From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 1 08:57:46 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 1 08:58:02 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk for Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for April 30th, 2025 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Thirty of us enjoyed a fine Spring day at the Refuge with cool temperatures in the 40's to 60's degrees Fahrenheit. There as a High 13'7" Tide at 7:00am, so when we started our walk at 8am, we decided to skip the Orchard, Access Roads and Twin Barns Overlook in the morning to chase the falling tide on the Nisqually Estuary Trail and Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. Highlights included a pair of CINNAMON TEAL in the Visitor Center Pond Overlook to greet us in the morning, First of Year YELLOW WARBLER at the Twin Barns cut-off from the Twin Barns Loop Trail, continuing YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD x 3 in the freshwater marsh south of the Nisqually Estuary Trail, and great looks of LEAST SANDPIPER, WESTERN SANDPIPER, and continuing WHIMBREL from the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. Other fun sightings included WOOD DUCK visiting the nest box at the west entrance to the Twin Barns Loop Trail, good looks of WILSON'S WARBLER and RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in the Twin Barns Picnic Area, a cool fly over of a MERLIN hunting the mudflats, a single SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER on the mudflats, continuing GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and single SNOW GOOSE in the freshwater marsh, a SORA swimming around in the freshwater marsh near the big Willow Tree along the dike, FOY pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL in the freshwater marsh, and two RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD nests with chicks over the borrow slough between the Beaver Deceiver and the NE corner of the Twin Barns Loop Trail. For the day we observed 84 species. With FOY VAUX'S SWIFT, YELLOW WARBLER, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, and BLUE-WINGED TEAL, we now have observed 134 species so far this year. See our eBird List pasted below with additional details and photos. Next week I'll be away leading a trip for Clearwater Audubon to Magee Marsh, the week before the "Biggest Week in American Birding". Ken, Pete, Rob, Jim, Ed and a group of exceptional regulars will lead the way in my absence. Until next time, when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook, be well, and happy birding. Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Apr 30, 2025 6:09 AM - 5:02 PM Protocol: Traveling 7.641 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Sunny skies with temperatures in the 40?s-60?s. There was a High 13?7? Tide at 7:00am and a Low -3?6? Tide at 2:16pm. Mammals seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed, Muskrat, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Townsend?s Vole, Harbor Seal, Townsend?s Chipmunk. Others seen American Bullfrog, and Puget Sound Garter Snake. 84 species (+8 other taxa) Snow Goose 1 Seen on central access road with Canada Goose. Greater White-fronted Goose (Western) 53 Cackling Goose (minima) 18 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 75 Wood Duck 15 Blue-winged Teal 2 Cinnamon Teal (Northern) 7 Northern Shoveler 100 Gadwall 4 American Wigeon 100 Mallard 75 Northern Pintail 25 Green-winged Teal (American) 600 Ring-necked Duck 6 Bufflehead 30 Common Goldeneye 5 Hooded Merganser 8 Red-breasted Merganser 1 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 12 Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 1 Mourning Dove 2 Vaux's Swift 3 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Rufous Hummingbird 8 Two nests with young on the east side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail in branches overhanging the borrow slough on the inside of the trail. One nest 8 railing planks north of beaver deceiver. The other nest 50 feet south of NE corner of loop trail. Virginia Rail 1 Heard in Visitor Center Pond. Sora 2 One heard in flooded field south of Twin Barns. The other seen swimming in fresh water marsh just south of Nisqually Estuary Trail closest to largest Willow Tree growing out of dike. American Coot (Red-shielded) 15 Killdeer 2 Flooded field along Entrance Road across from Orchard. Semipalmated Plover 1 Spotted by Craig on mudflats north of Nisqually Estuary Trail west of Leschi Slough. Whimbrel (Hudsonian) 2 Continuing. McAllister Creek Viewing Platform. Wilson's Snipe 1 Flooded field south of Access Road. Spotted Sandpiper 1 West Bank of McAllister Creek. Lesser Yellowlegs 6 Vocalizing. Fly over and landing in freshwater marsh. Greater Yellowlegs 6 Least Sandpiper 200 Western Sandpiper 200 Short-billed Gull 50 Ring-billed Gull 6 Glaucous-winged Gull 1 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 4 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 15 gull sp. 200 Caspian Tern 4 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Heard only. Double-crested Cormorant 5 Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 15 Bald Eagle 30 Nest in Cottonwood Tree West Bank of Nisqually River north dike. Another nest West Bank of McAllister Creek across from Puget Sound Viewing Platform. Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 1 Belted Kingfisher 3 Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Twin Barns Picnic Area and east side of Twin Barns Loop Trail. Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Heard only from Riparian Forest Overlook Northern Flicker 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 Merlin 1 Hunting mudflats. Hutton's Vireo 1 Heard only between Nisqually Estuary Trail and Twin Barns Observation Platform. American Crow 8 Common Raven 1 Black-capped Chickadee 10 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3 Tree Swallow 100 Violet-green Swallow 2 Purple Martin 6 Barn Swallow (American) 40 Several nests in Visitor Center Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 8 Mud hut over window at Visitor Center. Bushtit (Pacific) 4 Brown Creeper 4 Pacific Wren (pacificus Group) 1 Marsh Wren 20 Freshwater Marsh. Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 4 European Starling 50 American Robin (migratorius Group) 45 Visitor Center. Purple Finch (Western) 5 Pine Siskin (Northern) 8 American Goldfinch 2 White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) 1 White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 2 Golden-crowned Sparrow 12 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 8 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 44 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 3 Yellow-headed Blackbird 3 Two males, one female. Red-winged Blackbird 50 Brown-headed Cowbird 10 Orange-crowned Warbler 3 Common Yellowthroat 18 Yellow Warbler 3 Yellow-rumped Warbler 16 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 10 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 20 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle x Audubon's) 2 White and yellow throat, more prominent supercilium than Audubon?s variety. More prominent facial mark or smile line. One observed along the access road, the other seem along the Twin Barns Loop Trail. Wilson's Warbler 2 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S231416087 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 1 13:03:12 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jane Hadley via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 1 13:03:17 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Klickitat Spring bird count is Saturday, May 10. Message-ID: Hello Tweeters - The Klickitat County spring bird count is Saturday May 10. There are still territories available: * Panakanic * High Prairie * Maryhill * Klickitat wildlife area * Dallesport/Horsethief * Rock Creek Contact Marc Harvey: oakharvest at gmail dott com to sign up! Jane Hadley Seattle, WA hadleyj1725 - gmail -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 1 15:24:05 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 1 15:24:21 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2025-05-01 Message-ID: Tweets - Fabulous today at Marymoor, as expected. This week, Week 18, has by far the highest cumulative species count for any week of the year, and we expect to find ~70 species on our Week 18 survey. With today's perfect weather, we were not disappointed. The odd thing about Week 18 is that, while you're pretty sure it's going to be awesome, exactly what birds you'll find is always a surprise. Highlights: Blue-winged Teal - Four landed just out from the Lake Platform, First of Year (FOY). This is the 3rd-earliest we've ever had them Northern Shoveler - Large flyover flock that was at least mostly shovelers, then a pair at the lake for good looks (FOY) Green-winged Teal - Still 2-4 lingering. We seldom get them later Ring-necked Duck - Four seen from the Lake Platform, but large numbers were on the lake. Seldom do we get these in May Virginia Rail - One *seen* several times just below the weir SOLITARY SANDPIPER - Below the weir, only our 10th ever (FOY) Greater Yellowlegs - Below the weir (FOY) Least Sandpiper - Around 4 below the weir (FOY). Week 18 has, BY FAR, the most LESA records for any week at Marymoor Osprey - Seemed to have reclaimed two nests from the Canada Geese that were sitting on them the last several weeks Western Flycatcher - One near the Dog Area portapotties (FOY) Warbling Vireo - Two along the west edge of Dog Meadow (FOY) Purple Martin - Back at both pairs of gourds. Appear to have evicted the Tree Swallows that had been using the gourds Hermit Thrush - One along the west edge of Dog Meadow, first since January. ID confirmed by calls American Pipit - Flock(s), with one flock of ~25 seen fairly well in the grass/gravel parking lot (FOY) Yellow Warbler - Male singing from SE corner of the East Meadow (FOY). On the early side for this species Wilson's Warbler - One heard singing incessantly from near the East Footbridge (south of the East Meadow) (FOY) Black-headed Grosbeak - Matt heard a few singing loudly pre-dawn, but none were noted during the main walk (FOY) The WILSON'S WARBLER was truly annoying. For about 5 minutes, nine of us strained for a view while it sang every 10 seconds from no more than 20 yards away. Nobody even got a flash of yellow, but the song was unmistakable. A late scan of the lake turned up one PIED-BILLED GREBE and one unexpected HORNED GREBE in breeding plumage. One seen 06-May-2021 is our only other May HOGR. As I left the park, I stopped at the model airplane field, and near the East Maintenance facility I picked up NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS. Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Band-tailed Pigeon, Vaux's Swift, American Coot, Cliff Swallow, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Western Tanager. Despite those misses, we had 72 species (counting 2 gull sp. that were almost certainly GWGU or Olympics, but so far away as to be hard to get to gull). Blue-winged Teal was new for Week 18, bringing the cumulative total for this week to 154 species. Next closest is Week 17 at 142 species. No other week has even 140 species. Adding ELEVEN new birds for the year, we're at 107 species for the survey for 2025. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 1 15:42:26 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Timothy Barksdale via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 1 15:42:44 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Twin Lakes Merlins Message-ID: Hi Hans, Normally, at this northern latitude, Merlins have just arrived back on territory at this time of year. They are very active just prior to laying. A Predator's hatching of young is timed to the vulnerable young of the prey species. I suspect that what you witnessed was either a pair-bonding flight or a more - "pure" courtship one. Tim Barksdale Mokane, MO Choteau, MT -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 1 16:00:12 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (MARVIN BREECE via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 1 16:00:15 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Kent Chipping Sparrows Message-ID: Yesterday (4.30.25) there were 2 CHIPPING SPARROWS at the corner of Frager Road and 204th St in Kent. Today I saw one CHIPPING SPARROW at the same location. It was a third bird, very different from the birds I saw yesterday. There was also a wintering bird as well as an adult in alternate plumage earlier in April at this location. Possibly as many as 5 CHIPPING SPARROWS total. Marv Breece Tukwila, WA marvbreece@q.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 2 15:46:59 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Odette James via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 2 15:47:06 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Yellow-headed Blackbird References: <726749414.694173.1746226019059.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <726749414.694173.1746226019059@mail.yahoo.com> This morning and early afternoon, a surprise at the Lake Washington Beach Mobile Park - in the grassy field and on a log floating on Lake Washington - a gorgeous male Yellow-headed Blackbird, with the yellow on his head shading toward orange.? Seen from the Lakeshore Retirement Community next door.? Not his usual habitat, and a treat for those of us watching him.? The second time I've seen this species at this location in four and a half years. Odette James, The Lakeshore -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 2 16:08:41 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ronda Stark via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 2 16:09:10 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Yellow-headed Blackbird In-Reply-To: <726749414.694173.1746226019059@mail.yahoo.com> References: <726749414.694173.1746226019059.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <726749414.694173.1746226019059@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: That's great! We had one yesterday near the lakeshore behind the Center for Urban Horticulture at UW. On Fri, May 2, 2025 at 3:47?PM Odette James via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > This morning and early afternoon, a surprise at the Lake Washington Beach > Mobile Park - in the grassy field and on a log floating on Lake Washington > - a gorgeous male Yellow-headed Blackbird, with the yellow on his head > shading toward orange. Seen from the Lakeshore Retirement Community next > door. Not his usual habitat, and a treat for those of us watching him. > The second time I've seen this species at this location in four and a half > years. > > Odette James, The Lakeshore > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 2 16:48:50 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Gary Bletsch via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 2 16:49:05 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Jamaica? References: <1064688181.438706.1746229730074.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1064688181.438706.1746229730074@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, If any birders in Tweeterland can give me some advice about birding in Jamaica, I'd love to hear it. I am somewhat put off by the US State Department's warnings about travelling there. Meanwhile, Lonely Planet makes it sound like a walk in the park. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Specifically, I'd like to hear about any recommended birding guides and general suggestions re safe travel. Thanks! Yours truly, Gary Bletsch PS I had been thinking about going to Jamaica for some time, but had been putting it off. Then I went to a book signing a couple of weeks ago. Kenn Kaufmann had only a couple of minutes to spare, but he mentioned a recent trip to Jamaica! That got me thinking again. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 3 16:15:23 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (MARVIN BREECE via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 3 16:15:25 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit shorebirds Message-ID: Today at Hayton Reserve on Fir Island in Skagit County: Greater White-fronted Geese - 12 Canvasback - 1 BB Plover - 20 Semipalmated Plover - 20 and more Long-billed Dowitcher - a few LONG-BILLED CURLEW - 1 https://flic.kr/p/2r2uoez Greater Yellowlegs - a few RED KNOT - 3 Western Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Dunlin - hundreds SHORT-EARED OWL - 1 very late -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 4 07:33:40 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ruby Newton via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 4 07:33:44 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Turkey Vultures Message-ID: I believe that we saw two soaring over the bay near the Hood Canal bridge yesterday. Very high, circling. We do have eagles here also though. Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 5 07:24:24 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 5 07:24:37 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Northern_Spotted_Owl_Recovery_=E2=80=93_Thur?= =?utf-8?q?sday_May_8_7_p=2Em=2E_via_Zoom_or_in-person?= Message-ID: Emilie Kohler of the WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife will share her agency?s efforts to manage the competition between Northern Spotted Owls and Barred Owls. This is a complex issue that involves human-driven range expansion of one species that ultimately harms another species. You can view the program (starting at 7 pm) *via Zoom* by registering here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fkb_fkIHSxGjX8MYkyTanA or you can attend in person at Temple Beth Hatfiloh, 201 8th Ave SE, Olympia. Social time starts at 6:30 pm. This free program is offered by South Sound Bird Alliance (formerly Black Hills Audubon Society). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 5 12:15:10 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (jimullrich via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 5 12:15:32 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Leavenworth Spring Birdfest 5/15-18 Message-ID: Howdy Tweets: Perfect timing to plan your fun trip to Leavenworth and the 5/15-18 Spring Bird Fest. Visit for trips/talks/rafting/mountain biking/artist groups etc: https://www.wenatcheeriverinstitute.org Yours for the Birds n? the Bees Jim Ullrich Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 5 21:18:18 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Sandi Doughton via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 5 21:18:33 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird noise deterrents Message-ID: Hi all. I?m looking for insight/experiences with using loud bird calls as a deterrent for nuisance birds. Here?s the situation: I?m in West Seattle. My neighbors? home has, in past years, been seriously damaged by a male Northern flicker that drilled through the eaves and yanked out huge wads of insulation. Their response- guided by some pest control company- has been to mount speakers on the front and back of their very tall home, and blast bird calls nonstop, dawn to dusk. I don?t think they hear it in their house, but it?s really obnoxious in my yard. Merlin recognizes a couple of calls - sharp-shinned hawk, bald eagle - but most of it is avian gibberish, including one screeching sequence that sounds like a gull being dismembered. Most of the backyard birds seem unaffected, but I haven?t seen a towhee since the racket started early this spring. What are folks? thoughts? Does this work? ( I haven?t seen a Northern flicker recently, so maybe it does?) Does it negatively impact other species? Thanks for any insights you can offer. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 5 22:13:54 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Scott Ramos via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 5 22:14:35 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Colombia journey Message-ID: In early March this year, Dave Swayne and I made a 2-week birding trip to Colombia. We visited two areas, the Colombian Amazon and the Caribbean coast, which included dry scrub and the lush mountain habitat above Santa Marta. Both of these areas appear in many Colombian birding itineraries but I had no idea what to expect before this trip. To share some of that experience for others with curiosity about the region, I have put together a blog that describes the adventure from our perspective. Part 1 is now published and details the Amazon itinerary; work is progressing on Part 2. https://naturenw.wordpress.com/2025/02/25/colombia-2025/ Given that we would be in the rainforest for a week, I expected heat, humidity and frequent rain. We got plenty of the first two but, except for several hours of one outing, the rain was not really an issue. The novelty of birding the rainforest is that the majority of the time we were birding from a small motored and/or paddled boat with barely enough room for 4 or 5 of us. But we saw plenty of birds. Many were challenging but we had skilled guides throughout. It was an intense and fun trip. Scott Ramos Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 6 13:41:40 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Carol Riddell via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 6 13:41:54 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Nonstop Bird Noise Message-ID: <39961666-67E7-41E6-A04B-DFF91880FC83@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 6 14:40:08 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ellen Blackstone via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 6 14:40:25 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] bird noise deterrents Message-ID: Sandi et al. -- Edmonds, on the shore of Puget Sound, has many MANY flat roofs, several of which are year-round roosts -- and seasonal nesting places -- to Glaucous-winged Gulls. Late last summer, after the young gulls had fledged, one company hired a "pest control" company to scare the gulls away from their roof. [Name? Rentokil. Scary, eh? https://www.rentokil.com/] It irritated the neighbors no end and deterred the gulls not at all, and they stopped it, probably after several complaints. I talked to the owner of the company and explained to him that many of the species nest in colonies and that a ruckus might feel like home, rather than being frightening. (And yes, one set of sounds is like a gull being dismembered. Ugh.) The pair of gulls is happily getting ready to nest again this spring. One thing that worked in my old Wedgwood neighborhood was a gadget that was either motion- or sound-triggered. It was a giant spider that was tucked up under the eave, but when the flicker came around and did whatever flickers do, the spider would drop down with a bounce. That DID seem to scare the birds away. ALAS, I just found that the product is no longer available, and they offer this instead: https://bugspray.com/deterrents/visual/bird-intimidator-flasher But maybe your neighbors could visit Archie McPhee and have them help rig something up. Good luck! Ellen Blackstone Edmonds WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 6 15:06:46 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Benjamin Menzies via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 6 15:06:52 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird Noise Deterrants In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Not exactly what you're looking for, but here is what worked for the problem described: 1.) I had a flicker bore through the siding and nest in the wall cavity of the house one Spring. After the babies fledged and left, on the advice of the USFWS, I made and hung a flicker-spec'd birdhouse nearby. Flickers moved into it and seemed to defend the area, keeping others away. 2.) I moved to a different place, and put up a flicker box on a pole near the house. I had to discourage starlings from using it at first, but once some flickers moved in they repeated the pattern of using the box, and not trying to bore holes in the house. I really don't recall any drilling problems after either of these efforts, though I admit it's possible I was so captivated by Flicker Family doings that I forgot to care about the siding. ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of via Tweeters Sent: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 12:00 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 6 Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to tweeters@u.washington.edu To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7C0a23c7ed2b0845814f5708dd8cd05036%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638821548535429761%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=6fJOREaOmepyFMhLe9xf0SExhd6btEZN577jFV4XIe4%3D&reserved=0 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. Leavenworth Spring Birdfest 5/15-18 (jimullrich via Tweeters) 2. Bird noise deterrents (Sandi Doughton via Tweeters) 3. Colombia journey (Scott Ramos via Tweeters) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 5 May 2025 12:15:10 -0700 From: jimullrich via Tweeters To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Leavenworth Spring Birdfest 5/15-18 Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Howdy Tweets: Perfect timing to plan your fun trip to Leavenworth and the 5/15-18 Spring Bird Fest. Visit for trips/talks/rafting/mountain biking/artist groups etc: https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wenatcheeriverinstitute.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C0a23c7ed2b0845814f5708dd8cd05036%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638821548535455008%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=M20rmLKuwwxCC4ZJ21rP29jeImCeZbcHcl8GeK9S08A%3D&reserved=0 Yours for the Birds n? the Bees Jim Ullrich Sent from my iPhone ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 5 May 2025 21:18:18 -0700 From: Sandi Doughton via Tweeters To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Bird noise deterrents Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hi all. I?m looking for insight/experiences with using loud bird calls as a deterrent for nuisance birds. Here?s the situation: I?m in West Seattle. My neighbors? home has, in past years, been seriously damaged by a male Northern flicker that drilled through the eaves and yanked out huge wads of insulation. Their response- guided by some pest control company- has been to mount speakers on the front and back of their very tall home, and blast bird calls nonstop, dawn to dusk. I don?t think they hear it in their house, but it?s really obnoxious in my yard. Merlin recognizes a couple of calls - sharp-shinned hawk, bald eagle - but most of it is avian gibberish, including one screeching sequence that sounds like a gull being dismembered. Most of the backyard birds seem unaffected, but I haven?t seen a towhee since the racket started early this spring. What are folks? thoughts? Does this work? ( I haven?t seen a Northern flicker recently, so maybe it does?) Does it negatively impact other species? Thanks for any insights you can offer. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: > ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 5 May 2025 22:13:54 -0700 From: Scott Ramos via Tweeters To: Tweeters Tweeters Bird Chat Subject: [Tweeters] Colombia journey Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" In early March this year, Dave Swayne and I made a 2-week birding trip to Colombia. We visited two areas, the Colombian Amazon and the Caribbean coast, which included dry scrub and the lush mountain habitat above Santa Marta. Both of these areas appear in many Colombian birding itineraries but I had no idea what to expect before this trip. To share some of that experience for others with curiosity about the region, I have put together a blog that describes the adventure from our perspective. Part 1 is now published and details the Amazon itinerary; work is progressing on Part 2. https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnaturenw.wordpress.com%2F2025%2F02%2F25%2Fcolombia-2025%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C0a23c7ed2b0845814f5708dd8cd05036%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638821548535497469%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4YvrRUy3A4m9z2dARjU%2F3SCl9ODr7hdDXG8oRpysV0M%3D&reserved=0 Given that we would be in the rainforest for a week, I expected heat, humidity and frequent rain. We got plenty of the first two but, except for several hours of one outing, the rain was not really an issue. The novelty of birding the rainforest is that the majority of the time we were birding from a small motored and/or paddled boat with barely enough room for 4 or 5 of us. But we saw plenty of birds. Many were challenging but we had skilled guides throughout. It was an intense and fun trip. Scott Ramos Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: > ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7C0a23c7ed2b0845814f5708dd8cd05036%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638821548535532549%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Pxdz4ZbVDFFWECIgB7euzDxsYENMW62cmpy2lj3Iskc%3D&reserved=0 ------------------------------ End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 6 **************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 7 16:04:55 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Brian Zinke via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 7 16:05:13 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Online program: Edmonds Marsh avian survey & restoration update (5/8) Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Tomorrow evening (5/8) at 7pm, we'll be hosting our monthly program focused on the Edmonds Marsh. If you have an interest in the marsh and/or its birds, please consider yourself invited! Details below: *Edmonds Marsh: an update on our avian survey and the restoration process* Guest speakers: Hannah Toutonghi and Bill Derry Join us for a presentation on bird communities and microhabitats within the Edmonds Marsh. Hannah will discuss how the surveys are conducted and what we?re finding. Then, Pilchuck Audubon President Bill Derry will provide an update on the process to get the Edmonds Marsh restored. Find the Zoom registration link on our Monthly Programs page: https://www.pilchuckaudubon.org/monthly-programs 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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 7 16:19:38 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michelle Landis via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 7 16:19:53 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] RTHA v. BAEA in nest Message-ID: Really interesting behavior today. I've been watching an eagle nest on March Point this Spring. There is a RTHA nest in the same meadow, less than 1/4 mile from the BAEA nest. Last week there were two eaglets, I haven't been able to confirm chicks for the RTHA. Today, both eagle adults were in the nest, slightly unusual. They were VERY vocal, somewhat unusual, so I'm watching to see what they're yelling at. Turns out, it's an adult RTHA who is savagely harassing them. He would kite above the nest, eagles yelling at him (I say "he" without any evidence....my apologies), blow past the nest at high velocity, and finally absolutely dove on the nest, within a wingspan of the adult eagles. This went on for at least 45 minutes and then I had to leave. If I were a less scientific and more anthropomorphic person, I would say this RTHA was PISSED. He was sending some kind of message and I wish I knew what it was. My guess, and it's a good guess, is that the eagles grabbed a chick out of the RTHA nest. Who needs soap operas. -- *Michelle Landis* *Coupeville, WA* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 7 16:31:12 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 7 16:31:17 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] How hunting harriers home in on their prey | ScienceDaily Message-ID: ?Summary: Owls, well adapted to hearing the exact location of prey, have something in common with an unrelated group of raptors -- harriers. A new study has found that harriers across the world are able to keep a much better ear out for their next meal than previously thought.? https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250506105359.htm Sent from my iPhone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 7 18:34:57 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jane Hadley via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 7 18:35:00 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Some new birding resources Message-ID: <4bf8e5c3-22b3-4732-9782-29c709793a0f@gmail.com> Dear Tweetsters - The Birding Resources page on the WOS website has a couple of changes or additions you may be interested in. First is a new addition. A tool created by Mason Maron shows a list of rare bird species in Washington state along with the number of accepted sightings for each species. It also has a search function. The information comes from Washington Bird Records Committee records. You can see this new tool at: https://visorbearer.github.io/WABirdRecords/ Second, the program that allows you to get a checklist for any county in the U.S. has been updated with bug fixes and other improvements. You now have a choice between two formats for viewing or printing out the checklists. The checklists are derived from eBird sightings. With this update, the species included on the checklists have been screened against the ABA Checklist of United States birds to eliminate extinct birds, escapees, non-wild birds, and birds that are not expected or regular in the U.S. (Examples of species removed from the checklists are Ivory Billed Woodpecker, Northern Red Bishop, and Cockatiel.) This screening also reflects some lumps and splits and name changes, for example, Western Flycatcher and Short-billed Gull. You can find this tool at: https://wos.org/documents/USA-county-checklists/usa-county-checklist.html Also to be found on the Birding Resources page is a link to Marv Breece's Seasonal Occurrence tables, which are especially helpful this time of year. https://wos.org/documents/Occurrence/ Other links are to maps, to a list of resources for adding native plants to your garden, a list of the four-letter Alpha codes for birds, and the Birder's Dashboard for Washington. Also, the Sound to Sage breeding bird atlas which provides accurate data about which bird species are breeding in specific locations within four contiguous counties. https://wos.org/birding-resources/ Jane Hadley WOS Webmaster Seattle, WA hadleyj1725@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 7 18:42:04 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 7 18:42:18 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Potholes Moses Lake CBC (proposed) Message-ID: <1746668524.my466uui8sw8s8s8@webmail.sitestar.net> Hi Everyone, I am in the process of developing a new CBC in the Moses Lake area. We hope to do a pilot count for this season and then modify things as needed in the future. For those familiar with the old CBC the count circle has been redrawn. The new circle will cover all of Potholes Reservoir and some of the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge. The norther portion will still contain almost all of Moses Lake, but the barren wastelands of the north will be gone. Consideration has been given to reduce the miles driven during the count. New areas have been drawn and written directions concerning boundaries are already done. I am wondering how many people would find this an interesting count to participate in. l don't have dates yet but my hope is to have it as early as possible without conflicting with other eastern Washington counts. The other choice is to have it late in the season but that can mean terrible roads (a possibility no matter the timing of the count). I realize it's early to start talking about CBC but all of the paperwork has to go into Washington and National Audubon for review and approval. That takes quite a bit of time, both mine and theirs. Doug Schonewald -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 7 18:52:35 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Rob Faucett via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 7 18:52:52 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Cle Elum - Saw whet or Boreal? Message-ID: <3E2CB6CC-E6C4-4D0F-A1F2-7BE7067F71DE@mac.com> I?m trying to get a visiting friend on Saw whet and/or Boreal Owls while he?s in Cle Elum. Any advice or recent hearings? Thanks Rob ? Rob Faucett +1(206) 619-5569 robfaucett@mac.com Seattle, WA 98105 From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 07:01:16 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (AMK17 via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 07:01:19 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Wilson=E2=80=99s_warbler?= Message-ID: <9d34eeca-3750-61fc-8d35-4e85bd4b9018@earthlink.net> Seems like a late migration, at least in my yard. This morning a first of season Wilson's warbler was singing in the yard. Trip to Cle Elum this past weekend seemed absent of warblers but for a common yellowthroat and yellow rumped warblers. Not the best day for observations - cold and windy. Stampede Pass American dipper was present along with singing Yellow rumped warblers. Also observed a barred owl roadside. Cheers AKopitov Seattle AMK17 From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 07:48:50 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 07:49:29 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Wilson=E2=80=99s_warbler?= In-Reply-To: <9d34eeca-3750-61fc-8d35-4e85bd4b9018@earthlink.net> References: <9d34eeca-3750-61fc-8d35-4e85bd4b9018@earthlink.net> Message-ID: I was just wondering out loud yesterday - where are the Wilson's and Yellow Warblers that appear in our Maple trees every spring? I'm in Seattle's Central District. We had some early Orange Crowned pass through, and tons of Yellow Rumped, but no one else. Last weekend I was up on Matia Island, in the San Juans (an absolute treasure), and Merlin heard Townsend's, Wilson's, and Orange Crowned. If I was a warbler, I'd pick Matia Island over Seattle too. Jill Freidberg On Thu, May 8, 2025, 7:02?AM AMK17 via Tweeters wrote: > Seems like a late migration, at least in my yard. This morning a first of > season Wilson's warbler was singing in the yard. Trip to Cle Elum this > past weekend seemed absent of warblers but for a common yellowthroat and > yellow rumped warblers. Not the best day for observations - cold and windy. > > Stampede Pass American dipper was present along with singing Yellow rumped > warblers. Also observed a barred owl roadside. > > Cheers > AKopitov > Seattle > > AMK17 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 08:06:30 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 08:06:44 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Wilson=E2=80=99s_warbler?= In-Reply-To: <9d34eeca-3750-61fc-8d35-4e85bd4b9018@earthlink.net> References: <9d34eeca-3750-61fc-8d35-4e85bd4b9018@earthlink.net> Message-ID: Ha! Immediately after sending my earlier reply, I walked outside and heard a Wilson's and Orange Crowned! They're warbling up a storm in my yard. So thank you! This exchange seems to have lifted the spell. Jill On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 7:02?AM AMK17 via Tweeters wrote: > Seems like a late migration, at least in my yard. This morning a first of > season Wilson's warbler was singing in the yard. Trip to Cle Elum this > past weekend seemed absent of warblers but for a common yellowthroat and > yellow rumped warblers. Not the best day for observations - cold and windy. > > Stampede Pass American dipper was present along with singing Yellow rumped > warblers. Also observed a barred owl roadside. > > Cheers > AKopitov > Seattle > > AMK17 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 10:16:15 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 10:16:29 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Gull ID Question Message-ID: Does anybody know the gull species getting smoked out at the Vatican? Yellow-legged? Good Birding! Hans *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 12:22:00 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 12:22:07 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Just responding to AKopitov's post... I have had a very similar experience...one Wilson's next door, Chipping Sparrows in Woodland Park, a nice mix of Audubon's Yellow Rumped around Green Lake, a bunch of Purple Finches in Discovery Park...but so far a very light migration... Brad Liljequist Phinney Ridge Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 13:01:46 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Anna via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 13:02:00 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9205635C-4C25-483D-BBBC-28D7E11C2528@earthlink.net> Reports in CA suggested a 2 week delay there? flycatchers just arriving in Monterey Bay Area? AKopitov Seattle Sent from my iPhone with all the auto correct quirks. On May 8, 2025, at 12:23?PM, BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters wrote: ? Just responding to AKopitov's post... I have had a very similar experience...one Wilson's next door, Chipping Sparrows in Woodland Park, a nice mix of Audubon's Yellow Rumped around Green Lake, a bunch of Purple Finches in Discovery Park...but so far a very light migration... Brad Liljequist Phinney Ridge Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 13:27:01 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 13:27:07 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Wiley Slough - Bald Eagle Nest In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <10060f94-344f-4a28-80e7-ad9b36e57c9a@jimbetz.com> Hi all, ? The chick hatch is probably imminent.? Both parents are staying 'near' the nest essentially full time and they are more "active" than they were even a week ago. I have not seen evidence that the hatch has already occurred - but they are not sitting continuously and will both go off to a nearby roost for as much as a half hour or more (don't need to sit on warm days?).? They are switching off which one is staying closest/on the nest - maybe two or three times a day. ? One of the parents (the male?) has very "creaky" wings and flies in the vicinity once or twice a half hour - mostly moving from one tall tree to another.? It also calls out when sitting.? "Proud Papa Bragging" ... ? *G*? It flew quite close to my head one time when I walked under the nest in order to get past - the best viewing is usually from the 'far side' of the nest.? (Do you remember "Far Side"?) ? I am getting out there about every other day.? Hoping to see a "fuzzy head"! What I've seen so far is "a head sticking up over the edge of the nest". https://eamon.smugmug.com/Family-pics-from-jim/Birds-and-Stuff-from-Jim/n-4Cw3NF/Birds-Web/i-23ZcCzT/A ? This nest is about a mile's walk - one way - from the parking lots at Wiley.? Depending upon the tide you will see ducks (mostly mallards and green-winged teal), yellowlegs (both), great blue herons, tree swallows and maybe the occasional barn swallow, Downy Woodpeckers, a cormorant, and perhaps even a TUVU.? It is interesting to me how few gulls there are. ? It takes me about an hour one way from the parking lot to the nest - because I stop and bird along the way both ways.? I've been spending about 1/2 to a full hour near the BAEA nest.? It is on the right side of the walking path (dike top) and only about 20-25 feet up in a tree ... pretty hard to miss it.? When you get to where the sitting bench is you are 'about 2/3rds of the way'. ? There have been reports of a Great-horned Owl family near the boat ramp at Wiley - I saw the adult one time about 2 weeks ago but have been 'blanked' since. ????? - go Birding!?? ... Jim in Skagit County From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 13:50:58 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (B B via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 13:51:05 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued In-Reply-To: <9205635C-4C25-483D-BBBC-28D7E11C2528@earthlink.net> References: <9205635C-4C25-483D-BBBC-28D7E11C2528@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <2017764570.1573183.1746737458581@mail.yahoo.com> My sense from Eastern Washington trip this week is late and/or light. On Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 01:14:18 PM PDT, Anna via Tweeters wrote: Reports in CA suggested a 2 week delay there? flycatchers just arriving in Monterey Bay Area? AKopitov?Seattle Sent from my iPhone with all the auto correct quirks. On May 8, 2025, at 12:23?PM, BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters wrote: ?Just responding to AKopitov's post... I have had a very similar experience...one Wilson's next door, Chipping Sparrows in Woodland Park, a nice mix of Audubon's Yellow Rumped around Green Lake, a bunch of Purple Finches in Discovery Park...but so far a very light migration... Brad LiljequistPhinney RidgeSeattle _______________________________________________ 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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 15:06:33 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 15:06:54 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued In-Reply-To: <9205635C-4C25-483D-BBBC-28D7E11C2528@earthlink.net> References: <9205635C-4C25-483D-BBBC-28D7E11C2528@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <6291F9B9-9A0A-458C-BA7D-D487D957EC90@me.com> Count Vaux?s Swifts as also being late in their northbound migration this year. All of our roosts north of Oregon have been having a lot less than their expected numbers. But last night the San Diego YWCA reported 7600, their second highest number ever. The wee birds are usually gone here come May. So if migration is 2 weeks late, why? Larry Schwitters Issaquah > On May 8, 2025, at 1:01?PM, Anna via Tweeters wrote: > > Reports in CA suggested a 2 week delay there? flycatchers just arriving in Monterey Bay Area? > > AKopitov > Seattle > > > Sent from my iPhone with all the auto correct quirks. > > On May 8, 2025, at 12:23?PM, BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters wrote: > > ? > Just responding to AKopitov's post... > > I have had a very similar experience...one Wilson's next door, Chipping Sparrows in Woodland Park, a nice mix of Audubon's Yellow Rumped around Green Lake, a bunch of Purple Finches in Discovery Park...but so far a very light migration... > > Brad Liljequist > Phinney Ridge > Seattle > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 15:43:59 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 15:44:25 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Swifts late Message-ID: Count Vaux?s Swifts as also being late in their northbound migration this year. All of our roosts north of Oregon have been having a lot less than their expected numbers. But last night the San Diego YWCA reported 7600, their second highest number ever. The wee birds are usually gone from there come May. So if migration is 2 weeks late, why? Larry Schwitters Issaquah From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 16:39:01 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Matt Bartels via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 16:39:15 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2025-05-08 Message-ID: Hi Tweets - Another pretty great spring day at Marymoor Park in King County. A dozen of us enjoyed spring temps and lots of birds today - Michael was out of town, so the rest of us did our best to fill in. The best overall bit of the day was actually having several spots with many warblers present. The spring birds might be slow-ish arriving, but they are getting here. Highlights: Evening Grosbeak [FOY] - 4 fly-bys , a species we get about every year, but only a couple times a year, generally Swainson?s Thrush [FOY] - finally back - several ?whitting? mostly pre-dawn, one even gave a full song. One glimpsed later in the day. Black-throated Gray Warbler - [FOY] - one heard singing across from the windmill. Western Tanager - one male seen mid-walk, one more heard at the Rowing Club Black-headed Grosbeak - after only hearing them pre-dawn last week, this week we got nice looks at a couple, and had several singing Warbling Vireo - a few singing, including sightings of a couple Purple Martins have taken over the gourds at the lake viewing platform, but for the 2nd week a Tree Swallow pair continues to perch nearby w/ nesting material, trying in vain to enter one of the gourds where they presumably had tried to set up shop before the martins returned. 6 Warbler species including: Orange-crowned, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Gray and Wilson?s. Many misses today, including Vaux?s Swift, Caspian Tern, Red-tailed Hawk, any pigeons For the day, 58 species. Our walk year list increased by 3 to 110. Matt Bartels Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 22:37:39 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Greg via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 22:37:55 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Gull ID Question In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <918FFBC2-7453-4B3D-813F-75474A40B1DD@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 8 22:41:19 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kenneth Brown via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 8 22:41:23 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Nisqually Wednesday walk. Message-ID: <675998707.108974.1746769279561@connect.xfinity.com> The day started with Vultures. Five Turkey Vultures circled the sky over the parking lot and adjacent fields as we arrived. Finding no dead body, we didn't take their presence as an omen. It was overcast and cooler in comparison to the warm days that preceded. Barn and Cliff Swallows swooped around us in their crisp spring plumage. Yellow Warblers sang in the nearby foliage, an American Goldfinch perched briefly in the Alder to the north. We heard and saw more Yellow Warblers as we walked south through the south parking lot. A male Rufous Hummingbird stood guard, as he is want to do, at the entrance to the Children's Play Area. A Band-tailed Pigeon passed overhead and a Mourning Dove perched in an Alder near the maintenance facility. American Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Purple Finch, and more Goldfinch sang from the trees in the orchard. The peek-a-boo pond is getting more difficult to see as the grass grows taller and the pond is drying up, but it still yielded a couple Killdeer. The number of ducks has dropped dramatically but there were still Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Green-winged Teal, and Northern Pintail to be seen in the flooded field west of the service road, along with a few Canada Geese with their goslings. A couple of Least Sandpipers and a few Long-billed Dowitchers shared the wet mud with the remaining waterfowl. Three Golden-crowned Sparrows foraged along the road. A Sora, unseen, sounded off to torment some of the searching birders. An Osprey flew south over the field. >From the brush along the west side of the loop trail we heard and saw more Yellow Warblers, an Orange-crowned Warbler, Marsh and Bewick's Wrens, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Pine Siskins, European Starlings, a Northern Flicker, Swainson's Thrush and American Robins, and Black-headed Grosbeak. At the junction of the loop trail and the trail to the Twin Barnes was a beautiful Bullock's Oriole. >From the platform at the Twin Barnes we saw Northern Rough-winged Swallows, a Cliff Swallow and a Violet-Green Swallow on the interior road apparently gathering nest material. Tree and Barn Swallows dominated the air space. A Wood Duck hung out in the remaining water with a few other duck friends. >From the dike, the Eagle's nest in the tall Cottonwood near the Nisqually River has become less visible as the leaves have now nearly fully emerged, but we thought we could discern the movement of a young chick in the nest when the wind pushed the leaves aside for a fraction of a second. Was it observation or imagination? Common Yellow-throat, Savannah, Song, and Lincoln's Sparrows, were seen along the portion of the dike sheltered by the Willow thicket. Distant Least Sandpipers foraged on the mud out on the surge plain. Past the Willows, the freshwater side held Canada Geese shepherding more Goslings, Greater White-fronted Geese, a few Mallards, Green-winged Teal, Shovelers and Pintails. A pair of Cinnamon Teal flew in to join another pair already on the water. A couple of American Coots navigated the near shore along with two pairs of Hooded Mergansers. Virginia Rail and Sora were vocal but again unseen. A solo bright male Yellow-headed Blackbird held a steady post in a clump of rushes, while his Red-winged Blackbird cousins were scattered around, moving from Cattail stalk to stalk. Barn and Tree Swallows abounded, perched and flying, with a few Northern Rough-winged mixed in. Out on the boardwalk along McAllister Creek, the low tide had exposed a lot of mud. A trio of male Common Mergansers stood out in the creek with their dark heads and bright white bodies. A Belted Kingfisher flew up the creek. A Steller's Jay could be heard calling from the conifers on the far side . Anthony's sharp eyes spotted a Whimbrel, nearly the same color of the mud it was foraging on. A gull tried to steal the prize the Whimbrel's long bill had pulled up. A single female Common Goldeneye and a few Bufflehead were the only other waterfowl in the water. A small group of Double-crested Cormorants huddled together on the near shore. On the exposed tide flat east of the boardwalk scattered clumps of Gulls foraged or roosted. A cluster of 20 Caspian Terns mixed with Ring-billed Gulls and Glaucous-winged/Western Gull hybrids and fewer California and Short-billed Gulls. From the covered platform at the end, Purple Martins could be seen using the gourd houses at Luhr Beach. A single Brant's Cormorant sat on a piling far off shore. An adult Bald Eagle could be seen in the nest on the ridge above the beach. A flock of American Wigeon were to the east and to the south a small mixed flock of Western Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers explored the mud. At the Nisqually River overlook were several Common Goldeneye and a single Common Merganser. As we travelled south along the east side of the loop trail we were accompanied part way by a young boy of 8-9 (?) with his mother. We showed them a Red-eared Slider turtle, a Muskrat in the slough, and scope views of two Rufous Hummingbird nests, each with two young occupants. The excitement of the boy and his Mom added to our enjoyment. A side trip to the riparian zone added a Song Sparrow, American Robin and a Common Raven to our tally before we returned to the Visitor's Center to end the walk. The Checklist follows: Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US May 7, 2025 8:00 AM - 2:36 PM Protocol: Traveling 5.49 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. The walk began with overcast skies at 53? F and a light south breeze at 5 knots; through the day, the clouds eventually burned off partly and the wind increased to over 15 knots on a 65? afternoon. There was a low +3.34-foot tide at 10:11 a.m., flooding to a +9.57-foot high water at 3:41 p.m. Non-birds seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Muskrat, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal, Townsend?s Chipmunk, Pacific Chorus Frog and American Bullfrog. Refuge volunteer Jim Pruske pointed out a growth of Neolentinus lepideus, the ?train wrecker? mushroom along the boardwalk loop. 80 species (+4 other taxa) Greater White-fronted Goose 9 Cackling Goose (minima) 32 Canada Goose 95 Several broods of goslings Wood Duck 3 Blue-winged Teal 2 Cinnamon Teal 4 Northern Shoveler 45 Gadwall 2 American Wigeon 45 Mallard 115 Northern Pintail 55 Green-winged Teal 28 dabbling duck sp. 40 Ring-necked Duck 2 Bufflehead 8 Common Goldeneye 9 Hooded Merganser 9 Common Merganser 4 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 3 Band-tailed Pigeon 2 Mourning Dove 3 Vaux's Swift 1 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Rufous Hummingbird 7 The two nests along the east side of the boardwalk loop each had 2 large nestlings Virginia Rail 2 Vocalizing from cattail marsh Sora 3 Vocalizing from flooded fields west of the boardwalk loop and south of the north dike American Coot 2 Killdeer 2 Semipalmated Plover 3 Whimbrel 1 Long-billed Dowitcher 17 Least Sandpiper 22 Western Sandpiper 6 Short-billed Gull 2 Ring-billed Gull 30 California Gull 3 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 9 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 42 gull sp. 50 Caspian Tern 20 Brandt's Cormorant 1 Double-crested Cormorant 9 Great Blue Heron 12 Turkey Vulture 5 Osprey 1 Bald Eagle 16 Nest in large cottonwood along Nisqually River appeared to have young bird Belted Kingfisher 2 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Vocalizing along east boardwalk loop Northern Flicker 2 Steller's Jay 1 Vocalizing from timber west of McAllister Creek American Crow 4 Common Raven 1 Black-capped Chickadee 5 Tree Swallow 70 Violet-green Swallow 1 Purple Martin 3 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6 Barn Swallow 50 Cliff Swallow 6 Brown Creeper 1 Marsh Wren 9 Bewick's Wren 4 European Starling 28 Swainson's Thrush 1 American Robin 40 Cedar Waxwing 1 Purple Finch (Western) 7 Pine Siskin 6 American Goldfinch 8 Golden-crowned Sparrow 3 Savannah Sparrow 2 Song Sparrow 30 Lincoln's Sparrow 2 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 1 Yellow-headed Blackbird 1 Male in Flooded field east of cattail marsh Bullock's Oriole 1 Male seen vocalizing at northwest 'corner' of the boardwalk loop. Red-winged Blackbird 48 Brown-headed Cowbird 9 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Common Yellowthroat 10 Yellow Warbler 14 Black-headed Grosbeak 3 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S234786059 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 9 10:44:52 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Mary Metz via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 9 10:44:56 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act References: <1510973835.1758067.1746812692256.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1510973835.1758067.1746812692256@mail.yahoo.com> I'm not sure if this is too political for Tweeters, but I'm hoping that we're all in agreement that the ESA is a good thing and that it's important to protect birds' habitats. The following is from the Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue people--and the deadline for commenting on the proposed change is May 19: Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed a change to the Endangered Species Act. The proposal involves replacing the word ?harm? with ?take,? which could significantly weaken protections for the habitats of endangered species. This change is currently open for public comment, and we encourage everyone to consider speaking out and taking action to protect wildlife and their ecosystems. Some background: For more information https://www.barclaydamon.com/.../proposed-endangered...To make your voice heard https://www.regulations.gov/docu.../FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001 Thanks!Mary -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 9 10:53:43 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Faye McAdams Hands via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 9 10:53:50 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act In-Reply-To: <1510973835.1758067.1746812692256@mail.yahoo.com> References: <1510973835.1758067.1746812692256.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1510973835.1758067.1746812692256@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Thank You Mary! Protecting our planet, and the birds that we all come together here to enjoy, is above ALL politics. Thank you for alerting us! Happy Birding, Faye zest4parus@hotmail.com Faye McAdams Hands Life is Simple -- Eat, Sleep, Bird. ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Mary Metz via Tweeters Sent: Friday, May 9, 2025 10:44 AM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act I'm not sure if this is too political for Tweeters, but I'm hoping that we're all in agreement that the ESA is a good thing and that it's important to protect birds' habitats. The following is from the Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue people--and the deadline for commenting on the proposed change is May 19: Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed a change to the Endangered Species Act. The proposal involves replacing the word ?harm? with ?take,? which could significantly weaken protections for the habitats of endangered species. This change is currently open for public comment, and we encourage everyone to consider speaking out and taking action to protect wildlife and their ecosystems. Some background: For more information https://www.barclaydamon.com/.../proposed-endangered... To make your voice heard https://www.regulations.gov/docu.../FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001 Thanks! Mary -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 9 12:00:05 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Louise via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 9 12:00:21 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act In-Reply-To: References: <1510973835.1758067.1746812692256.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1510973835.1758067.1746812692256@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Unfortunately this is not something that is coming from the agencies, or even the current administration. This is coming out of a couple of terrible 2024 Supreme Court rulings, such as the overturning of Chevron. https://www.barclaydamon.com/alerts/end-of-an-era-scotus-overturns-chevron-after-40-years-of-deference-to-administrative-agencies When it was first drafted, the Endangered Species Act intended 'harm' to apply directly to individuals. As understanding of ecology grew and how impossible it is to protect a species without also protecting its habitat, the interpretation of 'harm' by the government and its various agencies was broadened to include indirect harm by disturbing habitat. Last year's Supreme Court rulings have decided that this interpretation is too broad and the government had no right to do it. ?courts need not and under the [Administrative Procedure Act] may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous.? The Biden administration had already begun the process of adjusting the policies and wording of its agencies' directives in order to comply with the Supreme Court rulings, and the current administration has continued that process. This proposed rewording is not a direct result of the administration's policies (although I doubt they disagree with it) - it is intended to make the wording of the law more closely reflect its application as directed by the Supreme Court. Sadly, no amount of people commenting on the proposed change saying that it's terrible will over-ride the Supreme Court ruling. There are two solutions to the problem - one is for the government to draft a new endangered species act from scratch that specifically protects habitat. The other is to wait until we have a more progressive Supreme Court that may revisit the ruling, since this is apparently a thing that happens now. Louise Rutter Kirkland On Fri, May 9, 2025 at 10:54?AM Faye McAdams Hands via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Thank You Mary! > > Protecting our planet, and the birds that we all come together here to > enjoy, is above ALL politics. > Thank you for alerting us! > > Happy Birding, > Faye > zest4parus@hotmail.com > > Faye McAdams Hands > > Life is Simple -- Eat, Sleep, Bird. > ------------------------------ > *From:* Tweeters on behalf > of Mary Metz via Tweeters > *Sent:* Friday, May 9, 2025 10:44 AM > *To:* tweeters@u.washington.edu > *Subject:* [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act > > I'm not sure if this is too political for Tweeters, but I'm hoping that > we're all in agreement that the ESA is a good thing and that it's important > to protect birds' habitats. The following is from the Discovery Bay Wild > Bird Rescue people--and the deadline for commenting on the proposed change > is May 19: > > Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine > Fisheries Service proposed a change to the Endangered Species Act. The > proposal involves replacing the word ?harm? with ?take,? which could > significantly weaken protections for the habitats of endangered species. > This change is currently open for public comment, and we encourage everyone > to consider speaking out and taking action to protect wildlife and their > ecosystems. Some background: > For more information > https://www.barclaydamon.com/.../proposed-endangered... > > To make your voice heard > https://www.regulations.gov/docu.../FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001 > > > Thanks! > Mary > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 9 13:02:51 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ted Ryan via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 9 13:03:15 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <06869e7d-345e-4838-9f3d-8bafbd2d096d@app.fastmail.com> I think politics is precisely the problem. The ESA process is itself political. Biologists (federal and state) and fish and game departments are often well down the list of influencers in the process despite them knowing the most about particular species. You don't need to look further than grizzly bear recovery in the Mountain West states. Montana and Wyoming were denied their petition to reclassify grizzlies in their state. The bears had met recovery objectives under the ESA listing. Very vocal and influential groups have made it impossible for the ESA process to work as it should out of fear they will be hunted. There a many other species that have met recovering objectives but remain listed. The amount of money and resources that is spent fighting to keep recovered species on the list is a shame. There are species in real trouble that could use those resources. The charismatic mega fauna that have met objectives get all the attention and meanwhile the Vaquita (porpoise) is about to disappear from the face of the earth. The process is broken. Ted Ryan Port Orchard On Fri, May 9, 2025, at 12:00 PM, via Tweeters wrote: > > > *From:* Tweeters on behalf > > of Mary Metz via Tweeters > > *Sent:* Friday, May 9, 2025 10:44 AM > > *To:* tweeters@u.washington.edu > > *Subject:* [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act > > > > I'm not sure if this is too political for Tweeters, but I'm hoping that > > we're all in agreement that the ESA is a good thing and that it's important > > to protect birds' habitats. The following is from the Discovery Bay Wild > > Bird Rescue people--and the deadline for commenting on the proposed change > > is May 19: > > > > Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine > > Fisheries Service proposed a change to the Endangered Species Act. The > > proposal involves replacing the word ?harm? with ?take,? which could > > significantly weaken protections for the habitats of endangered species. > > This change is currently open for public comment, and we encourage everyone > > to consider speaking out and taking action to protect wildlife and their > > ecosystems. Some background: > > For more information > > https://www.barclaydamon.com/.../proposed-endangered... > > > > To make your voice heard > > https://www.regulations.gov/docu.../FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001 > > > > > > Thanks! > > Mary > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Tweeters mailing list > > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 9 13:47:40 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Thomas M Leschine via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 9 13:47:45 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Pretty big migration day Message-ID: <0A315377-B103-470A-9EC2-31AF5BE5BF49@uw.edu> Hello, Tweets, This morning early I was treated to a small burst of migrants passing through the treetops just outside my West Queen Anne windows, in Seattle. Roughly between the hours of 6:30 - 8:30 am I saw at least a dozen Warbling Vireos, 1 or 2 Black-throated Gray Warblers, 1-2 Orange-crowned Warblers and a Western Flycatcher that spent a little time actually fly catching. This after several successive mornings with no migrants spotted at all. I live on the 4th floor so this was largely a mid-level to treetops display in maples that have just about fully leafed out. A few weeks back there were several days with many Yellow-rumped Warblers, all Audubon?s, with mostly males pushing through a few days before the birds passing through seemed mostly female. Some Orange-crowned and an earlier Black-throated Gray then as well and on May 1 I had a Nashville Warbler sitting on a branch just off the edge of the roofline. Still awaiting Wilson?s Warblers which in some years have been fairly numerous. And if really lucky there might be a few days with Western Tanagers passing through. I haven?t been counting but feel like this has been the most ever springtime YRWAs moving past my windows. Tom Leschine Seattle tee em ell @ you w dot ee dee you From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 10 06:57:08 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (AMK17 via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 10 06:57:11 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued Message-ID: <8e254bcf-6f62-d7c4-b9b1-2a9d95b3d51e@earthlink.net> Warbling vireos to day in Phinney! Akopitov Seattle AMK17 -----Original Message----- From: Anna Sent: May 8, 2025 1:02 PM To: BRAD Liljequist Cc: , Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued Reports in CA suggested a 2 week delay there… flycatchers just arriving in Monterey Bay Area… AKopitov Seattle Sent from my iPhone with all the auto correct quirks. On May 8, 2025, at 12:23?PM, BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters wrote: Just responding to AKopitov's post... I have had a very similar experience...one Wilson's next door, Chipping Sparrows in Woodland Park, a nice mix of Audubon's Yellow Rumped around Green Lake, a bunch of Purple Finches in Discovery Park...but so far a very light migration... Brad Liljequist Phinney Ridge Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 10 13:04:30 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 10 13:04:40 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Parasitic Jaegers Message-ID: Parasitic Jaegers getting run off by Caspian terns off Blakely rocks ~ SE from the rocks now 12:55 PM Kersti E. Muul ED - SALISH WILDLIFE WATCH Urban Conservation Specialist - Response and Rescue Washington Animal Response Team, BCS, Osprey Solutions and MMSN referral Wildlife Field Biologist IV Marbled murrelet forest certified and USFWS marine certified Animal Care Specialist/Animal & Off the Grid First Aid Certified -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 10 14:32:39 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 10 14:33:08 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Recent sightings Message-ID: Late morning on Thursday there was a pair of Osprey circling over the rail yards between Hwy 99 and First Ave just south of the Lumen Field. We've had two newly fledged Dark-eyed Juncos waiting on our deck railing, while a parent does the shuttle back and forth between the feeder and the young ones. Just in time for Mother's Day. Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 10 16:02:59 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (John and Claudia M via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 10 16:03:03 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] migration this year In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Greetings from west Kitsap County! I've had zero Violet-green swallows this year, which is disturbing. Last year I had 3 pair successfully nest in my boxes attached to my home on 2 & ? acres. Every year for decades I've always had at least one pair use one of my next boxes. I put up four nest boxes on each side of my house that are far apart from each other. Is anyone else missing "their" swallows this year? I keep hoping that at least one pair will show up, but I'm beginning to give up hope. I love ALL of the swallows, but especially the Violet-greens!! Thanks! John McDonald, Bremerton, WA Lake Symington area ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of via Tweeters Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2025 12:00 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 10 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. Re: Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act (Ted Ryan via Tweeters) 2. Pretty big migration day (Thomas M Leschine via Tweeters) 3. Re: Very low migration continued (AMK17 via Tweeters) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 09 May 2025 13:02:51 -0700 From: Ted Ryan via Tweeters To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act Message-ID: <06869e7d-345e-4838-9f3d-8bafbd2d096d@app.fastmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I think politics is precisely the problem. The ESA process is itself political. Biologists (federal and state) and fish and game departments are often well down the list of influencers in the process despite them knowing the most about particular species. You don't need to look further than grizzly bear recovery in the Mountain West states. Montana and Wyoming were denied their petition to reclassify grizzlies in their state. The bears had met recovery objectives under the ESA listing. Very vocal and influential groups have made it impossible for the ESA process to work as it should out of fear they will be hunted. There a many other species that have met recovering objectives but remain listed. The amount of money and resources that is spent fighting to keep recovered species on the list is a shame. There are species in real trouble that could use those resources. The charismatic mega fauna that have met objectives get all the attention and meanwhile the Vaquita (porpoise) is about to disappear from the face of the earth. The process is broken. Ted Ryan Port Orchard On Fri, May 9, 2025, at 12:00 PM, via Tweeters wrote: > > > *From:* Tweeters on behalf > > of Mary Metz via Tweeters > > *Sent:* Friday, May 9, 2025 10:44 AM > > *To:* tweeters@u.washington.edu > > *Subject:* [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act > > > > I'm not sure if this is too political for Tweeters, but I'm hoping that > > we're all in agreement that the ESA is a good thing and that it's important > > to protect birds' habitats. The following is from the Discovery Bay Wild > > Bird Rescue people--and the deadline for commenting on the proposed change > > is May 19: > > > > Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine > > Fisheries Service proposed a change to the Endangered Species Act. The > > proposal involves replacing the word ?harm? with ?take,? which could > > significantly weaken protections for the habitats of endangered species. > > This change is currently open for public comment, and we encourage everyone > > to consider speaking out and taking action to protect wildlife and their > > ecosystems. Some background: > > For more information > > https://www.barclaydamon.com/.../proposed-endangered... > > > > To make your voice heard > > https://www.regulations.gov/docu.../FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001 > > > > > > Thanks! > > Mary > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Tweeters mailing list > > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 9 May 2025 13:47:40 -0700 From: Thomas M Leschine via Tweeters To: Tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Pretty big migration day Message-ID: <0A315377-B103-470A-9EC2-31AF5BE5BF49@uw.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Hello, Tweets, This morning early I was treated to a small burst of migrants passing through the treetops just outside my West Queen Anne windows, in Seattle. Roughly between the hours of 6:30 - 8:30 am I saw at least a dozen Warbling Vireos, 1 or 2 Black-throated Gray Warblers, 1-2 Orange-crowned Warblers and a Western Flycatcher that spent a little time actually fly catching. This after several successive mornings with no migrants spotted at all. I live on the 4th floor so this was largely a mid-level to treetops display in maples that have just about fully leafed out. A few weeks back there were several days with many Yellow-rumped Warblers, all Audubon?s, with mostly males pushing through a few days before the birds passing through seemed mostly female. Some Orange-crowned and an earlier Black-throated Gray then as well and on May 1 I had a Nashville Warbler sitting on a branch just off the edge of the roofline. Still awaiting Wilson?s Warblers which in some years have been fairly numerous. And if really lucky there might be a few days with Western Tanagers passing through. I haven?t been counting but feel like this has been the most ever springtime YRWAs moving past my windows. Tom Leschine Seattle tee em ell @ you w dot ee dee you ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sat, 10 May 2025 13:57:08 +0000 From: AMK17 via Tweeters To: BRAD Liljequist Cc: tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu, tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued Message-ID: <8e254bcf-6f62-d7c4-b9b1-2a9d95b3d51e@earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Warbling vireos to day in Phinney! Akopitov Seattle AMK17 -----Original Message----- From: Anna Sent: May 8, 2025 1:02 PM To: BRAD Liljequist Cc: , Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued Reports in CA suggested a 2 week delay there… flycatchers just arriving in Monterey Bay Area… AKopitov Seattle Sent from my iPhone with all the auto correct quirks. On May 8, 2025, at 12:23?PM, BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters wrote: Just responding to AKopitov's post... I have had a very similar experience...one Wilson's next door, Chipping Sparrows in Woodland Park, a nice mix of Audubon's Yellow Rumped around Green Lake, a bunch of Purple Finches in Discovery Park...but so far a very light migration... Brad Liljequist Phinney Ridge Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters ------------------------------ End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 10 ***************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 10 19:58:29 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Carol Riddell via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 10 19:58:45 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup - April 2025 Message-ID: ? Hi Tweets, As of the end of April, the Edmonds 2025 year list is at 144 species. New species for the month are listed chronologically rather than taxonomically so you can see how migration began unfolding in Edmonds. Osprey (code 2), 1 at Hwy 99 cell tower nest site, 4-5-25. Chipping Sparrow (code 4), 1 at Edmonds marsh (field marks described), 4-5-25. Early. American Pipit (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh, 4-9-25. Western Meadowlark (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh, 4-11-25. Marbled Murrelet (code 2), 2 at waterfront (photos), 4-12-25. Black-throated Gray Warbler (code 2), at Southwest County Park (recording), 4-14-25. Early arrival. Least Sandpiper (code 1), 3 in Edmonds marsh, 4-16-25. Dunlin (code 3), 1 in Edmonds marsh (black breeding patch visible), 4-18-25. Western Sandpiper (code 1), 3 in Edmonds marsh, 4-18-25. Turkey Vulture (code 3), 1 in Pine Ridge neighborhood (ID photos), 4-18-25. Red-naped Sapsucker (code 5), 1 in the Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood (ID photos), 4-18-25. Wilson?s Warbler (code 1), 1 at Yost Park (recording, visual), 4-19-25. Early arrival. Townsend?s Solitaire (code 4), 1 at Yost Park (ID photo), 4-19-25. Common Yellowthroat (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh, 4-20-25. Peregrine Falcon (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (field marks described), 4-22-25. Warbling Vireo (code 2), 1 at Hickman Park, 4-22-25. Evening Grosbeak (code 3), 1 at Yost Park, 4-22-25. Purple Martin (code 3), 2 at the Olympic Beach nest box pilings, 4-24-25. California Quail (code 3), 1 heard in a Southwest County Park neighborhood, 4-25-25. Long-billed Dowitcher (code 3), 2 at Edmonds marsh (ID photos), 4-26-25. Hammond?s Flycatcher (code 2), 2 at Yost Park, 4-30-25. Western Flycatcher (code 2), 1 each at Yost and Southwest County Parks, 4-30-25. Western Tanager (code 2), 1 at Yost Park, 4-30-25. The Lesser Goldfinch. The first known Lesser Goldfinch, a male, appeared at Puget Drive feeders in late November 2024. He continued to appear intermittently each month through March 5, 2025. His appearances were so brief that only the homeowner was able to see him and photo document his presence. We continue to decline to add American Herring Gull (code 4) to this year?s list. eBird reports from the waterfront omit descriptions of field marks or photos. Given how many mistakes are made with gulls, and how infrequently American Herring Gull appears here, we will wait for an evidence-based report. There was a report of a Northern House Wren (code 4) at Yost Park. The bird was not seen and the recording was only four seconds. It was not sufficient to confirm that species. We also do not add birds to the year list when they are reported by anonymous eBirders and are not documented in the checklists. A word of caution about using Merlin?s Sound ID to support low land Chipping Sparrows. Sound ID is a great tool and is improving with each upgrade. Nevertheless, at this time of year it continues to offer both Dark-eyed Junco and Chipping Sparrow as possibilities when juncos are being seen and heard. The better practice, when completing an eBird checklist, is not to list Chipping Sparrow without having seen the species. And an even better practice is to note the visual in the details window and include the field marks seen. As always, I appreciate it when birders get in touch with me to share sightings, photos, or audio. It helps us build our collective year list. If you would like a copy of our 2025 city checklist, please request it from checklistedmonds at gmail dot com. (It reflects a species total of 283) If eBirders will use the details field for unusual Edmonds birds (code 3 or rarer), it will help us build the city year list. Photographs or recordings are also helpful. The 2025 checklist is posted in the bird information box at the Visitor Station at the base of the public pier and is up to date through April. Good birding, Carol Riddell Edmonds, WA cariddellwa at gmail dot com Abundance codes: (1) Common, (2) Uncommon, (3) Harder to find, usually seen annually, (4) Rare, 5+ records, (5) Fewer than 5 records -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 10 22:01:55 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Robert O'Brien via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 10 22:02:11 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: [obol] Better than a Front Row Seat In-Reply-To: References: <000d01dbc05f$862bdfd0$92839f70$@net> Message-ID: Dear Tweeters. Well, I also posed the same Vatican Gull question down here and got a different answer. European Herring and Yellow-legged Gulls are quite similar. AI Google came up with this comparison: Click on 'Show More' https://www.google.com/search?q=european+herring+gull+vs.+yellow+legged+gull&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS985US985&oq=european+herring+gull+vs.+yellow+legged+gull&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigATIHCAYQIRirAjIHCAcQIRiPAjIsHCAgQIRiPAtIBCTE0NTg3ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Sharpening the photo and enlarging shows pretty clearly that the legs are yellow. Note also the weakly marked primaries. Now that we've gotten that weighty issue out of the way, we can worry about the upcoming relationship between the current US administration and the beginning Vatican administration........................................................... Bob OBrien Portland PS If you wish to see the sharpened/enlarged photo, let me know. On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 2:24?PM Tim Janzen wrote: > The legs of the adults appear to be yellow. The only breeding gull in > Italy with yellow legs is the Yellow-legged Gull. > > Sincerely, > > Tim Janzen > > > > *From:* obol-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:obol-bounce@freelists.org] *On > Behalf Of *Robert O'Brien > *Sent:* Thursday, May 8, 2025 10:37 AM > *To:* obol > *Subject:* [obol] Better than a Front Row Seat > > > > But, what is their species? > > Bob OBrien Carver OR > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 11 12:45:39 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 11 12:45:56 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Bad year for Violet-Green Message-ID: Any or you tweeters spent a morning at Bear Divide? Tell us about it. Or maybe Ryan Terrell could. Violet-Green Swallows coming across Bear Divide in March, April and May. 2021 - 402 2022 - 744 2023 - 819 2024 - 763 2025 - 213 May isn?t over but 2025 has only been good for 4 so far this month. Larry Schwitters Issaquah From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 11 12:58:14 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Edward Pullen via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 11 12:58:31 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] BBQ Flats Horse Camp Message-ID: Ken Brown and I have signed up to lead a trip for the WOS/WFO conference, and the itinerary states we will visit the BBQ Flats Horse Camp off Malloy Road. Does anyone know if the road is open to access that area? In the past I think it has been blocked prior to there. Reply offline. Thanks. edwardpullen@gmail.com -- Ed Pullen Listen to my podcast at The Bird Banter Podcast available on iTunes podcast store and other feeds. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 11 14:15:19 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diann MacRae via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 11 14:15:23 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] cancel report! Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 11 14:56:30 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Loitz via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 11 14:56:44 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Bad year for Violet-Green In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Although I have not done any counts (thus this is purely anecdotal), the numbers of Violet-Green Swallows at White Pass and Snoqualmie Pass seem normal for this time of year. I have noticed a trend of late arrivals, e.g., we saw no Clark's Nutcrackers at, or on the S side of, Ingalls Pass on a ski tour there on Wednesday, May 7. Steve Loitz Ellensburg On Sun, May 11, 2025 at 12:46?PM Larry Schwitters via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Any or you tweeters spent a morning at Bear Divide? Tell us about it. Or > maybe Ryan Terrell could. > > Violet-Green Swallows coming across Bear Divide in March, April and May. > 2021 - 402 > 2022 - 744 > 2023 - 819 > 2024 - 763 > 2025 - 213 May isn?t over but 2025 has only been good for 4 so far > this month. > > Larry Schwitters > Issaquah > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 11 15:28:54 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (jimullrich via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 11 15:29:16 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Leavenworth Spring Bird Festival 5-15-18 Message-ID: <6C0D59B1-6395-4229-85C0-BA22A17EB27B@gmail.com> Howdy Tweets: Time to plan your trip to Leavenworth for this coming weekends Wenatchee River Institute Spring Bird Fest: visit for programs, trips, talks, art classes etal: 5/15-18 https://wenatcheeriverinstitute.org Yours for the Birds n? the Bees Jim Ullrich Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 11 17:20:35 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (MARVIN BREECE via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 11 17:20:38 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit & Snohomish Counties Message-ID: <1V419XKU4QU4.YZWL6FTHNJVX1@luweb01oc> Today at Hayton Reserve on Fir Island in Skagit County there were 3 RED KNOTS and a pair of YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS. Also BLACK-BELLIED & SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, LEAST & WESTERN SANDPIPERS and DUNLIN. Along Valde Rd off of Norman Rd in Snohomish County were 450 WHIMBREL. videos: https://flic.kr/ps/376fhN Marv Breece Tukwila, WA marvbreece@q.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 12 12:34:12 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Louise via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 12 12:34:23 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Icelandic Bird Guide - free to a good home Message-ID: Before my trip to Iceland, I ordered a copy of the Icelandic Bird Guide https://icelandicstore.is/products/icelandic-bird-guide it's a great book with photos and distribution maps for all the regular species and a few of the vagrants. Due to a mix-up at the retailer, I was sent two separate copies. I contacted the retailer to ask if I should return a copy to them, but I never received a reply, so at this point, I figure I'm free to dispose of one. Since it cost me nothing, I'm giving it away for free. I will charge postage if you need it mailed. I live in Kirkland, and I will be at the WOS annual conference in Yakima if someone wanted to collect it from me there. So if you're planning to visit Icelend, this is for you! Louise Rutter Kirkland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 12 14:42:46 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 12 14:46:41 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagle's Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk -Thursday, May 15 Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, The Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) birdwalk is scheduled for Thursday, May 15. The JBLM Eagle's Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00AM March-Oct. (Starting time changes to 9:00AM Nov-Feb). Starting point is the Driving Range Tee, Eagle's 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. Please park reasonably close to other vehicles as this is a busy time of the year for both golfers and birders. ;>) Also, to remind folks that haven't been here before, even though Eagle's Pride is a US Army recreational facility, you don't need any ID to attend these birdwalks. Hope you're able to make it! Current weather forecast is 48-54degF (46-54 real-feel) and cloud during the walk. As always, dress for success! 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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 12 15:20:52 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (B B via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 12 15:20:57 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Colombia Birding Trip References: <1845695262.657498.1747088452864.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1845695262.657498.1747088452864@mail.yahoo.com> Hi Tweeters I have signed on for a private tour to the Caribbean area (Santa Marta and Perija areas plus) beginning June 21 and Ending June 30 with a top guide.? A person who might have joined me is not going to be able to go.? I will go even if alone, but if somewhere out there in tweeterdom is interested there is room for one other (or possibly up to 3 others).? Going to be an intensive tour concentrating on the many endemics.? If interested, please contact me directly. Cheers Blair Bernsonbirder4184 at yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 12 15:28:15 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diann MacRae via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 12 15:28:20 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] turkey vulture sightings? Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 12 15:32:51 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ann Kramer via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 12 15:33:31 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Bad year for Violet-Green In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We have a usual arrival of Violet-Green Swallows every Spring. They seem to have at least one nest in 4 or 6 homes on my street. They arrived as usual this year and I count somewhere between 15-20 (hard to get them to stop flying around) today in the sunshine, when they are more likely to scour the sky for insects. The nest usually fledges around early June, which gives me relief as those roof nest cavities get very hot. So, nothing unusual here this year. On Sun, May 11, 2025 at 2:56?PM Steve Loitz via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Although I have not done any counts (thus this is purely anecdotal), the > numbers of Violet-Green Swallows at White Pass and Snoqualmie Pass seem > normal for this time of year. > > I have noticed a trend of late arrivals, e.g., we saw no Clark's > Nutcrackers at, or on the S side of, Ingalls Pass on a ski tour there on > Wednesday, May 7. > > Steve Loitz > Ellensburg > > On Sun, May 11, 2025 at 12:46?PM Larry Schwitters via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> Any or you tweeters spent a morning at Bear Divide? Tell us about it. Or >> maybe Ryan Terrell could. >> >> Violet-Green Swallows coming across Bear Divide in March, April and May. >> 2021 - 402 >> 2022 - 744 >> 2023 - 819 >> 2024 - 763 >> 2025 - 213 May isn?t over but 2025 has only been good for 4 so far >> this month. >> >> Larry Schwitters >> Issaquah >> > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 12 15:43:52 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 12 15:44:05 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Used scope for sale Message-ID: Vortex Razor HD, 85mm HD, Ultra Light Definition with tripod. Very good condition. $1000 for all. Olympia area. Contact Tina for photos and more information. curtina3 at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 12 19:47:54 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Marie and Craig via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 12 19:47:58 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Rainier Audubon Naturefest at Flaming Geyser State Park References: <2004854574.2296728.1747104474523.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2004854574.2296728.1747104474523@mail.yahoo.com> Join us for the 2025 RainierAudubon Nature Festival at Flaming Geyser State Park. This state park is only15 minutes east of downtown Auburn, on Green Valley Road.? The event is Saturday, June 7, 2025, from9:00 am to 4:00 pm.Our feature presentation is alive bird show. ?The Falconer? will present several raptors, including a hawk,falcon, owl, vulture, and an eagle. Other activities include presentations on nativeplants, mushrooms, wildlife conservation, gardening, astronomy, geology, andlocal birds.?The kids can paint birdhousesat the crafts station while you parents enjoy the exhibits. Bird lovers of allages can learn how to attract our avian friends using nest boxes and feeders,and bird identification, and native plant walks will be held throughout theday. Amateur astronomers will have telescopes available to safely view sunspotsoutside the park lodge.Bring the family and your binocularsalong for a day of ?Birding and Learning.? This is a FREE ENTRY day atFlaming Geyser State Park. No Discover Pass is required.??For more information, checkour Audubon website events at: www.rainieraudubon.org ?2025 Presentations???????????????????????????????? Time Geology of FGSP?????????????????????????????????? 10:00 ? 10:15 Falconer ?Live Birds???????????????????? ?????????? 11:00? 1:00 Astronomy ?The Sun??????????????????? ?????????? 1:00 ? 1:30 Dark Skies ???????????????????????????????????????????? 1:30? 2:00?????????? The American Kestrel???????????????????????????? 2:00 - 2:3 2025 Walk Topics?????????????????????????????????? Time Bird Walk??????????????????????????????????????????????? 9:00? 10:00 Geology of FGSP?????????????????????????????????? 10:15? 11:00 Bird Walk???????????????????????????????????? ?????????? 1:00 ? 2:00 Native Plant Walk ????????????????????????????????? 2:00 ? 3:00 Kestrel Nest Hole Walk?????????????????????????? 2:30 ? 3:30 MarieRainier Audubon -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 13 12:11:05 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diann MacRae via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 13 12:11:11 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] March/April 2025 TUVU report Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 13 15:28:19 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Alexandra Mariani via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 13 15:28:34 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Icelandic Bird Guide - free to a good home Message-ID: Louise, I would love to be considered for your book! We're hoping to visit Iceland next summer and I was planning on buying it anyway. I think I could come get it from Kirkland, feel free to contact me directly at xandrabryn AT gmail DOT com. Thank you so much! -Alexandra Mariani -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 13 15:44:09 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 13 15:44:39 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Fledgling update Message-ID: So far we have seen 3 Dark-eyed Juncos (2 have learned how to use the feeders), 2 Song Sparrows, 3 maybe 4 Bewick's wrens, and today we saw the first House Finch being fed by the male. Fun times-- Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 13 17:11:43 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Louise via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 13 17:11:58 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Iceland Bird Guide Message-ID: To save anyone else from replying, the Iceland bird book has now been allocated a new home. Thank you everyone for your interest - I got more responses than I was expecting, to be sure! Louise Rutter Kirkland -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 13 17:50:41 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 13 17:51:16 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] migration this year In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: There were lots of Violet-Greens up on Matia Island (San Juans) last week. Jill > On May 10, 2025, at 4:02?PM, John and Claudia M via Tweeters wrote: > > Greetings from west Kitsap County! I've had zero Violet-green swallows this year, which is disturbing. Last year I had 3 pair successfully nest in my boxes attached to my home on 2 & ? acres. Every year for decades I've always had at least one pair use one of my next boxes. I put up four nest boxes on each side of my house that are far apart from each other. Is anyone else missing "their" swallows this year? I keep hoping that at least one pair will show up, but I'm beginning to give up hope. I love ALL of the swallows, but especially the Violet-greens!! > Thanks! > > John McDonald, > Bremerton, WA > Lake Symington area > From: Tweeters > on behalf of via Tweeters > > Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2025 12:00 PM > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > > Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 10 > > 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. Re: Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act > (Ted Ryan via Tweeters) > 2. Pretty big migration day (Thomas M Leschine via Tweeters) > 3. Re: Very low migration continued (AMK17 via Tweeters) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 09 May 2025 13:02:51 -0700 > From: Ted Ryan via Tweeters > > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act > Message-ID: <06869e7d-345e-4838-9f3d-8bafbd2d096d@app.fastmail.com > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > I think politics is precisely the problem. The ESA process is itself political. Biologists (federal and state) and fish and game departments are often well down the list of influencers in the process despite them knowing the most about particular species. You don't need to look further than grizzly bear recovery in the Mountain West states. Montana and Wyoming were denied their petition to reclassify grizzlies in their state. The bears had met recovery objectives under the ESA listing. Very vocal and influential groups have made it impossible for the ESA process to work as it should out of fear they will be hunted. There a many other species that have met recovering objectives but remain listed. > > The amount of money and resources that is spent fighting to keep recovered species on the list is a shame. There are species in real trouble that could use those resources. The charismatic mega fauna that have met objectives get all the attention and meanwhile the Vaquita (porpoise) is about to disappear from the face of the earth. The process is broken. > > Ted Ryan > Port Orchard > > On Fri, May 9, 2025, at 12:00 PM, via Tweeters wrote: > > > > > *From:* Tweeters > on behalf > > > of Mary Metz via Tweeters > > > > *Sent:* Friday, May 9, 2025 10:44 AM > > > *To:* tweeters@u.washington.edu > > > > *Subject:* [Tweeters] Proposed weakening of Endangered Species Act > > > > > > I'm not sure if this is too political for Tweeters, but I'm hoping that > > > we're all in agreement that the ESA is a good thing and that it's important > > > to protect birds' habitats. The following is from the Discovery Bay Wild > > > Bird Rescue people--and the deadline for commenting on the proposed change > > > is May 19: > > > > > > Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine > > > Fisheries Service proposed a change to the Endangered Species Act. The > > > proposal involves replacing the word ?harm? with ?take,? which could > > > significantly weaken protections for the habitats of endangered species. > > > This change is currently open for public comment, and we encourage everyone > > > to consider speaking out and taking action to protect wildlife and their > > > ecosystems. Some background: > > > For more information > > > https://www.barclaydamon.com/.../proposed-endangered... > > > > > > To make your voice heard > > > https://www.regulations.gov/docu.../FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001 > > > > > > > > > Thanks! > > > Mary > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Tweeters mailing list > > > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > > > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 9 May 2025 13:47:40 -0700 > From: Thomas M Leschine via Tweeters > > To: Tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] Pretty big migration day > Message-ID: <0A315377-B103-470A-9EC2-31AF5BE5BF49@uw.edu > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Hello, Tweets, > This morning early I was treated to a small burst of migrants passing through the treetops just outside my West Queen Anne windows, in Seattle. Roughly between the hours of 6:30 - 8:30 am I saw at least a dozen Warbling Vireos, 1 or 2 Black-throated Gray Warblers, 1-2 Orange-crowned Warblers and a Western Flycatcher that spent a little time actually fly catching. This after several successive mornings with no migrants spotted at all. I live on the 4th floor so this was largely a mid-level to treetops display in maples that have just about fully leafed out. > > A few weeks back there were several days with many Yellow-rumped Warblers, all Audubon?s, with mostly males pushing through a few days before the birds passing through seemed mostly female. Some Orange-crowned and an earlier Black-throated Gray then as well and on May 1 I had a Nashville Warbler sitting on a branch just off the edge of the roofline. > > Still awaiting Wilson?s Warblers which in some years have been fairly numerous. And if really lucky there might be a few days with Western Tanagers passing through. I haven?t been counting but feel like this has been the most ever springtime YRWAs moving past my windows. > > Tom Leschine > Seattle > tee em ell @ you w dot ee dee you > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sat, 10 May 2025 13:57:08 +0000 > From: AMK17 via Tweeters > > To: BRAD Liljequist > > Cc: tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu , > tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued > Message-ID: <8e254bcf-6f62-d7c4-b9b1-2a9d95b3d51e@earthlink.net > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Warbling vireos to day in Phinney! > > Akopitov > Seattle > AMK17 > -----Original Message----- > From: Anna > > Sent: May 8, 2025 1:02 PM > To: BRAD Liljequist > > Cc: >, > > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Very low migration continued > > Reports in CA suggested a 2 week delay there… flycatchers just arriving in Monterey Bay Area… > AKopitov > Seattle > > Sent from my iPhone with all the auto correct quirks. > > On May 8, 2025, at 12:23?PM, BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters > wrote: > > > Just responding to AKopitov's post... > > I have had a very similar experience...one Wilson's next door, Chipping Sparrows in Woodland Park, a nice mix of Audubon's Yellow Rumped around Green Lake, a bunch of Purple Finches in Discovery Park...but so far a very light migration... > > Brad Liljequist > Phinney Ridge > Seattle > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 10 > ***************************************** > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 14 14:27:38 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (MARVIN BREECE via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 14 14:27:40 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Kent Valley birding Message-ID: Today at M Street in Auburn: Swallows - 6 (all but Purple Martin) Spotted Sandpiper - 4 Least Sandpiper - 3 Cackling Goose - 1 minima Blue-winged Teal - 2 males Cinnamon Teal - 1 male Killdeer Semipalmated Plover - 1 https://flic.kr/p/2r4KYQi At 204th & Frager: Black Phoebe - 1 SWAINSON'S HAWK - light morph adult; circled low over the barn several times, then gained altitude and flew north out of sight Marv Breece Tukwila, WA marvbreece@q.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 14 14:28:42 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Brian Zinke via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 14 14:28:58 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds - May 31 & June 1 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, You're invited to the 21st annual Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds on May 31 & June 1! The festival includes bird walks, exhibitor booths, native plant sale, library storytime, author signings, and more! This year's speakers on Saturday include Thomas Bancroft, Dennis Paulson, Bev Bowe, and yours truly. We still have some space in several of our bird walks, but those spots go quick! For more information about the festival please visit: https://www.pilchuckaudubon.org/puget-sound-bird-fest Thanks! Brian -- [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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 15 11:14:05 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (jeff o via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 15 11:14:25 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Eagle nest safety at Wiley Slough Message-ID: Hello members and friends of our birding community Skagit Wildlife area manager Greg Meis recently opted to close the spur dike at the Headquarters Unit, often called Wiley Slough. As many know, there is an eagle?s nest with young near the trail. The nest is not very high in the tree and the eagles are showing signs of stress by flying near to people below. For the safety of the people in the area and to maintain the viability of the nest and the juvenile eagles, the Skagit Wildlife area will close the spur dike until further notice. This is not an official announcement but a heads up for those of us who care about personal safety and the health and welfare of our local eagle population. Jeff Osmundson Stanwood, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 15 13:10:39 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (David B. Williams via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 15 13:11:09 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] more or fewer birds Message-ID: Greetings all. I was wondering if there are any reports showing which bird species are more abundant and less abundant in Seattle over the past 50 years or so. One thought I had would be to look at CBC data and I have a note into the Birds Connect Seattle to try and access that. Any help would be appreciated. Sincerely, David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ David B. Williams www.geologywriter.com Free newsletter: https://streetsmartnaturalist.substack.com/ I live and work on the land of the Coast Salish peoples and am trying to honor with gratitude the land and those who have inhabited it since time immemorial. I know that I have much more to learn and hope to continue that journey. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 15 14:46:25 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Hampton via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 15 14:46:41 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] more or fewer birds In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: eBirds trends maps are amazing and have all this, sometimes in the breeding season, sometimes for winter or year-round. Go to the Science tab and click on the left option: Status and Trends. https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends Enter a species and it will show you the Abundance map first. Click on the Trends oval above the map for the Trends map. You'll see the map has red and blue dots, for decreasing or increasing trend (2012-2022 usually, as it's only eBird). Darker color means more change. Larger dot means a bigger base population. Each dot is 27km x 27km, about the size of a CBC circle. You can zoom in and hover over them for the detailed data. They are amazing maps and correlate to ground surveys reasonably well in the instances I've checked. On Thu, May 15, 2025 at 1:11?PM David B. Williams via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Greetings all. > > I was wondering if there are any reports showing which bird species are > more abundant and less abundant in Seattle over the past 50 years or so. > > One thought I had would be to look at CBC data and I have a note into the > Birds Connect Seattle to try and access that. > > Any help would be appreciated. > > Sincerely, > David > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > *David B. Williams* > www.geologywriter.com > *Free newsletter: *https://streetsmartnaturalist.substack.com/ > I live and work on the land of the Coast Salish peoples and am trying to > honor with gratitude the land and those who have inhabited it since time > immemorial. I know that I have much more to learn and hope to continue that > journey. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 15 16:42:38 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 15 16:42:56 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2025-05-15 Message-ID: Tweets - We had one really good sighting at Marymoor today, but otherwise it turned out to be a day with few viewing opportunities. The neotropical migrants are few, and they certainly weren't out strutting their stuff today. We heard several, but didn't see many at all. Our good bird was pretty good, though - Marymoor's 4th PECTORAL SANDPIPER was along the slough below the weir. Highlights: Wood Duck - Five or six males, and a female with nine ducklings at the Rowing Club Vaux's Swift - One over the Pea Patch was the First of Year (FOY) for the survey. Normally, we'd have had them at least for at least the last three weeks Spotted Sandpiper - One below the weir, (FOY) for the survey PECTORAL SANDPIPER - as noted above and below Swainson's Thrush - Singing pre-dawn only, except for one singing at the Rowing Club. Whits were heard in the Dog Meadow Evening Grosbeak - About 6 flew over the Viewing Mound calling -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 15 16:57:13 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 15 16:57:30 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2025-05-15 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Tweets - Oops - got away from me. We had one really good sighting at Marymoor today, but otherwise it turned out to be a day with few viewing opportunities. The neotropical migrants are few, and they certainly weren't out strutting their stuff today. We heard several, but didn't see many at all. Our good bird was pretty good, though - Marymoor's 4th PECTORAL SANDPIPER was along the slough below the weir. Highlights: Wood Duck - Five or six males, and a female with nine ducklings at the Rowing Club Vaux's Swift - One over the Pea Patch was the First of Year (FOY) for the survey. Normally, we'd have had them at least for at least the last three weeks Spotted Sandpiper - One below the weir, (FOY) for the survey PECTORAL SANDPIPER - as noted above and below Swainson's Thrush - Singing pre-dawn only, except for one singing at the Rowing Club. Whits were heard in the Dog Meadow Evening Grosbeak - About 6 flew over the Viewing Mound calling Western Meadowlark - One with a bunch of starlings on the grass soccer fields. We've had very few sightings of them this late in spring Lazuli Bunting - One heard, but not seen, in the Dog Meadow (FOY) For warblers, we heard five species (Orange-crowned, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, and Wilson's, plus Common Yellowthroat), but only had sightings of a few Yellow-rumps. We had no flycatcher seen nor heard. It was great seeing the PECTORAL SANDPIPER below the weir. We've had one previous spring sighting, a bird that was seen May 26-29, 2017. We've also had two fall sightings, September 14, 2005 and October 20, 2011. Today's bird was along the far shore of the weir, but gave us good long looks. Weirdly, there are more species of shorebirds than species of warbler reported from Marymoor so far this year. Marymoor has never been a good location for shorebird viewing... Misses today included Common Merganser (Matt may have glimpsed one), Band-tailed Pigeon, Green Heron, Western Wood-Pewee, Cliff Swallow, Cedar Waxwing, Bullock's Oriole, and Western Tanager. Additionally, I believe FOURTEEN species were heard-only today. For the day, 61 species. For the year, we're at 113 species for the 2025 survey. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 15 17:50:23 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 15 17:50:35 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] 3 Western tanagers, Seaview Message-ID: Walking back from neighbor 's just now heard the faint but unmistakable ribbit of Western tanagers. 3! One in our deodar and 2 across the street, enjoying the drizzle. Baby juncos buzzing now drowning them out. A good problem to have ?? Kersti E. Muul ED - SALISH WILDLIFE WATCH Urban Conservation Specialist - Response and Rescue Washington Animal Response Team, BCS, Osprey Solutions and MMSN referral Wildlife Field Biologist IV Marbled murrelet forest certified and USFWS marine certified Animal Care Specialist/Animal & Off the Grid First Aid Certified -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 16 05:34:09 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Gary Bletsch via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 16 05:34:16 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Jamaica RFI again References: <2060367648.674979.1747398849831.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2060367648.674979.1747398849831@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, It was made known to me that I have to write my e-mail address when I wish for a response to an RFI on Tweeters. Oops, sorry about that, my first RFI had no e-mail address appended.? So far, I have been able to find two birding tour companies that I could use in Jamaica. Those are Arrowhead Birding Tours and William Suarez Birding Tours.? Arrowhead is less expensive; they get mostly good reviews on Trip Advisor, with at least one review giving a more mediocre score. I cannot find any reviews for William Suarez Birding Tours. Dr. Suarez quoted me a price that is about 32% more than Arrowhead's price. Sometimes it is better to pay more and have a better trip other times, it is just money squandered. One never knows. Ordinarily, I would consider simply birding a place like Jamaica on my own, but the US State Department has had a "Level 3: Reconsider Travel" advisory on their website since last July, which makes me a bit chary of going on my own. I'd love to hear from anyone with information about either of these tour companies, or with other suggestions for birding Jamaica and making it back home in one piece, with all of one's equipment. Yours truly, Gary Bletsch garybletsch@yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 16 05:35:48 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 16 05:36:05 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 5/14/2025 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Another awesome Spring Day at the Refuge with cloudy skies and cool temperatures in the 40's to 60's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a Low -1'10" Tide at 1:27pm, so we anticipated lots of mud and did our "regular" walk. Highlights included a First for Us, SABINE'S GULL, in breeding plumage as seen from the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail, on the mudflats and McAllister Creek foraging along side RING-BILLED GULL, BONAPARTE'S GULL, and CALIFORNIA GULL. We observed numerous First of Year including EVENING GROSBEAK calling around the parking lots, BANK SWALLOWS over the flooded fields and freshwater marsh, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN on the mudflats on a high tide, and some photos of SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER in the freshwater marsh. Both WESTERN TANAGER and LESSER GOLDFINCH were heard. Other nice sightings included great looks at WOOD DUCK, CINNAMON TEAL, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. For the day we had 78 species with eight FOY's bumping our year list to 146 species. The Sabine's Gull has increased our overall Wednesday Walk total to 217 species. Other fun sightings included several Columbian Black-tailed Deer and an intriguing Kelp Crab amongst Green Shore Crabs in Crab Pond near the Puget Sound Viewing Platform. Please see our eBird Report below for more details, locations, and photos. Have a great week, be well, and happy birding. Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US May 14, 2025 7:18 AM - 5:00 PM Protocol: Traveling 6.358 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Cloudy with temperatures in the 40?s to 50?s degrees Fahrenheit. A low -1?10? Tide at 1:27pm. Mammals seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, and Harbor Seal. Others seen Red-eared Slider, Green Shore Crab, and Kelp Crab. 78 species (+3 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 50 Wood Duck 10 Blue-winged Teal 3 Cinnamon Teal (Northern) 6 Northern Shoveler 1 Gadwall 2 Mallard 100 Northern Pintail 1 Green-winged Teal (American) 3 Ring-necked Duck 2 Common Goldeneye 11 Counted individually in small flock in Nisqually River from Nisqually River Overlook. Hooded Merganser 8 Common Merganser 3 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2 Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 3 Mourning Dove 2 Vaux's Swift 41 Anna's Hummingbird 2 Rufous Hummingbird 4 Virginia Rail 2 Heard in freshwater marsh. Sora 6 Heard in flooded fields and freshwater marsh. Killdeer 1 Short-billed Dowitcher 1 Photo. Freshwater marsh. Long-billed Dowitcher 5 Freshwater marsh. Lesser Yellowlegs 2 Photos. Observed with binoculars and spotting scope in fresh water marsh foraging. Medium sized yellowlegs with short straight bill. Overall structure more attenuated. Greater Yellowlegs 2 Least Sandpiper 1 shorebird sp. 1 Sabine's Gull 1 Observed foraging in tide pools and mudflats for 30 minutes at 100 feet to 1/4 mile with binoculars and spotting scopes. Photos taken. Small Bonaparte sized gull with black head, yellow tipped black bill, darker gray mantle then area Bonaparte gulls and distinctive triangular contrasting colors of black, gray and white on open wing while flying. Observed foraging and flying with Ring-billed Gull and a few Bonaparte and California Gull. Seen from the Nisqually Boardwalk Estuary Trail on the mudflats east of the trail. Bonaparte's Gull 2 Ring-billed Gull 75 California Gull 3 Glaucous-winged Gull 3 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 5 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 20 Caspian Tern 4 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Freshwater marsh. Brandt's Cormorant 3 Nisqually River channel marker. Double-crested Cormorant 3 Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 15 American White Pelican 7 Observed by some of our group who went out to the Nisqually Estuary Trail or dike in the morning during a falling high tide. Distinctive. Large white waterbird with large yellow orange bill and featherless throat or gullet. Photos taken. Birds flew out late morning. Turkey Vulture 1 Bald Eagle 30 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Belted Kingfisher 3 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2 Northern Flicker 2 American Crow 10 Common Raven 6 Black-capped Chickadee 3 Bank Swallow 10 Counted individually, possible more. Minimum of 6-8 over flooded fields. Minimum of 4-6 over freshwater marsh. Tree Swallow 35 Violet-green Swallow 3 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4 West bank of McAllister Creek. Barn Swallow (American) 50 Visitor Center nest. Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 50 Visitor center nest. Large number of nesting birds under I5 overpass. Bushtit (Pacific) 2 Brown Creeper 3 Marsh Wren 18 Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 4 European Starling 30 Swainson's Thrush 18 American Robin 40 Cedar Waxwing 8 Evening Grosbeak 6 Purple Finch (Western) 4 Pine Siskin 1 Lesser Goldfinch 1 Heard by Miles along west side of Twin Barns loop trail. American Goldfinch 20 White-crowned Sparrow 1 Subadult. Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 6 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 42 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4 Bullock's Oriole 3 Nest observed on west side of Twin Barns Loop Trail between Twin Barns cut-off and Twin Bench overlook south on outside of trail in tall skinny Cottonwood Tree. Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 50 Brown-headed Cowbird 30 Common Yellowthroat 6 Yellow Warbler (Northern) 33 Wilson's Warbler 1 Western Tanager 1 Black-headed Grosbeak 2 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S238192892 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 16 12:13:13 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 16 12:13:36 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Red-necked Grebes Message-ID: <1E5444B1-335E-4005-8777-06DA3F2704B6@me.com> A pair of Red-necked Grebes at Lake Sammamish State Park this morning. Good numbers of Vaux?s Swifts have been roosting in Monroe Wagner. Just after noon now and a lot of them are still inside down at the bottom. Larry Schwitters Issaquah From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 16 12:27:34 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 16 12:27:45 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] RE more or fewer birds (David Williams) Message-ID: David, You may be interested in our neighborhood Bird project data as well. May want to try talking to Josh Morris about that. He's working really hard analyzing the data. Kersti E. Muul ED - SALISH WILDLIFE WATCH Urban Conservation Specialist - Response and Rescue Washington Animal Response Team, BCS, Osprey Solutions and MMSN referral Wildlife Field Biologist IV Marbled murrelet forest certified and USFWS marine certified Animal Care Specialist/Animal & Off the Grid First Aid Certified -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 16 12:53:02 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (jimullrich via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 16 12:53:18 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Leavenworth Spring Birdfest 5/16-18 Message-ID: <8CEAD260-F6BB-4B8E-899F-DE7653166236@gmail.com> Howdy Tweets: Beautiful weather up here in Leavenworth, so please consider heading up and joining us as more classes and trips have opened up. Visit: https://wenatcheeriverinstitute.org for details. Yours for the Birds n? the Bees Jim Ullrich Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 16 19:56:56 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 16 19:57:01 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) monthly bird walk - 05-15-2025 Message-ID: Tweeters, A cool day again (46degF-56degF) but the 16 of us enjoyed seeing or (mostly) hearing the Spring birds on our walk around the JBLM Eagle's Pride GC. The highlight was right at the start where we found the BULLOCK'S ORIOLES had returned for the fourth time. (First year: 2022) We spotted the female carrying nesting material up to one of the Douglas-firs close to the tree they nested in last year. PINE SISKINS were abundant, again defying an adequate count. We decided on putting in a number just to keep consistent with the previous two months. RED CROSSBILLS were also abundant. Birds were scarce at Hodge Lake with only a PIED-BILLED GREBE and BARN SWALLOWS found there. The nest boxes next to the lake had NO swallows nesting. Typically, the boxes have Tree Swallows and at least one Northern House Wren in attendance. (A wren was singing nearby but we didn't see it at the nest boxes.) Mammals include Eastern gray squirrel, several Douglas squirrels, and a Townsend's chipmunk. The JBLM Eagle's Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00AM except for November to February, when the start time is at 9:00AM. Starting point is the Driving Range building, Eagle's Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. (Turn left immediately after entering the parking lot to take the road leading to the driving range building.) Upcoming walks include the following: * June 19 * July 17 * August 21 >From the eBirdPNW report: 55 species (+1 other taxa) Wood Duck 2 At the 9th hole pond. Mallard 9 At maintenance pond. Band-tailed Pigeon 6 Anna's Hummingbird 3 Rufous Hummingbird 1 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2 Pied-billed Grebe 1 At Hodge Lake. Great Blue Heron 1 Turkey Vulture 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 2 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Downy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker 2 Western Wood-Pewee 4 Hammond's Flycatcher 1 Western Flycatcher 3 Hutton's Vireo 1 Warbling Vireo 2 Steller's Jay 2 American Crow 2 Black-capped Chickadee 7 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 14 Tree Swallow 4 Violet-green Swallow 8 Barn Swallow 40 Bushtit 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 Red-breasted Nuthatch 7 Brown Creeper 8 Northern House Wren 8 One singing near the lamp post used for nesting in several years. Pacific Wren 2 One of which was carrying nesting material European Starling 6 Swainson's Thrush 5 American Robin 120 Every fairway we passed by had at least ten robins in attendance. Cedar Waxwing 3 Evening Grosbeak 5 Purple Finch 7 Red Crossbill 75 Pine Siskin 200 American Goldfinch 3 Chipping Sparrow 4 Dark-eyed Junco 15 White-crowned Sparrow 25 Song Sparrow 19 Spotted Towhee 6 Bullock's Oriole 2 Appeared to be building a nest in the Douglas-fir close to where they nested last year, Red-winged Blackbird 12 Most at the maintenance pond near the driving range. Brown-headed Cowbird 18 Orange-crowned Warbler 10 Common Yellowthroat 2 Yellow Warbler 15 Yellow-rumped Warbler 12 Wilson's Warbler 10 Western Tanager 18 Black-headed Grosbeak 13 View this checklist online at https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fchecklist%2FS238986650&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce503039fbabf442ddddb08dd94e97b3e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638830452687620775%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=FlCBgdmuwoNzSVT2bzx4im3EhDzIiYJjhYqYIC9SPTI%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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 17 06:28:31 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 17 06:28:35 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Flamingos create water tornados to trap their prey | ScienceDaily Message-ID: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250512172601.htm Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 17 10:51:56 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shawneen Finnegan via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 17 10:52:18 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] N MOCKER at N Jetty Columbia River Message-ID: Dave Irons spotted a N Mockingbird when we drove in towards the jetty parking lot near the locked gate after 8 this AM. Still present just east of the parking lot by closed gate. Shawneen Finnegan Beaverton, OR -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 18 10:11:56 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 18 10:12:16 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening Message-ID: <13BE8956-5EB8-4146-BEB1-5BCBB8A47D61@me.com> 10-11 thousand swifts spent last night in the Monroe Wagner communal roost. A lot of them are still in there. Having a functional video camera inside with the wee birds is a big help. Cheers to Monroe School District. Larry Schwitters Issaquah From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 18 11:45:25 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 18 11:45:29 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] And suddenly, birds! Message-ID: Here on Phinney Ridge in Seattle, must have been a fallout from yesterday's strong rain front. Awakened by a Mourning Dove, then a wonderful parade of sight and sound this morning - several Wilson's Warbler, including right in front of window, a Western Tanager, a Purple Finch, and then at least a couple of Swainson's Thrushes swirling away (a first for the house). Anyone else had this? Brad Liljequist Phinney Ridge, Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 18 12:05:41 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (AMK17 via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 18 12:05:44 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Phinney migrants Message-ID: <75246b70-0e20-8309-5754-935015f481f9@earthlink.net> Enjoyed a diverse chorus of migrants this morning including black headed grosbeaks, warblingvireos, orange crowned and Wilson's warblers, Swainson's thrush, western tanagers, and A lte chipping sparrow. AMK17 AKopitov Seattle, Wa From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 18 13:07:40 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diann MacRae via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 18 13:07:44 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] new migrants Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 19 07:58:37 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 19 07:59:08 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Used scope for sale Message-ID: Vortex Razor HD, 85mm HD, Ultra Light Definition with tripod. Very good condition. $1000 for all. Olympia area. Contact Tina for photos and more information. curtina3 at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 19 08:12:59 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jerry Tangren via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 19 08:13:04 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Feeders discouraged Message-ID: Have there been any comments on this news article, https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/feeding-deer-elk-moose-now-illegal-in-washington-bird-feeders-discouraged/article_64e93478-95a3-4826-9514-8316465131f2.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR6Hj_v0z56gTkFyzoFdXhrCeuM2ttJLay1CcsW0qY2FehXla0YHgxyT5VISxw_aem_VJ1sor4za3zwmC3hcp5N0w "Feeding deer, elk, moose now illegal in Washington; Bird feeders discouraged" --Jerry Tangren East Wenatchee, WA Get Outlook for iOS -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 19 08:23:39 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Louise via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 19 08:24:18 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Feeders discouraged In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The headline and the body of the article seem to carry different messages. The main text says nothing about birdfeeders being discouraged, only that ANY feeder that attracts deer, elk or moose is also illegal, even if they aren't the intended species. This change to the law is about trying to slow or halt the spread of chronic wasting disease in ungulates, nothing to do with birds. Louise Rutter Kirkland On Mon, May 19, 2025 at 8:13?AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Have there been any comments on this news article, > > > https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/feeding-deer-elk-moose-now-illegal-in-washington-bird-feeders-discouraged/article_64e93478-95a3-4826-9514-8316465131f2.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR6Hj_v0z56gTkFyzoFdXhrCeuM2ttJLay1CcsW0qY2FehXla0YHgxyT5VISxw_aem_VJ1sor4za3zwmC3hcp5N0w > > "Feeding deer, elk, moose now illegal in Washington; Bird feeders > discouraged" > > --Jerry Tangren > East Wenatchee, WA > > Get Outlook for iOS > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 19 19:01:16 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Patti Loesche via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 19 19:01:29 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] DOGE targets USGS Bird Banding Lab, virtual rally Thursday 5/22 Message-ID: Thanks to Ed Deal for alerting me that DOGE is going after the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area. The EMA includes many conservation areas, including the Bird Banding Lab. A virtual rally will be held Thursday, May 22, at 12:00 EDT. As Scott Weidensaul wrote below, over 1.5 million people have registered so far. Please consider joining the meeting and voicing your opinion to your federal representatives. https://www.mobilize.us/nwf/event/790009/ Patti Loesche Seattle > ----Original Message----- > From: Bird Bander's Forum On Behalf Of SCOTT > WEIDENSAUL > Sent: Monday, May 19, 2025 7:41 AM > To: BIRDBAND@LISTSERV.KSU.EDU > Subject: [BIRDBAND] Virtual rally to support USGS Patuxent and the BBL > > DOGE has targeted the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area including the BBL for elimination, perhaps as early as this week. A consortium of conservation NGOs and professional societies are planning a virtual rally at noon EDT this Thursday, May 22. The response appears to be huge; when I signed up the confirmation indicated some 1.5 million people had registered, which if accurate is astonishing. > > The link: > https://www.mobilize.us/nwf/event/790009/ > > The ramifications obviously go well beyond the U.S.; so far as I know the BBL single-sources all the bands used in North America and so the Canadian BBO's operations are also at risk. One concern is that defenders of the EMA manage to save the waterfowl banding aspects of the BBL's role (there are lots of conservative duck hunters) but they jettison all the nongame banding. > > Scott Weidensaul > Milton, NH USA > ######################################################################## From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 19 19:34:36 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jack Nolan via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 19 19:36:49 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Feeders Discouraged Message-ID: <0702A5C9-DD6A-468E-B879-1A9326B38318@comcast.net> Someone tell the deer up in the San Juan Islands this. Suckers come out at night and rattle the feeder until it?s empty. I?m sure they would cooperate. Jack Nolan Shoreline WA. Sent from my iPhone. Pardon my brevity and typos. > On May 19, 2025, at 5:22?PM, via Tweeters 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. Phinney migrants (AMK17 via Tweeters) > 2. new migrants (Diann MacRae via Tweeters) > 3. Used scope for sale (Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters) > 4. Feeders discouraged (Jerry Tangren via Tweeters) > 5. Re: Feeders discouraged (Louise via Tweeters) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 18 May 2025 19:05:41 +0000 > From: AMK17 via Tweeters > To: tweeters@uw.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] Phinney migrants > Message-ID: <75246b70-0e20-8309-5754-935015f481f9@earthlink.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Enjoyed a diverse chorus of migrants this morning including black headed grosbeaks, warblingvireos, orange crowned and Wilson's warblers, Swainson's thrush, western tanagers, and A lte chipping sparrow. > > AMK17 > AKopitov > Seattle, Wa > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sun, 18 May 2025 22:07:40 +0200 > From: Diann MacRae via Tweeters > To: tweeters t > Subject: [Tweeters] new migrants > Message-ID: > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Mon, 19 May 2025 07:58:37 -0700 > From: Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] Used scope for sale > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Vortex Razor HD, 85mm HD, Ultra Light Definition with tripod. Very good > condition. $1000 for all. Olympia area. Contact Tina for photos and more > information. > curtina3 at gmail.com > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Mon, 19 May 2025 15:12:59 +0000 > From: Jerry Tangren via Tweeters > To: Tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] Feeders discouraged > Message-ID: > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Have there been any comments on this news article, > > https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/feeding-deer-elk-moose-now-illegal-in-washington-bird-feeders-discouraged/article_64e93478-95a3-4826-9514-8316465131f2.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR6Hj_v0z56gTkFyzoFdXhrCeuM2ttJLay1CcsW0qY2FehXla0YHgxyT5VISxw_aem_VJ1sor4za3zwmC3hcp5N0w > > "Feeding deer, elk, moose now illegal in Washington; Bird feeders discouraged" > > --Jerry Tangren > East Wenatchee, WA > > Get Outlook for iOS > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Mon, 19 May 2025 08:23:39 -0700 > From: Louise via Tweeters > To: TWEETERS tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Feeders discouraged > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > The headline and the body of the article seem to carry different messages. > The main text says nothing about birdfeeders being discouraged, only that > ANY feeder that attracts deer, elk or moose is also illegal, even if they > aren't the intended species. This change to the law is about trying to slow > or halt the spread of chronic wasting disease in ungulates, nothing to do > with birds. > > Louise Rutter > Kirkland > >> On Mon, May 19, 2025 at 8:13?AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters < >> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >> >> Have there been any comments on this news article, >> >> >> https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/feeding-deer-elk-moose-now-illegal-in-washington-bird-feeders-discouraged/article_64e93478-95a3-4826-9514-8316465131f2.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR6Hj_v0z56gTkFyzoFdXhrCeuM2ttJLay1CcsW0qY2FehXla0YHgxyT5VISxw_aem_VJ1sor4za3zwmC3hcp5N0w >> >> "Feeding deer, elk, moose now illegal in Washington; Bird feeders >> discouraged" >> >> --Jerry Tangren >> East Wenatchee, WA >> >> Get Outlook for iOS >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 19 > ***************************************** From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 20 20:48:03 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 20 20:48:08 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Longer Wing Bones in Warmer Climates Suggest a Role of Thermoregulation in Bird Wing Evolution - Weeks - 2025 - Global Ecology and Biogeography - Wiley Online Library Message-ID: <09752E20-778A-44B2-B42C-61C86394323C@gmail.com> https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/geb.70033 Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 21 07:29:07 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 21 07:29:13 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] huge fallout Message-ID: Wilson?s Warblers filled our yard this morning, minimum of 10 foraging through the trees. Some low enough to be breathtaking, most high enough to cause the classic warbler neck, silhouettes against a white sky. But that?s warbler watching. As Jim Danzenbaker reminds us, look up! I think the reason they stay high is because they are on the move, and it?s easier to move through the treetops than through the understory. Two Warbling Vireos added to the fun, but I saw no other species. These birds really like birch trees, which are full of insects in the spring. Dennis Paulson Maple Leaf From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 21 07:55:15 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 21 07:55:29 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] huge fallout In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I've been seeing a ton of aphids this year, in many sizes and colors, including some particularly juicy ones that have appeared on a large hellebore in my garden. Yesterday, at least four Wilson's descended to the ground and feasted on the aphids. Hooray!! Jill Seattle On Wed, May 21, 2025, 7:30?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Wilson?s Warblers filled our yard this morning, minimum of 10 foraging > through the trees. Some low enough to be breathtaking, most high enough to > cause the classic warbler neck, silhouettes against a white sky. But that?s > warbler watching. As Jim Danzenbaker reminds us, look up! I think the > reason they stay high is because they are on the move, and it?s easier to > move through the treetops than through the understory. > > Two Warbling Vireos added to the fun, but I saw no other species. These > birds really like birch trees, which are full of insects in the spring. > > Dennis Paulson > Maple Leaf > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 21 11:01:28 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Samara Hoag via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 21 11:01:55 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] huge fallout In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: In Northbeach ravine area (30th Ave NW and NW 90th Pl -N Ballard this am: Western Flycatcher singing on a branch Olive-Sided Flycatcher-singing loudly for a long time on topmost branch Townsend?s Warblers Merlin picked up Wilson?s, W Wood Peewee On Wed, May 21, 2025 at 7:55?AM Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters wrote: > I've been seeing a ton of aphids this year, in many sizes and colors, > including some particularly juicy ones that have appeared on a large > hellebore in my garden. Yesterday, at least four Wilson's descended to the > ground and feasted on the aphids. Hooray!! > Jill > Seattle > > On Wed, May 21, 2025, 7:30?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> Wilson?s Warblers filled our yard this morning, minimum of 10 foraging >> through the trees. Some low enough to be breathtaking, most high enough to >> cause the classic warbler neck, silhouettes against a white sky. But that?s >> warbler watching. As Jim Danzenbaker reminds us, look up! I think the >> reason they stay high is because they are on the move, and it?s easier to >> move through the treetops than through the understory. >> >> Two Warbling Vireos added to the fun, but I saw no other species. These >> birds really like birch trees, which are full of insects in the spring. >> >> Dennis Paulson >> Maple Leaf >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 21 13:00:08 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Sharon Howard via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 21 13:00:23 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Black-headed grosbeak Message-ID: <347BDF87-E57F-41D4-8915-18F61F642D4F@comcast.net> Was so delighted to see the first Black-headed grosbeak at our feeder this morning. It was feeding on the feeder and also on the ground. Sharon Howard South Sunset Hill Ballard From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 21 13:38:22 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 21 13:39:07 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] More fledglings Message-ID: I added 4+ House Finch newbies to the D-E Junco, Bewick's wren, Song Sparrow fledgling list yesterday. Northern Flickers are courting, and I'm keeping an eye out for migrants. Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 21 14:23:36 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Tufford via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 21 14:23:45 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] American White Pelican References: <128238197.30487.1747862616252.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <128238197.30487.1747862616252@mail.yahoo.com> Sitting in our campsite at Maryhill SP this morning we saw 8-10 flying about 30-50 feet off the water in an upriver to downriver direction. We saw them only several seconds due to trees blocking the view. Thus the uncertainty on the numbers. Dan TuffordLacey (currently on a road trip) Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 21 17:29:47 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (AMK17 via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 21 17:29:52 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] huge fallout Message-ID: <28a30132-5800-d92c-9ea2-eed117b26735@earthlink.net> I'll jump on the Wilson's warbler fall out. Several of them in the yard all day plus orange crowned. I heard a yellow singing nearby but have yet see one. Have they arrived? AKopitov Seattle AMK17 -----Original Message----- From: Samara Hoag Sent: May 21, 2025 11:02 AM To: Shelf Life Community Story Project Cc: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] huge fallout In Northbeach ravine area (30th Ave NW and NW 90th Pl -N Ballard this am: Western Flycatcher singing on a branch Olive-Sided Flycatcher-singing loudly for a long time on topmost branch Townsend’s Warblers Merlin picked up Wilson’s, W Wood Peewee On Wed, May 21, 2025 at 7:55?AM Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters wrote: I've been seeing a ton of aphids this year, in many sizes and colors, including some particularly juicy ones that have appeared on a large hellebore in my garden. Yesterday, at least four Wilson's descended to the ground and feasted on the aphids. Hooray!!Jill Seattle On Wed, May 21, 2025, 7:30?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters wrote: Wilson’s Warblers filled our yard this morning, minimum of 10 foraging through the trees. Some low enough to be breathtaking, most high enough to cause the classic warbler neck, silhouettes against a white sky. But that’s warbler watching. As Jim Danzenbaker reminds us, look up! I think the reason they stay high is because they are on the move, and it’s easier to move through the treetops than through the understory. Two Warbling Vireos added to the fun, but I saw no other species. These birds really like birch trees, which are full of insects in the spring. Dennis Paulson Maple Leaf _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu (mailto:Tweeters@u.washington.edu) http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu (mailto:Tweeters@u.washington.edu) http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 21 17:45:31 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 21 17:45:45 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] huge fallout In-Reply-To: <28a30132-5800-d92c-9ea2-eed117b26735@earthlink.net> References: <28a30132-5800-d92c-9ea2-eed117b26735@earthlink.net> Message-ID: Yes. I've had Yellow Warblers here in the Central district for about a week. Jill On Wed, May 21, 2025, 5:29?PM AMK17 wrote: > I'll jump on the Wilson's warbler fall out. Several of them in the yard > all day plus orange crowned. I heard a yellow singing nearby but have yet > see one. > > > > Have they arrived? > > > > AKopitov > > Seattle > > > > AMK17 > > -----Original Message----- > From: Samara Hoag > Sent: May 21, 2025 11:02 AM > To: Shelf Life Community Story Project > Cc: TWEETERS tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] huge fallout > > > In Northbeach ravine area (30th Ave NW and NW 90th Pl -N Ballard this am: > Western Flycatcher singing on a branch > Olive-Sided Flycatcher-singing loudly for a long time on topmost branch > Townsend?s Warblers > Merlin picked up Wilson?s, W Wood Peewee > > > On Wed, May 21, 2025 at 7:55?AM Shelf Life Community Story Project via > Tweeters wrote: > >> I've been seeing a ton of aphids this year, in many sizes and colors, >> including some particularly juicy ones that have appeared on a large >> hellebore in my garden. Yesterday, at least four Wilson's descended to the >> ground and feasted on the aphids. Hooray!! >> Jill >> Seattle >> >> On Wed, May 21, 2025, 7:30?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < >> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >> >>> Wilson?s Warblers filled our yard this morning, minimum of 10 foraging >>> through the trees. Some low enough to be breathtaking, most high enough to >>> cause the classic warbler neck, silhouettes against a white sky. But that?s >>> warbler watching. As Jim Danzenbaker reminds us, look up! I think the >>> reason they stay high is because they are on the move, and it?s easier to >>> move through the treetops than through the understory. >>> >>> Two Warbling Vireos added to the fun, but I saw no other species. These >>> birds really like birch trees, which are full of insects in the spring. >>> >>> Dennis Paulson >>> Maple Leaf >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 21 18:03:01 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 21 18:03:20 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] huge fallout In-Reply-To: <28a30132-5800-d92c-9ea2-eed117b26735@earthlink.net> References: <28a30132-5800-d92c-9ea2-eed117b26735@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <399FF1B0-EBD1-467B-9F9C-C724D8BE4984@me.com> Vaux?s swift are certainly here. At least in Monroe, 15,000 in the Wagner roost last night. Larry Schwitters Issaquah > On May 21, 2025, at 5:29?PM, AMK17 via Tweeters wrote: > > I'll jump on the Wilson's warbler fall out. Several of them in the yard all day plus orange crowned. I heard a yellow singing nearby but have yet see one. > > Have they arrived? > > AKopitov > Seattle > > AMK17 > -----Original Message----- > From: Samara Hoag > Sent: May 21, 2025 11:02 AM > To: Shelf Life Community Story Project > Cc: TWEETERS tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] huge fallout > > > In Northbeach ravine area (30th Ave NW and NW 90th Pl -N Ballard this am: > Western Flycatcher singing on a branch > Olive-Sided Flycatcher-singing loudly for a long time on topmost branch > Townsend?s Warblers > Merlin picked up Wilson?s, W Wood Peewee > > > On Wed, May 21, 2025 at 7:55?AM Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters > wrote: >> I've been seeing a ton of aphids this year, in many sizes and colors, including some particularly juicy ones that have appeared on a large hellebore in my garden. Yesterday, at least four Wilson's descended to the ground and feasted on the aphids. Hooray!! >> Jill >> Seattle >> >> On Wed, May 21, 2025, 7:30?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters > wrote: >>> Wilson?s Warblers filled our yard this morning, minimum of 10 foraging through the trees. Some low enough to be breathtaking, most high enough to cause the classic warbler neck, silhouettes against a white sky. But that?s warbler watching. As Jim Danzenbaker reminds us, look up! I think the reason they stay high is because they are on the move, and it?s easier to move through the treetops than through the understory. >>> >>> Two Warbling Vireos added to the fun, but I saw no other species. These birds really like birch trees, which are full of insects in the spring. >>> >>> Dennis Paulson >>> Maple Leaf >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 22 08:47:37 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 22 08:47:52 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Coot nest References: Message-ID: A bit far from Pacific Northwest birds, but we have coots and plastic here tool > Begin forwarded message: > > https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025/05/from-steno-to-snickers-the-anthropocene-through-the-eyes-of-a-coot?_cldee=fnB3-U6syleb3OxNN0NSfcBfcJwtPgxzli8AaB2CPv2VwiNhCcy2GhPFeAKIO3QJ&recipientid=contact-f19081276c09e5118a2d00155d08419b-03ec8abe6e5346dab08447e791170a35&esid=7b428736-2136-f011-8c4d-7c1e5274388b -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 23 05:45:09 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (GENE BULLOCK via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 23 05:45:33 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] New article in Science about the evoution and range expansion of the Anna's Hummingbird caused by nectar feederst of feeders In-Reply-To: <2b898596-ea74-44ce-8e9a-b02691ae6d22@comcast.net> References: <2b898596-ea74-44ce-8e9a-b02691ae6d22@comcast.net> Message-ID: <1438346293.406857.1748004309163@connect.xfinity.com> http://www.science.org ? https://www.science.org/content/article/bird-feeders-have-caused-dramatic-evolution-california-hummingbirds?et_rid=300850509&et_cid=5622113 https://www.science.org/content/article/bird-feeders-have-caused-dramatic-evolution-california-hummingbirds?et_rid=300850509&et_cid=5622113 Gene Bullock Kitsap Audubon Society Poulsbo, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 23 16:05:36 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Daniel R Froehlich via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 23 16:05:56 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Babblers & Bulbuls: Bird Research Project in Borneo Message-ID: Hey fellow birders, I just wanted to alert you all to my newest venture studying amazing birds at Danum Valley in Borneo. I've launched a Kickstarter campaign The Babbler & Bulbul Project featuring my pics and field stories, with lots more to come! *Tired of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, embattled models, litigious simulations, and the whole extortion lifestyle? Plain exhausted and yearning for a good ol' reality check?* This is it: Join our team on our first field season tagging wild forest birds at Danum Valley, one of the richest lowland rainforests in Southeast Asia on the Island of Borneo! No simulations, no models, just real stuff: real birds, real data, real photographs, real challenges, real stories--and real people using real intelligence to collaborate across countries, cooperate across cultures, and conduct fundamental research for basic science--to better understand our world and the creatures that actually live here. Traditional scientific funding is under new scrutiny. This is your chance to support innovative and collaborative research with deep content. The birds are spectacular, the forest context is unique--and the authentic challenges and difficulties we face are better than, well, scripted reality shows! Check out our project (involves four Washington birders this year!), sign up for our blog and check out the original art, science-based classes on birds and birding, or field trips with Dan Froehlich, ornithologist and tour guide. Cheers, Dan Dan Froehlich Poulsbo, WA USA Go eBird ing! LinkedIn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 24 06:21:56 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 24 06:22:11 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk for Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR on 5/21/2025 Message-ID: Hi Tweets. Approximately 50 of us enjoyed a beautiful Spring Day at the Refuge with temperatures in the 40's to 60's degrees Fahrenheit and a High 8'11" Tide at 12:55pm. Highlights included great looks of RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, CEDAR WAXWING and PURPLE FINCH in the ORCHARD. A few lucky birders got looks of First of Year NASHVILLE WARBLER at the access road green gate across the entrance road from the Education Center and along the east side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail. The AMERICAN BITTERN was heard 'booming' multiple times from the flooded field south of the Twin Barns but remained hidden from our eyes. There were a few excellent sightings of SORA in the freshwater marsh along the Nisqually Estuary Trail, as well CACKLING GOOSE, CINNAMON TEAL and BLUE-WINGED TEAL. Out on the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail, we heard a chorus of WHIMBREL flight songs, "quiquiquiqui", and approximately 45 birds flew into the mudflats to forage. The CLIFF SWALLOWS have a small group of 20 birds building mud huts in the Tower at the entrance to the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. The WILLOW FLYCATCHER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, and WESTERN FLYCATCHER (pacific-slope) were all first of year heard only, hope to be seen soon. And we had several sightings of singing WARBLING VIREO on the Twin Barns Loop Trail. There is a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE nest on the outside of the Twin Barns Loop Trail approximately 100 feet south of the Twin Barns cut-off. Tough to see, but in the top of a skinny Cottonwood between the trail and the Access Road west (additional details in eBird Report). For the day we had 84 species, with six FOY including Western Wood-pewee, Western Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, California Scrubjay(entrance road), Warbling Vireo, and Nashville Warbler, we have seen 152 species this year. Others seen included Columbian Black-tailed Deer fawn with doe in the freshwater marsh. There were numerous babies to enjoy. See our eBird Report pasted below. Until next week when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center overlook, be well, and happy birding. Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US May 21, 2025 6:04 AM - 5:11 PM Protocol: Traveling 8.791 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Partly sunny with temperatures in the 40?s to 60?s degrees Fahrenheit. There was a High 8?11? Tide at 12:55pm. Mammals seen included Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Muskrat, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, and Harbor Seal. 84 species (+3 other taxa) Cackling Goose (minima) 2 Late birds seen in freshwater marsh. Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 100 Wood Duck 4 Blue-winged Teal 10 Freshwater marsh Cinnamon Teal 4 Northern Shoveler 2 Gadwall 2 American Wigeon 1 Mallard 100 Northern Pintail 1 Green-winged Teal (American) 1 Ring-necked Duck 1 Hooded Merganser 30 Common Merganser 4 Nisqually River Overlook. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 3 Band-tailed Pigeon 5 Mourning Dove 2 Vaux's Swift 20 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Rufous Hummingbird 5 Virginia Rail 2 Heard only. Sora 8 Three to four birds seen in freshwater marsh. Birds heard in flooded fields south of Twin Barns. Killdeer 3 Semipalmated Plover 1 Mudflats adjacent to Tower at start of Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. Whimbrel (Hudsonian) 46 Counted individually. Initially two seen on the mudflats east of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. On an incoming high tide, we heard a chorus of Whimbrel flight calls and forty-four birds flew in from the east delta and landed on the mudflats around Madrone Slough or the slough just east of the Puget Sound Viewing Platform. Greater Yellowlegs 6 Ring-billed Gull 55 California Gull 2 Glaucous-winged Gull 3 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 20 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 20 Caspian Tern 80 High count. Pied-billed Grebe 5 Double-crested Cormorant 40 American Bittern 1 Heard calling flooded fields south of Twin Barns. Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 40 Turkey Vulture 1 Bald Eagle 20 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Belted Kingfisher 2 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 3 Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker 3 Western Wood-Pewee 3 Willow Flycatcher 1 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 1 Warbling Vireo (Western) 6 California Scrub-Jay 2 Entrance road, seen by Steve. American Crow 8 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 15 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 Bank Swallow 6 Counted. Likely more. Three-six seen over the flooded fields south of the Twin Barns. Three-four flying-foraging over the freshwater marsh. Tree Swallow 40 Violet-green Swallow 3 Purple Martin 2 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 7 Barn Swallow (American) 60 Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 60 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Heard by Bruce Jacob in evergreens along Access Road. Brown Creeper 4 Heard/seen at Orchard, Twin Barns Picnic Area, and east side of Twin Barns Loop Trail Marsh Wren 15 Bewick's Wren 1 Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 4 European Starling 150 Swainson's Thrush 29 Counted individually. Most heard, approximately 1/3rd seen. American Robin 35 Cedar Waxwing 20 Evening Grosbeak 6 Purple Finch (Western) 5 Pine Siskin (Northern) 30 American Goldfinch 25 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1 White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 1 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 8 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 47 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 5 Bullock's Oriole 3 Nest located in the top of a Cottonwood along the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail approximately 100 feet south of the Twin Barns Cut-off and on the outside or west of the trail. This is an open area north of the north double bench overlook in the area where we have seen Northern Waterthrush in the past during autumn migration. Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 50 Brown-headed Cowbird 35 Nashville Warbler 3 Multiple birds heard. Three different birds seen, one near the east entrance of the Twin Barns Loop Trail, another near the green gate across from the entrance to the Education Center parking lot, another seen along the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail. Common Yellowthroat 12 Yellow Warbler (Northern) 25 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1 Wilson's Warbler 3 Western Tanager 3 Black-headed Grosbeak 2 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S241224306 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 24 11:05:51 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 24 11:05:55 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Frontiers | Street smarts: a remarkable adaptation in a city-wintering raptor Message-ID: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ethology/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1539103/full Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 24 11:08:56 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 24 11:09:13 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] A Young Cooper's Hawk Learned to Use a Crosswalk Signal to Launch Surprise Attacks on Other Birds Message-ID: <3A5C849F-8244-4958-BD9B-7DCF4FE35685@gmail.com> https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-young-coopers-hawk-learned-to-use-a-crosswalk-signal-to-launch-surprise-attacks-on-other-birds-180986685/ Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 24 23:00:13 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Eric Ellingson via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 24 23:00:45 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Sabine's Gulls Message-ID: Killian found a couple of groups of Sabine's Gulls off Sandy Point, Ferndale, on the evening of the 23rd. Upon hearing about this, I headed out by boat from Birch Bay and found them after a bit of searching. The group I came across was about 40 in number. Killian and another saw over twice this amount. Such beautiful gulls. They were mixed with Bonaparte's Gulls, but for the most part stayed separate. A couple of photos can be seen HERE . Additional photos can be seen on my eBird report. Eric Ellingson 360-820-6396 esellingson@gmail.com https://www.flickr.com/photos/ericellingson/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 25 06:31:46 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ken Grant via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 25 06:31:51 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] please unsubscribe me Message-ID: Thanks -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 25 14:13:32 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ian Paulsen via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 25 14:13:30 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] The Birdbooker Report Message-ID: HI ALL: I posted about 3 bird and 3 non-bird books at my blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2025/05/new-titles.html sincerely Ian Paulsen Bainbridge Island, WA, USA Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/ From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 25 15:36:58 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 25 15:37:13 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Reference? Message-ID: <0C6385BC-841B-4374-8E9B-3E1110088C6F@jimbetz.com> Hi all I?m interested in a reference that shows the ?progress? of the lifecycle of birds. A sort of chart that shows a species yearly life such as wintering migrating breeding nesting hatching fledging growing and migrating. Each section would include time of year and duration and location. What I have found is too broad for my question. Help. Jim in Skagit. Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun May 25 23:51:36 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Sun May 25 23:52:01 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Reference? In-Reply-To: <0C6385BC-841B-4374-8E9B-3E1110088C6F@jimbetz.com> References: <0C6385BC-841B-4374-8E9B-3E1110088C6F@jimbetz.com> Message-ID: Hello Jim, I use Cornell?s ? Birds of the World? species accounts for that. You can access it for free through WOS and some libraries. I pay for a subscription every year just because I want to support them and all of the excellent work that they do. Dan Sent from my iPhone > On May 25, 2025, at 3:37?PM, Jim Betz via Tweeters wrote: > > ?Hi all > I?m interested in a reference that shows the ?progress? of the lifecycle of birds. A sort of chart that shows a species yearly life such as wintering migrating breeding nesting hatching fledging growing and migrating. Each section would include time of year and duration and location. What I have found is too broad for my question. Help. Jim in Skagit. > Sent from my iPhone > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 26 07:53:14 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Matt Bartels via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 26 07:53:30 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] County Year List Project through the end of April for 2025 Message-ID: <94EF69BE-2249-43A9-B558-11D77A4CAE8C@earthlink.net> Hi Tweeters and Inland NW Birders - An updated version of the 2025 County Year List Project is up and available at Washington Birder. All 39 counties sent in updates of the year list as of the end of April. Thanks compilers for all your work, and thanks everyone who has contributed. This check-in point is a bit arbitrary - the ?end of April? falls right in the midst of spring migration -the totals for any given county might vary quite a bit with just a few days shift in weather/migration/coverage. Nevertheless, given all the reports of a later/slower migration season this year,I thought it might be interesting to see how we are looking at this point in the year compared to recent years. Here?s how things look compared with recent years: We?ve tallied 329 species statewide as of the end of April 2025. That?s three lower than 2024 at this point [332] and 6 higher than 2023 [323] - . In Western WA, our 294 total is six lower than last year?s at this point [300] and one higher than 2023? total [293] In Eastern WA, our 259 species tallied is seven lower than last year at this point [266] and one higher than 2023?s total ]258] 9 Counties have higher totals at this point than they did last year. 28 had lower totals than at this point last year. 25 Counties have a total within 10 species of the check-in at this point last year - that seems to indicate a little bit wider variation than is normal, but not a too huge a difference. Overall, I don?t think the reports of a slower/later migration this year really show up in this snap-shot look at county year list totals - If you'd like to take a look at where things stand, the list and many other interesting files are at the Washington Birder website: http://www.wabirder.com/ A direct link to the 2025 county yearlist & the list of county compilers contact info: http://www.wabirder.com/county_yearlist.html Thanks to all the compilers and all those pitching in to sketch a picture of another year's birds in WA. Good birding, Matt Bartels Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 26 12:35:17 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Eric Snyder via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 26 12:35:22 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Indigo Bunting Sat 5/24 Message-ID: We got out to Marymoor somewhat early on Saturday morning to go for a wander, with a tentative hope that we might find the bunting while we were down there. I do not know whether this is a FOY spotting for the little guy or not, but we were treated to a brief, distant appearance at the backside of the meadow around 7:30am. Showed up low in a berry vine, out amongst the trees; looking like something small and white, with a sharp "Wit!" call that grabbed my attention as 'different'. I was only able to get one, identifiable shot before he took off and joined the Tree Swallows for some buffet action over the meadow grasses. https://flic.kr/p/2r72VVN -Eric Snyder -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 26 13:49:38 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 26 13:49:52 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2025-05-22 Message-ID: Tweets - an extremely late report of last Thursday's survey. I headed straight out after the survey to scout near Yakima for the WOS/WFO conference in early June. At Marymoor, the day began slowly under a high overcast, but as the day warmed and the skies cleared, the birds came out. The Rowing Club had a burst of birds. Highlights: Gull sp. - A flock of about a dozen gulls with black wingtips flew north in a perfect vee. Really unsure what they might have been Green Heron - One landed briefly in the Dog Meadow, for our 3rd sighting of the year Turkey Vulture - One over the Rowing Club - First of Year (FOY) Olive-sided Flycatcher - One in the large Oregon Ash at the Rowing Club (FOY) Willow Flycatcher - One at the SE corner of the East Meadow, singing (FOY) Evening Grosbeak - Several flyovers, and a few even briefly landed in a cottonwood. They almost NEVER land in the park Bullock's Oriole - Male at the Rowing Club (FOY) Misses included Common Merganser, Rock Pigeon, Red-tailed Hawk, Barn Swallow, and Cliff Swallow For the day, 64 species plus the mystery gulls. For the year, we're up to 114. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon May 26 17:00:55 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Eric Snyder via Tweeters) Date: Mon May 26 17:01:00 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Indigo Bunting post; correction received Message-ID: Thank you, All. I am aware and simply mistyped the ID in my original post. I do not have any way of correcting the post however. We do not need to blow the list up with corrections. Sent from Apple's iPhone; I'm just leasing it. From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 27 14:01:34 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (jimullrich via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 27 14:01:51 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Pilchuck Audubon Spring Birdfest Message-ID: Howdy Tweets: It is here, the Edmonds WA., and Pilchuck Audubon Spring Birdfest, 05/30-06/1. Most activities emanate from the Francis Hadden Center at 700 Main Street, Edmonds. Visit: https://pilchuckaudubon.org for details Yours for the Birds n? the Bees Jim Ullrich Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue May 27 23:05:00 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Tue May 27 23:05:04 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?WOS_Monthly_Meeting=2C_June_2=2C_2025=3A_=22?= =?utf-8?q?Members_Photo_Night=22_=28on-line_only=29?= Message-ID: <20250528060500.25684.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> On Monday June 2, 2025, the Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) invites you to our final Monthly Meeting of the season. The program will be our ever-popular "WOS Members' Photo Night? when favorite and new birding sites and insights are shared, by virtue of the talents and photographic skills of a group of our Members. Enjoy a "virtual" birding experience from your respective evening "roosting spots." Sign-in on Zoom will begin at 7:15 pm, and the meeting commences at 7:30 pm. Please go to the WOS Monthly Meetings page: https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on virtual participation and to get the Zoom link. When joining the meeting, we ask that you PLEASE mute your device and make certain that your camera is turned off. This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend. Thanks to the generosity of our presenters, recordings of past programs are available at the following link to the WOS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonornithologicalso7839/videos If you are not yet a member of WOS, we hope you will consider becoming one at https://wos.org Many thanks in advance to our member-presenters, not only for their camera work, but for stepping up to the challenges posed by technology! Please join us! Elaine Chuang WOS Program Support From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed May 28 17:42:48 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Bruce LaBar via Tweeters) Date: Wed May 28 17:43:01 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Westport Pelagic Trip, Friday May 30 Message-ID: <3DCF4A45-178D-4295-AC62-06D2D4F68527@harbornet.com> Saturday's pelagic trip had to be rescheduled to this coming Friday, due to ocean conditions. There is several spots available because of the change. With all of trips for the rest of the year filled, this a chance for those who want to experience the wonders of pelagic birding plus perhaps a few whales. Conditions of the ocean look very good for Friday! If interested please contact Phil and Chris Anderson using the phone number listed on the website, www.westportseabirds.com. Bruce LaBar From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 29 11:36:19 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 29 11:36:37 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2025-05-29 Message-ID: Tweets - We had a dark, rainy morning that cleared gradually. Birds were scarce and very hard to see, so much of our birding was only by ear. There were very few surprises today, with all but three species having been seen at least half the years previously for this week. Highlights: Wood Duck - Two females with clutches of ducklings Eurasian Collared-Dove - One seen twice, only our 2nd sighting of the year That's about it. We do have an interesting situation going on with the Purple Martin gourds. Tree Swallows apparently started nesting in one of the gourds, and are still managing to hold on although the martins always chase them away. The swallows have to hope all the martins are in the air before they can go to their nest. I believe we've also seen a martin in that same gourd this spring. But every week we see the swallows bringing food or nest materials to the gourd, only to be turned away by the martins. Misses today included Common Merganser, Rock Pigeon, Spotted Sandpiper, Green Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Downy and Hairy Woodpecker (though we did have 3 woodpecker flybys we could not get to species), Violet-green Swallow, Cliff Swallow, and Western Tanager. For the day, 54 species. - Michael Hobbs - BirdMarymoor@gmail.com - www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu May 29 12:55:09 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (jimullrich via Tweeters) Date: Thu May 29 12:55:24 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds & Pilchuck Audubon Birdfest Message-ID: Howdy Tweets: Come join us in Edmonds this weekend and participate in the Pilchuck Audubon Society Spring Birdfest. Come see touch & buy the new Swarovski NL PURE line of Binoculars and Scopes presented by our regional Swarovski dealer. Visit: https://pilchuckaudubon.org Yours for the Birds n? the Bees Jim Ullrich Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 30 12:20:53 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 30 12:25:55 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] No birds? Message-ID: We?re in Montreal traveling by train. We?ve seen very few birds since leaving Vancouver. Especially from Edmonton to Toronto. Too early in the year? We?ve seen a Few Canada Geese, even fewer swans, mallards, crows, and RWB. Same with mammals both large and small. Ideas? Jim Sent from my iPhone > On May 30, 2025, at 3:01?PM, via Tweeters 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. Edmonds & Pilchuck Audubon Birdfest (jimullrich via Tweeters) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 29 May 2025 12:55:09 -0700 > From: jimullrich via Tweeters > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds & Pilchuck Audubon Birdfest > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Howdy Tweets: > Come join us in Edmonds this weekend and participate in the Pilchuck Audubon Society Spring Birdfest. Come see touch & buy the new > Swarovski NL PURE line of Binoculars and Scopes presented by our regional Swarovski dealer. Visit: > https://pilchuckaudubon.org > Yours for the Birds n? the Bees > Jim Ullrich > > Sent from my iPhone > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 30 > ***************************************** From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri May 30 14:54:42 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Fri May 30 14:54:49 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] No birds? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <003601dbd1ad$7430e370$5c92aa50$@comcast.net> Jim, We were in Montreal on the 20th and went to the Botanical Gardens. In the area of the Lilac Garden, I recorded at least 8 warbler species. I didn't have my bins with me so ID was by song primarily, with some help from Merlin. Several photographers were having a great time as the warblers were on lower branches. Happy travels, Don Aupperlee, DVM -----Original Message----- From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Jim Betz via Tweeters Sent: Friday, May 30, 2025 12:21 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu; tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] No birds? We?re in Montreal traveling by train. We?ve seen very few birds since leaving Vancouver. Especially from Edmonton to Toronto. Too early in the year? We?ve seen a Few Canada Geese, even fewer swans, mallards, crows, and RWB. Same with mammals both large and small. Ideas? Jim Sent from my iPhone > On May 30, 2025, at 3:01?PM, via Tweeters 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. Edmonds & Pilchuck Audubon Birdfest (jimullrich via Tweeters) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 29 May 2025 12:55:09 -0700 > From: jimullrich via Tweeters > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds & Pilchuck Audubon Birdfest > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Howdy Tweets: > Come join us in Edmonds this weekend and participate in the Pilchuck > Audubon Society Spring Birdfest. Come see touch & buy the new Swarovski NL PURE line of Binoculars and Scopes presented by our regional Swarovski dealer. Visit: > https://pilchuckaudubon.org > Yours for the Birds n? the Bees > Jim Ullrich > > Sent from my iPhone > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 30 > ***************************************** _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 07:15:04 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Emily Birchman via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 07:15:17 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird reports on EBird Message-ID: Hi all, I am relatively newer to using EBird, having only started using it in 2023. While I've gotten used to a lot of the features, I'm not an expert, so I was wondering if someone could shed some light on this for me. I'm wondering why some reports of rare birds that contain photos or recordings become 'confirmed' and others do not? Occasionally I can see why because the report doesn't clearly indicate the species being reported versus something else that's more common. But I reported two sightings in the last week that have remained unconfirmed despite adding recordings or photos and I'm curious why they're still unconfirmed. This past weekend, on 5/25, I hiked at Big 4 Ice Caves with my family and did some birding. I was using Merlin, and it very clearly caught an American Redstart singing. After patiently looking for awhile, I finally ended up spotting it - too far to take a photo but it was very clearly a redstart - black and orange warbler, white underside, I could see it singing while Merlin ID'd the song. I got my lifer redstart here in the same area last June with very clear but brief views, and this time I got to watch the bird actively flit around a tree for much longer. It was delightful! (side note: I think there was briefly a female present, as well, but I didn't have my guide or a cell phone signal to look it up so I wasn't sure of the ID and didn't report her). I reported the singing male with a description and later added 2 recordings from Merlin, which I didn't know how to edit but the second recording only has the redstart and a Hammond's Flycatcher calling so it seemed fairly clear. The report showed up on the Snohomish County rare bird alert as unconfirmed, and it has continued to be unconfirmed even though other birders went the next day and 2 of their reports were confirmed with only a description (not a recording) of the song, as they didn't see it. There are other subsequent reports after the 2 confirmed ones that have recordings and those are also unconfirmed. More recently, I went to Juanita Bay Park this week with a friend and we saw a horned grebe. We got photos using my binoculars to zoom in since neither of us have a camera other than that on our cell phones. I posted my sighting with those photos which are admittedly not great, but I think are clear enough to see that it's a horned grebe, not another species, but that one has also remained unconfirmed. I'm wondering if it just takes a long time for sightings to be confirmed, or if there's something I should have done differently to describe what I saw to make it more likely to be confirmed? I don't often get to see 'rare' birds but am happy to learn more about how to report sightings more helpfully. Thanks for any advice you have! :) Emily Birchman Kenmore WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 07:33:40 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Hampton via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 07:34:05 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird reports on EBird In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Emily and all, I'm not a reviewer but I am familiar with the general process and best practices. As far as the process goes, the reviewers are volunteers and, depending on their schedule, it can take many days and sometimes weeks. As far as best practices, I've heard it's best to include some context and at least 3 field marks and make it so you can read the description to someone and they can guess the bird correctly. Sometimes people write things like "definitely was it" and that's all, which leaves the reviewers with little to go on. Here's a good example: A duck with a brick orange head, black breast, grayish body above and below; bluish bill with black tip; yellow eye; swimming in pond with Mallards and Wood Ducks. Similar in shape to Mallards. That, of course, would be a Redhead and rules out Canvasback. There is guidance on eBird about audio recordings, how to edit them, etc. which is helpful. Please send a redstart to Port Townsend! good birding, On Sat, May 31, 2025 at 7:15?AM Emily Birchman via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hi all, > > I am relatively newer to using EBird, having only started using it in > 2023. While I've gotten used to a lot of the features, I'm not an expert, > so I was wondering if someone could shed some light on this for me. > > I'm wondering why some reports of rare birds that contain photos or > recordings become 'confirmed' and others do not? Occasionally I can see why > because the report doesn't clearly indicate the species being reported > versus something else that's more common. But I reported two sightings in > the last week that have remained unconfirmed despite adding recordings or > photos and I'm curious why they're still unconfirmed. > > This past weekend, on 5/25, I hiked at Big 4 Ice Caves with my family and > did some birding. I was using Merlin, and it very clearly caught an > American Redstart singing. After patiently looking for awhile, I finally > ended up spotting it - too far to take a photo but it was very clearly a > redstart - black and orange warbler, white underside, I could see it > singing while Merlin ID'd the song. I got my lifer redstart here in the > same area last June with very clear but brief views, and this time I got to > watch the bird actively flit around a tree for much longer. It was > delightful! (side note: I think there was briefly a female present, as > well, but I didn't have my guide or a cell phone signal to look it up so I > wasn't sure of the ID and didn't report her). > I reported the singing male with a description and later added 2 > recordings from Merlin, which I didn't know how to edit but the second > recording only has the redstart and a Hammond's Flycatcher calling so it > seemed fairly clear. > > The report showed up on the Snohomish County rare bird alert as > unconfirmed, and it has continued to be unconfirmed even though other > birders went the next day and 2 of their reports were confirmed with only a > description (not a recording) of the song, as they didn't see it. > There are other subsequent reports after the 2 confirmed ones that have > recordings and those are also unconfirmed. > > More recently, I went to Juanita Bay Park this week with a friend and we > saw a horned grebe. We got photos using my binoculars to zoom in since > neither of us have a camera other than that on our cell phones. I posted my > sighting with those photos which are admittedly not great, but I think are > clear enough to see that it's a horned grebe, not another species, but that > one has also remained unconfirmed. > > I'm wondering if it just takes a long time for sightings to be confirmed, > or if there's something I should have done differently to describe what I > saw to make it more likely to be confirmed? I don't often get to see 'rare' > birds but am happy to learn more about how to report sightings more > helpfully. > > Thanks for any advice you have! :) > Emily Birchman > Kenmore WA > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 09:25:37 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 09:25:52 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) Message-ID: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 09:25:37 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 09:25:52 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) Message-ID: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 09:32:49 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 09:33:03 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) In-Reply-To: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> References: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> Message-ID: <4E3FA352-6C59-494B-B0C4-0F8714051074@gmail.com> I should add that the tail was largely white, but clean white. > On May 31, 2025, at 9:25 AM, Jeff Gilligan wrote: > > I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. > > Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 09:56:06 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 09:56:23 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) In-Reply-To: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> References: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> Message-ID: Hello Jeff, If you have the id correct this is a very, very rare bird especially for your location. eBird shows one being seen off and on over the years near Juneau, AK. But thats the closest to Washington State eBird shows. If you could come up with a photo the bird listing world will go crazy. Larry Schwitters Issaquah > On May 31, 2025, at 9:25?AM, Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters wrote: > > I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. > > Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 10:03:48 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 10:04:02 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) In-Reply-To: References: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> Message-ID: <66356998-603C-4E45-BEDD-F637DBEBA107@gmail.com> Hi I see that a Golden Eagle was reported by puffin monitors at Cannon Beach in the past few days. In some ways, the Stellers slightly resemble an immature Golden, so I wonder if they saw the Steller?s, and are not experienced birders. I have only seen Golden Eagles twice on the Oregon coast, and one raiding seabirds on a rock seems unusual. I am positive of the ID of the bird I saw. I have birded over 60 years. I was informed that someone reported a first-year Steller?s on the northern Oregon coast last winter. I do not know anything more about that report. Jeff Gilligan > On May 31, 2025, at 9:56 AM, Larry Schwitters wrote: > > Hello Jeff, > > If you have the id correct this is a very, very rare bird especially for your location. eBird shows one being seen off and on over the years near Juneau, AK. But thats the closest to Washington State eBird shows. If you could come up with a photo the bird listing world will go crazy. > > Larry Schwitters > Issaquah > >> On May 31, 2025, at 9:25?AM, Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters wrote: >> >> I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. >> >> Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 10:32:59 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (LMarkoff via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 10:33:24 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) In-Reply-To: <66356998-603C-4E45-BEDD-F637DBEBA107@gmail.com> References: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> <66356998-603C-4E45-BEDD-F637DBEBA107@gmail.com> Message-ID: <006001dbd252$1013dcd0$303b9670$@mycci.net> Steller?s Sea-Eagle can get around. One even visited Texas briefly in 2021. see: https://www.audubon.org/news/inside-amazing-cross-continent-saga-stellers-sea-eagle FWIW, Lori Markoff -----Original Message----- From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2025 10:04 AM To: Larry Schwitters Cc: Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) Hi I see that a Golden Eagle was reported by puffin monitors at Cannon Beach in the past few days. In some ways, the Stellers slightly resemble an immature Golden, so I wonder if they saw the Steller?s, and are not experienced birders. I have only seen Golden Eagles twice on the Oregon coast, and one raiding seabirds on a rock seems unusual. I am positive of the ID of the bird I saw. I have birded over 60 years. I was informed that someone reported a first-year Steller?s on the northern Oregon coast last winter. I do not know anything more about that report. Jeff Gilligan > On May 31, 2025, at 9:56 AM, Larry Schwitters < leschwitters@me.com> wrote: > > Hello Jeff, > > If you have the id correct this is a very, very rare bird especially for your location. eBird shows one being seen off and on over the years near Juneau, AK. But thats the closest to Washington State eBird shows. If you could come up with a photo the bird listing world will go crazy. > > Larry Schwitters > Issaquah > >> On May 31, 2025, at 9:25?AM, Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >> >> I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. >> >> Jeff Gilligan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 11:52:47 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Gary Bletsch via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 11:52:55 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird reports on EBird In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Emily, Adding on to what others have said about eBird review, it is a process that depends on busy volunteers. There are eBird reviewers for every region of every country in the world, as best I understand. Most of the USA has, of course, pretty good coverage by eBird reviewers, compared to the coverage for, say, Liberia or North Korea. Even so, that coverage is uneven. Some places have reviewers who are "johnny on the spot" about inquiring about rare sightings. Other places have reviewers who are, shall we say, more laid back. One thing that bothers me is that it can take a long time for an eBird reviewer to contact the birder who includes a rare or unexpected bird in an eBird checklist. I have received e-mails from reviewers in regard to sightings that I put on eBird ten years earlier, and which themselves refer to birds seen years, even decades, earlier than the time that I actually entered the sighting on eBird. I was just checking eBird this morning, in regard to a rare Laughing Gull that I saw in Western New York back in 2007. If you do a species search or an "esplore hotspot," my sighting does not show up on eBird. It is blocked as being a rarity under review, or whatever they call it. I understand that, but what I don't understand is how it could take an eBird reviewer 18 years to getting around to sending what is after all a form message! I am not an eBird reviewer. If I were one, I would spend a lot of time digging up all of the old records and sending off those inquiries. I could not rest easy until I had done so. Yours truly, Gary Bletsch garybletsch@yahoo.com Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email. On Saturday, May 31st, 2025 at 10:27 AM, Emily Birchman via Tweeters wrote: > Hi all, > > I am relatively newer to using EBird, having only started using it in 2023. While I've gotten used to a lot of the features, I'm not an expert, so I was wondering if someone could shed some light on this for me. > > I'm wondering why some reports of rare birds that contain photos or recordings become 'confirmed' and others do not? Occasionally I can see why because the report doesn't clearly indicate the species being reported versus something else that's more common. But I reported two sightings in the last week that have remained unconfirmed despite adding recordings or photos and I'm curious why they're still unconfirmed. > > This past weekend, on 5/25, I hiked at Big 4 Ice Caves with my family and did some birding. I was using Merlin, and it very clearly caught an American Redstart singing. After patiently looking for awhile, I finally ended up spotting it - too far to take a photo but it was very clearly a redstart - black and orange warbler, white underside, I could see it singing while Merlin ID'd the song. I got my lifer redstart here in the same area last June with very clear but brief views, and this time I got to watch the bird actively flit around a tree for much longer. It was delightful! (side note: I think there was briefly a female present, as well, but I didn't have my guide or a cell phone signal to look it up so I wasn't sure of the ID and didn't report her). > I reported the singing male with a description and later added 2 recordings from Merlin, which I didn't know how to edit but the second recording only has the redstart and a Hammond's Flycatcher calling so it seemed fairly clear. > > The report showed up on the Snohomish County rare bird alert as unconfirmed, and it has continued to be unconfirmed even though other birders went the next day and 2 of their reports were confirmed with only a description (not a recording) of the song, as they didn't see it. > There are other subsequent reports after the 2 confirmed ones that have recordings and those are also unconfirmed. > > More recently, I went to Juanita Bay Park this week with a friend and we saw a horned grebe. We got photos using my binoculars to zoom in since neither of us have a camera other than that on our cell phones. I posted my sighting with those photos which are admittedly not great, but I think are clear enough to see that it's a horned grebe, not another species, but that one has also remained unconfirmed. > > I'm wondering if it just takes a long time for sightings to be confirmed, or if there's something I should have done differently to describe what I saw to make it more likely to be confirmed? I don't often get to see 'rare' birds but am happy to learn more about how to report sightings more helpfully. > > Thanks for any advice you have! :) > Emily Birchman > Kenmore WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 12:39:10 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 12:39:25 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) In-Reply-To: References: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> Message-ID: I looked at the records for North America. I had hoped for one, but never expected to see one. It came as a shock. Just a magnificent bird, with the slow, deep wing beats, it was really cool. The movie Jurassic Park came to mind. Bob - if you know who reported an immature a few months ago on the northern Oregon coast, please find out more Jeff > On May 31, 2025, at 12:28 PM, Robert O'Brien wrote: > > Thre is a long history here, Jeff. this is not the first NW report, especially BC > Google it. > Bob > > On Sat, May 31, 2025 at 9:26?AM Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters > wrote: >> I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. >> >> Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 12:48:30 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 12:48:47 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] EBird reviews Message-ID: <50D19895-0156-4E1D-A51A-B241B54C61CF@jimbetz.com> Emily, At least one part of this equation is that some reports are made by ?known/respected eBirders?. As in known to the reviewer. Another part is that no one wants ?incorrect? reports of ?rare? birds. Having said the above I?m also puzzled by your report staying pending. Hang in there. If Gary?s post of 18 years is nothing else it should be comforting? Jim in Skagit (whose not seeing many birds on ViaRail) Sent from my iPhone > On May 31, 2025, at 4:01?PM, via Tweeters 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. No birds? (Jim Betz via Tweeters) > 2. Re: No birds? (via Tweeters) > 3. Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird reports on > EBird (Emily Birchman via Tweeters) > 4. Re: Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird reports on > EBird (Steve Hampton via Tweeters) > 5. Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) > 6. Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) > 7. Re: Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) > 8. Re: Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) > 9. Re: Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) > 10. Re: Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) (LMarkoff via Tweeters) > 11. Re: Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird reports on > EBird (Gary Bletsch via Tweeters) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 30 May 2025 15:20:53 -0400 > From: Jim Betz via Tweeters > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu, > tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] No birds? > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > We?re in Montreal traveling by train. We?ve seen very few birds since leaving Vancouver. Especially from Edmonton to Toronto. Too early in the year? We?ve seen a Few Canada Geese, even fewer swans, mallards, crows, and RWB. Same with mammals both large and small. Ideas? Jim > Sent from my iPhone > >> On May 30, 2025, at 3:01?PM, via Tweeters 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. Edmonds & Pilchuck Audubon Birdfest (jimullrich via Tweeters) >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Thu, 29 May 2025 12:55:09 -0700 >> From: jimullrich via Tweeters >> To: tweeters@u.washington.edu >> Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds & Pilchuck Audubon Birdfest >> Message-ID: >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 >> >> Howdy Tweets: >> Come join us in Edmonds this weekend and participate in the Pilchuck Audubon Society Spring Birdfest. Come see touch & buy the new >> Swarovski NL PURE line of Binoculars and Scopes presented by our regional Swarovski dealer. Visit: >> https://pilchuckaudubon.org >> Yours for the Birds n? the Bees >> Jim Ullrich >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Subject: Digest Footer >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 30 >> ***************************************** > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 30 May 2025 14:54:42 -0700 > From: via Tweeters > To: "'Jim Betz'" , , > > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] No birds? > Message-ID: <003601dbd1ad$7430e370$5c92aa50$@comcast.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > Jim, > We were in Montreal on the 20th and went to the Botanical Gardens. In the area of the Lilac Garden, I recorded at least 8 warbler species. I didn't have my bins with me so ID was by song primarily, with some help from Merlin. Several photographers were having a great time as the warblers were on lower branches. > Happy travels, > Don Aupperlee, DVM > > -----Original Message----- > From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Jim Betz via Tweeters > Sent: Friday, May 30, 2025 12:21 PM > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu; tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] No birds? > > We?re in Montreal traveling by train. We?ve seen very few birds since leaving Vancouver. Especially from Edmonton to Toronto. Too early in the year? We?ve seen a Few Canada Geese, even fewer swans, mallards, crows, and RWB. Same with mammals both large and small. Ideas? Jim Sent from my iPhone > >> On May 30, 2025, at 3:01?PM, via Tweeters 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. Edmonds & Pilchuck Audubon Birdfest (jimullrich via Tweeters) >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Message: 1 >> Date: Thu, 29 May 2025 12:55:09 -0700 >> From: jimullrich via Tweeters >> To: tweeters@u.washington.edu >> Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds & Pilchuck Audubon Birdfest >> Message-ID: >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 >> >> Howdy Tweets: >> Come join us in Edmonds this weekend and participate in the Pilchuck >> Audubon Society Spring Birdfest. Come see touch & buy the new Swarovski NL PURE line of Binoculars and Scopes presented by our regional Swarovski dealer. Visit: >> https://pilchuckaudubon.org >> Yours for the Birds n? the Bees >> Jim Ullrich >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> Subject: Digest Footer >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> >> ------------------------------ >> >> End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 30 >> ***************************************** > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 07:15:04 -0700 > From: Emily Birchman via Tweeters > To: TWEETERS tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird > reports on EBird > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hi all, > > I am relatively newer to using EBird, having only started using it in 2023. > While I've gotten used to a lot of the features, I'm not an expert, so I > was wondering if someone could shed some light on this for me. > > I'm wondering why some reports of rare birds that contain photos or > recordings become 'confirmed' and others do not? Occasionally I can see why > because the report doesn't clearly indicate the species being reported > versus something else that's more common. But I reported two sightings in > the last week that have remained unconfirmed despite adding recordings or > photos and I'm curious why they're still unconfirmed. > > This past weekend, on 5/25, I hiked at Big 4 Ice Caves with my family and > did some birding. I was using Merlin, and it very clearly caught an > American Redstart singing. After patiently looking for awhile, I finally > ended up spotting it - too far to take a photo but it was very clearly a > redstart - black and orange warbler, white underside, I could see it > singing while Merlin ID'd the song. I got my lifer redstart here in the > same area last June with very clear but brief views, and this time I got to > watch the bird actively flit around a tree for much longer. It was > delightful! (side note: I think there was briefly a female present, as > well, but I didn't have my guide or a cell phone signal to look it up so I > wasn't sure of the ID and didn't report her). > I reported the singing male with a description and later added 2 recordings > from Merlin, which I didn't know how to edit but the second recording only > has the redstart and a Hammond's Flycatcher calling so it seemed fairly > clear. > > The report showed up on the Snohomish County rare bird alert as > unconfirmed, and it has continued to be unconfirmed even though other > birders went the next day and 2 of their reports were confirmed with only a > description (not a recording) of the song, as they didn't see it. > There are other subsequent reports after the 2 confirmed ones that have > recordings and those are also unconfirmed. > > More recently, I went to Juanita Bay Park this week with a friend and we > saw a horned grebe. We got photos using my binoculars to zoom in since > neither of us have a camera other than that on our cell phones. I posted my > sighting with those photos which are admittedly not great, but I think are > clear enough to see that it's a horned grebe, not another species, but that > one has also remained unconfirmed. > > I'm wondering if it just takes a long time for sightings to be confirmed, > or if there's something I should have done differently to describe what I > saw to make it more likely to be confirmed? I don't often get to see 'rare' > birds but am happy to learn more about how to report sightings more > helpfully. > > Thanks for any advice you have! :) > Emily Birchman > Kenmore WA > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 07:33:40 -0700 > From: Steve Hampton via Tweeters > To: TWEETERS tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird > reports on EBird > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Emily and all, > > I'm not a reviewer but I am familiar with the general process and best > practices. As far as the process goes, the reviewers are volunteers and, > depending on their schedule, it can take many days and sometimes weeks. > > As far as best practices, I've heard it's best to include some context and > at least 3 field marks and make it so you can read the description to > someone and they can guess the bird correctly. Sometimes people write > things like "definitely was it" and that's all, which leaves the reviewers > with little to go on. > > Here's a good example: A duck with a brick orange head, black breast, > grayish body above and below; bluish bill with black tip; yellow eye; > swimming in pond with Mallards and Wood Ducks. Similar in shape to > Mallards. > > That, of course, would be a Redhead and rules out Canvasback. > > There is guidance on eBird about audio recordings, how to edit them, etc. > which is helpful. > > Please send a redstart to Port Townsend! > > good birding, > > > >> On Sat, May 31, 2025 at 7:15?AM Emily Birchman via Tweeters < >> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >> >> Hi all, >> >> I am relatively newer to using EBird, having only started using it in >> 2023. While I've gotten used to a lot of the features, I'm not an expert, >> so I was wondering if someone could shed some light on this for me. >> >> I'm wondering why some reports of rare birds that contain photos or >> recordings become 'confirmed' and others do not? Occasionally I can see why >> because the report doesn't clearly indicate the species being reported >> versus something else that's more common. But I reported two sightings in >> the last week that have remained unconfirmed despite adding recordings or >> photos and I'm curious why they're still unconfirmed. >> >> This past weekend, on 5/25, I hiked at Big 4 Ice Caves with my family and >> did some birding. I was using Merlin, and it very clearly caught an >> American Redstart singing. After patiently looking for awhile, I finally >> ended up spotting it - too far to take a photo but it was very clearly a >> redstart - black and orange warbler, white underside, I could see it >> singing while Merlin ID'd the song. I got my lifer redstart here in the >> same area last June with very clear but brief views, and this time I got to >> watch the bird actively flit around a tree for much longer. It was >> delightful! (side note: I think there was briefly a female present, as >> well, but I didn't have my guide or a cell phone signal to look it up so I >> wasn't sure of the ID and didn't report her). >> I reported the singing male with a description and later added 2 >> recordings from Merlin, which I didn't know how to edit but the second >> recording only has the redstart and a Hammond's Flycatcher calling so it >> seemed fairly clear. >> >> The report showed up on the Snohomish County rare bird alert as >> unconfirmed, and it has continued to be unconfirmed even though other >> birders went the next day and 2 of their reports were confirmed with only a >> description (not a recording) of the song, as they didn't see it. >> There are other subsequent reports after the 2 confirmed ones that have >> recordings and those are also unconfirmed. >> >> More recently, I went to Juanita Bay Park this week with a friend and we >> saw a horned grebe. We got photos using my binoculars to zoom in since >> neither of us have a camera other than that on our cell phones. I posted my >> sighting with those photos which are admittedly not great, but I think are >> clear enough to see that it's a horned grebe, not another species, but that >> one has also remained unconfirmed. >> >> I'm wondering if it just takes a long time for sightings to be confirmed, >> or if there's something I should have done differently to describe what I >> saw to make it more likely to be confirmed? I don't often get to see 'rare' >> birds but am happy to learn more about how to report sightings more >> helpfully. >> >> Thanks for any advice you have! :) >> Emily Birchman >> Kenmore WA >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 09:25:37 -0700 > From: Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters > To: Tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > Message-ID: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. > > Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 09:25:37 -0700 > From: Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters > To: Tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > Message-ID: <3E9E2646-CEFF-41FA-9AF0-5B282DEB5CB2@gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. > > Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 09:32:49 -0700 > From: Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters > To: Tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > Message-ID: <4E3FA352-6C59-494B-B0C4-0F8714051074@gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > I should add that the tail was largely white, but clean white. > > > >> On May 31, 2025, at 9:25 AM, Jeff Gilligan wrote: >> >> I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. >> >> Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 8 > Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 09:56:06 -0700 > From: Larry Schwitters via Tweeters > To: Jeff Gilligan > Cc: Tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Hello Jeff, > > If you have the id correct this is a very, very rare bird especially for your location. eBird shows one being seen off and on over the years near Juneau, AK. But thats the closest to Washington State eBird shows. If you could come up with a photo the bird listing world will go crazy. > > Larry Schwitters > Issaquah > >> On May 31, 2025, at 9:25?AM, Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters wrote: >> >> I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. >> >> Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 9 > Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 10:03:48 -0700 > From: Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters > To: Larry Schwitters > Cc: Tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > Message-ID: <66356998-603C-4E45-BEDD-F637DBEBA107@gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Hi > > I see that a Golden Eagle was reported by puffin monitors at Cannon Beach in the past few days. In some ways, the Stellers slightly resemble an immature Golden, so I wonder if they saw the Steller?s, and are not experienced birders. I have only seen Golden Eagles twice on the Oregon coast, and one raiding seabirds on a rock seems unusual. I am positive of the ID of the bird I saw. I have birded over 60 years. I was informed that someone reported a first-year Steller?s on the northern Oregon coast last winter. I do not know anything more about that report. > > Jeff Gilligan > > > >> On May 31, 2025, at 9:56 AM, Larry Schwitters wrote: >> >> Hello Jeff, >> >> If you have the id correct this is a very, very rare bird especially for your location. eBird shows one being seen off and on over the years near Juneau, AK. But thats the closest to Washington State eBird shows. If you could come up with a photo the bird listing world will go crazy. >> >> Larry Schwitters >> Issaquah >> >>>> On May 31, 2025, at 9:25?AM, Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters wrote: >>> >>> I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. >>> >>> Jeff Gilligan (503) 502-9374 >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Tweeters mailing list >>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 10 > Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 10:32:59 -0700 > From: LMarkoff via Tweeters > To: "'Tweeters'" > Cc: 'Jeff Gilligan' > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > Message-ID: <006001dbd252$1013dcd0$303b9670$@mycci.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Steller?s Sea-Eagle can get around. One even visited Texas briefly in 2021. > > > > see: https://www.audubon.org/news/inside-amazing-cross-continent-saga-stellers-sea-eagle > > > > FWIW, > > > > Lori Markoff > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters > Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2025 10:04 AM > To: Larry Schwitters > Cc: Tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Steller's Sea-Eagle (near Chinook) > > > > Hi > > > > I see that a Golden Eagle was reported by puffin monitors at Cannon Beach in the past few days. In some ways, the Stellers slightly resemble an immature Golden, so I wonder if they saw the Steller?s, and are not experienced birders. I have only seen Golden Eagles twice on the Oregon coast, and one raiding seabirds on a rock seems unusual. I am positive of the ID of the bird I saw. I have birded over 60 years. I was informed that someone reported a first-year Steller?s on the northern Oregon coast last winter. I do not know anything more about that report. > > > > Jeff Gilligan > > > > > > > >>> On May 31, 2025, at 9:56 AM, Larry Schwitters < leschwitters@me.com> wrote: >> >> > >> Hello Jeff, > >> > >> If you have the id correct this is a very, very rare bird especially for your location. eBird shows one being seen off and on over the years near Juneau, AK. But thats the closest to Washington State eBird shows. If you could come up with a photo the bird listing world will go crazy. > >> > >> Larry Schwitters > >> Issaquah > >> > >>> On May 31, 2025, at 9:25?AM, Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >>> > >>> I saw a first-year Steller?s Sea-Eagle yesterday about two miles west of Chinook as it flew over the road, showing me its wedge-shaped tail. The massive eagle threw me off for a bit as it flew towards me. I see Bald Eagles daily at my home on Willapa Bay. Until it got closer, I could not determine what group of birds it was in. The wings were very large, and it flew in a leisurely way with quite deep wing beats. > >>> > >>> Jeff Gilligan > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 11 > Date: Sat, 31 May 2025 18:52:47 +0000 > From: Gary Bletsch via Tweeters > To: Emily Birchman > Cc: "tweeters@u.washington.edu" > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird > reports on EBird > Message-ID: > > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Dear Emily, > > Adding on to what others have said about eBird review, it is a process that depends on busy volunteers. There are eBird reviewers for every region of every country in the world, as best I understand. Most of the USA has, of course, pretty good coverage by eBird reviewers, compared to the coverage for, say, Liberia or North Korea. Even so, that coverage is uneven. Some places have reviewers who are "johnny on the spot" about inquiring about rare sightings. Other places have reviewers who are, shall we say, more laid back. > > One thing that bothers me is that it can take a long time for an eBird reviewer to contact the birder who includes a rare or unexpected bird in an eBird checklist. I have received e-mails from reviewers in regard to sightings that I put on eBird ten years earlier, and which themselves refer to birds seen years, even decades, earlier than the time that I actually entered the sighting on eBird. > > I was just checking eBird this morning, in regard to a rare Laughing Gull that I saw in Western New York back in 2007. If you do a species search or an "esplore hotspot," my sighting does not show up on eBird. It is blocked as being a rarity under review, or whatever they call it. I understand that, but what I don't understand is how it could take an eBird reviewer 18 years to getting around to sending what is after all a form message! > > I am not an eBird reviewer. If I were one, I would spend a lot of time digging up all of the old records and sending off those inquiries. I could not rest easy until I had done so. > > Yours truly, > > Gary Bletsch > > garybletsch@yahoo.com > > Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email. > >> On Saturday, May 31st, 2025 at 10:27 AM, Emily Birchman via Tweeters wrote: >> >> Hi all, >> >> I am relatively newer to using EBird, having only started using it in 2023. While I've gotten used to a lot of the features, I'm not an expert, so I was wondering if someone could shed some light on this for me. >> >> I'm wondering why some reports of rare birds that contain photos or recordings become 'confirmed' and others do not? Occasionally I can see why because the report doesn't clearly indicate the species being reported versus something else that's more common. But I reported two sightings in the last week that have remained unconfirmed despite adding recordings or photos and I'm curious why they're still unconfirmed. >> >> This past weekend, on 5/25, I hiked at Big 4 Ice Caves with my family and did some birding. I was using Merlin, and it very clearly caught an American Redstart singing. After patiently looking for awhile, I finally ended up spotting it - too far to take a photo but it was very clearly a redstart - black and orange warbler, white underside, I could see it singing while Merlin ID'd the song. I got my lifer redstart here in the same area last June with very clear but brief views, and this time I got to watch the bird actively flit around a tree for much longer. It was delightful! (side note: I think there was briefly a female present, as well, but I didn't have my guide or a cell phone signal to look it up so I wasn't sure of the ID and didn't report her). >> I reported the singing male with a description and later added 2 recordings from Merlin, which I didn't know how to edit but the second recording only has the redstart and a Hammond's Flycatcher calling so it seemed fairly clear. >> >> The report showed up on the Snohomish County rare bird alert as unconfirmed, and it has continued to be unconfirmed even though other birders went the next day and 2 of their reports were confirmed with only a description (not a recording) of the song, as they didn't see it. >> There are other subsequent reports after the 2 confirmed ones that have recordings and those are also unconfirmed. >> >> More recently, I went to Juanita Bay Park this week with a friend and we saw a horned grebe. We got photos using my binoculars to zoom in since neither of us have a camera other than that on our cell phones. I posted my sighting with those photos which are admittedly not great, but I think are clear enough to see that it's a horned grebe, not another species, but that one has also remained unconfirmed. >> >> I'm wondering if it just takes a long time for sightings to be confirmed, or if there's something I should have done differently to describe what I saw to make it more likely to be confirmed? I don't often get to see 'rare' birds but am happy to learn more about how to report sightings more helpfully. >> >> Thanks for any advice you have! :) >> Emily Birchman >> Kenmore WA > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 249, Issue 31 > ***************************************** From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 19:04:46 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 19:04:51 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] No birds? (via Tweeters) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20250531190446.Horde.zpG7HBbZRpAl6r7hpDcRvCl@webmail.jimbetz.com> Hello Tweeters ...? ? Today was our last day on the train - this leg was from Montreal to Halifax. Two Bald Eagles, one Short-Eared Owl, a few mallards and a few more corvids, and 2 robins.? Better than other days but still truly un-birdy.? Oh yes, finally one mammal - a deer. ? We've rented a car here in Halifax and have a couple of days ... hopefully better.? (This is not intended to be a 'birding trip'.)? ? ? - Jim in Halifax -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 20:02:25 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 20:02:40 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] The Steller's Sea-Eagle was in a similar plumage to this Message-ID: https://ebird.org/species/stseag -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 21:09:02 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Robert O'Brien via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 21:09:17 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] The Steller's Sea-Eagle was in a similar plumage to this In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Here is a discussion down here on OBOl, not too long ago, about a similar situation. No further comments.by me. https://www.freelists.org/post/obol/Mystery-eagle,5#google_vignette Bob OBrien Portland On Sat, May 31, 2025 at 8:02?PM Jeff Gilligan via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Steller's Sea-Eagle > ebird.org > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat May 31 23:13:33 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Robert O'Brien via Tweeters) Date: Sat May 31 23:13:47 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Question about confirmed/unconfirmed rare bird reports on EBird In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: For what it's worth I have similar experience to Gary Bletsch with my own observations, including photos, that I've made over many decades. The only way to know their fate is to search the species and location, because they still appear in one's personal list. But not to be found elsewhere. Bob OBrien Portland On Sat, May 31, 2025 at 11:53?AM Gary Bletsch via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Dear Emily, > > Adding on to what others have said about eBird review, it is a process > that depends on busy volunteers. There are eBird reviewers for every region > of every country in the world, as best I understand. Most of the USA has, > of course, pretty good coverage by eBird reviewers, compared to the > coverage for, say, Liberia or North Korea. Even so, that coverage is > uneven. Some places have reviewers who are "johnny on the spot" about > inquiring about rare sightings. Other places have reviewers who are, shall > we say, more laid back. > > One thing that bothers me is that it can take a long time for an eBird > reviewer to contact the birder who includes a rare or unexpected bird in an > eBird checklist. I have received e-mails from reviewers in regard to > sightings that I put on eBird ten years earlier, and which themselves refer > to birds seen years, even decades, earlier than the time that I actually > entered the sighting on eBird. > > I was just checking eBird this morning, in regard to a rare Laughing Gull > that I saw in Western New York back in 2007. If you do a species search or > an "esplore hotspot," my sighting does not show up on eBird. It is blocked > as being a rarity under review, or whatever they call it. I understand > that, but what I don't understand is how it could take an eBird reviewer 18 > years to getting around to sending what is after all a form message! > > I am not an eBird reviewer. If I were one, I would spend a lot of time > digging up all of the old records and sending off those inquiries. I could > not rest easy until I had done so. > > Yours truly, > > Gary Bletsch > > garybletsch@yahoo.com > > Sent with Proton Mail secure email. > > On Saturday, May 31st, 2025 at 10:27 AM, Emily Birchman via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > Hi all, > > I am relatively newer to using EBird, having only started using it in > 2023. While I've gotten used to a lot of the features, I'm not an expert, > so I was wondering if someone could shed some light on this for me. > > I'm wondering why some reports of rare birds that contain photos or > recordings become 'confirmed' and others do not? Occasionally I can see why > because the report doesn't clearly indicate the species being reported > versus something else that's more common. But I reported two sightings in > the last week that have remained unconfirmed despite adding recordings or > photos and I'm curious why they're still unconfirmed. > > This past weekend, on 5/25, I hiked at Big 4 Ice Caves with my family and > did some birding. I was using Merlin, and it very clearly caught an > American Redstart singing. After patiently looking for awhile, I finally > ended up spotting it - too far to take a photo but it was very clearly a > redstart - black and orange warbler, white underside, I could see it > singing while Merlin ID'd the song. I got my lifer redstart here in the > same area last June with very clear but brief views, and this time I got to > watch the bird actively flit around a tree for much longer. It was > delightful! (side note: I think there was briefly a female present, as > well, but I didn't have my guide or a cell phone signal to look it up so I > wasn't sure of the ID and didn't report her). > I reported the singing male with a description and later added 2 > recordings from Merlin, which I didn't know how to edit but the second > recording only has the redstart and a Hammond's Flycatcher calling so it > seemed fairly clear. > > The report showed up on the Snohomish County rare bird alert as > unconfirmed, and it has continued to be unconfirmed even though other > birders went the next day and 2 of their reports were confirmed with only a > description (not a recording) of the song, as they didn't see it. > There are other subsequent reports after the 2 confirmed ones that have > recordings and those are also unconfirmed. > > More recently, I went to Juanita Bay Park this week with a friend and we > saw a horned grebe. We got photos using my binoculars to zoom in since > neither of us have a camera other than that on our cell phones. I posted my > sighting with those photos which are admittedly not great, but I think are > clear enough to see that it's a horned grebe, not another species, but that > one has also remained unconfirmed. > > I'm wondering if it just takes a long time for sightings to be confirmed, > or if there's something I should have done differently to describe what I > saw to make it more likely to be confirmed? I don't often get to see 'rare' > birds but am happy to learn more about how to report sightings more > helpfully. > > Thanks for any advice you have! :) > Emily Birchman > Kenmore WA > > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: