From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Thu Dec 1 02:28:15 2022 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] THE INDEPENDENT: India shows off drone-busting birds in joint drills with US near Chinese border Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Hubbard at live.com Thu Dec 1 07:55:18 2022 From: Hubbard at live.com (Bill Hubbard) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Storm Wigeon Message-ID: There is a Storm Wigeon hanging out at Bellefield Office Park on the left side of the island. Easy to photograph if approached slowly. See this link to eBird photo, Media Search - Macaulay Library and eBird. Bill Hubbard -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From meetings at wos.org Thu Dec 1 08:08:15 2022 From: meetings at wos.org (meetings@wos.org) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?REMINDER_-_WOS_Monthly_Mtg=2C_Dec=2E_5=2C_7?= =?utf-8?q?=3A30_pm_Kim_Adelson_to_present_=22The_Origins_of_Modern?= =?utf-8?q?_Bird_Orders=22?= Message-ID: <20221201160815.35572.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> The Washington Ornithological Society is delighted to invite you to a stimulating presentation by Kim Adelson, entitled ?The Origins of Modern Bird Orders.? True birds have existed for roughly 150 million years, since the middle of the Age of Dinosaurs. These birds, however, were very different from modern birds and most were not closely related to the birds that populate the world today. The question that this talk tries to answer is this: when did familiar, recognizably modern birds appear? Several modern bird orders co-existed with dinosaurs; some did not evolve until 25 or more million years after they perished (or about 40 million years ago). So, the question we will pose is not ?which came first, the chicken or the egg?? but ?which came first, the chicken or the songbird? or ?the penguin or the raptor?? Kim has had a passionate interest in paleontology since childhood and holds a Master?s Degree in Evolutionary Biology.??She has given two previous presentations to WOS ? ?The Dinosaurs Amongst Us? and ?The Birds Who Lived??with (Other) Dinosaurs", available at WOS' YouTube Channel:??https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC657f_RhriAUIwS_P1m5_nQ. The meeting will be conducted via Zoom, not in-person.??Please go to http://wos.org/about-wos/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.??Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm. This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend.?? If you are not yet a member, I hope you will consider becoming one at http://wos.org/about-wos/membership/, Please join us! Vicki King WOS Program Coordinator From rwbaird at cascadiaresearch.org Thu Dec 1 12:40:21 2022 From: rwbaird at cascadiaresearch.org (Robin Baird) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] birding guides in San Juan Puerto Rico Message-ID: I would very much appreciate any suggestions of guides for half- or full-day birding (or herps or other wildlife) in Puerto Rico (San Juan and surrounding areas). Thanks very much, Robin -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From markbordenmd at gmail.com Thu Dec 1 13:19:05 2022 From: markbordenmd at gmail.com (Mark Borden) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Binos for Birders In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3ECEF585-9210-4C96-9C95-9535774F16C2@gmail.com> About 50 years of avid bird observation has led me to agree with ZZ Top. ?They come in two classes?expensive shades and image stabilized glasses.? I often takes several falconers with me to observe falcon behavior at the Eyrie. Three years ago I brought my (~500.00) Canon 10 power image stabilized Binos. I dropped them while rappelling and only one side worked. Even so the Falconer?s that had their own Swarovski and Zeiss with them all ended up closing one eye, and using my image stabilized cannons to get the best views of the Falcons. Falconer?s are without a doubt the most avid of birders. Binoculars for a falconer are a ?high stakes item.? Keeping an eye on a falcon during a flight can mean the difference between recovery and loss. The Cannon IS are hands-down superior aboard a boat. I personally prefer them to my 10 power Swarovski?s any day. If it is a windy day on land, they are also clearly superior. Their only downside is that they could be more waterproof. Mark Borden Coupeville WA. Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 1, 2022, at 12:09 PM, tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu wrote: > > ?Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to > tweeters@u.washington.edu > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu > > You can reach the person managing the list at > tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. THE GUARDIAN: CT scans of toothed bird fossil leads to > jaw-dropping discovery (Dan Reiff) > 2. Best Binoculars? (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) > 3. THE INDEPENDENT: India shows off drone-busting birds in joint > drills with US near Chinese border (Dan Reiff) > 4. Storm Wigeon (Bill Hubbard) > 5. REMINDER - WOS Monthly Mtg, Dec. 5, 7:30 pm Kim Adelson to > present "The Origins of Modern Bird Orders" (meetings@wos.org) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2022 16:29:18 -0800 > From: Dan Reiff > To: Tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] THE GUARDIAN: CT scans of toothed bird fossil > leads to jaw-dropping discovery > Message-ID: <24B66075-4E68-41CA-B6FA-5F2CBFFA5DB8@gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2022 19:00:32 -0800 > From: jimbetz@jimbetz.com > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] Best Binoculars? > Message-ID: > <20221130190032.Horde.8kyaN4cTXM1Ml41pUlPcIlA@webmail.jimbetz.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed; DelSp=Yes > > Hi all, > > I -think- I know the answer to this question - but an unasked > question is little more than a guess ... and at best an educated > guess. > > We have 3 different binoculars. All Nikon 8x50, 10x50, and 12x50. > Other than the magnification I can't tell the difference. Usually I > grab/prefer the 12x50. My wife uses the 10x50. We are both in our > late 70's. > We also have a spotting scope - that stays home. > We are more than casual birders - but not "serious birders" (we > know several people who have been doing this much longer than we > have and are much better at finding and IDing birds. > We are NOT life listers - we pay more attention to bird behavior > than to putting another new to us bird on our checklist. > We do take birding vacations - such as our recent trip to Veracruz > with Raptours. We are currently in Puerto Vallarta and will book at > least one guided day trip while we are here. We are considering > going to Gibraltar for the move north in the Spring. > We are more interested in the larger birds than smaller. > > Conventional wisdom is that "the more you spend the better the > binoculars" ... which leads one to the Swarovski or Zeiss - without > much real difference between the two? > > It's not about the money. We can afford any set we choose. But it > -IS- about whether we can tell the difference. > > ===> So is there an 'upgrade' that will make a difference? > > - Jim in Skagit County > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2022 02:28:15 -0800 > From: Dan Reiff > To: Tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] THE INDEPENDENT: India shows off drone-busting > birds in joint drills with US near Chinese border > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2022 15:55:18 +0000 > From: Bill Hubbard > To: "tweeters@u.washington.edu" > Subject: [Tweeters] Storm Wigeon > Message-ID: > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > There is a Storm Wigeon hanging out at Bellefield Office Park on the left side of the island. Easy to photograph if approached slowly. See this link to eBird photo, Media Search - Macaulay Library and eBird. > Bill Hubbard > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Thu, 01 Dec 2022 10:08:15 -0600 > From: > To: Tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] REMINDER - WOS Monthly Mtg, Dec. 5, 7:30 pm Kim > Adelson to present "The Origins of Modern Bird Orders" > Message-ID: <20221201160815.35572.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > The Washington Ornithological Society is delighted to invite you to a stimulating presentation by Kim Adelson, entitled ?The Origins of Modern Bird Orders.? > > True birds have existed for roughly 150 million years, since the middle of the Age of Dinosaurs. These birds, however, were very different from modern birds and most were not closely related to the birds that populate the world today. The question that this talk tries to answer is this: when did familiar, recognizably modern birds appear? Several modern bird orders co-existed with dinosaurs; some did not evolve until 25 or more million years after they perished (or about 40 million years ago). So, the question we will pose is not ?which came first, the chicken or the egg?? but ?which came first, the chicken or the songbird? or ?the penguin or the raptor?? > > Kim has had a passionate interest in paleontology since childhood and holds a Master?s Degree in Evolutionary Biology.??She has given two previous presentations to WOS ? ?The Dinosaurs Amongst Us? and ?The Birds Who Lived??with (Other) Dinosaurs", available at WOS' YouTube Channel:??https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC657f_RhriAUIwS_P1m5_nQ. > > The meeting will be conducted via Zoom, not in-person.??Please go to http://wos.org/about-wos/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.??Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm. > > This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend.?? > > If you are not yet a member, I hope you will consider becoming one at http://wos.org/about-wos/membership/, > > Please join us! > > Vicki King > WOS Program Coordinator > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 220, Issue 1 > **************************************** From vikingcove at gmail.com Thu Dec 1 13:41:54 2022 From: vikingcove at gmail.com (Kevin Lucas) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Binos for Birders In-Reply-To: <3ECEF585-9210-4C96-9C95-9535774F16C2@gmail.com> References: <3ECEF585-9210-4C96-9C95-9535774F16C2@gmail.com> Message-ID: <184cfa390d0.28de.72de57011b8194b7f6cd87b3d7546c36@gmail.com> My Canon 10x42 L IS binoculars have been superb for me. They are entirely waterproof. Canon recommends cleaning them by running water from a spigot over them. They use Canon's best: L glass. When I first got them I was blown away being able to see whiskers and feather barbules. I still am. I use Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries in them, rechargong in my Maha 4 AA/AAA 120v a/c / 12v DC charger. A pair of batteries lasts all day. In cold weather I rubber band adhesive toe warmers to the underside of each eyepiece to reduce fogging. My only issue with them is the eyecups. I bought add-on eye shields from Field Optics Research to fix that. They would be flat out perfect if they could also capture images that I could share with eBird reviewers and WBRC members so they could see what I've seen. It would be nice to have some more species "confirmed" / on the eBird map, and accepted by WBRC members. Good birding -- https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ Kevin Lucas Yakima County, WA Sent with AquaMail for Android http://www.aqua-mail.com On December 1, 2022 1:19:36 PM Mark Borden wrote: > About 50 years of avid bird observation has led me to agree with ZZ Top. > ?They come in two classes?expensive shades and image stabilized glasses.? > > I often takes several falconers with me to observe falcon behavior at the > Eyrie. Three years ago I brought my (~500.00) Canon 10 power image > stabilized Binos. I dropped them while rappelling and only one side > worked. Even so the Falconer?s that had their own Swarovski and Zeiss with > them all ended up closing one eye, and using my image stabilized cannons to > get the best views of the Falcons. > > Falconer?s are without a doubt the most avid of birders. Binoculars for a > falconer are a ?high stakes item.? Keeping an eye on a falcon during a > flight can mean the difference between recovery and loss. > > The Cannon IS are hands-down superior aboard a boat. I personally prefer > them to my 10 power Swarovski?s any day. If it is a windy day on land, they > are also clearly superior. > > Their only downside is that they could be more waterproof. > > Mark Borden > Coupeville WA. > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Dec 1, 2022, at 12:09 PM, tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu wrote: >> >> ?Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to >> tweeters@u.washington.edu >> >> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to >> tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu >> >> You can reach the person managing the list at >> tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu >> >> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >> than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." >> >> >> Today's Topics: >> >> 1. THE GUARDIAN: CT scans of toothed bird fossil leads to >> jaw-dropping discovery (Dan Reiff) >> 2. Best Binoculars? (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) >> 3. THE INDEPENDENT: India shows off drone-busting birds in joint >> drills with US near Chinese border (Dan Reiff) >> 4. Storm Wigeon (Bill Hubbard) >> 5. REMINDER - WOS Monthly Mtg, Dec. 5, 7:30 pm Kim Adelson to >> present "The Origins of Modern Bird Orders" (meetings@wos.org) >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2022 16:29:18 -0800 >> From: Dan Reiff >> To: Tweeters >> Subject: [Tweeters] THE GUARDIAN: CT scans of toothed bird fossil >> leads to jaw-dropping discovery >> Message-ID: <24B66075-4E68-41CA-B6FA-5F2CBFFA5DB8@gmail.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >> >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 2 >> Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2022 19:00:32 -0800 >> From: jimbetz@jimbetz.com >> To: tweeters@u.washington.edu >> Subject: [Tweeters] Best Binoculars? >> Message-ID: >> <20221130190032.Horde.8kyaN4cTXM1Ml41pUlPcIlA@webmail.jimbetz.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed; DelSp=Yes >> >> Hi all, >> >> I -think- I know the answer to this question - but an unasked >> question is little more than a guess ... and at best an educated >> guess. >> >> We have 3 different binoculars. All Nikon 8x50, 10x50, and 12x50. >> Other than the magnification I can't tell the difference. Usually I >> grab/prefer the 12x50. My wife uses the 10x50. We are both in our >> late 70's. >> We also have a spotting scope - that stays home. >> We are more than casual birders - but not "serious birders" (we >> know several people who have been doing this much longer than we >> have and are much better at finding and IDing birds. >> We are NOT life listers - we pay more attention to bird behavior >> than to putting another new to us bird on our checklist. >> We do take birding vacations - such as our recent trip to Veracruz >> with Raptours. We are currently in Puerto Vallarta and will book at >> least one guided day trip while we are here. We are considering >> going to Gibraltar for the move north in the Spring. >> We are more interested in the larger birds than smaller. >> >> Conventional wisdom is that "the more you spend the better the >> binoculars" ... which leads one to the Swarovski or Zeiss - without >> much real difference between the two? >> >> It's not about the money. We can afford any set we choose. But it >> -IS- about whether we can tell the difference. >> >> ===> So is there an 'upgrade' that will make a difference? >> >> - Jim in Skagit County >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 3 >> Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2022 02:28:15 -0800 >> From: Dan Reiff >> To: Tweeters >> Subject: [Tweeters] THE INDEPENDENT: India shows off drone-busting >> birds in joint drills with US near Chinese border >> Message-ID: >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >> >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 4 >> Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2022 15:55:18 +0000 >> From: Bill Hubbard >> To: "tweeters@u.washington.edu" >> Subject: [Tweeters] Storm Wigeon >> Message-ID: >> >> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >> >> There is a Storm Wigeon hanging out at Bellefield Office Park on the left >> side of the island. Easy to photograph if approached slowly. See this >> link to eBird photo, Media Search - Macaulay Library and >> eBird. >> Bill Hubbard >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Message: 5 >> Date: Thu, 01 Dec 2022 10:08:15 -0600 >> From: >> To: Tweeters >> Subject: [Tweeters] REMINDER - WOS Monthly Mtg, Dec. 5, 7:30 pm Kim >> Adelson to present "The Origins of Modern Bird Orders" >> Message-ID: <20221201160815.35572.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" >> >> The Washington Ornithological Society is delighted to invite you to a >> stimulating presentation by Kim Adelson, entitled ?The Origins of Modern >> Bird Orders.? >> >> True birds have existed for roughly 150 million years, since the middle of >> the Age of Dinosaurs. These birds, however, were very different from modern >> birds and most were not closely related to the birds that populate the >> world today. The question that this talk tries to answer is this: when did >> familiar, recognizably modern birds appear? Several modern bird orders >> co-existed with dinosaurs; some did not evolve until 25 or more million >> years after they perished (or about 40 million years ago). So, the question >> we will pose is not ?which came first, the chicken or the egg?? but ?which >> came first, the chicken or the songbird? or ?the penguin or the raptor?? >> >> Kim has had a passionate interest in paleontology since childhood and holds >> a Master?s Degree in Evolutionary Biology.??She has given two previous >> presentations to WOS ? ?The Dinosaurs Amongst Us? and ?The Birds Who >> Lived??with (Other) Dinosaurs", available at WOS' YouTube >> Channel:??https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC657f_RhriAUIwS_P1m5_nQ. >> >> The meeting will be conducted via Zoom, not in-person.??Please go to >> http://wos.org/about-wos/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on >> participation and to get the Zoom link.??Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm. >> >> This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding >> community to attend.?? >> >> If you are not yet a member, I hope you will consider becoming one at >> http://wos.org/about-wos/membership/, >> >> Please join us! >> >> Vicki King >> WOS Program Coordinator >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Subject: Digest Footer >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 220, Issue 1 >> **************************************** > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Thu Dec 1 13:57:23 2022 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (Michael Hobbs) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2022-12-01 Message-ID: Tweets - We started out at 32 degrees and snowing, but the morning's weather quickly improved to above-freezing with occasional blue sky patches. It was windless, but everything was quite gray for most of the morning. The park has a crust of frozen snow on the ground, so birding by ear was hampered by the constant crunch-crunch-crunch of our feet and the swish-swish of our coats and snow pants. All in all, it was quite pleasant and quite birdy. The only downside was that the vast majority of those many birds were just American Robins, American Crows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Surprises were few but nice. But nothing really rare; very similar to last week. Highlights: - Swans - Two flying south were probably Trumpeters - Pied-billed Grebe - Somewhere around 35 on the lake! - MOURNING DOVE - One in the Pea Patch. Only our 8th sighting for December through March - Virginia Rail - At least one spontaneously making extensive squawking sounds next to the boardwalk - Wilson's Snipe - Around a dozen along the slough edge below the weir - Accipiters - Several sightings, with both Cooper's and Sharpie - VARIED THRUSH - Many around the mansion, more in a few other places. At least 15, in my estimation We had four RIVER OTTERS in the slough. Misses today (species seen in at least half of previous years during Week 48, but not today): Short-billed Gull, Ring-Billed Gull (though we had one 2nd-winter gull that was probably RBGU), Bushtit, Marsh Wren, Pine Siskin, and Lincoln's Sparrow. For the day, 51 species. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birder4184 at yahoo.com Thu Dec 1 15:48:46 2022 From: birder4184 at yahoo.com (B B) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Blog Post - November - Not As BIG As Hoped References: <1975316956.59609.1669938526470.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1975316956.59609.1669938526470@mail.yahoo.com> I tried it again - trying for 200 species in Washington in a Month - November 2022.? It would have been the 8th month hitting this goal.? BUT - too many early misses and then a personal matter that had priority cut the project short on November 18th - 173 species for the month.? This blog post covers the venture and looks back at the end of the month. http://blairbirding.com/2022/12/01/november-starting-and-ending-with-no/ Blair Bernson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com Fri Dec 2 15:13:11 2022 From: cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com (Christopher Clark) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Chambers Creek Birds (No Snowy Owl) Message-ID: Hello everyone, It's been a few years since I've posted here. Good to be back. I've been around, just quiet in my birding activities. I decided to check out the Chambers Creek area to see if I could locate the Snowy Owl that was reported yesterday. Unfortunately the only thing I saw was a plastic bag that looked VERY similar to an owl at a distance. It was all white and the way it was hanging even gave the appearance of a tail, wings, and neck and head. But upon closer inspection I could tell it was garbage and nothing more. While I can't be certain this is what was seen yesterday, it looked to possibly be in the same area? Still worth keeping an eye out in case there is an owl in the area, but wanted to share what I saw. Otherwise, the birding was pretty decent. Chambers Bay itself was bustling with activity from a sporting event, so I opted to skip that and go check out Chambers Creek. If you drive south along Chambers Creek Rd, you'll notice a few gravel areas where you can stop and get out of your car. Looking out at the creek mouth there was a good sized flock of gulls hanging out both in the creek and on the rooftops of the nearby storage facility. A lone Herring Gull was the standout, and there were a handful of other pink legged, black wingtipped gulls that I couldn't quite ID due to the distance. Also seen was a pair of Mourning Doves in a tree on the far side of the creek, not so common in this part of the county? Totaled 32 species. eBird checklist below: https://ebird.org/checklist/S123354528 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From oberle at mindspring.com Fri Dec 2 20:11:03 2022 From: oberle at mindspring.com (Mark Oberle) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] birding guides in San Juan Puerto Rico (Robin Baird) Message-ID: Dear Robin, If you are in the San Juan area here are two very good local guides. They may recommend others. Carlos Ruiz cruizlebron@gmail.com Gloria Archilla maryarena@gmail.com Sergio Colon is the expert near Arecibo wetlands (787)347-1571. sergiocolon@yahoo.com These two below have also done a lot of professional guiding over the years: Jose Salguero jsalguero@csagroup.com Julio Salgado velezjulio0@gmail.com I don't know Hilda Morales of Adventours Puerto Rico (http://www.adventourspr.com/). But have seen good reviews. eBird has really taken off in Puerto Rico. So whether you find a guide or not, check eBird during your visit there. We have converted our book for Puerto Rico birds to an app for Apple and Android with photos and audio of all species on the island, plus a self guided tour for the southwest of the island. Search in app store for All Birds Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands & northern Lesser Antilles Mark Oberle Port Orchard, WA oberle@mindspring.com www.puertoricobirds.com From birdbooker at zipcon.net Sat Dec 3 17:48:50 2022 From: birdbooker at zipcon.net (Ian Paulsen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Whooper Swan? Message-ID: <1aa840a8-b068-e287-60aa-eccb8d3cb12e@zipcon.net> HI ALL: The last sighting of the Whooper Swan in British Columbia was a week ago, so has anyone checked the Monroe area to see if it's back? sincerely Ian Paulsen Bainbridge Island, WA, USA Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/ From dennispaulson at comcast.net Sat Dec 3 18:02:12 2022 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Heermann's Gulls at Edmonds Message-ID: <93A51D24-43C3-404F-9F28-0BCC48FFA38A@comcast.net> Hello, tweets. Netta and I braved the cold wind on the Edmonds pier this afternoon, and I was surprised to see 50+ Heermann?s Gulls on the breakwater opposite the south end of the pier. In the past, they would have been gone by now. Will they stay for the winter? Dennis Paulson Seattle From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sat Dec 3 20:02:04 2022 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] White bald eagle found in Oklahoma: Rare leucistic bird seen, pictured Message-ID: <20DE2DE1-7F2E-45A7-98F9-CE4A2B7A0A47@gmail.com> https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/12/01/rare-leucistc-white-bald-eagle-sighting-oklahoma/10810938002/ Sent from my iPhone From jonbirder at comcast.net Sun Dec 4 15:41:34 2022 From: jonbirder at comcast.net (Jon Houghton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] re. Heerman's Gulls in Edmnods Message-ID: <621998074.1010839.1670197294439@connect.xfinity.com> Hi Tweeters and Dennis - Not only are those Heerman's still hanging on, despite our recent fairly chilly weather, but one of the Edmonds Brown Pelican's (new subspecies?) was still there as of December 2! We watched it fishing for small forage fish in a baitball, no doubt pushed up by a couple of Rhinoceros Auklets. When the pelican surfaced from plunge diving with a beak full of water and fish, it would get mobbed by the Heerman's while it tried to drain the water and gulp down the fish. The gulls were happy to scoop up the few fish that leaked out of the pelican's beak. So these two California species seem to know each other well! Didn't see any pelican there this morning, though. - Jon Houghton, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mj.cygnus at gmail.com Sun Dec 4 16:17:44 2022 From: mj.cygnus at gmail.com (Martha Jordan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Swans and HPAI deaths Message-ID: Please be aware that several swans have died over the past 2 weeks in the Snoqualmie Valley area and 1 this week. I know that 1 in the Monroe area is AI. The others were not able to be collected due to where they are located. The one at Alkai beach in Seattle is suspected AI. If anyone finds a sick or dead swan be sure to call the WDFW Swan Hotline 360-466-4345 x266. If the line is not working or you are unable to leave a message please call or text me at 206-713-3684. I can get the message to the appropriate person. Please do not handle or pick up these swans or geese or any dead bird you do not know why it died. AI is also being seen in owls in the Skagit and it is likely in other birds as well. Keep in mind that while transmission may be very very low, it can infect humans and some other species. Sorry to be the bearer of this sad news. Martha Jordan Everett, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rwlawson5593 at outlook.com Sun Dec 4 17:58:58 2022 From: rwlawson5593 at outlook.com (Rachel Lawson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Bewick's Swan on Fir Island Message-ID: Today Joseph Brown and I saw one Tundra Swan of the Bewick's subspecies in a flock of about 200 Trumpeter and Tundra Swans. The flock was in a field at the junction of Moore Rd and Best Rd on Fir Island, Skagit County. Joseph posted a photo on eBird. We also saw two California Scrub-Jays at a feeder on a small street off Bayview-Edison Rd south of Bayview State Park. Are they to be expected in this area now? Rachel Lawson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mattxyz at earthlink.net Mon Dec 5 05:17:12 2022 From: mattxyz at earthlink.net (Matt Bartels) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Eastern Bluebird - first new State species in ages Message-ID: <0048C130-EEFD-4468-A50D-2D97777C3248@earthlink.net> Hi everyone - With the discovery of the Eastern Bluebird in Richland this past week, we?ve finally broken our long Washington drought without adding a new state bird. Thanks Jane Abel for the Nov 30 discovery. [obviously, all of this only becomes ?official? if/when it is added to the WBRC official state list, but odds seem good on this one] How long was the drought? Well, in a state where we?ve been averaging 2 or 3 new state birds a year for quite a while, it took 586 days between state birds this time. The last state bird was the Common Crane, on April 23, 2021. The last drought this long was 1996-1997! Back then, the species before the gap was Eurasian Collared Dove and the one after was our first Brown Booby. Since then, about 70 new species to the state list. Back in 2021, I ran the 4th round of "Predicting the Next 5 WA Birds? in WOS News [here ]. The first 2 state birds from this round came in 2021, with Winter Wren, then Common Crane. Then came the drought. Now , with Eastern Bluebird, we?ve got #3 of this round?s 5 species. Only two people predicted Eastern Bluebird for this round: Congrats Gary Bletsch and Curtis Mahon. Gary also predicted the Common Crane, so he?s the first person this round to have accurately chosen two of the new state birds. It will be interesting to see whether this bodes the beginning of another flurry of surprise birds at the pace we?ve long had, or if we?ll be waiting another 2 years before the next state bird comes to visit. Matt Bartels Secretary, WBRC Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ksnyder75 at gmail.com Mon Dec 5 07:58:21 2022 From: ksnyder75 at gmail.com (Kathleen Snyder) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Birds_and_Climate_Change_=E2=80=93_Thursday_?= =?utf-8?q?December_8th_7pm_via_Zoom?= Message-ID: Steve Hampton, PhD, has just published an article, ?Ornithology in the Anthropocene? in the ABA magazine Birding, that gathers research from a number of studies on the range changes that bird species are experiencing. He will speak about these changes with a special focus on the Pacific NW. Register for this free program from Black Hills Audubon at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUsduyuqTwjHtb-ntbTTC670yZnoRD6DdR_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From robertgary02 at aol.com Mon Dec 5 17:11:45 2022 From: robertgary02 at aol.com (Robert Gray) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Laysan Albatross References: <2118998781.920485.1670289105414.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2118998781.920485.1670289105414@mail.yahoo.com> As ridiculous as it sounds, there was an Albatross in our backyard in Everett 12/03/22. No doubt. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marvbreece at q.com Tue Dec 6 06:41:19 2022 From: marvbreece at q.com (MARVIN BREECE) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Kent Lesser Goldfinches Message-ID: Yesterday (12.05.22) LESSER GOLDFINCHES were feeding along the Green River at the intersection of Frager Rd & S 204th St in Kent. This is my first sighting of this species at this location in many recent visits. Videos: https://flic.kr/ps/376fhN Marv Breece Tukwila, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From byers345 at comcast.net Tue Dec 6 11:26:42 2022 From: byers345 at comcast.net (byers345@comcast.net) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Year-end round up of Washington State birds Message-ID: <000201d909a8$ac4c5660$04e50320$@comcast.net> Hello Tweeters, Bill and I have travelled all over Washington state this year, trying to find unusual birds and birds we hadn't seen before in the state. We had some modest success, though we missed many exciting birds. I have already shared birds from some of our earlier trips. The set of photos below are either rare-for-me birds or nice photos. As is usually the case, most of the photos were taken by my husband Bill. https://www.flickr.com/photos/29258421@N07/albums/72177720304089349/page1 We wish you all great Christmas Bird Counts and exciting birding in the new year! Charlotte Byers, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jonbirder at comcast.net Tue Dec 6 13:32:10 2022 From: jonbirder at comcast.net (Jon Houghton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Gyrgalcon redux? Message-ID: <1817662447.432412.1670362330762@connect.xfinity.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rwlawson5593 at outlook.com Tue Dec 6 14:22:04 2022 From: rwlawson5593 at outlook.com (Rachel Lawson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Crow roost at Magnuson Park, Seattle? Message-ID: A friend of mine was at Magnuson Park yesterday around 3-4:00pm, and she says there was an enormous number of crows down by the lakeshore near the lifeguard station, more than she has ever seen at one time. Is there a new winter roost at Magnuson, or were they just staging to continue north? Rachel Lawson Seattle rwlawson5593@outlook.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From constancesidles at gmail.com Tue Dec 6 14:25:30 2022 From: constancesidles at gmail.com (Constance Sidles) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Crow roost at Magnuson Park, Seattle? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Rachel and Tweets, the crows stage here before heading over to the UW Bothell campus to roost for the night. As I understand it, this gigantic flock of crows is the same flock that used to roost on Foster Island years ago. That flock split into two: half went to a new roost in the Renton area; half went to the new roost in Bothell. The flock has continued to grow. In the winter, you can see a river of crows heading north and east in the late afternoon, coming from all over the city, stopping to preen, feed, and I guess gossip at Magnuson for a little while before heading out. - Connie > On Dec 6, 2022, at 2:22 PM, Rachel Lawson wrote: > > A friend of mine was at Magnuson Park yesterday around 3-4:00pm, and she says there was an enormous number of crows down by the lakeshore near the lifeguard station, more than she has ever seen at one time. Is there a new winter roost at Magnuson, or were they just staging to continue north? > > Rachel Lawson > Seattle > rwlawson5593@outlook.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 marvbreece at q.com Tue Dec 6 19:19:07 2022 From: marvbreece at q.com (MARVIN BREECE) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Kent goldfinches Message-ID: I visited Frager Rd & S 204th St in Kent again, hoping to get another look at the Lesser Goldfinches I saw there yesterday. Today the lessers were replaced by AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. I could not locate a single lesser. I took some videos for comparison purposes between the 2 goldfinches. Videos: https://flic.kr/ps/376fhN Marv Breece Tukwila, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jonbirder at comcast.net Tue Dec 6 20:41:03 2022 From: jonbirder at comcast.net (Jon Houghton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Gyrgalcon redux? In-Reply-To: <1817662447.432412.1670362330762@connect.xfinity.com> References: <1817662447.432412.1670362330762@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: <1115769704.3314762.1670388063228@connect.xfinity.com> Hi Again Tweets - We returned to the aforementioned location about 1500 and found and photographed the for-sure Gyr on the same telephone pole as originally seen. Tail much longer than the wings. Again, left to go chase ducks and landed on a distant post. - Jon > On 12/06/2022 1:32 PM Jon Houghton wrote: > > > On an SAS field trip today about 1315, we saw a probable Grufalcon on Bayview Edison road south of Sullivan Rd. First perched on phone pole then did an unsuccessful power dive at a flock of ducks. It landed on a post well west of the road. - Jon Houghton, Edmonds > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jonbirder at comcast.net Tue Dec 6 20:51:46 2022 From: jonbirder at comcast.net (Jon Houghton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Gyrgalcon redux? (plus SEOW galore!) In-Reply-To: <1115769704.3314762.1670388063228@connect.xfinity.com> References: <1817662447.432412.1670362330762@connect.xfinity.com> <1115769704.3314762.1670388063228@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: <2013076196.3314969.1670388707047@connect.xfinity.com> Also - I forgot to mention that we saw at least 10 Short-eared owls between the West 90, to Bayview Edison Road (north of Sullivan), and the East 90. Quite a show! The Samish delivers!! Happy Birding - Jon > On 12/06/2022 8:41 PM Jon Houghton wrote: > > > Hi Again Tweets - We returned to the aforementioned location about 1500 and found and photographed the for-sure Gyr on the same telephone pole as originally seen. Tail much longer than the wings. Again, left to go chase ducks and landed on a distant post. - Jon > > > > On 12/06/2022 1:32 PM Jon Houghton wrote: > > > > > > On an SAS field trip today about 1315, we saw a probable Grufalcon on Bayview Edison road south of Sullivan Rd. First perched on phone pole then did an unsuccessful power dive at a flock of ducks. It landed on a post well west of the road. - Jon Houghton, Edmonds > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marvbreece at q.com Thu Dec 8 07:27:57 2022 From: marvbreece at q.com (MARVIN BREECE) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Lesser vs American Goldfinches Message-ID: <3PBZ1TIOLIU4.VEDUSK8NHUM62@luweb02oc> There have been valid questions as to whether the finches I recently posted on Tweeters as lesser were actually american instead, since some field marks do not match certain field guides. I am not an expert on any finch, so I won't address individual variation within Lesser Goldfinch. I just put 2 videos on Flickr that I took in Tukwila, WA in January of this year. Both videos show both finch species side by side for comparison. In one video, the AMERICAN GOLDFINCH shows a small white patch at the base of the primaries while the LESSER GOLDFINCH apparently shows none. This is the exact opposite of what one might expect. I urge anyone with doubts to review these 2 videos of winter finches and I believe it will be obvious that all birds of the same species are not cookie cutter copies of each other. When it comes to bird ID, there can be many shades of grey. https://flic.kr/p/2o4Lmcv https://flic.kr/p/2o4JWYe Marv Breece Tukwila, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From merdave at homenetnw.net Thu Dec 8 13:06:45 2022 From: merdave at homenetnw.net (merdave@homenetnw.net) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Info. for Bridgeport CBC Message-ID: <9941e77597875bd0e1038350f116df8d@homenetnw.net> The Bridgeport CBC is Wed., Dec. 14th. If you are planning on attending, but haven't reached Mike or myself, please do asap. We are going to meet at the McDonald's in Brewster at 8:00 a.m. There will not be a get together at the end of day. We would appreciate it if you leave your maps and bird lists at Mike's home at the end of your day. The address is 1530 Douglas. Thanks so much. Hope the weather cooperates! Meredith From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Thu Dec 8 13:35:14 2022 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (Michael Hobbs) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2022-12-08 Message-ID: Tweets - It was damp and dark for most of the morning. The light rain and wind let up pre-dawn, leaving us with light winds, mizzle, and damp. Not a very birdy day, with long stretches of nothing but robins. There were LOTS of robins, and crows. Coots and geese were also in the triple digits, with Golden-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos around 50 each. Everything else was pretty sparse and scarce. Highlights: - Ring-necked Pheasant - We saw George a couple of times, for our first record since before Thanksgiving (which apparently he survived) - Wilson's Snipe - Nice looks at ten or more along the slough downstream of the weir - BARN OWL - One flew past the Viewing Mound around 7:15, our first in 3.5 months - Hairy Woodpecker - One near the Heronry - AMERICAN DIPPER - Just our 4th ever; one foraging in the near side channel of the slough, about 100 yards downstream of the weir - Varied Thrush - 3 or 4 near the concert venue - Savannah Sparrow - 2 or 3 in the East Meadow; only our 7th-ever December sightings This was our first DIPPER since 2016, and obviously First of Year (*FOY*). We now have single sightings in each of June, August, October, and December. No obvious pattern there. Misses today included Common Merganser, Northern Shrike, Bushtit, Marsh Wren, Purple Finch (maybe heard one very distantly), and Pine Siskin. For the day, 54 species. = Michael Hobbs = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zinke.pilchuck at gmail.com Thu Dec 8 14:16:35 2022 From: zinke.pilchuck at gmail.com (Brian Zinke) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] WDFW statement on avian influenza outbreak among waterfowl around Skagit Bay Message-ID: >From WDFW statement: "Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) biologists recently responded to reports of sick or dead waterfowl in western Skagit County on and around Skagit Bay, as well as in northwestern Snohomish County and on Camano Island and Port Susan in Island County. WDFW has retrieved more than 700 deceased birds of several species?primarily juvenile snow geese?from this area. Samples have been taken from these birds for testing for avian influenza (also known as bird flu), with H5N1 strain Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) suspected. WDFW continues to ask members of the public who find sick or dead birds to report them immediately using this online form and not touch them. As resources are available, biologists may respond to remove bird carcasses and, if in an area or species where avian influenza has not been confirmed, test for the virus. Due to the magnitude of this outbreak, WDFW staff will not be able to respond to all reported cases." ---- *Read the full statement from WDFW here:* https://wdfw.wa.gov/newsroom/wdfw-statement/wdfw-statement-avian-influenza-outbreak-among-waterfowl-around-skagit-bay -- [image: Logo] Brian Zinke Executive Director phone: (425) 232-6811 email: director@pilchuckaudubon.org Pilchuck Audubon Society 1429 Avenue D, PMB 198, Snohomish, WA 98290 [image: Facebook icon] [image: Twitter icon] [image: Instagram icon] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zinke.pilchuck at gmail.com Thu Dec 8 14:54:26 2022 From: zinke.pilchuck at gmail.com (Brian Zinke) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds CBC Message-ID: Hi Tweets, The Edmonds Christmas Bird Count will be Saturday, December 17 and we could use some more feeder/yard counters to ensure better coverage. If you live within the circle boundaries, we'd love to have 30 minutes of your time that day to count the birds at your residence. Cities within the circle include: Edmonds, Mukilteo, Lynnwood, southern Everett, Mountlake Terrace, Bothell, Mill Creek, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, and Maltby. To view a map of the circle, please visit our CBC webpage here: https://www.pilchuckaudubon.org/christmas-bird-count If you'd like to help us out and participate, or if you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks! Brian Zinke -- [image: Logo] Brian Zinke Executive Director phone: (425) 232-6811 email: director@pilchuckaudubon.org Pilchuck Audubon Society 1429 Avenue D, PMB 198, Snohomish, WA 98290 [image: Facebook icon] [image: Twitter icon] [image: Instagram icon] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kloshewoods at outlook.com Fri Dec 9 12:53:13 2022 From: kloshewoods at outlook.com (Jerry Tangren) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Eastern wood warbler this morning Message-ID: Without a photograph, this will be one that got away. Saw a sparrow sized bird moving around in the Virginia creeper next to the mailbox this morning. Assumed it would be the song sparrow that frequents that area of the yard. Instead it gave a call much thinner than any of the usual wintering sparrows. When it popped into view for a few moments about twelve feet away, I immediately thought eastern wood warbler. It was a plain gray bird with two conspicuous wing bars, indistinct markings on the underparts, and a warbler bill. I could see no color on the bird, but considering the gray overcast, I could have missed it. The bird flew off into a patch of Oregon grape and did not reappear. My thought is pine warbler since no similar warbler can be as plain. However, it would be noteworthy only if and when I can get a photograph. Otherwise, blackpoll warbler can not be ruled out. --Jerry Tangren East Wenatchee, WA Get Outlook for iOS -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com Fri Dec 9 13:56:29 2022 From: cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com (Christopher Clark) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Pierce County Black Phoebes Message-ID: Good afternoon my fellow birders, Today (Dec. 9th) I heard two Black Phoebes (photos of one) at the Saddle Creek remnant in Fife. They were very vocal. The specific location is found in my eBird checklist below. This species is nearly annual now, if not annual, in Pierce County, and I had a hunch there might be at least one here as they've been found in this spot in years past. It's pretty neat to see a species' range expanding right before your very eyes! If you'd like to chase, please note that this location is in the middle of a housing development, with limited parking. As such, please be kind and courteous, and it may be best to visit in the morning/early afternoon on a weekday. There's usually parking when I go at these times. Also, the wetlands are hard to view due to trees. It used to be easier to see the wetlands but not really anymore. Oh well, guess the birds like the extra privacy! https://ebird.org/pnw/checklist/S123699705 Enjoy your birding! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Fri Dec 9 16:19:20 2022 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR Wednesday Walk for 12/7/2022 Message-ID: Dear Tweets, After being away since the middle of October, I had a very warm welcome back to the Wednesday Walk at Nisqually. Approximately 20 birders enjoyed cool temperatures in the 30's to 40's degrees Fahrenheit and overcast skies. There was a Low 7.11ft Tide at 11:25am and a High 13.1ft Tide at 3:54pm, so we elected to do our usual route of the Orchard, Access Roads, Loop Trail then Estuary Trail. Highlights included Intergrade Northern Flicker, Orange-crowned Warbler both lutescens and possibly celata subspecies, American Bittern, Virginia Rail, Lincoln's Sparrow, Red-shouldered Hawk, Northern Shrike, Long-billed Dowitcher, and Black-bellied Plover. Starting out at the Visitor Center at 8am we had nice looks of HOODED MERGANSER, RING-NECKED DUCK and AMERICAN WIGEON. Hundreds of CACKLING GEESE, minima variety, lifted off the fields from their roost and flew south toward the agricultural fields where they feed during the day. The Orchard was good for sparrows, kinglets and hummingbirds. We had nice looks of FOX SPARROW, both RUBY-CROWNED and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, BROWN CREEPER, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, BEWICK'S WREN, as well as ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD. Two to three hundred AMERICAN CROW flew over the Refuge from the Hoffman Hill area headed in a southwest direction towards Lacey. The fields along the Access Road are flooded providing nice looks of NORTHERN PINTAIL, AMERICAN WIGEON, NORTHERN SHOVELER and GREEN-WINGED TEAL. We also saw several AMERICAN COOT and WILSON'S SNIPE. We were treated to a great raptor show with excellent views of SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, COOPER'S HAWK, RED-TAILED HAWK and NORTHERN HARRIER. A pair of BALD EAGLES were perched in the Cottonwood Nest Tree over the Twin Barns and we observed one of the eagles return with a freshly caught MALLARD. Investigating the grounds underneath the tree we found different wings and feathers from various species of waterfowl. The Twin Barns Loop Trail provided a nice look of an Intergrade NORTHERN FLICKER with both a black and red malar stripe. The red shafted Northern Flicker has a red malar stripe and the yellow shafted Northern Flicker has a black malar stripe. Seeing a bird with both red and black malar made us think of Intergrade, however the individual we observed had a plain nape. Both MARSH WREN and PACIFIC WREN were very vocal. PURPLE FINCH were foraging in the Oregon Ash. At the Twin Barns cut-off we had a nice mixed flock which included both green (lutescens) and gray headed (orestera?/celata?) varieties of ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and DOWNY and HAIRY WOODPECKER. AMERICAN BITTERN was seen in the slough alongside the Twin Barns. Out on the new dike or Nisqually Estuary Trail, we had great looks at an adult California type, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, that has been previously reported. The RSHA was interacting with a juvenile RTHA along the east side of the surge plain north of the dike along the stand of trees between the Nisqually River and the surge plain. Quick, but good looks of VIRGINIA RAIL and LINCOLN'S SPARROW were seen just north of the dike. GADWALL continue to be regularly found in the surge plain. WESTERN MEADOWLARK are frequently seen flushed between the surge plain and Leschi Slough just north of the dike. The freshwater marsh was good for waterfowl, including Taverner's variety of CACKLING GEESE and numerous RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS. A nice sized flock of AMERICAN GOLDFINCH flew overhead. We observed many YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER near the entrance of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail, along with several GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW and two WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. With the rising tide, the Estuary Boardwalk Trail was great for GREATER YELLOWLEGS, small flocks of LEAST SANDPIPER, and larger flocks of DUNLIN. A PEREGRINE FALCON showed up to hunt the flooding estuary. We had good looks of BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, HORNED GREBE, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and SPOTTED SANDPIPER. Hundreds of NORTHERN PINTAIL and AMERICAN WIGEON were pushed in, we observed 4 EURASIAN WIGEON. We observed thousands of AMERICAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL. The last 750 feet of the boardwalk are closed for hunting season until the end of January. With scopes we were able to spot SURF SCOTER, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, COMMON LOON and BRANDT'S CORMORANT. We had up close good views of SHORT-BILLED GULL, RING-BILLED GULL, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL and WESTERN X GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL hybrid (Olympic Gull). On our return, we had excellent looks of NORTHERN SHRIKE hunting in the freshwater marsh. A single non-breeding plumage BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER just west of Leschi Slough. 17 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were foraging along with waterfowl in the surge plain. COMMON MERGANSER have returned to the Nisqually River overlook area to help complete our merganser sweep for the day. We picked up VARIED THRUSH in the Riparian Forest on our way back. Another great day at the Refuge with 75 species seen, we have seen 271 species for the year. Mammals seen included Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal - smacking it's flippers on the water at the confluence of McAllister Creek and Shannon Slough, and numerous California Sea Lion - in the Nisqually River as well. Until next Wednesday at 8am, good birding! Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Dec 7, 2022 7:51 AM - 4:32 PM Protocol: Traveling 6.372 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Temperatures in the 30?s to 40?s degree Fahrenheit. Overcast skies. A Low 7.11ft Tide at 11:25am and a High 13.1ft Tide at 3:54pm. Mammals seen Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal and California Sea Lion. 75 species (+7 other taxa) Cackling Goose (minima) 600 Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 20 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 20 Northern Shoveler 100 Gadwall 35 Eurasian Wigeon 3 American Wigeon 750 Mallard 300 Northern Pintail 500 Green-winged Teal 2000 Probably more. Upwards of 2,500-3,000 birds observed. Ring-necked Duck 7 Surf Scoter 15 White-winged Scoter 3 Bufflehead 125 Common Goldeneye 40 Hooded Merganser 8 Common Merganser 1 Red-breasted Merganser 40 Horned Grebe 20 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 30 Anna's Hummingbird 2 Virginia Rail 3 American Coot 15 Black-bellied Plover 1 Dunlin 400 Least Sandpiper 50 Long-billed Dowitcher 17 Wilson's Snipe 1 Spotted Sandpiper 2 Greater Yellowlegs 30 Short-billed Gull 75 Ring-billed Gull 50 Glaucous-winged Gull 3 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 5 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 15 Larus sp. 150 Common Loon 6 Brandt's Cormorant 9 Double-crested Cormorant 25 American Bittern 1 Great Blue Heron 30 Northern Harrier 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 25 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Previously reported. Photos taken. Seen perched and flying at 1000 feet with binoculars and spotting scope. An adult California type RSHA with black wings and tail with white barring. Observed from the new dike or Nisqually Estuary Trail just north of the Twin Barns in the stand of trees that run along the west bank of the Nisqually River on the east side of the surge plain. Red-tailed Hawk 3 Belted Kingfisher 3 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 3 Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2 Northern Flicker 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 Northern Shrike 1 American Crow 350 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 20 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Bushtit 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8 Golden-crowned Kinglet 30 Brown Creeper 6 Pacific Wren 3 Marsh Wren 6 Bewick's Wren 3 European Starling 300 Varied Thrush 2 American Robin 20 Purple Finch 2 American Goldfinch 38 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 4 White-crowned Sparrow 2 Golden-crowned Sparrow 15 Song Sparrow 23 Lincoln's Sparrow 1 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4 Western Meadowlark 5 Red-winged Blackbird 40 Orange-crowned Warbler (Gray-headed) 1 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 3 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 35 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S123622353 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marvbreece at q.com Sat Dec 10 15:46:44 2022 From: marvbreece at q.com (MARVIN BREECE) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Kent American & Lesser Goldfinches Message-ID: Today (12.10.22) AMERICAN & LESSER GOLDFINCHES fed together along the Green River at the intersection of Frager Rd & S 204th St in Kent. Video: https://flic.kr/p/2o55YZg Marv Breece Tukwila, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From onewhitecandle at yahoo.com Sun Dec 11 17:12:45 2022 From: onewhitecandle at yahoo.com (Kevin T. Moore) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Yellow-rumped warblers in Northgate References: <824045322.3311258.1670807565250.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <824045322.3311258.1670807565250@mail.yahoo.com> I don?t live in Seattle anymore but when I visit I always have a look around the place where Thornton Creek was ?daylighted? after having been under a parking lot south of Northgate Mall. It?s east of Northgate station and transit center, with public access near 5th Ave NE. Absolutely alive with yellow-rumped warblers. Kevin MooreTemporarily in north?Seattle?? Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stevechampton at gmail.com Sun Dec 11 19:19:17 2022 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Brambling in Port Angeles details Message-ID: I was one of many who did not see the Brambling today, but I can share some details for future searchers. Its ORIGINAL location is the front yard of 1110 E 3rd St, where there is seed on the ground and in feeders. I heard it was also seen yesterday in the backyard of 1230 E 2nd St, viewable from the alley -- the house with the DECORATED GARAGE, where there is a feeder. The next house east, 1234 E 2nd St, also has feeders (often with goldfinches) viewable from Liberty St. My understanding is that the original house and the decorated garage house homeowners are welcoming of people looking in for the bird. Today the bird's only appearance (from about 12 noon to 12:15pm) was in the front yard of 1216 E 2nd St. This is the WOODSY YARD (front and back) with the "backyard habitat" signs. The bird was eating from their Japanese maple (appropriately for this Asian species). I personally spoke with the owners and they welcomed us into their yard, though it's hardly necessary. The bird also flew across the street to 1221 E 2nd St. Given that some of these locations are a 5 min walk apart or more, it behooves birders to coordinate communications, which also allows people to search the neighborhood more without fearing of missing the bird and not being notified. Today some of us were using the Neah Bay WhatsApp group or simply exchanging numbers. Good luck to all! -- Steve Hampton Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marvbreece at q.com Mon Dec 12 07:06:14 2022 From: marvbreece at q.com (MARVIN BREECE) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Kent Lesser Goldfinches Message-ID: Yesterday (12.11.22), after searching once again for LESSER GOLDFINCHES along the Green River, 3 of them appeared as I was leaving at noon. I didn't see them arrive. I had been watching a number of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES the entire hour or so I had been there. This is 2 days in a row for LESSER GOLDFINCHES at this location and 3 sightings since Dec 5. All 3 times I have observed them there have been 3 birds, feeding on yarrow with American Goldfinches. The location is along the Green River at the intersection of Frager Rd and S 204th St in Kent. Just north of the intersection. 4 videos taken yesterday: https://flic.kr/ps/376fhN Marv Breece Tukwila, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marvbreece at q.com Mon Dec 12 15:18:14 2022 From: marvbreece at q.com (MARVIN BREECE) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Tukwila Tundra Swans Message-ID: This morning (12.12.22) there were 10 TUNDRA SWANS on the ground east of Southcenter Parkway and north of the intersection with S 200th. When I passed by again in the early afternoon they were gone. Video: https://flic.kr/p/2o5wE9c Marv Breece Tukwila, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ldhubbell at comcast.net Mon Dec 12 16:47:26 2022 From: ldhubbell at comcast.net (Hubbell) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } The Wonders of Winter Message-ID: <37F12B18-FEDE-431A-8027-2AE9509C1364@comcast.net> Tweeters, Winter is just around the corner, but it feels like it is already here. Which made me think we needed to see some heart-warming photos. I hope these help. https://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-wonders-of-winter.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 dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Dec 12 17:26:47 2022 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] OUTDOOR LIFE: The Utah Swan Season Closed Early Because Some Hunters Are Targeting a Protected Species Message-ID: <9730F1F0-9A22-421B-9543-511A8014896F@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Tue Dec 13 01:49:02 2022 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Speaking up for invisible raptors References: <20CC6F6A-EED6-4819-BDD7-C5D28B77B99E@gmail.com> Message-ID: <01449DE7-BA01-40A8-8658-CB8587974A4B@gmail.com> > Speaking up for invisible raptors > > https://phys.org/news/2019-03-invisible-raptors.html? > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Tue Dec 13 15:31:54 2022 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk - Thursday, December 15 Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, The Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagles Pride Golf Course (GC) birdwalk is scheduled for Thursday, December 15. 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. When you turn into the course entrance, take an immediate left onto the road to the driving range - that's where we meet. Also, to remind folks that haven't been here before, you don't need any ID to attend these birdwalks. Hope you're able to make it! Definitely dress for the weather, 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 marvbreece at q.com Tue Dec 13 16:57:50 2022 From: marvbreece at q.com (MARVIN BREECE) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harris's Sparrow Message-ID: Today (12.13.22) there was a first winter HARRIS'S SPARROW at the silage pile on Thomle Rd, south of Stanwood in Snohomish County. Marv Breece Tukwila, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From beckyg.sea at gmail.com Tue Dec 13 17:28:37 2022 From: beckyg.sea at gmail.com (Becky Galloway) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Northern Shrike in Edison Message-ID: We had a lovely birding day today; the relative darkness due to the overcast brought out a number of hunting short-eared owls between the West 90 and the East 90, even one that perched on a telephone wire for at least 10 minutes. But the most exciting find was at the top of a deciduous tree, on the left going through Edison, a Northern Shrike. Could clearly see the mask and the hooked bill. Very fun! -- Rebecca Galloway Shoreline, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davearm at uw.edu Tue Dec 13 20:55:06 2022 From: davearm at uw.edu (davearm@uw.edu) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Gyrfalcon bayview edison rd Message-ID: <4DB17497-5235-440E-A396-0EEF0890331E@uw.edu> Read a post by Jon Houghton a week back about the gyrfalcon on the Bayview Edison Rd. Since it would be a lifer for me, I dragged a neighbor on the long expedition, and long shot, to find the regal bird. Headed north on Whitney Bayview rd off of Hwy 20. It does some doglegs then straightens out heading north. Quickly approached the Padilla Bay Trail head. Immediately saw a red-tailed hawk on a pole before the trailhead, then noticed a light colored bird perched 3 poles further along?.it was the gyrfalcon. Great view with binos, then it flew back south to the pole at the trail head parking lot. Got it in the spotting scope for long view. Such a beautiful bird. As happens, eBird questioned the entry. Winter sightings of gyrfalcons in that area have seemed regular for several years now. david armstrong Sent from my iPhone From drisseq.n at gmail.com Wed Dec 14 09:52:30 2022 From: drisseq.n at gmail.com (N D) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Brambling Message-ID: I spotted it coming in to feed at 1110 E 3rd St. this morning around 9am. Several of us arrived early and staked out the piles of seed kindly put out by the homeowner who even invited us into the yard. But there?s no need to go in. Viewing from the street is just fine. Eventually six of us saw the bird just now. Continuing. Ciao! Nadine -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From drisseq.n at gmail.com Wed Dec 14 09:53:17 2022 From: drisseq.n at gmail.com (N D) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Brambling In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Port Angeles, WA, folks. On Wed, Dec 14, 2022 at 09:52 N D wrote: > I spotted it coming in to feed at 1110 E 3rd St. this morning around 9am. > Several of us arrived early and staked out the piles of seed kindly put out > by the homeowner who even invited us into the yard. But there?s no need to > go in. Viewing from the street is just fine. Eventually six of us saw the > bird just now. Continuing. > Ciao! > Nadine > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From grzebiuszkaziemna at gmail.com Wed Dec 14 13:48:40 2022 From: grzebiuszkaziemna at gmail.com (Stan Bezimienny) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Gyrfalcon bayview edison rd Message-ID: I photographed the gyrfalcon yesterday, within 1/4 mile from where I saw one last February. Does anyone think it may be the same bird? Hard to prove, of course, but many people saw the same banded rough-legged hawk for several years (3 or 4 winters) on B-E Rd, sticking to the same patch and even the same poles (sadly, not this winter). Stan From rchrdschndr at gmail.com Wed Dec 14 15:41:50 2022 From: rchrdschndr at gmail.com (Richard Schneider) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Brambling today Message-ID: I missed the morning sighting by a few minutes. Made another pass about 2 pm, and there it was, with other ground feeders, nice long look. This was at 1110 E 3rd also. Richard Schneider Port Angeles WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nreiferb at gmail.com Wed Dec 14 16:00:19 2022 From: nreiferb at gmail.com (Nelson Briefer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Goshawk Mature Message-ID: Goshawk from my deck. The hawk was mature at about 150 feet altitude. Circling rapidly and flapping, for two circles. The bright sun was low, at 3:40 pm. The sighting was naked eye. The hawk was probably coming from the town and was heading back into the forest. Lapsed time of observation about 20 seconds. The bright sun reflected off the ventral areas. Nelson Briefer- Anacortes. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From martinmuller at msn.com Wed Dec 14 20:22:50 2022 From: martinmuller at msn.com (Martin Muller) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday lessons on the Samish Flats Message-ID: Spent a nice day on the Samish Flats. Mostly between Edison and down to Highway 20. First: I dipped on the Gyr. Didn?t get to the Padilla Bay area until mid-afternoon. I did have a Northern Shrike, early off Field Rd. A bit farther south than yesterday?s report by Rebecca Galloway. As reported on tweeters, lots of Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owls at the ?East 90? (90 degree angle in Bayview Edison Road, just SW of Edison). Eagles in every tall tree. A fly-by of an adult Cooper?s Hawk. Found a few American Kestrels, but those were the only falcons I saw. Unusual not to find at least a Peregrine or two. I tried. Around 9:30 along Sullivan Road (east off Bayview Edison Rd.) I noticed a juvenile Snow Goose and a Mallard hen, standing by themselves out in the middle of the open field. Not a healthy situation. Through my scope I could see the Snow Goose had some equilibrium problems. It would raise its head and then, as if it was dizzy, it would stagger backwards in a circle. The rest of the time it simply seemed unsteady (like somebody nodding off and jerking their head back up). Obviously an impaired bird. Within a few minutes a juvenile Northern Harrier got ambitious and struck the much larger goose. The goose flew up and the Harrier strafed it again and dislodged some feathers. The goose flew almost straight up but then appeared to run out of gas and tumbled down into the field. A ?dead giveaway? of distress and sure enough an almost full adult Bald Eagle (few brown streaks on white head and tail) came to investigate. It dove on the goose but impending death gave the goose ?wings.? The eagle landed The goose wisely sped away. A sub-adult Bald Eagle took up the chase. Four times the goose outmaneuvered aerial attacks by the eagle. The eagle made contact with the goose twice. A few feathers dislodged on the first hit but it actually grabbed hold of the goose in mid-flight on the second try and the goose violently jerked back as it lost forward momentum. This actually dislodged it from the eagle?s tenuous grasp (one talon on a leg). The goose righted itself and redoubled its efforts. The sub-adult eagle gave up but another adult eagle took over. I watched the whole thing through the scope/camera (got some really mediocre video footage of the goose?s ordeal). Eventually the goose, with the eagle hot on its heels, disappeared behind a building along the Samish Bay dike to the north. I suspect the eagle got the goose, because within a minute an swarm of eagles descended upon the area, with a lot of circling and diving going on. My hope is that the goose wasn?t infected with Avian Flu (HPAI). A bit later I spent some time watching Rough-legged Hawks (2) hunting rodents in the fields farther south along Bayview Edison Rd. After a nice hover against the north wind one dropped down and appeared successful. It was footing (repeatedly pinching) something in the grass. When it took off it (inadvertently, I assume) brought a bunch of grass with into the air. This drew the unwanted attention from a sub-adult Bald Eagle that gave chase. After two missed strikes at the Rough-leg circling up, the Rough-leg used its shorter turning radius to maneuver into a position slightly behind the Bald Eagle, making it impossible for the eagle to steal the meal. They circled for well over eight minutes (!) before the eagle finally gave up. The Rough-leg did a slow shallow stoop and eventually disappeared behind a bunch of small bushes, presumably to devour it?s hard-earned meal. After striking out on the Gyrfalcon I headed south past La Conner, taking Best Rd. After crossing the Skagit River I turned left and found the field to the north (up against the dike) hosting a bunch of Trumpeter Swans (30) and Snow Geese (20). Also found one Tundra Swan with a lot of Yellow on its bill. Final stop was at the Fir Island Farm Reserve (Talking Field No. 3) where there were lots of ducks, some eagles, a few Dunlin, and one photogenic Greater Yellowlegs. Cheers, Martin Muller, Seattle martinmuller@msn.com From cohenellenr at yahoo.com Wed Dec 14 21:09:27 2022 From: cohenellenr at yahoo.com (Ellen Cohen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] health benefits of birding References: <1094903493.203600.1671080967640.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1094903493.203600.1671080967640@mail.yahoo.com> The Surprising Health Benefits of Bird-Watching | | | | | | | | | | | The Surprising Health Benefits of Bird-Watching Spending time outdoors with a pair of binoculars is good for your body and soul. The upcoming Audubon Christmas ... | | | -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From klawitterrichard at yahoo.com Thu Dec 15 04:49:48 2022 From: klawitterrichard at yahoo.com (rick klawitter) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Juncos References: <2447723A-F425-4AF3-A4FD-8B7CCB475B49.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2447723A-F425-4AF3-A4FD-8B7CCB475B49@yahoo.com> Hello - I?ve been watching a healthy number of juncos at my feeder and noticing some interesting variations. A couple of birds are very richly colored. And then there is one grayish bird, not slate-colored, which I know from the Midwest. So I am looking for someone who I can send a photo to and to tell me that it?s an ordinary Oregon junco and not a Cassiar. Thanks Richard Klawitter, Port Angeles Sent from my iPhone From teresa at avocetconsulting.com Thu Dec 15 07:17:49 2022 From: teresa at avocetconsulting.com (Teresa Michelsen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Juncos In-Reply-To: <2447723A-F425-4AF3-A4FD-8B7CCB475B49@yahoo.com> References: <2447723A-F425-4AF3-A4FD-8B7CCB475B49.ref@yahoo.com> <2447723A-F425-4AF3-A4FD-8B7CCB475B49@yahoo.com> Message-ID: It's not impossible, I had a Cassiar in Snoqualmie on Jan 1 a few years ago... checked it with all the experts and sure enough :) Curious what you find out Teresa Michelsen Hoodsport, WA -----Original Message----- From: Tweeters On Behalf Of rick klawitter Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2022 4:50 AM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Juncos Hello - I?ve been watching a healthy number of juncos at my feeder and noticing some interesting variations. A couple of birds are very richly colored. And then there is one grayish bird, not slate-colored, which I know from the Midwest. So I am looking for someone who I can send a photo to and to tell me that it?s an ordinary Oregon junco and not a Cassiar. Thanks Richard Klawitter, Port Angeles Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From 1northraven at gmail.com Thu Dec 15 12:49:56 2022 From: 1northraven at gmail.com (J. Christian Kessler) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Any Gyr sighting today Message-ID: Danish Flats or Fir Island? Chris Kessler Sent from my iPhone From 1northraven at gmail.com Thu Dec 15 13:18:01 2022 From: 1northraven at gmail.com (J. Christian Kessler) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Any Gyr sighting today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Samish Flats. Like those with some education but no real intelligence, the software has to ?correct? me Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 15, 2022, at 12:50 PM, J. Christian Kessler <1northraven@gmail.com> wrote: > > ?Danish Flats or Fir Island? > > Chris Kessler > > Sent from my iPhone From mmaron101 at gmail.com Thu Dec 15 13:33:29 2022 From: mmaron101 at gmail.com (Mason Maron) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Hitching a Ride to the Brambling Tomorrow (Please!) Message-ID: Hi Everyone, I?ll briefly be back home in Renton tomorrow (Friday) and was hoping to go up to Port Angeles to see the Brambling. However, due to some unexpected issues I?m no longer able to get up there myself. If there?s anyone heading up that way tomorrow from King County who?s willing to take a stray birder, please let me know? I can meet you anywhere in the county for pickup and I?d be happy to cover gas costs and buy you lunch :) Thank you, Mason Maron -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Thu Dec 15 14:43:20 2022 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (Michael Hobbs) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2022-12-15 Message-ID: Tweets - High fog seemed to hold the cold beneath it this morning, but the frosty start was fairly quickly moderated as the fog dispersed. A really pretty morning with some fairly good birding, although long stretches of quiet continue to be the norm. Highlights: - Cackling Goose - Around 1200 on the grass soccer fields, our first big flock of the winter - Cooper's Hawk - One bird flying high and gaining altitude - Hairy Woodpecker - One south of the East Meadow - HERMIT THRUSH - One just south of the Dog Meadow on the slough trail, just our 3rd December record ever - Purple Finch - Nice look at a tiny flock with at least two colorful males, just east of the start of the boardwalk - Western Meadowlark - Either two or four, with two just north of the Compost Piles and two on Fields 7-8-9 a few minutes later Despite it being still about a week until the solstice, singing is picking up. Birds heard singing today included Brown Creeper, Dark-eyed Junco, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Red-winged Blackbird. Misses today included Ring-billed Gull (may have seen one), Bushtit, Pine Siskin, and Lincoln's Sparrow. A late scan of the lake turned up a dozen RING-NECKED DUCKS, or they'd appear on this list too. For the day, 54 species. = Michael Hobbs -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdbooker at zipcon.net Thu Dec 15 15:18:57 2022 From: birdbooker at zipcon.net (Ian Paulsen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Best Bird Books of 2022 Message-ID: HI ALL: Just posted my Best Bird Books of 2022. https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2022/12/best-bird-books-of-2022.html sincerely Ian Paulsen Bainbridge Island, WA, USA Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/ From dennispaulson at comcast.net Thu Dec 15 15:37:54 2022 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Fwd=3A_NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_After_a_Frantic_Year?= =?utf-8?b?LCBJdOKAmXMgVGltZSBmb3Ig4oCYU2xvdyBCaXJkaW5n4oCZ?= References: <1044F69A-4F14-4852-B267-C4C32FC13898@comcast.net> Message-ID: Begin forwarded message: > > A new book borrows from the slow food movement to propose a more thoughtful, less competitive form of bird-watching. > > https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/14/realestate/after-a-frantic-year-its-time-for-slow-birding.html?unlocked_article_code=sMsnDnI9NwNF_aInnygJebWWZxNRMcw0_BX_9dDpUf4a8OanhRJx7ttRtUvKywHK53sRjbPGGMuZWHH93NfYbunJ7LqO3HCKH0dJEnPyctlHash4vlXaPKOhZpBwXzstMpFUdv6y9DPsZ3UovhnALkznsAtlAnq5jyBZTkNwH3rP8mqIK86twKaAGtJ1DuNJv2SJWuBiv2VSEsk9BCVKR1CLbWbR__vThn2Z-Wm_9fOHYUSfnEbdyZZx01FNf7JGhjc3K9IFX8XHvb5-Wp9eN9LP99NrurvOjTmdkODKsaHaG_gH7WWjvmE1s5nhe3fYAzvftzzXz0Q9rZMQDU_GQM5D_flrtbCFkCgd2JhrY4lTfUc9caFP_AIV4w&smid=em-share I endorse this whole-heartedly. Dennis Paulson Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Thu Dec 15 16:21:06 2022 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?NYTimes=2Ecom=3A_After_a_Frantic_Year=2C_It?= =?utf-8?b?4oCZcyBUaW1lIGZvciDigJhTbG93IEJpcmRpbmfigJk=?= In-Reply-To: References: <1044F69A-4F14-4852-B267-C4C32FC13898@comcast.net> Message-ID: Amen! Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Dec 15, 2022, at 15:37, Dennis Paulson wrote: > > Begin forwarded message: >> >> A new book borrows from the slow food movement to propose a more thoughtful, less competitive form of bird-watching. >> >> https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/14/realestate/after-a-frantic-year-its-time-for-slow-birding.html?unlocked_article_code=sMsnDnI9NwNF_aInnygJebWWZxNRMcw0_BX_9dDpUf4a8OanhRJx7ttRtUvKywHK53sRjbPGGMuZWHH93NfYbunJ7LqO3HCKH0dJEnPyctlHash4vlXaPKOhZpBwXzstMpFUdv6y9DPsZ3UovhnALkznsAtlAnq5jyBZTkNwH3rP8mqIK86twKaAGtJ1DuNJv2SJWuBiv2VSEsk9BCVKR1CLbWbR__vThn2Z-Wm_9fOHYUSfnEbdyZZx01FNf7JGhjc3K9IFX8XHvb5-Wp9eN9LP99NrurvOjTmdkODKsaHaG_gH7WWjvmE1s5nhe3fYAzvftzzXz0Q9rZMQDU_GQM5D_flrtbCFkCgd2JhrY4lTfUc9caFP_AIV4w&smid=em-share > > I endorse this whole-heartedly. > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sdd.bodhiheart at gmail.com Thu Dec 15 17:47:47 2022 From: sdd.bodhiheart at gmail.com (Ven. Dhammadinna) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Swans flying south over the Cedar River in North Bend Message-ID: I brought my binoculars today on my hike to the top of Rattlesnake Ledge (exit 32 I-90) because last month I didn't have them and I saw 4 swans flying south. From the top of Rattlesnake Ledge at midday I saw 2 swans flying low over Rattlesnake Lake and continuing south through the valley above the Cedar River. Dhammadinna Davis Seattle, WA sdd.bodhiheart@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Thu Dec 15 19:29:16 2022 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR Wednesday Walk Message-ID: Hi Tweets, 28 of us had a really nice day at the Refuge with overcast skies and temperatures in the 30's to 40's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a High 14.1ft Tide at 10:27am for a really nice tidal push of birds towards the Nisqually Estuary Trail. Highlights included BARRED OWL flying across the parking lot in the morning, high counts of WILSON'S SNIPE in the flooded fields, continuing RED-SHOULDERED HAWK between the Nisqually River and the surge plain, AMERICAN KESTREL catching a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, WESTERN SANDPIPER next to the dike, and three EURASIAN WIGEON in the flooded estuary. Starting out at 8:00am at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook we had great looks of RINGED-NECKED DUCK, BUFFLEHEAD and HOODED MERGANSER. As some of our birders approached the Visitor Center from the parking lot between the Visitor Center and the Education Center, a BARRED OWL flew from the Visitor Center Pond into the stand of trees behind the Flag Pole. The Orchard was good for GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW, GOLDEN-CROWNED and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, and ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD. We located a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in a Pear Tree near the Technician building, and spotted a PEREGRINE FALCON flying over towards the flooded fields. The flooded fields along the Access Road had really nice looks of CACKLING GEESE, minimas, NORTHERN SHOVELER, NORTHERN PINTAIL, AMERICAN WIGEON, AMERICAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL, and AMERICAN COOT. With careful inspection we found good numbers of WILSON'S SNIPE, three west of the west parking lot, four south of the Twin Barns, and a flock of 10 flying into the field adjacent to the Twin Barns Observation Platform. The nice look show continued with raptors, two COOPER'S HAWK, both RED-TAILED HAWK and HARLAN'S variety, BALD EAGLE and NORTHERN HARRIER. PIED-BILLED GREBE was seen in the middle of the field south of the Twin Barns. The west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail was great for mixed flocks. CHICKADEES, BROWN CREEPER, KINGLETS, DOWNY/HAIRY WOODPECKER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, SONG SPARROW, FOX SPARROW, and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW. We also heard/saw all three Wrens, BEWICK'S/MARSH/PACIFIC. An intergrade NORTHERN FLICKER continues near the first double bench overlook. Unfortunately we did not relocate the American Bittern seen the previous week in the slough adjacent to the Twin Barns Overlook. We did pick up a flock of BUSHTIT. Getting out onto the new dike or Nisqually Estuary Trail, we had great looks of our wintering RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, hunting the long stand of trees between the Nisqually River and surge plain. We observed good numbers of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. An AMERICAN KESTREL caught one of the Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a nearby NORTHERN SHRIKE was heard. With the tidal push we had excellent numbers of GREEN-WINGED TEAL and AMERICAN WIGEON. GADWALL prefer the surge plain. Hundreds of DUNLIN flew around the Refuge. We saw upwards of 100 LEAST SANDPIPER and a single injured WESTERN SANDPIPER foraged near the entrance of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. WESTERN MEADOWLARK and RED-WING BLACKBIRD foraged along Leschi slough. Both LINCOLN'S SPARROW and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW were observed along the dike. The Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail was good for COMMON GOLDENEYE, HORNED GREBE, and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. We picked up three EURASIAN WIGEON in the large flocks of American Wigeon. We also had good looks of GREATER YELLOWLEGS, SPOTTED SANDPIPER and BELTED KINGFISHER. From the gate closure 750 feet from the Puget Sound Observation Platform we could scope DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, BRANDT'S CORMORANT, COMMON LOON and WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. We also had nice looks of SHORT-BILLED GULL, RING-BILLED GULL, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, and WESTERN X GLAUCOUS-WINGED or 'Olympic' GULL. We observed 71 species for the day, with 171 species for the year. Mammals seen included Coyote, Eastern Gray Squirrel, and Harbor Seal. We also observed Long-toed Salamander and Pacific Chorus Frog. Until next week when we meet again. Good birding and happy CBC Pierce and Thurston County, Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nreiferb at gmail.com Thu Dec 15 21:29:52 2022 From: nreiferb at gmail.com (Nelson Briefer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Cooper=E2=80=99s_hawk_in_the_sky?= Message-ID: I would like to hear more information on the Cooper?s hawk in the sky and climbing higher. This hawk was observed on 2022- 12-15 in Marymoor Park with the field trip of Michael Hobbs. In other words, can anyone define that hawk? Nelson Briefer - Anacortes. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From podoces at icloud.com Fri Dec 16 10:25:45 2022 From: podoces at icloud.com (Alan Knue) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Harris=E2=80=99s_Sparrow_near_Lake_Ballinger?= =?utf-8?q?_Snohomish_County?= Message-ID: <11DC6F18-2A6B-4E70-B631-319940977CD9@icloud.com> Hi all- Harris's Sparrow by the senior center along the creek to the west of the parking lot. All 4 Zonotrichia present in flock. Best, Alan Alan Knue Edmonds, WA From podoces at icloud.com Fri Dec 16 10:37:54 2022 From: podoces at icloud.com (Alan Knue) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Harris=E2=80=99s_Sparrow_near_Lake_Ballinger?= =?utf-8?q?_Snohomish_County?= In-Reply-To: <11DC6F18-2A6B-4E70-B631-319940977CD9@icloud.com> References: <11DC6F18-2A6B-4E70-B631-319940977CD9@icloud.com> Message-ID: The sparrow flock moved west into the neighborhood around intersection of 230th St SW and 72nd Pl W. Lots of feeders in this area so good to check the neighborhood and fringes of Lake Ballinger Park. On Dec 16, 2022, at 10:25, Alan Knue wrote: ?Hi all- Harris's Sparrow by the senior center along the creek to the west of the parking lot. All 4 Zonotrichia present in flock. Best, Alan Alan Knue Edmonds, WA From podoces at icloud.com Fri Dec 16 10:43:36 2022 From: podoces at icloud.com (Alan Knue) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Harris=E2=80=99s_Sparrow_near_Lake_Ballinger?= =?utf-8?q?_Snohomish_County?= Message-ID: <34EBD5F9-F992-43B1-9835-96205E766284@icloud.com> ?The sparrow flock moved west into the neighborhood around intersection of 230th St SW and 72nd Pl W. Lots of feeders in this area so good to check the neighborhood and fringes of Lake Ballinger Park. On Dec 16, 2022, at 10:25, Alan Knue wrote: ?Hi all- Harris's Sparrow by the senior center along the creek to the west of the parking lot. All 4 Zonotrichia present in flock. Best, Alan Alan Knue Edmonds, WA From dennispaulson at comcast.net Fri Dec 16 14:32:08 2022 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Best Bird Books of 2022 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Ian, thanks for that information, very helpful. They all look like worthwhile books, spanning the breadth of our interest in birds. Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Dec 15, 2022, at 3:18 PM, Ian Paulsen wrote: > > HI ALL: > Just posted my Best Bird Books of 2022. https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2022/12/best-bird-books-of-2022.html > > sincerely > Ian Paulsen > Bainbridge Island, WA, USA > Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here: > https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/ > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Fri Dec 16 16:22:29 2022 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Snows on Skagit/Samish Flats In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20221216162229.Horde.Y_sE72ufGcwbJDD0v7Vs0Lr@webmail.jimbetz.com> Hi all, I went out to the 90s today to see if I could catch a sight of the action. There were more birders than birds ... but I did get to see both a short-eared owl and a harrier (actually more than one harrier). One eagle, several hundred swans in various groups of from 30 to 200. Two or three GBH and less than half a dozen hawks ... and two Kestrels. The highlight of the day came when I was leaving. I was driving East on Benson Rd. and off to the North was the largest single flock of Snow Geese I've ever seen. About half of them were "up" and the rest were on the ground. Just the ones in the air were more than I've ever seen (at one time in one group/flock). You know what the Dance of the Dunlins looks like - well this was like that but all bright white Snow Geese. I would guess, conservatively, that there were 15,000. I didn't have the guts to report them all on eBird ... so that number is just 8,000. - Jim in Skagit County From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Fri Dec 16 16:28:00 2022 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagles Pride Golf Course (GC) monthly bird walk - 12-15-2022 Message-ID: Tweeters, The JBLM Eagles Pride GC didn't warm up very much (30degF-38degF) at all for the seven stalwarts that made the birdwalk on Thursday. However, the gorgeously bright day gave us a nice way to finish out the year. Few species today, but two were real standouts for the sheer numbers: MOURNING DOVE - 45 - these were all at the powerline corridor looking toward the Dupont housing area opposite the 16th tee and in two bare deciduous trees, many to a branch. (A couple of AMERICAN ROBIN were mixed in with this grouping.) VARIED THRUSH - 27 - all but two on the fairway on the 13th hole near the green. We hadn't seen anything feeding on the fairways all day (as noted by several folks), so when we came to this hole we were amazed by all the "AMERICAN ROBINS" in the distance. We thought we had four VARIED THRUSH mixed in with the "robins." Then, KS said "Look again. Those are Varied Thrushes." "Get a scope on those!" Sure enough, we had the largest flock of Varied Thrushes feeding on the fairway that any of us had ever seen. Simply spectacular! The 9th hole pond continues to be a great place to start "real birding" at Eagles Pride: RING-NECKED DUCK, AMERICAN WIDGEON, BUFFLEHEAD, and GADWALL were all there, and in goodly numbers. (See list.) Hodge Lake added more MALLARD and our first HOODED MERGANSER (7). All in all, a fine walk today despite the paucity of species. FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, THE MEETING TIME WILL CHANGE FOR THE JBLM EAGLES PRIDE BIRDWALK (SEE BELOW): The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 9:00AM (For January and February ONLY). Starting point is Bldg # 1514, Driving Range Tee, Eagles Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. Upcoming walks include the following: * January 19 (Start 9am) * February 16 (Start 9am) * March 16 (Start at 8am) Anyone is welcome to join us! >From the eBirdPNW report: 26 species Canada Goose 35 Flyover Gadwall 2 9th hole pond American Wigeon 27 19 at 9th hole pond Mallard 12 Ring-necked Duck 10 9th hole pond Bufflehead 5 Three at 9th hole pond; 2 and Hodge Lake Hooded Merganser 7 All at Hodge Lake Mourning Dove 45 All on two bare deciduous trees north of the powerline corridor south of the Dupont housing area. (West of the 16th tee.) This is an estimated count, which could have been a bit higher. Glaucous-winged Gull 1 Seen flying north past the powerline corridor while we were scoping out the Mourning Doves. Great Blue Heron 1 At usual place near 12th hole pond. (Possibly same heron seen at Hodge Lake.) Northern Flicker 10 Steller's Jay 5 California Scrub-Jay 1 American Crow 120 Black-capped Chickadee 22 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 7 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet 10 Red-breasted Nuthatch 30 Brown Creeper 1 On large (many of these here) Douglas-fir to north of road next to 17th tee. Pacific Wren 2 Varied Thrush 27 (See "Comments.") 25 were on the fairway near the green of the 13th hole. Two were on the fairway of the 14th hole. American Robin 18 Dark-eyed Junco 25 Song Sparrow 9 Spotted Towhee 3 View this checklist online at https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fchecklist%2FS124071972&data=05%7C01%7C%7Ca3c230ee7138420c8fc608dadfc46bae%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638068331967769324%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ekERvsO9J77srh233mDSvE8RARtEL0VIfLOmCGyDHKU%3D&reserved=0 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 mj.cygnus at gmail.com Fri Dec 16 17:43:52 2022 From: mj.cygnus at gmail.com (Martha Jordan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] swans along I-90 and Snoqualmie pass zone: Message-ID: Dec 6th there were 9 Trumpeter Swans flying at the pass, over I-90 and the ski lifts. They were heading west from the east side. When they hit a serious fog wall, they all turned around and headed back east. The recent sighting of swans over Rattlesnake Lake confirms again that swans are crossing at the pass, even in really cold winter conditions. If anyone else has observed swans between Cle elum to just east of North Bend please let me know. If you have photos that is even better. I will post a few from the pass on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/nwswans It will be interesting to see what happens this spring. Last spring a number of Trumpeters were seen in foothill lakes on the west side above the North Bend area. Martha Jordan Everett, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jirvingw at comcast.net Fri Dec 16 18:16:20 2022 From: jirvingw at comcast.net (John Whitehead) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Capitol Lake Swans Message-ID: My wife and I went by Capitol lake today. The south basin is full of birds. we counted 21swans I think there was at least one Tundra.? They are on the far side of the lake. There are also thousands of ducks, mostly Widgeons , some Mallards and Gadwall. John From dammerecologist1990 at gmail.com Fri Dec 16 19:17:27 2022 From: dammerecologist1990 at gmail.com (Steven Dammer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Brambling today In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hello All, Cold morning out in Port Angeles, but well worth the trek for myself, and Mason to catch this BRAMBLING! (MY 600th ABA lifer!!!) It was fairly dark all morning and overcast, but the bird offered great looks in the front yard at 1110 3rd. Initially, I caught it at the top of the tree behind the house next door (on the right) from the back alley, at around 9:30, then roughly an hour later, Mason and some others were able to view it underneath the feeders. The bird seems fairly comfortable hanging out with the mixed flock of AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, GOLDEN CROWNED SPARROW, WHITE CROWNED SPARROW, SONG SPARROW, and DARK EYED JUNCO. Additionally there were at least 2 COOPERS HAWKS soaring overhead, at least 1 VARIED THRUSH, Mason recorded a RED CROSSBILL, and FOX SPARROW. On our drive back towards Seattle, we stopped at Port Gamble to scope the cove and had a few more highlights including: LONG TAILED DUCK, BLACK SCOTER, GREATER SCAUP, and at least 1 THAYERS GULL. All in all, a solid morning out along the Northern part of the Peninsula! Cheers, Steven Dammer On Wed, Dec 14, 2022 at 3:42 PM Richard Schneider wrote: > I missed the morning sighting by a few minutes. Made another pass about 2 > pm, and there it was, with other ground feeders, nice long look. This was > at 1110 E 3rd also. > > Richard Schneider > Port Angeles 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 strix.nebulosa1987 at gmail.com Fri Dec 16 22:19:46 2022 From: strix.nebulosa1987 at gmail.com (strix.nebulosa1987@gmail.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Chewelah CBC In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <05aa01d911df$90537cb0$b0fa7610$@gmail.com> Good afternoon everyone. I have had some health issues in October and November which knocked me down for a while so I am little late getting this out. I apologize for that. Wanted let you all know that the Chewelah Christmas Bird count is set for Monday January 2. This is fun count that includes the 40Degrees Ski area down to the Colville River Valley and the north tip of Waits Lake. As in the past we will meet at Zip's in Chewelah. Interested parties feel free to contact me at Michael_munts@fws.gov Mike Colville -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From anne27m at yahoo.com Sat Dec 17 03:46:46 2022 From: anne27m at yahoo.com (Anne Millbrooke) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Baldridge's 1960s bird list References: <969560984.678877.1671277606533.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <969560984.678877.1671277606533@mail.yahoo.com> Second and final time I send this query. Does anyone have a copy of Alan Baldridge's unpublished report?"Systematic List of the Species of Birds Found in the Area of Leadbetter Point, Pacific County, Washington, 1963?1966"? I need to see it for a report in progress on Leadbetter Point.Anne Millbrooke, anne27m@yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From max.kingsbury at gmail.com Sat Dec 17 08:59:17 2022 From: max.kingsbury at gmail.com (Max Kingsbury) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] European Starling anting with Sumac berries Message-ID: Last weekend I was surprised to see a European Starling in my North Seattle backyard anting (rubbing its feathers) with Staghorn Sumac berries. I took a short video after a quick web search didn't show any accounts of Starlings behaving this way. I read that the berries have a high malic acid content, and other bird species have been observed anting with them. Sorry for the poor video quality, I didn't want to risk spooking the bird by going outside: https://youtu.be/tLdpJBx6nVc -Max -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From skepsou at icloud.com Sat Dec 17 10:36:52 2022 From: skepsou at icloud.com (Debbie Mcleod) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?After_a_Frantic_Year=2C_It=E2=80=99s_Time_fo?= =?utf-8?b?ciDigJhTbG93IEJpcmRpbmfigJk=?= Message-ID: When this past year began, I had just moved to an apartment complex that does not allow bird feeders. I had to adjust to the fact I could no longer lure birds to me (I was really spoiled at my previous location, being able to see all the action at my feeders even while indoors.) But I am lucky to have a small patio with some lovely trees between me and a river trail. Now I am enjoying the challenge of locating and identifying the birds as I sit on my patio and they move through my patch. Slowly discovering the diversity of birds living their everyday lives all around me has been so rewarding. And the Merlin sound ID has been really helpful. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kloshewoods at outlook.com Sat Dec 17 11:14:12 2022 From: kloshewoods at outlook.com (Jerry Tangren) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?windows-1252?q?After_a_Frantic_Year=2C_It=92s_Time_f?= =?windows-1252?q?or_=91Slow_Birding=92?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The Merlin sound app can be great fun. You?re right it can be rewarding to just sit out in the yard and let the app run. It?s amazing the number of species by which we?re surrounded. Specifically, the app will often pick up Cedar Waxwings that I?ve overlooked. Last summer, we were looking for Henslow?s Sparrows in a southwest Chicago prairie. I?d missed them on a variety of previous occasions, and Henslow had become a nemesis bird. While we were surrounded by a cacophony of early morning songs, the app pulled the sparrows out of the mix and let us know we were essentially standing in the midst of a colony. The Henslow was my #700 life bird for the ABA area! Don?t know if we would have otherwise overlooked them again. ?Jerry Tangren East Wenatchee, WA Get Outlook for iOS ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Debbie Mcleod Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2022 10:36:52 AM To: Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] After a Frantic Year, It?s Time for ?Slow Birding? When this past year began, I had just moved to an apartment complex that does not allow bird feeders. I had to adjust to the fact I could no longer lure birds to me (I was really spoiled at my previous location, being able to see all the action at my feeders even while indoors.) But I am lucky to have a small patio with some lovely trees between me and a river trail. Now I am enjoying the challenge of locating and identifying the birds as I sit on my patio and they move through my patch. Slowly discovering the diversity of birds living their everyday lives all around me has been so rewarding. And the Merlin sound ID has been really helpful. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From info at shelflifestories.com Sat Dec 17 14:44:39 2022 From: info at shelflifestories.com (Shelf Life Community Story Project) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Sustainable sources for suet and seed Message-ID: <7DAEE91D-6A0F-48EF-9F04-C22236E97643@shelflifestories.com> Hi all I know not all tweeters have bird feeders, but for those who do? I finally found sources that do not package their products in single-use plastic. I?m not promoting these folks for any personal gain; I just hate single use plastic and find that suet containers are especially hard to clean, so they just end up in the landfill. I?ve been getting my suet from this small biz in Vancouver, WA - she wraps the suet cakes in parchment paper. https://www.etsy.com/shop/WildForNature And I get seed cylinders from these people. If you request it, in a note to the seller, when you make a purchase, they?ll wrap the cylinders in parchment paper only. https://www.backyardtailz.com/product-page/wild-bird-seed-cylinder-4-dia-x-7-tall-attracts-all-beak-sizes Both of them make their own from scratch, and they are a big hit at our feeders. Jill -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ednewbold1 at yahoo.com Sat Dec 17 16:19:41 2022 From: ednewbold1 at yahoo.com (Ed Newbold) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] We watch Cooper's Hawk take a Rat in backyard References: <1589868563.865296.1671322781596.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1589868563.865296.1671322781596@mail.yahoo.com> Hi all, Cooper's Hawks are well-known bird-hunters but our two experiences at Butyl Creek of Cooper's Hawk predation involved Rats. The first was a while ago and I got photos of a presumed female bird eating a large Rat in our back yard that I posted on Nextdoor in an attack on users of Rat Poison. The second was a minute ago, a probably male bird that we hadn't seen before first hiding in ambush 20 ft from the creek and sailing in in a fast dive, we at first couldn't see the victim but Delia ascertained it was a young Norway Rat.? Too bad, it was a handsome bird, but it was too quick for me to get a shot which would have helped in the intermittent but neverending Nextdoor battles to combat the counter-productive rat-control-sabotaging idiocy that is Rat Poison. Cheers, Ed -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hubbard at live.com Sat Dec 17 17:19:20 2022 From: hubbard at live.com (Bill Hubbard) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Fellow birder in need Message-ID: Fellow beloved birder and EBird coordinator for the La Grande Oregon area Trent Bay finds himself in the ICU with heart issues. If you're familiar with Trent and his bird/ guide shop or just want to help out, here is his go fund me page. https://gofund.me/da8bc12d Thanks Bill Hubbard -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bobr3531 at yahoo.com Sat Dec 17 23:49:17 2022 From: bobr3531 at yahoo.com (rrowland) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Best Bird Books of 2022 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <221657615.801289.1671349757101@mail.yahoo.com> Thanks for the great list of new bird books!Here is one that I just read about - ?and I think it is especially important for our birding community to recognize the importance of seeing birds as individuals and not just something to check off a ?life list?. Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Backyard? by?Joan E. Strassmann? Robert Rowland?Seattle? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sun Dec 18 01:24:15 2022 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] CNN: Is this the end of the manicured lawn? Message-ID: <66A6CAAB-255F-4F99-A36E-92197727F5A6@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From csimonsen52 at gmail.com Sun Dec 18 09:44:19 2022 From: csimonsen52 at gmail.com (Cynthia Simonsen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Dark Morph Snow Goose Message-ID: Hi all, On the off chance of seeing the snow geese on Benson Rd referenced by Jim, headed out yesterday afternoon. Amazingly, the flock was still there and we spotted a dark morph. A first for me! Willing to share my poor quality cell phone pictures if anyone is interested. Cindy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nreiferb at gmail.com Sun Dec 18 15:44:25 2022 From: nreiferb at gmail.com (Nelson Briefer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Goshawk- female Message-ID: This female NG was circling, twice. While flapping on very flexible and rapid wing beats. The hawk was at about 150 feet altitude. Observation time about 20 seconds. In inactive flight the wings were long and bulky. And flat out to the sides. I?m comparing wing length to body length also wing length to overall length of hawk. This goshawk was not the same NG that I observed on Dec.14. That NG had wings that were either short- winged female or long- winged male. The female of today was observed from ST. Mary?s Church. The hawk was over the Grand View Cemetery. The sighting was at about 2 pm. Nelson Briefer- Anacortes. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ednewbold1 at yahoo.com Sun Dec 18 21:31:53 2022 From: ednewbold1 at yahoo.com (Ed Newbold) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Dan Reiff, send that link again, the one about manicured lawns References: <1075654728.1095270.1671427913635.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1075654728.1095270.1671427913635@mail.yahoo.com> Hi Dan,? Nobody is wishing for an end of the manicured lawn more than me (they may be doing a lot more than me, just not wishing for it more!). So could you resend that link, which did not work when I tried it? & Thanks for all you do, Dan, to keep us informed of scientific/conservation developments. Cheers, Ed -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sun Dec 18 23:42:24 2022 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Is this the end of the manicured lawn? | CNN Message-ID: <47FFE582-1F24-44AB-B4C5-B9D879865AFB@gmail.com> Tweeters, By request, here is the Video version of this story. Dan Reiff MI https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2022/12/17/smr-end-of-manicured-lawn.cnn Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sun Dec 18 23:56:08 2022 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Counterintuitive: Bird diversity increased in severely burned forests of southern Appalachian mountains Message-ID: <3842F00C-040A-47BA-A3A9-2A499F782877@gmail.com> https://phys.org/news/2022-12-bird-diversity-severely-forests-southern.html Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Dec 19 00:02:23 2022 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Individual personalities within species: Adventurous bird personalities can help population cope with climate change Message-ID: https://phys.org/news/2022-11-adventurous-bird-personalities-population-cope.html Sent from my iPhone From meetings at wos.org Mon Dec 19 07:59:43 2022 From: meetings at wos.org (meetings@wos.org) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?WOS_Monthly_Meeting=2C_Mon=2E=2C_Jan=2E_2=2C?= =?utf-8?q?_7=3A30_pm=2C_Cindy_Easterson_to_present_Conversations_w?= =?utf-8?q?ith_Secretive_Birds_and_What_We=27ve_Learned?= Message-ID: <20221219155943.918.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> Secretive birds intrigue us, but their elusive nature makes them difficult to study, so there is remarkably little known about the biology of many wetland birds. Puget Sound Bird Observatory (PSBO) has been studying birds across our regional wetlands for the past six years to assess population trends of five under-detected, wetland species: American Bittern, Sora, Virginia Rail, Green Heron and Pied-billed Grebe.?? Our presenter, Cindy Easterson, manages PSBO?s Regional Wetland Secretive Bird Monitoring project, in addition to providing oversight for a wide variety of other avian monitoring projects.??She will explain how you can participate in this work.?? She holds an integrated Bachelor of Arts and Science Degree with a focus on Wetland Science from the University of Washington and has served on the Board of PSBO since 2010. The meeting will be conducted via Zoom.??Please go to http://wos.org/about-wos/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.??Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm. This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend.?? If you are not yet a member, I hope you will consider becoming one at http://wos.org/about-wos/membership/. Please join us! Vicki King WOS Program Coordinator From benedict.t at comcast.net Mon Dec 19 08:27:19 2022 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Galore... Message-ID: <587EAEC7-C956-4A5F-B2FF-0E7D1266C846@comcast.net> I?ve never seen more than two Varied Thrushes at the same time in our yard here in Burien, but yesterday there were five! The were very busy eating ?berries? from our Strawberry Tree. Also our ?Christmas" Hermit Thrush showed up, also chowing down on the berries. For the past few years we see one or two Hermit Thrushes around this time. Nothing exceptional, but always a treat to see these members of the Turdidae family. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA From dennispaulson at comcast.net Mon Dec 19 09:32:25 2022 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Galore... In-Reply-To: <587EAEC7-C956-4A5F-B2FF-0E7D1266C846@comcast.net> References: <587EAEC7-C956-4A5F-B2FF-0E7D1266C846@comcast.net> Message-ID: <96E49989-ADCD-44F6-A062-4DEC80ADDFDF@comcast.net> Well, two days go we had a male and 2 female Varied Thrushes in the yard. On this snowy morning, we have 3 males and a female. I?ll bet there are more than we think. They are chowing down on millet that we spread all over the yard and picking Cotoneaster berries off the plant along with a robin. A Pileated Woodpecker just chased a flicker off the suet. Sorry it wasn?t there for you CBC people yesterday! Dennis Paulson Maple Leaf neighborhood Seattle > On Dec 19, 2022, at 8:27 AM, Tom Benedict wrote: > > I?ve never seen more than two Varied Thrushes at the same time in our yard here in Burien, but yesterday there were five! The were very busy eating ?berries? from our Strawberry Tree. Also our ?Christmas" Hermit Thrush showed up, also chowing down on the berries. For the past few years we see one or two Hermit Thrushes around this time. > > Nothing exceptional, but always a treat to see these members of the Turdidae family. > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, WA > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Mon Dec 19 16:47:14 2022 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Klickitat County - December editions Message-ID: Hiya Tweets and inland NW birders, I had the opportunity to join the birders of Klickitat for two days of Christmas Bird Counts - Saturday for Trout Lake - Camas Prairie, and Sunday for Lyle-Hood River. What a treat. We had great weather both days (if freezing your bits and pieces off counts as good weather!) All in all, it was pretty quiet bird-wise, but I'll be updating the Klickitat County blog with these last two posts. Saturday has just been updated, (Klickitat County Birding: December 17th - Christmas Bird Count Round 1: Trout Lake-Camas Prairie) and Sunday will follow once I get my feet back under me! Cheers, Tim Brennan Renton [https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgQyenuLIVjwGN-EWA1Erxm3HWf4Uv5wZxZityzVE375lcqxHDMeDig6yIHXl8E-egpdgYi4BiPF_z7I5zidjOH2d64eln_tTKZBmwdZlggP4D4qYG0yXp8cN1OBESrVO_G0Net9suiM57_m8jHw4vFlT7UN3OznqRXhpocB_Ph91T7tJ42ngiaog02Q/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/TheKlickitatCage.PNG] December 17th - Christmas Bird Count Round 1: Trout Lake-Camas Prairie The More the Merrier! A sentence that no extrovert could disagree with, right? An important part of these silly trips I make is to try to st... klickitatcountybirding.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From viper.bob at frontier.com Tue Dec 20 09:49:15 2022 From: viper.bob at frontier.com (viper.bob@frontier.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Galore... In-Reply-To: <96E49989-ADCD-44F6-A062-4DEC80ADDFDF@comcast.net> References: <587EAEC7-C956-4A5F-B2FF-0E7D1266C846@comcast.net> <96E49989-ADCD-44F6-A062-4DEC80ADDFDF@comcast.net> Message-ID: <371213605.1331736.1671558556008@mail.yahoo.com> Yesterday I had 17 varied thrushes in my back yard (Camano Island) all at the same time!! I couldn't believe my eyes. Bob Kothenbeutel On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 09:34:06 AM PST, Dennis Paulson wrote: Well, two days go we had a male and 2 female Varied Thrushes in the yard. On this snowy morning, we have 3 males and a female. I?ll bet there are more than we think. They are chowing down on millet that we spread all over the yard and picking Cotoneaster berries off the plant along with a robin. A Pileated Woodpecker just chased a flicker off the suet. Sorry it wasn?t there for you CBC people yesterday! Dennis Paulson Maple Leaf neighborhood Seattle > On Dec 19, 2022, at 8:27 AM, Tom Benedict wrote: > > I?ve never seen more than two Varied Thrushes at the same time in our yard here in Burien, but yesterday there were five! The were very busy eating ?berries? from our Strawberry Tree. Also our ?Christmas" Hermit Thrush showed up, also chowing down on the berries. For the past few years we see one or two Hermit Thrushes around this time. > > Nothing exceptional, but always a treat to see these members of the Turdidae family. > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, 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 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fcaruso at umass.edu Tue Dec 20 10:25:50 2022 From: fcaruso at umass.edu (Frank Caruso) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Galore... In-Reply-To: <371213605.1331736.1671558556008@mail.yahoo.com> References: <587EAEC7-C956-4A5F-B2FF-0E7D1266C846@comcast.net> <96E49989-ADCD-44F6-A062-4DEC80ADDFDF@comcast.net> <371213605.1331736.1671558556008@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: In Area 1 of the Edmonds CBC on Saturday, we had a record number of Varied Thrushes (way past the previous number) in records going back to 1996. Frank Caruso, Edmonds On Tue, Dec 20, 2022, 9:49 AM viper.bob@frontier.com wrote: > Yesterday I had *17 varied thrushes* in my back yard (Camano Island) all > at the same time!! I couldn't believe my eyes. > > Bob Kothenbeutel > > > On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 09:34:06 AM PST, Dennis Paulson < > dennispaulson@comcast.net> wrote: > > > Well, two days go we had a male and 2 female Varied Thrushes in the yard. > On this snowy morning, we have 3 males and a female. I?ll bet there are > more than we think. They are chowing down on millet that we spread all over > the yard and picking Cotoneaster berries off the plant along with a robin. > > A Pileated Woodpecker just chased a flicker off the suet. Sorry it wasn?t > there for you CBC people yesterday! > > Dennis Paulson > Maple Leaf neighborhood > Seattle > > > On Dec 19, 2022, at 8:27 AM, Tom Benedict > wrote: > > > > I?ve never seen more than two Varied Thrushes at the same time in our > yard here in Burien, but yesterday there were five! The were very busy > eating ?berries? from our Strawberry Tree. Also our ?Christmas" Hermit > Thrush showed up, also chowing down on the berries. For the past few years > we see one or two Hermit Thrushes around this time. > > > > Nothing exceptional, but always a treat to see these members of the > Turdidae family. > > > > Tom Benedict > > Seahurst, 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 > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tcstonefam at gmail.com Tue Dec 20 10:38:22 2022 From: tcstonefam at gmail.com (Tom and Carol Stoner) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Starlings learn Message-ID: The starlings can't use the protected suet feeder, so they sit on the railing below it and gobble up the bits the Northern Flicker is knocking out. Clever critters! Carol Stoner Snowy West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dennispaulson at comcast.net Tue Dec 20 11:29:18 2022 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Starlings learn In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9FB8F34B-2464-4B5F-9A93-7847F0908B40@comcast.net> In our yard, we also have Varied Thrushes and Spotted Towhees that do the same thing routinely. A second flicker may do it also. As usual, the snow has brought so many birds in to the feeders that it?s hard to look away. SIX flickers were in the yard at once this morning, a new record for us. We also have one male each of Downy, Hairy and Pileated coming regularly. One each Townsend?s and (Audubon?s) Yellow-rumped. Thirty Dark-eyed Juncos at least, a White-throated, 2 Golden-crowned and 2-3 Song Sparrows, 2 Spotted Towhees, as many as 4 Varied Thrushes, a European Starling, 2 Steller?s Jays, 3 House Finches. A few each Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, at least one each Red-breasted Nuthatch and Bewick?s Wren. Irregular Band-tailed Pigeons, usually just a few but up to 16 one day. At least 3 Anna?s Hummingbirds at feeders we take in every night. I think that?s all of them, although I should add the six Eastern Gray Squirrels that are regular visitors. We told them we wouldn?t give them any peanuts if they didn?t get along with the birds. And oh yes, they also wait under the suet feeder for a flicker to dislodge some. Dennis Paulson Snowy Maple Leaf, Seattle > On Dec 20, 2022, at 10:38 AM, Tom and Carol Stoner wrote: > > The starlings can't use the protected suet feeder, so they sit on the railing below it and gobble up the bits the Northern Flicker is knocking out. Clever critters! > > Carol Stoner > Snowy West Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From benedict.t at comcast.net Tue Dec 20 12:19:46 2022 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Starlings learn In-Reply-To: <9FB8F34B-2464-4B5F-9A93-7847F0908B40@comcast.net> References: <9FB8F34B-2464-4B5F-9A93-7847F0908B40@comcast.net> Message-ID: <20FFE2FB-3DCF-4110-B7A8-342B6A6616E4@comcast.net> > On Dec 20, 2022, at 11:29, Dennis Paulson wrote: > As usual, the snow has brought so many birds in to the feeders that it?s hard to look away. Just the opposite here. I restocked the suet feeder yesterday, but as soon as the heavy snow started about 2 hours all the birds vacated. Must have found a better resource. > I should add the six Eastern Gray Squirrels that are regular visitors. We told them we wouldn?t give them any peanuts if they didn?t get along with the birds. And oh yes, they also wait under the suet feeder for a flicker to dislodge some. We have two Eastern Gray Squirrels which "kind of" get along with the birds. I say ?kind of? because late last winter the squirrels were up in the vine maple outside our kitchen window gleaning the few remaining maple seeds when a pair of Stellar?s Jays arrived and started to squawk. Then one of the jays flew over and bonked a squirrel on the head! Then the other did the same! The squirrels quickly departed and we didn?t see them again for months. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dkreft052 at gmail.com Tue Dec 20 12:30:00 2022 From: dkreft052 at gmail.com (David Kreft) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Starlings learn In-Reply-To: <20FFE2FB-3DCF-4110-B7A8-342B6A6616E4@comcast.net> References: <9FB8F34B-2464-4B5F-9A93-7847F0908B40@comcast.net> <20FFE2FB-3DCF-4110-B7A8-342B6A6616E4@comcast.net> Message-ID: Be thankful you don?t have wild turkeys. They?re gluttons and run in gangs, pillaging feeders and generally laying waste to the ground beneath. Dave Kettle Falls, WA On Tue, Dec 20, 2022 at 12:20 PM Tom Benedict wrote: > On Dec 20, 2022, at 11:29, Dennis Paulson > wrote: > > > As usual, the snow has brought so many birds in to the feeders that it?s > hard to look away. > > > Just the opposite here. I restocked the suet feeder yesterday, but as soon > as the heavy snow started about 2 hours all the birds vacated. Must have > found a better resource. > > I should add the six Eastern Gray Squirrels that are regular visitors. We > told them we wouldn?t give them any peanuts if they didn?t get along with > the birds. And oh yes, they also wait under the suet feeder for a flicker > to dislodge some. > > > We have two Eastern Gray Squirrels which "kind of" get along with the > birds. I say ?kind of? because late last winter the squirrels were up in > the vine maple outside our kitchen window gleaning the few remaining maple > seeds when a pair of Stellar?s Jays arrived and started to squawk. Then one > of the jays flew over and bonked a squirrel on the head! Then the other did > the same! The squirrels quickly departed and we didn?t see them again for > months. > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, 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 teresa at avocetconsulting.com Tue Dec 20 12:42:25 2022 From: teresa at avocetconsulting.com (Teresa Michelsen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Starlings learn In-Reply-To: References: <9FB8F34B-2464-4B5F-9A93-7847F0908B40@comcast.net> <20FFE2FB-3DCF-4110-B7A8-342B6A6616E4@comcast.net> Message-ID: <1d706446407b4b248dcdb978ce413f00@avocetconsulting.com> OK, if I had been more organized, pictures of this would have been really funny? I got a little wreath made of seeds from WildBirds to put out, and I laid it flat on a platform feeder in my backyard a week or two ago? it IMMEDIATELY snowed a foot. So it was under there, but nobody could see it. A squirrel figured it out and ran up the post and made a little tunnel under the snow into the wreath ? then another squirrel made a different tunnel to it from the other side ? they were both fiercely guarding their entrances and fighting a flurry of other squirrels trying to get in. Then the jays and flickers and towhees got wise and started poking around. Pretty soon the red ribbon tying it up was discarded and bright red on the snow below and the larger birds were succeeding in supplanting the little Douglas squirrels to get at the still snow-covered wreath (the little guys would still run up the back entrance and pilfer some). Very entertaining ? Teresa Michelsen Hoodsport, WA From: Tweeters On Behalf Of David Kreft Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2022 12:30 PM To: Tom Benedict Cc: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Starlings learn Be thankful you don?t have wild turkeys. They?re gluttons and run in gangs, pillaging feeders and generally laying waste to the ground beneath. Dave Kettle Falls, WA On Tue, Dec 20, 2022 at 12:20 PM Tom Benedict > wrote: On Dec 20, 2022, at 11:29, Dennis Paulson > wrote: As usual, the snow has brought so many birds in to the feeders that it?s hard to look away. Just the opposite here. I restocked the suet feeder yesterday, but as soon as the heavy snow started about 2 hours all the birds vacated. Must have found a better resource. I should add the six Eastern Gray Squirrels that are regular visitors. We told them we wouldn?t give them any peanuts if they didn?t get along with the birds. And oh yes, they also wait under the suet feeder for a flicker to dislodge some. We have two Eastern Gray Squirrels which "kind of" get along with the birds. I say ?kind of? because late last winter the squirrels were up in the vine maple outside our kitchen window gleaning the few remaining maple seeds when a pair of Stellar?s Jays arrived and started to squawk. Then one of the jays flew over and bonked a squirrel on the head! Then the other did the same! The squirrels quickly departed and we didn?t see them again for months. Tom Benedict Seahurst, 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 panmail at mailfence.com Tue Dec 20 12:49:11 2022 From: panmail at mailfence.com (pan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] gleaning (was: starlings) Message-ID: <1829145349.391051.1671569351680@fidget.co-bxl> Tweets, Not snow related, nor suet, but natural.? A few years ago when I lived next to a Seattle greenbelt, a Pileated Woodpecker would visit an alder snag just in back of the house and whack away for a couple hours about once every six months.? As the chips flew, a flicker or two usually came in to prospect on the ground below, apparently getting prey the Pileated missed.? I think I recall Song Sparrows in the mix, too.? There's probably a long history of birds gleaning below active woodpeckers.? Of about 2016, Alan Grenon Seattle panmail AT mailfence.com -- Sent with https://mailfence.com Secure and private email -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jemskink at gmail.com Wed Dec 21 16:43:10 2022 From: jemskink at gmail.com (Joan Miller) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Visit Message-ID: I was so delighted to find two Varied Thrushes poking around my yard today! They hung around for quite a while, kicking up duff and grazing under the seed feeder. I was able to get a few good photos. I hope they stick around for a while. It was a busy feeder day, with Juncos, Stellers Jays, Fox Sparrows, Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Chickadees, Flickers and Anna's hummers. Didn't see any Bushtits or Bewick's wrens. Oh, I heard a new bird call - like a soft chuck chuck. Turned out to be the Varied Thrush! Joan Miller West Seattle jemskink at gmail dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dennispaulson at comcast.net Wed Dec 21 17:15:14 2022 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Visit In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <16AEF537-9290-4B34-98F5-1BAC477950AE@comcast.net> Just to add to the tweeters accounts (probably so many more on eBird), we counted 9 Varied Thrushes at one time in our backyard today. Dave Nunnallee told me he had 18 at once in their yard in Issaquah. Clearly a massive flight into the lowlands of western Washington, more than any time in my experience. Anyone who has seen several of them in the same place knows how very aggressive they are. They chase one another constantly, much like hummingbirds that are hardwired to be territorial no matter how abundant the food resource. As usual, the males are the real jerks (oops, I should say at the top of the dominance hierarchy). Dennis Paulson Maple Leaf, Seattle > On Dec 21, 2022, at 4:43 PM, Joan Miller wrote: > > I was so delighted to find two Varied Thrushes poking around my yard today! They hung around for quite a while, kicking up duff and grazing under the seed feeder. I was able to get a few good photos. I hope they stick around for a while. It was a busy feeder day, with Juncos, Stellers Jays, Fox Sparrows, Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Chickadees, Flickers and Anna's hummers. Didn't see any Bushtits or Bewick's wrens. > > Oh, I heard a new bird call - like a soft chuck chuck. Turned out to be the Varied Thrush! > > Joan Miller > West Seattle > jemskink at gmail dot 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 paq at olypen.com Wed Dec 21 17:57:50 2022 From: paq at olypen.com (Patricia Quyle Grainger) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Visit In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We, too, have been enjoying yard visits from Varied Thrushes, with the most being 5 in one day. Nearly every day, I see one or two. Last year, I think I saw one! Pat Grainger Port Townsend paq at olypen dot com Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 21, 2022, at 4:44 PM, Joan Miller wrote: > > ? > I was so delighted to find two Varied Thrushes poking around my yard today! They hung around for quite a while, kicking up duff and grazing under the seed feeder. I was able to get a few good photos. I hope they stick around for a while. It was a busy feeder day, with Juncos, Stellers Jays, Fox Sparrows, Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Chickadees, Flickers and Anna's hummers. Didn't see any Bushtits or Bewick's wrens. > > Oh, I heard a new bird call - like a soft chuck chuck. Turned out to be the Varied Thrush! > > Joan Miller > West Seattle > jemskink at gmail dot 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 stevechampton at gmail.com Wed Dec 21 18:03:37 2022 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Visit In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Both during last winter's snow and again this year Port Townsend has definitely seen a sudden influx of Varied Thrushes. I saw about 30 on my morning walk yesterday, almost topping the robin count. This seems to be when robins and VATHs are willing to eat the leftover crabapples on the trees, though they clearly prefer other berries if they are ripe. On Wed, Dec 21, 2022 at 5:58 PM Patricia Quyle Grainger wrote: > We, too, have been enjoying yard visits from Varied Thrushes, with the > most being 5 in one day. Nearly every day, I see one or two. Last year, I > think I saw one! > > Pat Grainger > Port Townsend > paq at olypen dot com > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Dec 21, 2022, at 4:44 PM, Joan Miller wrote: > > ? > I was so delighted to find two Varied Thrushes poking around my yard > today! They hung around for quite a while, kicking up duff and grazing > under the seed feeder. I was able to get a few good photos. I hope they > stick around for a while. It was a busy feeder day, with Juncos, Stellers > Jays, Fox Sparrows, Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Chickadees, Flickers and > Anna's hummers. Didn't see any Bushtits or Bewick's wrens. > > Oh, I heard a new bird call - like a soft chuck chuck. Turned out to be > the Varied Thrush! > > Joan Miller > West Seattle > jemskink at gmail dot com > _______________________________________________ > 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 > -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tvulture at gmx.com Wed Dec 21 18:30:05 2022 From: tvulture at gmx.com (Diann MacRae) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied thrushes Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From viper.bob at frontier.com Wed Dec 21 21:51:06 2022 From: viper.bob at frontier.com (viper.bob@frontier.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Visit In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1732083004.276307.1671688266024@mail.yahoo.com> I posted on this subject (varied thrushes) 2 days ago and my post seems to have been removed. I would like to know why. Did whoever monitors this site not believe that I could have 17 varied thrushes in my yard all at the same time?Just wondering. Bob Kothenbeutel On Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at 06:04:46 PM PST, Steve Hampton wrote: Both during last winter's snow and again this year Port Townsend has definitely seen a sudden influx of Varied Thrushes. I saw about 30 on my morning walk yesterday, almost topping the robin count. This seems to be when robins and VATHs are willing to eat the leftover crabapples on the trees, though they clearly prefer other berries if they are ripe.? On Wed, Dec 21, 2022 at 5:58 PM Patricia Quyle Grainger wrote: We, too, have been enjoying yard visits from Varied Thrushes, with the most being 5 in one day. Nearly every day, I see one or two. Last year, I think I saw one!? Pat Grainger?Port Townsendpaq at olypen dot com Sent from my iPhone On Dec 21, 2022, at 4:44 PM, Joan Miller wrote: ?I was so delighted to find two Varied Thrushes poking around my yard today! They hung around for quite a while, kicking up duff and grazing under the seed feeder. I was able to get a few good photos. I hope they stick around for a while. It was a busy feeder day, with Juncos, Stellers Jays, Fox Sparrows, Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Chickadees, Flickers and Anna's hummers. Didn't see any Bushtits or Bewick's wrens. Oh, I heard a new bird call - like a soft chuck chuck. Turned out to be the Varied Thrush! Joan MillerWest Seattlejemskink at gmail dot com_______________________________________________ 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 -- ?Steve Hampton?Port Townsend, WA? (qat?y) _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dlwicki at comcast.net Thu Dec 22 10:02:24 2022 From: dlwicki at comcast.net (Dayna yalowicki) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Hummingbird Behavior Message-ID: <98F31A0D-C00B-4006-B506-5A0532CEE5E9@comcast.net> Hello Tweets, I want to share something that my son witnessed yesterday in Mukilteo on the hummingbird feeder outside his office window and inquire as to whether this is normal. Is it territorial or mating behavior? Warning - it isn?t pleasant. While a smallish Anna?s was at the feeder, a larger one flew up, landed on the other?s neck/shoulders and shoved the small one?s head down to the feeder. It?s beak was in the solution. He held it?s head down for 8 minutes, while plucking out feather?s from it?s head. My son began filming at some point. After the 8 minutes, he went out to break it up because he couldn?t stand it anymore and he got to within about one foot of the feeder before the big one flew to a close branch. The small one did not lift it?s head so my son touched it to see if it was alive and it flew off. He said the big one was dive bombing him as he stood there contemplating what he had just witnessed. He didn?t see the small one again. Could this have been mating behavior or resource guarding? Dayna Yalowicki Bothell, Wa Buy Free Range From thesteffs at comcast.net Thu Dec 22 13:27:24 2022 From: thesteffs at comcast.net (KEN STEFFENSON) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes - Huge Flock Message-ID: <6122562.350167.1671744444583@connect.xfinity.com> I saw one varied thrush along a street in Milton (Pierce County) this morning, and that was nice. I then stopped at a local city park for a quick, brisk walk, and was treated to a flock of them on the ground. Amazing. It was difficult to get an accurate count due to their movement, but I counted at least 30, and possibly up to 40 with some outliers away from the main group and in the trees. I usually just see a couple of singles per year in this area, and I have never seen this large a flock in 40 years of birding. Wow. Also 3 trumpeter swans did a low flyover at Levee Pond in Fife yesterday morning. Ken Steffenson Milton, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kelliekvinne at hotmail.com Thu Dec 22 14:09:01 2022 From: kelliekvinne at hotmail.com (Kellie Sagen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Visit Message-ID: Joan, I call that chuck, chuck call the kiss-kiss call. LOL They always show up in my backyard when it snows. I have 16 out there right now. That?s a new record for me. Their antics of chasing after each other, funny posturing, and swooping around is highly entertaining. I continually make the kiss-kiss and whistle calls. It gets them comfortable with me and brings them in closer. I had seven at one time feeding on the ground about 10 feet away. I?m sure my neighbors think I?m a kook. I scattered some cracked corn under my hanging feeders the other day and all the birds are going nuts for it, especially the thrushes. At one point I had three gray squirrels, one Douglas squirrel, and one eastern, cottontail rabbit munching away with all the birds. Quite the sight. Happy snow birding, Kellie Sagen Lake Stevens From bevanport at yahoo.com Thu Dec 22 15:22:42 2022 From: bevanport at yahoo.com (Beverly Davenport) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied thrushes. References: <1521187887.2475048.1671751362373.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1521187887.2475048.1671751362373@mail.yahoo.com> For several days we have had up to 18 varied thrushes between our front and back yards in Edmonds. ?They are chasing each other and are fun to watch. Juncos are there with them also. Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Thu Dec 22 15:46:59 2022 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (Michael Hobbs) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2022-12-22 Message-ID: Tweets - IT WAS COLD. Temperatures, as measured, ranged from 18-23 degrees F. But there was often a breeze which just cut through us sometimes. I'm afraid there were times when we walked a little faster than normal. It was beautifully sunny for part of the morning, though. The slough below the weir was absolutely filled with geese, ducks, and snipe. We had 12 species of waterfowl, plus Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Double-crested Cormorant, and American Coot, all in that zone below the weir! Highlights: - Wood Duck - three or four - Northern Shoveler - at least one - Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, and Green-winged Teal - all very numerous below the weir - Hooded Merganser - at least two below the weir, and a flock of 15 in the slough above the weir - WILSON'S SNIPE - about 15 below the weir! Way more than usual - MERLIN - two sightings, with great looks while we were counting the ducks below the weir - Northern Shrike - One briefly seen in the East Meadow - Varied Thrush - A half-dozen or more around the mansion Last Saturday morning, I worked the Marymoor sector of the Eastside Audubon CBC. The weather was less cold, but also less pleasant than today. It definitely decreased numbers for the morning. But we did have nine species Saturday that we did not have today: Rock Pigeon, Virginia Rail, Ring-billed Gull, Red-tailed Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, and just the eighth Savannah Sparrow ever for December. Misses for the week: Short-billed Gull, Hairy Woodpecker, Bushtit, Pine Siskin, and Lincoln's Sparrow. For the day, 49 species, the same number of species as on Saturday. For the week, though, 58 species. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Thu Dec 22 20:36:57 2022 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 12/21/2022 Message-ID: Hi Tweets! Happy Holidays! 18 of us had a birdy day at the Refuge, despite the chilly weather with mostly cloudy skies, light snow, northerly breeze, and temperatures in the 20's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a Low 8.3ft Tide at 9:40am, and a High 14.3ft Tide at 2:37pm. Highlights included ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER feeding from a sapsucker farm on a Pear Tree, SNOW GOOSE and TRUMPETER SWAN fly overs, AMERICAN KESTREL, two BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER on the mudflats, and AMERICAN PIPITS in the freshwater marsh. Starting out at the Visitor Center at 8am, the Visitor Center Pond was good for RING-NECKED DUCK, BUFFLEHEAD, AMERICAN WIGEON and MALLARD. A WILSON'S SNIPE was bobbing and foraging on the waters edge adjacent to the spring just right of the platform. The Orchard was good for FOX SPARROW and SONG SPARROW. VARIED THRUSH was seen along the entrance road. We had great looks of RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET during a flurry of activity as both the warbler and kinglet fed from the sapsucker farm in a Pear Tree. I'm not sure if they were eating bugs, sap or both, but the little birds were whirling around the tree trunk while two sapsuckers kept busy working on the sap wells. The flooded fields adjacent to the Access Road were great for CACKLING GEESE, NORTHERN SHOVELER, NORTHERN PINTAIL, AMERICAN WIGEON, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, and AMERICAN COOT. A single SNOW GOOSE was seen flying and circling overhead. WESTERN MEADOWLARK was observed foraging in the grassy field just west of the west parking lot. A nice flock of GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS fed by the green gate and two WILSON'S SNIPE flew in to forage along the watersedge. A gorgeous male AMERICAN KESTREL showed off his hovering skills in the chilly breeze. The west entrance to the Twin Barns Loop Trail was good for BEWICK'S/PACIFIC/and MARSH WREN. Both HOUSE FINCH and PURPLE FINCH were heard and seen. The Twin Barns Overlook had great looks of both HAIRY WOODPECKER and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. There were good numbers of AMERICAN ROBIN flying around. On our return from the Estuary Trail in the afternoon the AMERICAN BITTERN was relocated in the slough adjacent to the barns. Unfortunately we were not able to relocate the Red-shouldered Hawk on the Nisqually Estuary Trail or new dike, hopefully it will show again when it warms up over the weekend. With the incoming tide, we did have really nice looks of LEAST SANDPIPER, DUNLIN, GREATER YELLOWLEGS and BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. We probably observed over 1000 Dunlin split up into a few large flocks. We had a nice fly over of a TRUMPETER SWAN. Other Swans were seen out on the boardwalk, but remained unidentified (Trumpeter/Tundra). NORTHERN HARRIER, RED-TAILED HAWK, BALD EAGLE, and PEREGRINE FALCON were all hunting the Refuge. As well COMMON RAVEN looking for carion. Many of our group enjoyed close views of a flock of 15 AMERICAN PIPITS in the freshwater marsh. The Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail was good for COMMON GOLDENEYE, HORNED GREBE, GREATER SCAUP, and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT. We had close looks of SHORT-BILLED GULL, RING-BILLED GULL, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, and WESTERN X GLAUCOUS-WINGED hybrid GULL. We had distant looks at HERRING GULL and EURASIAN WIGEON. BRANDT'S CORMORANT were seen on the Nisqually River channel marker. With the northerly wind and rough chop on the water, it was difficult to scope the water of the reach. A very dark charcoal HARLAN'S variety of Red-tailed Hawk was seen soaring high over the Refuge. On our return we located 4 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER foraging adjacent to GWTE in the north east corner of the surge plain. Two PEREGRINE FALCON harassed each other, nearly locking talons. One was smaller than the other, so perhaps a breeding pair with courtship behavior. A small flock of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER were seen in the freshwater marsh. We saw 70 species for the day, with 171 species for the year. Mammals seen included Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Coyote, Eastern Gray Squirrel, and Harbor Seal. Until next week when we meet again, happy birding. Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Dec 21, 2022 8:02 AM - 3:35 PM Protocol: Traveling 5.856 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Mostly cloudy with light snow. Temperature in the 20?s to 30?s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low 8.3ft Tide at 9:40am, and a High 14.3ft Tide at 2:37pm. Mammals seen Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Coyote, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal. 69 species (+5 other taxa) Snow Goose 1 Cackling Goose (minima) 1000 Canada Goose 50 Trumpeter Swan 1 Trumpeter/Tundra Swan 3 Northern Shoveler 100 Gadwall 25 Eurasian Wigeon 1 American Wigeon 1000 Mallard 250 Northern Pintail 500 Green-winged Teal 750 Ring-necked Duck 8 Greater Scaup 1 Bufflehead 200 Common Goldeneye 30 Horned Grebe 6 Anna's Hummingbird 1 American Coot 20 Black-bellied Plover 2 Killdeer 6 Dunlin 1000 Least Sandpiper 150 Long-billed Dowitcher 4 Wilson's Snipe 3 Greater Yellowlegs 25 Short-billed Gull 75 Ring-billed Gull 75 Herring Gull 1 Glaucous-winged Gull 3 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 5 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 50 Larus sp. 150 Brandt's Cormorant 7 Double-crested Cormorant 5 American Bittern 1 Great Blue Heron 10 Northern Harrier 2 Bald Eagle 10 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk (Harlan's) 1 Belted Kingfisher 2 Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 4 American Kestrel 1 Peregrine Falcon 2 American Crow 50 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 20 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet 15 Brown Creeper 7 Pacific Wren 3 Marsh Wren 2 Bewick's Wren 2 European Starling 600 Varied Thrush 2 American Robin 25 American Pipit 15 House Finch 1 Purple Finch 2 American Goldfinch 5 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 7 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1 White-crowned Sparrow 4 Golden-crowned Sparrow 40 Song Sparrow 25 Spotted Towhee 6 Western Meadowlark 2 Red-winged Blackbird 8 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 4 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S124394252 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jdanzenbaker at gmail.com Fri Dec 23 06:25:31 2022 From: jdanzenbaker at gmail.com (Jim Danzenbaker) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Visit In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Nice! There are Varied Thrushes all over the place in the hills to the east of Battle Ground in Clark County. Jim Danzenbaker Battle Ground, WA On Thu, Dec 22, 2022 at 2:09 PM Kellie Sagen wrote: > Joan, I call that chuck, chuck call the kiss-kiss call. LOL > > They always show up in my backyard when it snows. I have 16 out there > right now. That?s a new record for me. Their antics of chasing after each > other, funny posturing, and swooping around is highly entertaining. I > continually make the kiss-kiss and whistle calls. It gets them comfortable > with me and brings them in closer. I had seven at one time feeding on the > ground about 10 feet away. I?m sure my neighbors think I?m a kook. > > I scattered some cracked corn under my hanging feeders the other day and > all the birds are going nuts for it, especially the thrushes. At one point > I had three gray squirrels, one Douglas squirrel, and one eastern, > cottontail rabbit munching away with all the birds. Quite the sight. > > Happy snow birding, > > Kellie Sagen > Lake Stevens > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- Jim Danzenbaker Battle Ground, WA 360-702-9395 jdanzenbaker@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Fri Dec 23 06:43:59 2022 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes Visit In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <47BC0FC3-729E-4D51-BAF2-1926B78C110A@comcast.net> After all these reports, I?m curious as to where all these birds are coming from. Are these birds moving locally from higher places to lower places? Or are they northern birds pushed south (or eastern pushed west)? In my experience Varied Thrushes seem to ?appear? during cold/snowy spells. But where are they the rest of the time? Hidden in plain sight? Population movements, especially rapid changes, are fascinating. How much do we know about this kind of behavior? Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Dec 23, 2022, at 06:25, Jim Danzenbaker wrote: > > Nice! > > There are Varied Thrushes all over the place in the hills to the east of Battle Ground in Clark County. > > Jim Danzenbaker > Battle Ground, WA > > On Thu, Dec 22, 2022 at 2:09 PM Kellie Sagen > wrote: >> Joan, I call that chuck, chuck call the kiss-kiss call. LOL >> >> They always show up in my backyard when it snows. I have 16 out there right now. That?s a new record for me. Their antics of chasing after each other, funny posturing, and swooping around is highly entertaining. I continually make the kiss-kiss and whistle calls. It gets them comfortable with me and brings them in closer. I had seven at one time feeding on the ground about 10 feet away. I?m sure my neighbors think I?m a kook. >> >> I scattered some cracked corn under my hanging feeders the other day and all the birds are going nuts for it, especially the thrushes. At one point I had three gray squirrels, one Douglas squirrel, and one eastern, cottontail rabbit munching away with all the birds. Quite the sight. >> >> Happy snow birding, >> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From scottratkinson at hotmail.com Fri Dec 23 08:27:52 2022 From: scottratkinson at hotmail.com (Scott Atkinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] audio recording devices RFI Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, Very belatedly asking if anyone out there in Tweeterland could provide me with an idea or two for audio recordings. Santa Claus is asking me for last-minute gift ideas, and I'd like to join the party of those who upload such recordings to EBird. Not too pricey and not too bulky preferred, thank you! Scott Atkinson Lake Stevens -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stevechampton at gmail.com Fri Dec 23 09:24:09 2022 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] audio recording devices RFI In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Simply using the *Voice Memos app *on an iPhone works okay in a pinch. Better yet is the free app *Voice Record Pro* (the icon is a dark red background with a black-and-white old radio microphone). This was recommended in Birding magazine. It's quite good and you can jack the gain, which is nice. It also exports to Google Drive, iCloud, etc. making it easy to get the recordings off your phone. Voice Record Pro is really the simplest and easiest for recording in a pinch, especially if I don't want to carry other items with me. Otherwise, I use a Tascam DR-07 MKII. There are probably more recent models and similar devices. With this I use a Sennheiser ME66 shotgun mic. Again, there are probably more recent analogous models. See the Forum at xeno-canto re: hardware and software. https://xeno-canto.org/forum/ I've gotten a cable to attach my Sennheiser mic to my iPhone, so to use it with Voice Record Pro. That seems ideal but I had major problems with the connection and adaptors, resulting in massive glitch noises. At the post-processing end, to zoom in on the bird and get rid of some of the white noise, I use Audacity on my laptop. Also free. There is guidance here on using that and other software: https://support.ebird.org/en/support/solutions/articles/48001064341-audio-preparation-and-upload-guidelines happy recording! On Fri, Dec 23, 2022 at 8:28 AM Scott Atkinson wrote: > Hi Tweeters, > > Very belatedly asking if anyone out there in Tweeterland could provide me > with an idea or two for audio recordings. Santa Claus is asking me for > last-minute gift ideas, and I'd like to join the party of those who upload > such recordings to EBird. Not too pricey and not too bulky preferred, > thank you! > > Scott Atkinson > Lake Stevens > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Fri Dec 23 09:50:48 2022 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Klickitat County birding blog - last update Message-ID: Howdy! Barring any end-of-year summaries, the last post of the year is up at www.klickitatcountybirding.blogspot.com. Despite some bumps in the road, I ended the year with 188 species, adding a handful of birds during the weekend (Barred Owl, Lincoln's Sparrow, Barrow's Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser). The most recent post also has a shot of a Hermit Thrush. I feel like I rarely have good pictures of them or views like I did of this one. So, when I saw in the Sibley Guide that there are subspecies, I stared at the photo... stared at the guide... and I'm not making much progress! On one level, it's completely unimportant, but I'm pretty curious now about the subspecies out there - if anyone tries to make those distinctions in the field... which ones show up where... etc. etc. Long story short, if you know your Hermit Thrushes, have a peek, and shoot me an email! I do have another out of focus image that shows the back and tail if that would help. Bring on the new year! ? Tim Brennan Renton Klickitat County Birding - Blogger From here, it was a long drive along the Columbia towards Lyle. I had a reservation at Domaine Pouillon to pick up some wine, taste some wine, and grab some wood. www.klickitatcountybirding.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From creinsch at comcast.net Fri Dec 23 09:54:31 2022 From: creinsch at comcast.net (creinsch) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Hummingbird Behavior Message-ID: Dayna, Over the years we have seen hummingbirds do a lot that appeared to us as strange.? But, this morning, I saw an adult male Anna's attacking a younger (hatch year probably) bird on a feeder.? The feeder has been defended by the adult for months, but I had never seen it do this.? From my view in the kitchen at about 8am this morning, I could see the adult's head on the opposite side of the feeder, but could not make out what it was doing.? Walking around to another window though, I could see it was on top of a younger bird beating its head with its beak.? The immature bird was not moving or defending itself.? I opened the back door about, 4 feet from the feeder, but the adult ignored me.? The feeder is not in a position that I could reach, so I went and got a yard stick, and used that to gently lift up the tail of the adult, which startled it, and broke its grip on the smaller bird.? But the smaller did not move.? I did the same thing with the yardstick to it, and it finally took flight, with the adult in pursuit.?? Shortly, the adult returned.? Hopefully the younger one found one of our other, less defended, feeders. We've seen mating, it is noisy, but very brief, generally with the two birds spiraling toward the earth or into a bush. It has been years since I thought about Ardrey's "amity-enmity complex".? Where, at one point, he proposes that environmental hazards might promote cooperation (amity) among a given species, here it seems we may be seeing it doing just the opposite.? Well, unlike penguins, hummingbirds live relatively short solitary lives, and they are fiercely territorial. Chuck Reinsch Magnolia From stevechampton at gmail.com Fri Dec 23 10:04:59 2022 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Hummingbird Behavior In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: There was an over-wintering Rufous Hummer near Port Townsend that was killed by an Anna's a few weeks ago. When the Rufuos was present, a dozen hummers would share the feeder. After it was gone, the feeder was ruled by a single Anna's. On Fri, Dec 23, 2022 at 9:55 AM creinsch wrote: > Dayna, > > Over the years we have seen hummingbirds do a lot that appeared to us as > strange. But, this morning, I saw an adult male Anna's attacking a > younger (hatch year probably) bird on a feeder. The feeder has been > defended by the adult for months, but I had never seen it do this. From > my view in the kitchen at about 8am this morning, I could see the > adult's head on the opposite side of the feeder, but could not make out > what it was doing. Walking around to another window though, I could see > it was on top of a younger bird beating its head with its beak. The > immature bird was not moving or defending itself. I opened the back > door about, 4 feet from the feeder, but the adult ignored me. The > feeder is not in a position that I could reach, so I went and got a yard > stick, and used that to gently lift up the tail of the adult, which > startled it, and broke its grip on the smaller bird. But the smaller > did not move. I did the same thing with the yardstick to it, and it > finally took flight, with the adult in pursuit. Shortly, the adult > returned. Hopefully the younger one found one of our other, less > defended, feeders. > > We've seen mating, it is noisy, but very brief, generally with the two > birds spiraling toward the earth or into a bush. > > It has been years since I thought about Ardrey's "amity-enmity > complex". Where, at one point, he proposes that environmental hazards > might promote cooperation (amity) among a given species, here it seems > we may be seeing it doing just the opposite. Well, unlike penguins, > hummingbirds live relatively short solitary lives, and they are fiercely > territorial. > > Chuck Reinsch > Magnolia > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wim.van.dam at gmail.com Fri Dec 23 10:17:26 2022 From: wim.van.dam at gmail.com (Wim van Dam) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] audio recording devices RFI In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: > > I've gotten a cable to attach my Sennheiser mic to my iPhone, so to use it > with Voice Record Pro. That seems ideal but I had major problems with the > connection and adaptors, resulting in massive glitch noises. I can confirm Voice Record Pro and Voice Record 7 can give superior recordings because their .wav format does not have the distortion-through-mp4 compression that standard voice recording apps have. I can also confirm that attaching a real microphone (like a Sennheiser) to an iPhone is not easy as the XLR-to-lightning connection is problematic. I tried using an XLR-to-trs and trs-to-lightning connection, but that didn't work. Does anyone know if a TRRS is needed for attaching a microphone (as opposed to speaker) to an iPhone? Wim van Dam Solvang, CA On Fri, Dec 23, 2022 at 9:24 AM Steve Hampton wrote: > Simply using the *Voice Memos app *on an iPhone works okay in a pinch. > Better yet is the free app *Voice Record Pro* (the icon is a dark red > background with a black-and-white old radio microphone). This was > recommended in Birding magazine. It's quite good and you can jack the gain, > which is nice. It also exports to Google Drive, iCloud, etc. making it easy > to get the recordings off your phone. Voice Record Pro is really the > simplest and easiest for recording in a pinch, especially if I don't want > to carry other items with me. > > Otherwise, I use a Tascam DR-07 MKII. There are probably more recent > models and similar devices. With this I use a Sennheiser ME66 shotgun mic. > Again, there are probably more recent analogous models. > > See the Forum at xeno-canto re: hardware and software. > https://xeno-canto.org/forum/ > > I've gotten a cable to attach my Sennheiser mic to my iPhone, so to use it > with Voice Record Pro. That seems ideal but I had major problems with the > connection and adaptors, resulting in massive glitch noises. > > At the post-processing end, to zoom in on the bird and get rid of some of > the white noise, I use Audacity on my laptop. Also free. There is guidance > here on using that and other software: > > https://support.ebird.org/en/support/solutions/articles/48001064341-audio-preparation-and-upload-guidelines > > happy recording! > > > > On Fri, Dec 23, 2022 at 8:28 AM Scott Atkinson > wrote: > >> Hi Tweeters, >> >> Very belatedly asking if anyone out there in Tweeterland could provide me >> with an idea or two for audio recordings. Santa Claus is asking me for >> last-minute gift ideas, and I'd like to join the party of those who upload >> such recordings to EBird. Not too pricey and not too bulky preferred, >> thank you! >> >> Scott Atkinson >> Lake Stevens >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > > > -- > ?Steve Hampton? > Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From charleseasterberg at gmail.com Fri Dec 23 11:46:41 2022 From: charleseasterberg at gmail.com (Charles Easterberg) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Today's Birds Message-ID: There was a very black slate-colored junco at my feeder when I hung it up. This is the seventh year out of the last eight that one has come to my yard. Haven't seen any anywhere else around here in the decades I've been here. I'm from Illinois where that's all I used to see, so maybe it feels at home. Go figure. There's a mallard-sized Canada goose at Meadowbrook Pond in NE Seattle (35th Ave NE between NE 105th NE and 110th St NE.) Park at the community center across 35th Ave NE on the W side and walk across at the crosswalk E to the pond/park entrance. Charles Easterberg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From peggy_busby at yahoo.com Fri Dec 23 12:40:32 2022 From: peggy_busby at yahoo.com (Peggy Mundy) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Hummingbird Behavior In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1679865193.3453369.1671828032796@mail.yahoo.com> I have heard/read conflicting ideas over the years about adding additional feeders to try to break up the aggression:? one theory is to have feeders out of sight of each other, the other is to have them relatively close--the thought being a territorial hummingbird can't simultaneously defend both feeders.?? Anyone have any factual information on adding feeders??? I currently only have one hummingbird feeder. thanks,Peggy MundyBothell, WA On Friday, December 23, 2022 at 10:05:41 a.m. PST, Steve Hampton wrote: There was an over-wintering Rufous Hummer near Port Townsend that was killed by an Anna's a few weeks ago. When the Rufuos?was present, a dozen hummers would share the feeder. After it was gone, the feeder was ruled by a single Anna's.? On Fri, Dec 23, 2022 at 9:55 AM creinsch wrote: Dayna, Over the years we have seen hummingbirds do a lot that appeared to us as strange.? But, this morning, I saw an adult male Anna's attacking a younger (hatch year probably) bird on a feeder.? The feeder has been defended by the adult for months, but I had never seen it do this.? From my view in the kitchen at about 8am this morning, I could see the adult's head on the opposite side of the feeder, but could not make out what it was doing.? Walking around to another window though, I could see it was on top of a younger bird beating its head with its beak.? The immature bird was not moving or defending itself.? I opened the back door about, 4 feet from the feeder, but the adult ignored me.? The feeder is not in a position that I could reach, so I went and got a yard stick, and used that to gently lift up the tail of the adult, which startled it, and broke its grip on the smaller bird.? But the smaller did not move.? I did the same thing with the yardstick to it, and it finally took flight, with the adult in pursuit.?? Shortly, the adult returned.? Hopefully the younger one found one of our other, less defended, feeders. We've seen mating, it is noisy, but very brief, generally with the two birds spiraling toward the earth or into a bush. It has been years since I thought about Ardrey's "amity-enmity complex".? Where, at one point, he proposes that environmental hazards might promote cooperation (amity) among a given species, here it seems we may be seeing it doing just the opposite.? Well, unlike penguins, hummingbirds live relatively short solitary lives, and they are fiercely territorial. Chuck Reinsch Magnolia _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -- ?Steve Hampton?Port Townsend, WA? (qat?y) _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com Fri Dec 23 12:52:15 2022 From: rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com (Roger Moyer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Continuing Poet Angeles Brambling Message-ID: I spent about 30 minutes at 1110 E. 3rd looking for the Brambling. It put in a brief appearance around 11am. Roger Moyer Chehalis, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ericallencarlson at yahoo.com Fri Dec 23 15:49:35 2022 From: ericallencarlson at yahoo.com (Eric Carlson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] West Seattle Sighting References: <101433567.3503394.1671839375844.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <101433567.3503394.1671839375844@mail.yahoo.com> Had a Townsends Solitaire today in my West Seattle yard for a few brief moments.Good birding to all. Cheers,Eric Carlson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dantonijohn at yahoo.com Fri Dec 23 17:49:36 2022 From: dantonijohn at yahoo.com (john dantoni) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Leucistic Red-winged blackbird References: <7792819.2120269.1671846576851.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <7792819.2120269.1671846576851@mail.yahoo.com> Stopped by the buffet here in Malaga, WA.?? Happy Holidays!! https://www.flickr.com/photos/131774887@N06/52581822872/in/datetaken/ All the best,John D'Antoni -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dgrainger at birdsbydave.com Sat Dec 24 12:48:23 2022 From: dgrainger at birdsbydave.com (dgrainger@birdsbydave.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird bath deicing heater a hit with bathing birds Message-ID: <3e0142fed36894a74eb2e1050d219a34@birdsbydave.com> To keep the water open, free of ice, during these cold nights and days, Pat put a heater in the bowl of our larger bird bath. That has produced a lot of traffic, perhaps because it results in a water source, but I suspect also because of the low level warmth. I have watched a couple of Juncos hover and land repeatedly on it. It is placed in the center. Most other times birds seem to land on the rim, but now they often land right on the warm heater. It is a couple of inches wide by eight long and is a little more than an inch thick. We have an outdoor cord running from a GFI protected outdoor outlet to keep it cozy. Big users are bathing robins; today (12/24) there was a varied thrush on the heater who also took a long splashy bath. From florafaunabooks at hotmail.com Sat Dec 24 13:35:39 2022 From: florafaunabooks at hotmail.com (David Hutchinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Not the FUGS but the FRUGS Message-ID: Hi all this is meant to be a helping thought, I am sure a lot of you know already. Frugivorous birds tend to eat small berries, hence thrushes like Robins and Varied Thrushes are out and about in Western Washington and hopefully in Cle Elum too. In Discovery Park, a predominant winter berry is Crataegus monogyna or English Hawthorn. Look for it especially near the Sand Dunes near the South Bluff. It is widely naturalised in the Seattle area as a landscape specimen. Currently there are many Robins around and a few VATH. Also there are flocks of Cedar Waxwings around. It is of note that this is the only place in the Park where have found Bohemian Waxwings. The last Townsend's Solitaire visiting us was on this Hawthorn species over by the South Parking Lot. Please don't disturb the birds when taking photos. David David Hutchinson, Discovery Park and Flora & Fauna -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From m.k.kesner at comcast.net Sun Dec 25 10:49:33 2022 From: m.k.kesner at comcast.net (Kathy Kesner) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] In regards to 12. hummmingbird behavior Message-ID: <0AF6EE19-32D7-4A89-AEDF-426C8D3B4BD7@comcast.net> About the hummer not moving even though being attacked on the feeder - this article talks about them going into Torpor on feeders and seeming dead before they can wake up. https://www.hummingbird-guide.com/hummingbird-sleep.html Kathy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tvulture at gmx.com Sun Dec 25 13:08:18 2022 From: tvulture at gmx.com (Diann MacRae) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Frugivorous treats Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dennispaulson at comcast.net Sun Dec 25 13:08:34 2022 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] snow melted, birds melted away Message-ID: <5C299427-14FA-47C1-9430-F817C9600D91@comcast.net> Hello tweets, We had so many birds coming to our yard and all its feeders from 20-23 December, not so many yesterday while there was still some snow on the ground, and virtually none on snowless today in comparison. I could barely get any work done while watching and photographing the birds in the back yard from my office for those four days, and now it?s a forlorn day, with me looking out the window and wishing a bird would show up?any bird! There are still a few Varied Thrushes around, nothing like the 18 that we counted at once on Friday, and most of the other birds that were coming to suet and bark butter constantly have just evaporated. I?m assuming they are out finding natural food (natural food is healthiest, right?). Also, I know they don?t have to eat as much when temperatures are higher, but this difference is much greater than that would explain. Or are there Cooper?s and Sharp-shinned Hawks perched at either end of our roof, with a Merlin looking down from atop a tree? Dennis Paulson Maple Leaf, Seattle From florafaunabooks at hotmail.com Mon Dec 26 15:01:04 2022 From: florafaunabooks at hotmail.com (David Hutchinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Winter hunting Message-ID: A good reminder from Dennis, of winter raptors hunting down our winter thrushes, here in Discovery. There are certainly Cooper's and Sharp-shins out and about. And y'day there was indeed a Merlin, speeding in circles over a meadow, with Robins (maybe 50) dodging in all directions. Birds at night have to run the gamut of Barred, Barn & Saw-whet Owls.. Btw has anyone noticed that Robins spend a lot of time sitting within the curbways of streets? Usually a lot of leaf mold and odds & ends therein. The birds may feed there during the day and do spend the night there. Is is worms or insects they eat. David Hutchinson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From scottratkinson at hotmail.com Mon Dec 26 17:33:06 2022 From: scottratkinson at hotmail.com (Scott Atkinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Everett-Marysville CBC next Saturday, Dec. 31st: Lake Goodwin/Port Susan Area territory lead sought Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, For those unattached next Saturday, December 31st, I'm looking for an experienced person to cover the Lake Goodwin/Wenberg State Park/Port Susan/Kayak Pt. area on our Everett-Marysville Christmas Bird Count. This area has a wide variety of habitats, including open salt water, deep coniferous forest and ravines, several lakes, and open areas, including the golf course. A person with a telescope would be really helpful. Wilma Bayes is a longtime veteran of the beat, she knows the spots but says she is in need of a team lead (we've had several retirements in recent years). Please advise if interested. Best Regards and thanks, Scott Atkinson 425-210-2716 cell -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stevechampton at gmail.com Tue Dec 27 11:03:18 2022 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Port Townsend CBC Summary: record high count Message-ID: The 45th Port Townsend Christmas Bird Count was held on December 17, 2022. A cold calm overcast morning, 38 degrees, gave way to an increasing south breeze mid-morning followed by a wind-driven light rain after noon. The undaunted birders persevered, ultimately tallying 122 species, beating the old record, set last year, by one. While some effort data is still coming in, we had at least 63 participants, including nine feeder watchers. This is the second highest ever. The count has only topped 60 participants four times, all within the past five years. Together, we put in approximately 125 party hours, smashing the old record of 103 (in 2001). All bird numbers are in. Noteworthy sightings included 2 Tundra Swans among the Trumpeters, a Yellow-billed Loon seen from the boat south of Marrowstone, the count?s 3rd ever Rock Sandpiper at the tip of Flagler spit, continuing Canada Jays at Gibbs Lake, and a remarkable 60 Mourning Doves in Port Townsend at Collinswood Farm fields. Record high counts were set for eight species. These were: Trumpeter Swan (196 > 109), Red-breasted Merganser (909 > 709), Brandt?s Cormorant (343 > 301), Black Oystercatcher (37 > 34), California Scrub-Jay (9 > 2), Black-capped Chickadee (254 > 183), Yellow-rumped Warbler (89 > 16), Dark-eyed Junco (1342 > 1012). Two species tied previous high records: Northern Saw-whet Owl (3) and Northern Pygmy-Owl (2). There were no record low counts. Some of the record high counts continue increasing trends of species advancing north with a warming climate, most notably California Scrub-Jay (now resident in Port Townsend in increasing numbers) and over-wintering Yellow-rumped Warblers. Notable misses on the count were Greater Scaup, Eared Grebe, and Hutton?s Vireo. In addition to the 122 birds, we just missed four more. These go down as ?count week? birds, as they were seen within three days of the count in either direction. Barn Owl Red-breasted Sapsucker White-throated Sparrow Red-shouldered Hawk This last is one of very few county records, seen by a birder returning from the Sequim CBC along 101 near Discovery Bay. An adult, it is likely still around and should be looked for along Snow Creek, Uncas Wildlife Area, and Discovery Bay. Thanks to all the route leaders and participants! -- Steve Hampton Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bradliljequist at msn.com Tue Dec 27 11:52:24 2022 From: bradliljequist at msn.com (BRAD Liljequist) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied thrushes woodland park Message-ID: I was saddened to see the reports of the varied thrushes departing, so my wife and I went for a Woodland Park walk in search of some we gratefully saw four different groups, one group of six two groups of three and then a single. Probably more than that as many seem to be roosting high in Evergreens and not moving a lot. Hooray for varied thrushes! Brad liljequist Phinney ridge seattle Get Outlook for Android -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mj.cygnus at gmail.com Tue Dec 27 14:49:56 2022 From: mj.cygnus at gmail.com (Martha Jordan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Mid-winter swan survey help Message-ID: Hi out there. The WDFW annual mid-winter swan surveys are planned again for the third week in January. I typically coordinate part of the areas in Snohomish and King counties. The area that I typically shepherd has expanded a bit due to retirements and a shift in personnel. Help is needed. As a volunteer, and team leader for parts of King County, I am looking for one or two people who could survey for swans in the Kent-Auburn area. And specifically south of I-405 and west of Hwy 515. If you are interested in doing all or part (part is fine) please let me know ASAP. What skills do you need: Know your swan ID: Trumpeter from Tundra, adult vs juvenile. You will have a form and map for data entry. Also, you do need a spotting scope. Connect with me offline for more details. Thank you. Happy New Year. Martha Jordan Everett, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deedeeknit at yahoo.com Tue Dec 27 15:05:26 2022 From: deedeeknit at yahoo.com (Dee Dee) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Varied Thrush References: Message-ID: ?Hi, I?ve been following with interest the various reports of Varied Thrush (VATH) sightings in the past weeks. In the 13 years we?ve lived here I have watched for one in our yard, but no luck?until this past Wednesday (12/21) evening. Just at sunset, noticed a male on the snow under our apple tree/feeders. To my surprise, it hung around in the yard through Saturday morning; then, though I watched for it, we didn?t see it again until late this morning (12/27). Am assuming it?s the same male as it seems quite familiar with the areas it had frequented previously. Yay, a new yard bird! It provided a bright and interesting diversion to watch out our windows while house-bound by the ice/snow. Having heard/read that VATHs will sometimes join up with flocks of robins, I was a bit surprised that this fellow showed absolutely no inclination to ?hang? with any of the individual or groups of Robins that were often in our yard and neighborhood between 20 - 24 December. It was foraging in the vicinity but avoided or ignored them even though alone. The first day, every time a group would come through the yard and fly off again, I was expecting to see it go with them. (I am glad it did not!) Wondering if anyone with more experience and knowledge about the VATHs, has any insights to share about this?realizing that individual birds have their own individual behavior at times. I posted a few pictures of the thrush on Flickr (as well as a pic taken yesterday of a goldfinch with a very white rump, for those interested in likely leucism) at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/danenewarnock/ Dee Warnock Edmonds From justcallmary at yahoo.com Tue Dec 27 15:16:16 2022 From: justcallmary at yahoo.com (Mary Ayres) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes References: Message-ID: Any body have a reason why so many varied thrushes this year? Sent from my iPhone > > > -------------- > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2022 19:52:24 +0000 > From: BRAD Liljequist > To: "tweeters@u.washington.edu" > Subject: [Tweeters] Varied thrushes woodland park > Message-ID: > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > I was saddened to see the reports of the varied thrushes departing, so my wife and I went for a Woodland Park walk in search of some we gratefully saw four different groups, one group of six two groups of three and then a single. Probably more than that as many seem to be roosting high in Evergreens and not moving a lot. Hooray for varied thrushes! > > From jstewart at olympus.net Tue Dec 27 17:11:46 2022 From: jstewart at olympus.net (jstewart@olympus.net) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] fog Message-ID: <000001d91a59$5bf73740$13e5a5c0$@olympus.net> How can I prevent the fogging up of my bins that I keep in my car? Wings, Jan Jan Stewart 922 E Spruce Street Sequim, WA 98382-3518 jstewart@olympus.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dougsantoni at gmail.com Tue Dec 27 18:08:52 2022 From: dougsantoni at gmail.com (Doug Santoni) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Long-eared Owl -- Is It Still Present? Message-ID: <271DF603-41D7-401E-8BB1-EBF6F219AEE7@gmail.com> I was thinking about driving over to Theler Wetlands in Mason County tomorrow (Wednesday) in the hopes of seeing the Long-eared Owl(s). I did not see any reports today (yes or no), so I?m hoping at least one owl is still present. The last reports I had seen were for sightings yesterday (Monday). Did anyone attempt ? successfully or unsuccessfully ? to see the owls today (Tuesday)? Doug Santoni Seattle WA Dougsantoni at gmail dot com From dougsantoni at gmail.com Wed Dec 28 15:49:27 2022 From: dougsantoni at gmail.com (Doug Santoni) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Long-eared Owls -- YES! Message-ID: <4AC3669E-BF1F-4400-BBD2-7D83B5F3A18D@gmail.com> Two Long-eared Owls were present at Theler Wetlands on the estuary trail in Mason County at 12:50 pm. So cool! Multiple observers were present. Doug Santoni Seattle WA From dpdvm at whidbey.com Wed Dec 28 16:23:52 2022 From: dpdvm at whidbey.com (David Parent) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush Numbers (long) Message-ID: <3173ED68-655D-4ED8-A84D-ED1606C7F717@whidbey.com> Dear Tweeters, As I plan for the South Whidbey Christmas Bird Count tomorrow and reflect on the Tweeters posts about changing numbers of Varied Thrushes, I?m thinking about the count of 2019. It was cold but no snow on the ground. As we approached a shady wooded draw via a gravel road, we noticed about ten Varied Thrushes by the roadside. As we stopped to get an accurate count we realized there were more, many more. We counted at least 79 but they were moving around so much there could easily have been 100! As we stopped counting we just stood for fifteen minutes and basked in the magical spectacle of so many of these beautiful birds. We drove on, continuing our count and since this is a dead end road we needed to return to that thrush spot. We like to say in birding and other life events, ?timing is everything?. We scanned the same area 1/2 hour later we couldn?t find a single bird of any species! Our count compiler contacted me and asked if we must have meant 19. We have gone to that same spot every year for 15 years and have never, before or after, seen more than 2 Varied Thrushes. Happy New Year! Dave Parent Freeland WA dpdvmatwhidbeydotcom Sent from my iPad From cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com Wed Dec 28 17:20:16 2022 From: cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com (Christopher Clark) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Theler Long-eared Owls - Safe to Chase? Message-ID: Hey everyone, I was thinking of chasing the Long-eared Owls at Theler Wetlands, but I had a question before I go - Are there a lot of people still going to see these birds? I ask because I'd prefer not to add to any stress these birds may be under, so if a lot of people are still chasing, I may wait a few more days. Based on some things I've read it sounds like they've attracted quite the crowd! Anyone who's gone to chase is welcome to email me to tell me their experience. Thank you all so much! Christopher Clark Spanaway, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rocky98502 at gmail.com Thu Dec 29 12:18:42 2022 From: rocky98502 at gmail.com (Betty Watson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine siskins all fall/winter? Message-ID: We're out near the end of Steamboat Island Rd in west Olympia. I was just wondering what other people have been experiencing. This year we've had about 4 X as many juncos, the usual number of goldfinches but zero siskins. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Thu Dec 29 12:22:28 2022 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine Siskins all fall/winter? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <049C9870-41D2-485C-8730-B14A064F1697@comcast.net> Plenty of Juncos here in Burien too, but no Pine Siskins that I?ve noticed yet. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Dec 29, 2022, at 12:18, Betty Watson wrote: > > We're out near the end of Steamboat Island Rd in west Olympia. I was just wondering what other people have been experiencing. This year we've had about 4 X as many Juncos, the usual number of goldfinches but zero Siskins. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From peggy_busby at yahoo.com Thu Dec 29 12:23:02 2022 From: peggy_busby at yahoo.com (Peggy Mundy) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine siskins all fall/winter? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <386938989.5195038.1672345382388@mail.yahoo.com> Wow, that's an interesting observation and, now that you mention it, I haven't seen a pine siskin in months here in Bothell.? Oddly, I had some visiting throughout the summer--used to be winter only. Peggy MundyBothell, WA On Thursday, December 29, 2022 at 12:19:58 p.m. PST, Betty Watson wrote: We're out near the end of Steamboat Island Rd in west Olympia.? I was just wondering what other people have been experiencing.? This year we've had about 4 X as many juncos, the usual number of goldfinches but zero siskins.? _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rocky98502 at gmail.com Thu Dec 29 12:34:35 2022 From: rocky98502 at gmail.com (Betty Watson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine siskins all fall/winter? In-Reply-To: <386938989.5195038.1672345382388@mail.yahoo.com> References: <386938989.5195038.1672345382388@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: We had them all 21/22 winter, '22 spring & summer; they began thinning in early fall and by the end of October '22, there were none visiting us. Winter 2021/2022 they were here in amazing numbers apparently due to bad seed production in Canada. The numbers stayed very high until about the end of October. Now none. Hopefully they have plenty of seeds and decided to stay in Canada. Especially considering that we're paying plenty for hulled sunflower seed (and not the good black oil kind either!!). I worry about it every time I start getting low on feed. Ah, the life of backyard birding. May we always have feathered friends. On Thu, Dec 29, 2022 at 12:23 PM Peggy Mundy wrote: > Wow, that's an interesting observation and, now that you mention it, I > haven't seen a pine siskin in months here in Bothell. Oddly, I had some > visiting throughout the summer--used to be winter only. > > Peggy Mundy > Bothell, WA > > > > > On Thursday, December 29, 2022 at 12:19:58 p.m. PST, Betty Watson < > rocky98502@gmail.com> wrote: > > > We're out near the end of Steamboat Island Rd in west Olympia. I was just > wondering what other people have been experiencing. This year we've had > about 4 X as many juncos, the usual number of goldfinches but zero > siskins. > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pdickins at gmail.com Thu Dec 29 13:45:31 2022 From: pdickins at gmail.com (Philip Dickinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine siskins all fall/winter? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We have been seeing only a few siskins north of Seattle, occasionally one or two at a time and no large flocks. My son says the same is true in central Texas Phil Dickinson Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 29, 2022, at 11:19 AM, Betty Watson wrote: > > ? > We're out near the end of Steamboat Island Rd in west Olympia. I was just wondering what other people have been experiencing. This year we've had about 4 X as many juncos, the usual number of goldfinches but zero siskins. > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zoramon at mac.com Thu Dec 29 13:19:16 2022 From: zoramon at mac.com (Zora Monster) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine siskins all fall/winter? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I saw one about a month ago and haven?t seen any since. Zora Dermer Seattle Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 29, 2022, at 12:48 PM, Philip Dickinson wrote: > > ?We have been seeing only a few siskins north of Seattle, occasionally one or two at a time and no large flocks. My son says the same is true in central Texas > > Phil Dickinson > > Sent from my iPhone > >>> On Dec 29, 2022, at 11:19 AM, Betty Watson wrote: >>> >> ? >> We're out near the end of Steamboat Island Rd in west Olympia. I was just wondering what other people have been experiencing. This year we've had about 4 X as many juncos, the usual number of goldfinches but zero siskins. >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 plkoyama at comcast.net Thu Dec 29 13:35:34 2022 From: plkoyama at comcast.net (PENNY & DAVID KOYAMA) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine siskins all fall/winter? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <198956165.193773.1672349735027@connect.xfinity.com> Tweets, I haven't seen one anywhere, but due to Covid recovery and holiday events, we've been sticking close to home since early Nov. We do have scads of Am Goldfinches, though, quickly running through our seed supply. They don't fight as much as Pine Siskins, which is always entertaining. I guess this just isn't one of those siskin eruptive years. Penny Koyama, Bothell > On 12/29/2022 1:45 PM Philip Dickinson wrote: > > > We have been seeing only a few siskins north of Seattle, occasionally one or two at a time and no large flocks. My son says the same is true in central Texas > > Phil Dickinson > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > > On Dec 29, 2022, at 11:19 AM, Betty Watson wrote: > > > > > > > > > > We're out near the end of Steamboat Island Rd in west Olympia. I was just wondering what other people have been experiencing. This year we've had about 4 X as many juncos, the usual number of goldfinches but zero siskins. > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 stevechampton at gmail.com Thu Dec 29 14:30:28 2022 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine siskins all fall/winter? In-Reply-To: <198956165.193773.1672349735027@connect.xfinity.com> References: <198956165.193773.1672349735027@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: I'm hearing there is a large cone crop in BC that is keeping them up there. On Thu, Dec 29, 2022 at 1:36 PM PENNY & DAVID KOYAMA wrote: > Tweets, > I haven't seen one anywhere, but due to Covid recovery and holiday events, > we've been sticking close to home since early Nov. We do have scads of Am > Goldfinches, though, quickly running through our seed supply. They don't > fight as much as Pine Siskins, which is always entertaining. I guess this > just isn't one of those siskin eruptive years. > Penny Koyama, Bothell > > On 12/29/2022 1:45 PM Philip Dickinson wrote: > > > We have been seeing only a few siskins north of Seattle, occasionally one > or two at a time and no large flocks. My son says the same is true in > central Texas > > Phil Dickinson > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Dec 29, 2022, at 11:19 AM, Betty Watson wrote: > > We're out near the end of Steamboat Island Rd in west Olympia. I was just > wondering what other people have been experiencing. This year we've had > about 4 X as many juncos, the usual number of goldfinches but zero > siskins. > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Thu Dec 29 14:58:46 2022 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (Michael Hobbs) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2022-12-29 Message-ID: Tweeters - As is often the case, the forecast for RAIN ALL DAY proved to be completely off the mark. It was a very pleasant day, with only a scattering of drops now and then (never got near to drizzle). Neither cold nor windy, and mostly with pretty good light, so a great December day to be out. The boardwalk has a couple of inches of water over it and it is officially closed for now. Not necessarily a great day to be birding, though, as there were LONG stretches of quiet. But we did have a few good sightings. The dozen+ of us had a good time, I think. Highlights: - Cackling Goose - Skein after skein flying high overhead, but none landed - Horned Grebe - I saw one at the lake, but it swam around the point out of sight almost immediately - Wilson's Snipe - Only one along the edge of the slough where last week we had 15+, but it gave us great looks - Great Horned Owl - I saw one pre-dawn in the trees along the slough just south of the gate from the Dog Area - Pileated Woodpecker - At least two birds, with some close looks - Northern Shrike - Adult north of Fields 7-8-9 - Bushtit - I *heard* a flock in the East Meadow pre-dawn, our first in almost two months! - Varied Thrush - Two or three at the Rowing Club parking lot - American Robin - Hundreds - White-throated Sparrow - One between slough trail and Dog Meadow with many other sparrows - Savannah Sparrow - One or two along the west edge of the East Meadow We had a very nice mixed flock in the grove with the apple trees, east of the 2nd Dog Swim Beach. Three species of Zonotrichia sparrows, including the WHITE-THROATED, plus Song and Fox Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Downy and Pileated Woodpecker, and probably more. A riot of five RIVER OTTERS was in the slough, and COYOTES howled along with the fire truck siren. Finches were almost completely AWOL; we had a few very small groups of flying finches, and heard a very few faint calls. HOUSE FINCH was definitely heard, American Goldfinch might possibly have been heard, but not a single finch was seen perched nor heard well. Misses today included Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Ring-billed Gull (though we had at least 75 unidentified flying gulls), Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, and Lincoln's Sparrow. For the day, though, 53 species. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bboek at olympus.net Thu Dec 29 15:14:52 2022 From: bboek at olympus.net (Bob Boekelheide) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Sequim-Dungeness CBC results Message-ID: <30E47DA1-9475-4E8E-975C-6CA79E36435A@olympus.net> Hello, Tweeters, We held the 47th Sequim-Dungeness Christmas Bird Count on Monday, Dec 19, attended by 108 field counters and 27 feeder watchers. We counted 60,048 individual birds of 143 species, both fairly close to average for the SDCBC. Temperatures never rose above 30 degrees during the day, but winds were light and big snows thankfully held off until after dark. The ten most abundant species this year, in decreasing order, were American Wigeon (12,347), Mallard (5722), Dark-eyed Junco (3928), Northern Pintail (3414), American Robin (3231), Glaucous-winged/Olympic Gull (2512), Dunlin (2206), Ancient Murrelet (2165), Green-winged Teal (1529), and Bufflehead (1522). These ten species made up about 64 percent of all the birds tallied on the count. Species with high counts this year, or near-record high counts, included Greater White-fronted Goose, Bald Eagle, Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, Black-capped Chickadee, Pacific Wren, Hermit Thrush, Varied Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow, and American Goldfinch. Although not a record, the Ancient Murrelet count was the highest since 2011. Most impressive was the number of juncos, which far surpassed their old record set just last year. Varied Thrushes almost doubled their old record, previously set in 2001. Increases of species that largely winter on the Pacific Coast in California and Oregon, such as Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and White-crowned Sparrow, might suggest that their wintering ranges are expanding north, as foretold by climate models. At the other end of the abundance spectrum, species with very low relative numbers this year included Black Scoter, Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Western Grebe, Hutton?s Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Pine Siskin, and Brewer?s Blackbird. The decline in Western Grebes continues with only 7 birds, from an all-time high of 533 in 1984. Curiously, our American Goldfinch total was the second highest ever for the SDCBC, whereas our Pine Siskin total was the second lowest ever for the SDCBC. Only twice in 47 years have goldfinches outnumbered siskins on the SDCBC, this year and in 2018, both years with virtually zero siskins. The absence of Pine Siskins is striking. Just two years ago siskins set their all-time record for our CBC with 8966, but this year we only tallied 45. The count totally missed Western Screech-Owl, Canada Jay, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler, Townsend Warbler, and Evening Grosbeak, even during count week. The last time we totally missed Cedar Waxwings was 22 years ago. Count week birds included Redhead and Band-tailed Pigeon. Several unusual species showed up this year. The most unusual species was a stake-out Northern Mockingbird that has been visiting a feeder in Sequim since November. This is the first mockingbird ever for our CBC. Next most unusual might be the Lesser Black-backed Gull here for its second winter at Maple View Farm and Washington Harbor. Other noteworthy species included a Spotted Sandpiper at Washington Harbor, only the eighth time this species occurred on the SDCBC; nine Yellow-billed Loons and a Bonaparte?s Gull found by our boat party; one Canvasback swimming with scaup off Dungeness; one Sora at Three Crabs; one Harris?s Sparrow at Jamestown; two Swamp Sparrows at Graysmarsh; and two Greater Yellowlegs and three Snow Buntings at Dungeness Spit. Many thanks to all who participated in the count, particularly those who traveled distances to get here. Thanks also to property owners who allow us access. A huge thanks to Durkee Richards, our intrepid offshore boat owner who helps us set world CBC high counts for species like Pigeon Guillemot, Ancient Murrelet, and Yellow-billed Loon. Bob Boekelheide Dungeness -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Thu Dec 29 15:43:26 2022 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 12/28/2022 - last walk '22 and Summary Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Over 24 of us had a very nice day at the Refuge with cloudy skies, occasional light rain and sun breaks, and temperatures in the 40's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a High 15.3 King Tide at 10:05am. Highlights included a visual of VIRGINIA RAILS on the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail before the Twin Barns cut-off, an Accipiter Show in the Maple Tree Grove around the Twin Barns with both SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and COOPER'S HAWK chasing a flock of AMERICAN GOLDFINCH and Sparrows, AMERICAN BITTERN in the slough adjacent to the Twin Barns Overlook, and four WESTERN SANDPIPER mixed in with the DUNLIN and LEAST SANDPIPER along the Nisqually Estuary Trail and Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. The lame one legged WESTERN SANDPIPER (photos embedded) continues in the area at the start of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. Starting out at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook, we had great looks of RING-NECKED DUCK. The Orchard was good for RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in the fruit trees near the Technician Building. The flooded fields along the Access Road were good for all Waterfowl, many Shorebirds, and BALD EAGLE with the incoming King Tide. A dark morph all brown RED-TAILED HAWK has been regularly seen near the south east corner. Great looks of two VIRGINIA RAIL were seen on the inside of the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail just before the Twin Barns cut-off. A large flock of AMERICAN GOLDFINCH plus all expected Sparrow species were in the area attracting three Accipiters into the Maple Grove adjacent to the Twin Barns. We had nice looks of SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and COOPER'S HAWK in aerial pursuit of little birds and each other. The Twin Barns Overlook picked up an EURASIAN WIGEON roosting with other AMERICAN WIGEON. A gorgeous AMERICAN BITTERN was seen in the slough adjacent to the Twin Barns. The tidal push provided great looks for all Waterfowl, Shorebirds, and Raptors. We observed upward of four WESTERN SANDPIPER mixed in with DUNLIN and LEAST SANDPIPER. A lame one legged WESTERN SANDPIPER continues in the area of the start of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. Last week we had approximately 15 BAEA, this week we had close to 30 indicating to me that the Chum Salmon may be heading into the Nisqually River. We observed 69 species for the day, and have seen 271 species for the year. Mammals seen included Coyote, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal, California Sea Lion, and Steller's Sea Lion on the wreck between Red Salmon Slough and Dupont. See eBird list pasted below. Usually the Wednesday Walk see's approximately 270 species in a year, with each year being different - some missed sightings and unexpected finds. *Unexpected Sightings for the Wednesday Walk in 2022*: CALIFORNIA QUAIL - in decline RED-SHOULDERED HAWK - becoming more regular ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK - becoming less regular NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL - hard to find along established trails RED-EYED VIREO SWAMP SPARROW COMMON REDPOLL - nomadic LESSER GOLDFINCH *Missed Sightings for the Wednesday Walk seen by other eBirders at Refuge in 2022*: TUNDRA SWAN BARROW'S GOLDENEYE - not usually seen on Refuge, but regular off Luhr Beach PACIFIC LOON EARED GREBE FRANKLIN'S GULL HEERMANN'S GULL ICELAND GULL AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER LONG-BILLED CURLEW WILSON'S PHALAROPE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE SOLITARY SANDPIPER GREAT EGRET RUFFED GROUSE SHORT-EARED OWL COMMON NIGHTHAWK BLACK SWIFT HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER EASTERN KINGBIRD GRAY CATBIRD TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE HOUSE WREN CHIPPING SPARROW WHITE-THROATED SPARROW HOUSE SPARROW - prefers closer proximity to feeders. EVENING GROSBEAK RED CROSSBILL - usually a flyover. LAZULI BUNTING BOBOLINK BREWER'S BLACKBIRD - doesn't like to cross the highway into the delta. *Missed sightings at Nisqually by Wednesday Walk AND eBirders for 2022*: BLACK SCOTER - in decline. COMMON MURRE - tough to scope MARBLED MURRELET - tough to scope WILLET BARN OWL LAPLAND LONGSPUR Let me know if there is something I've missed! Happy New Year one and all. May your first sighting of the year be intriguing, and happy birding. Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Dec 28, 2022 7:41 AM - 3:35 PM Protocol: Traveling 6.659 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Cloudy with occasional light rain, temperature in the 40?s degrees Fahrenheit. A High 15.3 Tide at 10:05am. Mammals seen Coyote, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal, California Sea Lion, Steller Sea Lion. 69 species (+6 other taxa) Cackling Goose (minima) 750 Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 15 Canada Goose 25 Northern Shoveler 150 Gadwall 50 Eurasian Wigeon 1 American Wigeon 750 Mallard 200 Northern Pintail 250 Green-winged Teal (American) 750 Ring-necked Duck 15 Greater Scaup 1 Surf Scoter 6 Bufflehead 200 Common Goldeneye 75 Hooded Merganser 5 Red-breasted Merganser 5 Horned Grebe 3 Red-necked Grebe 2 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 18 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Virginia Rail 2 American Coot 40 Dunlin 300 Least Sandpiper 40 Western Sandpiper 4 Previously reported. Photos. Larger than area Least Sandpiper, and smaller than Dunlin. A peep sized shorebird with lighter head and white throat in comparison to Least Sandpiper and Dunlin. Dark legs. Moderate sized bill longer than LESA, less finely tipped, decurved, and shorter than Dunlin bill. Two birds closely associated with the flock of Dunlin, one bird closely associated with LESA, and a one legged bird loosely associated with LESA near the start of the Estuary Boardwalk Trail. The one legged WESA has been previously seen, reported and photographed - photographed here. Long-billed Dowitcher 25 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Greater Yellowlegs 25 Short-billed Gull 50 Ring-billed Gull 75 Glaucous-winged Gull 5 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 10 Larus sp. 150 Common Loon 1 Brandt's Cormorant 9 Double-crested Cormorant 10 cormorant sp. 2 American Bittern 1 Great Blue Heron 20 Northern Harrier 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Cooper's Hawk 2 Bald Eagle 30 Red-tailed Hawk 3 Belted Kingfisher 2 Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 American Crow 150 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 20 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet 15 Brown Creeper 4 Pacific Wren 4 Marsh Wren 3 Bewick's Wren 2 European Starling 100 American Robin 15 Purple Finch 3 American Goldfinch 40 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 4 White-crowned Sparrow 4 Golden-crowned Sparrow 30 Song Sparrow 20 Spotted Towhee 3 Western Meadowlark 3 Red-winged Blackbird 25 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 11 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S124854708 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Thu Dec 29 16:13:33 2022 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Correction on Wednesday Walk Summary - 171 species for the year. Message-ID: Hi Tweets, oops, we usually see approximately 170 species per year, not 270, my apologies for the mistake. Happy birding, Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdbooker at zipcon.net Thu Dec 29 17:48:15 2022 From: birdbooker at zipcon.net (Ian Paulsen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] The Birdbooker Report Message-ID: <8874593c-2218-e56e-35bd-6dcf430a2dc@zipcon.net> HI ALL: My monthly The Birdbooker Report blog post can be found here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2022/12/new-titles.html sincerely Ian Paulsen Bainbridge Island, WA, USA Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/ From meetings at wos.org Thu Dec 29 18:23:13 2022 From: meetings at wos.org (meetings@wos.org) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?b?UkVNSU5ERVI6wqDCoFdPUyBNb250aGx5IE1lZXRpbmcs?= =?utf-8?q?_Mon=2E=2C_Jan=2E2=2C_Conversations_with_Secretive_Birds?= Message-ID: <20221230022313.62603.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> Secretive birds intrigue us, but their elusive nature makes them difficult to study, so there is remarkably little known about the biology of many wetland birds. Puget Sound Bird Observatory (PSBO) has been studying five under-detected, wetland species -- American Bittern, Sora, Virginia Rail, Green Heron and Pied-billed Grebe -- for the past six years to assess their population trends.?? Our presenter, Cindy Easterson, manages PSBO?s Regional Wetland Secretive Bird Monitoring project, in addition to providing oversight for a wide variety of other avian monitoring projects.??She will explain how you can participate in this work.?? She holds an integrated Bachelor of Arts and Science Degree with a focus on Wetland Science from the University of Washington and has served on the Board of PSBO since 2010. The meeting will be conducted via Zoom.??Please go to http://wos.org/about-wos/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.??Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm. This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend.?? If you are not yet a member, I hope you will consider becoming one at http://wos.org/about-wos/membership/, Please join us! Vicki King WOS Program Coordinator From 1northraven at gmail.com Thu Dec 29 20:52:07 2022 From: 1northraven at gmail.com (J Christian Kessler) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Cassin's Auklet Message-ID: mid-afternoon today at Edmonds Pier, along with the expected birds, I saw a Cassin's Auklet not more than 20 feet off the pier. I believe another birder had seen it about 20 minutes earlier from comments he made as he was leaving and I was arriving. someone else took a photo. Chris Kessler Seattle -- "moderation in everything, including moderation" Rustin Thompson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From scottratkinson at hotmail.com Fri Dec 30 10:38:29 2022 From: scottratkinson at hotmail.com (Scott Atkinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Everett-Marysville CBC tomorrow: Hat Island ferry opportunity Message-ID: Hi Tweeters: Want to thank all that responded to my last RFI filled some gaps. But now we've had a last-minute cancellation of a trip lead on what could be our most exciting territory: Hat Island and the ferry ride out there. It's our least-known territory, we've only had on-foot coverage for a few years. I posted two full-day surveys for Hat Island on EBird that will provide a sense of how dynamic it is. Looking for an experienced lead?the ferry leaves tomorrow from north Everett Marina by Anthony's at 9 a.m., and leaves Hat to return at 4 pm. The Hat Island community is providing the trip to the visiting birders--free of charge! They've also offered to drive birders on the very limited roads out there if needed. You'll need to arrive about 8:30 to get yourself parked/situated. First come, first served. Natalie Boydstun and Douglas Cooper are other birders attending, but Natalie will be on the ferry only, as we have an additional open-water excursion (toward s. end of Camano and the mainland) planned after the boat docks at Hat I. The birding is as follows: bird the ferry route (which includes views of the south end of Jetty Island on the way out) as one segment, and then bird the route on return, keeping separate lists. We get fewer alcids and divers than most CBCs, so this is our key shot at both. The main component is the island itself. It takes pretty much the full day to walk the perimeter; Conwell Park is the hot spot, but the entire south end is interesting. Conwell has had several of the less-common CBC birds, like Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Hutton's Vireo and Spotted Sandpiper. The expanse of drift wood and low ground here could produce rarer birds one day, like a Rock Wren (recalling over-winterers at similar habitat on Protection I., Whidbey I. nearby). The local community is very excited, and several island people wish to accompany the birders, though I've said time is of the essence for the team lead and there will be need to keep moving. They will have a warm building available for the lunch hour if people wish to stop in and have also offered to drive. I have an island map with detail. If you wish to do this tomorrow, please let me know by 6 pm tonight?last minute I know, but last-minute surprises are not rare for CBCs. Best and thank you, Scott Atkinson 425-210-2716 cell -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From krothnelson at yahoo.com Fri Dec 30 11:09:56 2022 From: krothnelson at yahoo.com (krothnelson@yahoo.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Upcoming Bird Programs from North Cascades Institute References: <300853097.5508698.1672427396147.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <300853097.5508698.1672427396147@mail.yahoo.com> North Cascades Institute has several upcoming bird-related programs that I think many of you will be interested in:? First off, we have?award-winning author and photographer Paul Bannick?returning for a two-part online speaking engagement. Paul will combine his breathtaking images, first-hand accounts, video, sound, and science for an incredibly inspiring presentation and will also save time for all of your burning owl-related questions. The first event will take place January 26 and will focus on the?Owls of the Pacific Northwest. The second event will take place February 15 and focus on?Snowy Owls. Both events will be held virtually via Zoom from 6-7:15 PM and they are both only $10 to attend. You can?sign up for either class at?https://ncascades.org/signup/programs/classes. When you visit the?sign-up page, you?ll also see that the Institute is offering two?Skagit Valley Winter Birding?trips in February. The first field trip is already sold out, but the second one on February 11 taught by Brendan McGarry still has some spots available.? We also have a?Winter Wildlife Tracking class?happening on February 25 along Mt. Baker Highway and several other nature-related classes that you all might be interested in including a virtual presentation by?Dr. Kaeli Swift?about Corvids?on May 10.? Many other programs will be posted soon, and some of them will sell out quickly, so I highly recommend that you?sign up for the Institute?s monthly eNewsletter?here. Scholarships and Student, Military and Disability discounts may also be available for in-person programs. Call (360) 854-2599 for more info.? Happy New Year! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dennispaulson at comcast.net Fri Dec 30 13:58:10 2022 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] bird seed questions Message-ID: Hello tweets, 1) Do you buy bird seed at Costco? 2) Do your birds like it as much as any other bird seed you have used? Thanks! Dennis Paulson Maple Leaf, Seattle From jnine28 at gmail.com Fri Dec 30 14:44:13 2022 From: jnine28 at gmail.com (Jeannine Carter) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine siskins all fall/winter? In-Reply-To: References: <198956165.193773.1672349735027@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: Adding that we also haven?t seen any here in NW Seattle. I live in North Beach, between Carkeek and Gold Gardens parks with multiple wooded ravines running north-south, and in previous years the flocks came through methodically moving from tree to tree. Last year?s eruption was massive and downright eerie when they came through. This year, nada. My regulars and I are thankful for the peace around the feeders :) Jeannine NW Seattle ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Steve Hampton Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2022 2:30:28 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Am I the only person on south sound who hasn't seen any Pine siskins all fall/winter? I'm hearing there is a large cone crop in BC that is keeping them up there. On Thu, Dec 29, 2022 at 1:36 PM PENNY & DAVID KOYAMA > wrote: Tweets, I haven't seen one anywhere, but due to Covid recovery and holiday events, we've been sticking close to home since early Nov. We do have scads of Am Goldfinches, though, quickly running through our seed supply. They don't fight as much as Pine Siskins, which is always entertaining. I guess this just isn't one of those siskin eruptive years. Penny Koyama, Bothell On 12/29/2022 1:45 PM Philip Dickinson > wrote: We have been seeing only a few siskins north of Seattle, occasionally one or two at a time and no large flocks. My son says the same is true in central Texas Phil Dickinson Sent from my iPhone On Dec 29, 2022, at 11:19 AM, Betty Watson > wrote: We're out near the end of Steamboat Island Rd in west Olympia. I was just wondering what other people have been experiencing. This year we've had about 4 X as many juncos, the usual number of goldfinches but zero siskins. _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dennispaulson at comcast.net Fri Dec 30 17:17:32 2022 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] bird seed at Costco Message-ID: <89FD1A8A-84D1-4A47-93D9-15A614671698@comcast.net> To summarize the half-dozen responses I got to my questions: 1) Some people buy bird seed at Costco. 2) It is as good as any other bird seed (one person only spreads it on the ground, but it works well there.) We often shop there because Costco is a good company, as well as a less expensive place to stock up on food and other household goods. You have to be a member. Dennis Paulson Seattle From sleebottoms at yahoo.com Fri Dec 30 18:50:51 2022 From: sleebottoms at yahoo.com (sherry bottoms) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] bird seed at Costco In-Reply-To: <89FD1A8A-84D1-4A47-93D9-15A614671698@comcast.net> References: <89FD1A8A-84D1-4A47-93D9-15A614671698@comcast.net> Message-ID: <958971805.5894037.1672455051814@mail.yahoo.com> Thank you. Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Friday, December 30, 2022, 5:18 PM, Dennis Paulson wrote: To summarize the half-dozen responses I got to my questions: 1) Some people buy bird seed at Costco. 2) It is as good as any other bird seed (one person only spreads it on the ground, but it works well there.) We often shop there because Costco is a good company, as well as a less expensive place to stock up on food and other household goods. You have to be a member. Dennis Paulson 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 jimbetz at jimbetz.com Sat Dec 31 15:05:41 2022 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:50 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] bird seed at Costco (Dennis Paulson) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20221231150541.Horde.-Qu_5GoYlpmCD7W6M9W8UYU@webmail.jimbetz.com> Dennis, I buy my bird seed at Skagit Wild Bird Supply in Mt. Vernon. It is close to me, essentially on my way to 2/3rds of my local birding locations, and the people there are both knowledgeable and friendly. Does it cost more than Costco? TBH I don't know because I've never priced it at Costco ... but probably is less. Is bird seed something I budget? No. Is it expensive? I buy it for the birds ... not sure how to put a monetary value on that. *G* - Jim in Skagit County