a true "rarity" in the sense that folks would immediately flock there to see it. I see Neah Bay as a migrant trap where uncommon to rare migrants funnel through. Given its location as a trap, like the Farallones, oddballs show up. You don't go there specifically looking for the rare bird, but the configuration allows a higher probability of seeing one than say Green Lake. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net > On 02/06/2021 2:06 AM dick wrote: > > > Maybe Neah Bay is over-rated? > > > https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/birdwatching/patagonia-picnic-table-effect-is-a-myth-study-says/ > > > Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From festuca at comcast.net Sat Feb 6 10:56:46 2021 From: festuca at comcast.net (Jon. Anderson and Marty Chaney) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Spoiling the Story . . . Message-ID: <2100166262.420661.1612637806745@connect.xfinity.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Sat Feb 6 11:36:58 2021 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (birdmarymoor@gmail.com) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Someone's Spoiling the Story - and the Fun. In-Reply-To: <202102061007.116A7Uxa018224@mxout24.cac.washington.edu> References: <202102061007.116A7Uxa018224@mxout24.cac.washington.edu> Message-ID: <884CE30921BF4C5BB5F2D7505CD0D44E@DESKTOPER2GUVC> I?m not sure they really understood the Effect. If the rate of rarities is a flat 8/1000 checklists, then if you gather 1000 people together to chase a rare bird, there will be on average 8 additional rarities found. That makes 9 rarities in one spot. Wow! That IS the Effect, as I understood it. And they didn?t really address the other part of the Effect, which is basically that there are Hot Spots. They seem to say that eBird data doesn?t really show that there are Hot Spots; that there is a fairly flat rate of 8 rarities per 1000 checklists. But especially because of eBird, most birding is done *at Hot Spots*. They would need to have birders do extensive birding at randomly chosen locations, and then see if the rarity rate is still flat. Which we all know is not true. We are often in other spots, find no notable birds, and we don?t bother to enter checklists. This leaves open another line of inquiry. Do megararities tend to show up at Hot Spots (that is, places where there are many species / many birds)? That would be very hard to determine, I expect, particularly as the sample size is tiny by definition. But perhaps that?s what their study *does* imply: that birders drawn to megararities are finding regular-old rarities at the same flat rate nearby *as at other Hot Spots*. So if we assume my assertions in paragraph 2, then megararities tend to show up more often at locations that are generally excellent spots to go birding, than at places that have few birds. But, of course, megararities are more likely to be noticed at places where birders spend time, and that probably overwhelms any possible conclusions. = Michael Hobbs = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com From: dick Sent: Saturday, February 6, 2021 2:06 AM To: TWEETERS Subject: [Tweeters] Someone's Spoiling the Story - and the Fun. Maybe Neah Bay is over-rated? https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/birdwatching/patagonia-picnic-table-effect-is-a-myth-study-says/ Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ellenblackstone at gmail.com Sat Feb 6 12:02:00 2021 From: ellenblackstone at gmail.com (Ellen Blackstone) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] BirdNote, last week and the week of Feb. 7, 2021 Message-ID: Hey, Tweeters, Heard last week on BirdNote: * Sleeping on the Wing http://bit.ly/2Rxu0XG * Spark Bird: Corina Newsome Meets the Blue Jay http://bit.ly/2YMM41g * Three Kingfishers http://bit.ly/1fBOHV1 * Red-crowned Cranes Dance on Hokkaido http://bit.ly/1D8JeEb * Can Birds Spread COVID-19? http://bit.ly/2MHTIay * Consider the Ostrich http://bit.ly/1o2NqMy * Rock Pigeon, Urban Bird http://bit.ly/2ObULQF ========================= Next week on BirdNote: A Pigeon-Eyed View of the World, Chickadee Line-up, Tokens of Affection with guest writer Wenfei Tong, Crossbills Nest in Winter, and more! http://bit.ly/3oVVVMH -------------------------------------- Did you have a favorite story this week? Another comment? Please let us know. mailto:info@birdnote.org ------------------------------------------------ Sign up for the podcast: https://birdnote.org/get-podcasts-rss Find us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/birdnoteradio?ref=ts ... or follow us on Twitter. https://twitter.com/birdnoteradio or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birdnoteradio/ Listen on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/birdnote ======================== You can listen to the mp3, see photos, and read the transcript for a show, plus sign up for weekly mail or the podcast and find related resources on the website. https://www.birdnote.org You'll find 1700+ episodes and more than 1200 videos in the archive. Thanks for listening. Take care. Ellen Blackstone, BirdNote -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ldhubbell at comcast.net Sat Feb 6 12:08:48 2021 From: ldhubbell at comcast.net (Hubbell) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } Seeing Spots on RBSA Message-ID: <46698771-BF7F-4FF1-8BA6-7CEEE66BC460@comcast.net> Tweeters, Last week, I became enthralled with a Red-breasted Sapsucker in the Arboretum. I found its behavior to be unique and I wondered if some of its markings might also be unique. If you would like to see spots with me and find out if you agree - with my conclusions, please visit: https://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2021/02/seeing-spots.html Have a great day on Union Bay where nature lives in the city and Black Birders are welcome! Larry Hubbell ldhubbell at comcast dot net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bboek at olympus.net Sat Feb 6 13:41:51 2021 From: bboek at olympus.net (B Boekelheide) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Someone's Spoiling the Story - and the Fun. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1DBBAFB4-0FB0-49BE-A92F-07D01F5B1FA3@olympus.net> Ha ha! As the current keeper of the Clallam list for Matt Bartels? County Year List project, I can honestly say that not having access to Neah Bay last year made a big difference in the number of species Clallam County tallied in 2020. The pre-COVID Clallam species total in 2019 was 305; in 2020 it dropped to 271. As you likely know, the Makah Tribe at Neah Bay and the Quileute Nation at La Push smartly closed their reservations to outsiders in March 2020 because of COVID, including offshore pelagic trips. This, along with other COVID concerns, of course caused fewer birders to visit anywhere in Clallam County, which spread the effect out over more than just Neah Bay. Suffice it to say that decreased numbers of eager birders equates to fewer species observed, particularly unusual species. Perhaps this is the inverse or corollary of the ?Patagonia rest stop effect?" Neah Bay is also a little different than the specific Patagonia rest stop because it is a large area with potentially a dozen or more ?rest stops,? from Bahokus Peak to Hobuck Beach to the Waatch Valley to Cape Flattery to Neah Bay itself and more. There are similarly more than a dozen hot spots around Patagonia AZ, in addition to the famed rest stop. So maybe comparing apples and oranges? I?m looking forward to visiting mythical rest stops sometime in the future, but in the meantime it?s fine to stay home and enjoy birds at our own mythical home patches. Bob Boekelheide Dungeness > On Feb 6, 2021, at 12:02 PM, tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu wrote: > > From: dick > > Subject: [Tweeters] Someone's Spoiling the Story - and the Fun. > Date: February 6, 2021 at 2:06:42 AM PST > To: TWEETERS > > > > Maybe Neah Bay is over-rated? > > > https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/birdwatching/patagonia-picnic-table-effect-is-a-myth-study-says/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mattxyz at earthlink.net Sat Feb 6 16:05:30 2021 From: mattxyz at earthlink.net (Matt Bartels) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Someone's Spoiling the Story - and the Fun. In-Reply-To: <202102061007.116A7UcE012180@mxout21.s.uw.edu> References: <202102061007.116A7UcE012180@mxout21.s.uw.edu> Message-ID: Interesting study - I think a lot of the power of the findings might well be coming down to the focus only on ?mega-rarities? ? I would love to see the same study replicated with ABA Code 3 birds include or another broader measure. To give a feel of how rare code 4 and code 5 birds are, out of the 520 species on Washington?s official list, I believe only 22 are code 4 or code 5. Half of those have only been seen once in the state, and half have not been seen in over a decade here. So, we are talking about birds seen about once a year in all of Washington. If that?s the level of frequency, it isn?t surprising that a Patagonia Picnic Table effect would be unlikely to be found using that sample set. If they looked at ABA Code 3 birds, we?d have another 29 species from the WA list included ? Even with that, though all the Washington-rare but ABA breeders though would not be a big enough deal to be caught by these ABA-wide abundance codes ? Birds seen in the last decade at Neah Bay include: White-winged Dove, Zone-tailed Hawk, Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Orchard Oriole, Hooded Oriole, Field Sparrow, Lucy?s Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Blue Grosbeak, or Dickcissel to name a few ? all birds we think of as Neah Bay rarities that would not even show up in a study expanded to cover ABA Code 3 birds. I don?t think the study is necessarily methodologically flawed in its analysis ? I?d assume they are processing the data correctly. But the framing really doesn?t reflect the meaning we use when we think of rarity hotspots. Just because I was interested enough to dig it up, here?s the list of the 22 code 4 & 5 birds on the WA list [21 are code 4, only Swallow-tailed Gull rates a code 5 rating] - I?ve listed the most recent year seen in WA and the number of accepted records. Baikal Teal (2009) 4 records total Garganey (1994) 3 records total Falcated Duck (2017) 5 records total Eurasian Dotterel (2007) 4 records total Little Stint (2019) 2 records total Jack Snipe (1993) 1 record Spotted Redshank (2014) 1 record Swallow-tailed Gull (2017) 1 record Black-tailed Gull (2019) 8 records White-capped Albatross (2000) 2 records Providence Petrel (1983) 1 record Nazca Booby (2020) 1 record Blue-footed Booby (2006) 2 records Eurasian Kestrel (1999) 1 record Eurasian Hobby (2014) 2 records Variegated Flycatcher (2008) 1 record Red-flanked Bluetail (2015) 2 records Dusky Thrush (2002) 1 record Redwing (2004) 1 record Siberian Accentor (2020) 3 records Gray Wagtail (2016) 1 record Little Bunting (2015) 1 record Matt Bartels Seattle, WA > On Feb 6, 2021, at 2:06 AM, dick wrote: > > Maybe Neah Bay is over-rated? > > > https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/birdwatching/patagonia-picnic-table-effect-is-a-myth-study-says/ > > > Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From contopus at telus.net Sat Feb 6 22:25:43 2021 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne Weber) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Someone's Spoiling the Story - and the Fun. In-Reply-To: <202102061007.116A7UcE012180@mxout21.s.uw.edu> References: <202102061007.116A7UcE012180@mxout21.s.uw.edu> Message-ID: <010801d6fd1a$11790850$346b18f0$@net> Tweeters, I know 3 of the 4 authors of this study. However, the study is obviously flawed, and the conclusions are demonstrably false. Any of us who have been birding for 20, 30 years or more can think of dozens of cases of the Patagonia Picnic Table Effect (PPTE), in which the discovery of one rarity led to the discovery of one or more additional rarities in the same location or nearby localities. Perhaps the authors were asking the wrong question. It seems like they were asking whether an individual birder who travelled to see a rarity had a better chance of finding another rarity than if he had stayed home. That, clearly, is not the case. The reason that when one long-staying rarity is found, others tend to be found nearby, is because of the vast increase in number of birders in the area of the rarity. The chances are high that SOMEONE will find another rarity, or two, or three, and that birders who arrive later may have a chance to see several rarities rather than one. It doesn?t happen with every mega-rarity, but it happens with a large percentage of them. Perhaps part of the problem is that the authors only counted the discovery of an additional mega-rarity as evidence of the PPTE, rather than regional or local rarities, which is what subsequent rarities usually turn out to be. It?s all in how you define a rarity. The Patagonia Picnic Table Effect is a real, well-documented phenomenon, and this badly-flawed study does not prove otherwise. Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus@telus.net From: Tweeters [mailto:tweeters-bounces@mailman11.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of dick Sent: Saturday, February 06, 2021 2:07 AM To: TWEETERS Subject: [Tweeters] Someone's Spoiling the Story - and the Fun. Maybe Neah Bay is over-rated? https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/birdwatching/patagonia-picnic-table-effect-is-a-myth-study-says/ Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From elc at uw.edu Sun Feb 7 10:09:08 2021 From: elc at uw.edu (elc) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:11 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] In singular times, our singular SNOW visitor to Seattle Message-ID: <21596C41-787C-4558-A519-E17514A39CD0@uw.edu> (forgive this, all: I can be said to be more than a bit besotted) "One Snowy Owl does not an irruption make? is probably safe to say. Starting Nov 14, one SNOW (Snowy Owl) did arrive and come to favor a few square blocks on Queen Anne Hill for day roost sites. After *she had spent days in Burien and West Seattle, and also put in verified appearances in nearby Ballard and the vicinity of Woodland Park Zoo (N.B., four SNOW do live there), she somehow found that this particular landform, perhaps its proximity to the sea and nearby sustenance combinedl, rang the right bell. (80 some days passed) Recently, when the first then second day of no SNOW sightings slipped by, with some apprehension and yes, ennui ? the fact of The Queen?s departure became clear. We all together hope that ?she? fortified herself well (despite the various ?black boxes? placed by nearby business) here in Seattle, learned a lot ? and is now safely winging her way back to the frozen North. Down here fixed at ground level, what may be the most enduring is the effect she has had on community. How many hundreds (at the two ends of the ?bird-awareness? spectrum, and of all ages) got to experience something rare and really remarkable, and take her in? My favorite was a nice woman who while driving slowly by in December, asked, ?What are you all looking at, a UFO?? Until our last view of Her Majesty, probably Feb 2 (which happens to have also been Ground Hog Day), we did have this Unbelievably Fabulous One as nearby nature - an emissary from the arctic, who taught us, united us, cheered us up. No longer having Her Majesty to draw us together, that song from 'Les Miserables? has come into mind (with apologies), "Empty [streets] and empty [alleys], now my friends are [home, warm and dry]. Thanks are deeply extended to Elizabeth Bacher for Nov 14, Jason Vasallo for his Tweeters and eBird entry the next day (N.B. 300-some other eBird entries per the ?stakeout? hotspot), ?was-it-your-roof??-Jim Danzenbaker and a special shout out to Hartmut Peters for this very lovely Snowy Owl tribute video just out ? Last thanks, with a wink and a wish, are sent for verse offered by Dennis Paulson: Empty roofs and cedars strike me not with pain, I think our queen has gone for now but may return again? For the record, the Good, the Bad and the Alternative: 81 days of civil observation hereabouts, one drone incursion (but not til Jan 23 as compared to Central Park) and a possibly better choice for this afternoon, S U P E R B O W L (with fond remembrances to Alex Trebek). (* a personal not scientific choice of pronoun, in lieu of it / they. After all, this is Queen Anne ... as can be seen, this Snowy Owl sports a lovely tiara. For upholding the broadest of inclusivity, we may happily also honor The Band, ?Queen"). Very best wishes, Tweets! = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at UW dot edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From krtrease at gmail.com Sun Feb 7 12:06:31 2021 From: krtrease at gmail.com (Ken Trease) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Urban owls Message-ID: This morning I had a Long-eared Owl in Magnuson Park - I was quite surprised. I would have expected Barn and Great Horned but not Long-eared. Sent from my iPhone From jphammer68 at gmail.com Sun Feb 7 13:07:42 2021 From: jphammer68 at gmail.com (Jennifer Hammer) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Urban owls In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <41E5B79D-1438-471F-93D5-A5EAC43503E2@gmail.com> Very exciting! I saw a Long-eared Owl in Magnuson Park four years ago on Inauguration Day. My husband took a photo of it and confirmed with seasoned birders. Jennifer Hammer Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 7, 2021, at 12:07 PM, Ken Trease wrote: > > ?This morning I had a Long-eared Owl in Magnuson Park - I was quite surprised. I would have expected Barn and Great Horned but not Long-eared. > > Sent from my iPhone > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com Sun Feb 7 15:41:02 2021 From: rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com (Roger Moyer) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Eagle nest survey Message-ID: Is there any state or private organization who would be interested in the location of active Bald Eagle nests. There are a fair number in the westen half of Lewis County. I would be interested in sharing locations if anyone is interested. Roger Moyer " Chehalis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bill.tweit at gmail.com Sun Feb 7 15:57:20 2021 From: bill.tweit at gmail.com (Bill Tweit) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Wahkiakum County Aythya Message-ID: At least one of the diving ducks in Wahkiakum that has been called a Tufted Duck is actually a hybrid Tufted X scaup. Greg Harrington got very good photos of the male diving duck with a bit of a tuft that has been observed there, and the combination of a dark gray back, that is clearly lighter in tone than the black breast and blackish head, and the very short tuft, indicates that it is a hybrid. This bird is clearly white-sided at this point, His eBird checklist and good photos ( https://ebird.org/checklist/S80521019) are from Feb 6. There is a wrinkle to this, as there are photos of Aythya with slight tufts from the same area with brownish sides from late January. The best of those (from Jake Bonello on Jan 28) show that the brown flanks are actually mottled white, The simplest explanation for this is that they are all the same bird, a young male that is rapidly transitioning from immature to adult plumage, It is possible that two individuals are present, so I would appreciate continuing eBird reports from the area. The brown-flanked bird should continue to be reported as a Tufted, rather than Aythya (sp) so I can see them in the review queue. If there aren't any further reports of the brown-flanked bird, we may conclude that my simple hypothesis is best supported by the evidence and request observers to change their checklists. All of this may have observers wondering about the Clark County bird. That bird is pretty clearly a female, and all of her field marks including neck thickness, bill shape as well as plumage characters fit female Tufted very well. While it may be very difficult to detect a hybrid female, at this point, I don't see any reason to suspect hybrid origin for this bird. There was at least one report of a male in the same area, Will Brooks found a hybrid male Tufted x scaup, but I don't think it was resighted. It might be the same white-flanked individual found in Wahkiakum, but it had white flanks when seen so isn't the brown-flanked bird photographed in Wahkiakum in late January. I encourage observers to continue to submit photos of all Aythya with any sign of a tuft, to help with further tracking of these birds. This is also a great example of the utility of eBird, as it gives all of us a very convenient way to examine photos and written descriptions, and track plumage changes over time. Bill Tweit -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From krtrease at gmail.com Sun Feb 7 18:24:11 2021 From: krtrease at gmail.com (Kenneth Trease) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Late posting re: Long-eared Owl at Magnuson Park Message-ID: This morning while I was out birding at Magnuson I got "porned" or "porn-spammmed" or whatever you call it. I know there were several incidents on Tweeters recently. I quickly deleted the whole string of emails about the owl find this morning. The extremely lucky sighting was due to crows tipping me off on the location. I was expecting to find a Barn Owl since they are nesters in the park. I don't want to be too specific about the exact location. When the crows made a very close dive on the owl it flushed up to a branch that was somewhat in the clear for a few seconds. I was able to get a photo before it then dived even deeper into very thick cover. I circled completely around the area and could find no way into the area. This spot in the park is very thick with thorny shrubs and blackberries. I think the owl chose a very safe location where it is not likely to be found. I posted a photo on the ebird checklist although ebird might withhold the owl sighting as a "Sensitive Sighting?" -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From amk17 at earthlink.net Mon Feb 8 14:13:23 2021 From: amk17 at earthlink.net (AMK17) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Bowman Bay, WA Crossbills Message-ID: <989614172.9603.1612822404796@wamui-bison.atl.sa.earthlink.net> This morning there was a large flock (30-40) of red crossbills at the beach at Bowman Bay feeding in the conifer cones. AKopitov Seattle, WA AMK17 From wagen at uw.edu Mon Feb 8 14:21:56 2021 From: wagen at uw.edu (Mike Wagenbach) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] In singular times, our singular SNOW visitor to Seattle Message-ID: "For upholding the broadest of inclusivity, we may happily also honor The Band, Queen)." Fluffy-bottomed birds, you make the rockin' world go round! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cariddellwa at gmail.com Tue Feb 9 10:14:54 2021 From: cariddellwa at gmail.com (Carol Riddell) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup - January 2021 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, There were 104 species that we put on our 2021 Edmonds collective year list in January. Most waterfowl were reported with the exception of Long-tailed Duck (code 3), which has become more difficult to spot here. All of the expected grebes were reported, including an Eared Grebe (code 4) in the middle of the month, which many birders got to see. While a Virginia Rail (code 2) was reported late in the month at the Edmonds marsh, there was no American Coot (code 2) sighting. The expected shorebirds have been seen: Killdeer (code 1), Black Turnstone (code 4) (probably becoming a code 3), Sanderling (code 2), Dunlin (code 2), and Wilson?s Snipe (code 3). For the alcids, there are good reports of Common Murre (code 2), Pigeon Guillemot (code 1), Marbled Murrelet (code 2), and Rhinoceros Auklet (code 1). Other than Pigeon Guillemot, overall alcid numbers seem quite low. All three cormorants and all three loons have been reported. The expected raptors for this time of year were all reported: Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper?s Hawk, Bald Eagle, and Red-tailed Hawk. There were no owl reports until the last third of the month when a Great Horned Owl (code 4) was recorded hooting in the Seaview neighborhood and a Barred Owl (code 2) was photographed in Pine Ridge Park. The only falcon for January was Merlin (code 2) in the Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood, at the marsh, and in three of the larger forested parks. Common Raven is one of the more difficult code 3 species in Edmonds. One was photographed in Pine Ridge Park on January 23rd. There have been periodic reports of this species in or near Pine Ridge in recent years. There have been many Varied Thrush (code 2) sightings but only one Hermit Thrush (code 2) from the Perrinville neighborhood early in the month. There have been the expected sightings of Yellow-rumped Warbler (code 1) and Townsend?s Warbler (code 2), but an Orange-crowned Warbler (code 1) seen along the waterfront by a number of birders may be hoped for but is not expected in winter in Edmonds. Some misses for January include Long-tailed Duck, Western Meadowlark, and White-throated Sparrow, all code 3 species. It is interesting that there were so many eBird reports of Sanderlings. I made a species map in eBird to see how many January reports there have been over the previous ten years. This year had a high of 30 reports. Here are the previous years: (2020) 2; (2019) 1; (2018) 1; (2017) 1; (2016) 29; (2015) 9; (2014) 2; (2013) 6; (2012) 4; (2011) 1. If past predicts the future, it may be a more difficult species to see in Edmonds next January. We take a conservative approach to unusual sightings in eBird to make sure that our collective list reflects birds actually seen or heard. eBird is one of several sources we rely on to develop our year lists. It goes without saying that our decisions do not impact eBird records in any way. January birds reported in eBird that we have not added to our collective year list include: Northern Pintail (code 3) - Almost 30 were reported in flight along the waterfront with no details of field marks and no photo. It would be an unusual sighting at this time of year, warranting further information. Greater Scaup (code 2) - Reported on Goodhope Pond in Pine Ridge Park, an unusual location for even a Lesser Scaup, with no details of field marks and no photo. Described as a poor view. Ruddy Duck (code 3) - One reported on the waterfront with no details of field marks and no photo. An exposed waterfront, such as that of Edmonds, is a highly unusual location for this species and should have details. This species winters mostly in brackish water in shallow bays and inlets, on freshwater ponds/lakes, and on sewage treatment ponds. The most reliable location in Snohomish County for large numbers of this duck is the Everett sewage treatment lagoon. Edmonds sightings have been in the marsh or on the Edmonds portion of Lake Ballinger. Surfbird (code 4) - One report on the waterfront with no details of field marks and no photo. Least Sandpiper (code 1) - One reported on the waterfront and not expected in Edmonds at this time of year. No details of field marks and no photo. Ring-billed Gull (code 3) - This is a very difficult code 3 species to find in Edmonds, undoubtedly because of the exposed nature of the waterfront. It is easily confused with Mew Gulls in winter and California Gulls in summer. When seen, it is usually a single bird. There were many January reports of 4-6 birds, none with details of field marks or photos. If you are looking for this species near Edmonds, try Lake Ballinger. If you are looking for it for Snohomish County, Everett?s 10th St. boat ramp parking lot usually hosts 5-10. If you want to see hundreds, in winter check the farm fields along Norman Road between Silvana and Stanwood. Herring Gull (code 4) - A pure Herring Gull is challenging to find in Snohomish County and is not seen every year on the Edmonds waterfront. With no details and no photo, we have not added it to our list. As always, I appreciate it when birders get in touch with me to share sightings, photos, or audio. It helps us build our collective year list. If you would like a copy of our 2020 city checklist, please request it at checklistedmonds@gmail.com . I will get a 2021 checklist posted in the bird information box at the Visitor Station at the base of the public pier within the week. Good birding, Carol Riddell Edmonds, WA cariddellwa at gmail dot com Abundance codes: (1) Common, (2) Uncommon, (3) Harder to find, usually seen annually, (4) Rare, 5+ records, (5) Fewer than 5 records -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From elc at uw.edu Tue Feb 9 10:18:30 2021 From: elc at uw.edu (elc) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] On Queen Anne: the SNOWY OWL has returned References: <21596C41-787C-4558-A519-E17514A39CD0@uw.edu> Message-ID: <9016ECEB-F2F2-480D-827E-01A4E7E57CBF@uw.edu> Following up after my post this last Sunday, Feb 7. Best I can tell, *she was not sighted for 7 days (maybe 6.5 is more precise), but as of today has elected to return, gracing our area on Queen Anne Hill for a bit longer (thank you so much P.A. for the alert). In a word, Woo-Hoo ... especially for those who lamented not quite managing an audience with Her Majesty before Feb 2). Who?s to say for how much longer. Were you interested (hey, Phil D!), it might assist to check this map of past day roost sites (today's is the star nearest the top of the image). ?Absence did (indeed) make the heart grow fonder." Happily, we humans who often grab / expound upon incorrect conclusions are pleased to be wrong, and can?t resist seeking meaning: today is another really good day for more "cheering up." Dennis, what wisdom you consistently ?shed? on us. Didn?t dare hope quite this quickly though when you wrote (from Feb 7): Empty roofs and cedars strike me not with pain, I think our queen has gone for now but may return again? (* a personal not scientific choice of pronoun, in lieu of it / they. After all, this is Queen Anne ... as can be seen, this Snowy Owl sports a lovely tiara. For upholding the broadest of inclusivity, we may happily also honor The Band, ?Queen"). Very best wishes again, Tweets! = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at UW dot edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From EdSwan2 at Comcast.net Tue Feb 9 11:34:28 2021 From: EdSwan2 at Comcast.net (EdSwan2@Comcast.net) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] birds tangled in masks Message-ID: <002101d6ff1a$9d098e10$d71caa30$@Comcast.net> A friend just sent me a photo montage of birds entangled in discarded masks with the straps around head, feet and wings. Pandemic pollution, another thing to watch out for. I guess we should be cutting our straps before putting the masks in the garbage. Ed Swan Nature writer and guide www.theswancompany.com edswan2@comcast.net 206.949.3545 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From g_g_allin at hotmail.com Tue Feb 9 14:34:59 2021 From: g_g_allin at hotmail.com (John Puschock) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Yellow-billed Loon, Saltwater SP, King Co. Message-ID: I just found a Yellow-billed Loon at Saltwater SP. I stopped following it to send this message, but I last saw it between the park and PT. Robinson Lighthouse. I'll resume looking for it now. John Puschock -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garybletsch at yahoo.com Tue Feb 9 15:24:51 2021 From: garybletsch at yahoo.com (Gary Bletsch) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] RFI March Point Redhead which bay? References: <0B75B7EC-6D92-42A8-A519-BFF2CC18CC23.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <0B75B7EC-6D92-42A8-A519-BFF2CC18CC23@yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters Just arrived March Point, searching for REDH. Was the pair on Padilla Bay or Fidalgo? Thanks Yours truly Gary Bletsch Sent from my iPhone From xtenter at comcast.net Tue Feb 9 16:00:49 2021 From: xtenter at comcast.net (RW Hamlyn) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit's Trumpeter Swans Message-ID: We have been amazed at the steady increase in the number of Trumpeter Swans in the Skagit we have seen over the past decade or so. What we didn?t realize is that this bird came close to going extinct in the 20th century. I discovered that doing research for a video on Skagit?s Trumpeter Swans and made that the story line. The detailed story would make an excellent book, if it were well researched and told the story of how the swans died out, and the many people that contributed to its recovery. If any one knows of such a book, let us know! Skagit?s Trumpeter Swans: https://youtu.be/pcOBnEHt19M Ray Hamlyn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From louise.rutter at eelpi.gotdns.org Tue Feb 9 22:00:55 2021 From: louise.rutter at eelpi.gotdns.org (Louise Rutter) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] So many uses for a knowledge of bird calls Message-ID: <082c01d6ff72$1919e390$4b4daab0$@eelpi.gotdns.org> Bird and ornithologist reveal a video attempting to influence Ecuadorian election is a fake: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/09/ecuador-bird-fake-video-colomb ian-guerrillas Louise Rutter Kirkland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pterodroma at aol.com Tue Feb 9 22:18:42 2021 From: pterodroma at aol.com (Pterodroma) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] owl knocks eagle off nest ...and then it gets worse References: <1080643094.88896.1612937922113.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1080643094.88896.1612937922113@mail.yahoo.com> Whoa baby!? This amazing video recorded a couple weeks ago shows a kamikaze Great Horned Owl knocking a sleeping Bald Eagle off its nest in the middle of the night in east-central Kansas.? Essentially the first escalation of a nest hijacking for real. Great Horned Owl knocks a Bald Eagle off its nest!! - YouTube? Now, two weeks later and as of this very moment and at this posting, it is now midnight in east-central Kansas (cold too, 11F), and the live video feed currently shows the Great Horned Owl seemingly comfortable and snoozing at "home" in the successfully hijacked eagle nest.? This could be an interesting nest to simply check in on for the next several weeks especially since the live cam is trained on it 24/7.Kansas Bald Eagles Live (currently hijacked by Great Horned Owls) - YouTube Sorry to those for which this might be too far out of state, but I had to share this truly amazing piece of real life real time avian life that perhaps has never been captured in quite this manor until now.? If this can happen in Kansas, it could very well happen here in Washington ...and probably has.? We've got the eagles, we've got the owls, what could possibly go wrong? Richard RowlettBellevue, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From podicepswa at gmail.com Wed Feb 10 09:34:53 2021 From: podicepswa at gmail.com (Susan McDougall) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush Message-ID: <6024193d.1c69fb81.62fdc.6699@mx.google.com> We saw a Varied Thrush at our feeder here in Sequim. This is the first time we have been visited by this bird. Perhaps driven here by cold and snow, but a welcome sight. Susan McDougall Sent from Mail for Windows 10 -- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. https://www.avg.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ellenblackstone at gmail.com Wed Feb 10 13:15:33 2021 From: ellenblackstone at gmail.com (Ellen Blackstone) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] advice about bird feeders and Pine Siskins -- update? Message-ID: <680ec3a4-7287-f546-6970-6ebf16b272e3@gmail.com> Hi, Tweeters, We've had our seedfeeders down for a month. I've seen one (healthy) Pine Siskin in the meantime -- on the birdbath. What is the current advice about having feeders up? I had originally heard they should be down until "at least March." Is there more recent info? Thanks, Ellen Blackstone,? Wedgwood, Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cohenellenr at yahoo.com Wed Feb 10 17:08:59 2021 From: cohenellenr at yahoo.com (Ellen Cohen) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Finalists for 2021 Pen Literary awards References: <471219637.367558.1613005739153.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <471219637.367558.1613005739153@mail.yahoo.com> Two of the nominees for the Pen E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award:For a work that exemplifies literary excellence on the subject of the physical or biological sciences and communicates complex scientific concepts to a lay audience.The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think, Jennifer Ackerman (Penguin Press) Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World?s Largest Owl, Jonathan C. Slaght (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Thu Feb 11 06:15:07 2021 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (THOMAS BENEDICT) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] advice about bird feeders and Pine Siskins -- update? In-Reply-To: <680ec3a4-7287-f546-6970-6ebf16b272e3@gmail.com> References: <680ec3a4-7287-f546-6970-6ebf16b272e3@gmail.com> Message-ID: <1596077460.31662.1613052907927@connect.xfinity.com> The Pine Siskin ?invasion? seems to have moved on, or dispersed, at least in my neck of the woods. I have seen only one in the past couple of weeks. I recall that there wasn?t convincing evidence that seed feeders were contributing to the siskin's illnesses. The thought was that many of them were in bad condition on arrival and were succumbing ?naturally? and that seed feeders were not a significant factor in their demise. At least that?s what I remember from the threads. I?m sure others will chime in. We took our seed feeders down a few years ago, but that was to mitigate a rodent problem. We stick with suet now. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On 02/10/2021 1:15 PM Ellen Blackstone wrote: > > > Hi, Tweeters, > > We've had our seedfeeders down for a month. I've seen one (healthy) Pine Siskin in the meantime -- on the birdbath. > What is the current advice about having feeders up? I had originally heard they should be down until "at least March." Is there more recent info? > > Thanks, > Ellen Blackstone, Wedgwood, Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From peggy_busby at yahoo.com Thu Feb 11 08:56:55 2021 From: peggy_busby at yahoo.com (Peggy Mundy) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] advice about bird feeders and Pine Siskins -- update? In-Reply-To: <1596077460.31662.1613052907927@connect.xfinity.com> References: <680ec3a4-7287-f546-6970-6ebf16b272e3@gmail.com> <1596077460.31662.1613052907927@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: <246590198.683288.1613062615031@mail.yahoo.com> Any time you congregate animals excessively, the risk of spreading disease increases.? Bird feeders result in birds congregating in concentrations (and length of time) that they would not do naturally.? Salmonella is primarily spread through feces, so feeders = more birds? concentrating = more feces in a concentrated area, this increases the spread of disease, not just among the pine siskins, but among all of the species that use the area where the feeders are.? The reason for taking down the feeders is to get the birds to socially distance themselves more naturally.? Pine siskins seem to be the "canary in the coal mine" for salmonella, I always see sick siskins before I start seeing it in other species. Peggy MundyBothell, WApeggy_busbyATyahoo.com On Thursday, February 11, 2021, 06:16:02 a.m. PST, THOMAS BENEDICT wrote: The Pine Siskin ?invasion? seems to have moved on, or dispersed, at least in my neck of the woods. I have seen only one in the past couple of weeks.? I recall that there wasn?t convincing evidence that seed feeders were contributing to the siskin's illnesses. The thought was that many of them were in bad condition on arrival and were succumbing ?naturally? and that seed feeders were not a significant factor in their demise. At least that?s what I remember from the threads. I?m sure others will chime in. We took our seed feeders down a few years ago, but that was to mitigate a rodent problem. We stick with suet now. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA On 02/10/2021 1:15 PM Ellen Blackstone wrote: ? ? Hi, Tweeters, We've had our seedfeeders down for a month. I've seen one (healthy) Pine Siskin in the meantime -- on the birdbath. What is the current advice about having feeders up? I had originally heard they should be down until "at least March." Is there more recent info? Thanks, Ellen Blackstone,? Wedgwood, Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Thu Feb 11 11:55:19 2021 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (THOMAS BENEDICT) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] advice about bird feeders and Pine Siskins -- update? In-Reply-To: <1596077460.31662.1613052907927@connect.xfinity.com> References: <680ec3a4-7287-f546-6970-6ebf16b272e3@gmail.com> <1596077460.31662.1613052907927@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: <733258408.33331.1613073319612@connect.xfinity.com> Here's the email from WDFW on Jan 8.. https://wdfw.wa.gov/news/help-protect-wild-birds-deadly-salmonellosis It says "Members of the public can help to stop the spread of salmonellosis by discontinuing backyard bird feeding until at least February, to encourage birds to disperse and forage naturally." An updated release on Feb 8 https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/officials-remove-bird-feeders-to-prevent-spread-of-disease/281-b1794c4e-2cfa-4c81-89e2-1dec277347a1#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20Washington%20state%20wildlife%20officials%20are,killing%20visiting%20and%20native%20birds.&text=It's%20common%20for%20some%20of,usually%2Dfatal%20disease%20called%20salmonellosis https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/officials-remove-bird-feeders-to-prevent-spread-of-disease/281-b1794c4e-2cfa-4c81-89e2-1dec277347a1#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20Washington%20state%20wildlife%20officials%20are,killing%20visiting%20and%20native%20birds.&text=It's%20common%20for%20some%20of,usually%2Dfatal%20disease%20called%20salmonellosis . says "Birders in western Washington are being asked to keep the feeders stored away until at least the end of March, and those east of the Cascades (where colder weather would make feeders enticing longer) are asked to keep them down until the end of April. That guidance includes hummingbird feeders, officials said, and anywhere birds might congregate." Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On 02/11/2021 6:15 AM THOMAS BENEDICT wrote: > > > The Pine Siskin ?invasion? seems to have moved on, or dispersed, at least in my neck of the woods. I have seen only one in the past couple of weeks. > > I recall that there wasn?t convincing evidence that seed feeders were contributing to the siskin's illnesses. The thought was that many of them were in bad condition on arrival and were succumbing ?naturally? and that seed feeders were not a significant factor in their demise. At least that?s what I remember from the threads. I?m sure others will chime in. > > We took our seed feeders down a few years ago, but that was to mitigate a rodent problem. We stick with suet now. > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, WA > > > > On 02/10/2021 1:15 PM Ellen Blackstone wrote: > > > > > > Hi, Tweeters, > > > > We've had our seedfeeders down for a month. I've seen one (healthy) Pine Siskin in the meantime -- on the birdbath. > > What is the current advice about having feeders up? I had originally heard they should be down until "at least March." Is there more recent info? > > > > Thanks, > > Ellen Blackstone, Wedgwood, Seattle > > _______________________________________________ > > Tweeters mailing list > > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kldinseattle at yahoo.com Thu Feb 11 12:57:38 2021 From: kldinseattle at yahoo.com (Karen Deyerle) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] advice about bird feeders and Pine Siskins -- update? In-Reply-To: <733258408.33331.1613073319612@connect.xfinity.com> References: <680ec3a4-7287-f546-6970-6ebf16b272e3@gmail.com> <1596077460.31662.1613052907927@connect.xfinity.com> <733258408.33331.1613073319612@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: <1350687551.629711.1613077058364@mail.yahoo.com> I am astonished that the guidance includes hummingbird feeders, since Anna's hummingbirds only overwinter in the Seattle area because people feed them.? I have never seen any specie of birds "congregating" on or around hummingbird feeders.? There are not enough nectar sources this time of year to get hummingbirds through the cold times.?? I have two small seed feeders that I've been swapping out every day.? I wash/disinfect/dry one while the other is hanging for a day, partially filled with seed, and then put out the newly cleaned one for a day while I wash/disinfect/dry the other.? I rake up any debris under the feeder every day. Karen On Thursday, February 11, 2021, 11:56:02 AM PST, THOMAS BENEDICT wrote: Here's the email from WDFW on Jan 8.. https://wdfw.wa.gov/news/help-protect-wild-birds-deadly-salmonellosis ? It says "Members of the public can help to stop the spread of salmonellosis by discontinuing backyard bird feeding until at least February, to encourage birds to disperse and forage naturally." ? An updated release on Feb 8 https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/officials-remove-bird-feeders-to-prevent-spread-of-disease/281-b1794c4e-2cfa-4c81-89e2-1dec277347a1#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20Washington%20state%20wildlife%20officials%20are,killing%20visiting%20and%20native%20birds.&text=It's%20common%20for%20some%20of,usually%2Dfatal%20disease%20called%20salmonellosis. says "Birders in western Washington are being asked to keep the feeders stored away until at least the end of March, and those east of the Cascades (where colder weather would make feeders enticing longer) are asked to keep them down until the end of April. That guidance includes hummingbird feeders, officials said, and anywhere birds might congregate." ? Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA On 02/11/2021 6:15 AM THOMAS BENEDICT wrote: ? ? The Pine Siskin ?invasion? seems to have moved on, or dispersed, at least in my neck of the woods. I have seen only one in the past couple of weeks.? I recall that there wasn?t convincing evidence that seed feeders were contributing to the siskin's illnesses. The thought was that many of them were in bad condition on arrival and were succumbing ?naturally? and that seed feeders were not a significant factor in their demise. At least that?s what I remember from the threads. I?m sure others will chime in. We took our seed feeders down a few years ago, but that was to mitigate a rodent problem. We stick with suet now. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA On 02/10/2021 1:15 PM Ellen Blackstone wrote: ? ? Hi, Tweeters, We've had our seedfeeders down for a month. I've seen one (healthy) Pine Siskin in the meantime -- on the birdbath. What is the current advice about having feeders up? I had originally heard they should be down until "at least March." Is there more recent info? Thanks, Ellen Blackstone,? Wedgwood, Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Thu Feb 11 13:13:20 2021 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (birdmarymoor@gmail.com) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2021-02-11 Message-ID: <2AF5B1786E324BF9AE17878BD7E18DA1@DESKTOPER2GUVC> Tweets ? it wasn?t too cold, and it wasn?t too windy, and we only had a dozen snowflakes this morning, under a high blanket of clouds. It was pretty birdy at times, though this being February, there wasn?t really anything unexpected. Highlights: a.. Wood Duck ? pair in slough b.. Wilson?s Snipe ? about 6 below the weir, including four that gave us very good looks c.. Cooper?s Hawk ? adult in willows below the slough d.. Hairy Woodpecker ? one very low in the willows, from the boardwalk e.. Pileated Woodpecker ? one heard distantly f.. Bushtit ? flock below the weir; our first after a two week absence g.. Varied Thrush ? two males SW of the windmill h.. Cedar Waxwing ? about a dozen SE of the Dog Meadow i.. WHITE-THROATED SPARROW ? one tan-stripe bird at the NE corner of the Pea Patch, with ten White-crowned Sparrows With today?s sighting of CEDAR WAXWING for Week 6, we?ve now seen them during each week of the year, at least once over the last 25 years. The only notable misses were Hooded Merganser and Mew Gull. A late scan of the lake turned up about 4 SCAUP sp., 2 COMMON MERGANSER, and a single RING-BILLED GULL. These late additions brought our day?s total to 62 species! But nothing was new for the year. = Michael Hobbs = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Christopher.Anderson at dfw.wa.gov Thu Feb 11 13:56:31 2021 From: Christopher.Anderson at dfw.wa.gov (Anderson, Christopher D (DFW)) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Salmonella in backyard birds - WA 2020-2021 update WDFW Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Current recommendation by WDFW is through end of February in WWA and through end of March in EWA based on what we are seeing through today. See our blog here as it outlines all of this and has frequently asked questions: https://wdfw.medium.com/frequently-asked-questions-on-salmonellosis-in-wild-birds-cae47b1c13dd King 5 relayed a month longer than our current recommendations (good intent and these things happen) - WDFW Public Affairs is reaching out to have that corrected. WDFW continues to receive elevated reports of songbird ill/dead (particularly siskin) across the state - 10 times plus more coming in than in other years (even other salmonella years in recent times - it is a doozy and as our wildlife vet recently put very well "still raging"). I think it is pretty safe to say that yes, siskin are driving this, and are the main carrier in the larger region. Along with that the concern is siskin hold potential to spread this around more due to their spatial ecology and foraging patterns being widespread in comparison to most other "backyard" feeder birds. Both symptomatic and asymptomatic potential there with carrier individuals. Infected birds/other animals spread it to features that concentrate birds/wildlife (like feeders). Other area birds that are less likely to have erratic, landscape-level foraging movements can then pick it up via eating contaminated feed and/or contact transfer. For example, hypothetical salmonella load on a shepherd's crook from siskin perching and defecating on perch; hummingbird or other bird - I use hummingbird since there has been debate, perches on crook that has salmonella load - preens, ingests salmonella load and then we may have issues in that individual animal, more carrier individuals, more spread, etc. Hummingbirds can come down with salmonellosis - but yes usually not related to their feeding per se. The sugar nectar we provide them is not really a source - it is the potential for a scenario like what I just mentioned - being close to other sick birds or surfaces that they can pick it up from and being unnaturally concentrated within and across species. The situation we have can support not only a more widely distributed point spread pattern of species moving it around (mainly siskin) but also, plausibly, more localized birds can keep it within the local area circulating about due to infected feed, surfaces, etc. We are seeing this all up and down West Coast (BC through California and inland a bit, e.g. Nevada, Idaho, etc.). Seattle Audubon and many area wildlife rehabbers such as PAWS have been relaying similar to WDFW and in contact with us regarding all of this. A big thanks to all citizens, partners - all that are taking this to heart and taking measures as they can. No different than past years we have had similar epizootic outbreaks with salmonellosis in backyard birds - just a real bad one this winter! Audubon has a general salmonellosis info page here for basic background on the illness: https://seattleaudubon.org/learn/birds-of-wa/bird-facts/bird-diseases/salmonellosis/ Please report sick/dead/injured wildlife on this WDFW page: https://wdfw.wa.gov/get-involved/report-observations Thanks for all that folks are doing and for keeping this in mind! Regards, Chris __________________________________________________ ? Chris Anderson District Wildlife Biologist District 12, King County WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife - Region 4 16018 Mill Creek Blvd. Mill Creek, WA 98012 425.775.1311, ext 111 Christopher.Anderson@dfw.wa.gov http://wdfw.wa.gov __________________________________________________ From leslie.nordtvedt at comcast.net Thu Feb 11 19:27:01 2021 From: leslie.nordtvedt at comcast.net (Leslie Nordtvedt) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Salmonella in backyard birds - WA 2020-2021 update WDFW In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <716DD485-CA87-4493-B9A5-0BC9193D860E@comcast.net> Further to the further to connects earlier info to hummers. Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 11, 2021, at 2:02 PM, Anderson, Christopher D (DFW) wrote: > > ?Hi Tweets, > > Current recommendation by WDFW is through end of February in WWA and through end of March in EWA based on what we are seeing through today. > > See our blog here as it outlines all of this and has frequently asked questions: https://wdfw.medium.com/frequently-asked-questions-on-salmonellosis-in-wild-birds-cae47b1c13dd > > King 5 relayed a month longer than our current recommendations (good intent and these things happen) - WDFW Public Affairs is reaching out to have that corrected. > > WDFW continues to receive elevated reports of songbird ill/dead (particularly siskin) across the state - 10 times plus more coming in than in other years (even other salmonella years in recent times - it is a doozy and as our wildlife vet recently put very well "still raging"). I think it is pretty safe to say that yes, siskin are driving this, and are the main carrier in the larger region. Along with that the concern is siskin hold potential to spread this around more due to their spatial ecology and foraging patterns being widespread in comparison to most other "backyard" feeder birds. Both symptomatic and asymptomatic potential there with carrier individuals. Infected birds/other animals spread it to features that concentrate birds/wildlife (like feeders). Other area birds that are less likely to have erratic, landscape-level foraging movements can then pick it up via eating contaminated feed and/or contact transfer. For example, hypothetical salmonella load on a shepherd's crook from siskin perching and defecating on perch; hummingbird or other bird - I use hummingbird since there has been debate, perches on crook that has salmonella load - preens, ingests salmonella load and then we may have issues in that individual animal, more carrier individuals, more spread, etc. Hummingbirds can come down with salmonellosis - but yes usually not related to their feeding per se. The sugar nectar we provide them is not really a source - it is the potential for a scenario like what I just mentioned - being close to other sick birds or surfaces that they can pick it up from and being unnaturally concentrated within and across species. The situation we have can support not only a more widely distributed point spread pattern of species moving it around (mainly siskin) but also, plausibly, more localized birds can keep it within the local area circulating about due to infected feed, surfaces, etc. > > We are seeing this all up and down West Coast (BC through California and inland a bit, e.g. Nevada, Idaho, etc.). > > Seattle Audubon and many area wildlife rehabbers such as PAWS have been relaying similar to WDFW and in contact with us regarding all of this. A big thanks to all citizens, partners - all that are taking this to heart and taking measures as they can. No different than past years we have had similar epizootic outbreaks with salmonellosis in backyard birds - just a real bad one this winter! > > Audubon has a general salmonellosis info page here for basic background on the illness: https://seattleaudubon.org/learn/birds-of-wa/bird-facts/bird-diseases/salmonellosis/ > > Please report sick/dead/injured wildlife on this WDFW page: https://wdfw.wa.gov/get-involved/report-observations > > Thanks for all that folks are doing and for keeping this in mind! > > Regards, > Chris > __________________________________________________ > > Chris Anderson > District Wildlife Biologist > District 12, King County > WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife - Region 4 > 16018 Mill Creek Blvd. > Mill Creek, WA 98012 > 425.775.1311, ext 111 > Christopher.Anderson@dfw.wa.gov > http://wdfw.wa.gov > __________________________________________________ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From magicman32 at rocketmail.com Thu Feb 11 20:59:52 2021 From: magicman32 at rocketmail.com (Eric Heisey) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] More Okanogan and Douglas County Birding References: <83F41335-3CD2-4E42-9D85-F1992B529C54.ref@rocketmail.com> Message-ID: <83F41335-3CD2-4E42-9D85-F1992B529C54@rocketmail.com> Hey all, This post is a bit tardy as my week has been absorbed by job applications, but hopefully this report is still useful for those who may be traveling to Okanogan for the President?s Day long weekend. This past weekend, I was joined by Peter Wimberger for an excellent day of birding in the Okanogan Highlands. We drove from Twisp on Saturday morning (enjoying some soaring Golden Eagles on the drive) and first stopped at the Havillah Sno Park. This spot can either be devoid of birds, or quite birdy; it seems to depend entirely on if there is a good mixed flock around the parking lot. On this day it was the former, but as Peter and I were standing around talking around the corral, we were lucky to hear tapping on a nearby Ponderosa Pine that turned out to be a beautiful female White-headed Woodpecker (my first for the location). It gave great looks! We also had a couple of Clark?s Nutcrackers (which had seemed to be utterly absent for the past ~2 months, but have now shown up in good numbers), a flyover flock of Red Crossbills (no WWCRs?), a flyover Snow Bunting and a nice close Pileated Woodpecker here. On our way up into the highlands, we stopped in Havillah, which hosted a really nice mixed flock, as well as a huge flock of about 200 Siskins and Common Redpolls (about 120:80 ratio). A little further up the road, we found a group of about a dozen Gray Partridge that were quite obliging, as well as the usual Rough-legged Hawks. We then moved on to Hungry Hollow Rd, which was pretty dead. We did score more Red Crossbills, which we had nice looks at, as well as several more Nutcrackers. Chesaw was our next stop, which was fairly quiet except for a large flock of about 70 Pine Siskins and a flyover flock of 11 Pine Grosbeaks. The clouds began to thicken, and as it began to snow things seemed to pick up. Along Mary Anne Creek Rd we had another nice flock of Pine Grosbeaks near the Christian Camp, and stopped to view a flock of more Siskins and Redpolls feeding on the alders below Porcelain-China Rd (may not be the exact name of the road, haha). I was also able to call in a lovely little Northern Pygmy-Owl along Mary Anne Creek, which gave fantastic looks. We heard rumor of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches along Nealey Rd, so we decided to head in that direction. Along the N stretch of Nealey Rd we encountered two more Northern Pygmy-Owls that gave more really nice views, and had solid looks at a Ruffed Grouse in the road. There were no Rosy-Finches at the feeders on Nealey, but the usual culprits were easily found there. Along the very ?end? of Nealey Rd (maybe 500m from the intersection with Havillah Rd) there is a small farm which hosted 11 Rosy-Finches, mixed in with a flock of over 100 Snow Buntings. They gave wonderful looks as they fed on the ground with the Buntings, although the landowner was not particularly pleased by us looking at his property (something to consider if there are birds at this property). Thrilled by our good fortune, we decided to head down toward Fancher Flats to end the day, which we had skipped on the way up. We drove Siwash Creek Rd, hoping for Sharp-tailed Grouse but received nothing for our efforts except fog. Fancher Flats was more fruitful, as we listened to a singing Canyon Wren and calling Chukar in a light drizzle as the light faded on a fantastic day. Thanks to Peter for joining me, it was great to spend the day with good company. I spent Saturday night huddled in my car along Happy Hill Rd, waking up early Sunday morning in hopes of Rosy-Finches or Sharp-tailed Grouse. I found neither unfortunately, so I headed up to Conconully for about an hour. Conconully was fairly quiet, though I enjoyed the usual residents like all three Nuthatches, Wild Turkeys and Townsend?s Solitaire, as well as one unusual bird, a Pacific Wren. These tiny wet forest wrens seem to have ?irrupted? out of the mountains into the eastern Washington lowlands this winter, as I have had probably 4 different individuals around Mazama this winter, and have seen them in unusual numbers around Yakima and elsewhere as well. Has anyone else noticed this as well I wonder? I bailed towards the Waterville Plateau, taking the scenic route along Salmon Creek Rd and over Cameron Lake Rd. I had wanted to see what Cameron Lake Rd looked like after the fires. In short, it was absolutely torched. Really sad given how incredible a birding destination it is, although I will say the the Pine forests on the north end were spared high heat crown fires, meaning this part of the road should hopefully regenerate well. The road was virtually devoid of birds however, as I totaled only 4 species (though Snow Bunting was one of them). Arriving on the Waterville Plateau, I spent a very relaxed couple of hours simply walking along Rd H NE, soaking in the absolute silence and emptiness of the place and hoping to have a Gyrfalcon or something else spectacular present itself. No Gyr showed, although I was able to scope a distant Snowy Owl on an erratic and Snowy Buntings twirled around me, mixed in with flocks of tinkling Horned Larks. After I grew content, I continued driving and ended up happening upon my most exciting birds of the trip, and perhaps the year: a small group of Greater Sage-Grouse along Rd E NE. I had been specifically targeting them in the few remnant patches of sagebrush that escaped the fires unscathed, and was lucky to be privy to fantastic views of these rare and elusive chickens, if only for a few minutes. A fantastic cap to the trip I thought, until on my way back to Mazama that evening a Northern Goshawk flew right over my car, diving into a copse of Cottonwoods. What a wonderful weekend of birding!!! One more brief note: the Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings have continued around Winthrop this week (although the waxwings seem to be dropping in number). I also enjoyed great looks and a short conversation with a Northern Pygmy-Owl in town this evening; a bird I will never get tired of. The dusk duck fly in at Big Twin Lake this evening was also quite impressive, with hundreds of Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, Mergansers and other ducks bombing in over my head to roost in a teeny pocket of open water on the lake. Really impressive to see 400 ducks crowded into such a small space, although it was quite chilly! Good birding all, and good luck this weekend if you venture to the cold, white north! Eric Heisey From magicman32 at rocketmail.com Thu Feb 11 21:01:25 2021 From: magicman32 at rocketmail.com (Eric Heisey) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Toppenish CBC Long-term Trends References: <0FD5E494-642C-4B6C-ADCC-441715D98041.ref@rocketmail.com> Message-ID: <0FD5E494-642C-4B6C-ADCC-441715D98041@rocketmail.com> Hi all, Sorry for the second post; I meant to post this a while ago but just realized it never sent. Over the past year or so I have been occupied with analyzing long-term data from a demographic study population of study population of Savannah Sparrows from New Brunswick in order to write an honors thesis. As I now bear the know-how, I took this year as an opportunity to analyze some of the long-term trends of species observed on the Toppenish Christmas Bird Count. I thought they may interest some of you, so below is a portion of my annual summary outlining the trends I found. I have made a variety of figures that I am unable to attach due to the 25KB post size limit on tweeters, but if you are interested, feel free to contact me and I am happy to send them along. The last few years have seen low counts of Black-billed Magpie, Mourning Dove and Western Meadowlark on the Toppenish CBC. Western Meadowlark seems to be showing the one of the most obvious declines, with a steady decline of about 2 birds per year since 1983. Given the imperiled nature of North American grasslands, this unfortunately does not come as a huge surprise. Black-billed Magpies have also been steadily declining for the duration of the count, averaging a decline of 6 individuals per year since 1983. Magpies were actually pretty stable until about 2008, with an average count of 439 per count between 1983 and 2008. However, since 2008, that average has dropped to just 204 individuals per count, less than half of the average in the first 25 years of the count. We tallied 350 Magpies this year, the most since 2008, so perhaps they will rebound, but this is still below the average of the first 25 years, giving us cause for concern. Mourning Doves are an interesting enough case to get their own paragraph. Between 1983 and 2011, the annual count of Mourning Doves was actually increasing by about 3 individuals a year. Can you guess what happened in 2011? Enter the Eurasian Collared-Dove. This Eurasian invader was first recorded on the count in 2009 and began to really become established in 2011, eventually skyrocketing to a high count of 689 in 2017, less than ten years after their first detection. They have averaged a growth of 30 individuals a year since their establishment. I have heard varied opinions as to whether people think Collared-Doves are negatively influencing Mourning Dove populations. Most people I?ve talked to seem to think they are coexisting well. However, our count data may paint a different picture. Since 2011 (when Collared-Doves took hold), Mourning Doves have declined by roughly 43 individuals a year. 43!!! That?s seriously concerning. Now, it is worth mentioning that Mourning Doves appear to oscillate cyclically, with dips in their population every 3 to 7 years. We still need more data to show that there is a direct correlation between the increase of Collared-Doves and decline of Mourning Doves. However, it?s been 9 years since the establishment of Collared-Doves now, and outside of a one year spike in 2016 (which was an abnormally cold and snowy year; I wonder if this makes it slightly anomalous and could have forced Collared-Doves out of the valley), Mourning Dove numbers have not seemed to rebound. There are a number of other factors that could be contributing to this trend, but anecdotally, I feel like I am seeing many fewer Mourning Doves than I used to around the Yakima Valley, while I just seem to be seeing more and more Collared-Doves. This will be something to watch closely in the coming years. On this topic, do any of you know of a way that I could easily access the long-term records of other CBCs from across the state so I could do a similar analysis on the statewide basis? It would be very interesting to see how this trend is acting across other counts. I suppose it is possible that this could be a regional trend, as perhaps Collared-Doves, which seem to thrive in the presence of the growing hops industry, could be proliferating more-so than elsewhere given the ever expanding agriculture of the Yakima Valley. I appreciate any tips you you may have! There have also been a number of species that have seen an increase in their numbers over the course of the Toppenish CBC. Red-tailed Hawks, for example, have been increasing by roughly 2 individuals a year since the inauguration of the count. Bewick?s Wrens and Spotted Towhees have also become more common over the last 37 years, growing by about 1 and .5 individuals a year respectively. However, these increases may be linked to our overwhelmingly negative impacts on the planet. Red-tailed Hawks may be increasing due to the increase in land cleared for agriculture, as they coexist well with our human developments. Similarly, Bewick?s Wrens are likely expanding northward, just like the Lesser Goldfinch and California Scrub-Jay, due to anthropogenic climate change and the milder climate we now inhabit. Lastly, Spotted Towhees could theoretically be increasing as continued deforestation and a prevalence of wildfires leads to the clearing of forests and a subsequent rise in the shrubby thickets they covet in the breeding season. These are all hypothetical explanations, but it?s easy to see how the growth in the populations of these species may be caused by our continual destruction of the natural world. Hopefully these trends are thought provoking at the very least. It would be really interesting to see how the trends of these same species and others are acting on other counts. Have any of you other count compilers out there looked at trendlines on your counts? I would love to hear from you if so! Good birding, Eric Heisey -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From genebullock at comcast.net Fri Feb 12 08:17:09 2021 From: genebullock at comcast.net (GENE BULLOCK) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Don't take down hummingbird feeders Message-ID: <1240158979.7340.1613146630179@connect.xfinity.com> WDFW is recommending removal of all bird feeders, including hummingbird feeders. I disagree with taking down hummingbird feeders. I see no evidence that hummingbird feeders contribute to the salmonella problem among finches. Anna's hummingbirds are thriving as far north as Southern Alaska because more people are feeding them during the winter. But they do rely on this supplemental feeding for their winter survival. Disrupting feeding during a cold snap will put them at greater risk. Gene Bullock Kitsap Audubon Society -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From poole9561 at msn.com Fri Feb 12 08:35:48 2021 From: poole9561 at msn.com (DONNA POOLE) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Don't take down hummingbird feeders In-Reply-To: <1240158979.7340.1613146630179@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: Thanks, Gene. > > On Feb 12, 2021 at 8:18 AM, wrote: > > > > WDFW is recommending removal of all bird feeders, including hummingbird feeders. I disagree with taking down hummingbird feeders. I see no evidence that hummingbird feeders contribute to the salmonella problem among finches. Anna's hummingbirds are thriving as far north as Southern Alaska because more people are feeding them during the winter. But they do rely on this supplemental feeding for their winter survival. Disrupting feeding during a cold snap will put them at greater risk. > > Gene Bullock > Kitsap Audubon Society -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From genebullock at comcast.net Fri Feb 12 10:35:17 2021 From: genebullock at comcast.net (GENE BULLOCK) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird feeding pros and cons Message-ID: <721098439.8603.1613154917772@connect.xfinity.com> WDFW discourages bird feeding because of the additional hazards it introduces. They are not wrong about the hazards. But Audubon promotes responsible bird feeding, and focuses on minimizing those hazards. Audubon has some compelling arguments on its side: 1 ? Bird feeding is a wonderful way to engage families and children in nature. And we know people want to save what they know and love. According to surveys by the U.S. DFW, birdwatching is second only to gardening as our favorite outdoor pastime. It even outranks hunting and fishing. It has become a welcome respite for many during the pandemic lockdown. 2 ? Birdwatching and related book, equipment, travel, and other related businesses generate more than $100 billion in annual U.S. revenues (based on U.S.DFW surveys), pumping billions of dollars into local businesses. Its economic importance helps drive efforts to protect birds ? and these days they need all the friends they can get. 3 ? There is ample evidence that some bird species are thriving because of bird feeders; as well as evidence that many species are coming through the winter in better health because of the supplemental feeding. Gene Bullock Kitsap Audubon Society -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From smwepking at gmail.com Fri Feb 12 12:28:54 2021 From: smwepking at gmail.com (Susan Wepking) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Subject: Re: Don't take down hummingbird feeders Message-ID: Thank you, Gene! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rhummell at gmail.com Fri Feb 12 12:39:55 2021 From: rhummell at gmail.com (rhummell@gmail.com) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Any updated sightings of the Queen Anne Snowy Owl? Message-ID: <001401d7017f$3959f4b0$ac0dde10$@gmail.com> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From downess at charter.net Fri Feb 12 14:05:34 2021 From: downess at charter.net (Scott Downes) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Salmonella in backyard birds - WA 2020-2021 update WDFW References: <3FA834AB-60BD-4485-90A5-608B184C2643@charter.net> Message-ID: <0586EA33-F641-407B-8D16-1E3313C3BD77@charter.net> > > ?An additional note regarding hummingbirds on this thread. While while birds certainly can forage on their own without feeders on either side of the mountains, wintering hummingbirds in eastern Washington likely cannot, particularly during the cold snowy weather currently occurring. So, I would advocate for those who have hummingbird feeders up in central and eastern Washington for wintering Anna?s, do a regular cleaning but leave the hummer feeders up. > > Scott Downes > Downess@charter.net > Yakima Wa From ucd880 at comcast.net Fri Feb 12 14:24:20 2021 From: ucd880 at comcast.net (HAL MICHAEL) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Salmonella in backyard birds - WA 2020-2021 update WDFW In-Reply-To: <0586EA33-F641-407B-8D16-1E3313C3BD77@charter.net> References: <3FA834AB-60BD-4485-90A5-608B184C2643@charter.net> <0586EA33-F641-407B-8D16-1E3313C3BD77@charter.net> Message-ID: <1097637062.10989.1613168661024@connect.xfinity.com> Just a note, also, that Anna's are early breeders. Like now. Ours are courting (males) and I have seen one female that looked like she might be carrying an egg. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net > On 02/12/2021 2:05 PM Scott Downes wrote: > > > > > > ?An additional note regarding hummingbirds on this thread. While while birds certainly can forage on their own without feeders on either side of the mountains, wintering hummingbirds in eastern Washington likely cannot, particularly during the cold snowy weather currently occurring. So, I would advocate for those who have hummingbird feeders up in central and eastern Washington for wintering Anna?s, do a regular cleaning but leave the hummer feeders up. > > > > Scott Downes > > Downess@charter.net > > Yakima Wa > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From hank.heiberg at yahoo.com Fri Feb 12 20:34:45 2021 From: hank.heiberg at yahoo.com (Hank Heiberg) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Snoqualmie Valley References: Message-ID: <093CD49D-39E8-4EFE-ACF4-DA8FCDE3C4F8@yahoo.com> > ?Today we saw the continuing Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the small orchard located on King County Property at the intersection of West Snoqualmie River Road SE (not NE!) and SE 19th Way. Here is a very short video made under challenging conditions. > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/50937721921/in/dateposted/ > > Photos: > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/50937777182/in/dateposted/ > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/50937666511/in/dateposted/ > > Hank Heiberg > Issaquah, WA > > Sent from my iPad -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From coheberlein at gmail.com Fri Feb 12 22:41:13 2021 From: coheberlein at gmail.com (Carolyn Heberlein) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] King 5 News Tonight - Take down Hummingbird Feeders Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, I am just wondering what you all think about the story that I heard tonight on King 5 news about salmonella and taking down bird feeders and emptying bird baths. They said even hummingbird feeders should be taken down. Personally, I feel that my 2 pair of hummingbirds rely on the 5 feeders in my garden for winter sustenance. If I thought they could survive without the nectar then I would be happy to take them down. I've never seen any bird except Anna's at my hummingbird feeders. Maybe a Rufous sneaked in during the summer, but I missed it. A couple months ago, I saw Pine Siskins at my thistle seed feeder. When I heard that they had salmonella, I stopped filling it. I saw 2 sick siskins but no others. I still have my suet feeders up. Many bush tits visit them as well as bewicks wrens and townsend warblers - even the juncos!! And of course, sometimes northern flickers, stellar jays, and starlings. Also, in the wintery weather that we are getting this weekend, I empty my bird baths every night so that they don't freeze. Then I refill them in the morning. I would be willing to stop all of this for the health of the birds, except the hummingbird feeders. I feel like my lovely Anna's might die if I didn't provide them some sugar water. What say you all? Thank you, Carolyn -- Carolyn Finder Heberlein / Nana, Fremont Neighborhood, Seattle, Washington -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ixoreus at scattercreek.com Sat Feb 13 06:12:30 2021 From: ixoreus at scattercreek.com (Bob Sundstrom) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] King 5 News Tonight - Take down Hummingbird Feeders In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I disagree with the advice to remove hummingbird feeders. It?s bad advice, not carefully thought out. To deprive Anna?s Hummers of food at this point would be cruel, not to say fatal. We continue to maintain four feeders through the frigid weather. Bob Sundstrom Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 12, 2021, at 10:45 PM, Carolyn Heberlein wrote: > > ? > Hi Tweeters, > > I am just wondering what you all think about the story that I heard tonight on King 5 news about salmonella and taking down bird feeders and emptying bird baths. They said even hummingbird feeders should be taken down. Personally, I feel that my 2 pair of hummingbirds rely on the 5 feeders in my garden for winter sustenance. If I thought they could survive without the nectar then I would be happy to take them down. > > I've never seen any bird except Anna's at my hummingbird feeders. Maybe a Rufous sneaked in during the summer, but I missed it. > > A couple months ago, I saw Pine Siskins at my thistle seed feeder. When I heard that they had salmonella, I stopped filling it. I saw 2 sick siskins but no others. > > I still have my suet feeders up. Many bush tits visit them as well as bewicks wrens and townsend warblers - even the juncos!! And of course, sometimes northern flickers, stellar jays, and starlings. > > Also, in the wintery weather that we are getting this weekend, I empty my bird baths every night so that they don't freeze. Then I refill them in the morning. > > I would be willing to stop all of this for the health of the birds, except the hummingbird feeders. I feel like my lovely Anna's might die if I didn't provide them some sugar water. > > What say you all? > > Thank you, Carolyn > > > > -- > Carolyn Finder Heberlein / Nana, Fremont Neighborhood, Seattle, Washington > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From amk17 at earthlink.net Sat Feb 13 08:13:12 2021 From: amk17 at earthlink.net (AMK17) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Morning geese Message-ID: <1536077878.1358.1613232792617@wamui-merida.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Around 730 am this morning, I heard geese overhead near green lake in Seattle. Surprised as visibility is seemingly nil. Juncos, sparrows and towhees struggling to forage in the snow. AKopitov Seattle, wa AMK17 From garybletsch at yahoo.com Sat Feb 13 08:38:50 2021 From: garybletsch at yahoo.com (Gary Bletsch) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] feeders References: <1181587160.1022542.1613234330337.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1181587160.1022542.1613234330337@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, My feeders are all up, as per usual.? During the siskin irruption that petered out a few weeks ago, there were a few times when large numbers of Pine Siskins visited my feeders, but most of the time, they just flew over and away. There has been a single Pine Siskin at my feeders on and off since then, and that bird appears healthy. In some years, I have had sick Pine Siskins at my place during irruptions, and a few have died, or been killed by other animals. A dog that I used to have would sometimes kill an unwary bird, including a sick and unwary siskin here or there. She never got sick from that. What goes around came around, though; the coyotes ended up taking that dog. During the recent irruption, I saw zero evidence of sick or lethargic siskins at my place, or anywhere else, although I did an enormous amount of birding all over Skagit County. At least in my area, I think this has been a smaller salmonella outbreak than ones I have seen in the past. Perhaps we are hyper-aware now, struggling through an outbreak of our own. There were ten or more Anna's Hummingbirds at my place, up the end of last October. Then the number dropped sharply, and now I have only two or three hummingbirds. I suspect that either there was a natural die-off, or perhaps the resident male drove the others away. This male has been singing lately, gearing up for breeding season. I suspect that the hummingbirds at my place would perish if I took down the feeders. I am aware of very few other houses in the Upper Skagit Valley where hummingbird feeders are still up and running; with the weather as it is this morning, I doubt there is any place where "my" hummingbirds could go to get food, if I took the feeders down. If I think of it, I will pay a visit soon to a spot I know along the river, where a male Anna's has been displaying. There are no houses within hundreds of meters of this bird's territory; it will be interesting to see if he survives this storm, living solely on what nature provides. Meanwhile, at my seed and suet feeders, the activity is normal. This morning, there are the usual juncos, House Finches, Purple Finches, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and so forth.? I have ten free-range chickens that spend a lot of time gleaning seeds that the songbirds knock down from the feeders. During the several siskin irruptions that have occurred over the 18 years I have lived here, I have never had a chicken get sick. Bald Eagles and coyotes have taken a lot of my birds, but sickness has never been an issue, even though my flocks have always spent a good part of their days hanging around my feeders. The same was true of the ducks I used to keep--predators would kill them long before any of them lived long enough to get sick. I visited with a friend near Concrete recently. She has dozens of feeders up, and well over a hundred birds visiting her feeders all day long. She has not seen a sick siskin this winter, either, and is planning to keep on feeding. If I were seeing sick birds here, I would clean the feeders with chlorine bleach, keep them down for a few days, and then put them back up. Seeing none, I will continue to feed.? Yours truly, Gary Bletsch garybletsch@yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mombiwheeler at gmail.com Sat Feb 13 08:42:42 2021 From: mombiwheeler at gmail.com (Lonnie Somer) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] King 5 News Tonight - Take down Hummingbird Feeders In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Carolyn, I agree. I believe that the Anna's would not survive now without these food sources. When I put out my hummingbird feeder this morning (I took it in last night so that the nectar wouldn't freeze) a little before sunrise, I had 2 hummingbirds there within 5 minutes. They've been coming back every few minutes. Normally, there is an adolescent male fiercely guarding it (his name is Nigel; I believe that he's a reincarnated English soccer hooligan). He displayed absolutely no aggression this morning. Lonnie Somer Seattle On Fri, Feb 12, 2021 at 10:42 PM Carolyn Heberlein wrote: > Hi Tweeters, > > I am just wondering what you all think about the story that I heard > tonight on King 5 news about salmonella and taking down bird feeders and > emptying bird baths. They said even hummingbird feeders should be taken > down. Personally, I feel that my 2 pair of hummingbirds rely on the 5 > feeders in my garden for winter sustenance. If I thought they could survive > without the nectar then I would be happy to take them down. > > I've never seen any bird except Anna's at my hummingbird feeders. Maybe a > Rufous sneaked in during the summer, but I missed it. > > A couple months ago, I saw Pine Siskins at my thistle seed feeder. When I > heard that they had salmonella, I stopped filling it. I saw 2 sick siskins > but no others. > > I still have my suet feeders up. Many bush tits visit them as well as > bewicks wrens and townsend warblers - even the juncos!! And of course, > sometimes northern flickers, stellar jays, and starlings. > > Also, in the wintery weather that we are getting this weekend, I empty my > bird baths every night so that they don't freeze. Then I refill them in > the morning. > > I would be willing to stop all of this for the health of the birds, except > the hummingbird feeders. I feel like my lovely Anna's might die if I didn't > provide them some sugar water. > > What say you all? > > Thank you, Carolyn > > > > -- > Carolyn Finder Heberlein / Nana, Fremont Neighborhood, Seattle, Washington > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dennispaulson at comcast.net Sat Feb 13 08:59:13 2021 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] King 5 News Tonight - Take down Hummingbird Feeders In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <625D5D16-0EF3-4D07-A24F-56F4CF3F1238@comcast.net> I would add that all the people who took in their feeders should try to scatter a lot of seeds out on the ground in sheltered places. This deep snow is really stressful for ground-feeding birds, and they could use our help. Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Feb 13, 2021, at 8:42 AM, Lonnie Somer wrote: > > Hi Carolyn, > > I agree. I believe that the Anna's would not survive now without these food sources. When I put out my hummingbird feeder this morning (I took it in last night so that the nectar wouldn't freeze) a little before sunrise, I had 2 hummingbirds there within 5 minutes. They've been coming back every few minutes. Normally, there is an adolescent male fiercely guarding it (his name is Nigel; I believe that he's a reincarnated English soccer hooligan). He displayed absolutely no aggression this morning. > > Lonnie Somer > Seattle > > On Fri, Feb 12, 2021 at 10:42 PM Carolyn Heberlein > wrote: > Hi Tweeters, > > I am just wondering what you all think about the story that I heard tonight on King 5 news about salmonella and taking down bird feeders and emptying bird baths. They said even hummingbird feeders should be taken down. Personally, I feel that my 2 pair of hummingbirds rely on the 5 feeders in my garden for winter sustenance. If I thought they could survive without the nectar then I would be happy to take them down. > > I've never seen any bird except Anna's at my hummingbird feeders. Maybe a Rufous sneaked in during the summer, but I missed it. > > A couple months ago, I saw Pine Siskins at my thistle seed feeder. When I heard that they had salmonella, I stopped filling it. I saw 2 sick siskins but no others. > > I still have my suet feeders up. Many bush tits visit them as well as bewicks wrens and townsend warblers - even the juncos!! And of course, sometimes northern flickers, stellar jays, and starlings. > > Also, in the wintery weather that we are getting this weekend, I empty my bird baths every night so that they don't freeze. Then I refill them in the morning. > > I would be willing to stop all of this for the health of the birds, except the hummingbird feeders. I feel like my lovely Anna's might die if I didn't provide them some sugar water. > > What say you all? > > Thank you, Carolyn > > > > -- > Carolyn Finder Heberlein / Nana, Fremont Neighborhood, Seattle, Washington > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From amk17 at earthlink.net Sat Feb 13 09:10:31 2021 From: amk17 at earthlink.net (AMK17) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] feeders Message-ID: <1863550693.2059.1613236231780@wamui-merida.atl.sa.earthlink.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wagen at uw.edu Sat Feb 13 09:33:40 2021 From: wagen at uw.edu (Mike Wagenbach) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's *briefly* peaceable at feeder Message-ID: I took in my three hummingbird feeders last night to be sure they didn't freeze. I put them back out a half-hour before sunrise and already had one bird waiting right by the usual spot of one feeder. Ten minutes later I think we had seven birds, including four on one four-station feeder drinking steadily with no attempts to chase each other away, which we NEVER see. I guess their usual territoriality was suppressed by the severe conditions until they'd had time to take several drinks and get recharged. An hour later, they were belligerently chasing each other around and only getting brief solo visits to the feeder, as usual. I hope one dominant bird isn't preventing the others from getting anything. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pdickins at gmail.com Sat Feb 13 09:47:52 2021 From: pdickins at gmail.com (Philip Dickinson) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's *briefly* peaceable at feeder In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <34494DDB-FA33-4CDB-BDAC-0BA32C046590@gmail.com> No truce here. Phil Dickinson Lake Stevens Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 13, 2021, at 9:35 AM, Mike Wagenbach wrote: > > ? > I took in my three hummingbird feeders last night to be sure they didn't freeze. I put them back out a half-hour before sunrise and already had one bird waiting right by the usual spot of one feeder. Ten minutes later I think we had seven birds, including four on one four-station feeder drinking steadily with no attempts to chase each other away, which we NEVER see. > > I guess their usual territoriality was suppressed by the severe conditions until they'd had time to take several drinks and get recharged. An hour later, they were belligerently chasing each other around and only getting brief solo visits to the feeder, as usual. I hope one dominant bird isn't preventing the others from getting anything. > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From ixoreus at scattercreek.com Sat Feb 13 09:48:54 2021 From: ixoreus at scattercreek.com (Bob Sundstrom) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Feeding birds in snow time Message-ID: <4EB34182-8A5B-4399-A01F-53418BA7A8E6@scattercreek.com> Some helpful ideas: https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/learn/top10/top-10-ways-to-help-birds-in-bad-weather.php Sent from my iPhone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mj.cygnus at gmail.com Sat Feb 13 09:49:34 2021 From: mj.cygnus at gmail.com (Martha Jordan) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Salmonella and other avian diseases Message-ID: Last night Pilchuck Audbon Society had a program on the topic of Salmonella in Pine Siskins presented by Dr. Ian Cossman DVM from PAWS. It was excellent and included information on other diseases of our avian friends. I highly recommend you view it. The direct link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/ZnDCqk7cgxURtnCtlUbB3Op_4zH_Y4yBenDqT2lDBHGOXI-uDmVnNoKoS0JZdskuBwedcsLpNPHMK3Go.ULPLWavX4dU-ifwu?startTime=1613184098000&_x_zm_rtaid=3WvF8gvVQKKbIdKfT78SYQ.1613238403181.bb67a1fc804fc3a444abb3d50ad020f0&_x_zm_rhtaid=288 And if that does not work: Go to the PAS website, click under events, Programs and you will find it there. Martha Jordan Everett, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Sat Feb 13 09:53:15 2021 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (THOMAS BENEDICT) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] King 5 News Tonight - Take down Hummingbird Feeders In-Reply-To: <625D5D16-0EF3-4D07-A24F-56F4CF3F1238@comcast.net> References: <625D5D16-0EF3-4D07-A24F-56F4CF3F1238@comcast.net> Message-ID: <2112928032.39983.1613238796091@connect.xfinity.com> I put a baking tray out with a couple handfuls of seeds. The juncos, towhees and sparrows love it. I also put out a tray of water. It may only last a couple hours before freezing though. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On 02/13/2021 8:59 AM Dennis Paulson wrote: > > > I would add that all the people who took in their feeders should try to scatter a lot of seeds out on the ground in sheltered places. This deep snow is really stressful for ground-feeding birds, and they could use our help. > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > > > > > On Feb 13, 2021, at 8:42 AM, Lonnie Somer < mombiwheeler@gmail.com mailto:mombiwheeler@gmail.com > wrote: > > Hi Carolyn, > > > > I agree. I believe that the Anna's would not survive now without these food sources. When I put out my hummingbird feeder this morning (I took it in last night so that the nectar wouldn't freeze) a little before sunrise, I had 2 hummingbirds there within 5 minutes. They've been coming back every few minutes. Normally, there is an adolescent male fiercely guarding it (his name is Nigel; I believe that he's a reincarnated English soccer hooligan). He displayed absolutely no aggression this morning. > > > > Lonnie Somer > > Seattle > > > > On Fri, Feb 12, 2021 at 10:42 PM Carolyn Heberlein < coheberlein@gmail.com mailto:coheberlein@gmail.com > wrote: > > > > > > > Hi Tweeters, > > > > > > I am just wondering what you all think about the story that I heard tonight on King 5 news about salmonella and taking down bird feeders and emptying bird baths. They said even hummingbird feeders should be taken down. Personally, I feel that my 2 pair of hummingbirds rely on the 5 feeders in my garden for winter sustenance. If I thought they could survive without the nectar then I would be happy to take them down. > > > > > > I've never seen any bird except Anna's at my hummingbird feeders. Maybe a Rufous sneaked in during the summer, but I missed it. > > > > > > A couple months ago, I saw Pine Siskins at my thistle seed feeder. When I heard that they had salmonella, I stopped filling it. I saw 2 sick siskins but no others. > > > > > > I still have my suet feeders up. Many bush tits visit them as well as bewicks wrens and townsend warblers - even the juncos!! And of course, sometimes northern flickers, stellar jays, and starlings. > > > > > > Also, in the wintery weather that we are getting this weekend, I empty my bird baths every night so that they don't freeze. Then I refill them in the morning. > > > > > > I would be willing to stop all of this for the health of the birds, except the hummingbird feeders. I feel like my lovely Anna's might die if I didn't provide them some sugar water. > > > > > > What say you all? > > > > > > Thank you, Carolyn > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Carolyn Finder Heberlein / Nana, Fremont Neighborhood, Seattle, Washington > > > > > > > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zoramon at mac.com Sat Feb 13 10:29:27 2021 From: zoramon at mac.com (Zora Monster) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] feeders In-Reply-To: <1863550693.2059.1613236231780@wamui-merida.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <1863550693.2059.1613236231780@wamui-merida.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: In December I had a sick pine siskin; that prompted me to take down the feeders, sterilize them, and leave them down for a week. Since putting them back up, I have not seen any sick birds. I have three siskin that are regulars to my feeder, and they have stayed healthy. I take down the feeders nearly every single day, clean with hot soapy water, spray with bleach solution, then allow them to dry. I am home except when I grocery shop and take the dog for walks, and I spend a lot of time observing the birds at my feeders. I did have one brief largish flock of siskin stop by about two weeks ago, but they were gone within 15 minutes. When they left I grabbed the feeders and cleaned them on the spot to prevent any possible transmission of salmonella. I am confident that there is not a problem at my feeders and will continue to leave them up until I see signs of sick birds again. Zora Dermer Seattle, WA > On Feb 13, 2021, at 9:10 AM, AMK17 wrote: > > I have also kept my hummingbird feeder out. But I do cycle them daily especially in cold, snowy weather. One stays out for the day and is replaced in the morning with a clean, not frozen, feeder. Somehow I?ve accumulated 3 feeders so easy to do and have a couple back up. This morning I did place one more out of snows reach...more to clean tonight but not really that big a deal. > > As Dennis Paulson suggested, also spreading some seed on ground...more concerned about water source today. > > AKopitov > Seattle, Wa > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gary Bletsch > Sent: Feb 13, 2021 8:38 AM > To: Tweeters Tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] feeders > > Dear Tweeters, > > My feeders are all up, as per usual. > > During the siskin irruption that petered out a few weeks ago, there were a few times when large numbers of Pine Siskins visited my feeders, but most of the time, they just flew over and away. There has been a single Pine Siskin at my feeders on and off since then, and that bird appears healthy. > > In some years, I have had sick Pine Siskins at my place during irruptions, and a few have died, or been killed by other animals. A dog that I used to have would sometimes kill an unwary bird, including a sick and unwary siskin here or there. She never got sick from that. What goes around came around, though; the coyotes ended up taking that dog. > > During the recent irruption, I saw zero evidence of sick or lethargic siskins at my place, or anywhere else, although I did an enormous amount of birding all over Skagit County. At least in my area, I think this has been a smaller salmonella outbreak than ones I have seen in the past. Perhaps we are hyper-aware now, struggling through an outbreak of our own. > > There were ten or more Anna's Hummingbirds at my place, up the end of last October. Then the number dropped sharply, and now I have only two or three hummingbirds. I suspect that either there was a natural die-off, or perhaps the resident male drove the others away. This male has been singing lately, gearing up for breeding season. I suspect that the hummingbirds at my place would perish if I took down the feeders. I am aware of very few other houses in the Upper Skagit Valley where hummingbird feeders are still up and running; with the weather as it is this morning, I doubt there is any place where "my" hummingbirds could go to get food, if I took the feeders down. > > If I think of it, I will pay a visit soon to a spot I know along the river, where a male Anna's has been displaying. There are no houses within hundreds of meters of this bird's territory; it will be interesting to see if he survives this storm, living solely on what nature provides. > > Meanwhile, at my seed and suet feeders, the activity is normal. This morning, there are the usual juncos, House Finches, Purple Finches, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and so forth. > > I have ten free-range chickens that spend a lot of time gleaning seeds that the songbirds knock down from the feeders. During the several siskin irruptions that have occurred over the 18 years I have lived here, I have never had a chicken get sick. Bald Eagles and coyotes have taken a lot of my birds, but sickness has never been an issue, even though my flocks have always spent a good part of their days hanging around my feeders. The same was true of the ducks I used to keep--predators would kill them long before any of them lived long enough to get sick. > > I visited with a friend near Concrete recently. She has dozens of feeders up, and well over a hundred birds visiting her feeders all day long. She has not seen a sick siskin this winter, either, and is planning to keep on feeding. > > If I were seeing sick birds here, I would clean the feeders with chlorine bleach, keep them down for a few days, and then put them back up. Seeing none, I will continue to feed. > > Yours truly, > > Gary Bletsch > > garybletsch@yahoo.com > > > > AMK17 > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jnine28 at gmail.com Sat Feb 13 10:29:59 2021 From: jnine28 at gmail.com (Jeannine Carter) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Possible Slate-colored Junco? Message-ID: I noticed a relatively dark Junco in my yard scavenging through our chips and leaves yesterday. We have had a ton of Juncos all winter, so I?m very familiar with them. Once my kids stopped scaring them away I finally got some pictures and a video of it but unfortunately only when it started to get dark. I saw that someone nearby recently saw a Slate-colored form in their yard. Could this also be one? I?m in North Beach, between Carkeek and Golden Gardens, about a 1/3 mile off of the water and on a wooded ravine. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0li6A-smJT5BWE_MKfhHEBfkw iCloud link available until Mar 15 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From skepsou at icloud.com Sat Feb 13 11:31:31 2021 From: skepsou at icloud.com (Debbie Mcleod) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Salmonella in cold weather Message-ID: <67D08221-D480-41BB-AA16-22B6563605BA@icloud.com> I had taken down my feeders a couple of weeks ago. Now I'm wondering about the effect of below-freezing temperatures on the risk/spread of salmonella. It would be nice if it were safe to put the feeders back up during this cold and snowy spell. Debbie in Kirklandia Sent from my iPhone From amk17 at earthlink.net Sat Feb 13 12:13:54 2021 From: amk17 at earthlink.net (AMK17) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] on a brighter note... Message-ID: <747070179.3432.1613247235372@wamui-mouse.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Several brightly colored American goldfinch and breeding plumage yellow rumped warblers are visiting the yard today. Striking against the snow... Kopitov Seattle AMK17 From mefairchild at gmail.com Sat Feb 13 12:27:24 2021 From: mefairchild at gmail.com (Mary Fairchild) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Hummingbird feeders Message-ID: This was posted this morning on Facebook by the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center, where I take the injured birds I find: Apparently there is some conflicting information about bird feeders and we understand a news story last night said to remove all feeders including ones for hummingbirds. We have had an uptick in salmonella cases, but this is NOT an issue we are seeing with the sugar water or in hummingbirds. Much of our area woke up to snow - warming areas with a heat lamp will keep your feeders from freezing and the hummingbirds will thank you. We are open today and you can call with any wildlife emergencies or concerns. #sarveywildlife #wildliferehabilitation #birdsofinstagram #hummingbirds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jhoward at uw.edu Sat Feb 13 13:18:23 2021 From: jhoward at uw.edu (Judith A. Howard) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's on Whidbey Message-ID: <587D06F3-BD0E-40ED-9C4C-321332482CDB@contoso.com> We have six hummingbird feeders and the birds are massing heavily at daybreak and sunset. With the snow and cold, there were literally dozens flying around where they are fed, when I put the feeders out around 7 AM today. All of the feeders were then filled with birds, massing as many as 10-15 per feeder. We didn?t take them up when we put the other feeders away to deal with the salmonella. And great suggestion to put seed on baking pans, for the ground feeders. I just put a bunch of trays out, and the spotted towhees, song sparrows, juncos, even a varied thrush, appeared immediately. Judy Howard Whidbey Island -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cacord at gmail.com Sat Feb 13 13:29:54 2021 From: cacord at gmail.com (Claire Acord) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Feeding birds... Message-ID: Hello Tweeters, I feel that the advice to remove feeders, both seed and hummingbird, is rather shortsighted. As a long time livestock farmer I know that good nutrition can see an animal through many types of illness that would have killed an animal already in poor shape due to malnutrition. I also have observed that even with an outbreak of e-coli, salmonella, or other pathogens of that type, some animals will not become ill, or not ill enough to appear sick, young animals, those who are in bad condition will be the ones to sicken the most. So, it seems to me that removing a source of good nutrition from many kinds of birds to stop the spread of salmonella in Pink Siskins might be throwing the baby out with the bath water. Especially in the hungriest time of the year (Feb. & March, not much left over food from last fall, no new food from the coming spring), paired with the extreme conditions now being experienced by our birds with below normal temps., and above normal snowfall, I can only think birds would be dying of hunger. I am continuing to feed wild birds, in as clean a manner as I can, and I have not seen any sick birds here. I think the loss of birds in general would be high without supplemental feeding in this stressful time making it worthwhile to continue feeding them. Perhaps you feel the same? stay well and enjoy our birds Claire raising sheep on Whidbey Island -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From masonflint at outlook.com Sat Feb 13 15:03:49 2021 From: masonflint at outlook.com (Mason Flint) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Nice Bellevue Great Backyard Bird Count bird - Eurasian Wigeon Message-ID: eBird reminded me this morning that the Great Backyard Bird Count was underway so I got up and scanned Lake Sammamish (mid-lake on Bellevue). I found one Eurasian Wigeon mixed in with a flock of American Wigeon. Also had 25 Mallard, 3 Common Merganser, 2 Hooded Merganser (unusual this part of lake), 4 Common Goldeneye, a couple of Pied-billed Grebe, and 8-10 other species braving the snowy weather. Mason Flint Bellevue -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From josh.hayes at q.com Sat Feb 13 15:47:10 2021 From: josh.hayes at q.com (Joshua Hayes) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Oddball sightings during snow Message-ID: <000201d70262$8c8c8970$a5a59c50$@q.com> So, what oddities are people seeing or hearing in their area? Our regular-visitor sapsucker came by and diligently removed as many seeds as possible from their lattices of holes - the nuthatches diligently stuff them in there - but the odd sighting, mostly hearing was that same pine tree filling up with red-winged blackbirds who sang conk-a-reee! To each other for about a half hour, and then departed. A flock of about 20, males and females. Never had them in my yard before. I wonder what they were looking for in the pine tree? (North Seattle, about five blocks from the NS College campus, where the blackbirds are residents on the drainage ponds along the east side.) Joshua Hayes Anatomy and Physiology, Biology Redmond High School, E-130 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 3272 bytes Desc: not available URL: From dlwicki at comcast.net Sat Feb 13 16:36:23 2021 From: dlwicki at comcast.net (Dayna yalowicki) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Townsend=E2=80=99s_Warbler?= Message-ID: <10C4F7D8-24DC-47B8-990B-46982A7B6178@comcast.net> While de-icing the bird bath today, a male Townsend?s Warbler waited patiently in a nearby shrub, not shy at all while I worked about 6? from him. The sound of dripping water brought a few other varieties as well. After finishing and walking to the house, I turned and the TW was already drinking and bathing! I am aware of the recommendation to take down feeders and bird baths but this is a large concrete bath that isn?t going anywhere. I have had it covered with a tarp recently and will cover it again when it warms up. Dayna Yalowicki Bothell, Wa Buy Free Range From abriteway at hotmail.com Sat Feb 13 20:58:35 2021 From: abriteway at hotmail.com (Eric Ellingson) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Horned Larks at Lummi Flats Message-ID: Strong winds blew away the dry snow in a few places along the fields at Lummi flats revealing bare patches that allowed many species of birds to find access to food. Scanning through what was mostly Juncos I came across 7 Horned Larks. This was quite a surprise and made my day. Whenever Northern Harriers would pass, the birds would take flight and find shelter in the brush nearby. Eventually, they'd return to the same spot and being feeding again. Birding during these times of cold and especially snow brings out different behavior that is always interesting to see. Robins thick in bushes with berries. Red-winged Blackbirds by the hundreds with a mix of starlings and others getting water at places where it has not completely frozen. I've been longing to get to the snow in Eastern Washington but a day like today filled the need at least a little bit. Spending 6 hours driving the county I ran across all sorts of interesting human activity too, lots of vehicles in ditches and/or stuck in the snow. Horned Lark photo: https://flic.kr/p/2kBvQ93 Eric Ellingson https://www.flickr.com/photos/ericellingson/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jimullrich at gmail.com Sun Feb 14 12:24:30 2021 From: jimullrich at gmail.com (jimullrich) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Feeding Birds Message-ID: Totally agree with Claire Acord?s post on feeding the birds. Jim Ullrich Sent from my iPhone From tvulture at gmx.com Sun Feb 14 12:42:41 2021 From: tvulture at gmx.com (Diann MacRae) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's warbler Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From elc at u.washington.edu Sun Feb 14 13:12:05 2021 From: elc at u.washington.edu (Elaine Chuang) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Her Majesty (our Snowy Owl) sighted on Queen Anne - Sunday, Feb 14 Message-ID: <5E3DDC53-8F0E-4C86-96C8-FF494F85E45F@u.washington.edu> I'll qualify this as not first-hand info, but ?...there are a lot of photographers here? was part of the message sent to me just now. As shown on this map screenshot the location is said to be near the corner of Prospect Street and Warren Ave N. Counting up the days here on QA: 81 + 1 + 1 + ? Take care if you go, and respect friction and gravity, or the temporary lack of the first! ??Happy Valentines, all! Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at UW dot edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Sun Feb 14 13:26:54 2021 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (THOMAS BENEDICT) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's warbler In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <624019818.42624.1613338015113@connect.xfinity.com> On 02/14/2021 12:42 PM Diann MacRae wrote: > >Don't forget to watch for very early turkey vultures! > My eyes are peeled! It will be a first for me here in the Burien, WA area. There isn't much in the way of TUVU foraging habitat around here, so I think it would be unusual. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ellenblackstone at gmail.com Sun Feb 14 13:30:06 2021 From: ellenblackstone at gmail.com (Ellen Blackstone) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] BirdNote, last week and the week of Feb. 14, 2021 Message-ID: <1a0d641b-530e-2c6e-0051-177233d7f1d5@gmail.com> Hello, Tweeters, Got birds? Join the annual Great Backyard Bird Count! https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/annual-great-backyard-bird-count ------------------------------------------- Heard last week on BirdNote: * San Diego Bay in Winter http://bit.ly/11zIyjJ * A Pigeon-eyed View of the World http://bit.ly/3jLMKh0 * When Snowy Owls Come South http://bit.ly/1o2NBr6 * Seeds of Attraction, with Wenfei Tong http://bit.ly/3pgpf0O * You Are What You Eat http://bit.ly/1SmZYPI * Chickadee Line-up http://bit.ly/14haNrz * Crossbills Nest in Winter http://bit.ly/2kflo2q ========================= Next week on BirdNote: How Museum Eggs Can Help Science? + Swan Song Tokens of Affection, and more! http://bit.ly/3acoktU -------------------------------------- Did you have a favorite story this week? Another comment? Please let us know. mailto:info@birdnote.org ------------------------------------------------ Sign up for the podcast: https://birdnote.org/get-podcasts-rss Find us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/birdnoteradio?ref=ts ... or follow us on Twitter. https://twitter.com/birdnoteradio or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birdnoteradio/ Listen on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/birdnote ======================== You can listen to the mp3, see photos, and read the transcript for a show, plus sign up for weekly mail or the podcast and find related resources on the website. https://www.birdnote.org You'll find 1600+ episodes and more than 1200 videos in the archive. Thanks for listening, Ellen Blackstone, BirdNote -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Sun Feb 14 15:49:23 2021 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's warbler In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Very nice, Diann! I finally got a Townsend?s Warbler today at our home in Roy (after 15 years at this place). (I bet they?ve been here, but I never heard or saw any.) I was working in the barn, looked out the window and a bright male Townsend?s was feeding on the seed/mealworm block - and then on peanuts. It came back several times over about an hour. That was species 138 on our property since we?ve been here / and number 54 for 2021. It definitely pays to be in the right place at the right time! May all your birds be identified, Denis avn acrs 4 birds at outlook dot com Avian Acres ? Roy, WA ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Diann MacRae Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2021 12:42:41 PM To: tweeters t Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's warbler Hi, Tweets I'm just watching a bright male Townsend's warbler on the suet outside my window. A nice surprise. Our 2-3 varied thrushes also add nice color. Don't forget to watch for very early turkey vultures! Cheers, Diann Diann MacRae Olympic Vulture Study 22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E. Bothell, WA 98021 tvulture@gmx.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Sun Feb 14 16:32:34 2021 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (THOMAS BENEDICT) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's warbler In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <223090972.43064.1613349154510@connect.xfinity.com> First two Varied Thrushes revealed themselves as the snow began to melt here in Burien. I suspect they've been around for a while, but usually skulking in the underbrush. Today they were out on bare patches of our one lane neighborhood access road. Nice to see again. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On 02/14/2021 3:49 PM Denis DeSilvis wrote: > > > > > Very nice, Diann! > > I finally got a Townsend?s Warbler today at our home in Roy (after 15 years at this place). (I bet they?ve been here, but I never heard or saw any.) I was working in the barn, looked out the window and a bright male Townsend?s was feeding on the seed/mealworm block - and then on peanuts. It came back several times over about an hour. > > That was species 138 on our property since we?ve been here / and number 54 for 2021. It definitely pays to be in the right place at the right time! > > May all your birds be identified, > Denis > avn acrs 4 birds at outlook dot com > Avian Acres ? > Roy, WA > > --------------------------------------------- > From: Tweeters on behalf of Diann MacRae > Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2021 12:42:41 PM > To: tweeters t > Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's warbler > > Hi, Tweets > > I'm just watching a bright male Townsend's warbler on the suet outside my window. A nice surprise. Our 2-3 varied thrushes also add nice color. > > Don't forget to watch for very early turkey vultures! > > Cheers, Diann > > Diann MacRae > Olympic Vulture Study > 22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E. > Bothell, WA 98021 > tvulture@gmx.com > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Sun Feb 14 19:56:07 2021 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Waterville Plateau and Okanogan Highlands Fri 2/12-Sun 2/14 Message-ID: Dear Tweets, Scott Ramos and I are back at it for another weekend in the snowy Waterville Plateau and Okanogan Highlands. On Friday 2/12 we saw 2 Snowy Owl around Atkins Lake. We had two nice flocks of 300+ Horned Lark both with several Snow Bunting and a few Lapland Longspur, one near Heritage Rd and 6th Road directly north of Atkins Lake, another at 8th Rd and SR 17. There were plenty of Rough-legged Hawk, we also saw Gray Partridge. On Saturday, we observed three Sharp-tailed Grouse at the Scotch Creek Wildlife Area from the pullout just west of Happy Hill Road at 10:30am in the Water Birch. The Townsend?s Solitaire remains in Conconully. Canyon Wren was singing at the rock butte along the Riverside cut-off. McLaughlin Canyon/Janis Road Orchard was very birdy with American Tree Sparrow, but no Waxwings. We darted up to Mary Ann Creek and observed Pine Grosbeak x 4 east of the Christian Camp and along our way picked up Ruffed Grouse and two Northern Pygmy-Owl. Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch x 12 were seen along Hungry-Hollow Road just north of a cattle ranch. The birds were roosting in a barn immediately adjacent to the east side of the road with a horse and donkey. On Sunday, we had nice looks of Chukar and Golden Eagle on Fancher Road. The real exciting surprise was Siwash Creek. While enjoying a flock of 250 Common Redpolls feeding on the Water Birch, one of our birders noticed over 20 Sharp-tailed Grouse in the Pine Trees on the hill north of the gulch. We watched the grouse fly into the water birch and feed, a real treat. North Siwash was good for Pygmy Nuthatch. The Hungry Hollow Feeder and Nealy Road Feeder were busy with expected Mountain Chickadee and American Goldfinch. We also saw Downy and Hairy, Pine Siskin and Red-winged Blackbird. Nealy Road Feeder had three Ruffed Grouse and a large flock 30 plus of Red Crossbills in conifer just north. We are still debating if there were a few White-winged Crossbills in the mix. Tomorrow the Waterville Plateau again. Safe driving in the snow! Happy birding, Shep Shep Thorp, VMD Family Guy, Emergency Veterinarian, Birder Browns Point, Tacoma 253-370-3742 From coheberlein at gmail.com Sun Feb 14 22:48:00 2021 From: coheberlein at gmail.com (Carolyn Heberlein) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Feeding birds Message-ID: Thank you Claire. We share the same philosophy. I try to keep the feeders clean so that disease is not spread, but to totally take them down? No way. -- Carolyn Finder Heberlein / Nana, Fremont Neighborhood, Seattle, Washington -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From meetings at wos.org Mon Feb 15 09:43:32 2021 From: meetings at wos.org (meetings@wos.org) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?WOS_Presentation=2C_Mon=2E=2C_Mar=2E_1=2C_Gr?= =?utf-8?q?ay_Flycatcher_Nest_Ecology_with_Jeff_Kozma?= Message-ID: <20210215174332.12135.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> The Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) is delighted to invite you to join us for a presentation by Jeff Kozma.??Jeff is a Wildlife Biologist in the Timber, Fish and Wildlife Program within the Department of Fisheries Resources Management of the Yakama Nation.?? For more than 17 years Jeff has been conducting field research on the life history and reproductive biology of birds, with a special focus on the White-headed Woodpecker and other cavity-nesting birds, and how habitat characteristics influence nest survival in managed Ponderosa Pine forests of the eastern Cascades of Washington. In 2014-2015 Jeff expanded his research to include the breeding biology of the Gray Flycatcher, a species at the northern end of its range in WA.??Jeff will describe how he conducted the research and will share what he learned about where these flycatchers place their nests and the habitat characteristics that determine nesting success or failure. What:??Gray Flycatcher Nest Ecology in Ponderosa Pine Forests, with Jeff Kozma When:??Monday, March 1, 7:30 pm Where:??Via GoToMeeting (Sign-in begins at 7:15 pm) WOS Monthly Meetings remain open to all as we continue to welcome the wider birding community to join us online via GoToMeeting. For login information, go to http://wos.org/about-wos/monthly-meetings/.??While there, if you are not yet a member, I hope you will consider becoming one. Please join us! Vicki King WOS Program Coordinator From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Mon Feb 15 10:04:53 2021 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Douglas County Birding 2/12-2/14 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, I made my February trip out to Douglas County on Friday-Sunday. Although the blog (www.douglascountybirding.blogspot.com) has not been updated yet, I thought I'd pass along sightings. Thanks to Matt Yawney and Joe Veverka for meeting up to do some birding - it was nice to have the extra eyes and ears along on much of the trip. The blog will be chronological, so I'll do a taxonomic recap here. Not every group, but ones of interest for the trip: Geese: Plenty of Canada Geese to pick through at the Golf Course in Rock Island, at Bridgeport Bar, and from Coyote Dunes on the Apple Capital Loop Trail. The latter was where Joe and I found 6 Cackling Geese swimming mid-river. Swans: 5 Tundra Swans (flyover) at Bridgeport Bar Ducks: Nothing unusual here - scads of Ruddy Ducks, Greater Scaup, and Mallards were up at Bridgeport Bar, and I added Wood Duck for the year at Hammond Lake in Rock Island. Barrow's Goldeneye seems to be tougher nearly anywhere, and we did have one at Coyote Dunes. Gallinaceous birds: Plenty of California Quail of course, and Matt and I think we got a recording of a Wild Turkey calling from the hillside across the freeway from the Bridgeport Bar Wildlife Area parking lot. Still no grouse of any sort for me for the year, nor pheasants, nor partridge, nor chukar! Grebes and Loons: Just Horned and Common respectively, despite creative efforts to interpret the birds otherwise. Gulls: Not even a Gull (sp?) for the trip. Snowy skies limited visibility on the Columbia at times. Raptors: Golden Eagle on Central Ferry Canyon Road, and Bald Eagles (new for the year for me) everywhere. Rough-legged Hawks on the plateau, and Northern Harriers at Coyote Dunes and Palisades Road. Owls: Matt and I had 3 Northern Saw-whet Owls at Bridgeport Bar Wildlife Area. No. . .not at Bridgeport Bar State Park where everyone goes to get them, but a bit upriver, and over on the Douglas side at the Grange Road parking area. We also had a male/female pair of Great Horned Owls calling at the same site, and a Snowy Owl North of Mansfield from B road. Falcons: Plenty of Kestrels, but no other falcons for me on this trip. Gyrfalcon would be a lifer, so I'm hoping to find one this year! Woodpeckers: Matt and I found flickers posing as birds from about 5 different taxonomic groups, including Flickerhawk, and Flickerthrush, but dipped on Flickerduck. Other than that: Downy at Bridgeport Bar, and Hairy on Central Ferry Canyon Road. Various Wee Birds: Not that notable, but I was able to add both kinglets on Sunday. Golden-crowned at Lincoln Rock, and Ruby-crowned at the Big Bow Lake in Rock Island. Matt and I had both Bewick's and Pacific Wren at Bridgeport Bar, and got a White-breasted Nuthatch on Central Ferry Canyon Road. American Dipper: at Lincoln Rock State Park, playing in the shallow water and rocks near the swimming area. Thrushes: Hermit Thrush was the interesting find here. I got one at Hideaway Lake in Rock Island on Friday. Joe and I had 2-4 of them at Big Bow Lake, depending on how much the individuals were flying around. The trails at these lakes appear to be a good spot right now for them. Finches: House Finch... and a couple American Goldfinches. Blah. Snow Buntings: large flocks up on the plateau - sadly, there was almost always a truck driving by whenever we'd come across a good flock to photograph. No Longspurs or interesting finches were found in the flocks. Sparrows: I struck out on Golden-crowned, but Matt and I found a small flock of American Tree Sparrows on Central Ferry Canyon, and a Fox Sparrow at Bridgeport Bar. Joe and I also found a Fox Sparrow at Big Bow Lake in Rock Island. Icterids: Finally got my first on this trip: a few Red-winged Blackbirds here and there. Overall, it was obviously a pretty snowy trip! Highway 2, incidentally, is not presently an option for getting from Orondo up to the Waterville Plateau, just in case anyone is headed up that way soon. Looks like that will be the case until some time in March because of a rock slide. The birds were pretty subdued at times, but there were a few early afternoon stretches of sun when they did become quite active. Cheers, Tim Brennan Renton tsbrennan at hotmail dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From louise.rutter at eelpi.gotdns.org Mon Feb 15 10:07:35 2021 From: louise.rutter at eelpi.gotdns.org (Louise Rutter) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Song onslaught Message-ID: <008e01d703c5$7024cea0$506e6be0$@eelpi.gotdns.org> With the snow starting to melt, the varied thrushes in my yard all decided to start singing this morning. I always find it odd when birds sing where they're not going to be breeding. I suppose they like to get some practice in before they get to the breeding territories. Louise Rutter Kirkland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hank.heiberg at yahoo.com Mon Feb 15 11:14:56 2021 From: hank.heiberg at yahoo.com (Hank Heiberg) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Snoqualmie Valley Yellow-bellied Sapsucker References: <136B2A73-6F5A-40FD-B16E-B3D71E2731F7.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <136B2A73-6F5A-40FD-B16E-B3D71E2731F7@yahoo.com> Visible from car. Pecking on yellow apples. Across SE 19th Way from telephone pole 043340. Hank Heiberg Issaquah, WA Sent from my iPhone From jmyb at aol.com Mon Feb 15 12:26:35 2021 From: jmyb at aol.com (jmyb@aol.com) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush References: <2091556245.2022236.1613420795618.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2091556245.2022236.1613420795618@mail.yahoo.com> ?Sunday five more thrush joined the four that have been here in our yard? near Gig Harbor. Townsend Warblers continue also.? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mch1096 at hotmail.com Mon Feb 15 12:59:18 2021 From: mch1096 at hotmail.com (mary hrudkaj) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush yard birds Message-ID: Out here in the Belfair- Tahuya area we got a foot of snow from this latest weather event. It's forced everything into/onto the shoveled areas around my house. There are three pairs of Varied Thrush bold enough to come onto the deck and right up to the sliding door for food. Trying to keep areas open the past 48 hours has been a challenge so bird seed gets put under the roof overhang above the deck. Between them and the dozens of other birds (sorry, no mountain quail) I've gone through 20lbs of food in the past 2 days. On the way into Belfair this morning we had to slow and/or swerve for all the varied thrush foraging on the roadsides. Appreciable snow fell down to sea level leaving very little open ground for the thrush to forage. They kept standing in the road or flying across in front of the car. I knew varied thrush were fairly common out this way but not to the extent I saw this morning. I imagine they'll all melt back into the woods once the snow is gone. It took me a while yesterday to identify which birds were making a high pitched but fairly quiet trilling sound around the house. At one time there were few birds except the thrush so I narrowed it down to them. One usually identifies them by the loud ringing calls they make later in the breeding season. One of the nice things about birding is learning something new just about every time you take the time to watch and listen to the birds. Mary Hrudkaj BelfairTahuya -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mattxyz at earthlink.net Mon Feb 15 16:29:00 2021 From: mattxyz at earthlink.net (Matt Bartels) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] 2020 Washington Birder List and Big Day Reports Message-ID: Hi all - Happy to announce that thanks to the snowy weather I?ve finished up and posted the 2020 Year List & Big Day report for Washington Birder. Check out the files at the following link to see how everyone did in 2020 - http://wabirder.com/online.html We?ve got 8 new records for highest ever county big years, several big day records and more ? A direct link to the list report with all the county life and year list totals is here: http://wabirder.com/docs/listreport2020.pdf And a direct link to the Big Day report from 2020 is here: http://wabirder.com/docs/bigdayreport2020.pdf Thanks to everyone who sent in your totals, and here?s to this year allowing even more county and state birding! Matt Bartels Washington Birder -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From contopus at telus.net Mon Feb 15 21:21:43 2021 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne Weber) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Song onslaught In-Reply-To: <008e01d703c5$7024cea0$506e6be0$@eelpi.gotdns.org> References: <008e01d703c5$7024cea0$506e6be0$@eelpi.gotdns.org> Message-ID: <00cf01d70423$9e62f1d0$db28d570$@net> Louise and Tweeters, It is interesting to look at the initiation of song in spring in different groups of songbirds. I would say that in the majority of migratory species, at least in North America, song begins at a certain time of year, regardless of whether the birds are on breeding territories or not. Singing behaviour is affected by testosterone, as are many aspects of male breeding behaviour. Testosterone production increases dramatically in late winter and early spring, as the gonads themselves enlarge. This is a direct result of changes in photoperiod (i.e., an increase in daylength). By February 1, many local species of non-migratory birds are already beginning to sing. This includes such common and familiar species as Black-capped Chickadees, Song Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Singing increases in frequency later in February and into March, and is certainly more frequent after the birds have established territories than before. In the case of migratory species, many of them begin to sing on the wintering grounds, before migration has started. Warblers in particular are known for singing frequently on the wintering grounds and throughout spring migration. This frequent song helps us to detect them and identify them in the spring! Other species, for whatever reason, never or rarely sing during migration, and with rare exceptions, sing only on the breeding grounds. This includes most or all of the Empidonax flycatchers, and the "brown thrushes" (Hermit, Swainson's, Veery, Gray-cheeked, etc. ) Swainson's at least, and perhaps the other thrushes, do not start singing until well after they have arrived on the breeding grounds! Most Swainson's arrive in the Puget Sound area from about May 5 to May 15, but are silent for the first few days, and don't begin singing until about May 20 or later. In eastern Washington and southeastern BC, where the arrival is somewhat later (May 20 to 25), they don't start singing until about June 1-then all of them start singing within a couple of days! This sudden outburst of song in an abundant species is quite a dramatic event. There are a few species, in contrast to the majority, which sing throughout the winter, although usually rather infrequently. This includes some of the sparrows like Song, White-crowned, and Golden-crowned Sparrows. The European Starling sings throughout the winter, as often as it does in the breeding season! I suspect that the hormonal control of song is different in these species than in the majority of birds. When keeping bird notes, I have always noted which species were singing by including a little superscript "S" after my code for any species that was singing on that date. If I analyzed all of these data, I could give you more precise data on when various species sing. However, I haven't analyzed these data, and it would take a lot of time to do so! Wayne Weber Delta, BC contopus@telus.net From: Tweeters [mailto:tweeters-bounces@mailman11.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Louise Rutter Sent: Monday, February 15, 2021 10:08 AM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Song onslaught With the snow starting to melt, the varied thrushes in my yard all decided to start singing this morning. I always find it odd when birds sing where they're not going to be breeding. I suppose they like to get some practice in before they get to the breeding territories. Louise Rutter Kirkland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From teresa at avocetconsulting.com Mon Feb 15 21:40:45 2021 From: teresa at avocetconsulting.com (Teresa Michelsen) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Song onslaught In-Reply-To: <00cf01d70423$9e62f1d0$db28d570$@net> References: <008e01d703c5$7024cea0$506e6be0$@eelpi.gotdns.org> <00cf01d70423$9e62f1d0$db28d570$@net> Message-ID: I had the same experience as Louise - it's been a quiet winter. But I put out some seed in the snow and especially today there were new songs I've never really heard. Of course I've heard the Varied Thrust song, but this was a lot of calling and chattering, almost wren-like. Maybe it's just the first time they've been two feet from my window in groups!! Then there were Fox Sparrows, with a song that is interesting and new to me. Mostly I think of them as silent winter visitors, so that was fun too :) Teresa Michelsen Shelton, WA From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Wayne Weber Sent: Monday, February 15, 2021 9:22 PM To: TWEETERS Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Song onslaught Louise and Tweeters, It is interesting to look at the initiation of song in spring in different groups of songbirds. I would say that in the majority of migratory species, at least in North America, song begins at a certain time of year, regardless of whether the birds are on breeding territories or not. Singing behaviour is affected by testosterone, as are many aspects of male breeding behaviour. Testosterone production increases dramatically in late winter and early spring, as the gonads themselves enlarge. This is a direct result of changes in photoperiod (i.e., an increase in daylength). By February 1, many local species of non-migratory birds are already beginning to sing. This includes such common and familiar species as Black-capped Chickadees, Song Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Singing increases in frequency later in February and into March, and is certainly more frequent after the birds have established territories than before. In the case of migratory species, many of them begin to sing on the wintering grounds, before migration has started. Warblers in particular are known for singing frequently on the wintering grounds and throughout spring migration. This frequent song helps us to detect them and identify them in the spring! Other species, for whatever reason, never or rarely sing during migration, and with rare exceptions, sing only on the breeding grounds. This includes most or all of the Empidonax flycatchers, and the "brown thrushes" (Hermit, Swainson's, Veery, Gray-cheeked, etc. ) Swainson's at least, and perhaps the other thrushes, do not start singing until well after they have arrived on the breeding grounds! Most Swainson's arrive in the Puget Sound area from about May 5 to May 15, but are silent for the first few days, and don't begin singing until about May 20 or later. In eastern Washington and southeastern BC, where the arrival is somewhat later (May 20 to 25), they don't start singing until about June 1-then all of them start singing within a couple of days! This sudden outburst of song in an abundant species is quite a dramatic event. There are a few species, in contrast to the majority, which sing throughout the winter, although usually rather infrequently. This includes some of the sparrows like Song, White-crowned, and Golden-crowned Sparrows. The European Starling sings throughout the winter, as often as it does in the breeding season! I suspect that the hormonal control of song is different in these species than in the majority of birds. When keeping bird notes, I have always noted which species were singing by including a little superscript "S" after my code for any species that was singing on that date. If I analyzed all of these data, I could give you more precise data on when various species sing. However, I haven't analyzed these data, and it would take a lot of time to do so! Wayne Weber Delta, BC contopus@telus.net From: Tweeters [mailto:tweeters-bounces@mailman11.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Louise Rutter Sent: Monday, February 15, 2021 10:08 AM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Song onslaught With the snow starting to melt, the varied thrushes in my yard all decided to start singing this morning. I always find it odd when birds sing where they're not going to be breeding. I suppose they like to get some practice in before they get to the breeding territories. Louise Rutter Kirkland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From louise.rutter at eelpi.gotdns.org Mon Feb 15 22:44:30 2021 From: louise.rutter at eelpi.gotdns.org (Louise Rutter) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Song onslaught In-Reply-To: <00cf01d70423$9e62f1d0$db28d570$@net> References: <008e01d703c5$7024cea0$506e6be0$@eelpi.gotdns.org> <00cf01d70423$9e62f1d0$db28d570$@net> Message-ID: <00e201d7042f$2d9459b0$88bd0d10$@eelpi.gotdns.org> Lovely information, Wayne. It's interesting what you say about the Swainson's - looking back through my yard bird listings, the last two years I heard them on May 28th and May 30th, but in 2018 I didn't hear one until June 15th. Louise Rutter Kirkland From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Wayne Weber Sent: 15 February 2021 21:22 To: TWEETERS Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Song onslaught Louise and Tweeters, It is interesting to look at the initiation of song in spring in different groups of songbirds. I would say that in the majority of migratory species, at least in North America, song begins at a certain time of year, regardless of whether the birds are on breeding territories or not. Singing behaviour is affected by testosterone, as are many aspects of male breeding behaviour. Testosterone production increases dramatically in late winter and early spring, as the gonads themselves enlarge. This is a direct result of changes in photoperiod (i.e., an increase in daylength). By February 1, many local species of non-migratory birds are already beginning to sing. This includes such common and familiar species as Black-capped Chickadees, Song Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Singing increases in frequency later in February and into March, and is certainly more frequent after the birds have established territories than before. In the case of migratory species, many of them begin to sing on the wintering grounds, before migration has started. Warblers in particular are known for singing frequently on the wintering grounds and throughout spring migration. This frequent song helps us to detect them and identify them in the spring! Other species, for whatever reason, never or rarely sing during migration, and with rare exceptions, sing only on the breeding grounds. This includes most or all of the Empidonax flycatchers, and the "brown thrushes" (Hermit, Swainson's, Veery, Gray-cheeked, etc. ) Swainson's at least, and perhaps the other thrushes, do not start singing until well after they have arrived on the breeding grounds! Most Swainson's arrive in the Puget Sound area from about May 5 to May 15, but are silent for the first few days, and don't begin singing until about May 20 or later. In eastern Washington and southeastern BC, where the arrival is somewhat later (May 20 to 25), they don't start singing until about June 1-then all of them start singing within a couple of days! This sudden outburst of song in an abundant species is quite a dramatic event. There are a few species, in contrast to the majority, which sing throughout the winter, although usually rather infrequently. This includes some of the sparrows like Song, White-crowned, and Golden-crowned Sparrows. The European Starling sings throughout the winter, as often as it does in the breeding season! I suspect that the hormonal control of song is different in these species than in the majority of birds. When keeping bird notes, I have always noted which species were singing by including a little superscript "S" after my code for any species that was singing on that date. If I analyzed all of these data, I could give you more precise data on when various species sing. However, I haven't analyzed these data, and it would take a lot of time to do so! Wayne Weber Delta, BC contopus@telus.net From: Tweeters [mailto:tweeters-bounces@mailman11.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Louise Rutter Sent: Monday, February 15, 2021 10:08 AM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Song onslaught With the snow starting to melt, the varied thrushes in my yard all decided to start singing this morning. I always find it odd when birds sing where they're not going to be breeding. I suppose they like to get some practice in before they get to the breeding territories. Louise Rutter Kirkland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ncpeters at uw.edu Tue Feb 16 11:22:53 2021 From: ncpeters at uw.edu (Nathaniel Peters) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fritz Hedges Waterway Park: A small, relatively new park on Portage Bay with great views and lots of birds Message-ID: Howdy Tweets, There is a great new (relatively) park in Seattle in the location of the former University of Washington/U District Police Department called the Fritz Hedges Waterway Park, and I wanted to tell you all about it! It is between Agua Verde Cafe / Paddle Club and Recycled Cycles. In the fall of 2018, demolition teams began demolishing the old buildings and docks on site. Over the next 3+ years, workers slowly but steadily cleaned up the site (nasty old materials), landscaped, brought in barge cranes to sink new pylons and installed a viewing platform extending into the water, poured sidewalks and terraces, planted trees and shrubs, installed lights, seats, sculptures, and a parking lot, and transformed the area into what is now a beautiful waterfront park with stunning views of Portage Bay, particularly in the evening. There are now many places to sit and enjoy this beautiful new area. Importantly, this new park has been a big hit with the waterfowl and now offers fantastic close views of an assortment of local favorites. There is a group of 20-30 American Coots and American Wigeon that now hang out regularly at the point, as well as a group of 10-15 Ring-necked Ducks. Pairs of Mallards and Gadwall are also almost always around. Several pairs of Common Mergansers and a Bufflehead pair have been present recently. A Pied-billed Grebe was diving there this morning. In addition to the regular Glaucous-winged Gulls, I have seen 2 Ring-billed Gulls (1 adult, 1 immature) there on several occasions, and the immature was there this morning. Several Double-crested Cormorants are also often present in the deeper water. Several Anna's Hummingbirds have nearby territories, a local murder of American Crows is often present, and there are California Scrub Jays moving through the area regularly. A group of Canada Geese have fallen in love with the new grassy areas and have been defecating everywhere, but that is now balancing out with increased human presence and not as overwhelming as it was. C'est la vie! I walk this park every morning and evening now as I go to and from work, and it lifts my spirits each time. The park's construction was lengthy and was also delayed by the pandemic, but I am so grateful now for this beautiful space and for this popular new waterfowl habitat, and the birds appear to be loving it! The shallows created by the new landscaping seem to be a big hit with the dabbling ducks in particular, and those groups now hang around very close to very accessible shore. The viewing/sitting platform also offers great elevated views of all these species. I feel like this could be a really nice place to do some bird waterfowl photography and/or have a nice breakfast or lunch, and I plan to do both in the near future. Sunsets and nighttime views are also quite beautiful here. If you are in the area and/or looking for a little change of scenery, I suggest you come and visit. - May the* F*lu*OR*escen*CE* be with you! - Nathaniel Peters Ph.D. W. M. Keck Microscopy Center Manager University of Washington ncpeters@uw.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ncpeters at uw.edu Tue Feb 16 11:41:18 2021 From: ncpeters at uw.edu (Nathaniel Peters) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fritz Hedges Waterway Park: A small, relatively new park on Portage Bay with great views and lots of birds Message-ID: Here is a link to the Seattle Times article about the opening of the park: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-opens-new-waterfront-park-on-portage-bay-in-spectacular-spot-where-police-station-once-stood/ Also, I meant to say that the park's construction took 2+ years, not 3+. Oh, math... - May the* F*lu*OR*escen*CE* be with you! - Nathaniel Peters Ph.D. W. M. Keck Microscopy Center Manager University of Washington ncpeters@uw.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Tue Feb 16 12:12:11 2021 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Douglas County Blog updated Message-ID: Hey Tweets, My February trip over to Douglas County has been put up on my blog - www.douglascountybirding.blogspot.com. Cheers, Tim Brennan tsbrennan at hotmail dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rfaucett at uw.edu Tue Feb 16 14:31:56 2021 From: rfaucett at uw.edu (Robert C. Faucett) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Paging Tom Mansfield Message-ID: <0DE90A76-7B4C-4343-8245-2DC9F38AA523@uw.edu> Hi Folks - trying to get contact Info for Tom Mansfield. Any help? rcf Sent from my iPhone From birds at t-mansfield.com Tue Feb 16 17:04:29 2021 From: birds at t-mansfield.com (Tom Mansfield) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Paging Tom Mansfield In-Reply-To: <0DE90A76-7B4C-4343-8245-2DC9F38AA523@uw.edu> References: <0DE90A76-7B4C-4343-8245-2DC9F38AA523@uw.edu> Message-ID: Hi Rob - I'll email you off list, tm. -----Original Message----- From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Robert C. Faucett Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2021 2:32 PM To: tweeters t Subject: [Tweeters] Paging Tom Mansfield Hi Folks - trying to get contact Info for Tom Mansfield. Any help? rcf Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Tue Feb 16 18:11:10 2021 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride February Birdwalk Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, The Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagles Pride Golf Course (GC) birdwalk is scheduled for this coming Thursday, February 18. The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00AM. Starting point is Bldg # 1514, Driving Range Tee, Eagles Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. We must follow the prescribed rules: 1. Maintain social distancing throughout the walk. 2. Do not share birding or other gear, including scopes, binoculars, etc. 3. Wear a cloth mask. Don't put others or yourself at risk by not wearing one. Hope to see you there! May all your birds be identified, Denis DeSilvis avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Tue Feb 16 18:20:42 2021 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] This Land is Part of Us: Washington's shrubsteppe ecosystem Message-ID: Tweeters, Shrubsteppe is a focal point for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in 2021. Here's some info if you're at all interested in this important ecosystem. (I've removed some not-pertinent text.) --- From: Blomker, Rachel A (DFW) > Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2021 7:02 AM Subject: This Land is Part of Us: Washington's shrubsteppe ecosystem Good morning! After months in the making, we are excited to share with you a short film we produced in partnership with Conservation Northwest about Washington's shrubsteppe ecosystem! Watch "This Land is Part of Us": https://youtu.be/NfhM9vLQD-0. Please share with your friends, family, and networks! We appreciate your support. We also have a collection of video stills and short videos (30 seconds or less) that you are welcome to use on your social media or website platforms. Those resources are available here. About the film The shrubsteppe of central Washington's Columbia Basin is a land of rich biodiversity, vibrant communities, and poignant beauty. It is a place both iconic and increasingly at-risk. Here, at the northern extent of the great "Sagebrush Sea" that once sprawled across much of the American West, growing collaboration between agencies, Native American tribes, conservation organizations, local landowners, and other partners seeks to preserve and restore shrubsteppe ecosystems while supporting cultural and economic values. Despite impacts from severe wildfires and habitat fragmentation, recovery programs are underway for species such as the Greater sage-grouse, pygmy rabbits, sharp-tailed grouse, and pronghorn antelope, while efforts including the Arid Lands Initiative and Conservation Reserve Program foster constructive partnership for the future of Washington's shrubsteppe. For wildlife lovers, hunters and anglers, Indigenous peoples, farmers and ranchers, outdoor recreationists and so many others, this land is no desert devoid of life, This Land is Part of Us. More Shrubsteppe stories to share * Crosscut Escapes podcast - Features interview with Elizabeth Torrey (WDFW) and Jay Kehne (Conservation Northwest) * Spokesman Review article - Features interview with Chase Gunnell (Conservation Northwest) and Scott Downes (WDFW) Questions? Please reach out! Thank you! Rachel Blomker (she/her) Communications Manager, Public Affairs Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Focus areas: Habitat restoration & protection, fish passage, WDFW lands & water access areas, aquatic invasive species, construction projects, white-nose syndrome in bats, oil spill response, environmental education --- May all your birds be identified, Denis DeSilvis avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garybletsch at yahoo.com Tue Feb 16 19:02:57 2021 From: garybletsch at yahoo.com (Gary Bletsch) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Snow Goose trying to fend off Bald Eagle References: <377164644.1970614.1613530977276.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <377164644.1970614.1613530977276@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, Late this afternoon, the sixteenth February 2021, a flock of about a thousand Snow Geese was gathered in the field just north of the Samish West Ninety. I was there ten minutes before even noticing them, and then only when they started honking. A few minutes later, the flock rose and called more vociferously. The reason was soon apparent, an immature Bald Eagle making a clumsy run at the rising geese. The flock headed southeast toward Padilla Bay, later to be joined by a few thousand more. However, back standing in the field where the flock had been, one lone adult Snow Goose abided. Soon, an immature Bald Eagle, I think the same one as before, began strafing this lone goose. Each time, the goose would raise its wings and snap its bill at the eagle. Despite possessing what I would have thought was a supremacy of weapons, the eagle made attempt after attempt, only to fly off each time, rebuffed by the goose's defense.? After these strafing runs, the eagle landed near the goose. It hopped toward it several times, but each time, the goose ran toward the eagle, flapping its wings and snapping its bill. The eagle backed off.? Over the next ten minutes or so, the eagle took off, strafed, and then landed three more times, with the same result to each sortie. Sometimes, after facing down an attack by land, the goose would turn its back on the eagle and simply walk away from it. Any approach was met with a quick turn and a strong defense. Finally, the eagle hopped in for what I thought would be the kill. The two were very close together, but there was still a bit of daylight between them. Then they stayed there, remaining that close together for a minute or two, with no sign of action.? Then the eagle took off. It flew directly toward another immature Bald Eagle, which had been feeding on something on the ground the whole time, about two hundred meters away. Within a few minutes, up to five Bald Eagles were at this carcass, which I think was another goose. "Frosty" the leucistic adult Bald Eagle joined them for a while, but it was mostly immatures feeding there.? It seems that the eagle that had been attacking the goose must have decided that it is easier to eat a purloined dinner than to catch one's own. Ahh, our national bird! As the light faded, the lone Snow Goose stayed out in the field, walking a few steps this way, a few steps that. A couple of pairs of Mallards flew in and foraged quite close by. I never did see this goose fly, so I am guessing that it cannot do so. Close to ten thousand other Snow Geese are presumably settling down out on the bay, for the night. I'm not sure how pleasant a night the lone goose will have, out alone on that cold field. Yours truly, Gary Bletsch -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hank.heiberg at yahoo.com Wed Feb 17 08:58:48 2021 From: hank.heiberg at yahoo.com (Hank Heiberg) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Lincoln Sparrow Eating Worm References: <577989C1-36FF-41CF-96E9-3DA1334402EE@gmail.com> Message-ID: >> ?Yesterday we were surprised to see a Lincoln?s Sparrow eating a worm. Location = north parking lot of Crescent Lake WMA in Snohomish County. >> >> Video >> >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/50953521747/in/dateposted/ >> >> Photo >> >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/50952715698/in/dateposted/ >> >> Hank Heiberg >> Issaquah, WA >> >> >> Sent from my iPad -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pdickins at gmail.com Wed Feb 17 17:58:07 2021 From: pdickins at gmail.com (Philip Dickinson) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Dunlin Message-ID: Eight days ago, there were thousands of Dunlin at low tide at Eide Rd. In Stanwood. Today, at the same tide level, I did not see a single shorebird. Storm moved them somewhere else? The teal did not leave. Phil Dickinson Sent from my iPhone From markbordenmd at gmail.com Wed Feb 17 18:10:27 2021 From: markbordenmd at gmail.com (Mark Borden) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Bald Eagle Bluffed by Snow Goose Message-ID: Dear Tweeters, As a Birder and Falconer (another type of Birder) I am always fascinated to hear eyewitness accounts of unique bird of prey/prey interactions such as the one Gary witnessed. Even a tiercel (male) Bald Eagle (about 8 pounds) could very easily catch and kill a Snow Goose, or even the largest type of Canadian Goose. A bird of prey starts it's life not knowing it's capabilities, and what it tries depends upon its personal tendencies, which vary from individual to individual. Birds of prey that are taken as nestlings (eyasses) by falconers are a blank slate, and will often try tackling prey of heroic proportions. A 9 ounce male Coopers Hawk that I trained grabbed the first full sized Canadian Goose it saw. It rode on the gooses back for about 10 seconds as the goose ran around honking. A female Coopers Hawk I trained 42 years ago grabbed a full grown Coyote on the rump and kept her grip for over 100 yards as the dog ran through the sage, before finally being rubbed off. Neither coopers tried those items again! The coopers is an exceptionally bold species in falconry. Without training one, though, a person would have the impression that they are shy. they are Some Bald Eagles would have piled right onto that goose, and learned that a Snow Goose that is acting abnormally is an easy meal. An aggressive, immature male Red Tailed Hawk might also grab that goose, and the result would probably be a good "wing whipping" and a decision to never try that again! My Peales Peregrine Tiercel this season flew at (best weight) 675 grams (23.6 oz.) and his first kill was a Cackler Goose. Even though he is less than a quarter the size of a Bald Eagle, he could take a Snow Goose. Some tiercel Peregrines would not try a goose, and others would, depending upon their inherent predilections. Falconry is an amazing form of birdwatching. Rarely do I fly my falcons without seeing wild falcons. Once this season my Peregrine/Prairie Hybrid tiercel flew with two immature male, and a mature female peregrine at the same time. Once this season while my tiercel peregrine was chasing a barn pigeon (Columbia livia), a wild tiercel came from out of nowhere, and struck the dove a solid blow, knocking it to the ground. Merlins seem unable to resist putting in a stoop or two, and every young falcon needs to learn that even though Harriers look slow, they are impossibly dodgy and can never be caught! Mark Borden MD Coupeville, WA. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joemccracken3 at gmail.com Wed Feb 17 18:18:10 2021 From: joemccracken3 at gmail.com (Joseph McCracken) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Leucistic Dark-eyed Junco in Bothell Message-ID: Last week while birding in the Bentley neighborhood of Bothell, Lucy Toner spotted this awesome leucistic Dark-eyed Junco foraging around the playground on the north side of the neighborhood. Here is the photos I got of the cool bird and the ebird checklist of it https://photos.app.goo.gl/QCMF1B6cZwk7LV1Z6 https://ebird.org/checklist/S80781717 Happy Birding - Joey McCracken -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Thu Feb 18 13:42:46 2021 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (birdmarymoor@gmail.com) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2021-02-18 Message-ID: Tweets ? We were under cloudy skies today, but the rain held off until we were about done for the day, which was excellent. Not too terribly birdy, but pretty good anyway. This is February, after all... The snow is almost completely gone from the park, and we did not see any notable damage. Highlights: a.. Wood Duck ? again, two pairs near the lake. We seldom get them, most winters, but so far we?ve had 1 or 2 pair each week in 2021 b.. Barn Owl ? one in East Meadow, predawn. One in meadow on west side of slough, predawn c.. Barred Owl ? Matt saw one near the east end of the boardwalk. Later, I heard one at the Rowing Club parking lot, possibly the same bird ? First of Year (FOY) d.. Northern Shrike ? one ENE of the Viewing Mound, seen by half the group e.. Marsh Wren ? one was spontaneously singing east of the East Meadow ? first songs I?ve heard from MAWR this year f.. Varied Thrush ? at least two singing at the Rowing Club, one seen poorly g.. Western Meadowlark ? at least two, north end of the East Meadow A late scan of the lake turned up one HORNED GREBE. As I was driving home, I saw a flock of geese looking like they would land in the NW corner of the park, so I made a quick right turn back into the park. Sure enough, I found a flock of CACKLING GEESE on the grass softball fields west of the tennis courts. Among them was an adult GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE ? (FOY). While I was viewing them, I heard a call, turned around, and found six AMERICAN GOLDFINCH in a tree in the parking lot. So that quick stop yielded 3 new birds for the day . Misses today included Mew Gull, Bushtit, and White-crowned Sparrow. For the day, 59 species, with two new for 2021. = Michael Hobbs = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: wlEmoticon-smile[1].png Type: image/png Size: 1046 bytes Desc: not available URL: From rfaucett at uw.edu Thu Feb 18 14:34:41 2021 From: rfaucett at uw.edu (Robert C. Faucett) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Scope recommendations? Message-ID: <687A275D-7CAF-420C-AA1C-5E702BA9D157@uw.edu> Im looking for a new scope. Is anyone running the Swarovski ATX series? Specifically the 105 which must weight a ton. But light is not light. Thoughts from the group? Thanks Rob Sent from my iPhone From mch1096 at hotmail.com Thu Feb 18 15:33:03 2021 From: mch1096 at hotmail.com (mary hrudkaj) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] First Mt. Quail in 6 months Message-ID: Just had a female Mountain Quail dash across the lingering snowfield that I call my blueberry yard. It's feeding now. The last time there were quail in the yard was last August. Whether it was the coyote hanging around all the time, the heat or the lousy air we had the quail had abandoned my yard. I hope this is a sign of more visits in the future. I sure have missed them. There still are 7-8 Varied Thrush coming in to feed daily. Once this morning there were 7 all within about 15 ft of each other feeding just outside my family room. Hopefully enough of us can get our vaccines (finally got mine scheduled through VA) that birders can come out and enjoy the quail this year. Happy Birding Mary Hrudkaj Belfair/Tahuya -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alndonna at wamail.net Thu Feb 18 16:08:32 2021 From: alndonna at wamail.net (Al n Donna) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] First Mt. Quail in 6 months In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thank you, Mary. We sure enjoyed the ?lifer? July, 2019. Al in Tacoma From: mary hrudkaj Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2021 3:37 PM To: Tweeters Tweeters Bird Chat Subject: [Tweeters] First Mt. Quail in 6 months Just had a female Mountain Quail dash across the lingering snowfield that I call my blueberry yard.? It's feeding now. The last time there were quail in the yard was last August.? Whether it was the coyote hanging around all the time, the heat or the lousy air we had the quail had abandoned my yard.? I hope this is a sign of more visits in the future.? I sure have missed them. There still are 7-8 Varied Thrush coming in to feed daily.? Once this morning there were 7 all within about 15 ft of each other feeding just outside my family room.?? Hopefully enough of us can get our vaccines (finally got mine scheduled through VA) that birders can come out and enjoy the quail this year. Happy Birding Mary Hrudkaj Belfair/Tahuya -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Whitney.Lanfranco at leicasportoptics.com Thu Feb 18 18:33:59 2021 From: Whitney.Lanfranco at leicasportoptics.com (Whitney Lanfranco) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Scope recommendations? Message-ID: I don't have any specific thoughts on the Swaro ATX but I use a Leica Televid 82 mm. I assume you have found that the light isn't good with scope with a smaller objective? The light with the 82 televid is amazing and the weight isn't bad at all. I'm tiny and I carry it everywhere. It has a 4-part fluoride lens objective for great color fidelity and contrast. Being a camera company, Leica puts all the technology of their cameras into their optics and strive really hard for natural colors and images. I use it for digiscoping as well and get great photos and videos that way. A couple of other great features is Leica's Aquadura coating on the lenses that really helps with birding in the rain and they are waterproof down to 5m meaning they can withstand pressure of up to 18,000 feet. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ixoreus at scattercreek.com Thu Feb 18 19:14:14 2021 From: ixoreus at scattercreek.com (Bob Sundstrom) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Scope recommendations? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I have the use of a Leica 65 mm scope with wide-angle eyepiece (my personal scope) and a Swarovski ATS 65 (that VENT, my tour company employer provides me. I actually prefer the optics of the Swarovski, a bit brighter. Both are excellent. I?ve been asked many times to recommend one scope or another. I suggest that if you are going for an 82mm, be absolutely certain you are willing to lug the heavier scope. I?m not. I switched to 65mm scopes years ago. The optics of the smaller scopes are brilliant too, if you buy the wide-angle zoom eyepiece. Bob Sundstrom Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 18, 2021, at 6:36 PM, Whitney Lanfranco wrote: > > ? > I don?t have any specific thoughts on the Swaro ATX but I use a Leica Televid 82 mm. I assume you have found that the light isn?t good with scope with a smaller objective? The light with the 82 televid is amazing and the weight isn?t bad at all. I?m tiny and I carry it everywhere. It has a 4-part fluoride lens objective for great color fidelity and contrast. Being a camera company, Leica puts all the technology of their cameras into their optics and strive really hard for natural colors and images. I use it for digiscoping as well and get great photos and videos that way. A couple of other great features is Leica?s Aquadura coating on the lenses that really helps with birding in the rain and they are waterproof down to 5m meaning they can withstand pressure of up to 18,000 feet. > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From subbush at gmail.com Thu Feb 18 21:13:00 2021 From: subbush at gmail.com (Subramanian Sankar) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Scope recommendations? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I second that. I use Leica Televid 82 with Gitzo Traveler 1545T Carbon Fiber Tripod. I think 1545T is phased out now. But Traveler series tripods are the best Leica, Bellevue store used to display a bundle earlier last year. Thanks and Regards Subramanian Sankar Chennai, South India While a picture is worth a thousand words, a sound is worth a thousand pictures." - R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause On Fri, 19 Feb, 2021, 08:05 Whitney Lanfranco, < Whitney.Lanfranco@leicasportoptics.com> wrote: > I don?t have any specific thoughts on the Swaro ATX but I use a Leica > Televid 82 mm. I assume you have found that the light isn?t good with scope > with a smaller objective? The light with the 82 televid is amazing and the > weight isn?t bad at all. I?m tiny and I carry it everywhere. It has a > 4-part fluoride lens objective for great color fidelity and contrast. Being > a camera company, Leica puts all the technology of their cameras into their > optics and strive really hard for natural colors and images. I use it for > digiscoping as well and get great photos and videos that way. A couple of > other great features is Leica?s Aquadura coating on the lenses that really > helps with birding in the rain and they are waterproof down to 5m meaning > they can withstand pressure of up to 18,000 feet. > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From subbush at gmail.com Thu Feb 18 21:22:40 2021 From: subbush at gmail.com (Subramanian Sankar) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Re: Scope recommendations? In-Reply-To: <1613711769.thing602f4999ec899@mx.google.com> References: <1613711769.thing602f4999ec899@mx.google.com> Message-ID: I just got spammed by someone. Could someone look into this? While a picture is worth a thousand words, a sound is worth a thousand pictures." - R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: LAURa Fiona Date: Fri, 19 Feb, 2021, 10:46 Subject: re:Re: [Tweeters] Scope recommendations? To: Well Subramanian its nice that someone is getting back to me. I think u r great one person.Subramanian i wnt to know about u,can u space this time right now? Thurs, Jan 19, 2021 at 12:15 AM Subramanian Sankar wrote: > I second that. > > I use Leica Televid 82 with Gitzo Traveler 1545T Carbon Fiber Tripod. > > I think 1545T is phased out now. But Traveler series tripods are the best > > Leica, Bellevue store used to display a bundle earlier last year. > > Thanks and Regards > > Subramanian Sankar > Chennai, South India > > > While a picture is worth a thousand words, a sound is worth a thousand > pictures." > - R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause > > On Fri, 19 Feb, 2021, 08:05 Whitney Lanfranco, < > Whitney.Lanfranco@leicasportoptics.com> wrote: > >> I don?t have any specific thoughts on the Swaro ATX but I use a Leica >> Televid 82 mm. I assume you have found that the light isn?t good with scope >> with a smaller objective? The light with the 82 televid is amazing and the >> weight isn?t bad at all. I?m tiny and I carry it everywhere. It has a >> 4-part fluoride lens objective for great color fidelity and contrast. Being >> a camera company, Leica puts all the technology of their cameras into their >> optics and strive really hard for natural colors and images. I use it for >> digiscoping as well and get great photos and videos that way. A couple of >> other great features is Leica?s Aquadura coating on the lenses that really >> helps with birding in the rain and they are waterproof down to 5m meaning >> they can withstand pressure of up to 18,000 feet. >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From panmail at mailfence.com Fri Feb 19 09:55:17 2021 From: panmail at mailfence.com (pan) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Seattle big white birds Message-ID: <839953202.259104.1613757317046@ichabod.co-bxl> Hi, Tweets, If you need a Seattle big white bird fix, two young Snow Geese are continuing around Gasworks Park this morning. Look for the Canadas, though they're not always with them. And at Montlake Fill, at least through yesterday, a few Trumpeter Swans are being amazingly tolerant along the shore. 19 February, 2021, Alan Grenon Seattle From dougsantoni at gmail.com Fri Feb 19 11:34:13 2021 From: dougsantoni at gmail.com (Doug Santoni) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Seattle big white birds In-Reply-To: <839953202.259104.1613757317046@ichabod.co-bxl> References: <839953202.259104.1613757317046@ichabod.co-bxl> Message-ID: Alan / Tweets ? Those two immature Snow Geese have been around for much of the winter; I?ve seen them just offshore from both West Montlake Park / Seattle Yacht Club and from East Montlake Park / Marsh Island. They seem very attached to the Canada Geese with which they often associate! The Trumpeter Swans at Montlake Fill are big enough to be viewable even from the south side of Union Bay, from Foster Point (on Foster Island). These big white birds are welcome winter visitors! Doug Santoni Seattle > On Feb 19, 2021, at 9:55 AM, pan wrote: > > Hi, Tweets, > > If you need a Seattle big white bird fix, two young Snow Geese are continuing around Gasworks Park this morning. Look for the Canadas, though they're not always with them. > > And at Montlake Fill, at least through yesterday, a few Trumpeter Swans are being amazingly tolerant along the shore. > > 19 February, 2021, > > Alan Grenon > Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From heapbigdoc at netscape.net Fri Feb 19 14:55:36 2021 From: heapbigdoc at netscape.net (heapbigdoc@netscape.net) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] White-tailed Kite Puget Island References: <1105800845.255810.1613775336991.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1105800845.255810.1613775336991@mail.yahoo.com> Hi Tweets -Just saw a White-tailed Kite on N Welcome Slough Rd on Puget Island, south of Cathlamet, Wakiakum Co. First time I've sen one in WA.Roy Myers, Electric City, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From martinmuller at msn.com Fri Feb 19 16:53:30 2021 From: martinmuller at msn.com (Martin Muller) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Scope recommendations? Message-ID: Rob, I have used the Swarovski ATX 95mm for the past few years. I am extremely happy with it, despite the weight (with stable tripod and oil-filled gimbal set-up it?s a load). I?ve been salivating over the 115 mm objective, but will need to hold off for a bit. I use the 95 mm a lot for digiscoping, with pretty good success. The 115 would add about 27 Oz. in weight (that?s about the same as the eyepiece unit alone). I say, if you can afford it, go for it. After I switched from the KOWA scope I had been using for more than 21 years to the Swarovski, I realized I switched from bird watching to looking at the barbules on feathers?. It still is an amazing experience. Martin Muller, Seattle martinmuller at em es en dot com From: "Robert C. Faucett" > Subject: [Tweeters] Scope recommendations? Date: February 18, 2021 at 2:34:41 PM PST To: tweeters t > Im looking for a new scope. Is anyone running the Swarovski ATX series? Specifically the 105 which must weight a ton. But light is not light. Thoughts from the group? Thanks Rob Sent from my iPhone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bdriskell at comcast.net Fri Feb 19 17:34:46 2021 From: bdriskell at comcast.net (William Driskell) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit Flats Prairie Falcon et al. Message-ID: <253dfa08-1527-681f-9b88-9c66e47d9c36@comcast.net> While Skagit prowling Fri afternoon ~2 PM, Inge and I spotted the Prairie Falcon in tall trees NE of the corner of N/S leg of T Loop Rd (S of East 90 area). 48?31'30.0"N 122?25'59.3"W? It was fairly high in the trees as opposed to its more usual fence-post/telephone-pole locations where we've previously seen it. For a bonus, we had just also gotten a peregrine in the trees just N of the West 90 parking lot.? The usual Rough Legged hawks were at East 90 and the entrance to Sullivan Rd (dead end).? Four Kestrels were scattered through the Flats. And we may have undercounted but think we saw 62,283 Red tails and >800,000 eagles (very roughly estimated). N of Samish Island, from the Saltwater Access viewpoint, were flocks of Long tail ducks (usually just a few scattered for us) and RB mergansers, Common Goldeneye, Surf and WW scoters, two Common loons and a horned grebe. The sun shone briefly and the Edison bakery had just pulled some kind of French salted caramel/apple ecstasy from the oven--a perfect trip! -- William Driskell Seattle WA From ellenblackstone at gmail.com Sat Feb 20 12:02:00 2021 From: ellenblackstone at gmail.com (Ellen Blackstone) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] BirdNote, last week and the week of Feb. 21, 2021 Message-ID: Hello, Tweeters, Heard last week on BirdNote: * Tokens of Affection http://bit.ly/3k83VcA * The Robin's Namesake http://bit.ly/2lleieb * Swan Song http://bit.ly/2lQHYTz * Spark Bird: Diana Sudyka?s First Bird ID http://bit.ly/3azE36k * Museum Eggs Help Solve Mysteries https://bit.ly/3aDA2Oc * Altamira Oriole http://bit.ly/2DB7Etr ========================= Next week on BirdNote: Long-eared Owl - Bird in Disguise, Sanderlings, Kelp in an Eagle Nest? -- and more! http://bit.ly/2NfCSAp -------------------------------------- Did you have a favorite story this week? Another comment? Please let us know. mailto:info@birdnote.org ------------------------------------------------ Sign up for the podcast: https://birdnote.org/get-podcasts-rss Find us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/birdnoteradio?ref=ts ... or follow us on Twitter. https://twitter.com/birdnoteradio or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birdnoteradio/ Listen on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/birdnote ======================== BirdNote is in print. Check out BirdNote, the book: https://www.birdnote.org/birdnote-book There's a journal, too -- for your notes and sketches and lists: http://bit.ly/BirdNote-journal ----------------------------------------------------------------- You can listen to the mp3, see photos, and read the transcript for a show, plus sign up for weekly mail or the podcast and find related resources on the website. https://www.birdnote.org You'll find 1600+ episodes and more than 1200 videos in the archive. Thanks for listening, Ellen Blackstone, BirdNote -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joannabird413 at gmail.com Sat Feb 20 12:24:22 2021 From: joannabird413 at gmail.com (Christina Tredick) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Owls nesting? Message-ID: Hello fellow birders, What news of owls nesting. Anyone been up umptanum rd to see if they're nesting in the tree by the rd? I'm longing for migration to begin and pondering the usual beginnings, owls, Anna's hummingbirds etc. Many thanks Christina from Tacoma -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pmann at epl-inc.com Sat Feb 20 14:38:59 2021 From: pmann at epl-inc.com (Peter Mann) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Solitare Message-ID: Present in the same Cotoeaster bush north of the South parking lot in Disco Park as of 12:20 this afternoon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Sat Feb 20 16:06:30 2021 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (THOMAS BENEDICT) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Owls nesting? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1364119201.37722.1613865991142@connect.xfinity.com> I dunno about nesting, but I heard the first Who-Cooks-For-You I've heard in months last week. And the female Anna's we have is looking plumper than normal. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On 02/20/2021 12:24 PM Christina Tredick wrote: > > > Hello fellow birders, > What news of owls nesting. Anyone been up umptanum rd to see if they're nesting in the tree by the rd? I'm longing for migration to begin and pondering the usual beginnings, owls, Anna's hummingbirds etc. > Many thanks > Christina from Tacoma > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Sat Feb 20 17:26:49 2021 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagles Pride Golf Course (GC) monthly bird walk - 2-18-2021 Message-ID: Tweeters, Sorry about the delay - had to head north to Seattle for second Covid vaccination. Here's the report --- Although cool (start: 35degF; end: 40degF), the four of us on our journey around JBLM Eagles Pride GC managed to stay mostly rain-free (a few sprinkles here and there). The only ducks we saw were Bufflehead and Ring-necked Ducks -- no Mallards, etc. Some numbers were elevated, such as PINE SISKINS (166) and, compared with last month, AMERICAN ROBIN (37), the latter of which had quite a few located in more forested areas as opposed to on the grassy areas of the course. DARK-EYED JUNCOS (69), VARIED THRUSH (18), and RED CROSSBILL (12), were a bit elevated in numbers. Expected but missing (besides the Mallards) were Red-tailed Hawk and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Mammals included six black-tailed deer. The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00AM. Starting point is Bldg # 1514, Driving Range Tee, Eagles Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. Upcoming walks include the following (2021): * March18 * April15 * May 20 Anyone is welcome to join us! (Currently, wear a mask and maintain social distancing.) >From the eBird PNW report: 28 species Canada Goose 12 Ring-necked Duck 5 Bufflehead 13 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 7 Steller's Jay 13 California Scrub-Jay 1 American Crow 7 Common Raven 1 Black-capped Chickadee 33 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 22 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3 Red-breasted Nuthatch 23 Brown Creeper 1 Pacific Wren 6 Bewick's Wren 1 Varied Thrush 18 American Robin 37 House Finch 4 Red Crossbill 12 Pine Siskin 166 Fox Sparrow 2 Dark-eyed Junco 69 Song Sparrow 12 Spotted Towhee 10 Red-winged Blackbird 3 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S81975513 May all your birds be identified, Denis DeSilvis avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From grace.ollie.oliver at gmail.com Sat Feb 20 21:11:44 2021 From: grace.ollie.oliver at gmail.com (Grace and Ollie Oliver) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Saw a bat today Message-ID: Seemed way too early to be seeing bats. It was flying just above the treeline of a small mostly cedar tree park, Olympic View Park, which is just South of Bangor. Don't we only have bats in the summer in West WA? Thanks, Grace Oliver Poulsbo, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From louise.rutter at eelpi.gotdns.org Sat Feb 20 21:34:20 2021 From: louise.rutter at eelpi.gotdns.org (Louise Rutter) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Saw a bat today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <00d601d70813$34527920$9cf76b60$@eelpi.gotdns.org> Hi Grace, It?s possible that might be an indication of a problem. One of the signs of white nose fungus in bat colonies is that they wake from hibernation too early because they?re starving. Unfortunately waking up to feed doesn?t do them any good when the insects aren?t out yet. Louise From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Grace and Ollie Oliver Sent: 20 February 2021 21:12 To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Saw a bat today Seemed way too early to be seeing bats. It was flying just above the treeline of a small mostly cedar tree park, Olympic View Park, which is just South of Bangor. Don't we only have bats in the summer in West WA? Thanks, Grace Oliver Poulsbo, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mcallisters4 at comcast.net Sat Feb 20 23:20:51 2021 From: mcallisters4 at comcast.net (mcallisters4@comcast.net) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Saw a bat today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <02fa01d70822$15c1ed60$4145c820$@comcast.net> There are some bats present in western Washington during the winter. The California Myotis and Silver-haired Bat are two of the species known to be present and both can be out foraging during the winter, during the warmer periods. Kelly McAllister From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Grace and Ollie Oliver Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2021 9:12 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Saw a bat today Seemed way too early to be seeing bats. It was flying just above the treeline of a small mostly cedar tree park, Olympic View Park, which is just South of Bangor. Don't we only have bats in the summer in West WA? Thanks, Grace Oliver Poulsbo, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thefedderns at gmail.com Sat Feb 20 23:37:24 2021 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Saw a bat today In-Reply-To: <02fa01d70822$15c1ed60$4145c820$@comcast.net> References: <02fa01d70822$15c1ed60$4145c820$@comcast.net> Message-ID: I also saw a very small, brown bat about a week ago at Lake Fenwick. It was dipping into the water - either drinking or picking up insects. At first I thought it was a swallow. Hans On Sat, Feb 20, 2021 at 11:21 PM wrote: > There are some bats present in western Washington during the winter. The > California Myotis and Silver-haired Bat are two of the species known to be > present and both can be out foraging during the winter, during the warmer > periods. > > > > Kelly McAllister > > > > *From:* Tweeters *On Behalf > Of *Grace and Ollie Oliver > *Sent:* Saturday, February 20, 2021 9:12 PM > *To:* tweeters@u.washington.edu > *Subject:* [Tweeters] Saw a bat today > > > > Seemed way too early to be seeing bats. > > It was flying just above the treeline of a small mostly cedar tree park, > Olympic View Park, which is just South of Bangor. > > Don't we only have bats in the summer in West WA? > > Thanks, > > Grace Oliver > > Poulsbo, WA > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rflores_2 at msn.com Sun Feb 21 07:32:22 2021 From: rflores_2 at msn.com (Bob) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Saw a bat today In-Reply-To: <02fa01d70822$15c1ed60$4145c820$@comcast.net> References: , <02fa01d70822$15c1ed60$4145c820$@comcast.net> Message-ID: I have a small bat that was roosting above my shop door. I opened it yesterday afternoon and it fell to the ground I picked it up and constructed a makeshift roosting box. Bob Flores Ridgefield, WA On Feb 20, 2021, at 23:21, mcallisters4@comcast.net wrote: ? There are some bats present in western Washington during the winter. The California Myotis and Silver-haired Bat are two of the species known to be present and both can be out foraging during the winter, during the warmer periods. Kelly McAllister From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Grace and Ollie Oliver Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2021 9:12 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Saw a bat today Seemed way too early to be seeing bats. It was flying just above the treeline of a small mostly cedar tree park, Olympic View Park, which is just South of Bangor. Don't we only have bats in the summer in West WA? Thanks, Grace Oliver Poulsbo, WA _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wagen at uw.edu Sun Feb 21 12:36:45 2021 From: wagen at uw.edu (Mike Wagenbach) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Saw a bat today Message-ID: On January 13, 2019, which was a nice, sunny day, I was kayaking on the "Headworks" section of the Green River and saw two bats at 1:30 in the afternoon. They were circling right over the surface of the water, and I also mistook them for swallows at first. People I asked about this said that hibernating bats will occasionally awaken from torpor and go out to seek water to drink. Mike Wagenbach Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdbooker at zipcon.net Sun Feb 21 12:58:59 2021 From: birdbooker at zipcon.net (Ian Paulsen) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] The Birdbooker Report Message-ID: <74f47f28-794f-7482-3246-531f7e66eef8@zipcon.net> HI ALL: This week's titles are: 1) Birds of Argentina and the SW Atlantic 2) Birds of Maine 3) Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America (2nd edition). https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2021/02/new-titles.html sincerely Ian Paulsen Bainbridge Island, WA, USA Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/ From lsr at ramoslink.info Sun Feb 21 14:51:57 2021 From: lsr at ramoslink.info (Scott Ramos) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Okanogan Highlands and Waterville Plateau Highlights Message-ID: <08986487-DA3D-4AFE-89F6-8F169CB3BAA8@ramoslink.info> Shep Thorp and I led another field trip to the highlands and plateau over President?s Day weekend, though with participant numbers limited due to the coronavirus and not as conservation-minded as we would have liked (each to their own car). As Shep has mentioned in an earlier post, we found most of the target birds and were rewarded with great views of some. Here are some of the highlights. On our way over, Shep and I stopped in what has become the go-to stop for Snowy Owl. While still being found in other locations on the plateau, the few square miles around Atkins Lake are now reliable. It had just started snowing at that end of the plateau when we arrived; nice setting for this owl. Snowy Owl: https://youtu.be/5YEpznCWF5U As is usually the case, a Townsend?s Solitaire (there may have been two) was easily found in Conconully. Mostly, this bird is seen at the top of one of the trees, but it once came down to feed on fruit, almost at eye level. While we watched we could hear a faint ?whisper? song. Although I was not able to capture that on the video, you can find a recording on the checklist (https://ebird.org/pnw/checklist/S81291902). Townsend?s Solitaire: https://youtu.be/h2XH2A8-O1s Mary Anne Creek Rd is another obligatory hotspot as it always has something of interest. This time, a small group of Pine Grosbeak were flushed from their feeding by our arrival and they were content to just loaf in the marsh while we watched for a spell. Love the colors on these birds. Pine Grosbeak: https://youtu.be/gmkuRn9m8sE One of the prime targets of this trip is the Sharp-tailed Grouse. There have been some fairly dependable locations but one of them, on Bridgeport Hill Rd, was decimated by last year?s fires. Scotch Creek, on the way to Conconully, turned up a total of 3 birds, and only scope views. But, we hit a jackpot on Siwash Creek Rd with two dozen birds that we might have missed had we not stopped to watch a large flock of Common Redpoll! Sharp-tailed Grouse: https://youtu.be/80oUKLpnRJk We stopped to check the feeders on Nealey Rd and soon after a Ruffed Grouse flushed from the road to begin feeding in the trees. Then another appeared, then a third! We rarely see more than one at a time. We were just about ready to leave when a large flock of Crossbill flew in to the nearby Douglas Firs. Most were Red Crossbills but there may have been some White-winged mixed in. Ruffed Grouse: https://youtu.be/p0onynVhOSY All of these iconic and charismatic birds are trip highlights, but my favorite view during these 4 days was this small ?grove' of American Tree Sparrow. A tundra breeder, they are usually found in WA just in winter and mostly east of the Cascades. Their rusty colors make this a very attractive bird and a nice contrast to the monochrome snow. American Tree Sparrow: https://youtu.be/YrsKx9lGzRQ Enjoy our winter birding! Scott Ramos Seattle From grzebiuszkaziemna at gmail.com Sun Feb 21 15:03:13 2021 From: grzebiuszkaziemna at gmail.com (Stan Bezimienny) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Owls nesting? Message-ID: <5D342D38-52CC-4250-AA71-F82EB7BB47D4@gmail.com> Last time I was at the location (late spring 2020) the nest tree seemed to be blown down. Stan > Message: 2 Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2021 12:24:22 -0800 From: Christina Tredick To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Owls nesting? Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hello fellow birders, What news of owls nesting. Anyone been up umptanum rd to see if they're nesting in the tree by the rd? I'm longing for migration to begin and pondering the usual beginnings, owls, Anna's hummingbirds etc. Many thanks Christina from Tacoma -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ldhubbell at comcast.net Sun Feb 21 15:49:41 2021 From: ldhubbell at comcast.net (Hubbell) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } Winter Waxwings - CEWA Message-ID: Tweeters, Last week, the Cedar Waxwings were visiting the Arboretum just as the storm moved in. I was lucky to see how they dealt with the snow and cold. I hope you enjoy the photos! https://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2021/02/winter-waxwings.html Have a great day on Union Bay, where nature lives in the city and Black Birders are welcome! Larry Hubbell ldhubbell at comcast dot net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rflores_2 at msn.com Sun Feb 21 16:18:06 2021 From: rflores_2 at msn.com (Bob) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Eurasian wigeon and cross at Woodland Bottoms, Cowlitz Co Message-ID: Along Kuhnis Road flooded field a large mixed flock of wigeon, pintail I found two Eurasian wigeon and a Eurasian x American wigeon. Bob Flores Ridgefield, WA From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sun Feb 21 16:27:18 2021 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Seattle Times, Sunday, February 21, at home in the north west section, F5: Prevent the spread of disease by caring for your birdfeeder Message-ID: <3A69EFA6-0ACD-4BBC-90CD-DFBCCB057CF2@gmail.com> Seattle Times today as a full page article: ?prevent the spread of disease by caring for your bird feeder?. Sent from my iPhone From bradliljequist at msn.com Sun Feb 21 22:35:18 2021 From: bradliljequist at msn.com (BRAD Liljequist) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Scope recommendation Message-ID: Regarding the request for scope recommendations - I do recommend the birdforum website if you want to do the deepest of dives into optics - I have just finished going through my own process of updating scopes and bought a Kowa 884. They are really incredible. I was also considering the Swarovski ATS and the Kowa was definitely a step up. The ATX is more expensive and I did not look at that, but understand it is at a similar level to the Kowa. A really terrific, tough 2nd hand scope is the Nikon Fieldscope III 82ED with the DS eyepiece, which can be had with patience on ebay for less than $750. Folks also rave about the current Nikon Monarch ED 82. Beware in optics there is a fair amount of sample variation between units. If you are going to splurge it is worth looking through a couple of units of the same thing. However Swarovski has a very good reputation for QC, I would not worry there, but all other manufacturers have some degree of it. For example I considered two different Kowa 884s - one was clearly better, confirmed by three different birders viewing through them - we did not share our impressions til we were done, but all agree on which had the best view. Brad Liljequist Phinney Ridge Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From magicman32 at rocketmail.com Mon Feb 22 11:03:27 2021 From: magicman32 at rocketmail.com (Eric Heisey) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Okanogan Yellow-billed Loon References: <636EF676-82EC-47E3-B4CC-4E2C32CD62C2.ref@rocketmail.com> Message-ID: <636EF676-82EC-47E3-B4CC-4E2C32CD62C2@rocketmail.com> Hi all, Logan Kahle and I just found a Yellow-billed Loon along the north end of Starr Rd, south of Pateros. There is also a Pacific Loon and several Red-necked Grebes present. The Yellow-billed is giving great looks but dives frequently and stays under for a while, so have patience if you try for it. Good birding, Eric Heisey Sent from my iPhone From bennetts10 at comcast.net Mon Feb 22 13:11:04 2021 From: bennetts10 at comcast.net (ANDREA) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Sharpie Message-ID: Yesterday 2-21-21 at the Mountlake fill (seattle, King county) in the field past the osprey nest. It had the rounded head of a sharp-shinned hawk and the squared off tail Sent from XFINITY Connect App -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garybletsch at yahoo.com Mon Feb 22 13:47:27 2021 From: garybletsch at yahoo.com (Gary Bletsch) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Burlington all-white gull References: Message-ID: Dear Tweeters Today, Monday the 32nd, there was an all-white gull at Skagit River Park in Burlington. This is the park with the huge ballfields along the river. I was standing by a blue outhouse, looking west at a big flock of Glaucous-winged Gulls. I could see an address sign on a warehouse, 1317 S Anacortes St. Large Larus, pink legs, bicolored bill, and I forgot the bloomin? camera today. I did take some bad photos with mobile phone. Birds all flew to roof of white metal building that is north of two grey, concrete buildings, near a long set of stored soccer goals. Yours truly Gary Bletsch garybletsch@yahoo. com Sent from my iPhone From stevechampton at gmail.com Mon Feb 22 15:04:51 2021 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Brown Booby killed by Bald Eagle, Port Townsend Message-ID: I'm just the messenger. Epic photos by Tim Lawson here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S82164425 Looks to be only the 2nd record for Brown Booby in Jefferson County, at least on eBird. good birding, -- Steve Hampton Port Townsend, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garybletsch at yahoo.com Tue Feb 23 08:57:36 2021 From: garybletsch at yahoo.com (Gary Bletsch) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] yesterday's white gull in Burlington References: <1782366880.983129.1614099456325.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1782366880.983129.1614099456325@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, The same all-white gull that I reported yesterday (the 22nd) was apparently seen by two other birders. A bird answering the same description? was seen flying over the flats west of Burlington on the afternoon of the 21st; the bird that I saw was also seen and photographed at the ballfields after I reported it from there.? I put it on eBird as a Glaucous Gull immediately, in order to alert birders, hoping that someone with a good camera might get better photos. However, I was able to add my mobile-phone photos to my eBird checklist today, so there are several more images to inspect. My photos are the best of a bad lot, though. Caution: the following paragraph may contain 4-letter codes, or may have been produced in a facility that produces four-letter codes, tree nuts, gluten, and peanuts. I think that this bird is most likely a leucistic individual, rather than a Glaucous Gull. It might be a GWGU, a GLGU, or a GLGU X GWGU, and it might be a leucistic individual of any of those categories. I don't think it's a "Thayer's" Gull, because the bill and the shape of the head seemed wrong--I see none of the "delicate-looking" or "gentle-looking" jizz of the Thayer's Gull in this bird. I suppose there might also be some Herring Gull in this bird's family tree, come to think on it. I'd love to hear any opinions as to this bird's identity!? Yours truly, Gary Bletsch -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garybletsch at yahoo.com Tue Feb 23 09:03:49 2021 From: garybletsch at yahoo.com (Gary Bletsch) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] link to eBird checklist for white gull References: <1284709183.978361.1614099829903.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1284709183.978361.1614099829903@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, Here is the link to my eBird checklist, with the gull photos. Yours truly, Gary Bletschgarybletsch@yahoo.com eBird Checklist - 22 Feb 2021 - Burlington - 6 species (+1 other taxa) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From krtrease at gmail.com Tue Feb 23 09:20:43 2021 From: krtrease at gmail.com (Ken Trease) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Townsend=E2=80=99s_Solitaire_m?= Message-ID: <1688B753-00DE-4395-B99D-67EDB7FD52A9@gmail.com> Present now 100 yards north of the south parking lot in Seattle?s Discovery Park. Sent from my iPhone From amk17 at earthlink.net Tue Feb 23 11:06:26 2021 From: amk17 at earthlink.net (AMK17) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Phinney Ridge Seattle Cooper's/Sharpshinned Hawk Message-ID: <1828148974.4131.1614107187094@wamui-abby.atl.sa.earthlink.net> For the past 2 or so months, a Cooper's/Sharp-shinned hawk has made my yard its hunting ground. It seems to favor a cedar tree in my neighbor's yard and wonder if we may have a nest on the block this season. Typically, there is one a season that does not stay long. This one seems to have claimeda new territory. Makes for an exciting workday when the alarm calls start just outside the office window here at home. Cheers, AKopitov Seattle AMK17 From birder4184 at yahoo.com Tue Feb 23 11:43:27 2021 From: birder4184 at yahoo.com (B B) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Glaucous Gull in Burlington References: <1759126119.1031859.1614109407172.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1759126119.1031859.1614109407172@mail.yahoo.com> The Glaucous Gull in Burlington was reported with photo at 10:15 this morning but a couple of us have been here since 11 and it is not currently in with 30 plus gulls present. Sadly so. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From raphael.fennimore at gmail.com Tue Feb 23 12:19:22 2021 From: raphael.fennimore at gmail.com (Raphael Fennimore) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Lesser Goldfinches in Burien Message-ID: Hello Tweetzorbies, Today I found 2 Lesser Goldfinches in Burien while birding and walking up from Normandy Park / Normandy Cove. See my brief eBird checklist for photos of the male and female/immature. I am still out now but I will update the checklist later with the real photos. The property owner is aware that these are a fairly uncommon bird here, and that birders may come by the road out front of his place - please do not enter his driveway, thanks! https://ebird.org/checklist/S82221878 Good birding! Raphael Fennimore -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Tue Feb 23 13:29:06 2021 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Sign-on letter to support WDFW shrubsteppe proviso Message-ID: Tweeters, Most of you are aware of the shrubsteppe habitat and how important it is to wildlife diversity in Washington. Here is some info from Audubon Washington, followed by a reiteration of some info I sent earlier. (Please check out the video, if you haven't already.) --- Audubon, along with a number of conservation organizations, are supporting a budget proviso in the 2021 legislature that would fund immediate, no-regret restoration of the shrub-steppe impacted by last year's Labor Day fires. This funding would also help set up a task force to explore long-term solutions to preventing and rapidly responding to fire. We've put together this sign-on letter, which is open to both individuals and organizations. Please sign on, personally, or on behalf of your organization if you live in Washington State. The letter will be open for signatures until at least the end of February, but please don't delay! :) If you'd like more information, you can check out blog posts from Audubon WA and the WA chapter of TNC, as well as the attached fact sheet from WDFW. Please consider amplifying this message by passing this opportunity on to your networks (possibly with a link to that awesome video that CNW and WDFW put together!). --- Again, here is some information from a message I sent out earlier. I urge everyone to at least view the video - I think it was an awesome introduction to this unique Washington State habitat. After months in the making, we are excited to share with you a short film we produced in partnership with Conservation Northwest about Washington's shrubsteppe ecosystem! Watch "This Land is Part of Us": https://youtu.be/NfhM9vLQD-0. Please share with your friends, family, and networks! We appreciate your support. We also have a collection of video stills and short videos (30 seconds or less) that you are welcome to use on your social media or website platforms. Those resources are available here. About the film The shrubsteppe of central Washington's Columbia Basin is a land of rich biodiversity, vibrant communities, and poignant beauty. It is a place both iconic and increasingly at-risk. Here, at the northern extent of the great "Sagebrush Sea" that once sprawled across much of the American West, growing collaboration between agencies, Native American tribes, conservation organizations, local landowners, and other partners seeks to preserve and restore shrubsteppe ecosystems while supporting cultural and economic values. Despite impacts from severe wildfires and habitat fragmentation, recovery programs are underway for species such as the Greater sage-grouse, pygmy rabbits, sharp-tailed grouse, and pronghorn antelope, while efforts including the Arid Lands Initiative and Conservation Reserve Program foster constructive partnership for the future of Washington's shrubsteppe. For wildlife lovers, hunters and anglers, Indigenous peoples, farmers and ranchers, outdoor recreationists and so many others, this land is no desert devoid of life, This Land is Part of Us. More Shrubsteppe stories to share * Crosscut Escapes podcast - Features interview with Elizabeth Torrey (WDFW) and Jay Kehne (Conservation Northwest) * Spokesman Review article - Features interview with Chase Gunnell (Conservation Northwest) and Scott Downes (WDFW) Thanks to you all and may all your birds be identified, Denis Denis DeSilvis avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gnudle at icloud.com Tue Feb 23 14:00:17 2021 From: gnudle at icloud.com (Marcia Ian) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Somebirdie=E2=80=99s__making_a_nest?= Message-ID: <38292EE5-0019-48FA-ACF7-77867D7E15B7@icloud.com> Last week I hung a ball of fluffy material near my nectar feeders. Many pieces have been yanked through the loosely woven basket that holds the fluff.... most likely by Anna?s hummingbird(s). Chickadees also love the stuff. Marcia Ian Bellingham From judyem at olypen.com Wed Feb 24 07:07:28 2021 From: judyem at olypen.com (judyem@olypen.com) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Unusual behavior mallards vs geese Message-ID: My sister in AR reported watching a surprising encounter between mallards (wild) and Canada geese. Her contingent of 8 mallards seem to get along okay on their pond, but when 4 Canada geese flew in and alighted, the ducks took exception. She reports the ducks encircled the geese, then kept tightening the circle until the geese got the unfriendly message and took off. Given the size difference I found their response and giving ground ( well, water) surprising. Has anyone seen similar interactions? Judy Mullally Port Angeles WA judyem at olypen dot com From flick at gorge.net Wed Feb 24 16:13:05 2021 From: flick at gorge.net (flick@gorge.net) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] 1st Spring Purple Finch Song Message-ID: <2.5cab760cdc7dd55ea3b3@GNMAIL6> White Salmon, WA - Feb 24, 2021 Purple Finch singing its rich, warbling song in the top of a Douglas-fir tree - my 1st PUFI song for spring : ) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From flick at gorge.net Wed Feb 24 16:17:11 2021 From: flick at gorge.net (flick@gorge.net) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] 1st 2021 Purple Finch Song in White Salmon, WA Message-ID: <2.efe9678b816ba9706217@GNMAIL6> Feb 24, 2021- White Salmon, WA Purple Finch singing its rich, warbling song in the top of a Douglas-fir tree - my 1st PUFI song on the cusp of spring 2021 CJ Flick -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Wed Feb 24 18:43:08 2021 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] =?windows-1252?q?Washington_Department_of_Fish_and_Wil?= =?windows-1252?q?dlife_job_opening=3A_Regional_Director-EMS-3_Req_=230155?= =?windows-1252?q?6-_Grant_County_=96_Ephrata=2C_WA?= Message-ID: Tweeters, Here?s an absolutely outstanding position open in Eastern Washington with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). If you know anyone that might qualify for this position, please forward this on to him or her. (I?m quoting info below that I received.) --- THIS is an extraordinary opportunity ? truly these do NOT open often ? to be part of the eastern Washington WDFW policy team at the executive level. This position is a bridge between community and conservation, all wildlife for all people, and the work is beautiful, challenging, exciting, and rewarding. If you, or someone you know, understands dryland forests, mountains, shrubsteppe, working lands, water issues, and the wildlife and human communities who call these places home, this would be a good fit. --- Please take a look at this recruitment ? we encourage you to share this great opportunity with your friends and business networks! https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/jobs/2995112/regional-director-ems-3-01556 May all your birds be identified, Denis DeSilvis avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From robertgary02 at aol.com Wed Feb 24 18:49:20 2021 From: robertgary02 at aol.com (Robert Gray) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Solitaire References: <367683858.1820830.1614221360480.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <367683858.1820830.1614221360480@mail.yahoo.com> I saw the bird today near the bottom of the stairs behind the golfball. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abriteway at hotmail.com Wed Feb 24 20:23:24 2021 From: abriteway at hotmail.com (Eric Ellingson) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Possible Yellow-billed Loon off Rosario Beach, Anacortes. ID help wanted Message-ID: Sometimes a destination is all one needs to head in a different direction. This was my 2nd attempt, half-heartedly to look for what would be a life bird. I'm like 90% sure the photo I took today is of a Yellow-billed Loon. However, when one is searching for something specific I've learned from experience, it is easy to make one's pursuit into what one wants to see. Thus, your feedback most appreciated. I usually don't post such crappy shots but this is all I got. Cropped from a 200% viewing. I do have more angles/shots, and possibly from 2-3 others who saw this with me. https://flic.kr/p/2kELCHJ Eric Ellingson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From markgirling at yahoo.com Thu Feb 25 05:51:31 2021 From: markgirling at yahoo.com (mark girling) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Subject: Saw a bat today References: <25719885.1907243.1614261091621.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <25719885.1907243.1614261091621@mail.yahoo.com> Flying around the tops of our Doug Firs a small single bat was sallying the trees picking up I assume some form of insects around 7pm.Seems early for my neighborhood as I usually see them late Spring.? markgirling@yahoo.com? Woodridge. Bellevue. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From meetings at wos.org Thu Feb 25 08:05:17 2021 From: meetings at wos.org (meetings@wos.org) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?WOS_Meeting_Reminder_-_Mon=2E=2C_March_1=3A_?= =?utf-8?q?Gray_Flycatcher_Nest_Ecology_in_Ponderosa_Pine_Forests?= =?utf-8?q?=2C_with_Jeff_Kozma?= Message-ID: <20210225160517.23467.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> The Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) is delighted to invite you to a presentation by Jeff Kozma, the Timber, Fish, and Wildlife Biologist for the Yakama Nation.??Jeff has 17 years of experience studying the breeding biology of cavity-nesting species, such as the White-headed Woodpecker, in Ponderosa Pine Forests.?? In this presentation he will share what he learned during two years of field research about the Gray Flycatcher?s basic life history, characteristics of nest sites and favored plant species, nest mortality, and the effect of habitat variables on the survival of fledglings. ?? What:??Gray Flycatcher Nest Ecology in Ponderosa Pine Forests, with Jeff Kozma When:??Monday, March 1, 7:30 pm Where:??Via GoToMeeting (Sign-in begins at 7:15 pm) WOS Monthly Meetings remain open to all as we continue to welcome the wider birding community to join us online via GoToMeeting. For login information, go to http://wos.org/about-wos/monthly-meetings/.??While there, if you are not yet a member, I hope you will consider becoming one. Please join us! Vicki King, WOS Program Coordinator From birder4184 at yahoo.com Thu Feb 25 08:31:46 2021 From: birder4184 at yahoo.com (B B) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Glaucous Gull at Skagit River Park References: <1640240380.1507294.1614270706906.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1640240380.1507294.1614270706906@mail.yahoo.com> Continuing for 3rd or 4th day. Originally found by Gary Bletsch.? Well over 100 almost exclusively Larus gulls.? Flushed by dogs, security and Eagle.? Finally landed in open for photos.? Still present at 8:25. Species 200 for the month for Washington Big Month!! Will try to add some more. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From garybletsch at yahoo.com Thu Feb 25 09:26:32 2021 From: garybletsch at yahoo.com (Gary Bletsch) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit white gull and an odd raptor References: <357182069.1524265.1614273992045.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <357182069.1524265.1614273992045@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, Yesterday, the 24th February, other observers saw the all-white gull near Skagit River Park in Burlington. I missed it, presumably because people were flying drones over the soccer pitch, scaring away even the boldest of crows. If I have a chance to look for it again today, I will; I am hoping that the return of miserable weather will keep the droners away. I would still love to hear informed opinions from gull experts, as to this bird's ID, now that there are a few more photos on eBird. I was hoping for some rowdy arguments, reminiscent of the ones heard back when there was an odd-looking pale gull down at the sound end of Lake Washington ten or fifteen years ago. I think that this bird is leucistic. Since the legs are pink--normal in color--I don't think the bird is an albino. In their gull book, Olsen and Larsson mention an albino GLGU with greyish-yellow legs; they apparently knew of just one albino individual for the species. They also mention at least one leucistic GLGU that had normally colored bare parts. That's why I lean toward leucism instead of albinism. Leucism is far more common, anyway. I did not get good looks at the irides of this gull, but I think they were fairly dark, with none of the red eye color expected in real albinos.? Again, size and shape pointed to Glaucous-winged, or to Glaucous, or to a hybrid. The shape of the bill and head did not call Herring Gull to mind, and were altogether too heavy for this to be a Thayer's Gull. The slightly blended look to the demarcation of the dark bill-tip made me skittish about claiming GLGU, although I'd dearly like to see one, not having found any in Skagit for a few years.? Another interesting bird was a smallish raptor that was perched near the pheasant pens at the Fir Island Game Range. At first when I stopped the car, I thought it was an owl. Unfortunately, the sun was behind the bird in the only views that I could get through the dense branches--but I could see that it was a hawk of some sort, not an owl. Passerines were chattering and keeping an eye on this hawk, which perched for long periods without much movement. The more I watched at close range, the more I was convinced that it was some odd sort of Buteo.?I got a bit excited when I remembered that someone had reported a Red-shouldered Hawk there at the Game Range a few weeks ago--although I don't think that report passed eBird muster. The tail was very short, reaching to about the same length as the folded wings; it was banded, reminiscent of a young Red-tailed Hawk's tail. The face looked wrong for a Red-tail, though, and the streaking on the underparts had me utterly confused. I asked some photographers with honkin' big lenses to snap a few shots, and they did.? Then one of the photographers showed me a photo he had taken of this same bird a bit earlier, in good light. The bird in his photo was clearly a young Cooper's Hawk.? It was then that I had to administer what Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers used to call a "dummy slap" upon my own forehead. I realized that the hawk had lost nearly all of its tail! That explained the odd, chunky shape of the bird, as well as its lethargy. I suspect that this is a young female Cooper's Hawk that is having a very hard time catching any prey, since it can hardly manoeuver. Perhaps it will figure out how to catch some slow-moving critters, now that songbirds are off the menu of possibility.? What, I wonder, could account for an Accipiter having its rectrices shorn so short? Yours truly, Gary Bletsch -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From magicman32 at rocketmail.com Thu Feb 25 10:49:57 2021 From: magicman32 at rocketmail.com (Eric Heisey) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] More Okanogan/Douglas County Birding References: <592E8A40-CAF1-4417-9645-C3D11F6AF1DE.ref@rocketmail.com> Message-ID: <592E8A40-CAF1-4417-9645-C3D11F6AF1DE@rocketmail.com> Hi all, I?ve spent the last few days birding around Okanogan and Douglas counties with my friend Logan Kahle, a roving Californian who made the journey north in hopes of some lingering wintering specialties. We adhered to COVID regulations, and had a great time doing so! Logan?s Californian perspective aided me to appreciate all the more how special this part of the country is; truly unique in the lower 48 states. Our first rendezvous point was at Twisp Park, where we searched for lingering Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings, among others. We succeeded in finding both and had great looks before dusk. Once it got fairly dark, we shifted our goals towards finding a Pygmy-Owl, succeeding in our quest along Eastside Rd between Winthrop and Twisp. We enjoyed watching it tote around a vole, an impressive prize for such a small predator. We headed to Twin Lakes to watch the waterfowl fly-in afterwards, and were privy to quite the show, as somewhere close to 800 ducks crowded into the small pool as the moon shown bright overhead. Fantastic. The next morning I had to finish applying for a couple jobs, so Logan headed back to Twisp to hang out with the Grosbeaks and BOWAs some more, planning to meet up in the mid-morning along the Columbia. As I sped towards our meeting point, he texted me to let me know that he had found a Pacific Loon along Starr Rd, a fine bird for Okanogan county. Arriving, we had great looks at the Pacific Loon in both counties, as well as several Red-necked and Western Grebes and a plethora of Common Loons. On my last scan of the river before we moved to our next spot, something exciting appeared. A huge, pale-billed Loon popped up besides a Common; a basic Yellow-billed Loon! We were treated to great looks of this truly aquatic bird as it dove frequently. Seriously, these birds probably spend more of their waking hours underwater than above it! This is not 500m from where the only other Okanogan county record was found by Andy Stepniewski in 2013, so perhaps this will be a good spot to check going forward. We also had a couple of Chukar calling from the cliffs in Douglas county at this spot. With the excitement out of the way, we continued onward to the Douglas county side of Lake Pateros to scope for more waterfowl. Here we encountered another Red-necked Grebe (evidently moving north), near a thousand Ruddy Ducks, Canyon Wren, Pygmy Nuthatch, Pacific Wren, and a male White-winged Scoter way out on the lake. This was apparently the first Douglas record of White-winged Scoter in eBird (although I imagine they have to show up at this same location in October/November if they were searched for). Our next stop was Cassimer Bar, which was as slow as I?ve seen it (it was midday), but we still saw a few Tundra and Trumpeter Swans along with the usual suspects. One of the birds Logan wanted to see most on his trip was Sharp-tailed Grouse, so we headed to Scotch Creek Wildlife Area in hopes that they would be in the trees. They were not, but we did see a Northern Goshawk and two Golden Eagles on our drive up along Conconully Rd. We enjoyed a pleasant sunset on Happy Hill Rd before heading up to the Highlands to sleep for the night. The next day was full of fun birds. We wove through the many side roads of the highlands for the entire day, covering a few of them multiple times. We encountered a couple different Northern Pygmy-Owls along Mary Anne Creek Rd at dawn and dusk, as well as 7 foraging Ruffed Grouse at dusk. In Molson we had a flyover flock of 7 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches early in the day and watched a pair of Gray Partridge in their goofy antics as they slipped and slide on an icy road. Nealey Road has been where I?ve had a lot of my good fortune in the highlands this winter, and we were lucky again this day. We had several Canada Jays, a Townsend?s Solitaire, and two flyover White-winged Crossbills along the north stretch of the road, as well as a single Common Redpoll at the feeders. The barnyard near the intersection with Havillah Rd had a big flock of 250 Snow Buntings with 11 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches mixed in, giving great looks. We spent a considerable amount of time along Siwash Creek Rd in pursuit of Sharp-tailed Grouse, but were again unsuccessful, although we had a nice flock of about 40 Common Redpolls. One bird that Logan is particularly enamored by is the Northern Shrike, a bird I am more or less ?used to? in these northern winters. I have not appreciated enough in the past how common these circumpolar, European Shrikes are; as Logan remarks, this must be one of the best places in the lower 48 states to encounter these fantastic furies. We saw many of them throughout the day, to Logan?s delight. The next day we started at Scotch Creek, crossing our fingers in our sleep that Sharp-tailed Grouse would be present in the morning?.. They were not. Despite about two hours of scouring the creek and hillsides, we could find no sign of them. I have had supremely bad luck with this species this winter, as I?ve now tried for them on about nine separate occasions without luck, including the cumulative five hours or so we spent searching on this trip. Oh well? We did have a nice flock of 14 American Tree Sparrows, as well as a small flock of 15 Snow Buntings up in the hills and a day roosting Great Horned Owl. We made a beeline for Washburn Island afterwards, a spot with good cell service for a job interview I had. Logan covered much of the island while I was on the phone, although I was able to meet him afterwards and see most of the species present. Highlights included a Western Meadowlark, Killdeer, Northern Pintail, Tundra Swan, Cooper?s Hawk, Purple Finch, American Tree Sparrows and courting Redheads. We tallied 51 species in total on this lovely, sunny morning. We headed up to the Waterville Plateau afterwards, finding virtually nothing until around 3pm save for a Golden Eagle and Prairie Falcon. Things seemed to pick up in the late afternoon/evening, and we had many Rough-legged Hawks and Northern Shrikes, a lingering flock of 300 Snow Buntings, another Prairie Falcon (presumably migrating back to their breeding cliffs), several Greater White-fronted and Cackling Geese, and a single Lapland Longspur calling from a Horned Lark flock. We ended the day at Atkins Lake, where we located three Snowy Owls and were able to watch them ?activate? as dusk rolled around. We watched a couple preening and especially enjoyed one enormous adult female who contorted her body in ridiculous ways, eventually flying off into the twilight to tussle with another younger Snowy Owl. And so the sun set on a fantastic trip, silhouetting a Snowy Owl sitting atop an erratic. A fitting end to my winter birding of northern Washington (now, I?m heading south!). Good birding all, Eric Heisey From Jon.Houghton at hartcrowser.com Thu Feb 25 12:05:30 2021 From: Jon.Houghton at hartcrowser.com (Houghton, Jon) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Black Scoter Bonanza Message-ID: About a dozen Black Scoters off the north end of Sunset Ave.just north of the Ferry Dock in Edmonds at 1130 this morning. Pretty regular at this location but I've not seen so many before. Jon Houghton, Edmonds Get Outlook for Android -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Thu Feb 25 12:33:27 2021 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (birdmarymoor@gmail.com) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2021-02-25 Message-ID: Tweets ? Gray, a bit blustery to start, and little bits of mist and mizzle early, but not too bad. Sometimes felt quite birdy for February. The most notable thing was the amount of singing, and the large number of species singing. Highlights: a.. American Wigeon ? about a dozen below the weir. We seldom see these when the park is not flooded (and it?s currently not flooded) b.. Great Blue Heron ? nest building at the heronry, many herons about. There are at least 40 nests in the heronry, with several possible starts of more c.. Western Screech-Owl ? Matt *saw* one pre-dawn, just sitting there beyond the East Footbridge south of the East Meadow d.. PEREGRINE FALCON ? one seen flying east over the Dog Meadow; later seen flying NW towards the mansion for a much better view ? First of Year e.. Varied Thrush ? several seen singing f.. Northern Shrike ? at model airplane field, seen from Viewing Mound thanks to a sharp-eyed Lee Crawford g.. Cedar Waxwing ? 20-25 just east of the weir A late scan of the lake turned up HORNED GREBE and RING-BILLED GULL. Singing birds included ANNA?S HUMMINGBIRD, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, BROWN CREEPER, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, PACIFIC WREN, MARSH WREN, BEWICK?S WREN, AMERICAN ROBIN, VARIED THRUSH, PURPLE FINCH, HOUSE FINCH, SPOTTED TOWHEE, SONG SPARROW, GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW, DARK-EYED JUNCO, and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. COMMON GOLDENEYE did some displays and calls. Misses today included Ring-necked Duck, Rock Pigeon, Cooper?s Hawk, Bushtit, and White-crowned Sparrow. For the day, 55 species, with Peregrine Falcon new for the year. = Michael Hobbs = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birder at pottersaylor.com Thu Feb 25 12:57:57 2021 From: birder at pottersaylor.com (Mary Saylor) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Neal Rd. RFI: Yellow-headed Blackbird and Rusty Blackbird Message-ID: <6BB3DD24-4F38-42CF-B84F-CE8D3422F913@pottersaylor.com> Hi Tweeters, Last week I headed out to Neal Rd. in search of the Yellow-headed blackbird and Rusty Blackbird that have been seen there. I didn?t end up seeing any blackbirds at all. It was my first time visiting this location and I saw that there are two nice natural areas along the road, The Fall City Natural area and another smaller state-owned habitat. I also saw a farm at the end of the road. I hear mention of both a corn field and a boat launch, both with nearby trees, where the rarities have been seen. If anyone wants to clue me in more specifically as to where these are, especially the boat launch, I?d appreciate it. Also, what are your favorite spots along this road? Mary Saylor Issaquah From bradliljequist at msn.com Thu Feb 25 14:20:02 2021 From: bradliljequist at msn.com (BRAD Liljequist) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fun Winter Wren in Phinney Ridge local patch Message-ID: Winter Wrens in the city are always a treat, and one has been showing up occasionally on a nice little birdy local patch - the p patch on 60th Street NW between 2nd and 3rd. It was doing its full on song today, and was there earlier in the week too, and there was one there a couple months ago. For any Phinney/Ballard folks, this little patch is always a little birdy - today, scrub jays, butterbutts, siskins along with usual suspects... Brad Liljequist Phinney Ridge, Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vikingcove at gmail.com Thu Feb 25 15:00:42 2021 From: vikingcove at gmail.com (Kevin Lucas) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] American Goldfinch mimicry Message-ID: Today at Randall Park in Yakima I heard what sounded like a Yellow Warbler singing in an American Sycamore. It was an American Goldfinch. They're not famous for mimicry. Here's a link to a blog post by David Sibley: https://www.sibleyguides.com/2009/07/more-vocal-copying-by-american-goldfinch-purple-finch-and-ovenbird/ Good Birding https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ Kevin Lucas Yakima County, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Thu Feb 25 17:04:22 2021 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (THOMAS BENEDICT) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fun Winter Wren in Phinney Ridge local patch In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1893867399.94534.1614301462580@connect.xfinity.com> Is this truly a Winter Wren ( Troglodytes hiemalis) or a Pacific Wren ( Troglodytes pacificus)? I grew up with Winter Wrens around the Seattle area, but they turned in to Pacifics in the split of 2010. I have read of at least one confirmed sighting of Troglodytes hiemalis in the Pacific Northwest, identified by song, recently. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On 02/25/2021 2:20 PM BRAD Liljequist wrote: > > > Winter Wrens in the city are always a treat, and one has been showing up occasionally on a nice little birdy local patch - the p patch on 60th Street NW between 2nd and 3rd. It was doing its full on song today, and was there earlier in the week too, and there was one there a couple months ago. For any Phinney/Ballard folks, this little patch is always a little birdy - today, scrub jays, butterbutts, siskins along with usual suspects... > > Brad Liljequist > Phinney Ridge, Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters) > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bradliljequist at msn.com Thu Feb 25 18:40:20 2021 From: bradliljequist at msn.com (BRAD Liljequist) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Fun Winter Wren in Phinney Ridge local patch In-Reply-To: <1893867399.94534.1614301462580@connect.xfinity.com> References: , <1893867399.94534.1614301462580@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: Oh my, that's embarrassing. I guess it's time to start using the newer Sibley's (still prefer the ergonomy of the old). But hey - why check the guide when you grew up with it? I had no clue about the split. Once a Winter Wren, always a Winter Wren - as you say that's what I grew up with! Brad Liljequist Phinney Ridge, Seattle ________________________________ From: THOMAS BENEDICT Sent: Friday, February 26, 2021 1:04 AM To: BRAD Liljequist ; tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Fun Winter Wren in Phinney Ridge local patch Is this truly a Winter Wren ( Troglodytes hiemalis) or a Pacific Wren ( Troglodytes pacificus)? I grew up with Winter Wrens around the Seattle area, but they turned in to Pacifics in the split of 2010. I have read of at least one confirmed sighting of Troglodytes hiemalis in the Pacific Northwest, identified by song, recently. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA On 02/25/2021 2:20 PM BRAD Liljequist wrote: Winter Wrens in the city are always a treat, and one has been showing up occasionally on a nice little birdy local patch - the p patch on 60th Street NW between 2nd and 3rd. It was doing its full on song today, and was there earlier in the week too, and there was one there a couple months ago. For any Phinney/Ballard folks, this little patch is always a little birdy - today, scrub jays, butterbutts, siskins along with usual suspects... Brad Liljequist Phinney Ridge, Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From contopus at telus.net Fri Feb 26 11:35:21 2021 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne Weber) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Possible Yellow-billed Loon off Rosario Beach, Anacortes. ID help wanted In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <019301d70c76$881b1730$98514590$@net> Tweeters, This is, without a shred of doubt, a Yellow-billed Loon. As well as the bill, note the flat top of the head, and the light to medium gray, not dark gray, color of the crown and nape. These are classic features of a Yellow-billed Loon. I disagree that this is a "crappy shot"-- it's better than most of my bird photos! Eric, it's too bad that you and other NW Washington birders are not allowed to cross the Canadian border. There has been a well-marked immature Yellow-billed Loon feeding in the Nicomekl River at Elgin Heritage Park (just east of Boundary Bay) almost every day now since late December, and nearly every birder in the area has seen it. Good luck and good birding, Wayne Weber contopus@telus.net From: Tweeters [mailto:tweeters-bounces@mailman11.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Eric Ellingson Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2021 8:23 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Possible Yellow-billed Loon off Rosario Beach, Anacortes. ID help wanted Sometimes a destination is all one needs to head in a different direction. This was my 2nd attempt, half-heartedly to look for what would be a life bird. I'm like 90% sure the photo I took today is of a Yellow-billed Loon. However, when one is searching for something specific I've learned from experience, it is easy to make one's pursuit into what one wants to see. Thus, your feedback most appreciated. I usually don't post such crappy shots but this is all I got. Cropped from a 200% viewing. I do have more angles/shots, and possibly from 2-3 others who saw this with me. https://flic.kr/p/2kELCHJ Eric Ellingson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marvbreece at q.com Sat Feb 27 07:11:32 2021 From: marvbreece at q.com (Marv Breece) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Normandy Pk LEGO no Message-ID: <113602184.34488551.1614438692358.JavaMail.zimbra@q.com> Yesterday, 02.26.21, after about an hour of feeder watching & not seeing a LESSER GOLDFINCH at a private residence in Normandy Park, a car pulled out of the garage to leave. I was on the street, not in the driveway, but still moved aside to let the car pass. I motioned to the driver that I wanted to speak and she lowered the car window. I asked if it was OK that I was there. She said no, it was not OK. She went on to say that it had been 5 days, and that it was not OK. She was not rude. She answered my question. But the irritation in the voice was obvious. I apologized, thanked her and told her I would leave immediately, which I did. Marv Breece Tukwila, WA marvbreece@q.com Pbase Images : https://www.pbase.com/marvbreece Flickr Videos : https://www.flickr.com/photos/138163614@N02/ Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHbkNzr4TaZ6ZBWfoJNvavw/featured -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From contopus at telus.net Sat Feb 27 10:00:19 2021 From: contopus at telus.net (Wayne Weber) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] February Dawn Chorus: Varied Thrushes and Juncos Message-ID: <003b01d70d32$6a347e70$3e9d7b50$@net> Tweeters, In late spring, one can often hear a "dawn chorus" of 8 to 10 species of birds, with the species depending on where you are. For the last week, however, I have been hearing a dawn chorus consisting mainly of two species: Varied Thrushes and Dark-eyed (Oregon) Juncos! These two species are singing vigorously every morning in my neighborhood, which was built into a young Douglas-fir forest, and still includes many large Douglas-fir trees. They are occasionally joined in song by American Robins and Black-capped Chickadees, but the latter two species do not seem to be singing as consistently or frequently as the Varied Thrushes and Juncos. The Varied Thrushes are of particular interest. They do not breed in the immediate neighborhood, but are consistently present here from February through April, disappearing later in the spring, and breeding mainly at higher altitudes in my area. They are nearly always invisible, singing from deep within the foliage of a dense Douglas-fir, but this morning, atypically, one of them was singing right out in the open in the upper branches of a leafless beech tree. Most of our permanent-resident bird species begin to sing soon after February 1st, as soon as the daylength starts to increase and the production of male hormones also increases. In my area, other than the 4 species already mentioned, the list includes Song Sparrow, Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, Hutton's Vireo, and Northern Flicker (which has a song of sorts, even though it's not a songbird). The frequency of song increases steadily in late February, and by mid-March, most of the resident songbirds are singing full-blast. Later, they will be joined by all the neotropical migrants which don't arrive until April or May. It doesn't feel very springlike this morning. I had to scrape a thin layer of ice off my car windows before heading out. Never mind that though, the birds think it's spring, and that's good enough for me! I have to admit-- although it sounds un-Canadian-- that I'm not a big fan of winter. This winter, especially, has seemed to drag on forever, made even more onerous by the Covid-19 restrictions and inability to visit the usual winter hangouts of us "snowbirds". Any sign of spring is welcome, and I look forward to warmer, sunnier days when a whole raft of bird species will be singing. I hope that all of you are seeing (and/or hearing) signs of spring as well, and that we can all look forward to the end of the Covid-19 crisis and to warmer days and better birding. Good luck and good birding, Wayne Weber Delta, BC, Canada contopus@telus.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gibsondesign15 at gmail.com Sat Feb 27 10:38:56 2021 From: gibsondesign15 at gmail.com (Jeff Gibson) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] 86 Ducks, a couple of Loons, and an Owl Message-ID: <441D7BB6-CF10-49B7-AA7B-6D7DAF768CCD@gmail.com> My dear ol? Ma passed away yesterday at the age of 92 after years of suffering from dementia. Dad passed a couple of years ago, also with dementia. I?ve been here since 2014 and what a long strange trip it has been. This morning in a house empty of anyone except me and the cat, I took the time to honor Mom by counting ducks. You see, my Mom was kind of a duck freak. It all started back in the later 60?s on a stop at the Rocky Reach Dam gift shop, which was inhabited by these cute little pine carved ducks. All these ducks ( a Mom and a Dad and 7 babies) are lined up on a shelf above the stairwell, picked up on trips to our vacation spot over several years in Conconully . It?s a fact that just about any horizontal surface in this house is covered with ducks - wooden, ceramic ,stone, glass, mystery substance, whatever. My count was 86 ducks. Other birds include 3 loons, and one owl that I sculpted out of limestone found in a creek near Baker ?lake?. Mom also went through a wood carving phase of relief work featuring birds and plants in the mid 80?s , and previous to that abstract bird sculptures in driftwood - my favorites. I probably missed a few ducks in my count but you can?t take your ducks when you go. Jeff Gibson Missing Mom in Port Townsend Wa From teresa at avocetconsulting.com Sat Feb 27 10:56:36 2021 From: teresa at avocetconsulting.com (Teresa Michelsen) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] 86 Ducks, a couple of Loons, and an Owl In-Reply-To: <441D7BB6-CF10-49B7-AA7B-6D7DAF768CCD@gmail.com> References: <441D7BB6-CF10-49B7-AA7B-6D7DAF768CCD@gmail.com> Message-ID: <526f9a793dfc4f3aa9cde22b78feb91f@avocetconsulting.com> ? Sending you peace, reflection, and yes, ducks ? Teresa Michelsen Shelton, WA -----Original Message----- From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Jeff Gibson Sent: Saturday, February 27, 2021 10:39 AM To: Tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] 86 Ducks, a couple of Loons, and an Owl My dear ol? Ma passed away yesterday at the age of 92 after years of suffering from dementia. Dad passed a couple of years ago, also with dementia. I?ve been here since 2014 and what a long strange trip it has been. This morning in a house empty of anyone except me and the cat, I took the time to honor Mom by counting ducks. You see, my Mom was kind of a duck freak. It all started back in the later 60?s on a stop at the Rocky Reach Dam gift shop, which was inhabited by these cute little pine carved ducks. All these ducks ( a Mom and a Dad and 7 babies) are lined up on a shelf above the stairwell, picked up on trips to our vacation spot over several years in Conconully . It?s a fact that just about any horizontal surface in this house is covered with ducks - wooden, ceramic ,stone, glass, mystery substance, whatever. My count was 86 ducks. Other birds include 3 loons, and one owl that I sculpted out of limestone found in a creek near Baker ?lake?. Mom also went through a wood carving phase of relief work featuring birds and plants in the mid 80?s , and previous to that abstract bird sculptures in driftwood - my favorites. I probably missed a few ducks in my count but you can?t take your ducks when you go. Jeff Gibson Missing Mom in Port Townsend Wa _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From elc at uw.edu Sat Feb 27 11:58:58 2021 From: elc at uw.edu (elc) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Seattle's Snowy Owl is back on the west side of QA References: Message-ID: <7B5EAF17-FF33-4FB0-AF6A-218F6AAD74B7@uw.edu> Some might be interested to know that after days out of view and presumed to have high-tailed it back north, The Queen has elected once more to spend time among those most familiar of *her haunts on the West side of QA (today, just 5 houses off McGraw on 1st Avenue West). Wonderful to bear witness to altered behavior of this rare arctic emissary ... spending whole days in trees like the Shore Pine on Valentine?s Day plus one, now moving about from roof to roof in broad daylight. Life?s been a little eventful these last 2 weeks: one talon is ?freshly? broken or missing from the left foot, but that left eyelid injury looks to be healing well. Many thanks to Phil Allison for raising the Bat Signal! (* a personal not scientific choice of pronoun, in lieu of it or they. After all, this is on Queen Anne hill ? and as can be seen, this Snowy Owl sports a lovely tiara. For upholding the broadest of inclusivity, we may happily also honor The Band, ?Queen"). Very best wishes again, Tweets! Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at UW dot edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ellenblackstone at gmail.com Sat Feb 27 12:02:00 2021 From: ellenblackstone at gmail.com (Ellen Blackstone) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] BirdNote, last week and the week of Feb. 28, 2021 Message-ID: Hello, Tweeters, Heard last week on BirdNote: * The Elegant Black Tern http://bit.ly/1Oabt5n * Long-eared Owl - You Don?t See Me! http://bit.ly/3dS7hiP * Kelp in the Eagles' Nest -- How's That? http://bit.ly/3bIeuzl * Sanderlings ... Sea Foam! http://bit.ly/1Q0fXwJ * Nest Boxes Help Bring Birds Back http://bit.ly/2ZXVmIa * Here Come the Barred Owls http://bit.ly/1KWtqUn * The Vulture's Iron Stomach http://bit.ly/2FFhKtG ========================= Next week on BirdNote: Feathered Females in Charge, with Wenfei Tong, Harrier Sky Dance Sparks a Career, The Crafty American Crow -- and more! http://bit.ly/2ZUCgml -------------------------------------- Did you have a favorite story this week? Another comment? Please let us know. mailto:info@birdnote.org ------------------------------------------------ Sign up for the podcast: https://birdnote.org/get-podcasts-rss Find us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/birdnoteradio?ref=ts ... or follow us on Twitter. https://twitter.com/birdnoteradio or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birdnoteradio/ Listen on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/birdnote ======================== You can listen to the mp3, see photos, and read the transcript for a show, plus sign up for weekly mail or the podcast and find related resources on the website. https://www.birdnote.org You'll find 1700+ episodes and more than 1200 videos in the archive. Thanks for listening, Ellen Blackstone, BirdNote -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From earthman1950 at whidbey.com Sat Feb 27 12:08:30 2021 From: earthman1950 at whidbey.com (George Heleker) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] February Dawn Chorus: Varied Thrushes and Juncos In-Reply-To: <003b01d70d32$6a347e70$3e9d7b50$@net> References: <003b01d70d32$6a347e70$3e9d7b50$@net> Message-ID: I thoroughly enjoyed Wayne's post, and I echo his sentiments about this winter, covid, and the spring songsters that I too thoroughly enjoy every year. This morning I walked out at dawn to do my usual listening to the local Great horned Owls and found that I crunched my way to our field over pathways covered with the pea sized hail that was left by yet another convergence zone last night here on South Whidbey Island. At our place, the Song Sparrows have been singing at dawn for several weeks, but the robins and towhees started singing just a few days ago. The Varied Thrushes started up just a few days ago too. Also heard singing this morning, besides the owls, were Red-winged Blackbirds, a Bewick's Wren, and a very subdued Pacific Wren that sounded like he wasn't quite convinced that it was spring yet. A week ago, a Mourning Dove started singing, and I've heard him singing every day at dawn that I've been outside, always in what seems like the same place. The Hutton's Vireos have sung once in a while for a month or so, almost always on sunny days, but I haven't heard one at dawn yet. A Purple Finch sang a few songs later in the morning today, the first I've heard here this year, and always a welcome sound in the yard. And naturally, there have been off and on songs from the House Finches. The Flickers and local Hairy Woodpecker have been drumming for a couple weeks. Although I have yet to hear the Black-capped Chickadees sing at dawn this year, there have been two here singing once in a while, sometimes countersinging for 1-3 minutes for several weeks. And the chickadees here on the island from just north of Coupeville and south have their own unique four note song that I have not heard anywhere else. There have been more and more junco songs each day. One spring highlight that we especially enjoy is about mid-March when so many juncos are singing. We have 100+ of them every winter visiting our feeder areas and it sounds as if most of them are still here when they are singing frequently, filling our entire property with their musical trills. A nice sunny morning with the juncos and others filling the air with song................life is good! One doesn't need a calendar to know when spring begins, the birds are already telling us it's here in spite of the cool weather. Happy spring birding! George Heleker Whidbey Island, WA. On 2021-02-27 10:00, Wayne Weber wrote: > Tweeters, > > In late spring, one can often hear a "dawn chorus" of 8 to 10 species of birds, with the species depending on where you are. For the last week, however, I have been hearing a dawn chorus consisting mainly of two species: Varied Thrushes and Dark-eyed (Oregon) Juncos! These two species are singing vigorously every morning in my neighborhood, which was built into a young Douglas-fir forest, and still includes many large Douglas-fir trees. They are occasionally joined in song by American Robins and Black-capped Chickadees, but the latter two species do not seem to be singing as consistently or frequently as the Varied Thrushes and Juncos. > > The Varied Thrushes are of particular interest. They do not breed in the immediate neighborhood, but are consistently present here from February through April, disappearing later in the spring, and breeding mainly at higher altitudes in my area. They are nearly always invisible, singing from deep within the foliage of a dense Douglas-fir, but this morning, atypically, one of them was singing right out in the open in the upper branches of a leafless beech tree. > > Most of our permanent-resident bird species begin to sing soon after February 1st, as soon as the daylength starts to increase and the production of male hormones also increases. In my area, other than the 4 species already mentioned, the list includes Song Sparrow, Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, Hutton's Vireo, and Northern Flicker (which has a song of sorts, even though it's not a songbird). The frequency of song increases steadily in late February, and by mid-March, most of the resident songbirds are singing full-blast. Later, they will be joined by all the neotropical migrants which don't arrive until April or May. > > It doesn't feel very springlike this morning. I had to scrape a thin layer of ice off my car windows before heading out. Never mind that though, the birds think it's spring, and that's good enough for me! I have to admit-- although it sounds un-Canadian-- that I'm not a big fan of winter. This winter, especially, has seemed to drag on forever, made even more onerous by the Covid-19 restrictions and inability to visit the usual winter hangouts of us "snowbirds". Any sign of spring is welcome, and I look forward to warmer, sunnier days when a whole raft of bird species will be singing. > > I hope that all of you are seeing (and/or hearing) signs of spring as well, and that we can all look forward to the end of the Covid-19 crisis and to warmer days and better birding. > > Good luck and good birding, > > Wayne Weber > > Delta, BC, Canada > > contopus@telus.net > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dgrainger at birdsbydave.com Sat Feb 27 13:41:16 2021 From: dgrainger at birdsbydave.com (dgrainger@birdsbydave.com) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] 86 Ducks, a couple of Loons, and an Owl In-Reply-To: <71c42c7e82a545feb8bbad0aa8c46464@birdsbydave.com> References: <441D7BB6-CF10-49B7-AA7B-6D7DAF768CCD@gmail.com> <71c42c7e82a545feb8bbad0aa8c46464@birdsbydave.com> Message-ID: <75e86d854f017282dfb5b73f5d799016@birdsbydave.com> Pat and I send our condolences, Jeff; it is a hard time to experience. We hope that you are doing well and that you will keep on writing; we enjoy your posts. Dave and Pat Grainger, Port Townsend. ______________________________________________________ On 2021-02-27 11:38, Jeff Gibson wrote: > My dear ol? Ma passed away yesterday at the age of 92 after years of > suffering from dementia. Dad passed a couple of years ago, also with > dementia. I?ve been here since 2014 and what a long strange trip it has > been. > > This morning in a house empty of anyone except me and the cat, I took > the time to honor Mom by counting ducks. > > You see, my Mom was kind of a duck freak. It all started back in the > later 60?s on a stop at the Rocky Reach Dam gift shop, which was > inhabited by these cute little pine carved ducks. All these ducks ( a > Mom and a Dad and 7 babies) are lined up on a shelf above the > stairwell, picked up on trips to our vacation spot over several years > in Conconully . > > It?s a fact that just about any horizontal surface in this house is > covered with ducks - wooden, ceramic ,stone, glass, mystery substance, > whatever. My count was 86 ducks. Other birds include 3 loons, and one > owl that I sculpted out of limestone found in a creek near Baker > ?lake?. > > Mom also went through a wood carving phase of relief work featuring > birds and plants in the mid 80?s , and previous to that abstract > bird sculptures in driftwood - my favorites. > > I probably missed a few ducks in my count but you can?t take your > ducks when you go. > > Jeff Gibson > Missing Mom in > Port Townsend Wa > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From gnudle at icloud.com Sat Feb 27 13:52:57 2021 From: gnudle at icloud.com (Marcia Ian) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Confirmation_of_Anna=E2=80=99s_plucking_fluf?= =?utf-8?q?f?= Message-ID: I just missed catching her on camera, but at least one Anna?s is gathering fluff from the fluff ball. How much fluff can a pluck fluff pluck if a pluck fluff does pluck fluff? Marcia Ian Bellingham From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sat Feb 27 13:58:09 2021 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] ECOWATCH: 'Presumed Extinct' Bird Is Found in Indonesia Message-ID: <372AEEA3-85C6-47BA-BE56-96613D4BC196@gmail.com> 'Presumed Extinct' Bird Is Found in Indonesia In October 2020, two men living in Indonesia's South Kalimantan province on Borneo managed to catch a bird that they had never seen before. They photographed and released it, then sent the pictures to birdwatching organizations in the area for identification. Read in EcoWatch: https://apple.news/AQuFuKmW_Q4ygt4S9IleaSA Shared from Apple News Sent from my iPhone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wohlers13 at gmail.com Sat Feb 27 15:13:42 2021 From: wohlers13 at gmail.com (Lynn Wohlers) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] 86 Ducks, a couple of Loons, and an Owl In-Reply-To: <75e86d854f017282dfb5b73f5d799016@birdsbydave.com> References: <441D7BB6-CF10-49B7-AA7B-6D7DAF768CCD@gmail.com> <71c42c7e82a545feb8bbad0aa8c46464@birdsbydave.com> <75e86d854f017282dfb5b73f5d799016@birdsbydave.com> Message-ID: Greetings from across the water, Jeff. I never met you but feel I know you. Thank you so much for all the wonderful missives, and thanks to your mom for raising you well. Take care! Lynn Fidalgo Island Virus-free. www.avast.com <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Sat, Feb 27, 2021 at 1:42 PM wrote: > > > > Pat and I send our condolences, Jeff; it is a hard time to experience. > We hope that you are doing well and that you will keep on writing; we > enjoy your posts. > Dave and Pat Grainger, Port Townsend. > ______________________________________________________ > > On 2021-02-27 11:38, Jeff Gibson wrote: > > My dear ol? Ma passed away yesterday at the age of 92 after years of > > suffering from dementia. Dad passed a couple of years ago, also with > > dementia. I?ve been here since 2014 and what a long strange trip it has > > been. > > > > This morning in a house empty of anyone except me and the cat, I took > > the time to honor Mom by counting ducks. > > > > You see, my Mom was kind of a duck freak. It all started back in the > > later 60?s on a stop at the Rocky Reach Dam gift shop, which was > > inhabited by these cute little pine carved ducks. All these ducks ( a > > Mom and a Dad and 7 babies) are lined up on a shelf above the > > stairwell, picked up on trips to our vacation spot over several years > > in Conconully . > > > > It?s a fact that just about any horizontal surface in this house is > > covered with ducks - wooden, ceramic ,stone, glass, mystery substance, > > whatever. My count was 86 ducks. Other birds include 3 loons, and one > > owl that I sculpted out of limestone found in a creek near Baker > > ?lake?. > > > > Mom also went through a wood carving phase of relief work featuring > > birds and plants in the mid 80?s , and previous to that abstract > > bird sculptures in driftwood - my favorites. > > > > I probably missed a few ducks in my count but you can?t take your > > ducks when you go. > > > > Jeff Gibson > > Missing Mom in > > Port Townsend Wa > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Tweeters mailing list > > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- Lynn Wohlers Blogging at Bluebrightly Photography on Flickr And at Lynn Wohlers.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dibirsner at gmail.com Sat Feb 27 15:27:31 2021 From: dibirsner at gmail.com (Diane B.) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Re=2C_Seattle=E2=80=99s_Snowy_Owl_is_back_on?= =?utf-8?q?_the_west_side_of_QA?= Message-ID: Dear Elaine, >From a selfish perspective, it warms my heart to learn that the Queen of Queen Anne Hill continues her rooftop reign. For all kinds of reasons my partner and best birding buddy haven?t driven down to pay our respects to her, and likely will not. But I?ve lived vicariously through all her subjects in Tweeterdom, enjoying everyone?s reports and anecdotes and, earlier on, pictures. I, too, prefer to assign her to the feminine gender, because my romantic, magical realism side imagines she was sent by another birding friend of mine, Eli, who lived in a retirement center at the bottom of Queen Anne Hill until her passing in 2017. I first met Eli on Attu in ?91 and became friends during my subsequent trips to that fantasy island for ABA listers. We stayed in touch over the years, even shared a cabin on an epic ocean voyage to Antarctica in ?95. After Eli moved to her Queen Anne residence I would visit her. With each trip I could tell that Alzheimer?s was stealing her memories, and eventually her love of birds and birding vanished. So in my mind Queen Anne?s snowy owl is Eli?s gift, reassuring me that she didn?t forget after all. I hope this snowy continues to heal and ultimately finds her way back to her northern home, where she belongs. But in the meantime, what a treat to have had her grace us with her majestic presence, Thanks, Eli! And thank you, Elaine for sharing your updates. Happy birding, Diane Birsner Bellingham -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mj.cygnus at gmail.com Sun Feb 28 11:09:23 2021 From: mj.cygnus at gmail.com (Martha Jordan) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Willamette Valley Bird Symposium 2021 Message-ID: I am not sure how many of you attended, online, this event back in late January. It was a full day and comprehensive in the types of presentations from all things bird related. They have put up a web link to the recordings from the symposium. https://willamettevalleybirds.org/ They will have another next year. It was really educational. Martha Jordan Everett, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karnadk at live.com Sun Feb 28 13:22:13 2021 From: karnadk at live.com (Duane Karna) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Bainbridge Island Message-ID: Tweets & former crew members, On Saturday (2/27) I made a 14th winter circumnavigation of Bainbridge Island (BI) with the assistance from two young non-birders driving the boat. Notable observations: 36 Western Grebes near mid channel off Edmonds, 2 Long-tailed Ducks in south Agate Passage, the Harlequin Ducks did not disappoint at the south end of BI and there was a significant reduction in Scoters (mostly Surf) near the now empty net pens in Rich Passage. Usually there are 100's if not 1000's present. Detailed observations were recorded via eBird only for Little Port Madison (the appendage off Port Madison into BI), Agate Passage and the south end of BI. It was good to be on the water again after the Edmonds and Everett/Marysville CBCs were cancelled. Duane Karna Lynnwood -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Sun Feb 28 14:21:28 2021 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Western Bluebirds at Roy Message-ID: Tweeters, Just a few minutes ago (14:10), I heard, then spotted, two WESTERN BLUEBIRDS at the top of a maple in front of our home in Roy. If my wife hadn?t had me go out to check if a package from Amazon was left at the gate I would have missed these harbingers of Spring. Timing is everything! May all your birds be identified, Denis DeSilvis avnacrs at outlook dot com Avian Acres ? Roy, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kmanderson35 at hotmail.com Sun Feb 28 15:55:22 2021 From: kmanderson35 at hotmail.com (Kris Anderson) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] 86 Ducks, a couple of Loons, and an Owl Message-ID: I am so sorry about your mom passing away. It is hard to lose a parent. My 94-year-old mom also passed away this month. She suffered from dementia too. My mom didn?t like having pets in the house, but she made an exception for birds. When I was growing up, we had parakeets, and a cockatiel. She also told me stories, from before I was born, of a baby crow my brother had found that they raised. They taught him to talk and he sounded like a real character. My mom had a bird clock, and one of the last things I sent to her was a calendar with bird photos. I find some peace being out in nature, and enjoying the birds. Kris Anderson Sent from Mail for Windows 10 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From byers345 at comcast.net Sun Feb 28 16:01:25 2021 From: byers345 at comcast.net (byers345@comcast.net) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Slate-colored Junco? Message-ID: <000001d70e2e$067fc400$137f4c00$@comcast.net> Hello Tweeters, I've been looking at this very gray junco this afternoon and finally got a reasonably good picture. Does this bird qualify as a Slate-colored Junco? https://www.flickr.com/photos/29258421@N07/50990977496/in/dateposted-public/ Charlotte Byers, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 1northraven at gmail.com Sun Feb 28 16:27:13 2021 From: 1northraven at gmail.com (J Christian Kessler) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Slate-colored Junco? In-Reply-To: <000001d70e2e$067fc400$137f4c00$@comcast.net> References: <000001d70e2e$067fc400$137f4c00$@comcast.net> Message-ID: I would say yes Chris Kessler Seattle On Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 4:02 PM wrote: > Hello Tweeters, > > I?ve been looking at this very gray junco this afternoon > and finally got a reasonably good picture. Does this bird qualify as a > Slate-colored Junco? > > > > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/29258421@N07/50990977496/in/dateposted-public/ > > > > Charlotte Byers, Edmonds > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- "moderation in everything, including moderation" Rustin Thompson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dammerecologist1990 at gmail.com Sun Feb 28 17:43:20 2021 From: dammerecologist1990 at gmail.com (Steven Dammer) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Slate-colored Junco? In-Reply-To: <000001d70e2e$067fc400$137f4c00$@comcast.net> References: <000001d70e2e$067fc400$137f4c00$@comcast.net> Message-ID: most definitely is! On Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 4:03 PM wrote: > Hello Tweeters, > > I?ve been looking at this very gray junco this afternoon > and finally got a reasonably good picture. Does this bird qualify as a > Slate-colored Junco? > > > > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/29258421@N07/50990977496/in/dateposted-public/ > > > > Charlotte Byers, Edmonds > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From byers345 at comcast.net Sun Feb 28 19:10:53 2021 From: byers345 at comcast.net (byers345@comcast.net) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] RE the junco picture I shared earlier Message-ID: <003201d70e48$7dc8e130$795aa390$@comcast.net> Hello Tweeters, Thanks so much to those of you that answered my query about the gray junco. The majority opinion was that it was a Slate-colored Junco. That was a pleasant surprise in my backyard today! Good Health and Good Birding, Charlotte Byers, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From patti.loesche at gmail.com Sun Feb 28 19:40:47 2021 From: patti.loesche at gmail.com (Patti Loesche) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] 1201 3rd Ave peregrines on eggs Message-ID: <03A71EC4-E133-47B3-9736-CA1691769329@gmail.com> A peregrine pair has been at the 1201 Third Ave nest box for some time and doing all the right things. This is especially good news because no birds nested there in 2020, skipping nesting for only the second time since peregrines began nesting there in 1994. (The birds are not ID-banded, so we don?t know whether this is the same pair as in 2019.) Early in the morning of Feb 26, I checked the 1201 falcon cam and discovered an egg?3-4 weeks early! Egg 2 appeared early this morning, Feb 28. Ed Deal, who as many know pays meticulous attention to such things, has documented only one previous record of early laying in the region: ?East Channel Bridge 2006. First fledge on May 12th. Counting back to first egg somewhere in the low 20's of February!" http://1201thirdave.com/falconcam.aspx Patti Loesche Urban Raptor Conservancy https://urbanraptorconservancy.org/ Seattle From kloshewoods at outlook.com Sun Feb 28 20:52:22 2021 From: kloshewoods at outlook.com (Jerry Tangren) Date: Tue Dec 13 23:38:12 2022 Subject: [Tweeters] Eastern Towhee in East Wenatchee Message-ID: I apologize for not posting these sightings to Tweeters earlier; we?ve been in shock and at a quandary as to reporting it...we believe the chances of others finding it are probably poor. Between February 13 and February 21, we observed an Eastern Towhee three times in our East Wenatchee yard. Each time was at about 10 feet through our kitchen window as the bird paused in a mock-orange before moving on. It was with a Spotted Towhee on the occasions it was seen. The bird each time gained our immediate attention because it was plain in comparison to the Spotted Towhee. Otherwise, the white patch at the base of the primary was conspicuous on the sitting bird. On further observation, white edging to the primaries and tertials were also seen. No other white was seen on either the back or wings, indicating the bird is not a hybrid. We were unable to photograph the bird. We were also unable to locate it at any other location or see it at our own feeder. We saw a Spotted Towhee at our own feeders only once during the period; apparently the towhees don?t appreciate the seed we provided this year. There are at least a half dozen yards with feeders within several hundred yards of our own. There was several inches of snow on the ground during the time period we saw the bird so it?s easy to assume it?s appearance in our yard was in response to the snow. Today, February 28, we saw only a single Spotted Towhee. The bird must be wintering in the neighborhood somewhere; we saw it only when there was snow on the ground; it?s bare now. If anyone wishes to try for the bird, your chance may be to walk the block of Eller, Highline, Leslie, and Rock Island Rd in East Wenatchee. Unfortunately, all the feeders are behind the houses. The fact that we have seen the bird only three times during an eight day period when there was snow on the ground does not provide any optimism. The Columbia River is only a few hundred yards to our west so the bird may also have moved up from there. ?Lorna & Jerry Tangren East Wenatchee, WA Get Outlook for iOS -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: