From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 1 13:13:55 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ted Ryan via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 1 13:14:18 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7b9fdfdd-1112-491e-b689-68745c3f4d13@app.fastmail.com> Nikita, If advocacy on behalf of the birds is your goal I'd like to suggest that using the term "murder" and slowing down to 15MPH on a highway is a tough way to persuade those that are unaware of the issue. Everyone else in their cars are only going to see someone driving at an unsafe speed, more likely to inflame than inform. We all care about birds here and I think agree in taking reasonable measures to insure they thrive. In my experience, that is best done through appealing to people's general sense of doing what is right, not calling them murderers and proposing a ban on road salt, which is a human safety issue that is just as important. Best regards, Ted Ryan Kitsap County > Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:45:06 -0700 > From: via Tweeters > To: > Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 > Message-ID: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > > > Hi Tweeters, > > > > I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute > horror. > > > > Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades > highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are > getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the > Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down > after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for > some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips > and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by > the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are > dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen > birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch > of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad > (their problem!), and I didn't hit any birds, but it is just horrible > carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are > called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are > on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at > least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? > Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable. > > I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like > evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened. > > > > 1. I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn't > respond. > 2. Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? > If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past. > 3. Most important: what can we do to help the birds? > > > > Nikita > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 1 14:06:40 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (AMK17 via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 1 14:06:45 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 Message-ID: Can you notify the park service? AMK17 -----Original Message----- From: Ted Ryan via Tweeters Sent: Jul 1, 2026 1:14 PM To: via Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 Nikita, If advocacy on behalf of the birds is your goal I'd like to suggest that using the term "murder" and slowing down to 15MPH on a highway is a tough way to persuade those that are unaware of the issue. Everyone else in their cars are only going to see someone driving at an unsafe speed, more likely to inflame than inform. We all care about birds here and I think agree in taking reasonable measures to insure they thrive. In my experience, that is best done through appealing to people's general sense of doing what is right, not calling them murderers and proposing a ban on road salt, which is a human safety issue that is just as important. Best regards, Ted Ryan Kitsap County Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:45:06 -0700 From: via Tweeters To: Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 Message-ID: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi Tweeters, I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute horror. Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn't hit any birds, but it is just horrible carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable. I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened. 1. I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn't respond. 2. Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past. 3. Most important: what can we do to help the birds? Nikita -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 1 15:25:49 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 1 15:26:14 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <144F408F-0106-4217-AD32-C5419FF188F6@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 1 15:56:25 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Scott Downes via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 1 15:56:41 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> Message-ID: <611D1E6C-AAC4-4A37-AF17-77AF612B583D@charter.net> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a solution together it?s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for safety. I?ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email. Scott Downes Downess@charter.net Yakima Wa > On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45?PM, via Tweeters wrote: > > ? > > Hi Tweeters, > > I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute horror. > > Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn?t hit any birds, but it is just horrible carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable. > I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened. > > I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn?t respond. > Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past. > Most important: what can we do to help the birds? > > Nikita > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 1 16:07:53 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Karen Fardal via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 1 16:08:07 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 2 08:28:15 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Patty Cheek via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 08:28:35 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wings over Whidbey Keynote Dinner References: <779F2866-6D12-4491-830A-1DBBE2061AF8.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <779F2866-6D12-4491-830A-1DBBE2061AF8@yahoo.com> We are having our 4th annual Wings over Whidbey event September 25 and 26. The keynote speaker will be Paul Bannick. Festival activities on Sept. 26 all free and include Connie Sidles - Why Bother About Birds? Other speakers will include Eric Wagner, Thomas Bancroft, and a live demonstration by NW Game Hawkers. We have lots of other activities including our bird specimen library, bird walks, booths, food vendors, and children?s activities. Join us for a very special dinner catered by Orlando?s Southern Barbecue and featuring a new presentation by Paul Bannick called ?The Heartbeat of the Western Forest: Exploring the Lives of Our Keystone Birds." September 25, 2025 6:30 pm presentation Whidbey Island Nordic Lodge ? 63 Jacobs Rd., Coupeville, WA Tickets - $50 Register https://www.whidbeyaudubonsociety.org/wings-over-whidbey-festival -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 2 09:31:11 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (David Swinford via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 09:31:28 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: <611D1E6C-AAC4-4A37-AF17-77AF612B583D@charter.net> References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> <611D1E6C-AAC4-4A37-AF17-77AF612B583D@charter.net> Message-ID: A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism. What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action? While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media, DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I, in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it. I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable solutions might also follow. My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed. . On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56?PM Scott Downes via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a > solution together it?s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist > and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and > grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for > safety. I?ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email. > > Scott Downes > Downess@charter.net > Yakima Wa > > On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45?PM, via Tweeters > wrote: > > ? > > > > Hi Tweeters, > > > > I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an > absolute horror. > > > > *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North > Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little > birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up > after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes > back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to > the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, > rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting > plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible > before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have > also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I > drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several > other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn?t hit any birds, but it is > just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found out > the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most > likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. > If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT > still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is > unacceptable.* > > *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like > evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.* > > > > 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they > didn?t respond.* > 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the > salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.* > 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?* > > > > *Nikita* > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 2 09:39:45 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 09:39:58 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for July 1st, 2026. Message-ID: Dear Tweets, Approximately 30 of us enjoyed a cool Wednesday Walk on this 1st of July at the Refuge with mostly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 50's to 60's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a Low -1'10" Tide at 1:18pm. Highlights included active nesting of BARN SWALLOW/CEDAR WAXWING/BUSHTIT/WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE/YELLOW WARBLER/RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD/AMERICAN GOLDFINCH/CLIFF SWALLOW and BALD EAGLE, great views of PURPLE MARTIN over the fields south of the Twin Barns; continued good numbers of BANK SWALLOW, continued good views of GREEN HERON flying around the Twin Barns Overlook and the slough/dike adjacent to the Twin Barns; a First of Year SHARP-SHINNED HAWK spotted along the Nisqually Estuary Trail, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE feeding young in the Orchard early in the morning, and the autumnal return of good numbers of LEAST SANDPIPER and WESTERN SANDPIPER to the surge plain and mudflats early in the morning during the high tide (11'03" AT 6:01AM). Good numbers of CLIFF SWALLOW chicks were still in their mudhuts at the McAllister Creek Observation Platform. For the day we observed 68 species. With the FOY Sharp-shinned Hawk, we now have observed 152 species this year. See our eBird Report pasted below for additional details. Until next week when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook, happy birding. Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Jul 1, 2026 6:08?AM - 4:00?PM Protocol: Traveling 3.258 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 50?s to 60?s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low -1?10? Tide at 1:18pm. Others seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Muskrat, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Townsend?s Chipmunk, Harbor Seal. Also seen American Bullfrog, Pacific Forktail Damselfly. 68 species (+4 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 50 Wood Duck 16 Visitor Center Pond. Cinnamon Teal 1 Freshwater marsh. Blue-winged/Cinnamon Teal 1 Mallard 20 Ring-necked Duck 2 Seen by Ellen and Jon in Visitor Center Pond. Hooded Merganser 2 Visitor Center Pond. Common Merganser (North American) 3 Nisqually River. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 21 Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 8 Mourning Dove 5 Rufous Hummingbird 9 Nest above Twin Bench Overlook on west side of Twin Barns Loop Trail south of Twin Barns cut off. Virginia Rail 4 Heard only. Freshwater marsh. Sora 1 Heard only. Killdeer 12 Greater Yellowlegs 6 Least Sandpiper 200 Surge plain and mudflats north of Nisqually Estuary Trail at 7am during hide tide. Western Sandpiper 50 Ring-billed Gull 50 California Gull 30 Glaucous-winged Gull 2 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 10 gull sp. 50 Caspian Tern 22 Brandt's Cormorant 7 Nisqually River channel marker. Double-crested Cormorant 60 Green Heron 1 Seen flying over the slough adjacent to the Twin Barns and the surge plain. Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 115 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Spotted by Al on the Nisqually Estuary Trail. Bald Eagle 46 Occupied nest with two young on West Bank of McAllister Creek north of McAllister Creek/Medicine Creek Viewing Platform. Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2 Belted Kingfisher 3 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 9 Western Wood-Pewee 6 Willow Flycatcher 2 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 2 Western Warbling Vireo 1 Orchard. Steller's Jay 2 Heard along the West Bank of McAllister Creek. American Crow 6 Black-capped Chickadee 15 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4 Bank Swallow 10 Counted individually. Three to four observed just west of west parking lot. Five to six observed south of the Twin Barns later in the morning. Four to five seen over the freshwater marsh. An additional three seen on the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail along Shannon Slough. Suspect approximately 10 birds. Tree Swallow 20 Violet-green Swallow 1 Purple Martin 6 Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 3 Barn Swallow (American) 50 Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 80 Bushtit (Pacific) 6 Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 Brown Creeper 6 Marsh Wren 15 Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 2 European Starling 80 Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 39 American Robin (migratorius Group) 26 Cedar Waxwing 20 Purple Finch (Western) 6 Red Crossbill 1 American Goldfinch 38 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 2 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 4 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 31 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4 Bullock's Oriole 3 Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 80 Brown-headed Cowbird 24 Being fed by Willow Flycatcher. Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1 Common Yellowthroat 5 Northern Yellow Warbler 35 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S366451047 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 2 10:26:15 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 10:26:50 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> <611D1E6C-AAC4-4A37-AF17-77AF612B583D@charter.net> Message-ID: <321C1973-3916-4EB4-8E61-E47B71A6D265@shelflifestories.com> My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT office. Even if they don?t care about the birds, the people who DO care are causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the shoulder. They?re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don?t do something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary traffic slowing measures. (206) 440-4000 nwpublicaffairs@wsdot.wa.gov Jill Freidberg > On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31?AM, David Swinford via Tweeters wrote: > > A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism. What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action? > > While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media, DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I, in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it. I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable solutions might also follow. > > My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed. > > . > > > > > > On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56?PM Scott Downes via Tweeters > wrote: >> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a solution together it?s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for safety. I?ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email. >> >> Scott Downes >> Downess@charter.net >> Yakima Wa >> >>> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45?PM, via Tweeters > wrote: >>> >>> ? >>> >>> >>> Hi Tweeters, >>> >>> >>> >>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute horror. >>> >>> >>> >>> Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn?t hit any birds, but it is just horrible carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable. >>> >>> I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened. >>> >>> >>> >>> I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn?t respond. >>> Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past. >>> Most important: what can we do to help the birds? >>> >>> >>> Nikita >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 Jul 2 10:32:58 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jerry Tangren via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 10:33:04 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: <321C1973-3916-4EB4-8E61-E47B71A6D265@shelflifestories.com> References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> <611D1E6C-AAC4-4A37-AF17-77AF612B583D@charter.net> <321C1973-3916-4EB4-8E61-E47B71A6D265@shelflifestories.com> Message-ID: I haven?t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a policy statement? ?Jerry Tangren Get Outlook for iOS ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters Sent: Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15 To: David Swinford Cc: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT office. Even if they don?t care about the birds, the people who DO care are causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the shoulder. They?re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don?t do something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary traffic slowing measures. (206) 440-4000 nwpublicaffairs@wsdot.wa.gov Jill Freidberg On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31?AM, David Swinford via Tweeters wrote: A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism. What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action? While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media, DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I, in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it. I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable solutions might also follow. My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed. . On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56?PM Scott Downes via Tweeters > wrote: I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a solution together it?s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for safety. I?ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email. Scott Downes Downess@charter.net Yakima Wa On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45?PM, via Tweeters > wrote: ? Hi Tweeters, I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute horror. Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn?t hit any birds, but it is just horrible carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable. I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened. 1. I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn?t respond. 2. Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past. 3. Most important: what can we do to help the birds? Nikita _______________________________________________ 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 Jul 2 10:51:43 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ann Kramer via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 10:52:23 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> <611D1E6C-AAC4-4A37-AF17-77AF612B583D@charter.net> <321C1973-3916-4EB4-8E61-E47B71A6D265@shelflifestories.com> Message-ID: Thank you for all the suggestions that have been given. I copied this email chain with the issues and potential remedies and just mailed it to my Skagit Audubon chapter board members, of which I'm one. The North Cascades is close to our region. I asked them for their ideas to see if we could do anything. I'm not very familiar with Hwy 20 but if there is a way to apply salt or gravel safely, I would appreciate any direction on how to go about that or if it even is a safe option. We are willing to get the salt and try to make it up there this weekend. I've also contacted WSDOT and was transferred to communications, where I had to leave a message. Ann On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:33?AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > I haven?t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a > policy statement? > > ?Jerry Tangren > > Get Outlook for iOS > ------------------------------ > *From:* Tweeters on behalf > of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> > *Sent:* Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15 > *To:* David Swinford > *Cc:* Robert O'Brien via Tweeters > *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 > > My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT office. > Even if they don?t care about the birds, the people who DO care are causing > traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the shoulder. > They?re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don?t do > something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the > salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary > traffic slowing measures. > > (206) 440-4000 > nwpublicaffairs@wsdot.wa.gov > > > > Jill Freidberg > > > On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31?AM, David Swinford via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism. > What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the > public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop > traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop > drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the > road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action? > > While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media, > DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you > are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I, > in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it. > I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the > checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and > happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the > relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from > supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable > solutions might also follow. > > My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook group > with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a place for > Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post featured some > beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird carnage on > SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post showing > mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at gravel > alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to raise > awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too graphic > for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter was too > graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed. > > . > > > > > > On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56?PM Scott Downes via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a > solution together it?s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist > and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and > grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for > safety. I?ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email. > > Scott Downes > Downess@charter.net > Yakima Wa > > On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45?PM, via Tweeters > wrote: > > ? > > > > Hi Tweeters, > > > > I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an > absolute horror. > > > > *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North > Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little > birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up > after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes > back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to > the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, > rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting > plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible > before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have > also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I > drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several > other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn?t hit any birds, but it is > just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found out > the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most > likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. > If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT > still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is > unacceptable.* > > *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like > evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.* > > > > 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they > didn?t respond.* > 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the > salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.* > 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?* > > > > *Nikita* > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 2 11:33:49 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ronda Stark via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 11:34:03 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> <611D1E6C-AAC4-4A37-AF17-77AF612B583D@charter.net> <321C1973-3916-4EB4-8E61-E47B71A6D265@shelflifestories.com> Message-ID: Hi Ann, I think the idea is to remove the salt from the roadway as that is attracting the Grosbeaks and Finches. That said, multiple messages from Board members is likely to carry more weight than random messages. Thank you, Ronda On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:52?AM Ann Kramer via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Thank you for all the suggestions that have been given. > > I copied this email chain with the issues and potential remedies and just > mailed it to my Skagit Audubon chapter board members, of which I'm one. > The North Cascades is close to our region. I asked them for their ideas to > see if we could do anything. I'm not very familiar with Hwy 20 but if > there is a way to apply salt or gravel safely, I would appreciate any > direction on how to go about that or if it even is a safe option. We are > willing to get the salt and try to make it up there this weekend. > > I've also contacted WSDOT and was transferred to communications, where I > had to leave a message. > > > > Ann > > On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:33?AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> I haven?t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a >> policy statement? >> >> ?Jerry Tangren >> >> Get Outlook for iOS >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Tweeters on behalf >> of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters < >> tweeters@u.washington.edu> >> *Sent:* Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15 >> *To:* David Swinford >> *Cc:* Robert O'Brien via Tweeters >> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 >> >> My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT >> office. Even if they don?t care about the birds, the people who DO care are >> causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the >> shoulder. They?re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don?t do >> something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the >> salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary >> traffic slowing measures. >> >> (206) 440-4000 >> nwpublicaffairs@wsdot.wa.gov >> >> >> >> Jill Freidberg >> >> >> On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31?AM, David Swinford via Tweeters < >> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >> >> A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism. >> What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the >> public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop >> traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop >> drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the >> road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action? >> >> While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media, >> DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you >> are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I, >> in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it. >> I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the >> checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and >> happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the >> relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from >> supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable >> solutions might also follow. >> >> My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook >> group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a >> place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post >> featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird >> carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post >> showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at >> gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to >> raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too >> graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter >> was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed. >> >> . >> >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56?PM Scott Downes via Tweeters < >> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >> >> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a >> solution together it?s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist >> and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and >> grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for >> safety. I?ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email. >> >> Scott Downes >> Downess@charter.net >> Yakima Wa >> >> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45?PM, via Tweeters >> wrote: >> >> ? >> >> >> >> Hi Tweeters, >> >> >> >> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an >> absolute horror. >> >> >> >> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North >> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little >> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up >> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes >> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to >> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, >> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting >> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible >> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have >> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I >> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several >> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn?t hit any birds, but it is >> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found >> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that >> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road >> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is >> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This >> is unacceptable.* >> >> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like >> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.* >> >> >> >> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they >> didn?t respond.* >> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the >> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.* >> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?* >> >> >> >> *Nikita* >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 Jul 2 11:51:36 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ann Kramer via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 11:52:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> Message-ID: I called the 509-309-8175 number above.They recommended emailing at info@wawildlifefirst.org for a prompt reply and the automated message suggested to contact WDFW for urgent issues. WDFW 360-902-2200 I pressed #4 at their prompt to leave a message. On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 9:07?PM Steve Hampton via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Contact WDFW as well. (509) 309-8175 Email us: info@wawildlifefirst.org > > They may be able to work with Dept of Transportation for a solution. > > > > > On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 8:36?PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> Sounds terrible. Other than contacting some authority who prefers not to >> be contacted, I guess the best thing to do is to document it thoroughly in >> hopes of future remediation.. I queried Chat GPT, which confirmed your >> analysis. Here is the response. There were photos supporting what you >> report,, which I've had to delete because Tweeters don't accept them. Bob >> OBrien Portland >> >> ChatGPT response. >> >> Yes. In fact, as I read the message, several details immediately rang a >> bell. This is *not a new phenomenon*, although it does appear to be >> unusually severe in some years. >> >> >> The key point is that the explanation given?*road salt attracting >> Evening Grosbeaks*?is considered the leading explanation by many >> ornithologists and transportation biologists. It isn't just internet >> speculation. >> >> Several independent sources document this: >> >> - Evening Grosbeaks, along with Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, and other >> finches, are well known to congregate on salted roads where they pick up *salt >> and small gravel (grit)* needed for digestion. >> - Birds feeding on roads often become surprisingly reluctant to flush >> and can appear almost tame or lethargic, leading to heavy mortality from >> vehicles. Transportation researchers have even proposed studies to >> determine whether excessive sodium itself contributes to this behavior. >> - One documented case in British Columbia reported *at least 2,000 >> Evening Grosbeaks killed along only 16 km of highway*. >> >> The interesting part is that *Kelly McAllister of the Washington State >> Department of Transportation* actually proposed research on exactly this >> issue over a decade ago. The proposal notes that finches are periodically >> drawn to salted roads, where many are crushed by vehicles, and that >> transportation agencies need better information to develop mitigation >> strategies. >> Why this year? >> >> That's the million-dollar question. >> >> Several things probably have to line up: >> >> - A large local concentration of Evening Grosbeaks. >> - Late snow or limited natural mineral sources. >> - Fresh salt remaining on the pavement after winter. >> - Dry pavement that makes the salt easy to find. >> - The birds' seasonal need for grit and minerals. >> >> These "perfect storm" years may occur only occasionally, which explains >> why someone could drive SR-20 for years without seeing anything like this. >> Is road salt definitely the culprit? >> >> Probably?but with an important qualification. >> >> The birds are likely attracted to *both*: >> >> - sodium salts, and >> - grit (small stones) that they swallow to grind seeds in the >> gizzard. >> >> Those two often occur together on mountain highways. >> What can actually be done? >> >> Simply banning road salt isn't necessarily practical. SR-20 crosses high >> mountain passes, and road salt can greatly reduce serious accidents. >> >> More realistic mitigation measures might include: >> >> - sweeping residual salt and grit from shoulders after snow season, >> - using alternative de-icers where feasible, >> - identifying recurring "hot spots," >> - temporary warning signs during peak mortality, >> - reduced speed limits through affected stretches, >> - research into whether different de-icing materials reduce bird >> attraction. >> >> Transportation biologists have been discussing these possibilities for >> years, but there is still surprisingly little hard research. >> One thing that caught my attention >> >> The writer says: >> >> "dead birds every few feet" >> >> If that is literally true over many miles, that represents *an >> exceptionally large mortality event*, even by the standards of previous >> reports. I would hope the state wildlife agency documents it. >> >> Given your birding background, I'd also be interested in one more >> question: *Were they really all Evening Grosbeaks?* Large flocks of >> finches can include Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, and Cassin's Finch in >> the Cascades. An actual survey of the carcasses would tell us whether one >> species is disproportionately affected. >> >> This is exactly the sort of event that organizations such as the Washington >> Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology would >> likely want documented if it is occurring on the scale described. >> >> >> >> On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 7:45?PM via Tweeters >> wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> Hi Tweeters, >>> >>> >>> >>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an >>> absolute horror. >>> >>> >>> >>> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North >>> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little >>> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up >>> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes >>> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to >>> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, >>> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting >>> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible >>> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have >>> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I >>> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several >>> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn?t hit any birds, but it is >>> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found >>> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that >>> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road >>> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is >>> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This >>> is unacceptable.* >>> >>> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like >>> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.* >>> >>> >>> >>> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they >>> didn?t respond.* >>> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the >>> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.* >>> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?* >>> >>> >>> >>> *Nikita* >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Tweeters mailing list >>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > > > -- > ?Steve Hampton? > Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 2 12:01:27 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (David Swinford via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 12:01:53 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> <611D1E6C-AAC4-4A37-AF17-77AF612B583D@charter.net> <321C1973-3916-4EB4-8E61-E47B71A6D265@shelflifestories.com> Message-ID: Thanks for providing the DOT contact info. If the carnage is ongoing, perhaps nature lovers across the state could flood the DOT zone (email, voice message) asking them to post a temporary speed limit reduction through the area and perhaps a law enforcement presence. I just did and wished I had a photo, too graphic for Facebook to attach to it. Having graphic photos would be very helpful. If you have those, send them to DOT and your local media. If you don't have those and are nearby, go get some. Graphic photos, some years ago, of migrating Antelope slaughtered on a Wyoming highway helped lead to over and underpass mitigations. https://www.nfwf.org/programs/path-pronghorn/better-path-pronghorn On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 11:34?AM Ronda Stark via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hi Ann, > > I think the idea is to remove the salt from the roadway as that is > attracting the Grosbeaks and Finches. That said, multiple messages from > Board members is likely to carry more > weight than random messages. > > Thank you, > Ronda > > On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:52?AM Ann Kramer via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> Thank you for all the suggestions that have been given. >> >> I copied this email chain with the issues and potential remedies and just >> mailed it to my Skagit Audubon chapter board members, of which I'm one. >> The North Cascades is close to our region. I asked them for their ideas to >> see if we could do anything. I'm not very familiar with Hwy 20 but if >> there is a way to apply salt or gravel safely, I would appreciate any >> direction on how to go about that or if it even is a safe option. We are >> willing to get the salt and try to make it up there this weekend. >> >> I've also contacted WSDOT and was transferred to communications, where I >> had to leave a message. >> >> >> >> Ann >> >> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:33?AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters < >> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >> >>> I haven?t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a >>> policy statement? >>> >>> ?Jerry Tangren >>> >>> Get Outlook for iOS >>> ------------------------------ >>> *From:* Tweeters on >>> behalf of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters < >>> tweeters@u.washington.edu> >>> *Sent:* Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15 >>> *To:* David Swinford >>> *Cc:* Robert O'Brien via Tweeters >>> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 >>> >>> My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT >>> office. Even if they don?t care about the birds, the people who DO care are >>> causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the >>> shoulder. They?re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don?t do >>> something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the >>> salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary >>> traffic slowing measures. >>> >>> (206) 440-4000 >>> nwpublicaffairs@wsdot.wa.gov >>> >>> >>> >>> Jill Freidberg >>> >>> >>> On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31?AM, David Swinford via Tweeters < >>> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >>> >>> A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation >>> activism. What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and >>> informing the public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not >>> to stop traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to >>> stop drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on >>> the road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action? >>> >>> While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local >>> media, DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what >>> you are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. >>> I, in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support >>> it. I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the >>> checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and >>> happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the >>> relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from >>> supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable >>> solutions might also follow. >>> >>> My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook >>> group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a >>> place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post >>> featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird >>> carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post >>> showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at >>> gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to >>> raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too >>> graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter >>> was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed. >>> >>> . >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56?PM Scott Downes via Tweeters < >>> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >>> >>> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a >>> solution together it?s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist >>> and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and >>> grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for >>> safety. I?ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email. >>> >>> Scott Downes >>> Downess@charter.net >>> Yakima Wa >>> >>> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45?PM, via Tweeters >>> wrote: >>> >>> ? >>> >>> >>> >>> Hi Tweeters, >>> >>> >>> >>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an >>> absolute horror. >>> >>> >>> >>> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North >>> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little >>> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up >>> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes >>> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to >>> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, >>> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting >>> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible >>> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have >>> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I >>> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several >>> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn?t hit any birds, but it is >>> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found >>> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that >>> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road >>> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is >>> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This >>> is unacceptable.* >>> >>> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like >>> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.* >>> >>> >>> >>> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they >>> didn?t respond.* >>> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the >>> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.* >>> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?* >>> >>> >>> >>> *Nikita* >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 Jul 2 12:05:38 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ann Kramer via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 12:06:19 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> <611D1E6C-AAC4-4A37-AF17-77AF612B583D@charter.net> <321C1973-3916-4EB4-8E61-E47B71A6D265@shelflifestories.com> Message-ID: Hi Ronda, Yes, that was one suggestion which I think is a good suggestion for DOT. It was also suggested that possibly some Audubon chapters could apply salt at a safer location for the birds. I'm unfamiliar with where that would be but it's another good idea I am exploring with other board members. Ann On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 12:01?PM David Swinford wrote: > Thanks for providing the DOT contact info. If the carnage is ongoing, > perhaps nature lovers across the state could flood the DOT zone (email, > voice message) asking them to post a temporary speed limit reduction > through the area and perhaps a law enforcement presence. I just did and > wished I had a photo, too graphic for Facebook to attach to it. Having > graphic photos would be very helpful. If you have those, send them to DOT > and your local media. If you don't have those and are nearby, go get > some. Graphic photos, some years ago, of migrating Antelope slaughtered > on a Wyoming highway helped lead to over and underpass mitigations. > https://www.nfwf.org/programs/path-pronghorn/better-path-pronghorn > > > On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 11:34?AM Ronda Stark via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> Hi Ann, >> >> I think the idea is to remove the salt from the roadway as that is >> attracting the Grosbeaks and Finches. That said, multiple messages from >> Board members is likely to carry more >> weight than random messages. >> >> Thank you, >> Ronda >> >> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:52?AM Ann Kramer via Tweeters < >> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >> >>> Thank you for all the suggestions that have been given. >>> >>> I copied this email chain with the issues and potential remedies and >>> just mailed it to my Skagit Audubon chapter board members, of which I'm >>> one. The North Cascades is close to our region. I asked them for their >>> ideas to see if we could do anything. I'm not very familiar with Hwy 20 >>> but if there is a way to apply salt or gravel safely, I would appreciate >>> any direction on how to go about that or if it even is a safe option. We >>> are willing to get the salt and try to make it up there this weekend. >>> >>> I've also contacted WSDOT and was transferred to communications, where I >>> had to leave a message. >>> >>> >>> >>> Ann >>> >>> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:33?AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters < >>> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >>> >>>> I haven?t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a >>>> policy statement? >>>> >>>> ?Jerry Tangren >>>> >>>> Get Outlook for iOS >>>> ------------------------------ >>>> *From:* Tweeters on >>>> behalf of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters < >>>> tweeters@u.washington.edu> >>>> *Sent:* Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15 >>>> *To:* David Swinford >>>> *Cc:* Robert O'Brien via Tweeters >>>> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 >>>> >>>> My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT >>>> office. Even if they don?t care about the birds, the people who DO care are >>>> causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the >>>> shoulder. They?re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don?t do >>>> something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the >>>> salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary >>>> traffic slowing measures. >>>> >>>> (206) 440-4000 >>>> nwpublicaffairs@wsdot.wa.gov >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Jill Freidberg >>>> >>>> >>>> On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31?AM, David Swinford via Tweeters < >>>> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >>>> >>>> A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation >>>> activism. What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and >>>> informing the public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not >>>> to stop traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to >>>> stop drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on >>>> the road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action? >>>> >>>> While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local >>>> media, DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what >>>> you are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. >>>> I, in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support >>>> it. I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the >>>> checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and >>>> happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the >>>> relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from >>>> supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable >>>> solutions might also follow. >>>> >>>> My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook >>>> group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a >>>> place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post >>>> featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird >>>> carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post >>>> showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at >>>> gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to >>>> raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too >>>> graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter >>>> was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed. >>>> >>>> . >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56?PM Scott Downes via Tweeters < >>>> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >>>> >>>> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a >>>> solution together it?s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist >>>> and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and >>>> grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for >>>> safety. I?ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email. >>>> >>>> Scott Downes >>>> Downess@charter.net >>>> Yakima Wa >>>> >>>> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45?PM, via Tweeters >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>> ? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Hi Tweeters, >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an >>>> absolute horror. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North >>>> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little >>>> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up >>>> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes >>>> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to >>>> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, >>>> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting >>>> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible >>>> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have >>>> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I >>>> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several >>>> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn?t hit any birds, but it is >>>> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found >>>> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that >>>> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road >>>> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is >>>> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This >>>> is unacceptable.* >>>> >>>> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like >>>> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.* >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they >>>> didn?t respond.* >>>> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the >>>> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.* >>>> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?* >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *Nikita* >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> 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 >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> 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 Jul 2 15:24:10 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kim Thorburn via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 15:24:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west In-Reply-To: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> References: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> Message-ID: Hi, These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in terms of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management. Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes. I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations. One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire. Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush. It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk. Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year. Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides. Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much more needs to be learned. Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection, such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than other intermountain West basin states. Some of my thoughts, Kim Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH Spokane, WA (509) 465-3025 home (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM To: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west Hello, tweets. Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent, Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered eastside birds that are turning up on the west side. I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were. It?s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data to test my hypothesis. Dennis Paulson Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce8f469e94e89425ff94108ded71298cf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639184672035266382%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=antv2Rh2eJNALKIeUqFaJ7Aa%2BP90lni5idHYVoy%2FpmY%3D&reserved=0 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 2 15:52:44 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Hampton via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 15:52:57 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west In-Reply-To: References: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> Message-ID: Kim et al., I highly recommend people check out the eBird trend maps under the Science tab. Though they only map trends from 2012 to 2022, they generally correspond with more academic field research. Each dot (about the size of a CBC circle) communicates species abundance and trend based on the color and size of the dot. For each species, their trend map is like a thousand research stations. Here's the one for Lazuli Bunting: https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/lazbun/trends-map For example, they often show: - range shifts from climate change - declines in grassland species and increases in woodland species across the Great Plains due to the "Green Glacier" - massive declines in common species in the Corn Belt where neonic use is concentrated - and even the footprint of large fires in the West On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:24?PM Kim Thorburn via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hi, > > These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in terms > of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well > recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation > is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes > and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of > biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute > to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management. > > Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat > alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not > require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping > sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined > in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western > Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more > habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate > compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is > a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes. > > I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations. > One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at > Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd > fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire. > Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in > some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is > untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial > bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and > hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a > large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was > surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've > always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush > but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage > thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush. > It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows > required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present > innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might > contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye > is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper > sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk. > Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer > does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year. > > Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and > multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but > invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is > also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable > conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides. > Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much > more needs to be learned. > > Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are > wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection, > such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like > Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important > contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such > information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington > that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than > other intermountain West basin states. > > Some of my thoughts, > > Kim > > > > Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH > > Spokane, WA > > (509) 465-3025 home > > (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Tweeters on behalf > of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters > *Sent:* Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM > *To:* TWEETERS tweeters > *Subject:* [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west > > Hello, tweets. > > Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats > reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent, > Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the > many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a > simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered > eastside birds that are turning up on the west side. > > I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside > habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be > sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the > changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of > the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because > of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely > been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were. > > It?s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, with > birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding season, > and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an analysis > of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data to test > my hypothesis. > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce8f469e94e89425ff94108ded71298cf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639184672035266382%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=antv2Rh2eJNALKIeUqFaJ7Aa%2BP90lni5idHYVoy%2FpmY%3D&reserved=0 > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 2 19:41:15 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 2 19:41:32 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-07-02 Message-ID: Tweets - It was a nice enough day at the park today; mostly overcast and sometimes a touch chilly, but otherwise not bad. It was a pretty typical breeding-season visit. Highlights: Gadwall - Female with a couple of small ducklings - our first Gadwall 'lings of the summer? Green Heron - One below the weir again Great Blue Heron - Nests mostly empty, with many, many juveniles fishing the slough Osprey - Adult feeding young on the east nest on the baseball lights Four woodpecker day - With both Downy and Red-breasted Sapsucker appearing to be feeding fledged young Western Warbling Vireo - For unknown reasons, all of the Warblings have been at the Rowing Club this year. None in the main park Northern Yellow Warbler - Matt heard singing pre-dawn, but we only had one visual of a hatch-year bird and no singing Black-throated Gray Warbler - Hatch-year bird at the Rowing Club. Astonishingly, First of Year (FOY) Generally, there were many hatch-year (or apparently hatch-year) birds about, and fewer adults than recently. The RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, WESTERN WARBLING VIREO, and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, as well as CANADA GOOSE were all noted only at the Rowing Club. It is often very much worth going over there to extend your list. Mammals included a pre-dawn RACCOON (FOY) and a MULE DEER across the slough. Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Cliff Swallow, and Bullock's Oriole. Two other species that we saw in the last few weeks, but not today, typically become less common by Week 27. Common Merganser and Lazuli Bunting both have been seen less than 1/3 of years this week, so no great surprise that we missed them today. For the day, 55 species. For the year, adding the Black-throated Gray, we're up to [a paltry] 113 species for the survey. We didn't add any new Year Birds in June. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 3 09:43:48 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ann Kramer via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 09:44:28 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west In-Reply-To: References: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> Message-ID: Thank you for pointing this out, Steve. Are the results posted every ten years or do you expect there will be updates sooner? What is the "Green Glacier"? On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:53?PM Steve Hampton via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Kim et al., > > I highly recommend people check out the eBird trend maps under the Science > tab. Though they only map trends from 2012 to 2022, they generally > correspond with more academic field research. Each dot (about the size of a > CBC circle) communicates species abundance and trend based on the color and > size of the dot. For each species, their trend map is like a thousand > research stations. > > Here's the one for Lazuli Bunting: > https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/lazbun/trends-map > > For example, they often show: > > - range shifts from climate change > - declines in grassland species and increases in woodland species > across the Great Plains due to the "Green Glacier" > - massive declines in common species in the Corn Belt where neonic use > is concentrated > - and even the footprint of large fires in the West > > > > On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:24?PM Kim Thorburn via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in >> terms of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well >> recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation >> is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes >> and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of >> biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute >> to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management. >> >> Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat >> alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not >> require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping >> sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined >> in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western >> Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more >> habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate >> compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is >> a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes. >> >> I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations. >> One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at >> Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd >> fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire. >> Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in >> some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is >> untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial >> bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and >> hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a >> large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was >> surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've >> always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush >> but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage >> thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush. >> It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows >> required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present >> innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might >> contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye >> is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper >> sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk. >> Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer >> does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year. >> >> Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and >> multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but >> invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is >> also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable >> conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides. >> Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much >> more needs to be learned. >> >> Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are >> wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection, >> such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like >> Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important >> contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such >> information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington >> that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than >> other intermountain West basin states. >> >> Some of my thoughts, >> >> Kim >> >> >> >> Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH >> >> Spokane, WA >> >> (509) 465-3025 home >> >> (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Tweeters on behalf >> of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters >> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM >> *To:* TWEETERS tweeters >> *Subject:* [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west >> >> Hello, tweets. >> >> Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats >> reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent, >> Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the >> many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a >> simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered >> eastside birds that are turning up on the west side. >> >> I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside >> habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be >> sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the >> changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of >> the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because >> of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely >> been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were. >> >> It?s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, >> with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding >> season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an >> analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data >> to test my hypothesis. >> >> Dennis Paulson >> Seattle >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> >> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce8f469e94e89425ff94108ded71298cf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639184672035266382%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=antv2Rh2eJNALKIeUqFaJ7Aa%2BP90lni5idHYVoy%2FpmY%3D&reserved=0 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > > > -- > ?Steve Hampton? > Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 3 10:21:14 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Hampton via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 10:21:28 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west In-Reply-To: References: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> Message-ID: eBird's trend maps are relatively new, but I expect they'll update them by simply extending the duration from 2012 to the present. The "Green Glacier" on the Great Plains refers to the spread of trees, especially Eastern Redcedar (which is actually a juniper) with European colonization and the cessation of Indigenous burning. The encroachment of trees onto the Plains has really accelerated in recent decades. For more information and links, see my post on it here: *Nebraska burning *. The eBird trend maps associated with this are striking for both increasing and decreasing species. On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 9:44?AM Ann Kramer wrote: > Thank you for pointing this out, Steve. Are the results posted every ten > years or do you expect there will be updates sooner? What is the "Green > Glacier"? > > On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:53?PM Steve Hampton via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> Kim et al., >> >> I highly recommend people check out the eBird trend maps under the >> Science tab. Though they only map trends from 2012 to 2022, they generally >> correspond with more academic field research. Each dot (about the size of a >> CBC circle) communicates species abundance and trend based on the color and >> size of the dot. For each species, their trend map is like a thousand >> research stations. >> >> Here's the one for Lazuli Bunting: >> https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/lazbun/trends-map >> >> For example, they often show: >> >> - range shifts from climate change >> - declines in grassland species and increases in woodland species >> across the Great Plains due to the "Green Glacier" >> - massive declines in common species in the Corn Belt where neonic >> use is concentrated >> - and even the footprint of large fires in the West >> >> >> >> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:24?PM Kim Thorburn via Tweeters < >> tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: >> >>> Hi, >>> >>> These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in >>> terms of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well >>> recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation >>> is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes >>> and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of >>> biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute >>> to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management. >>> >>> Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat >>> alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not >>> require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping >>> sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined >>> in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western >>> Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more >>> habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate >>> compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is >>> a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes. >>> >>> I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations. >>> One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at >>> Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd >>> fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire. >>> Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in >>> some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is >>> untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial >>> bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and >>> hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a >>> large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was >>> surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've >>> always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush >>> but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage >>> thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush. >>> It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows >>> required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present >>> innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might >>> contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye >>> is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper >>> sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk. >>> Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer >>> does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year. >>> >>> Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and >>> multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but >>> invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is >>> also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable >>> conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides. >>> Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much >>> more needs to be learned. >>> >>> Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are >>> wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection, >>> such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like >>> Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important >>> contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such >>> information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington >>> that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than >>> other intermountain West basin states. >>> >>> Some of my thoughts, >>> >>> Kim >>> >>> >>> >>> Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH >>> >>> Spokane, WA >>> >>> (509) 465-3025 home >>> >>> (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------ >>> *From:* Tweeters on >>> behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters >>> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM >>> *To:* TWEETERS tweeters >>> *Subject:* [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west >>> >>> Hello, tweets. >>> >>> Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats >>> reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent, >>> Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the >>> many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a >>> simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered >>> eastside birds that are turning up on the west side. >>> >>> I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside >>> habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be >>> sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the >>> changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of >>> the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because >>> of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely >>> been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were. >>> >>> It?s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, >>> with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding >>> season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an >>> analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data >>> to test my hypothesis. >>> >>> Dennis Paulson >>> Seattle >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Tweeters mailing list >>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>> >>> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce8f469e94e89425ff94108ded71298cf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639184672035266382%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=antv2Rh2eJNALKIeUqFaJ7Aa%2BP90lni5idHYVoy%2FpmY%3D&reserved=0 >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Tweeters mailing list >>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>> >> >> >> -- >> ?Steve Hampton? >> Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 3 15:54:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Loitz via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 15:54:57 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west In-Reply-To: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> References: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> Message-ID: A few thoughts: 1. Snoqualmie Pass and other WA Cascade passes are on a long-term warming trend due to climate change. The 2025-26 winter was the mildest winter we've seen in over a decade. IME, it is not unusual to see E WA and Central WA species spill over to the west side in mild winters. (FTR, I'm a frequent mountain traveler, on foot and ski.) 2. Yellow-breasted Chats and Lazuli Buntings could have moved north from the Willamette Valley, which has been part of their summer range for decades. I regularly saw both species when I lived in Eugene in the early 1980s. Both species have been summer residents of Basket Slough NWR for as long as I recall. 3. Range expansion across the warming passes may be a bi-directional phenomenon, possibly due to climate change. Some predominately W-of-crest species have recently become more common sights E of the crest -- e.g., Pacific Wren, Bushtit, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Western Flycatcher -- all of which were uncommon IDs in and around Eburg when we moved here in 2016, but are now relatively common IDs. Some might suggest that the Western Flycatchers in our area may be Cordillerans which moved W, but the WEFLs we hear in and around Eburg sound like the Pacific-slopes I heard during the 30 years I lived in and around Seattle, not the voicings of Cordillerans I've heard many times in the Kettle Range, Idaho Sawtooths, etc. Also, RBSA range is somewhat confusing due to (IME) increased RBSA x RNSA hybridization (again, possibly the result of climate change warming), althogh we have had numerous confirmed sightings of RBSAs in the past few winters that did not appear to be hybrids. Also note that RNSAs migrate S out of WA in winter. Steve Loitz Ellensburg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 3 17:14:00 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Marcy D'Addio via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 17:14:15 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird call-song help Message-ID: We're hearing (only) a bird near Carnation, WA. Merlin doesn't ID. We suspect Northern Bobwhite. What local bird sounds similar? If anyone wants to hear it I can share the wav file via email. Marcy D'Addio Redmond, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 3 17:35:53 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 17:35:57 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west In-Reply-To: References: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> Message-ID: <1085544416.8740.1783125353778@connect.xfinity.com> Actually, haven't we had "eastern" species moving west for decades. Two that come to mind are the Eastern Kingbird in the Skagit Valley and Barred Owl moving south. We are also seeing the Tropical Kingbird moving north, but not yet breeding and Anna's Hummingbirds moving north and the east. My perspective is that we have a couple things happening that allow range expansions. Climate Change, which is actually a normal (albeit now accelerating) process. The second is all the habitat changes. The movement of riparian trees west, the conversion of conifer forests from old growth to 60-year rotational farms, all the urbanization, and so on. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net > On 07/03/2026 3:54 PM PDT Steve Loitz via Tweeters wrote: > > > A few thoughts: > > 1. Snoqualmie Pass and other WA Cascade passes are on a long-term warming trend due to climate change. The 2025-26 winter was the mildest winter we've seen in over a decade. IME, it is not unusual to see E WA and Central WA species spill over to the west side in mild winters. (FTR, I'm a frequent mountain traveler, on foot and ski.) > > 2. Yellow-breasted Chats and Lazuli Buntings could have moved north from the Willamette Valley, which has been part of their summer range for decades. I regularly saw both species when I lived in Eugene in the early 1980s. Both species have been summer residents of Basket Slough NWR for as long as I recall. > > 3. Range expansion across the warming passes may be a bi-directional phenomenon, possibly due to climate change. Some predominately W-of-crest species have recently become more common sights E of the crest -- e.g., Pacific Wren, Bushtit, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Western Flycatcher -- all of which were uncommon IDs in and around Eburg when we moved here in 2016, but are now relatively common IDs. Some might suggest that the Western Flycatchers in our area may be Cordillerans which moved W, but the WEFLs we hear in and around Eburg sound like the Pacific-slopes I heard during the 30 years I lived in and around Seattle, not the voicings of Cordillerans I've heard many times in the Kettle Range, Idaho Sawtooths, etc. Also, RBSA range is somewhat confusing due to (IME) increased RBSA x RNSA hybridization (again, possibly the result of climate change warming), althogh we have had numerous confirmed sightings of RBSAs in the past few winters that did not appear to be hybrids. Also note that RNSAs migrate S out of WA in winter. > > Steve Loitz > Ellensburg > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 3 18:19:29 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jr Mikulec via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 18:19:43 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west In-Reply-To: <1085544416.8740.1783125353778@connect.xfinity.com> References: <1085544416.8740.1783125353778@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: <0F1C2AA1-3549-448B-83D8-5FC4E373857D@gmail.com> Hey Hal, Thank you for the tip that climate change is a natural process. Unfortunately if the earth?s atmosphere was unchanged from the 1700s we would be in a cooling era of the Milankovitch cycles. Instead CO2 ppm is increasing at a rate 250 times that seen in the last 16,000,000+ years. Humans evolved around 40,000 years ago and we started agriculture about 12,000 years ago. It would have been accurate to say that climate change is ?now accelerating? in the 1970s, I think we are beyond that point now. Best, James > On Jul 3, 2026, at 5:36?PM, HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters wrote: > > ? > Actually, haven't we had "eastern" species moving west for decades. Two that come to mind are the Eastern Kingbird in the Skagit Valley and Barred Owl moving south. We are also seeing the Tropical Kingbird moving north, but not yet breeding and Anna's Hummingbirds moving north and the east. > > My perspective is that we have a couple things happening that allow range expansions. Climate Change, which is actually a normal (albeit now accelerating) process. The second is all the habitat changes. The movement of riparian trees west, the conversion of conifer forests from old growth to 60-year rotational farms, all the urbanization, and so on. > > > > > > Hal Michael > Olympia WA > 360-459-4005 > 360-791-7702 (C) > ucd880@comcast.net > > >> On 07/03/2026 3:54 PM PDT Steve Loitz via Tweeters wrote: >> >> >> A few thoughts: >> >> 1. Snoqualmie Pass and other WA Cascade passes are on a long-term warming trend due to climate change. The 2025-26 winter was the mildest winter we've seen in over a decade. IME, it is not unusual to see E WA and Central WA species spill over to the west side in mild winters. (FTR, I'm a frequent mountain traveler, on foot and ski.) >> >> 2. Yellow-breasted Chats and Lazuli Buntings could have moved north from the Willamette Valley, which has been part of their summer range for decades. I regularly saw both species when I lived in Eugene in the early 1980s. Both species have been summer residents of Basket Slough NWR for as long as I recall. >> >> 3. Range expansion across the warming passes may be a bi-directional phenomenon, possibly due to climate change. Some predominately W-of-crest species have recently become more common sights E of the crest -- e.g., Pacific Wren, Bushtit, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Western Flycatcher -- all of which were uncommon IDs in and around Eburg when we moved here in 2016, but are now relatively common IDs. Some might suggest that the Western Flycatchers in our area may be Cordillerans which moved W, but the WEFLs we hear in and around Eburg sound like the Pacific-slopes I heard during the 30 years I lived in and around Seattle, not the voicings of Cordillerans I've heard many times in the Kettle Range, Idaho Sawtooths, etc. Also, RBSA range is somewhat confusing due to (IME) increased RBSA x RNSA hybridization (again, possibly the result of climate change warming), althogh we have had numerous confirmed sightings of RBSAs in the past few winters that did not appear to be hybrids. Also note that RNSAs migrate S out of WA in winter. >> >> Steve Loitz >> Ellensburg >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 Fri Jul 3 20:34:35 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (byers345@comcast.net via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 20:35:09 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Close-ups of Pileated Woodpecker juvenile getting fed Message-ID: Hello Tweeters, ????Pileated Woodpeckers visit our feeders with some frequency. They are generally quite unconcerned about us staring at them from inside the house and even come in to feed when we are outside. Yesterday, Bill noticed a Pileated Woodpecker on our fence railing, then he saw that there were two birds. We were delighted to see that the second bird was a juvenile with a pink crest! We'd never seen one up close before. The youngster gradually made its way down below where the female was tanking up on suet. She then dropped down and fed her child (sorry for probably not using the correct technical terms). Bill and I both took pictures and I put some in a small album on Flickr, which you can see via the link below. Pileated Woodpecker mother and juvenile, Edmonds, WA, 2 July 2026 | Flickr ????I hope you enjoy them. Charlotte Byers, Edmonds, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 3 21:13:14 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 21:13:29 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird call-song help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Marcy, a Bobwhite calls its name! *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 5:14?PM Marcy D'Addio via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > We're hearing (only) a bird near Carnation, WA. Merlin doesn't ID. We > suspect Northern Bobwhite. What local bird sounds similar? If anyone wants > to hear it I can share the wav file via email. > Marcy D'Addio > Redmond, WA > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 3 21:27:12 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom Benedict via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 21:27:28 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Close-ups of Pileated Woodpecker juvenile getting fed In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Lovely photos Charlotte! We?ve had PIWO parents with juveniles in the past, but they had orange crests and were pretty much the same size as their parents. What a treat to see a younger, almost fledgling, bird with pink crest. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Jul 3, 2026, at 20:34, byers345@comcast.net via Tweeters wrote: > > Hello Tweeters, > ????Pileated Woodpeckers visit our feeders with some frequency. They are generally quite unconcerned about us staring at them from inside the house and even come in to feed when we are outside. Yesterday, Bill noticed a Pileated Woodpecker on our fence railing, then he saw that there were two birds. We were delighted to see that the second bird was a juvenile with a pink crest! We'd never seen one up close before. The youngster gradually made its way down below where the female was tanking up on suet. She then dropped down and fed her child (sorry for probably not using the correct technical terms). Bill and I both took pictures and I put some in a small album on Flickr, which you can see via the link below. > > Pileated Woodpecker mother and juvenile, Edmonds, WA, 2 July 2026 | Flickr > > ????I hope you enjoy them. Charlotte Byers, Edmonds, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 3 21:56:31 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (J Christian Kessler via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 3 21:57:11 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Close-ups of Pileated Woodpecker juvenile getting fed In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: never seen fledglings so young, in this plumage. crests are almost white. they must grow new crests when they really leave the nest on their own Chris On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 8:36?PM byers345@comcast.net via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hello Tweeters, > Pileated Woodpeckers visit our feeders with some frequency. They are > generally quite unconcerned about us staring at them from inside the house > and even come in to feed when we are outside. Yesterday, Bill noticed a > Pileated Woodpecker on our fence railing, then he saw that there were two > birds. We were delighted to see that the second bird was a juvenile with a > pink crest! We'd never seen one up close before. The youngster gradually > made its way down below where the female was tanking up on suet. She then > dropped down and fed her child (sorry for probably not using the correct > technical terms). Bill and I both took pictures and I put some in a small > album on Flickr, which you can see via the link below. > > Pileated Woodpecker mother and juvenile, Edmonds, WA, 2 July 2026 | Flickr > > > I hope you enjoy them. Charlotte Byers, Edmonds, WA > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- ?Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ? it?s about learning how to dance in the rain.? Deborah Tuck -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 4 07:31:32 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 4 07:31:37 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Whie Pelicans in Squamish Harbor Message-ID: <8B03107F-2C4E-422D-B574-FFAEA587CF40@comcast.net> Carolyn Eagan informed me that three American White Pelicans appeared in Squamish Harbor, at the north end of the Hood Canal in Jefferson County, yesterday, if anyone is in that area and is interested in looking for them. Dennis Paulson Seattle From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 4 07:55:06 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kim Thorburn via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 4 07:55:12 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west In-Reply-To: References: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> Message-ID: Hi Tweets, My point is range expansion/shifting is often an innate adaptive mechanism in mobile species. It can definitely be aided by changing environmental conditions. Species whose habitat needs are generalist or are habitats that occur in a broad range of landscapes can respond to land conversion by moving. Species with obligate habitat needs are more limited. Those that rely on sagebrush, for example, will not move to western Washington. From a conservation standpoint, it is important to understand their adaptations, if any other than population decline, and range-wide maps generally don't provide that kind of information. Thanks, Steve, for the tip about the eBird trend maps. It's a great function to explore. Kim Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH Spokane, WA (509) 465-3025 home (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Steve Hampton via Tweeters Sent: Friday, July 3, 2026 10:21 AM To: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west eBird's trend maps are relatively new, but I expect they'll update them by simply extending the duration from 2012 to the present. The "Green Glacier" on the Great Plains refers to the spread of trees, especially Eastern Redcedar (which is actually a juniper) with European colonization and the cessation of Indigenous burning. The encroachment of trees onto the Plains has really accelerated in recent decades. For more information and links, see my post on it here: Nebraska burning. The eBird trend maps associated with this are striking for both increasing and decreasing species. On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 9:44?AM Ann Kramer > wrote: Thank you for pointing this out, Steve. Are the results posted every ten years or do you expect there will be updates sooner? What is the "Green Glacier"? On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:53?PM Steve Hampton via Tweeters > wrote: Kim et al., I highly recommend people check out the eBird trend maps under the Science tab. Though they only map trends from 2012 to 2022, they generally correspond with more academic field research. Each dot (about the size of a CBC circle) communicates species abundance and trend based on the color and size of the dot. For each species, their trend map is like a thousand research stations. Here's the one for Lazuli Bunting: https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/lazbun/trends-map For example, they often show: * range shifts from climate change * declines in grassland species and increases in woodland species across the Great Plains due to the "Green Glacier" * massive declines in common species in the Corn Belt where neonic use is concentrated * and even the footprint of large fires in the West On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:24?PM Kim Thorburn via Tweeters > wrote: Hi, These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in terms of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management. Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes. I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations. One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire. Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush. It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk. Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year. Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides. Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much more needs to be learned. Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection, such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than other intermountain West basin states. Some of my thoughts, Kim Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH Spokane, WA (509) 465-3025 home (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting ________________________________ From: Tweeters > on behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters > Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM To: TWEETERS tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west Hello, tweets. Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent, Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered eastside birds that are turning up on the west side. I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were. It?s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data to test my hypothesis. Dennis Paulson Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce8f469e94e89425ff94108ded71298cf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639184672035266382%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=antv2Rh2eJNALKIeUqFaJ7Aa%2BP90lni5idHYVoy%2FpmY%3D&reserved=0 _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 4 08:21:58 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Marcy D'Addio via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 4 08:22:13 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird call-song help In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Today I looked for previous ebird checklists and found 3 over the years in the approximate location. I posted my sighting and recording. My husband first IDed the call. We lived in WV 15 years so very familiar with the bird. We were just surprised and thrilled to hear it. Marcy and Jerry D'Addio https://ebird.org/checklist/S367517690 On Fri, Jul 3, 2026, 9:13?PM Hans-Joachim Feddern wrote: > Marcy, a Bobwhite calls its name! > > > *Hans Feddern* > Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA > thefedderns@gmail.com > > On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 5:14?PM Marcy D'Addio via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> We're hearing (only) a bird near Carnation, WA. Merlin doesn't ID. We >> suspect Northern Bobwhite. What local bird sounds similar? If anyone wants >> to hear it I can share the wav file via email. >> Marcy D'Addio >> Redmond, WA >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 4 14:16:12 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Marv via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 4 14:16:31 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] M Street Marsh, 7.4.26 Message-ID: It isn't often I see a MALLARD with a fish. But that's what I saw this morning at M Street. Here are 2 distant videos. One shows the bird with the fish and the second shows unsuccessful efforts to swallow it. A few minutes later I did see the duck swallow the fish while looking through the scope. https://flic.kr/p/2sngPtz https://flic.kr/p/2sn93FV Also at M Street were 24 LEAST SANDPIPERS & 3 GREATER YELLOWLEGS. The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE continues. -- Marv Breece Tukwila, WA *marvbreece@gmail.com * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jul 5 10:00:50 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Joel Levin via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jul 5 10:00:54 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] data from Merlin ID app to help global biodiversity project Message-ID: <624a3ceb-f7cc-4d98-8a78-094b2ebe65d0@comcast.net> Birdsong data from Merlin ID app to help global biodiversity project https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/04/merlin-app-birdsong-identification-ebird-biodiversity-conservation "Prof Richard Gregory of the RSPB said it was very positive that Merlin was connecting people with nature, but warned the app had identified his dachshund as a mallard." From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jul 5 10:41:20 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Gary Bletsch via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jul 5 10:41:29 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Avibase website References: <1368694889.1008815.1783273280416.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1368694889.1008815.1783273280416@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, >From time to time, the Avibase website helps one clarify taxonomic conundra. Avibase shows the history of scientific names for a bird species, starting with the original description, and is useful for investigating lumps, splits, and name changes, whether English or scientific, or even in other languages such as Spanish or French or German.? Lately, though, the website has balked every time I try to use it. Restarting the computer, closing and reopening the website, and all the other usual tricks fail to get the website to load. The website's address is? avibase.bsc-eoc.org? and it is reported to be up and running, according to online tools such as "Down for everyone or just me?" Might anyone in Tweeterdom have a suggestion as to how to get this thing to work? Thanks. Yours truly, Gary Bletsch? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 6 09:49:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Brian Zinke via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 6 09:49:59 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Online program (7/9): The Feather Wars Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Please consider yourself invited to our online monthly program this Thursday (July 9) at 6pm to enjoy a presentation from James H. McCommons, author of the recently released "*The Feather Wars: And the Great Crusade to Save America's Birds * ." Learn more about the program and register to watch via Zoom here. 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 Mon Jul 6 19:30:36 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Cynthia Simonsen via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 6 19:30:50 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Whie Pelicans in Squamish Harbor In-Reply-To: <8B03107F-2C4E-422D-B574-FFAEA587CF40@comcast.net> References: <8B03107F-2C4E-422D-B574-FFAEA587CF40@comcast.net> Message-ID: Pelicans are also back at the ?islands? at the northern end of Swinomish Channel. Lots of them,at least 100. On Sat, Jul 4, 2026 at 7:32?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Carolyn Eagan informed me that three American White Pelicans appeared in > Squamish Harbor, at the north end of the Hood Canal in Jefferson County, > yesterday, if anyone is in that area and is interested in looking for them. > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 7 01:10:23 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Price via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 7 01:10:36 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] M Street Marsh, 7.4.26 Message-ID: Hi Marv and Tweets I can confirm Mallard piscivory. The two ponds at Jericho Park in Vancouver BC are separated by a narrow neck overarched by a small arched wooden bridge. Depth of water below the bridge at the time was about 4 ft/1.2 m, and the water at time of observation was clear. One summer afternoon in the late Eighties, I noticed a female Mallard with three ducklings about 2 weeks old almost directly below the bridge. What caught my attention was that the ducklings were repeatedly jump-diving. Standing almost directly above them, I saw all three ducklings repeatedly dive to the bottom to feed on the carcass of a dead carp, each one spending about five seconds worrying flesh off the carcass before returning to the surface to breathe, sometimes still trying to swallow chunks of carp. This went on for nearly ten minutes before the duck led her young away. Though I returned numerous times and saw the same female with her young, I never saw this behavior again, nor have I ever seen it since. Subsequently, I learned that Mallard ducklings are fully capable of diving to feed on the bottom until they begin secreting waterproofing oils at about five to six weeks of age. best, m Michael Price Vancouver BC Canada loblollyboy@gmail.com Every answer deepens the mystery. -- E.O. Wilson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 8 12:56:44 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (RW Hamlyn via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 8 12:56:57 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Barb Deihl Message-ID: It is with deep sadness we notify the birding community about the passing of Barb Deihl on July 4. Barb was a passionate birder and an advocate for birds all of her life. A retired science teacher and frequent contributor to Tweeters over decades, she made many posts concerning her bird observations. Long and Short-eared Owls, Merlins, Snowy Owls, and Prairie Falcons were on top of her list. She was active in finding and monitoring Merlin nests in the Seattle area in the 2008 to 2016 time frame. We remember her giving presentations at various birding festivals. She received the education award from Seattle Audubon in 2011. Ray & Dory Hamlyn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 8 18:35:00 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (kim.mccormick@comcast.net via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 8 18:35:10 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Barb Deihl Message-ID: Thank you for your post, Ray and Dory. Rest in Peace, Barb. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 9 16:11:48 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 9 16:12:03 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 7/8/2026 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Approximately 30 of us had a nice Summers Day at the Refuge. The morning was chilly and moist, transitioning into a sunny afternoon with temperatures in the 60's to 70's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a High 9'4" Tide at 1:16pm and we walked our regular route. Highlights included a MERLIN eating a BARN SWALLOW and RED-TAILED HAWK eating a Rabbit in the Riparian Stand behind the flagpole. We observed three active WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE nests - one along the Access Road across from the Education Center and the other two along the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail. We had nice views of migrating WESTERN SANDPIPER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and SHORT-BILLED GULL. We also scoped our First Of Year COMMON MURRE from the Puget Sound Observation Platform as well as continuing AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN. For the day we observed 64 species. With the FOY Common Murre, we have now seen 153 species thus far this year. Check out our eBird Report pasted below for additional details and photos. Other fun sightings included a juvenile RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in a Pear Tree adjacent to the Land Trust Building, and occupied nests/cavities of BARN SWALLOW, CLIFF SWALLOW, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, and BALD EAGLE. CEDAR WAXWING, YELLOW WARBLER, SWAINSON THRUSH and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD fledglings were being fed by adults. Mammals seen included Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Townsend's Chipmunk, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Muskrat, Long-tailed Weasel, Harbor Seal, River Otter and Harbor Porpoise. Until next week when we meet again at 8 a.m. at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook. Happy birding, Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Jul 8, 2026 7:12?AM - 5:11?PM Protocol: Traveling 3.224 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday walk. Overcast morning with light rain transitioning to sunny skies by afternoon. Temperatures in the 60?s to 70?s degrees Fahrenheit. A High 9?4? Tide at 1:16pm. Mammals seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Townsend?s Chipmunk, Muskrat, Long-tailed Weasel, Harbor Seal, upwards of five River Otter, and Harbor Porpoise. 64 species (+4 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 40 Wood Duck 12 Mallard 18 Hooded Merganser 1 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 7 Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 8 Mourning Dove 4 Rufous Hummingbird 10 Virginia Rail 2 Killdeer 2 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Greater Yellowlegs 2 Least Sandpiper 12 Western Sandpiper 40 Rhinoceros Auklet 19 Common Murre 6 alcid sp. 2 Short-billed Gull 1 Observed foraging on mud flats adjacent to Ring-billed Gull at 100-200 feet with spotting scopes. Smaller yellow-green bill with dark tip, rounder head with steeper fore brow, dark eye, darker gray mantle with more prominent scapular crescent then adjacent RBGU. Second to third year bird with worn light brown primaries. More pink in feet with pink-green-yellow upper leg. Photos taken. Ring-billed Gull 75 California Gull 150 Glaucous-winged Gull 2 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 1 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 15 Caspian Tern 50 Brandt's Cormorant 5 Nisqually River channel marker. Double-crested Cormorant 50 Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 100 American White Pelican 2 Spotted by AnnaJane on marsh plain of Nisqually Reach just west of mouth of Nisqually River. Preening on marsh plain for 5-10 minutes, then suddenly not visible on falling tide, and likely out of sight in tide flat channel or slough. Observed with spotting scopes. Distinctive large white bird with long orange bill. Previously reported. Bald Eagle 14 Nest with young West Bank of McAllister Creek north of the McAllister/Medicine Creek observation platform. Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2 One observed eating a rabbit in stand of trees adjacent to flagpole. Belted Kingfisher 4 Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 Red-breasted Sapsucker (ruber) 1 Juvenile observed in pear tree adjacent to land trust building. Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 5 Merlin 1 Western Wood-Pewee 10 Three nests observed. One on inside of green gate across from Education Center over the slough at eye level, and two on west side Twin Barns Loop Trail between access road cut through and Twin Barns cut-off. Both on the inside of the loop trail immediately adjacent and above trail. Willow Flycatcher 3 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 1 Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 2 American Crow 6 Black-capped Chickadee 20 Active nest in snag on outside of west side of Twin Barns Loop Trail south of Twin Barns cut off. Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Bank Swallow 8 Counted individually. Likely more. Observed 6 birds perched in one dead bush in freshwater marsh with Cliff Swallows. Counted 2-3 on Motus Tower adjacent to Twin Barns with Tree Swallows. Counted 1-2 foraging-flying over fields south of Twin Barns and Shannon Slough. Tree Swallow 40 Purple Martin 6 Gourds on Luhr Beach. Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 5 Barn Swallow (American) 50 Active nests in Visitor Center. Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 100 Visitor Center and McAllister/Medicine Observation Platform. Bushtit (Pacific) 0 Brown Creeper 6 Marsh Wren 12 Fresh water marsh. Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 2 European Starling 75 Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 61 Counted individually. American Robin (migratorius Group) 30 Cedar Waxwing 30 Purple Finch 8 Red Crossbill 2 American Goldfinch 26 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 10 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 34 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 3 Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 60 Brown-headed Cowbird 30 Common Yellowthroat 8 Northern Yellow Warbler 40 Western Tanager 1 Heard only. Black-headed Grosbeak 1 Female. View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S369804896 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 9 16:39:58 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 9 16:40:16 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-07-09 Message-ID: Tweets - We were probably lucky that it was cloudy and cool this morning, rather than being sunny and hot like this afternoon. We had temps 53-63 degrees, with thin overcast, and no wind. It made for a very comfortable morning birding. It did NOT feel like the usual July Doldrums. Highlights: Gadwall - At least 3 females, one with two small ducklings Common Merganser - Three juveniles, maybe with an adult female, feeding/playing at the weir. Only our 4th record for Week28 in our 32 years of surveys Eurasian Collared-Dove - One flew past the Lake Platform Mourning Dove - One flew over the south end of the Dog Meadow - First of Year (FOY), and definitely not a typical time of year for us to have one Virginia Rail - Hatch-year bird, but full size, seen well just below the weir. Very much dark-gray, with only a few reddish feathers Pied-billed Grebe - One from the Lake Platform, just our third sighting since April Great Blue Heron - Heronry emptying out. More juveniles seen along the slough than in the nests. Total numbers probably less than 50 Four woodpecker today - Missing only the sapsuckers this time Lazuli Bunting - One male seen from the Viewing Mound I don't think I've ever seen that age/plumage of VIRGINIA RAIL before, and if so, definitely not at Marymoor And today we had something we've never, ever had before at Marymoor: A four Columbidae day! (That's "Doves and Pigeons"). Besides the EUCD and MODO mentioned above, we had a small flock of BAND-TAILED PIGEONS just past the east end of the Boardwalk and a couple of sightings of ROCK PIGEONS For mammals, we had a MUSKRAT today in the slough Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Killdeer, Green Heron, and Bullock's Oriole For the day, 58 species. For the year, adding MOURNING DOVE, we're at 114 species in 2026 on the survey. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm For the day, 58 species -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 10 00:34:37 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Odette James via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 00:34:57 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White owl!!!! References: <1714355717.95972.1783668877427.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1714355717.95972.1783668877427@mail.yahoo.com> I have just had the most surprising birding experience I have had in years! I am at the Lakeshore retirement community, 11448 Rainier Ave S., Seattle As I was heading for bed shortly before midnight, I looked out the window and saw what appeared to be a SNOWY OWL on the railing of the balcony outside our dining room. I was able to get some not-very-good cell phone snaps of it I can send to anyone who is interested. The bird has dead white plumage, orange feet and legs, a black iris circled by yellow, but appears to have an pale orange bill, not black. Also it is much smaller than a Snowy Owl is supposed to be, only a bit over 12 inches long. Perhaps it is an albino or an escaped some other kind of owl? It is puffed up, just standing on the railing and I was able to get within 8 feet of it and it paid no attention to me. It probably is ill.? I called PAWS and left a message but by tomorrow the bird will either be gone or lying dead on the ground below the balcony. No way I will try to capture it.? That's what I love about birding. There are always surprises, some of them pretty incredible. Odette James -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 10 08:56:48 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Odette James via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 08:56:54 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White owl!!!! In-Reply-To: <1714355717.95972.1783668877427@mail.yahoo.com> References: <1714355717.95972.1783668877427.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1714355717.95972.1783668877427@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <456984483.215668.1783699008199@mail.yahoo.com> This morning I'm embarrassed. The white "owl" has unfluffed its feathers and flown down to the ground, and it's not an owl but a domestic pigeon! With its feathers fluffed up last night it had a really large head, and I didn't want to get too close to it to disturb it, so I screwed up my ID. But if anybody knows who has a missing white pigeon, it's here. Still an unusual bird, but not quite so unusual. Rats. Now nobody will ever believe any posts I put on Tweeters. Sorry.? Odette James On Friday, July 10, 2026 at 12:34:37 AM PDT, Odette James wrote: I have just had the most surprising birding experience I have had in years! I am at the Lakeshore retirement community, 11448 Rainier Ave S., Seattle As I was heading for bed shortly before midnight, I looked out the window and saw what appeared to be a SNOWY OWL on the railing of the balcony outside our dining room. I was able to get some not-very-good cell phone snaps of it I can send to anyone who is interested. The bird has dead white plumage, orange feet and legs, a black iris circled by yellow, but appears to have an pale orange bill, not black. Also it is much smaller than a Snowy Owl is supposed to be, only a bit over 12 inches long. Perhaps it is an albino or an escaped some other kind of owl? It is puffed up, just standing on the railing and I was able to get within 8 feet of it and it paid no attention to me. It probably is ill.? I called PAWS and left a message but by tomorrow the bird will either be gone or lying dead on the ground below the balcony. No way I will try to capture it.? That's what I love about birding. There are always surprises, some of them pretty incredible. Odette James -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 10 10:54:34 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Caryn Schutzler via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 10:54:52 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fly Barb Fly / Owls, Merlins, and more Owls oh my! Message-ID: I was so sad to hear of Barb Diehl?s passing. I had finally tracked her down just a month prior thanks to the help of Kim McCormick?of Merlin fame! Thank you, Kim! It was great, while hard, to see Barb in her weakened state. She smiled when we talked about the birds?especially owls and merlins. I always amazed at how she would drive all over to see all she could find. I first met Barb through a friend of hers (Alison) after meeting her and her dog at a nursery! She told me her friend was on this ?owl site? following nesting barn owls in CA. (Molly & McGee) Boy did that take me down a rabbit hole! But Barb took me to see Barn owls at Magnuson and got me onto the Snowies up north during the irruption. Seems like ages ago now. I have a wonderful, silly owl plaque she gave me sitting in the window where I often hear Barred owls in our firs. But I?ll always hear her Kee Kee Keeing for the Merlins. Does anyone know if there will be a memorial for Barb? If so, please let me know. Fly Barb Fly!! Caryn / Seattle From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 10 17:28:04 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Alan Roedell via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 17:28:19 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White owl!!!! In-Reply-To: <456984483.215668.1783699008199@mail.yahoo.com> References: <1714355717.95972.1783668877427.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1714355717.95972.1783668877427@mail.yahoo.com> <456984483.215668.1783699008199@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: No worries, we've all had similar experiences , wishful thinking, usually. Carry on please. I love your posts. Alan Roedell, Seattle On Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 8:57?AM Odette James via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > This morning I'm embarrassed. The white "owl" has unfluffed its feathers > and flown down to the ground, and it's not an owl but a domestic pigeon! > With its feathers fluffed up last night it had a really large head, and I > didn't want to get too close to it to disturb it, so I screwed up my ID. > But if anybody knows who has a missing white pigeon, it's here. Still an > unusual bird, but not quite so unusual. Rats. Now nobody will ever believe > any posts I put on Tweeters. Sorry. > > Odette James > > > > On Friday, July 10, 2026 at 12:34:37 AM PDT, Odette James < > o.b.james@verizon.net> wrote: > > > I have just had the most surprising birding experience I have had in > years! I am at the Lakeshore retirement community, 11448 Rainier Ave S., > Seattle > > As I was heading for bed shortly before midnight, I looked out the window > and saw what appeared to be a SNOWY OWL on the railing of the balcony > outside our dining room. I was able to get some not-very-good cell phone > snaps of it I can send to anyone who is interested. The bird has dead white > plumage, orange feet and legs, a black iris circled by yellow, but appears > to have an pale orange bill, not black. Also it is much smaller than a > Snowy Owl is supposed to be, only a bit over 12 inches long. Perhaps it is > an albino or an escaped some other kind of owl? It is puffed up, just > standing on the railing and I was able to get within 8 feet of it and it > paid no attention to me. It probably is ill. I called PAWS and left a > message but by tomorrow the bird will either be gone or lying dead on the > ground below the balcony. No way I will try to capture it. > > That's what I love about birding. There are always surprises, some of them > pretty incredible. > > Odette James > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 10 18:27:50 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 18:29:05 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White owl!!!! In-Reply-To: References: <1714355717.95972.1783668877427.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1714355717.95972.1783668877427@mail.yahoo.com> <456984483.215668.1783699008199@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Years ago, in Tucson, my dad called to tell me he had spotted a Great Horned Owl. He was very excited. The more he described it the more I suspected it might be a plastic decoy to discourage rodents. I finally asked him if he had seen it move at all. There was a long silence followed by a deflated "oh no," as he realized it was in fact, a fake owl. He never lived it down. Jill Seattle On Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 5:28?PM Alan Roedell via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > No worries, we've all had similar experiences , wishful thinking, > usually. > Carry on please. I love your posts. > Alan Roedell, Seattle > > On Fri, Jul 10, 2026, 8:57?AM Odette James via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> This morning I'm embarrassed. The white "owl" has unfluffed its feathers >> and flown down to the ground, and it's not an owl but a domestic pigeon! >> With its feathers fluffed up last night it had a really large head, and I >> didn't want to get too close to it to disturb it, so I screwed up my ID. >> But if anybody knows who has a missing white pigeon, it's here. Still an >> unusual bird, but not quite so unusual. Rats. Now nobody will ever believe >> any posts I put on Tweeters. Sorry. >> >> Odette James >> >> >> >> On Friday, July 10, 2026 at 12:34:37 AM PDT, Odette James < >> o.b.james@verizon.net> wrote: >> >> >> I have just had the most surprising birding experience I have had in >> years! I am at the Lakeshore retirement community, 11448 Rainier Ave S., >> Seattle >> >> As I was heading for bed shortly before midnight, I looked out the window >> and saw what appeared to be a SNOWY OWL on the railing of the balcony >> outside our dining room. I was able to get some not-very-good cell phone >> snaps of it I can send to anyone who is interested. The bird has dead white >> plumage, orange feet and legs, a black iris circled by yellow, but appears >> to have an pale orange bill, not black. Also it is much smaller than a >> Snowy Owl is supposed to be, only a bit over 12 inches long. Perhaps it is >> an albino or an escaped some other kind of owl? It is puffed up, just >> standing on the railing and I was able to get within 8 feet of it and it >> paid no attention to me. It probably is ill. I called PAWS and left a >> message but by tomorrow the bird will either be gone or lying dead on the >> ground below the balcony. No way I will try to capture it. >> >> That's what I love about birding. There are always surprises, some of >> them pretty incredible. >> >> Odette James >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 Fri Jul 10 18:51:24 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Gary Bletsch via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 18:51:58 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications References: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Odette and Tweeters, Aw, gee, shucks, we all misidentify birds sometimes! A rather famous birder once called out in an excited voice. Everybody turned their head. A big group of birders had come up to Skagit County for the "grand opening" of a habitat restoration site, so we all heeded the words of the expert. "Great Grey Owl, Great Grey Owl!" We scurried over to look across the field, to where the man was pointing. It was a Bald Eagle. The misty Skagit air had caused the white head of the eagle to "disappear," leaving a big, grey shape. The? silhouette really did look like that of an owl. Except it wasn't! Another time, a group of pelagic birders got all excited when the expert spotter called out, "Leatherback Sea Turtle! Leatherback Sea Turtle!" It was a log--a really cool-looking long, but a log nonetheless. Another time, I was helping out in an unfamiliar CBC territory. The person who knew the area told me that we would be stopping briefly to tally a little flock of Trumpeter Swans that was known to visit a certain field. "One, two, three, four, five, six Trumper Swans!" Before I wrote down the six Trumpeter Swans, I asked if we could sneak a bit closer, since the swans would be a county tick for me, and I wanted a better look.? "Sure, no problem!" The leader inched the vehicle closer. I stuck my scope out the window. "Six white plastic five-gallon buckets!"? We ended up ticking a solo Trumpeter later on during the count, so it was okay that we'd almost called six buckets six swans. Okay, those are just three gaffes that I remember other?people making. I will sign off before I am tempted to venture into my own long list of misidentified birds. My friend Bob Kuntz likes to say, "It's not what you call it the first time, it's what you call it the last time!" Yours truly, Gary Bletsch ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 10 20:46:40 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 20:46:45 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications In-Reply-To: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548@mail.yahoo.com> References: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1911329666.242277.1783734684548@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1943914329.21436.1783741600397@connect.xfinity.com> During a CBC in Sacramento the two groups doing our area met for lunch and went over what we saw. They had seen a Peregrine, which in the early 70s was rare in the area. After lunch we went to see it and there it was, in the big transmission tower. Couple of the guys went out to get pictures. When they got closer they noticed it didn't blink. Then they noticed it was a decoy. One guy climbed up to retrieve it and while they were removing it a real Peregrine flew by, so we did get to report one. Turns out that a CSUS prof had set a bunch of decoys out to see what would happen. Some got shot. Ours got collected. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net > On 07/10/2026 6:51 PM PDT Gary Bletsch via Tweeters wrote: > > > Dear Odette and Tweeters, > > Aw, gee, shucks, we all misidentify birds sometimes! A rather famous birder once called out in an excited voice. Everybody turned their head. A big group of birders had come up to Skagit County for the "grand opening" of a habitat restoration site, so we all heeded the words of the expert. "Great Grey Owl, Great Grey Owl!" We scurried over to look across the field, to where the man was pointing. It was a Bald Eagle. The misty Skagit air had caused the white head of the eagle to "disappear," leaving a big, grey shape. The silhouette really did look like that of an owl. Except it wasn't! > > Another time, a group of pelagic birders got all excited when the expert spotter called out, "Leatherback Sea Turtle! Leatherback Sea Turtle!" > > It was a log--a really cool-looking long, but a log nonetheless. > > Another time, I was helping out in an unfamiliar CBC territory. The person who knew the area told me that we would be stopping briefly to tally a little flock of Trumpeter Swans that was known to visit a certain field. "One, two, three, four, five, six Trumper Swans!" Before I wrote down the six Trumpeter Swans, I asked if we could sneak a bit closer, since the swans would be a county tick for me, and I wanted a better look. > > "Sure, no problem!" The leader inched the vehicle closer. I stuck my scope out the window. "Six white plastic five-gallon buckets!" > > We ended up ticking a solo Trumpeter later on during the count, so it was okay that we'd almost called six buckets six swans. > > Okay, those are just three gaffes that I remember other people making. I will sign off before I am tempted to venture into my own long list of misidentified birds. > > My friend Bob Kuntz likes to say, "It's not what you call it the first time, it's what you call it the last time!" > > Yours truly, > > Gary Bletsch > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 10 20:55:15 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jerry Tangren via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 20:55:22 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications In-Reply-To: <1943914329.21436.1783741600397@connect.xfinity.com> References: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1911329666.242277.1783734684548@mail.yahoo.com> <1943914329.21436.1783741600397@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: Wow, Hal! I was there; I'd forgotten we'd ever birdied together...Tim Manolis and I must have been the group you met for lunch. All a distant memory. --Jerry Tangren East Wenatchee, WA Get Outlook for iOS ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters Sent: Friday, 10 July 2026 20:46:40 To: Gary Bletsch ; Gary Bletsch via Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications During a CBC in Sacramento the two groups doing our area met for lunch and went over what we saw. They had seen a Peregrine, which in the early 70s was rare in the area. After lunch we went to see it and there it was, in the big transmission tower. Couple of the guys went out to get pictures. When they got closer they noticed it didn't blink. Then they noticed it was a decoy. One guy climbed up to retrieve it and while they were removing it a real Peregrine flew by, so we did get to report one. Turns out that a CSUS prof had set a bunch of decoys out to see what would happen. Some got shot. Ours got collected. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net On 07/10/2026 6:51 PM PDT Gary Bletsch via Tweeters wrote: Dear Odette and Tweeters, Aw, gee, shucks, we all misidentify birds sometimes! A rather famous birder once called out in an excited voice. Everybody turned their head. A big group of birders had come up to Skagit County for the "grand opening" of a habitat restoration site, so we all heeded the words of the expert. "Great Grey Owl, Great Grey Owl!" We scurried over to look across the field, to where the man was pointing. It was a Bald Eagle. The misty Skagit air had caused the white head of the eagle to "disappear," leaving a big, grey shape. The silhouette really did look like that of an owl. Except it wasn't! Another time, a group of pelagic birders got all excited when the expert spotter called out, "Leatherback Sea Turtle! Leatherback Sea Turtle!" It was a log--a really cool-looking long, but a log nonetheless. Another time, I was helping out in an unfamiliar CBC territory. The person who knew the area told me that we would be stopping briefly to tally a little flock of Trumpeter Swans that was known to visit a certain field. "One, two, three, four, five, six Trumper Swans!" Before I wrote down the six Trumpeter Swans, I asked if we could sneak a bit closer, since the swans would be a county tick for me, and I wanted a better look. "Sure, no problem!" The leader inched the vehicle closer. I stuck my scope out the window. "Six white plastic five-gallon buckets!" We ended up ticking a solo Trumpeter later on during the count, so it was okay that we'd almost called six buckets six swans. Okay, those are just three gaffes that I remember other people making. I will sign off before I am tempted to venture into my own long list of misidentified birds. My friend Bob Kuntz likes to say, "It's not what you call it the first time, it's what you call it the last time!" Yours truly, Gary Bletsch _______________________________________________ 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 Jul 10 22:06:04 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 22:06:09 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications In-Reply-To: References: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1911329666.242277.1783734684548@mail.yahoo.com> <1943914329.21436.1783741600397@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: <1722483716.22335.1783746364432@connect.xfinity.com> The others were, I believe, Willie Argante, Ben and Marie Eizinger, and my dad. In May of 71 you and I went to the Woodland Sewer Ponds and flushed, among other things, Fulvous Whistling Ducks. We also found Semipalmated Plover, both of which were lifers for me. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net > On 07/10/2026 8:55 PM PDT Jerry Tangren wrote: > > > Wow, Hal! I was there; I'd forgotten we'd ever birdied together...Tim Manolis and I must have been the group you met for lunch. All a distant memory. > > --Jerry Tangren > East Wenatchee, WA > > Get Outlook for iOS https://aka.ms/o0ukef > > --------------------------------------------- > From: Tweeters on behalf of HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters > Sent: Friday, 10 July 2026 20:46:40 > To: Gary Bletsch ; Gary Bletsch via Tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications > > During a CBC in Sacramento the two groups doing our area met for lunch and went over what we saw. They had seen a Peregrine, which in the early 70s was rare in the area. After lunch we went to see it and there it was, in the big transmission tower. Couple of the guys went out to get pictures. When they got closer they noticed it didn't blink. Then they noticed it was a decoy. One guy climbed up to retrieve it and while they were removing it a real Peregrine flew by, so we did get to report one. > > Turns out that a CSUS prof had set a bunch of decoys out to see what would happen. Some got shot. Ours got collected. > > > Hal Michael > Olympia WA > 360-459-4005 > 360-791-7702 (C) > ucd880@comcast.net > > > > > On 07/10/2026 6:51 PM PDT Gary Bletsch via Tweeters wrote: > > > > > > Dear Odette and Tweeters, > > > > Aw, gee, shucks, we all misidentify birds sometimes! A rather famous birder once called out in an excited voice. Everybody turned their head. A big group of birders had come up to Skagit County for the "grand opening" of a habitat restoration site, so we all heeded the words of the expert. "Great Grey Owl, Great Grey Owl!" We scurried over to look across the field, to where the man was pointing. It was a Bald Eagle. The misty Skagit air had caused the white head of the eagle to "disappear," leaving a big, grey shape. The silhouette really did look like that of an owl. Except it wasn't! > > > > Another time, a group of pelagic birders got all excited when the expert spotter called out, "Leatherback Sea Turtle! Leatherback Sea Turtle!" > > > > It was a log--a really cool-looking long, but a log nonetheless. > > > > Another time, I was helping out in an unfamiliar CBC territory. The person who knew the area told me that we would be stopping briefly to tally a little flock of Trumpeter Swans that was known to visit a certain field. "One, two, three, four, five, six Trumper Swans!" Before I wrote down the six Trumpeter Swans, I asked if we could sneak a bit closer, since the swans would be a county tick for me, and I wanted a better look. > > > > "Sure, no problem!" The leader inched the vehicle closer. I stuck my scope out the window. "Six white plastic five-gallon buckets!" > > > > We ended up ticking a solo Trumpeter later on during the count, so it was okay that we'd almost called six buckets six swans. > > > > Okay, those are just three gaffes that I remember other people making. I will sign off before I am tempted to venture into my own long list of misidentified birds. > > > > My friend Bob Kuntz likes to say, "It's not what you call it the first time, it's what you call it the last time!" > > > > Yours truly, > > > > Gary Bletsch > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 Jul 10 22:09:35 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jerry Tangren via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 10 22:09:40 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications In-Reply-To: <1722483716.22335.1783746364432@connect.xfinity.com> References: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1911329666.242277.1783734684548@mail.yahoo.com> <1943914329.21436.1783741600397@connect.xfinity.com> <1722483716.22335.1783746364432@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: Great memory and/or even better notes? Jerry Get Outlook for iOS ________________________________ From: HAL MICHAEL Sent: Friday, 10 July 2026 22:06:04 To: Jerry Tangren ; Gary Bletsch ; Gary Bletsch via Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications The others were, I believe, Willie Argante, Ben and Marie Eizinger, and my dad. In May of 71 you and I went to the Woodland Sewer Ponds and flushed, among other things, Fulvous Whistling Ducks. We also found Semipalmated Plover, both of which were lifers for me. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net On 07/10/2026 8:55 PM PDT Jerry Tangren wrote: Wow, Hal! I was there; I'd forgotten we'd ever birdied together...Tim Manolis and I must have been the group you met for lunch. All a distant memory. --Jerry Tangren East Wenatchee, WA Get Outlook for iOS ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters Sent: Friday, 10 July 2026 20:46:40 To: Gary Bletsch ; Gary Bletsch via Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications During a CBC in Sacramento the two groups doing our area met for lunch and went over what we saw. They had seen a Peregrine, which in the early 70s was rare in the area. After lunch we went to see it and there it was, in the big transmission tower. Couple of the guys went out to get pictures. When they got closer they noticed it didn't blink. Then they noticed it was a decoy. One guy climbed up to retrieve it and while they were removing it a real Peregrine flew by, so we did get to report one. Turns out that a CSUS prof had set a bunch of decoys out to see what would happen. Some got shot. Ours got collected. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net On 07/10/2026 6:51 PM PDT Gary Bletsch via Tweeters wrote: Dear Odette and Tweeters, Aw, gee, shucks, we all misidentify birds sometimes! A rather famous birder once called out in an excited voice. Everybody turned their head. A big group of birders had come up to Skagit County for the "grand opening" of a habitat restoration site, so we all heeded the words of the expert. "Great Grey Owl, Great Grey Owl!" We scurried over to look across the field, to where the man was pointing. It was a Bald Eagle. The misty Skagit air had caused the white head of the eagle to "disappear," leaving a big, grey shape. The silhouette really did look like that of an owl. Except it wasn't! Another time, a group of pelagic birders got all excited when the expert spotter called out, "Leatherback Sea Turtle! Leatherback Sea Turtle!" It was a log--a really cool-looking long, but a log nonetheless. Another time, I was helping out in an unfamiliar CBC territory. The person who knew the area told me that we would be stopping briefly to tally a little flock of Trumpeter Swans that was known to visit a certain field. "One, two, three, four, five, six Trumper Swans!" Before I wrote down the six Trumpeter Swans, I asked if we could sneak a bit closer, since the swans would be a county tick for me, and I wanted a better look. "Sure, no problem!" The leader inched the vehicle closer. I stuck my scope out the window. "Six white plastic five-gallon buckets!" We ended up ticking a solo Trumpeter later on during the count, so it was okay that we'd almost called six buckets six swans. Okay, those are just three gaffes that I remember other people making. I will sign off before I am tempted to venture into my own long list of misidentified birds. My friend Bob Kuntz likes to say, "It's not what you call it the first time, it's what you call it the last time!" Yours truly, Gary Bletsch _______________________________________________ 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 Jul 11 06:44:04 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 11 06:44:11 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications In-Reply-To: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548@mail.yahoo.com> References: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1911329666.242277.1783734684548@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <005701dd113b$57af45b0$070dd110$@olympus.net> My sister slowly tracked plastic owl Jan Stewart 922 E Spruce Street Sequim, WA 98382-3518 jstewart@olympus.net From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Gary Bletsch via Tweeters Sent: Friday, July 10, 2026 6:51 PM To: Tweeters Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications Dear Odette and Tweeters, Aw, gee, shucks, we all misidentify birds sometimes! A rather famous birder once called out in an excited voice. Everybody turned their head. A big group of birders had come up to Skagit County for the "grand opening" of a habitat restoration site, so we all heeded the words of the expert. "Great Grey Owl, Great Grey Owl!" We scurried over to look across the field, to where the man was pointing. It was a Bald Eagle. The misty Skagit air had caused the white head of the eagle to "disappear," leaving a big, grey shape. The silhouette really did look like that of an owl. Except it wasn't! Another time, a group of pelagic birders got all excited when the expert spotter called out, "Leatherback Sea Turtle! Leatherback Sea Turtle!" It was a log--a really cool-looking long, but a log nonetheless. Another time, I was helping out in an unfamiliar CBC territory. The person who knew the area told me that we would be stopping briefly to tally a little flock of Trumpeter Swans that was known to visit a certain field. "One, two, three, four, five, six Trumper Swans!" Before I wrote down the six Trumpeter Swans, I asked if we could sneak a bit closer, since the swans would be a county tick for me, and I wanted a better look. "Sure, no problem!" The leader inched the vehicle closer. I stuck my scope out the window. "Six white plastic five-gallon buckets!" We ended up ticking a solo Trumpeter later on during the count, so it was okay that we'd almost called six buckets six swans. Okay, those are just three gaffes that I remember other people making. I will sign off before I am tempted to venture into my own long list of misidentified birds. My friend Bob Kuntz likes to say, "It's not what you call it the first time, it's what you call it the last time!" Yours truly, Gary Bletsch -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 11 08:38:07 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 11 08:38:11 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications In-Reply-To: References: <1911329666.242277.1783734684548.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1911329666.242277.1783734684548@mail.yahoo.com> <1943914329.21436.1783741600397@connect.xfinity.com> <1722483716.22335.1783746364432@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: <2085768143.26020.1783784287454@connect.xfinity.com> Mostly memory but the whistlers were exciting. We (you) also found a Killdeer nest that I got some slides of. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net > On 07/10/2026 10:09 PM PDT Jerry Tangren wrote: > > > Great memory and/or even better notes? Jerry > > Get Outlook for iOS https://aka.ms/o0ukef > > --------------------------------------------- > From: HAL MICHAEL > Sent: Friday, 10 July 2026 22:06:04 > To: Jerry Tangren ; Gary Bletsch ; Gary Bletsch via Tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications > > The others were, I believe, Willie Argante, Ben and Marie Eizinger, and my dad. > > In May of 71 you and I went to the Woodland Sewer Ponds and flushed, among other things, Fulvous Whistling Ducks. We also found Semipalmated Plover, both of which were lifers for me. > > Hal Michael > Olympia WA > 360-459-4005 > 360-791-7702 (C) > ucd880@comcast.net > > > > > On 07/10/2026 8:55 PM PDT Jerry Tangren wrote: > > > > > > Wow, Hal! I was there; I'd forgotten we'd ever birdied together...Tim Manolis and I must have been the group you met for lunch. All a distant memory. > > > > --Jerry Tangren > > East Wenatchee, WA > > > > Get Outlook for iOS https://aka.ms/o0ukef > > > > --------------------------------------------- > > From: Tweeters on behalf of HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters > > Sent: Friday, 10 July 2026 20:46:40 > > To: Gary Bletsch ; Gary Bletsch via Tweeters > > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications > > > > During a CBC in Sacramento the two groups doing our area met for lunch and went over what we saw. They had seen a Peregrine, which in the early 70s was rare in the area. After lunch we went to see it and there it was, in the big transmission tower. Couple of the guys went out to get pictures. When they got closer they noticed it didn't blink. Then they noticed it was a decoy. One guy climbed up to retrieve it and while they were removing it a real Peregrine flew by, so we did get to report one. > > > > Turns out that a CSUS prof had set a bunch of decoys out to see what would happen. Some got shot. Ours got collected. > > > > > > Hal Michael > > Olympia WA > > 360-459-4005 > > 360-791-7702 (C) > > ucd880@comcast.net > > > > > > > > > On 07/10/2026 6:51 PM PDT Gary Bletsch via Tweeters wrote: > > > > > > > > > Dear Odette and Tweeters, > > > > > > Aw, gee, shucks, we all misidentify birds sometimes! A rather famous birder once called out in an excited voice. Everybody turned their head. A big group of birders had come up to Skagit County for the "grand opening" of a habitat restoration site, so we all heeded the words of the expert. "Great Grey Owl, Great Grey Owl!" We scurried over to look across the field, to where the man was pointing. It was a Bald Eagle. The misty Skagit air had caused the white head of the eagle to "disappear," leaving a big, grey shape. The silhouette really did look like that of an owl. Except it wasn't! > > > > > > Another time, a group of pelagic birders got all excited when the expert spotter called out, "Leatherback Sea Turtle! Leatherback Sea Turtle!" > > > > > > It was a log--a really cool-looking long, but a log nonetheless. > > > > > > Another time, I was helping out in an unfamiliar CBC territory. The person who knew the area told me that we would be stopping briefly to tally a little flock of Trumpeter Swans that was known to visit a certain field. "One, two, three, four, five, six Trumper Swans!" Before I wrote down the six Trumpeter Swans, I asked if we could sneak a bit closer, since the swans would be a county tick for me, and I wanted a better look. > > > > > > "Sure, no problem!" The leader inched the vehicle closer. I stuck my scope out the window. "Six white plastic five-gallon buckets!" > > > > > > We ended up ticking a solo Trumpeter later on during the count, so it was okay that we'd almost called six buckets six swans. > > > > > > Okay, those are just three gaffes that I remember other people making. I will sign off before I am tempted to venture into my own long list of misidentified birds. > > > > > > My friend Bob Kuntz likes to say, "It's not what you call it the first time, it's what you call it the last time!" > > > > > > Yours truly, > > > > > > Gary Bletsch > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > 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 Jul 11 10:55:47 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Patty Cheek via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 11 10:56:07 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wings over Whidbey Bird Festival References: <9B83C926-2712-483E-B411-3DC67BC48390.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <9B83C926-2712-483E-B411-3DC67BC48390@yahoo.com> We are having our 4th annual Wings over Whidbey event September 25 and 26. Plan ahead. The keynote speaker will be Paul Bannick featured Friday evening. Information below. Festival activities on Saturday, Sept. 26 are all free and include Connie Sidles - Why Bother About Birds? Other speakers will include Eric Wagner, Thomas Bancroft, and a live demonstration by NW Game Hawkers. We have lots of other activities including our bird specimen library, bird walks, booths, food vendors, and children?s activities. Swarovski Optiks will be there too with repair parts, training, and new binoculars and scopes. Join us for the very special dinner catered by Orlando?s Southern Barbecue and featuring a new presentation by Paul Bannick called ?The Heartbeat of the Western Forest: Exploring the Lives of Our Keystone Birds." September 25, 2025 6:30 pm presentation Whidbey Island Nordic Lodge ? 63 Jacobs Rd., Coupeville, WA Tickets - $50 Register https://www.whidbeyaudubonsociety.org/wings-over-whidbey-festival Patty Cheek -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 11 15:55:44 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Odette James via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 11 15:56:19 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White Owl that transformed into an albino pigeon References: <1775440637.527562.1783810544204.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1775440637.527562.1783810544204@mail.yahoo.com> At least my embarrassing misidentification led to a fun list on Tweeters today of other people's oopsies. The albino pigeon is still on our property - it has transferred to the garden within our U-shaped building, and other residents have been emailing me or coming by with phone photos. It is a very noticeable bird, and I'm the most experienced birder in the building. Though, after night before last, not sure I can still make that claim? .? .? .? Odette -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 11 18:48:25 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 11 18:48:29 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) opening Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, Below is an opening within WDFW Ecosystems Services Division. If you or someone you know might be interested, please check it out at link below: The following recruitment within the Ecosystem Services Division is now open until August 2 with the first review of applications taking place on July 24: Forest Habitats Section Manager - Environmental Planner 5 - Permanent - 2026-05719 May all your birds be identified, Denis DeSilvis avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jul 12 12:47:28 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jul 12 12:47:42 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White Owl that transformed into an albino pigeon Message-ID: Hi Tweets, I?ve been just delighted reading these mis-ID stories! So glad none of us is alone in that. I?m really grateful to Odette for helping us see that. It?s also nice to know that it?s not just us humans who are guilty of this challenge. Back in 2009 I spent quite a while in Lincoln Park watching a Barred Owl stalk something wiggling in the grass. The owl snuck up quietly, slowly, carefully as his prey moved slightly about?then pounced. Which was when he discovered that this enticing prey had been Sacculus plasticus?a plastic bag. He looked around, apparently hoping no one had witnessed this embarrassing encounter - but there I was. As we looked at each other, I could just hear him begging me not to tell. Then he decided to vacate the premises before a conspecific caught him in his mistake. (It was a long time ago, so the photos aren?t as good as they might have been today.) In all humility, Trileigh Trileigh Tucker Gw?alali Valley, West Seattle NaturalPresenceArts.com tri@seattleu edu From: Odette James via Tweeters Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026 at 3:55?PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] White Owl that transformed into an albino pigeon Trileigh Tucker Gw?alali Valley, West Seattle NaturalPresenceArts.com tri@seattleu edu At least my embarrassing misidentification led to a fun list on Tweeters today of other people's oopsies. The albino pigeon is still on our property - it has transferred to the garden within our U-shaped building, and other residents have been emailing me or coming by with phone photos. It is a very noticeable bird, and I'm the most experienced birder in the building. Though, after night before last, not sure I can still make that claim . . . Odette -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jul 12 13:04:01 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jul 12 13:04:04 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White Owl that transformed into an albino pigeon In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <865105378.31067.1783886641467@connect.xfinity.com> I think my biggest blunder was with fish, As a professional fish biologist. In my defense, fish are hard to identify at times, even. by pros, but this one time.... Jack and I were newly-graduated bios working an adult trap on a research project. Netted out an upstream-migrating salmonid. Bright, chrome bright, silver with only a few black spots. It was in the 400mm length range. We identified it as a steelhead jack, a young male. Fortunately for us, we individually tagged each fish. And, we trapped all upstream and downstream fish. This fish showed up a few months later heading downstream after spawning. It had successfully spawned. As a Coastal (Searun) Cutthroat. He not only changed sex, it changed species. We saw "her" a few more times over the years and she was always a female cutthroat. Again, in our defense, there a a number of instances where genetics have shown instances where cutthroat look externally like rain bows and vice versa. Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) ucd880@comcast.net > On 07/12/2026 12:47 PM PDT Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters wrote: > > > Hi Tweets, > > I?ve been just delighted reading these mis-ID stories! So glad none of us is alone in that. I?m really grateful to Odette for helping us see that. > > It?s also nice to know that it?s not just us humans who are guilty of this challenge. Back in 2009 I spent quite a while in Lincoln Park watching a Barred Owl stalk something wiggling in the grass. The owl snuck up quietly, slowly, carefully as his prey moved slightly about?then pounced. Which was when he discovered that this enticing prey had been Sacculus plasticus?a plastic bag. > > He looked around, apparently hoping no one had witnessed this embarrassing encounter - but there I was. As we looked at each other, https://www.flickr.com/photos/trileigh/55389343293/in/dateposted/ I could just hear him begging me not to tell. Then he decided to vacate the premises https://www.flickr.com/photos/trileigh/55389394849/in/photostream/ before a conspecific caught him in his mistake. > > (It was a long time ago, so the photos aren?t as good as they might have been today.) > > In all humility, > Trileigh > > Trileigh Tucker > Gw?alali Valley, West Seattle > NaturalPresenceArts.com http://naturalpresencearts.com/ > tri@seattleu edu > > > From: Odette James via Tweeters > Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026 at 3:55?PM > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] White Owl that transformed into an albino pigeon > > Trileigh Tucker > Gw?alali Valley, West Seattle > NaturalPresenceArts.com http://naturalpresencearts.com/ > tri@seattleu edu > At least my embarrassing misidentification led to a fun list on Tweeters today of other people's oopsies. The albino pigeon is still on our property - it has transferred to the garden within our U-shaped building, and other residents have been emailing me or coming by with phone photos. It is a very noticeable bird, and I'm the most experienced birder in the building. Though, after night before last, not sure I can still make that claim . . . > > Odette > _______________________________________________ > 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 Sun Jul 12 14:33:38 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jul 12 14:34:07 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Ooops! Message-ID: Another thank you to Odette and all the Tweets who've been sharing stories of IDs gone wrong. I went to the Skagit hoping to see my first Snowy Owl during an eruption reported on Tweeters many years back. I spent a long day cruising back roads, stopping to scope anything white off in the distance. Record numbers of white buckets on fence posts. No Snowies. A perversely entertaining day! Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 13 11:20:13 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 13 11:20:26 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] For book lovers Message-ID: *An acquaintance, Kurt Wochholz, is purging his book collection, many of which are bird/ornithology related. Here is a sampling of titles - **National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Birder's Handbook; A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds by Ehrlich, Dobkin, & Wheye, Welcome to Subirdia by John Marzluff, Bird Island in Antarctic Waters by David Parmelee, The Birds of Canada by W. Earl Godfrey, Bird Flight by George Ruppell. There are many others. If you are interested, please contact Kurt by email kwochholz@gmail.com . He lives in Olympia where books can be picked up.* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 13 17:36:15 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Karen Fardal via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 13 17:44:05 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Parking Updates Message-ID: <993F844C-3D5E-4493-811B-9FB72A1677C8@gmail.com> Hi all, I have a few updates about the parking changes at UBNA/Montlake Fill. First of all, there is zero signage in the Yesler lot and nearby parking areas about the two hours of free parking, so many people are parking in the neighborhood and crossing the busy street (41st) where cars go fast and there are no crosswalks. If you plan to stay fewer than two hours, parking in the lot and registering your license plate with the Pay to Park app will save you that hassle and danger. They were supposed to put a registration kiosk in the main lot for those who don?t have or bring their smartphones but that has been delayed for unknown reasons. There are currently two, one in the smoking area behind the CUH loading dock and one near the bird info kiosk/UW farm. I am continuing to bug UW Transportation about these issues and they say they will take care of them. Another confusing thing is that on one recent day, all of the Pay to Park signs were covered up with a placard that said ?Event Parking Only - All Spaces? but no event seemed to be going on and the lot was empty. I asked CUH to clarify and this is what they said: ? When the event parking sign is posted that means parking is "free" for everyone that day. We have events going on most days so this is what will be posted when that is the case. You don't have to register your car on the days this sign is posted, you can park in the lots at no charge if spaces are available? Confusing, but maybe eventually they will get better signs and we will all figure it out. If you are leading or attending any groups with Parks & Rec, Birds Connect Seattle or other orgs, please consider telling folks so nobody ends up frustrated and going home since street parking can be very tight with all the construction in the area. Thanks, Karen Fardal -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 13 18:52:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diann MacRae via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 13 18:52:46 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] June 2026 TUVU report Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 14 10:21:22 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (sethleopold@mac.com via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 14 10:25:03 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White owl!!!! Message-ID: Re: White owl!!!! As long as we?re fessing up to problems with birds and vision?In my youth, I spent 7 or 8 years as an ocean lifeguard. There was a guy whose eyesight was, ahem, not all it could have been. In fact, I think he needed to study for the vision test. Be that, as it may, one sunny afternoon he saw a distressed swimmer waving his arms. That guard blew a run (one long whistle to get the guys from the adjacent beach to cover as he swam out). As he approached the distressed swimmer, his arms became wings and the gull (I?m terrible at gulls and couldn?t tell you what kind) flew off. Needless to say my colleague had a tough rest of the summer from all of us! Seth ? Seth S. Leopold, MD Editor-in-Chief Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research Professor Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine University of Washington School of Medicine My working hours may not be your working hours. Please do not feel obligated to reply outside of your normal work schedule. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 14 14:26:29 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 14 14:26:52 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Out of the barn Message-ID: This morning on my way to the Lake Sammamish State Park Boardwalk I stopped to see what had the Robins so upset. Was a Barn Owl, almost in the creek pretending to be asleep. Larry Schwitters Issaquah From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 14 17:29:18 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 14 17:29:24 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk - Thursday, July 16 - 8:00AM Start Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, The next Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) birdwalk is scheduled for Thursday, July16 at 8:00AM. The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders do the tour d'course the third Thursday of every month. We meet at 8:00AM through October 2026. (Change to 9:00AM in November.) 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. Also, to remind folks that haven't been here before, even though Eagle's Pride is a US Army recreation facility, you don't need any ID to attend these birdwalks. Hope you're able to make it! Current weather forecast is 58degF-64degF start to finish (RealFeel 55-66) with apx 50% chance of rain during the walk. Compared with today, quite the change! 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 Wed Jul 15 09:35:41 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Rob Faucett via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 09:36:07 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Monopod and head Message-ID: I need to own a monopod. Does anybody here have experience they are willing to share. Thanks Rob ? Rob Faucett +1(206) 619-5569 robfaucett@mac.com Seattle, WA 98105 From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 15 10:28:31 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (AMK17 via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 10:28:34 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Monopod and head Message-ID: <3f33ccc0-996a-acc7-75bb-11e1fef959b0@earthlink.net> I have one I never use if you want to try it. At least I think I have one around somewhere. AKopitov Seattle AMK17 -----Original Message----- From: Rob Faucett via Tweeters Sent: Jul 15, 2026 9:36 AM To: TWEETERS Subject: [Tweeters] Monopod and head I need to own a monopod. Does anybody here have experience they are willing to share. Thanks Rob ? Rob Faucett +1(206) 619-5569 robfaucett@mac.com Seattle, WA 98105 _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 15 11:04:38 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Matt Hucke via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 11:04:54 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Monopod and head In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Rob, For about two years now, I've been using a monopod with a *Wimberley MH-100 mono gimbal head,* supporting a 150-600 or 150-400mm lens with teleconverter, and I'm very happy with this setup. The monopod is a 3 Legged Thing "Lance", which extends to about 79 inches (a monopod that's taller than the user is necessary to shoot at steep angles). The Wimberley head will work with any monopod that has the standard 1/4-inch screw at the top. When starting out each day, I'll slide the lens foot (Arca-Swiss) into the clamp on the Wimberley head, tighten the thumbscrew slightly, tilt the camera assembly up and down to find the balance point, then tighten fully. Once it's been set and balanced you can tilt it freely and it'll stay put. You get complete freedom of movement in roll, pitch, and yaw axes. The camera and lens hang off to one side of the monopod, which from my perspective is the right side. I hold the monopod in my left hand when getting into position, then use my right hand to work the shutter, AF-ON, and exposure controls, and take my left hand off the monopod to work the focus and zoom rings on the lens. If the birds are high in the trees I'll grip the lower part of the monopod with my knees, loosen one of the rings between segments, yank the top upward so the viewfinder is above eye level, then tighten the ring again - this adjustment takes maybe two seconds. For walking from one location to the next, I'll put the lens on my left shoulder (the neoprene sleeve stops it from being unpleasantly hot or cold if it touches my cheek) and hold out the monopod pointing in front of me while walking. Then when the next bird appears I can quickly plant the foot and be in position to shoot again. https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthucke/55395810283/in/dateposted-public/ https://kenmorecamera.com/wimberley-mono-gimbal-head/?srsltid=AfmBOoo3UXci871bKehR-S9DfV-sODWOKdtjFCgsF19iIOROvllXOy0b On Wed, Jul 15, 2026 at 9:36?AM Rob Faucett via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > I need to own a monopod. Does anybody here have experience they are > willing to share. > > Thanks > Rob > ? > Rob Faucett > +1(206) 619-5569 > robfaucett@mac.com > Seattle, WA 98105 > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- Matt Hucke (hucke@cynico.net) (he/him). https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthucke "Time is an illusion. Lunchtime, doubly so." - D. Adams -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 15 11:07:54 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Scott Richardson via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 11:08:01 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Monopod and head In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <001a01dd1484$dc7bea90$9573bfb0$@aves-specta.com> I've been using a Bogen 3218 with a 482 head for many years and love it. Fully extended, it raises my scope eyepiece to almost 70 inches, an inch or so more than I need. It's quick to deploy and very sturdy -- no wiggle or wobble. With scope and shoulder strap, total weight is about 4 pounds. I don't believe it came with a strap. I've used a couple of different luggage straps that have worked well. It's so light a shoulder pad isn't necessary. A monopod can't be as stable as a tripod and I have sometimes wished for greater stability. Seawatching on a gusty day can be a real challenge. I try to find a seat, shorten the monopod, and pretend I'm a rock. It's also nearly impossible to share the view. All in all, your assessment is correct: You need to own a monopod. Scott Richardson -----Original Message----- From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Rob Faucett via Tweeters Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2026 09:36 AM To: TWEETERS Subject: [Tweeters] Monopod and head I need to own a monopod. Does anybody here have experience they are willing to share. Thanks Rob ? Rob Faucett +1(206) 619-5569 robfaucett@mac.com Seattle, WA 98105 _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 15 13:41:11 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Richard James via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 13:41:23 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Monopod In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <75540442-2183-4ec1-a0be-cf6daf1924a1@rjassociates.ca> On 2026-07-15 12:00 p.m., via Tweeters wrote: > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:04:38 -0700 > From: Matt Hucke via Tweeters > To: Rob Faucett > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Monopod and head I would echo this I've been using the 3-legged thing "Lance" monopod with foot for around 6 month. Much better (taller) than an older Manfroto. Height is essential for flying birds. The Wimberley MH-100 mono gimbal head, works well. For hiking (mobile work) the compromise in stability between a monopod and tripod is acceptable to me. My usage is with a 200-500 F5.6 zoom and 500 MM PF WITH 1.4 TC. > For walking from one location to the next, I'll put the lens on my left > shoulder (the neoprene sleeve stops it from being unpleasantly hot or cold > if it touches my cheek) and hold out the monopod pointing in front of me > while walking. Then when the next bird appears I can quickly plant the foot > and be in position to shoot again. This works for me too. -- From an Island in the Pacific, Richard James, Victoria, BC, Canada From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 15 17:39:21 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 17:39:26 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Monopods In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5c20174e-c83a-4cd3-b8b4-1e7f991180cc@jimbetz.com> Rob, ? ? Check out youtube reviews?? There are some monopods that have a short 3-legged "foot" that also have either a step-on release or one that has a one-handed grip release ... either method allows you to readjust the monopod quickly such as when picking up and moving or setting up after you've arrived.? Don't forget to consider full height length for -your- set up (looking thru the viewfinder of the camera/spotting scope). ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- Jim in Skagit From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 15 18:08:14 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 18:08:18 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Monopods In-Reply-To: <5c20174e-c83a-4cd3-b8b4-1e7f991180cc@jimbetz.com> References: <5c20174e-c83a-4cd3-b8b4-1e7f991180cc@jimbetz.com> Message-ID: On Jul 15, 2026 at 17:39:21, Jim Betz via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Check out youtube reviews? There are some monopods that have a > short 3-legged "foot" > that also have either a step-on release or one that has a one-handed > grip release > One to look at is the iFootage Cobra, a monopod with 3 mini legs that gives it some stability (but I wouldn?t go far from it in a breeze). It?s a bit spendy, but it?s super solid. I have one and used it happily until I finally went hand-held with the camera. It?s the monopod the videographer for Petapixel has relied on for years and recommends. --------------------------------------- Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me) Silverdale, Washington Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer Vice President, Kitsap Audubon Society Email me at: chuqvr@gmail.com Mastodon: @chuqvr@fosstodon.org Stay Updated with what I'm doing: https://www.chuq.me/6fps/ My latest e-book: https://www.chuq.me/ebooks I have opinions -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 15 21:09:47 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Elaine Chuang via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 21:09:55 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] RE-POST Turkey Vulture report for June 2026 References: Message-ID: <65129C53-EAA7-4A9F-8957-C1D15DC72126@uw.edu> Below is a re-post of Diann MacRae's June 2026 Turkey Vulture report, which was scrubbed by the UW-IT?s ?HTML machine." Thank you, Diann. Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at uw dot edu From: Tweeters for Diann MacRae via Tweeters Sent: Monday, July 13, 2026 6:52 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] June 2026 TUVU report Hi, Tweets Not a lot going on that?s unusual, just the relaxing duties of raising a crop of young turkey vultures, which the parents would surely assure me wasn?t particularly relaxing. For the most part I hope it?s just enjoying our lovely summer weather. Turkey vultures are pretty much spread out in the summer except for some roosting areas. The short report today is from Washington. JUNE 01 -- Four turkey vultures over Wenas Road at 13:10, Yakima County; two near the Bluebird Trail near Ellensburg at 16:41and two at the Ellensburg Ponds along I-90 at 17:36, Kittitas County. 02 -- Two at Salt Creek County Park at 11:43, Clallam County. 04 -- Two over Homestead Lake, north of Moses Lake at 14:45, Grant County; five at Freshwater Bay at 12:50, Clallam County. 11 -- One turkey vulture soaring over Jeffeson County airport at about 11:00. 16 -- One along Hwy 97 near Pateros at 16:33 and four along HwY 97 near Malott at 16:59 Okanogan County. 17 -- One over Beth Lake near Chesaw at 16:34, Okanogan County. 18 -- Two along Hwy 97 south of Omak at 10:18, and one along Hwy 97 near the mouth of the Okanogan River at 10:46; one long Hwy 97 just west of Dryden at 13:15, and one along the Teanaway River at 13:40, Chelan County. 30 -- One along Hwy 97 just south of Swauk Campground at 15:51, Kittitas County. Thanks for the reports and keep an eye out for roosts and for young birds in the coming weeks (with dark heads). Cheers, Diann Diann MacRae Olympic Vulture Study 22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E. Bothell, WA 98021 tvulture@gmx.com From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 15 23:18:45 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Price via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 23:18:59 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Monopod and head Message-ID: Hi tweets Scott Richardson writes: Scott, I've done about a dozen metric tonnes of seawatches and double that for shorebirds. What I did was turn my conventionally tripod-supported telescope athwart, then rested my bins on the barrel and use the panning arm for side-to-side scans. Instant stability, works a charm on a seawatch or shorebird survey. And it saved me some coin?more for beer, yay?since now I didn't need a monopod. The added stability confers another benefit: at 10X40, hand tremor robs the far end of binoculars' field of view of up to 10 to 15 meters; this stability often restores that lost distance in the bins' FOV, really useful when birds you're scanning at distance are distributed horizontally, as with gulls and shorebirds. And because bins allow stereoscopic vision, the added stability allows an observer to see?holistically? fine-point plumage and structural details out to surprising distances. best wishes, m Michael Price Vancouver BC Canada loblollyboy@gmail.com Every answer deepens the mystery. -- E.O. Wilson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 15 23:21:09 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (David Hutchinson via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 15 23:21:13 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] (no subject) Message-ID: ? Hutch From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 16 09:05:33 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 16 09:05:48 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 7/15/2026 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Approximately 30 of us had a fine Summer Day at the Refuge with sunny skies and temperatures in the 50's to 80's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a Low -3'8" Tide at 12:57pm. Highlights included great views of active WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, MOURNING DOVE, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, AMERICAN ROBIN, and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD nests; fun observation of GREAT HORNED OWL; return of good numbers of shorebirds including LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER in Leschi Slough along the Nisqually Estuary Trail; an early SHORT-BILLED GULL; and great looks of a juvenile SORA in the freshwater marsh with an unusually bright yellow bill. For the day, we recorded 66 species. With the First Of Year HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER spotted in the Orchard, we now have observed 154 species thus far this year. See more details in our eBird Report pasted below. Other fun sightings included Muskrat, Monarch Butterfly, and many fledglings adjusting to life outside the nest. Until next week when we meet again at 8:00am at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook. Happy birding, Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Jul 15, 2026 6:55?AM - 4:44?PM Protocol: Traveling 3.249 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday walk. Sunny, with temperatures between 50?F and 80?F. A Low -3?8? Tide at 12:57pm. Others seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Townsend?s Chipmunk, Muskrat, Harbor Seal, Red-Veined Meadowhawk, Monarch Butterfly, Puget Sound Garter Snake, American Bullfrog, and Boxelder Bugs. 66 species (+3 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 8 Wood Duck 6 Mallard 30 Hooded Merganser 1 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2 Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 8 Mourning Dove 8 Riparian Forest Overlook. Nest spotted on piling seen from overlook. Vaux's Swift 1 Rufous Hummingbird 6 Occupied nest in Maple Tree over Nisqually River Dike where cut through from Twin Barns Loop Trail joins dike. Virginia Rail 2 Heard only. Sora 1 Ken spotted juvenile, brown neck but unusually bright yellow bill, seen well in freshwater marsh by many in the afternoon. Killdeer 1 Long-billed Dowitcher 17 Leschi Slough adjacent to the Nisqually Estuary Trail. Most in breeding plumage with mostly red bellies, barring on neck, slopped forebrow, and long bills - some slightly decurved at tip. Vocalizing to confirm identification was heard. Spotted Sandpiper 1 West side of McAllister Creek. Greater Yellowlegs 8 Least Sandpiper 150 Western Sandpiper 350 Counted in groups of 10 on surge plain and mudflats. Over 500 peeps, majority WESA, 3/10 LESA. Observed at 7am. Short-billed Gull 1 Small yellow legged gull with dark eye, yellow-green based black tipped gull, and dove shaped head. Observed foraging on mudflats in area with RBGU, CAGU, and GWGU. Ring-billed Gull 75 California Gull 75 Glaucous-winged Gull 2 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 1 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 10 Larus sp. 350 Caspian Tern 12 Double-crested Cormorant 20 Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 45 Bald Eagle 60 Counted individually. 51 Observed on reach. Occupied nest on west bank of McAllister Creek north of McAllister/Medicine Creek Observation Platform. Great Horned Owl 1 Seen on inside of Twin Barns Loop Trail just south of the Beaver Deceiver. Heard by Miranda, and spotted by Steve, most participants observed preening in riparian stand, then flew north closer to Beaver Deceiver, but landed low in forest. Belted Kingfisher 6 Red-breasted Sapsucker (ruber) 5 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 5 Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 6 Western Wood-Pewee 10 Occupied nest on Access Road and Twin Barns Loop Trail. Willow Flycatcher 3 Hammond's Flycatcher 1 Seen by Marc in Orchard between 7a-8a. Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 5 American Crow 8 Black-capped Chickadee 20 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 6 Bank Swallow 4 Tree Swallow 30 Nest snag along Twin Barns Loop Trail outside of train just north of double bench overlook south of Twin Barns Cut-off. Violet-green Swallow 2 Purple Martin 12 Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 6 Barn Swallow (American) 50 Visitor Center Pond Overlook. Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 40 Occupied nest McAllister/Medicine Creek Viewing Platform. Bushtit (Pacific) 12 Brown Creeper 6 Marsh Wren 6 Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 4 European Starling 200 Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 34 American Robin (migratorius Group) 30 Cedar Waxwing 12 Purple Finch (Western) 4 Red Crossbill 6 Heard by Whittier flying over parking lot at start of walk. American Goldfinch 43 Twin Barns Loop Trail and Twin Barns Picnic ?rea. Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 6 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 17 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 6 Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 30 Brown-headed Cowbird 18 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1 Common Yellowthroat 18 Northern Yellow Warbler 30 Wilson's Warbler 1 Western Tanager 3 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S372778036 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 16 11:00:47 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kevin Lucas via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 16 11:01:20 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Kozma - Red Phalarope continues at Wenas Lake Message-ID: Yesterday biologist Jeff Kozma found a beautiful adult female breeding plumage Red Phalarope on Wenas Lake, spotting her from above at North Wenas Road with his binoculars. https://ebird.org/checklist/S372557674 I was able to go out last night and see her foraging and puttering about, then hunkering down, seemingly for the night. It was fully overcast, blowing fairly hard, and raining with lightning. My photos and video are grainy. https://ebird.org/checklist/S372631369 I went back out this morning, hoping to see her in better light, and hoping, if she was still there, to let friends know. I got my wishes. She was feeding and puttering straight towards me when many waterfowl flushed, maybe from deer noisily coming out of the willows. She spent some time out in the lake, but came back to the water's edge after a while. As when Jeff found her mid-afternoon yesterday, and when I saw at 8 p.m. yesterday, this morning she was again at the (former, ghost town of a) resort, at the north end of the lake. The gate to that road is closed and locked. Walking down the dirt road takes us to an overlook good for scanning, and on down to the spit with my very full white trash barrel. She spent most of the time in the little cove just west of that little spit. This is NOT the "boat launch". The boat launch is near the inlet stream at the northwest corner of the lake. That's down a different road to the lake. That road is around the bend to the west, past the Stagecoach RV park/store. Jeff was able to get nice scope views of this beautiful bird this morning on his way back out to Wenas for his White-headed Woodpecker work. Please report banded White-headed Woodpeckers to Jeff. He really appreciates each and every one of the very, very few reports he gets. Also around: Least Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers, Killdeer, a Sora, waterfowl, Bald Eagles,..., lots to admire. Good Birding, https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography Kevin Lucas ???? Yakima County, Washington *Qui tacet consentire videtur* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 16 13:38:31 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Richard James via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 16 13:38:43 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Monopods In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7492fae7-48af-4c44-b869-2eaa3748c704@rjassociates.ca> On 2026-07-16 12:00 p.m., via Tweeters wrote: > 1. Re: Monopod (Richard James via Tweeters) There is additional discussion here: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/threads/anyone-using-monopods.4848241/ -- From an Island in the Pacific, Richard James, Victoria, BC, Canada From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 16 17:12:40 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 16 17:12:56 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-07-16 Message-ID: Tweets - It was a quiet day at the park today. Temps right around 60 degrees, and clear skies at first. But only at first. You could FEEL the barometric pressure dropping and see the clouds come in. By the time we'd made it around to the Viewing Mound we were watching lighting coming down to Lake Sammamish. Going around the mansion, we got a few drips, but at the Rowing Club, it was raining. Thankfully, the deluge waited another hour. Birds were mostly not singing, except for the Swainson's Thrushes. Highlights: Canada Goose - Maybe 175 total, up from 22 last week Hooded Merganser - At least three; only our 3rd sighting since March Spotted Sandpiper - One spotless bird on the weir Green Heron - Two at the weir Great Blue Heron - I could only find one nest still active, with 3 squabbling young. And maybe only 10 herons seen total! Merlin - One flew south over the Dog Area Swainson's Thrush - Many sightings! Sometimes two birds at a time on the trail and fences After last week's four dove day, we had no doves or pigeons at all today. Misses included Rock Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rufous Hummingbird, Pied-billed Grebe, Western Warbling Vireo, Violet-green and Cliff Swallows, and Brown-headed Cowbird. We ended up at just 48 species, a full ten species lower than last week. Some of this was likely seasonal - No Gadwall today, for instance, but they clear out by late July. Most of the diminishment, though, was due to the weather. Birds disappear when the barometer plummets, in my experience. = 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 Jul 16 21:25:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kevin Lucas via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 16 21:26:15 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Kozma - Red Phalarope continues at Wenas Lake In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Today Jef Blake and Christopher Lindsey visited Wenas Lake, focused on (my words) the gorgeous breeding plumage female Red Phalarope that Jeff Kozma found there yesterday. Jef took phenomenal photos of the phalarope and other birds and wildlife, attaching some of them to their checklists: https://ebird.org/checklist/S372954609 Good Birding, https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography Kevin Lucas ???? Yakima County, Washington *Qui tacet consentire videtur* On Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 11:00?AM Kevin Lucas wrote: > Yesterday biologist Jeff Kozma found a beautiful adult female breeding > plumage Red Phalarope on Wenas Lake, spotting her from above at North Wenas > Road with his binoculars. > > https://ebird.org/checklist/S372557674 > > I was able to go out last night and see her foraging and puttering about, > then hunkering down, seemingly for the night. It was fully overcast, > blowing fairly hard, and raining with lightning. My photos and video are > grainy. > > https://ebird.org/checklist/S372631369 > > I went back out this morning, hoping to see her in better light, and > hoping, if she was still there, to let friends know. I got my wishes. She > was feeding and puttering straight towards me when many waterfowl flushed, > maybe from deer noisily coming out of the willows. She spent some time out > in the lake, but came back to the water's edge after a while. > > As when Jeff found her mid-afternoon yesterday, and when I saw at 8 p.m. > yesterday, this morning she was again at the (former, ghost town of a) > resort, at the north end of the lake. The gate to that road is closed and > locked. Walking down the dirt road takes us to an overlook good for > scanning, and on down to the spit with my very full white trash barrel. She > spent most of the time in the little cove just west of that little spit. > This is NOT the "boat launch". The boat launch is near the inlet stream at > the northwest corner of the lake. That's down a different road to the lake. > That road is around the bend to the west, past the Stagecoach RV park/store. > > Jeff was able to get nice scope views of this beautiful bird this morning > on his way back out to Wenas for his White-headed Woodpecker work. > > Please report banded White-headed Woodpeckers to Jeff. He really > appreciates each and every one of the very, very few reports he gets. > > Also around: Least Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers, Killdeer, a Sora, > waterfowl, Bald Eagles,..., lots to admire. > > Good Birding, > > https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ > > https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography > > Kevin Lucas ???? > Yakima County, Washington > > *Qui tacet consentire videtur* > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 17 12:00:37 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 17 12:00:51 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] American Kestrel in Jimi Hendrix Park Message-ID: Rode my bike right underneath an American Kestrel on a lamppost in Jimi Hendrix park, in Seattle's Central District this morning. Went in for a closer look. Without binocs I'd say female or juvenile because I didn't see the bright orange feathers the males have. Does anyone know if there was/is a nest in the area? Jill -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 17 18:51:16 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Odette James via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 17 18:51:19 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White pigeon (not an owl) References: <1192462130.78875.1784339476140.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1192462130.78875.1784339476140@mail.yahoo.com> The snow white pigeon I mistakenly (and embarrassingly) reported as an owl at the end of last week is still hanging around the grounds of my retirement community. It has adopted our inner garden as its home, and it perches on balcony rails, the edge of the roof, or the top of a small pergola near the lawn. I suspect that the bird is an escape of some sort - it doesn't seem to notice the residents unless they get too close, and it clearly isn't a member of the local pigeon flock. Does anyone know of anyplace I can find out if any local pigeon handler or breeder has a missing snow white bird? I suspect that "Snow White" would be happier with companion pigeons, would have a source of better quality food, and would be safer (we do get a few local feral cats on the grounds) back in whatever pigeon loft it escaped from. Odette James -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 17 19:17:03 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 17 19:17:08 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) monthly bird walk - 7-16-2026 Message-ID: Tweeters, The lightning came in three bouts and the rain continued heavy at times at the JBLM Eagle's Pride GC birdwalk on Thursday for the 14 of us that started out (a few of us bailed out after about a mile+ of the route). RED CROSSBILLS and PINE SISKINS were the first this year and the 17 WOOD DUCKS were a highlight. We haven't ever cut short the usual route due to a golf tournament, but the 27-holes with 200 golfers caused a change to keep us out of the way of the many players and their errant golf shots. Because of the lightning, the tournament started late so we were able to make it almost all the way before the golfers started on a shotgun start. >From the PNW eBird report: **** Eagles Pride GC, Pierce, Washington, US 2.9 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Conditions: 53-61degF; lightning; rain off and on, heavy at times. The 14 of us cut the walk short by about one-third mile due to the golf tournament that had over 200 players over the 27-hole Joint Base Lewis McChord Eagle's Pride Golf Course. We skipped viewing Hodge Lake and the swallows that nest in boxes there as well as whatever waterfowl that are usually found there. The highlight for most of us were the total of 17 WOOD DUCKS found on two ponds. RED CROSSBILLS and PINE SISKINS were the first we found on the course this year. The only mammal: Two black-tailed deer. The JBLM Eagle's Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00AM from March-October and 9:00AM November to February. The 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: * August 20 * September 17 * October 15 Everyone is welcome! 29 species Wood Duck 17 10 at the 9th hole pond; 7 on the 12th hole pond (not a usual place for this species) Band-tailed Pigeon 3 Glaucous-winged Gull 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 1 Olive-sided Flycatcher 1 Western Wood-Pewee 7 Willow Flycatcher 1 Steller's Jay 1 Black-capped Chickadee 7 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 6 Barn Swallow 24 Bushtit 18 Two flocks Red-breasted Nuthatch 5 Brown Creeper 3 European Starling 12 Swainson's Thrush 6 American Robin 40 House Finch 4 Red Crossbill 10 Pine Siskin 2 Dark-eyed Junco 5 White-crowned Sparrow 10 Song Sparrow 10 Spotted Towhee 6 Brown-headed Cowbird 2 Northern Yellow Warbler 1 Wilson's Warbler 1 Western Tanager 1 View this checklist online at https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fchecklist%2FS373316087&data=05%7C02%7C%7C87c2891a0de54569138a08dee46e5067%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639199359598379743%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=w2%2Fzyc%2Bi7cRzAuwHjxyTWFAA7DM2uVNQ5bmdFfTWI00%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 Jul 18 12:39:54 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Krystal via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 18 12:40:11 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] American Kestrel in Jimi Hendrix Park In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: A couple months ago, I had the displeasure of reporting a dead American Kestrel to d-bird somewhat close to that area. I saw it on the NB on-ramp from the West Seattle Bridge to I-5 North. We were driving 1-2 mph and it was spotted by both myself and my husband. Curious. > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 18 13:00:15 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Harrell via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 18 13:00:57 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] American Kestrel in Jimi Hendrix Park In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Over the winter my wife and I parked in the North parking lot at Discovery Park and as soon as we walked out of the parking lot onto Texas Way, across from the restrooms, we noticed the silence. That area is always thick with bird calls so we suspected a raptor, an owl we hoped. It took us less than a minute to find it - but to our surprise it was an American Kestrel sitting in a tree not 25 yards off the road. When we finished our birding outing, the kestrel was gone and the rest of the birds had started up again. -Jeff -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 18 13:32:35 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 18 13:32:51 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] American Kestrel in Jimi Hendrix Park Message-ID: Me thinks likely a Merlin... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 18 13:50:36 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jenn Jarstad via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 18 14:19:46 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] White pigeon (not an owl) Message-ID: Hi Odette: Not sure if your white pigeon escaped or is a natural fluke of nature. We had a leucistic pigeon in our backyard for several months. It was all white except one streak of black on the tail feathers. (I called it Lucy). We feared it would stand out as bait for predators, but it lasted here for at least 4 months, however, we haven't seen it since May. It hung out with other pigeons, so I just figured it was naturally leucistic. Anyway, enjoy your snow white friend! Jenn Jarstad Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 18 18:22:37 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 18 18:23:10 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] American Kestrel in Jimi Hendrix Park In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <66F5855F-BE4F-45E2-A96B-AF9E0AA6C5C3@shelflifestories.com> Hi Kersti I 100% know the difference between a kestrel and a merlin. This bird had the unmistakeable facial markings of a kestrel. While I didn?t have my binocs with me, I basically stood right under the lamppost the bird was perched on for quite awhile. I got a good look at it and ruled out any of the other small raptors I have seen in the area. Kestrels have also been reported on eBird in the Montlake Fill area 3 times in the last month, and that is not far as the crow (kestrel) flies. Not a stretch at all, this time of year, when juveniles are branching out on their own. Jimi Hendrix park is actually pretty good kestrel habitat; it?s dry and open, as is the surrounding Judkins Park area. Jill > On Jul 18, 2026, at 1:32?PM, Kersti Muul via Tweeters wrote: > > Me thinks likely a Merlin... > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 18 18:34:23 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 18 18:34:39 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] American Kestrel in Jimi Hendrix Park In-Reply-To: <66F5855F-BE4F-45E2-A96B-AF9E0AA6C5C3@shelflifestories.com> References: <66F5855F-BE4F-45E2-A96B-AF9E0AA6C5C3@shelflifestories.com> Message-ID: Awesome if it was then! We have them randomly show up in West Seattle; albeit not nesting. You never know who will show up where. -K On Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 6:23?PM Shelf Life Community Story Project < info@shelflifestories.com> wrote: > Hi Kersti > > I 100% know the difference between a kestrel and a merlin. This bird had > the unmistakeable facial markings of a kestrel. While I didn?t have my > binocs with me, I basically stood right under the lamppost the bird was > perched on for quite awhile. I got a good look at it and ruled out any of > the other small raptors I have seen in the area. Kestrels have also been > reported on eBird in the Montlake Fill area 3 times in the last month, and > that is not far as the crow (kestrel) flies. Not a stretch at all, this > time of year, when juveniles are branching out on their own. Jimi Hendrix > park is actually pretty good kestrel habitat; it?s dry and open, as is the > surrounding Judkins Park area. > > > > Jill > > On Jul 18, 2026, at 1:32?PM, Kersti Muul via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > Me thinks likely a Merlin... > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 18 18:38:09 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 18 18:44:50 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] American Kestrel in Jimi Hendrix Park In-Reply-To: <66F5855F-BE4F-45E2-A96B-AF9E0AA6C5C3@shelflifestories.com> References: <66F5855F-BE4F-45E2-A96B-AF9E0AA6C5C3@shelflifestories.com> Message-ID: Also, I read that wrong (as Jimi Hendrix sculpture on Broadway) is why I thought Merlin. That's what I get for glazing over my emails after work. On Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 6:23?PM Shelf Life Community Story Project < info@shelflifestories.com> wrote: > Hi Kersti > > I 100% know the difference between a kestrel and a merlin. This bird had > the unmistakeable facial markings of a kestrel. While I didn?t have my > binocs with me, I basically stood right under the lamppost the bird was > perched on for quite awhile. I got a good look at it and ruled out any of > the other small raptors I have seen in the area. Kestrels have also been > reported on eBird in the Montlake Fill area 3 times in the last month, and > that is not far as the crow (kestrel) flies. Not a stretch at all, this > time of year, when juveniles are branching out on their own. Jimi Hendrix > park is actually pretty good kestrel habitat; it?s dry and open, as is the > surrounding Judkins Park area. > > > > Jill > > On Jul 18, 2026, at 1:32?PM, Kersti Muul via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > Me thinks likely a Merlin... > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jul 20 10:23:11 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (louiserutter1000 via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 20 10:23:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Terek sandpiper Message-ID: <6a5e5981.39f23b82.34592b.9a47@mx.google.com> Present now at Stanwood water treatment plant?Louise RutterSent via the Samsung Galaxy A6, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 20 13:02:19 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Louise Rutter via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 20 13:02:32 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Stanwood STP? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The treatment pond (labelled irvne slough on google maps) lies between 92nd and 98th Ave in Stanwood. You can par at Hamilton Landing and follow the Port Susan trail around the south sde of the lagoon or you could stop on 92nd north of the main road and cross over to the eastern side of the lagoon. The bird has been hanging out on the concrete pontoons on the east side of the lagoon around high tide times. This morning it showed up about 35 mins before high tide at Stanwood. Louise Rutter ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Carlos Andersen <2carlosandersen@gmail.com> Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2026 at 10:49?AM Subject: Stanwood STP? To: Hi, Is it easy to get access into the plant or where would I go to get a look at the Terek? Thanks very much. Carlos -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 20 17:25:30 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nick Bayard via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 20 17:25:45 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Recent Standout BirdNote Episodes Message-ID: Hello, Tweets! I hope everyone is having a good summer. I wanted to share some recent standout episodes of *BirdNote Daily *from June and July: *Juan Fernandez Firecrown:* This script was written by a group of bird-loving University of Washington undergraduate students in fulfillment of a class project. https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/juan-fernandez-firecrown *Spark Bird: Olya Weekley And The House-Martins:* A Spark Bird episode featuring a wildlife conservationist who grew up in Ukraine. https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/spark-bird-olya-weekley-and-house-martins *Bearded Vulture Nests are Natural Museums:* Highlights some really interesting findings from historical nests in southern Spain. https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/bearded-vulture-nests-are-natural-museums *Zoos as Night Heron Habitats:* Highlights an often overlooked benefit of zoos. https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/zoos-night-heron-habitats *These episodes of BirdNote Daily draw from longer interviews we conducted for Bring Birds Back: * *Legislating is for the Birds: *This episode features American Bird Conservancy?s Hardy Kern on the importance of speaking up to lawmakers about birds. https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/legislating-birds *Hunting and Conservation go Hand in Hand: *Ducks Unlimited's Jerad Henson speaks to us about the outsized role hunters play in bird conservation. https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/hunting-and-conservation-go-hand-hand *Christian Cooper, Cattle Egrets, and Cinema: *Renowned birder and author Christian Cooper speaks to us about birds and cinema. https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/christian-cooper-cattle-egrets-and-cinema Best, Nick Bayard BirdNote Executive Director -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 20 23:09:18 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 20 23:09:41 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Terek Message-ID: <50CAF62E-B9F9-4AA2-8C91-50317DF8489A@me.com> You could have checked off the Sandpiper at Stanwood?s Irvine Lagoon today if you were at its SE corner before 1 or after 7:50. Larry Schwitters Issaquah From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 23 09:42:28 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 23 09:42:44 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for Wednesday July 23rd Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Approximately 25 of us enjoyed a warm summer's day at the Refuge with temperatures in the 60's to 80's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a High 10' Tide at 2:41pm, so we walked our regular route. Highlights included GREEN HERON at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook, 2-3 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS around the Orchard, numerous occupied nests including CLIFF SWALLOW, BARN SWALLOW, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE and BALD EAGLE, and great looks at WILSON SNIPE, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER. For the day, we observed 70 species, and we have seen 154 species so far this year. See our eBird Report pasted below. Other fun sightings included Giant Water Bug and Eight-spotted Skimmer; we also heard California Sea Lions. I'll be away in West Papua for the next three weeks and will return August 19th. Ken, Jim, Pete, Lisa, Ed, Bill and Carol will help lead the walk in my absence. I'll miss their fun sightings while I'm away. Until next week when we meet again, happy birding. Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Jul 22, 2026 7:57?AM - 4:16?PM Protocol: Traveling 3.02 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday walk. Sunny skies with warm temperatures from 60?s to 80?s degrees Fahrenheit. A High 10? Tide at 2:41pm. Others seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Townsend?s Chipmunk, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Muskrat, Harbor Seal and California Sea Lion. Others seen American Bullfrog, Western Swallow-tailed Butterfly, Green Darner, Eight-spotted Skimmer, Red-Veined Meadowhawk, and Giant Water Bug. 70 species (+3 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 60 Wood Duck 13 Cinnamon Teal 1 Gadwall 1 Mallard 16 Hooded Merganser 1 Common Merganser (North American) 20 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 30 Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 5 Mourning Dove 2 Anna's Hummingbird 3 Rufous Hummingbird 1 Virginia Rail 2 Killdeer 6 Semipalmated Plover 1 Long-billed Dowitcher 1 Wilson's Snipe 2 Greater Yellowlegs 16 Least Sandpiper 20 peep sp. 150 Short-billed Gull 6 Ring-billed Gull 130 California Gull 40 Glaucous-winged Gull 1 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 1 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 60 Caspian Tern 40 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Brandt's Cormorant 2 Double-crested Cormorant 35 Green Heron 1 Visitor Center Pond Overlook. Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 60 Osprey (American) 1 Bald Eagle 14 Belted Kingfisher 6 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 3 Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 American Kestrel 1 Western Wood-Pewee 7 Willow Flycatcher 2 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 2 Steller's Jay (Coastal) 1 American Crow 6 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 20 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Tree Swallow 25 Violet-green Swallow 3 Purple Martin 12 Luhr Beach Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 4 Barn Swallow (American) 49 Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 15 Brown Creeper 3 Marsh Wren 4 Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 2 European Starling 100 Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 19 American Robin (migratorius Group) 15 Cedar Waxwing 12 Purple Finch (Western) 2 Red Crossbill (Douglas-fir or type 4) 14 American Goldfinch 40 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 2 Song Sparrow 17 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 6 Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 70 Brown-headed Cowbird 10 Common Yellowthroat 15 Northern Yellow Warbler 25 Black-throated Gray Warbler 2 Orchard. Wilson's Warbler 2 Black-headed Grosbeak 3 Orchard. View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S375465831 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 23 12:10:37 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 23 12:10:54 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-07-23 Message-ID: Tweets - Once again we got the first cloudy and cool day after a run of hot sunny weather. We had overcast skies and temps in the high 60's, but none of the predicted precipitation. A touch breezy at times, but no bother. Pretty typical Summer Doldrums day, but there are always some interesting things. Highlights: Rufous Hummingbird - One at the crocosmia flowers in the Pea Patch Gulls - Flock of ~20 that were possibly RING-BILLED, one or two that might have been CALIFORNIA, and one super-dark juvenile Green Heron - Two from the Lake Platform Great Blue Heron - Heronry EMPTY. Only about 6 GBHE seen Pileated Woodpecker - Two landed in a fir near the concert venue right at 6:00 a.m. A nice start to the morning Merlin - One near the birding kiosk next to the slough, chasing crows Purple Martin - Two babies being fed in one of the gourds There is at least one baby OSPREY on one of the nests Two baby WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS followed a parent down the path getting fed any time the adult found a bug. It was almost cute Misses today included Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Pied-billed Grebe, Western Warbling Vireo, Violet-green Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Savannah Sparrow, and Northern Yellow Warbler For the day, 52 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 Jul 23 17:23:03 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Joan Miller via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 23 17:23:18 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Terek sandpiper Message-ID: Hello, I'm thinking of going up to find it tomorrow. Has anyone seen it in the last day or two? Thanks, Joan Miller West Seattle jemskink at gmail dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 23 21:03:52 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Louise via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 23 21:04:06 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Terek sandpiper In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Ebird has the last reports from 7/21. There were 15 ebird checklists at the plant yesterday and 10 today. Nobody has reported i since sunset on Tuesday, so it seems likely it's moved on. Louise Rutter Kirkland On Thu, Jul 23, 2026 at 5:23?PM Joan Miller via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hello, > > I'm thinking of going up to find it tomorrow. Has anyone seen it in the > last day or two? > > Thanks, > Joan Miller > West Seattle > jemskink at gmail dot com > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 24 06:38:24 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Hampton via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 24 06:38:40 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: [CALBIRDS] passing of Guy McCaskie In-Reply-To: <2135055368.113639.1784885438689@mail.yahoo.com> References: <2135055368.113639.1784885438689.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <2135055368.113639.1784885438689@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: lehman.paul@verizon.net via groups.io Date: Fri, Jul 24, 2026 at 2:30?AM Subject: [CALBIRDS] passing of Guy McCaskie To: calbirds@groups.io Guy McCaskie passed away from natural causes on July 22, just 11 days short of his 90th birthday. Truly the end of an era. Guy was the leader in moving birding into the modern era. He made countless advances in field identification and in our knowledge of West Coast vagrancy patterns and he discovered a plethora of migrant and vagrant traps. First moving from Scotland to Lake Tahoe, he soon settled in San Diego in the early 1960s, where he would remain to the present. He quickly turned California birding on its ear. He was extremely active statewide, with a particular passion for the San Diego area and for the desert from the Salton Sea north to the Death Valley region. He found more California state firsts than anyone. He has the highest California bird list. But far more important were his myriad of contributions to Western birding and field ornithology through his many publications, teaching fellow birders in the field, and in setting high standards for careful observation and documentation. His influence especially during the latter 1900s extended far beyond California to all of North America. There are not enough superlatives that can be said. Many more tributes, including those with more details of Guy's life and contributions, will undoubtedly follow in the days and weeks ahead. Plans will be made to spread Guy's ashes at the Salton Sea on a date later in fall when temperatures have cooled, followed by an informal get-together that same day, probably at Cattle Call Park in Brawley. Further details will be posted in the future when plans are firm. Per Guy's wishes, there will not be a formal funeral or celebration of life. The family welcomes cards and letters, but please no phone calls. All birders in California and the West should go outside today and tip your binoculars to Guy. He showed us the way. --Paul Lehman, San Diego _._,_._,_ ------------------------------ Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#15235) | Reply to Sender | Reply to Group | Mute This Topic | New Topic Your Subscription | Contact Group Owner | Unsubscribe [stevechampton@gmail.com] _._,_._,_ -- Steve Hampton Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 24 08:48:28 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jane Hadley via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 24 08:48:42 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Request for help with a research study involving chickadees Message-ID: Dear Tweeters - I am posting the following request onTweeters on behalf of a researcher who does not subscribe to the Tweeters list. If you might be interested in helping, please respond to her using the email address in her message. Jane Hadley hadleyj1725@gmail.com The message: My name is Nora Carlson and I am behavioral ecologist ? I study animal behavior in the wild. I am currently working at the University of Tokyo studying how birds talk to one another about predators and the danger they pose. I have been fascinated with animal communication since I first did a research course studying killer whales in the Salish Sea. Since my undergraduate, I have been most interested by a behavior called mobbing ? a behavior where prey will harass and attack predators and often talk to one another about how dangerous the predator is. One of the reasons I love animal communication so much is that it encourages me to try and see/understand the world from the perspective of other species with different ways of sensing the world (e.g., most birds hear faster than we do which is why we have to use images to study bird calls rather than our own hearing). I am planning to conduct some experiments in Kitsap County (centered around Bainbridge Island) and Southwest Snohomish County (centered around Lynwood) and possibly around Bellingham this winter, and I am hoping to find some people interested in letting me use their bird feeders to conduct my experiments (playing sounds to birds to see how they respond) as well as some local knowledge about the best places to find chickadees reliably in winter (Nov ? Mar). If this is something you think you might be interested in helping with, please email me (*nora.v.carlson@gmail.com* ) and please include ?Feeder Experiments? or ?Local Knowledge? in the subject or body of the email so I can find any emails that get redirected to junk mail. I would be happy to provide more detailed information about the study to those who might be interested. Nora Carlson *nora.v.carlson@gmail.com* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 24 11:33:10 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (JACK NOLAN via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 24 11:33:26 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] RTH at UW References: Message-ID: Twice this week I have heard a Red Tail Hawk making a ton of noise just off the BGT near the facilities building. I?m thinking it might be a recording to chase off pigeons or similar. Anyone have info?? Jack Nolan Shoreline, WA. Sent from my iPhone. Pardon my brevity and typos. From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 24 12:18:03 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Patty Cheek via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 24 12:18:21 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wings over Whidbey Bird Festival References: <820FC213-B129-48BE-B494-2AFE59D7FCE9.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <820FC213-B129-48BE-B494-2AFE59D7FCE9@yahoo.com> ? We are having our 4th annual Wings over Whidbey event September 25 and 26. Plan ahead. The keynote speaker will be Paul Bannick featured Friday evening. Information below. Festival activities on Saturday, Sept. 26 are all free and include Connie Sidles - Why Bother About Birds? Other speakers will include Eric Wagner, Thomas Bancroft, and a live demonstration by NW Game Hawkers. We have lots of other activities including our bird specimen library, bird walks, booths, food vendors, and children?s activities. Swarovski Optiks will be there too with repair parts, training, and new binoculars and scopes. Join us for the very special dinner catered by Orlando?s Southern Barbecue and featuring a new presentation by Paul Bannick called ?The Heartbeat of the Western Forest: Exploring the Lives of Our Keystone Birds." September 25, 2025 6:30 pm presentation Whidbey Island Nordic Lodge ? 63 Jacobs Rd., Coupeville, WA Tickets - $50 Register https://www.whidbeyaudubonsociety.org/wings-over-whidbey-festival Patty Cheek -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 25 10:15:16 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Vicki King via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 25 10:15:30 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Two free spotting scope packs and three bird-related posters Message-ID: I am looking for new homes for two packs for full-sized spotting scopes. One is a tri-pack; the other carries the scope on the left shoulder. Both are in very good condition. I also have three bird-related posters. One depicts Washington's Winter Birds (22" x 33"); a second features a beautiful sculpture of a Peregrine Falcon (18" x 24"); the third advertises International Bird Migration Day (16" x 26"). I will be happy to send photos of these items to anyone who is interested. Vicki King Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 25 10:22:54 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kevin Lucas via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 25 10:23:09 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Two free spotting scope packs and three bird-related posters In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Vicky, I'm very interested in the shoulder spotting scope pack. Thank you, Kevin Lucas *Qui tacet consentire videtur?* On Sat, Jul 25, 2026, 9:16?AM Vicki King via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > I am looking for new homes for two packs for full-sized spotting scopes. > One is a tri-pack; the other carries the scope on the left shoulder. Both > are in very good condition. > > I also have three bird-related posters. One depicts Washington's Winter > Birds (22" x 33"); a second features a beautiful sculpture of a Peregrine > Falcon (18" x 24"); the third advertises International Bird Migration Day > (16" x 26"). > > I will be happy to send photos of these items to anyone who is interested. > > Vicki King > 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 Jul 25 11:20:29 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (AMK17 via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 25 11:20:35 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Two free spotting scope packs and three bird-related posters Message-ID: Hi Vicki, I would also be interested in one of the packs. Could you send photos to me? thanks, Anna Kopitov AMK17 -----Original Message----- From: Vicki King via Tweeters Sent: Jul 25, 2026 10:16 AM To: Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Two free spotting scope packs and three bird-related posters I am looking for new homes for two packs for full-sized spotting scopes. One is a tri-pack; the other carries the scope on the left shoulder. Both are in very good condition. I also have three bird-related posters. One depicts Washington's Winter Birds (22" x 33"); a second features a beautiful sculpture of a Peregrine Falcon (18" x 24"); the third advertises International Bird Migration Day (16" x 26"). I will be happy to send photos of these items to anyone who is interested. Vicki King Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 25 12:40:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ellen Cohen via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 25 12:40:48 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Guy Tudor, illustrator References: <67062610.60098.1785008442181.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <67062610.60098.1785008442181@mail.yahoo.com> Guy Tudor, Whose Art Brought Obscure Birds to Life, Dies at 91 | | | | | | | | | | | Guy Tudor, Whose Art Brought Obscure Birds to Life, Dies at 91 A self-taught ornithologist, he won a MacArthur fellowship for his precise, resplendent illustrations that appea... | | | -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 25 13:29:51 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 25 13:30:05 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] PEFA poster Message-ID: I'm interested in the PEFA poster -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jul 25 21:57:09 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Scott R via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jul 25 21:57:40 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Terek Sandpiper refound Message-ID: https://wa.chasereport.com/detail/3479149 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jul 26 11:57:03 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (JACK NOLAN via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jul 26 11:57:10 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Shoreline Ravens References: Message-ID: The ravens have been busy the past couple weeks. Very vocal. I'm assuming they live in Hamlin Park but they are often in the Ridgecrest neighborhood to the West. Not sure if they have young or are just out looking for food. Jack Nolan Shoreline, WA. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jul 26 12:10:24 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Stephen Elston via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jul 26 12:10:40 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Merlins in Greenwood Message-ID: Hi Tweets, For the past several evenings, there have been a pair of Merlins making their loud repetitive call from a tall evergreen in the Greenwood neighborhood. The male (more colorful of the pair) is ofen pearched near the top of the tree in the open calling. At times we see the pair flying around and doing aerial acrobatics, which I think is a courtship ritual. Happy birding, Steve -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jul 26 15:29:52 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ian Paulsen via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jul 26 15:29:51 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] The Birdbooker Report Message-ID: <8ca182f-48fc-de7b-4fb6-37585f77bdcb@zipcon.net> HI ALL: I posted about one bird and one non-bird book at my blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2026/07/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 Mon Jul 27 09:27:44 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Joe Sweeney via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 09:28:05 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Tufted puffin Marina Beach Message-ID: <9DC2DD54-F62F-4B1F-BAAB-F1B5EE0F185A@mac.com> Just spotted at 9:21 AM a Tufted puffin on the water at Marina Beach in Edmonds. Most likely the same one seen yesterday. Joe Sweeney Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com Edmonds, WA From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 10:13:43 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Joe Sweeney via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 10:14:05 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Tufted puffin Marina Beach In-Reply-To: <9DC2DD54-F62F-4B1F-BAAB-F1B5EE0F185A@mac.com> References: <9DC2DD54-F62F-4B1F-BAAB-F1B5EE0F185A@mac.com> Message-ID: Lost sight of tufted puffin about 9:45 AM . since it was drifting north, Edmonds fishing pier might be a better place to search for it Joe Sweeney Edmonds Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com Sent from my iPhone > On Jul 27, 2026, at 9:28?AM, Joe Sweeney via Tweeters wrote: > > ?Just spotted at 9:21 AM a Tufted puffin on the water at Marina Beach in Edmonds. Most likely the same one seen yesterday. > > Joe Sweeney > Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com > Edmonds, WA > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 11:38:13 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Joe Sweeney via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 11:38:32 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Tufted puffin Marina Beach In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <24F461B7-1918-4117-A8ED-103B3EF7D426@mac.com> Pam Myers just reported on WhatsApp that the tufted puffin is being seen at Marina Beach at 11:32 AM Joe Sweeney Edmonds, Washington Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com Sent from my iPhone > On Jul 27, 2026, at 11:30?AM, Joe Sweeney wrote: > > ?Nancy, > I didn?t see the puffin again after 945, but if it?s still around, scanning the waters from the pier or from Marina Beach might be your best bet. It was out on the water far enough that it could be barely seen with binoculars, but seen quite well with a scope. > Good luck > Joe Sweeney > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Jul 27, 2026, at 11:25?AM, Nancy Tom wrote: >> >> ?Joe, i?m coming from Carnation. Is the toughen on the beach, or is it way out of sea in the water? >> Nancy Tom >> >>>> On Jul 27, 2026, at 10:14?AM, Joe Sweeney via Tweeters wrote: >>> >>> ?Lost sight of tufted puffin about 9:45 AM . since it was drifting north, Edmonds fishing pier might be a better place to search for it >>> >>> Joe Sweeney >>> Edmonds >>> Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>>>> On Jul 27, 2026, at 9:28?AM, Joe Sweeney via Tweeters wrote: >>>> >>>> ?Just spotted at 9:21 AM a Tufted puffin on the water at Marina Beach in Edmonds. Most likely the same one seen yesterday. >>>> >>>> Joe Sweeney >>>> Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com >>>> Edmonds, WA >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Tweeters mailing list >>>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Tweeters mailing list >>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 11:42:34 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Doug Santoni via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 11:42:49 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Guy Tudor Obituary (Repost) Message-ID: > Tweeters Members ? > One of our Tweeters members kindly posted a recent New York Times obituary for ornithologist and artist Guy Tudor over the weekend. For technical reasons involving our listserv (relating to UW I.T. security, ?scrubbing,? and HTML), that posting was not readable for our Digest subscribers. (It got ?scrubbed.?) > > Here?s a repost, which will hopefully enable our Digest users to see the article. > > https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/science/guy-tudor-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0lA.RXC8.DeAGgVCw8qC1&smid=url-share > > Doug Santoni > One of Your Tweeters Moderators > tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 11:49:39 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Elaine Chuang via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 11:49:43 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Guy McCaskie Message-ID: This last week, we lost two "guys" each of whom made major contributions to birding. You?ve just read about one, Guy Tudor. Many of you will know the name, Guy McCaskie, who passed away on July 22, aged 89. McCaskie was "a giant in the annals of American birding and field ornithology," per the lovely tribute written by Ted Floyd which you can read here: https://www.aba.org/guy-mccaskie/ Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at uw dot edu From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 12:23:39 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 12:23:53 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] (no subject) Message-ID: Re Merlins in greenwood Likely fledgling(s) begging. Dad will do aerial prey transfers with them. Courtship has passed and the female is likely close by - but ready to check out other nests soon, and not participating in feeding. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 12:59:57 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Harrell via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 13:00:37 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] (no subject) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: This year is the first time we've heard Merlins at our house (Phinney Ridge) and we hear them EVERY day. We know there's at least 4 since we've seen them all together. I assume the parents are the same ones I've read about on here that previously nested around the Greenwood Triangle. We have a double stacked suet feeder up at the corner of our yard that gets a lot of activity. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I were sitting outside watching it and there were flickers, a Steller's jay, house sparrows, and juncos either on it or waiting their turn and one of the merlins came through at high speed and broke up the party. It didn't catch anything but we got to see it's braking display right above our heads (wings and tail spread wide) as it slowed down to avoid other trees in our yard. Enriching :) -Jeff Phinney Ridge On Mon, Jul 27, 2026 at 12:25?PM Kersti Muul via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Re Merlins in greenwood > > > Likely fledgling(s) begging. Dad will do aerial prey transfers with them. > Courtship has passed and the female is likely close by - but ready to check > out other nests soon, and not participating in feeding. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 13:29:46 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 13:46:04 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Tufted puffin 7/27 1:15 PM Message-ID: 75 yards off shore, good views, no optics necessary!!. Shuffling N and S off Marina Beach. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 14:46:27 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nancy Tom via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 14:46:33 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Tufted puffin Marina Beach In-Reply-To: <24F461B7-1918-4117-A8ED-103B3EF7D426@mac.com> References: <24F461B7-1918-4117-A8ED-103B3EF7D426@mac.com> Message-ID: <93B34D18-029F-4779-B659-337BADFF9B58@gmail.com> I want to update this post and say that the bird is not at the beach. To me that implies that the bird is shredding up and down the beach and in this case, while I would love that to be true, it simply isn?t. The puffin is about 2/10 of a mile out to see. It is extremely difficult to see. And if you are just trying to check the box, it?s an opportunity, but really the bird is extremely difficult to identify even with a scope. Nancy Tom > On Jul 27, 2026, at 11:38?AM, Joe Sweeney wrote: > > ?Pam Myers just reported on WhatsApp that the tufted puffin is being seen at Marina Beach at 11:32 AM > Joe Sweeney > Edmonds, Washington > Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Jul 27, 2026, at 11:30?AM, Joe Sweeney wrote: >> >> ?Nancy, >> I didn?t see the puffin again after 945, but if it?s still around, scanning the waters from the pier or from Marina Beach might be your best bet. It was out on the water far enough that it could be barely seen with binoculars, but seen quite well with a scope. >> Good luck >> Joe Sweeney >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>>> On Jul 27, 2026, at 11:25?AM, Nancy Tom wrote: >>> >>> ?Joe, i?m coming from Carnation. Is the toughen on the beach, or is it way out of sea in the water? >>> Nancy Tom >>> >>>>> On Jul 27, 2026, at 10:14?AM, Joe Sweeney via Tweeters wrote: >>>> >>>> ?Lost sight of tufted puffin about 9:45 AM . since it was drifting north, Edmonds fishing pier might be a better place to search for it >>>> >>>> Joe Sweeney >>>> Edmonds >>>> Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com >>>> >>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>> >>>>>> On Jul 27, 2026, at 9:28?AM, Joe Sweeney via Tweeters wrote: >>>>> >>>>> ?Just spotted at 9:21 AM a Tufted puffin on the water at Marina Beach in Edmonds. Most likely the same one seen yesterday. >>>>> >>>>> Joe Sweeney >>>>> Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com >>>>> Edmonds, WA >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Tweeters mailing list >>>>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>>>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Tweeters mailing list >>>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >>>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 16:13:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Karen Fardal via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 16:13:56 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Merlins in Greenwood In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <801A7E9E-AF63-41CD-AFD0-236D3D65DDE9@gmail.com> Hi Steve, so fun that you saw some Merlins! At this time of year you may have seen two sibling fledglings since they are out of the nest and hanging out together as they learn to fly and hunt. If you have time, it?s nice to report any sightings to the Seattle Merlin Project so they can track the youngsters as they leave the nest area gradually. https://urbanraptor.org/research/seattle-merlin-project/ Regards, Karen Fardal (slightly obsessed with merlins) > On Jul 26, 2026, at 12:10?PM, Stephen Elston via Tweeters wrote: > > ? > Hi Tweets, > > For the past several evenings, there have been a pair of Merlins making their loud repetitive call from a tall evergreen in the Greenwood neighborhood. The male (more colorful of the pair) is ofen pearched near the top of the tree in the open calling. > > At times we see the pair flying around and doing aerial acrobatics, which I think is a courtship ritual. > > Happy birding, Steve > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 20:02:30 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Victoria Irwin via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 20:02:33 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] The two Guys In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <384875356.179261.1785207750301@connect.xfinity.com> I had read the obituary for Guy Tudor in the NYT, but did not yet know that Guy McCaskie was gone, too. Two very special guys, for sure. I got to work with Guy T. a bit when I lived in NYC and was active at both The Linnaean Society and at the former American Birds at National Audubon. I also got to meet and bird with Guy McC courtesy of National Audubon and ABA. My favorite experience with McCaskie was at Niagara Falls in the winter, looking at hundreds of gulls soaring over the falls at an ABA event. I was a pretty green birder, but his tutelage helped bring so much into focus so quickly, and gave me new ways of seeing and differentiating gulls. Both men were generous in their time and expertise. RIP Guys Victoria Irwin Bainbridge Island > On 07/27/2026 12:00 PM PDT 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. Merlins in Greenwood (Stephen Elston via Tweeters) > 2. The Birdbooker Report (Ian Paulsen via Tweeters) > 3. Tufted puffin Marina Beach (Joe Sweeney via Tweeters) > 4. Re: Tufted puffin Marina Beach (Joe Sweeney via Tweeters) > 5. Re: Tufted puffin Marina Beach (Joe Sweeney via Tweeters) > 6. Guy Tudor Obituary (Repost) (Doug Santoni via Tweeters) > 7. Guy McCaskie (Elaine Chuang via Tweeters) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:10:24 -0700 > From: Stephen Elston via Tweeters > To: "Tweeters (E-mail)" > Subject: [Tweeters] Merlins in Greenwood > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hi Tweets, > > For the past several evenings, there have been a pair of Merlins > making their loud repetitive call from a tall evergreen in the Greenwood > neighborhood. The male (more colorful of the pair) is ofen pearched near > the top of the tree in the open calling. > > At times we see the pair flying around and doing aerial acrobatics, which I > think is a courtship ritual. > > Happy birding, Steve > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sun, 26 Jul 2026 15:29:52 -0700 (PDT) > From: Ian Paulsen via Tweeters > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] The Birdbooker Report > Message-ID: <8ca182f-48fc-de7b-4fb6-37585f77bdcb@zipcon.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=US-ASCII > > HI ALL: > I posted about one bird and one non-bird book at my blog here: > > https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2026/07/new-titles.html > > sincerely > Ian Paulsen > Bainbridge Island, WA, USA > Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here: > https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/ > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:27:44 -0700 > From: Joe Sweeney via Tweeters > To: Tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] Tufted puffin Marina Beach > Message-ID: <9DC2DD54-F62F-4B1F-BAAB-F1B5EE0F185A@mac.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > Just spotted at 9:21 AM a Tufted puffin on the water at Marina Beach in Edmonds. Most likely the same one seen yesterday. > > Joe Sweeney > Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com > Edmonds, WA > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:13:43 -0700 > From: Joe Sweeney via Tweeters > To: Joe Sweeney > Cc: Tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Tufted puffin Marina Beach > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Lost sight of tufted puffin about 9:45 AM . since it was drifting north, Edmonds fishing pier might be a better place to search for it > > Joe Sweeney > Edmonds > Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Jul 27, 2026, at 9:28?AM, Joe Sweeney via Tweeters wrote: > > > > ?Just spotted at 9:21 AM a Tufted puffin on the water at Marina Beach in Edmonds. Most likely the same one seen yesterday. > > > > Joe Sweeney > > Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com > > Edmonds, WA > > _______________________________________________ > > Tweeters mailing list > > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2026 11:38:13 -0700 > From: Joe Sweeney via Tweeters > To: Nancy Tom , Tweeters > > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Tufted puffin Marina Beach > Message-ID: <24F461B7-1918-4117-A8ED-103B3EF7D426@mac.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Pam Myers just reported on WhatsApp that the tufted puffin is being seen at Marina Beach at 11:32 AM > Joe Sweeney > Edmonds, Washington > Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On Jul 27, 2026, at 11:30?AM, Joe Sweeney wrote: > > > > ?Nancy, > > I didn?t see the puffin again after 945, but if it?s still around, scanning the waters from the pier or from Marina Beach might be your best bet. It was out on the water far enough that it could be barely seen with binoculars, but seen quite well with a scope. > > Good luck > > Joe Sweeney > > Sent from my iPhone > > > >> On Jul 27, 2026, at 11:25?AM, Nancy Tom wrote: > >> > >> ?Joe, i?m coming from Carnation. Is the toughen on the beach, or is it way out of sea in the water? > >> Nancy Tom > >> > >>>> On Jul 27, 2026, at 10:14?AM, Joe Sweeney via Tweeters wrote: > >>> > >>> ?Lost sight of tufted puffin about 9:45 AM . since it was drifting north, Edmonds fishing pier might be a better place to search for it > >>> > >>> Joe Sweeney > >>> Edmonds > >>> Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com > >>> > >>> Sent from my iPhone > >>> > >>>>> On Jul 27, 2026, at 9:28?AM, Joe Sweeney via Tweeters wrote: > >>>> > >>>> ?Just spotted at 9:21 AM a Tufted puffin on the water at Marina Beach in Edmonds. Most likely the same one seen yesterday. > >>>> > >>>> Joe Sweeney > >>>> Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com > >>>> Edmonds, WA > >>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>> Tweeters mailing list > >>>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu > >>>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> Tweeters mailing list > >>> Tweeters@u.washington.edu > >>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2026 11:42:34 -0700 > From: Doug Santoni via Tweeters > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Cc: tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] Guy Tudor Obituary (Repost) > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > > > Tweeters Members ? > > One of our Tweeters members kindly posted a recent New York Times obituary for ornithologist and artist Guy Tudor over the weekend. For technical reasons involving our listserv (relating to UW I.T. security, ?scrubbing,? and HTML), that posting was not readable for our Digest subscribers. (It got ?scrubbed.?) > > > > Here?s a repost, which will hopefully enable our Digest users to see the article. > > > > https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/science/guy-tudor-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0lA.RXC8.DeAGgVCw8qC1&smid=url-share > > > > Doug Santoni > > One of Your Tweeters Moderators > > tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:49:39 +0000 > From: Elaine Chuang via Tweeters > To: "tweeters@u.washington.edu" > Subject: [Tweeters] Guy McCaskie > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > This last week, we lost two "guys" each of whom made major contributions to birding. You?ve just read about one, Guy Tudor. Many of you will know the name, Guy McCaskie, who passed away on July 22, aged 89. McCaskie was "a giant in the annals of American birding and field ornithology," per the lovely tribute written by Ted Floyd which you can read here: https://www.aba.org/guy-mccaskie/ > Elaine Chuang > Seattle > elc at uw dot edu > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 263, Issue 25 > ***************************************** From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 22:13:02 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Rob Faucett via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 22:13:22 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Guy Tudor Obituary (Repost) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2C25C5FB-35FF-449C-9E23-2EA1AF381BAB@mac.com> Please mind the fact that the cover has John Gwynn?s art work and ?Colombia? is spelled with an ?o.? My how far we?ve fallen. Best wishes to all. rcf ? Rob Faucett +1(206) 619-5569 robfaucett@mac.com Seattle, WA 98105 > On Jul 27, 2026, at 8:43?PM, Doug Santoni via Tweeters wrote: > > ? >> Tweeters Members ? >> One of our Tweeters members kindly posted a recent New York Times obituary for ornithologist and artist Guy Tudor over the weekend. For technical reasons involving our listserv (relating to UW I.T. security, ?scrubbing,? and HTML), that posting was not readable for our Digest subscribers. (It got ?scrubbed.?) >> >> Here?s a repost, which will hopefully enable our Digest users to see the article. >> >> https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/science/guy-tudor-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0lA.RXC8.DeAGgVCw8qC1&smid=url-share >> >> Doug Santoni >> One of Your Tweeters Moderators >> tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 22:33:00 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kathy Kaplan via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 22:33:13 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Australia tips Message-ID: Hello! I'm hoping to take my bucket list trip to Australia (and New Zealand) this winter. I want to snorkel in the great barrier reef and see quokka and koala and more... And I want to bird. A lot. I looked in the archive but didn't see specifics of what I'm looking for, so figured I'd post for the first time. I know it's the rainy and hot season and fires are also standard are now, but I'm limited to when I go due to work. It will likely be mid January, but maybe mid December or mid February could be options. After about a week in New Zealand looking for hobbits, I will have about 1.5-2 weeks in Australia with at least 1 day snorkeling and some days looking for mammals. I'm open to single day or multi day bird trips while I'm there. 1. Does anyone have strong tips on birding locations, guides, trips, itinerary suggestions, etc to recommend based on my limitations above? 2. I'm also curious if anyone has strong opinions if my best time to go in mid January is way worse than mid December or mid February if I can swing either of those, and why? 3. Also open to New Zealand single day guides or hotspot recs near Hobbiton/Rotura/Auckland? Thanks so much for any tips and tricks! Happy birding! Kathy Kaplan :) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jul 27 23:31:04 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Lee Jaszlics via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jul 27 23:31:18 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Australia tips In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I love birding Australia and I go back as often as I can. I lived in Sydney and rural Queensland, but most of my birding trips have actually been in Western Australia, which is my favorite state. With two weeks, you will likely not be able to get both koalas and quokkas, as those live on opposite coasts, and I would recommend sticking to one side of the continent. If the GBR is a priority for you, the East coast is probably better (although Ningaloo Reef in WA also offers excellent snorkel opportunities). The East coast also offers some wonderful iconic Aussie birds like lyrebirds and kookaburras that are not native in the West. December will be less brutally hot than February, so I would err that way if you can. Wildfire is unfortunately always a risk in the Australian summer. Do you have any specific target birds? Any mammals that you definitely want to see? From what you've said, my tentative recommendation would be to fly into Sydney or Melbourne, spend some time in and around that area, before going North to spend time around the Great Barrier Reef. While you will be there in the middle of the wet season, there are some really excellent bird guides based out of Cairns who can organize trips into the Daintree Rainforest and Atherton Tablelands. While you are on the North Island of New Zealand, take the time to go to Tiritiri Matangi. New Zealand has a large number of predator-free sanctuaries for native birds; this one was definitely my favorite when I went. If you can get onto a pelagic trip while you're in New Zealand, the seabirding is exceptional. (Also, while not strictly bird-related, the glowworm caves at Waitomo are close to the Hobbitton sets, and are well worth your time.) I'm happy to offer more specific advice on localities, potential target bird and mammal species, etc. either over the listserv or email. I've been birding around Western Australia (along the coast from Shark Bay to Albany, and in Exmouth and Broome), NSW, Canberra and the ACT, around Brisbane, Kakadu and Uluru and in Far North Queensland. Lee J. On Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 22:33 Kathy Kaplan via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hello! > I'm hoping to take my bucket list trip to Australia (and New Zealand) this > winter. I want to snorkel in the great barrier reef and see quokka and > koala and more... And I want to bird. A lot. I looked in the archive but > didn't see specifics of what I'm looking for, so figured I'd post for the > first time. > > I know it's the rainy and hot season and fires are also standard are now, > but I'm limited to when I go due to work. It will likely be mid January, > but maybe mid December or mid February could be options. After about a week > in New Zealand looking for hobbits, I will have about 1.5-2 weeks in > Australia with at least 1 day snorkeling and some days looking for mammals. > I'm open to single day or multi day bird trips while I'm there. > > 1. Does anyone have strong tips on birding locations, guides, trips, > itinerary suggestions, etc to recommend based on my limitations above? > 2. I'm also curious if anyone has strong opinions if my best time to go in > mid January is way worse than mid December or mid February if I can swing > either of those, and why? > 3. Also open to New Zealand single day guides or hotspot recs near > Hobbiton/Rotura/Auckland? > > Thanks so much for any tips and tricks! > Happy birding! > > Kathy Kaplan > :) > _______________________________________________ > 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 Tue Jul 28 07:55:26 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Elaine Chuang via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 28 07:55:32 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Guy Tudor Obituary ... spelling References: <2C25C5FB-35FF-449C-9E23-2EA1AF381BAB@mac.com> Message-ID: Hi Rob. Just can't let this pass into eternal record, since the use of an O (? as in "A Guide to the Birds of Colombia" 1986, by Steven L. Hilty and William L. Brown) not a U is absolutely correct for this country in South America. Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at uw dot edu From: Rob Faucett Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Guy Tudor Obituary (Repost) Date: July 27, 2026 at 10:13:02?PM PDT To: Doug Santoni Cc: , Please mind the fact that the cover has John Gwynn's art work and "Colombia" is spelled with an "o." My how far we've fallen. Best wishes to all. Rob Faucett From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 28 10:25:23 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Karl Neice via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 28 10:25:40 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Merlins in Greenwood Message-ID: <3E64B506-22B0-4856-89DE-46C16D980568@icloud.com> I?ve heard the merlins and Merlin heard the merlins in Greenwood. My take is that it?s a new family. I?m near 77th and Greenwood Ave. From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 28 11:01:33 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kevin Black via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 28 11:02:02 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Any Recent Sightings of TESA Message-ID: Hi All, Has anyone seen the Terek Sandpiper at Stanwood STP or elsewhere since the evening of 7/25 (which is the last sighting in ebird)? Cheers, Kevin Black Vancouver, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 28 12:23:27 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 28 12:23:43 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Re Tufted puffin Message-ID: I, as well as my colleagues watched the puffin yesterday for about 30 minutes on a break from work. It was very close in for a while before diving and popping up about a half mile south of Marina beach around 1:50 PM. We found it with binoculars within 2 minutes upon arriving at the beach. It shuffled south, then north, then back south when it came close in. Less than 75 yards and easily identifiable. There were a lot of boats zipping by and the waves were hiding it at times. I went back later and found a drone searching for it, low over the water. Flushed and harassed all the gulls in the area while they were at it. Disappointing to witness. Puffin flew out of view in the evening. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 28 15:39:05 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nick Bayard via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 28 15:39:19 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] BirdNote Event in Jackson Hole on 10/1 Message-ID: Hello all, Please join BirdNote in Jackson Hole on October 1 for a special event at the Jackson Hole Performing Arts Center! Our Content Director, Jonese Franklin, will be moderating a discussion with Christian Cooper and Jennifer Ackerman. VIP tickets include a catered meet and greet and signed books. Early bird tickets are now available here: https://www.jhcenterforthearts.org/event/on-the-air-and-in-the-air/ All proceeds benefit BirdNote and our Jackson Hole public radio partner, KHOL-FM. Join us if you can! Best, Nick BirdNote Executive Director -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 28 17:00:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Martha Jordan via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 28 17:01:10 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Egregious posting to eBird Message-ID: Getting out to bird is awesome. Posting something to eBird can be great and inform others of great finds. And then....there are those who are unaware of reality, do not take into context their surroundings, or bother to know what is or is not living at the zoo you are visiting. Such is the recent post on eBird Rare Bird Alert for Pierce County. A Trumpeter Swan was reported at the lake on the grounds of Northwest Trek Zoological Park. The poster says: it was on the lake and open to the sky (meaning no cage or confinement). Thus, they concluded it must be wild, free flying and happened to land at the zoo in the middle of summer. Awareness of the situation was clearly not happening here. As many of you are aware, NW Trek does have a captive Trumpeter Swan, female. A single bird who has been with them for many, many years. She is pinioned. NWT is not going to get her a mate as they do not want cygnets and there is no guarantee that she would accept another female as a friend. Thus, a solo and she is doing quite well. Keep looking out there, you never know what you will find....just bird with awareness as the vast majority of people do and enjoy the summer that is left to us. Martha Jordan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 28 18:01:59 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 28 18:02:23 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Sunday Seattle times obituary, David Johnson, famous Owl researcher Message-ID: <639A5404-2EA8-43B9-B906-954A5E7520B2@gmail.com> Another sad announcement: Sunday Seattle times obituary, David Johnson, famous Owl researcher. Really nice photo of him holding many young Burrowing owls. The photo really captures how much he loved working with owls. Very touching. Dan Reiff, PhD Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jul 28 21:56:46 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Rob Faucett via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jul 28 21:57:05 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Guy Tudor Obituary ... spelling In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1277F516-D2F8-4B90-AB82-3DDCF5AE7E78@mac.com> Yeah. In the original online version the NYT spelled the name of the country with a ?u.? That was my entire point. ? Rob Faucett +1(206) 619-5569 robfaucett@mac.com Seattle, WA 98105 > On Jul 28, 2026, at 4:55?PM, Elaine Chuang via Tweeters wrote: > > ?Hi Rob. Just can't let this pass into eternal record, since the use of an O (? as in "A Guide to the Birds of Colombia" 1986, by Steven L. Hilty and William L. Brown) not a U is absolutely correct for this country in South America. > Elaine Chuang > Seattle > elc at uw dot edu > > > From: Rob Faucett > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Guy Tudor Obituary (Repost) > Date: July 27, 2026 at 10:13:02?PM PDT > To: Doug Santoni > Cc: , > > Please mind the fact that the cover has John Gwynn's art work and "Colombia" is spelled with an "o." My how far we've fallen. > > Best wishes to all. > > Rob Faucett > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 29 08:44:12 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Joe Sweeney via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 29 08:44:32 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Tufted puffin at Marina Beach Message-ID: Presently at 8:40 AM tufted puffin is about a quarter mile offshore from Marina Beach. Good looks with a scope. Joe Sweeney Edmonds, Washington Sweeneyfit at Mac dot com Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 29 15:25:33 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kim Thorburn via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 29 15:25:39 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Shorebirds in the Columbia Basin Message-ID: Hi Tweets, I'm collecting observations of shorebirds in the Columbia Basin shrubsteppe. We don't have the large salt lakes (prehistoric Lake Lahontan residua) of the Great Basin with their high numbers of birds but I'm observing interesting phenomena. Most of my efforts are at Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area (state land) in Lincoln County. Swanson Lake is a shallow saline lake that is available for spring migration. In dry years like this one, it is dry by the end of June, so often not a site of fall migration. There are other ponds and some wetlands that are usually year-round. Most of the water bodies are stressed by our years of drought, especially the lack of snow which is needed for groundwater recharge. Nonetheless, there's still some water and mud that the birds find. The ponds and lakes don't have a lot of vegetation cover, shoreline sedges and other graminoids. The wetlands have cattails and bulrush but are also usually choked with reed canary grass. Here are some observations: 1. Dunlin arrive at Swanson Lake in early March and stay until early May while they undergo molt from basic to alternate (breeding). This year there were at least 30. When they're not feeding, they take cover in the shoreline rocks where they are very cryptic. 2. On June 18, 2026, I counted 20-25 greater yellowlegs feeding in a year-round pond. They were all adults still in breeding plumage. On June 30, I saw only 1 greater yellowlegs at the same pond. On July 26, I saw about 20 greater yellowlegs feeding in the pond. They were all juveniles. 3. The peeps seem unpredictable and are more abundant in either season when there's lots of mud. Least sandpipers tend to be the most abundant. 4. Six long-billed dowitcher were present on July 26. If there's water, I usually see them in early August. 5. I documented Wilson's phalarope breeding at the year-round pond. I saw only one pair and they seemed to both participate in brooding. I have not been able to locate the nest and confirmed only one chick on July 28. On June 18, the female faked broken wing, then mobbed me while the male was in the pond feeding. On June 30, both the male and female mobbed me, starting where the female performed broken wing, until I left the pond. I caught a quick glimpse of one chick before it disappeared in the shoreline vegetation. On July 28, I saw two phalarope, an adult male and a juvenile. They were feeding independently. 6. American avocet and black-necked stilt are abundant in the spring but seem to disperse in May or early June in these drier years. American avocet numbers seem to be declining. 7. Wilson's snipe are common in the wetlands and their numbers seem stable, as do spotted sandpiper numbers. Killdeer also seem fine. 8. I sight long-billed curlew more often in ag fields than shrubsteppe. Their numbers seem to be declining. 9. Other species-black-bellied plover, semi-palmated plover, lesser yellowlegs, pectoral sandpiper, Baird's sandpiper, semi-palmated sandpiper-are sporadic and most common in the spring. I believe the Columbia Basin shrubsteppe is important breeding and migratory habitat for this highly vulnerable family of birds. Kim Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH Spokane, WA (509) 465-3025 home (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jul 29 15:53:09 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Carol Riddell via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 29 15:53:24 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup - June 2026 Message-ID: <56ED045D-CBC4-45AA-B823-AAF2F24D37FF@gmail.com> Hi Tweeters, We ended June with 177 species for our Edmonds year list. (We ended May with 172 species but my May Roundup incorrectly noted only 170.) The new species in taxonomic order are: Blue-winged Teal (code 3), 1 male at Edmonds marsh (ID photos), 6-6-26 and continuing through 6-15-26. Wilson?s Phalarope (code 4), 1 at Edmonds marsh (ID photos), 6-14-26 and continuing through 6-21-26. Tufted Puffin (code 5), 1 at Edmonds waterfront (critical field marks described), 6-16-2026. Horned Puffin (code 5), 1 at Edmonds waterfront (critical field marks described), 6-1-26. Franklin?s Gull (code 4), 2 at Edmonds waterfront (ID photos), 6-14-26. Other birds of interest: One Chipping Sparrow (code 4), in gorgeous alternate plumage (ID photos), showed up at a residential feeding station 6-30-26. No Turkey Vultures (code 3) were seen in Edmonds during June. Declined for lack of any documentation: Northern Harrier (code 3); Red-eyed Vireo (code 5). By way of explanation, we start additions to our year list based on birders letting me know about sightings. We then review eBird reports to see if we can add further species based on information included in checklists. With rarer birds, code 3 or rarer, we look for something more than a checklist tick. Those of us who use eBird know that we occasionally make data entry errors, so those have to be ruled out for our purposes. We then look for evidence such as a description of critical field marks, photos, or recordings. If none of those is included, we then decline to add the species at this time. This has no effect on an eBirder?s personal records. As always, I appreciate it when birders get in touch with me to share sightings, photos, or recordings. It helps us build our collective year list. If you would like a copy of our 2026 Edmonds city checklist, please request it from this email address: checklistedmonds at gmail dot com. The 2026 checklist, with June sightings on it, is in the bird information box at the Olympic Beach Visitor Station at the base of the public pier. 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 Wed Jul 29 17:44:20 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (kim.mccormick@comcast.net via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jul 29 17:44:33 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Merlins in Greenwood (and elsewhere!) Message-ID: As mentioned by Kersti and Karen, this is the time of the breeding season when young Merlins are venturing outside of the immediate vicinity of their nest tree, which is why folks are suddenly noticing them in various neighborhoods. There were several nests in North Seattle this season. I've been personally obsessed with merlins for over 20 years now. In 2013, I teamed up with Ben Vang-Johnson to launch the Seattle Merlin Project. Our project goals include investigating nest site density, pair fidelity, juvenile dispersal patterns, and documenting annual movements of individual Merlins. If you were lucky enough to find a merlin nest this season in the greater Seattle area, including the Eastside, we would love to hear about it! If you spot a Merlin ANYWHERE, at any time of year, please try to check for leg bands. Merlins banded for our study will have a color band (red or blue) with a two-letter code on one leg (right for males, left for females). The opposite leg will have a silver Federal band. You can contact us through the online reporting form on our webpage (Seattle Merlin Project | Urban Raptor Conservancy). Thank you so much! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 30 12:27:27 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Brian Zinke via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 30 12:27:43 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Swifts Night Out in Monroe - Sept 12 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Pilchuck Audubon Society invites you to our annual *Swifts Night Out *, a free community celebration of one of the Pacific Northwest's great wildlife spectacles: Vaux's Swifts swirling into their chimney roost at dusk. *When:* Saturday, September 12 from 4:30pm till dusk (about 7:45pm) *Where:* Wagner Performing Arts Center (639 West Main Street, Monroe, WA 98272 ) *Cost:* Free and open to all ages Bring a blanket or lawn chair and settle in as the swifts begin their aerial ballet overhead before pouring into the chimney to roost for the night. Volunteers from Pilchuck Audubon will be on hand to answer questions, share information about the swifts, and help you spot the birds as they arrive. This event is part of our Vaux's Happening project, a west coast-wide effort to monitor Vaux's Swift roost sites and track their populations from Mexico to Canada. We'll also have some wildlife-themed vendor booths and a food truck on site. Hope to see you there! 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 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jul 30 14:24:18 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 30 14:24:35 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-07-30 Message-ID: Tweets - Today was a gem. Clear and haze-free skies made for great viewing. Absolutely not a breath of wind for almost the whole morning, which mean that any twitch of a leaf meant a bird. And THE END OF THE SUMMER DOLDRUMS; we had definite cases of post-breeding dispersal and fall migration! Temps ran the full range of the 50s and 60s; rather cool to start, but always manageable. And a lovely full moon, setting at sunrise. Highlights: Common Merganser - Four juveniles at the weir. The end of July is typically the least likely time to see COME at Marymoor, so nice to see them Rufous Hummingbird - Two at the NW corner of the Pea Patch where they are growing flowers to provide a beautiful treat for people getting food at the food banks LESSER YELLOWLEGS - One seen briefly from the Lake Platform before it flew around the corner. Only our seventh record of this species ever. First of Year (FOY) Merlin - A couple of views; now seen on five of the last seven surveys Western Wood-Pewee - Notably higher number seen/heard today than in recent weeks Purple Finch - Also notably higher numbers, though with the PUFI it is probably because they are feeding on Oregon Ash seeds on the trees Bullock's Oriole - Two, presumed juveniles. First in seven weeks. Wilson's Warbler - One adult male seen, another heard. First of Fall (FOF) Western Tanager - One heard calling (FOF) Lazuli Bunting - Two juveniles seen (or one twice, I suppose). We've only seen them later in the year six times, so these may be our last sightings The Bullock's Orioles probably count as both First of Fall and Last of Fall - We've only ever had one sighting later in the year, on 2008-08-02. We had tantalizing Possibly-Heard for both Evening Grosbeak and Orange-crowned Warbler. The EVGR would have been First of Year. Misses today include Band-tailed Pigeon, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Pied-billed Grebe, Red-tailed Hawk, Steller's Jay (may have heard one), and Violet-green Swallow. For the day, 56 species. For the year, adding Lesser Yellowlegs, I believe we're at 115 species for the survey in 2026. = 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 Jul 30 15:09:43 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Matt Bartels via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 30 15:09:58 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] County Year List Project at the half-way point for 2026 Message-ID: <1D98B214-535B-4962-811B-3DDA96523DFE@earthlink.net> Hi Tweeters and Inland NW Birders - It is a little late coming, but an updated version of the 2026 County Year List Project is up and available at Washington Birder. Almost all 39 counties sent in updates of the year list at the mid-way point [through the end of June]. Thanks, compilers for all your work, and thanks everyone who has contributed. The mid-year check-in as a relatively stable time of year to compare across years ? The end of June found us mostly done with spring migration, and still ahead of fall migration (except for some shorebirds). Overall, it looks like this year is shaping up to be a bit better than usual when it comes to county year lists. Here?s how things look compared with recent years: We?ve tallied 371 species statewide as of the mid-way point in 2026. That?s seven higher than our total at this point in 2025, and about six above our mid-year average total at this point [364.5]. In Western WA, our 329 total is exactly the same as last year?s at this point. That?s right in line with our average [329.0] of the past 15 years. In Eastern WA, our 308 species tallied is four higher than last year at this point, tied for our highest mid-year total [tied w/ 2024 and 2013] and well above our usual EWA average. 18 counties are higher than they were at this point last year, 21 are lower. 31 Counties have a total within 10 species of the check-in at this point last year, a sign of the continued consistency of this effort. King [258], Grays Harbor [252] and Walla Walla [250] are in the lead with the highest county totals. Looking at top counties based on the percentage of their overall life list that has been found so far this year, the top five counties are all in Eastern WA: Klickitat [75%, 237], Yakima [73.3%, 242], Okanogan [72.9%, 239], Asotin [71.7%, 215], and Walla Walla [70.8%, 250]. 62 species have been seen in all 39 counties and 153 species have been found in 30 or more counties ? that?s our core of wide-spread regulars. 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/index.html A direct link to the 2026 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 Thu Jul 30 19:49:45 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kenneth Brown via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jul 30 19:49:49 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday at Nisqually. Message-ID: <2125693461.28713.1785466185872@connect.xfinity.com> Can't complain about the weather, about as good as it gets in late July, overcast and cool to start. At first a small group of birders but more continued to trickle in until we were about 3 dozen. Duck weed covered most of the pond, disturbed only by a pair of young male Wood Ducks, their "chin straps" beginning to show, and a couple of Mallards in female plumage. The mud gourd of the Cliff Swallow nest over the Gift Shop window held a couple of recent hatchlings, are they the third brood in that nest this year? We couldn't tell if the Barn Swallow nest tucked under the peak of the walkway shelter had new occupants, but both species swerved over and around us, under the roof. It was quiet, over the sound of freeway traffic, not a lot of bird song as we walked the south parking lot. The Refuge had hired a contractor to take down two giant hazardous Cottonwood trees joined at the base near the east side of the lot, but you had to intentionally look to notice the change. They left snags 20-25 feet tall a few feet in from the woods edge. From the parking lot the woods seemed undisturbed. A few Chickadees and a couple Robins were foraging in the trees. In the orchard a Cooper's Hawk perched with it's back to us on a dead branch of a pear tree until it left, either to escape from, or in pursuit of a Band-tailed Pigeon that had attempted to drive it away. When we reached the other side of the orchard the Hawk was perched atop another fruit tree, facing us this time, showing the streaked breast of a juvenile bird. The sun was beginning to peak through the clouds as we walked the service road. Birders with good ears reported hearing Red Crossbills, unseen, in flight overhead. Barn Swallows were the dominant species swooping over the fields west of the road with a few Tree Swallows and an occasional Violet-green Swallow. Some one shouted "Bittern" and we looked up to see a large bird flying away from us that became a Green Heron. The southern section of the west side of the loop trail boardwalk was chained and closed to access so we continued up the service road. Flocks of Starlings could be seen, a few Red-winged Blackbirds dotted the grassy fields, a Song Sparrow hopped along the road edge. We turned to the access road to the northern section of west side of the boardwalk loop trail and could see the source of the hammering we had been hearing. The Washington Conservation Corps crew, hard at work, rebuilding a section of the boardwalk. On the loop trail we found Northern Yellow Warblers, Wilson's Warblers, American Goldfinch, A Willow Flycatcher and Western Wood Peewees, more Chickadees, Spotted Towhees and a Purple Finch. Looking out at the field from the Twin Barnes overlook, Cliff Swallows joined the arial acrobatics of the Barn Swallows and a single Bank Swallow. A couple Savanah Sparrows sat on top of a birdhouse mounted on a severely leaning post. Three young Bald Eagles spiraled in a thermal to the northeast. The clouds were gone by the time we reached the dike, as was half of our number. The birds were few and far between. A minus tide exposed an expanse of mud to the north, a few distant gulls were white dots on the broad brown mud flat. Tim reported a River Otter that quickly crossed the dike from north to south. To the south in the fresh water marsh, a Virginia Rail answered a call. A single Marsh Wren popped up from the reeds, flew 30 feet and dropped out of sight again. More Starlings decorated the bushy snags on both sides of the dike. While it was sunny, it was not particularly hot and a refreshing breeze blew out of the southwest. McAllister Creek was a slender version of itself bordered by muddy banks. A few Ring-billed Gulls and California Gulls were scattered across the mud. A couple of Greater Yellowlegs stalked the shore and an occasional lump, the top of a Harbor Seal's head, appeared as the only thing in the water. Across the creek, two young Bald Eagles still occupied their natal nest. They seem hesitant to leave. At the mouth of the creek, a couple dozen Canada Geese and a half dozen Greater Yellow legs populated the exposed delta islands. In front of Luhr Beach, Purple Martins could still be seen at their white gourd houses. A couple dozen Great Blue Herons lurked in the channels exposed by the receded water. A few Double-crested Cormorants hung around and Brandt's Cormorants sat on the channel marker. Three White Pelicans danced in the heat shimmer near the mouth of the Nisqually River. Back to the dike and then to the river overlook. The tide still low, the river looked inviting in the bright sunlight, blue-green and sparkling clear running water, but no birds. When we turned south things improved. Several Western Wood Peewees, young and adults showed up, a few Brown Creepers foraged in moss covered branches. Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees also put in an appearance. We checked known nests of American Goldfinch and Bushtits along the riparian spur but found no activity. Then back to the Visitor's Center for the final tally. We are firmly in the grip of the Summer Doldrums, both our species count and number of individuals down. The Checklist follows: Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Olympia US-WA 47.07225, -122.71205, Thurston, Washington, US Jul 29, 2026 7:45?AM - 2:46?PM Protocol: Traveling 3.123 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Today?s Wednesday Walk; a paean to the Summer Doldrums. We had a marine layer of clouds and 55? F at the beginning of the walk, with the clouds burning off around 11:00 .a.m., with the temperatures rising to about 78? F with a 5-8 knot westerly breeze. High 9.97-foot high tide at 5:07 a.m. ebbed toward a -1.38-foot low water at 12:18 p.m. Other species seen included Eastern Cottontail, Pacific chorus frog, river otter, Townsend?s Chipmunk, Muskrat, Harbor Seal, American Bullfrog, Red-legged frog, and Western Swallow-tailed Butterfly. 59 species (+3 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 59 Wood Duck 3 Mallard 48 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 12 Band-tailed Pigeon 7 Mourning Dove 4 Anna's Hummingbird 2 Rufous Hummingbird 2 Virginia Rail 1 Killdeer 1 Greater Yellowlegs 12 Short-billed Gull 1 Ring-billed Gull 115 California Gull 40 Glaucous-winged Gull 1 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 5 Larus sp. 525 Counted by 10x Brandt's Cormorant 3 Nisqually Reach channel marker Double-crested Cormorant 8 American Bittern 1 Green Heron 1 Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 27 American White Pelican 3 Large white birds with orange beaks at the mouth of the river. Cooper's Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 29 Large eaglets still in the McAllister Creek nest. Belted Kingfisher 4 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 3 Western Wood-Pewee 13 Willow Flycatcher 1 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 1 Western Warbling Vireo 1 Steller's Jay (Coastal) 2 American Crow 9 Common Raven 1 Black-capped Chickadee 12 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4 Bank Swallow 1 Counted 1x1 Tree Swallow 14 Violet-green Swallow 2 Purple Martin 6 Barn Swallow 50 Cliff Swallow 12 Bushtit (Pacific) 2 Brown Creeper 7 Marsh Wren 1 Bewick's Wren 4 European Starling 165 Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 12 American Robin 10 Cedar Waxwing 20 Purple Finch (Western) 1 Red Crossbill 8 American Goldfinch 22 Savannah Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 11 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4 Red-winged Blackbird 35 Brown-headed Cowbird 3 Northern Yellow Warbler 16 Wilson's Warbler 5 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S377876070 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jul 31 07:17:59 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (JACK NOLAN via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jul 31 07:18:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fun game References: <3D1B98F0-784E-4DAB-AE41-DC6A82D2A965.ref@comcast.net> Message-ID: <3D1B98F0-784E-4DAB-AE41-DC6A82D2A965@comcast.net> I?m probably late to the party but I?ve been enjoying this game: Birdiegame.net Jack Nolan Shoreline,WA. Sent from my iPhone. Pardon my brevity and typos.