From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 1 06:54:36 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Danzenbaker via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 1 06:54:50 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Merlin and their prey In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: All, Just catching up on tweeters threads. A lasting memory I have of Merlins in action is watching one catch an aerial Vaux's Swift in a swift flock north of the Golden Gate bridge in California. Soon after, two detached wings descended like leaves.from the sky. Nothing like a to-go lunch! Merlin - has been and always will be my favorite "raptor"! Jim Danzenbaker Battle Ground, WA On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 11:18?PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Down here it's been Cooper's Hawks (among others) which simply sit on the > Chimney. This has resulted in the relocation from the long, historic > Chapman School Chimney, to spread out across the PDX metropolitan area > Maybe just as well, not to be so concentrated. > > And as to Merlins and Starlings, our family once spent a weekend in an > Ilwaco house loaned by a friend. Saturday morning, as we were heading down > to the beach, I stepped out the front door, only to have a passing Merlin > swerve upward, away from its neighborhood cruise, dropping at the exact > moment, a decreased Starling, right at my feet. We placed the Starling on > the railing, but upon returning, it was still there. I guess there were > plenty more out there. > > Bob OBrien Portland > (please appreciate this was an actual observation of two *Washington* > Birds! > > On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 12:19?PM Diane Yorgason-Quinn < > avosetta@hotmail.com> wrote: > >> Here's my story of Merlins: >> >> I count Vaux's Swifts at migration roosts (chimneys). Several years ago, >> swifts were circling a chimney I was observing when a Merlin flew in and >> grabbed it. This is particularly interesting because swifts are swift, and >> falcons are really the only aerial flyers who can hope to grab one. >> Anyway, this Merlin proceeded to bring the swift over to a low rooftop >> right in front of our team and had a meal. Gruesomely fascinating. >> >> The bad news is that when Merlins tell their friends, there will be so >> many of them out hunting swifts at a particular chimney, that the swifts, >> being intelligent, will search for new roosts and abandon what was really a >> great chimney. This has happened to several chimneys in the northwest. >> >> Diane Yorgason-Quinn >> Gig Harbor, WA >> avosetta@hotmail.com >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Tweeters on behalf >> of Robert O'Brien via Tweeters >> *Sent:* Monday, May 18, 2026 11:58 AM >> *To:* tweeters >> *Subject:* [Tweeters] Merlin and their prey >> >> I've had a few very interesting observations in many years (decades) of >> birding. >> >> 1. I was birding the formerly-famous BayOcean flats on Tillamook Bay, >> long ago. There was the usual large 'peep' flock of mostly Western >> Sandpipers,; a Merlin came in, up high, flushing the flock. The Merlin >> casually circled and disappeared; the peep landed and resumed feeding. >> 5-10 minutes later I spotted the Merlin, far off, flying with its usual >> speed, about 12 inches above the mudflats. It soon was in the midst of the >> flock, snatched a 'piper, and again disappeared. The flock, minus one, >> landed and continued feeding. >> >> 2. Birding Sauvies Island, there was a large flock of Bushtits in the >> top of a huge Oregon Oak. A distant Merlin appeared, apparently just >> passing through, flew into the top of the oak, plucking a Bushtit (sorta' >> like a grape) as an orderve, all in one motion. >> >> 3. Once in Happy Valley up on the upper reaches of the city, I noticed a >> pair of distant birds coming towards me at about 100'. As they got closer >> I realized the lead bird was a Mourning Dove and the following bird, you >> guessed it. Down the bill from me was a very large pine tree, into which >> the dove disappeared. The Merlin soon arrived and started circling the >> pine, looking for an opening. After a few transits, with the Merlin on the >> opposite side, the dove decided to flee and took off in the original >> direction, the Merlin right behind. They were soon far above the ground >> which dropped away into the valley, maybe 1000' .And so the pair >> disappeared, just as they had appeared, into the distance.. Both are very >> strong fliers, and their ultimate ending remains unknown. A test of >> endurance, rather than speed, to which they appeared as equals. >> >> Bob OBrien Portland >> >> _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- Jim Danzenbaker Battle Ground, WA 360-702-9395 jdanzenbaker@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 1 14:21:13 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (sethleopold@mac.com via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 1 14:21:19 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Four ravens in Bridle Trails State Park Message-ID: To my birdy friends at Tweeters, ?Long time listener, first time caller?, as we used to say on the radio. I enjoy learning from this group as I?m not the most sophisticated birder around by any definition, but I enjoy trying. I?d had the understanding that there was a single mating pair of ravens in Bridle Trails State Park, and in all the years I?ve lived here, I?ve relatively seldom seen them. In the last couple weeks, my wife and I have seen four of them together. Were we incorrect in our understanding that there?d only been a pair, and/or have others seen what seem to us like ?new? birds there? If this is a silly question, please don?t post it. Thanks so much! Warmest regards, 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 Mon Jun 1 14:38:41 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 1 14:39:05 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Four ravens in Bridle Trails State Park In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <57A29887-A7DC-466C-B78E-5A331A3D437E@gmail.com> Hello Seth, Very likely that they are fledglings. Here in Mercer Island, the four young launched three weeks ago. The parents will continue to take care of them. All questions are great questions on Tweeters. I have learned so much from the Tweeters community over the years. Dan Reiff MI Sent from my iPhone > On Jun 1, 2026, at 2:21?PM, sethleopold@mac.com via Tweeters wrote: > > ? > To my birdy friends at Tweeters, > > ?Long time listener, first time caller?, as we used to say on the radio. I enjoy learning from this group as I?m not the most sophisticated birder around by any definition, but I enjoy trying. > > I?d had the understanding that there was a single mating pair of ravens in Bridle Trails State Park, and in all the years I?ve lived here, I?ve relatively seldom seen them. In the last couple weeks, my wife and I have seen four of them together. > > Were we incorrect in our understanding that there?d only been a pair, and/or have others seen what seem to us like ?new? birds there? > > If this is a silly question, please don?t post it. > > Thanks so much! > > Warmest regards, > > 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. > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 1 16:23:15 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Hilary Barnes via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 1 16:23:47 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] confirm 038708b47d5b32ea0be5dadbdf2fe342339422fc Message-ID: <43e0aa2a-95b0-326c-1e17-4d7fef863087@earthlink.net> Hilary Barnes habarnes@earthlink.net 206-331-6058 cell -----Original Message----- From: via Tweeters Sent: Jun 1, 2026 4:22 PM To: Subject: confirm 038708b47d5b32ea0be5dadbdf2fe342339422fc Mailing list removal confirmation notice for mailing list Tweeters We have received a request from 24.16.42.200 for the removal of your email address, "habarnes@earthlink.net" from the tweeters@u.washington.edu mailing list. To confirm that you want to be removed from this mailing list, simply reply to this message, keeping the Subject: header intact. Or visit this web page: http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/confirm/tweeters/038708b47d5b32ea0be5dadbdf2fe342339422fc Or include the following line -- and only the following line -- in a message to tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu: confirm 038708b47d5b32ea0be5dadbdf2fe342339422fc Note that simply sending a `reply' to this message should work from most mail readers, since that usually leaves the Subject: line in the right form (additional "Re:" text in the Subject: is okay). If you do not wish to be removed from this list, please simply disregard this message. If you think you are being maliciously removed from the list, or have any other questions, send them to tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu. From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 2 09:36:44 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Brian Zinke via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 2 09:37:00 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Puget Sound Bird Fest - this weekend! Message-ID: Hi Tweets, We hope you'll join us for the 22nd annual Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds this Saturday and Sunday (June 6-7)! Saturday features: - Presentations on bird song (David Lukas), bird-friendly comestibles (Bryony Angell), Pigeon Guillemots (Shannon Boldt), and Puffins (Amanda Zhou) - Exhibitor area of nature-themed artists, organizations, and shops - Family storytime at the Edmonds Library - Kids room of activities - Bird drawing class (part 1) - Bird walks (sorry, sold out) On Sunday, come back for: - Native plant sale - Bird cruise - Bird drawing class (part 2) - Bird walks (sorry, sold out) *Come to the festival prepared!*We?re thrilled to announce the brand-new Puget Sound Bird Fest course on Larkwire ! This course covers the songs (and some calls) of 210 species-nearly every species you?re likely to hear (and see!) at the festival. Includes both land and waterbirds. Learn more at: www.pugetsoundbirdfest.com 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 Tue Jun 2 12:23:18 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 2 12:23:31 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Raptor nests in Yakima Canyon? Message-ID: <51A74E2D-0F32-4A98-804E-2ACBEC68499E@gmail.com> Hi, Tweets. I?m lucky to have the Yakima Canyon as my route for the Breeding Bird Survey. I?ll be doing the route this coming weekend. If you have been there this year and are willing to share any raptor nest locations, I?d love to include them in the survey. I only have 3 minutes at each stop, so need to know exactly where to look. I?ll be scouting on Saturday, if you have any helpful tips to share. Thanks! Whitney Neufeld-Kaiser whitney.n.k@gmail.com From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 2 14:18:48 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tim Brennan via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 2 14:18:55 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Pacific County Birding - May Round-up Message-ID: Heya Tweets! I've continued to poke at Pacific County, adding enough birds to get to 169 or 170 species for the year, here at the end of May. Why the +/- 1? Well... I found a picture that may be a Red-naped Sapsucker, or may be impossible to separate from a hybrid. I'm embarrassed that I "found" the picture from May 8th only yesterday. As I was working on a digest-style summary of some small trips in May, I was looking for good pictures to add, and there was a good forehead smack when I saw the bird in question. I see zero evidence of hybridization, but man... with birds I am always ready for the Left Galosh question. "Hybrids will never have any white speckling on their left galosh... a field mark that your photo does not show." It's never actually galoshes, but it is usually details that are just as surprising to me. It was a great month in the clearcuts - Western Bluebird, MacGillivray's Warbler, and Northern House Wren were all hoped-for birds up there, and all three were found. The House Wren, not an easy Pacific County Bird, was found on a forest road off of Highway 6 where people (including me) have been finding Hermit Warblers with some regularity. And yeah, I found some shorebirds, but no, I haven't found a Long-billed Curlew - the Largest Shorebird in North America. People keep finding them, and I keep missing them. What a magnificent nemesis after 5 months of poking around. Pacific County Birding: May Have Snuck in Some Trips; May Have Found Some Birds summarizes three trips, including one that is essentially a non-birding trip in this lovely county. Any thoughts on the sapsucker are welcome - there are a few pics dropped in there. And all apologies for not even seeing the picture until yesterday. Hoping to finish out the year with my rare bird radar in full operation. Cheers! Tim Brennan Renton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 2 14:31:51 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 2 14:38:10 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Babies! Message-ID: It?s been an amazing spring here on the homestead. A couple of weeks ago I went and did a 6 location point count on the property (about 4 acres of mostly woodland) and when I counted it up I saw/heard 31 species ? insane. I did it again a couple of days ago and totalled 27. And the babies have shown up. About a week ago the first junco kids got escorted to the feeder (we have five nests in view of our house that we know of), followed shortly by the Purple Finches (there are at least three pairs I?m hearing), and then the American Goldfinches. Yesterday a neighbor texted me to say he had a chick Pileated pounding on a tree in his yard, and this morning I saw my first Spotted Towhee chick, and my wife saw a female Anna?s flying around with a little one following it. I know we have baby robin (but haven?t seen one yet), but six confirmed fledge species so far is making me happy? Only negative this year is I?ve yet to hear/see a Swainson?s thrush, the first year in a while I haven?t had at least one within hearing range. And between 1-2 Pileateds and at least two flickers, as well as the female hairy, the tanagers, grosbeaks, chickadees and nuthatches, I?m going through the tube feeder in three days and a suet block is only lasting 2. Plus the ground feeder. A good problem to have?. chuq --------------------------------------- Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me) Silverdale, Washington Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer 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 Jun 3 16:10:39 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jun 3 16:11:07 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Gull behavior question Message-ID: OK, all-knowing Tweeters, is there any explanation for the gull sp that is currently pecking at our clerestory windows? This happened once before several years ago. The gull is 10 - 12 ft above our living room, so it probably doesn't see us. It works its way around all three windowed sides, pecking as it goes. Is this an example of territorial defense to rout the reflected intruder? We have a neighbor who puts out food that attracts both crows and gulls. Is this gull asking for a handout from others in the neighborhood? Speculation welcome. Data would be ideal. Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jun 3 20:55:35 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jun 3 20:55:49 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/3/2026 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Approximately 30 of us enjoyed a busy spring day at the Refuge with overcast skies and temperatures in the 60s degree Fahrenheit. There was a Low -1'8" Tide at 2:15pm so we did our routine walk. Highlights included several birders observing a First Of Year BLACK PHOEBE in the maintenance yard and just north of the west entrance to the Twin Barns Loop Trail. Likely the same bird. There were two CEDAR WAXWING nests and a BUSHTIT nest in the Orchard Area. Two of the RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD nests?one over the twin bench overlook just south of the Twin Barns cut-off, and the other just 50 feet north of the overlook?had second clutches of birds. The RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER nest cavity is still active on the outside of the trail just north of the overlook. We had good looks of both BLUE-WINGED TEAL and CINNAMON TEAL in the Visitor Center Pond and freshwater marsh. At the end of the day we observed a River Otter take a HOODED MERGANSER chick in the freshwater marsh. We observed 74 species for the day. With FOY Black Phoebe, a late SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER, and RHINOCEROUS AUKLET on the Reach, we now have observed 148 species for the year. See our eBird report pasted below for additional details. Other interesting finds included Muskrat, River Otter, and Ranchman's Tiger Moth. 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 Jun 3, 2026 5:57?AM - 4:32?PM Protocol: Traveling 3.354 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Mostly cloudy with breezy conditions and temperatures on the 60?s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low -1?18? Tide at 2:15pm. Others seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, River Otter, Muskrat, Harbor Seal, Puget Sound Garter Snake, American Bullfrog, ?Cardinal? type Meadowhawk Dragonfly, Ranchman?s Tiger Mouth. 74 species (+3 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 40 Wood Duck 8 Blue-winged Teal 3 Cinnamon Teal (Northern) 4 Gadwall 2 Mallard 20 Ring-necked Duck 1 Hooded Merganser 11 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 3 Band-tailed Pigeon 16 Mourning Dove 5 Vaux's Swift 1 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Rufous Hummingbird 11 Virginia Rail 4 Sora 1 Killdeer 2 Semipalmated Plover 1 Small Plover seen at 7am on high tide on mudflats west of Leschi Slough north of dike. Observed with spotting scope for 10 minutes in area near gulls and terns. Distant photo. Rhinoceros Auklet 2 Nisqually Reach. Ring-billed Gull 40 California Gull 80 Glaucous-winged Gull 2 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 10 Caspian Tern 27 Brandt's Cormorant 4 Double-crested Cormorant 10 American Bittern 1 Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 40 Turkey Vulture (Northern) 3 Bald Eagle 40 Occupied nest on West Bank of McAllister Creek north of McAllister Creek/Medicine Creek Viewing Platform. Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2 Belted Kingfisher 2 Burrow on West Bank of McAllister Creek between McAllister/Medicine Creek Viewing Platform and Puget Sound Viewing Platform. Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Snag tree outside of Twin Barns Loop Trail on the west side just north of the twin bench observation platform south of the Twin Barns cut-off. Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1 Western Wood-Pewee 8 Willow Flycatcher 3 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 1 Black Phoebe 1 Seen by several birders during the day. Early morning observed near the maintenance yard. Later morning observed on the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail on the inside of the trail just north of the entrance. Black flycatcher with white belly and crested head. Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 1 Heard only. Western Warbling Vireo 6 Steller's Jay (Coastal) 2 American Crow 8 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 6 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Bank Swallow 4 Tree Swallow 30 Violet-green Swallow 1 Purple Martin 14 Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 4 Barn Swallow 30 Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 30 Bushtit (Pacific) 4 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Brown Creeper 4 Marsh Wren 20 Bewick's Wren 4 European Starling 50 Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 26 American Robin (migratorius Group) 20 Cedar Waxwing 60 Purple Finch 6 American Goldfinch 10 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 6 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 30 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 5 Bullock's Oriole 2 Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 60 Brown-headed Cowbird 10 Common Yellowthroat 11 Northern Yellow Warbler 41 Wilson's Warbler 2 Black-headed Grosbeak 4 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S352094666 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 4 13:05:13 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 4 13:05:27 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-06-04 Message-ID: Tweets - It was okay this morning; temps in the high '50's, but overcast and rather breezy. Still, it wasn't too bad out there. Nothing new for the year, but some pretty good sightings anyway Highlights: Canada Goose - OUR first goslings of the year, though we seem to have had fully fledged young from elsewhere already Wood Duck - A couple of small clutches of ducklings Blue-winged Teal - Male seen from the Lake Platform - 3rd straight week Mallard - Many clutches, of many ages Common Merganser - Female with 14 babies, one of which was clearly larger than the rest Band-tailed Pigeon - Notably many, seen several times. Possibly as many as 20 Green Heron - Two flushed from below the weir at the start of our walk Cooper's Hawk - Two seen Cedar Waxwing - Many. Too many to count well, but certainly a couple of dozen plus Dark-eyed Junco - Fledged young about Western Tanager - Nice male singing north of the heronry Lazuli Bunting - At least 5 males in/around the East Meadow I forgot to mention the 2nd best "bird" from last week, after the American Redstart (that we did not find today): We had two LONG-TAILED WEASELS I was interviewed last Thursday for a KUOW story on the Marymoor heronry. The story is set to air tomorrow morning a couple of times 6-9am, and then again in the afternoon 3-6pm. I have yet to hear it; I hope I sound okay... Misses today included Red-tailed Hawk, Cliff Swallow, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Bullock's Oriole No new species for the year, but 58 species today = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 4 17:23:07 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Patty Cheek via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 4 17:23:23 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Connie Sidles Class - Best Foot Forward References: <6B3C2E15-5379-44DE-8711-553B7DFE7A8A.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <6B3C2E15-5379-44DE-8711-553B7DFE7A8A@yahoo.com> From Whidbey Audubon Society Online Class: Best Foot Forward: How Birds? Feet Define Their Lives Tuesdays, June 9, 16, 23 - 6:30 - 8:00 pm Cost $75 (Will be recorded) Exciting new topic. Follow Connie Sidles as she explores this aspect of bird life. You?ll never look at birds the same way again. Register at https://www.whidbeyaudubonsociety.org/class-and-presentation-store/p/feet -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 5 08:44:28 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 5 08:44:42 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] feathers, feathers, feathers Message-ID: featherbase.info Check it out. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 5 09:19:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Stephen Elston via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 5 09:19:59 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] feathers, feathers, feathers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Feathers are really quite interesting. Thank you for sharing, Dennis. On Fri, Jun 5, 2026 at 8:44?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > featherbase.info > > Check it out. > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 5 09:38:28 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Faye McAdams Hands via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 5 09:38:31 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] feathers, feathers, feathers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: OMG! I think I just died and went to Heaven! Thank you Dennis. Happy Birding, Faye zest4parus@hotmail.com Faye McAdams Hands Life is Simple -- Eat, Sleep, Bird. ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters Sent: Friday, June 5, 2026 8:44 AM To: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] feathers, feathers, feathers featherbase.info Check it out. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 5 10:07:01 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ven. Dhammadinna via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 5 10:07:40 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Stillwater Wildlife Unit, Carnation, Fall City? Message-ID: Does anyone have recommendations for good birding trails, areas to explore in the Stillwater Wildlife Unit? The Carnation Marsh? Tolt MacDonald Park? The Snoqualmie Valley Trail? Thanks Dhammadinna -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 5 13:09:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (B B via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 5 13:09:48 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Hudsonian Godwit and C-Post Road Birding References: <2040098215.277256.1780690182194.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2040098215.277256.1780690182194@mail.yahoo.com> This blog post relates an excellent day of birding in Snohomish County yesterday that included a Hudsonian Godwit at Eide Road and some special species at C-Post Road, including numerous American Redstarts and Red Eyed Vireos. https://blairbirding.com/2026/06/05/a-post-about-c-post-road-that-is/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 6 07:40:23 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (bill shelmerdine via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 6 07:40:29 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Vortex Viper HD 8 x 42 Binoculars for Sale Message-ID: Brand new warranty replacement for an earlier model. According to Vortex, the all-inclusive unconditional warranty is transferable. These are top-rated binoculars for the mid-price range according to multiple sources. They are very nice binoculars, but as duplicates I have no need for them. Asking $400. Factory MSRP is $719.99 though an internet search indicates available from multiple sources at around $500. If interested contact me directly at: georn1@hotmail.com Good birding and have a great day, Bill Shelmerdine Olympia WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 6 17:08:51 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ann Kramer via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 6 17:09:31 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Join Skagit Audubon this Tuesday with Peter Cavanagh Message-ID: June Greetings! We are at the end of season program for Skagit Audubon before our 2 month break. We have a spectacular program lined up for our send off. Peter Cavanagh is our speaker. His celebrated book will be on sale at the event. It is a treasure of flight information and spectacular images! *HOW BIRDS FLY: The Science and Art of Avian Flight*, with Peter Cavanagh - Tuesday, June 9, 2026 @ 7:00 pm. Doors open at 6:00 pm. - It?s a potluck!!!!! Open to all. - IN PERSON ONLY @ Padilla Bay Interpretive Center, - 10441 Bayview-Edison Rd. Mt Vernon, WA. *Program description*: Peter will present images and videos of flying birds to illustrate aspects of flight mechanics that are described in his recent book HOW BIRDS FLY, exploring the complexities of avian flight in a manner that is accessible to all who are interested in birds, regardless of their science backgrounds. He will review the evolution of flight and key aspects of avian anatomy that make flight possible including how birds take off and land, and how they maneuver and migrate. Peter aims to leave his audience informed and entertained. Peter Cavanagh is a Pacific Northwest wildlife photographer and author of several avian books. His latest book, HOW BIRDS FLY: The Science and Art of Avian Flight was applauded by a renowned PNW ornithologist as ??.without question the best book on birds I have seen in a long time, surely one of the best (bird) books ever?. We are open to the public. Please join us!!! Kind Regards, *Ann* *Ann Kramer* Program Committee Chair Skagit Audubon Society *p rograms@skagitaudubon.org * A flock of geese leave their lake and take wing, turning to poems in the sky. ~Dr. SunWolf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 7 09:12:14 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (B B via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 7 09:12:20 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding in Amsterdam References: <2045172971.482791.1780848734331.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2045172971.482791.1780848734331@mail.yahoo.com> When I wrote up my C-Post Road birding trip for my blog site (blairbirding.com) I found that I had failed to finish and post a blog about our trip to Amsterdam last year.? Quickly finished it and posted it.? Great visit - especially for art, food and culture but a few birds as well somewhat expanding my pathetic Europe life list. https://blairbirding.com/2026/06/07/amsterdam-57-years-later-lots-of-art-and-food-and-some-birds-as-well/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 7 09:53:46 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 7 09:54:08 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening Message-ID: 5000 Vaux?s Swifts spent last night in the historic Monroe Wagner roost. A fifteen minute exit began at 8:32 this morning. If its cool and damp they will probably be back tonight. Larry Schwitters, Issaquah From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 7 23:08:36 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (David Hutchinson via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 7 23:08:41 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] By Message-ID: Hutch From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 8 02:22:27 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 8 02:22:52 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] By In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7B4D2882-A0E1-4FC7-A704-56241F821F75@gmail.com> Hello David, There was no content in the email you sent out. Please resend.. Thank you, Dan Reiff Sent from my iPhone > On Jun 7, 2026, at 11:08?PM, David Hutchinson via Tweeters wrote: > > ? > Hutch > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 8 12:06:23 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (B B via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 8 12:06:32 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Shorebirds on the Coast References: <33147725.716063.1780945583745.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <33147725.716063.1780945583745@mail.yahoo.com> I am planning a trip to the Washington Coast tomorrow.? I looked up observations in the past week on Birder's Dashboard and was surprised to see very few reports in general and few if any reports for a number of species.? I was particularly surprised to find no reports of Willet at Tokeland and no reports of Marbled Godwits at Westport and frankly very few reports in general. I checked my Ebird reports and was surprised to find that I have birded the coast most months of the year but not June.? I would love any insights as to whether the absence of reports for the past week is due mostly to not much birding there in the past week or to just not many birds as the shorebirds have migrated out (which of course would be a good reason for no birding there). Any feedback to my email or on tweeters would be appreciated.? Thanks. Blair Bernsonbirder4184 at yahoo dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 8 12:11:40 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Odette James via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 8 12:11:47 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Buffleheads References: <579138571.29400.1780945900807.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <579138571.29400.1780945900807@mail.yahoo.com> I noticed that over the last few days single female Buffleheads have been reported in a few places locally. There was one at the Cedar River delta last Friday afternoon. Kind of a surprise this time of the year. Odette James, The Lakeshore Retirement Community - the perfect location for a birder to age in place -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 8 12:13:51 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 8 12:13:56 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Shorebirds on the Coast In-Reply-To: <33147725.716063.1780945583745@mail.yahoo.com> References: <33147725.716063.1780945583745.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <33147725.716063.1780945583745@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On Jun 8, 2026 at 12:06:23, B B via Tweeters wrote: > I am planning a trip to the Washington Coast tomorrow. I looked up > observations in the past week on Birder's Dashboard and was surprised to > see very few reports in general and few if any reports for a number of > species. I was particularly surprised to find no reports of Willet at > Tokeland and no reports of Marbled Godwits at Westport and frankly very few > reports in general. > I spent a couple of days out and around Grays Harbor three weeks ago. Overall, it was pretty quiet (although my knee prevented me from really birding Grays Harbor NWR well). At that point Tokeland was super quiet, and I?d seen a report or two leading up indicating the same. Best birding for me was out in Ocean Shores, where there was a lot of shorebird activity at North Jetty (hundreds and hundreds of sanderlings) and at the beach access at the head of Ocean Shores, for gulls with the contiung (at that time) Glaucous Gull. Westport Marina and Hoquiam STP were the other decent birding spots then. Chuq --------------------------------------- Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me) Silverdale, Washington Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer 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 Mon Jun 8 12:23:12 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 8 12:23:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Shorebirds on the Coast In-Reply-To: <33147725.716063.1780945583745@mail.yahoo.com> References: <33147725.716063.1780945583745.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <33147725.716063.1780945583745@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Hi Blair, Almost all of our wintering and migrant shorebirds have departed for the north by mid May, but there are a few late migrants after that. A small number of nonbreeding birds of some species do hang around during summer. The first arriving southbound migrants are usually in the last week of June, adults of the sex that isn?t involved in parental care. In species in which both sexes participate, they are mostly absent until mid July. Once the juveniles fledge, parental care ends, and the juveniles start appearing in southbound migration in August. So yeah, this is a dead time of year for migrant shorebirds. Time to head for southeast Oregon to enjoy the breeding ones! Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Jun 8, 2026, at 12:06 PM, B B via Tweeters wrote: > > I am planning a trip to the Washington Coast tomorrow. I looked up observations in the past week on Birder's Dashboard and was surprised to see very few reports in general and few if any reports for a number of species. I was particularly surprised to find no reports of Willet at Tokeland and no reports of Marbled Godwits at Westport and frankly very few reports in general. > > I checked my Ebird reports and was surprised to find that I have birded the coast most months of the year but not June. I would love any insights as to whether the absence of reports for the past week is due mostly to not much birding there in the past week or to just not many birds as the shorebirds have migrated out (which of course would be a good reason for no birding there). > > Any feedback to my email or on tweeters would be appreciated. Thanks. > > Blair Bernson > birder4184 at yahoo 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 Mon Jun 8 13:00:09 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Joe Buchanan via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 8 13:00:15 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Buffleheads Message-ID: <756092103.289170.1780948809090@connect.xfinity.com> Odette - In 2025 I noticed a single Bufflehead at Kennedy Creek Estuary (Mason County) in late May. This was by far my latest spring observation at the site in over 4 decades. I suspect there will be other similar records in eBird. The occurrence of these late season records is interesting. Thanks for sharing your observations. Joe Buchanan jlrj at comcast dot net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 8 17:27:58 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Paul Bannick via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 8 17:28:12 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Eric Sandberg? Message-ID: I would like to connect with Eric Sandberg from Snohomish. Thanks, Paul -- Now Available: *Woodpecker: A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers* Paul Bannick Photography www.paulbannick.com 206-940-7835 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 8 23:44:07 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 8 23:44:11 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?b?V2hhdOKAmXMgYXQgU3RlYWs6IOKAnFNhbmRoaWxsIENy?= =?utf-8?q?ane_Is_the_=27Ribeye_of_the_Sky=27_-_Texas_Parks_=26_Wildlife_M?= =?utf-8?q?agazine=E2=80=9D?= Message-ID: <4CCE0651-1B1F-49CC-8AAD-D5379BC18079@gmail.com> Hello tweeters, I?m not a hunter. Today, I read an article in Canadian geographic that included ?fat polar bears and ribeyes in the sky?. It discussed recent conversations regarding opening a limited hunting season for this bird species. Totally unexpected read. I have Apple news Plus, which is by paid subscription. So, I did not send the link because you would not be able to open it. I found this older article that covers some of the same ground, but from a hunter?s perspective. The last lines were interesting. Dan Reiff https://tpwmagazine.com/hunting/ribeye-of-the-sky/ Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 9 07:19:21 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Randy Hill via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 9 07:19:36 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?b?V2hhdOKAmXMgYXQgU3RlYWs6IOKAnFNhbmRoaWxsIENy?= =?utf-8?q?ane_Is_the_=27Ribeye_of_the_Sky=27_-_Texas_Parks_=26_Wil?= =?utf-8?q?dlife_Magazine=E2=80=9D?= In-Reply-To: <4CCE0651-1B1F-49CC-8AAD-D5379BC18079@gmail.com> References: <4CCE0651-1B1F-49CC-8AAD-D5379BC18079@gmail.com> Message-ID: The Central Flyway population is much larger than ours on the west coast states, and when I worked in North Dakota during the late 80s there were maybe a dozen states with a fall hunt season. I remember a flock of 35K east of Bismarck that had a big white one mixed in. BTW, a second Sandhill Crane colt seen this week from the River S route, north of the contact station. Last I heard, one of two colts in the hunt area west of the auto tour route is with parents. Randy Hill Ridgefield On Mon, Jun 8, 2026, 11:44?PM Dan Reiff via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hello tweeters, > I?m not a hunter. > Today, I read an article in Canadian geographic that included ?fat polar > bears and ribeyes in the sky?. > It discussed recent conversations regarding opening a limited hunting > season for this bird species. > Totally unexpected read. > > I have Apple news Plus, which is by paid subscription. So, I did not send > the link because you would not be able to open it. > I found this older article that covers some of the same ground, but from a > hunter?s perspective. > The last lines were interesting. > Dan Reiff > > > > https://tpwmagazine.com/hunting/ribeye-of-the-sky/ > > Sent from my iPhone > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 9 07:23:00 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Louise via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 9 07:23:16 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?b?V2hhdOKAmXMgYXQgU3RlYWs6IOKAnFNhbmRoaWxsIENy?= =?utf-8?q?ane_Is_the_=27Ribeye_of_the_Sky=27_-_Texas_Parks_=26_Wil?= =?utf-8?q?dlife_Magazine=E2=80=9D?= In-Reply-To: <4CCE0651-1B1F-49CC-8AAD-D5379BC18079@gmail.com> References: <4CCE0651-1B1F-49CC-8AAD-D5379BC18079@gmail.com> Message-ID: Thanks for the story, Dan. I'm not a hunter either, but I'm aware of the work that Ducks Unlimited do to preserve habitat, with the aim of ensuring hunting is available and sustainable. There could certainly be an argument for treating sandhill cranes the same as other edible bird species. As always it depends on whether hunters will abide by the rules and stick to the limits (and whether the government is setting and evaluating those limits in a scientific manner), which isn't the case in every instance. Louise Rutter Kirkland On Mon, Jun 8, 2026 at 11:44?PM Dan Reiff via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hello tweeters, > I?m not a hunter. > Today, I read an article in Canadian geographic that included ?fat polar > bears and ribeyes in the sky?. > It discussed recent conversations regarding opening a limited hunting > season for this bird species. > Totally unexpected read. > > I have Apple news Plus, which is by paid subscription. So, I did not send > the link because you would not be able to open it. > I found this older article that covers some of the same ground, but from a > hunter?s perspective. > The last lines were interesting. > Dan Reiff > > > > https://tpwmagazine.com/hunting/ribeye-of-the-sky/ > > Sent from my iPhone > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 9 12:19:14 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jane Hadley via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 9 12:19:28 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools Message-ID: Dear Tweetsters - I wanted to alert you to a couple new additions to the WOS website (wos.org) that might be of interest. First former WOS board member and officer Scott Ray has created a free web app that should be of interest to those who chase rarities. Here's how Scott describes it: "Birders who chase rarities all know the question: If I drive there today, > will the bird still be there? .... > Chase Report is a free, mobile-friendly, web-based rare bird dashboard > that uses current eBird notable sightings and organizes them into a > practical ?chaseability? view. It requires no account, login, or > installation. Open the site in a browser and you can immediately see which > rare birds appear most likely to still be present, which are uncertain, and > which are probably gone." You can find the link to this at the bottom of the List of Birding Resources: https://wos.org/birding-resources/ Second, the maps page (also on the list of birding resources) has a new addition: directions and maps for getting to C-Post Road, which was mentioned recently on Tweeters, for its American Redstarts and Red-eyed Vireos. You can find that here: https://wos.org/birding-resources/maps/ (The maps are in alphabetic order. Look under C.) Finally, I wanted to remind you of the valuable collection of YouTube videos of WOS monthly meeting presentations that Elaine Chuang has created for WOS. Now that we're in the summer hiatus (Monthly Meetings don't resume until October), you will have a chance to catch up on meeting presentations you might have missed. The collection of videos is available here: https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonornithologicalso7839/videos Jane Hadley -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 9 14:37:04 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 9 14:37:09 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?NATIONAL_GEOGRAPHIC=3A_Scientists_say_they?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=99ve_solved_the_mystery_of_how_pigeons_sense_Earth?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=99s_magnetic_field?= Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 9 14:48:25 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ann Kramer via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 9 14:49:06 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?b?V2hhdOKAmXMgYXQgU3RlYWs6IOKAnFNhbmRoaWxsIENy?= =?utf-8?q?ane_Is_the_=27Ribeye_of_the_Sky=27_-_Texas_Parks_=26_Wil?= =?utf-8?q?dlife_Magazine=E2=80=9D?= In-Reply-To: References: <4CCE0651-1B1F-49CC-8AAD-D5379BC18079@gmail.com> Message-ID: On a recent trip to Ridgefield a few days ago, I heard, and then the next day saw, 2 adult Sandhill Cranes with their colt. I was able to get some images. I knew I heard them because the sound of Sandhill Cranes is etched deeper into my brain than my husband's middle name. I had first seen them at the Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival in California 15 years ago, then at the Platte River in Nebraska, Whitewater Draw in Arizona, and 4 different trips to Bosque del Apache and San Bernardo in New Mexico. They soon became my favorite bird. Yes, they are beautiful birds but I was just enchanted as I observed their behaviors and communications. The mating dance of bowing and jumping, the sparring fights often lifting them in the air, the way they signal to one another by leaning forward before they take their morning flight. Although I believe all birds are sentient beings, it seemed much more evident in Sandhill Cranes. Their joy, mating rituals, parental attentiveness made their bonds and emotions evident. And I often took note of how difficult they were to get close to due to their extreme wariness, having been hunted in every state along the flyway except Nebraska. I accept hunting, and the cycle of conservation limitations allowing a flock to grow and then be opened again to hunting until conservation again becomes necessary for many species. I remember the first workshop I attended in Lodi. The presenter, Paul Tebbel mentioned how little meat there actually was on a Sandhill Crane, after an audience member asked about whether they were hunted. The argument against treating Sandhill Cranes as we do other bird species who are hunted is how small their clutches are, with 2 being the norm and a survival rate of 1 chick commonly. Duck broods are in the 10's and 20's. Although they get several seasons to breed, it becomes more difficult when one of the mates is lost to hunting. Ann On Tue, Jun 9, 2026 at 7:23?AM Louise via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Thanks for the story, Dan. I'm not a hunter either, but I'm aware of the > work that Ducks Unlimited do to preserve habitat, with the aim of ensuring > hunting is available and sustainable. There could certainly be an argument > for treating sandhill cranes the same as other edible bird species. As > always it depends on whether hunters will abide by the rules and stick to > the limits (and whether the government is setting and evaluating those > limits in a scientific manner), which isn't the case in every instance. > > Louise Rutter > Kirkland > > On Mon, Jun 8, 2026 at 11:44?PM Dan Reiff via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> Hello tweeters, >> I?m not a hunter. >> Today, I read an article in Canadian geographic that included ?fat polar >> bears and ribeyes in the sky?. >> It discussed recent conversations regarding opening a limited hunting >> season for this bird species. >> Totally unexpected read. >> >> I have Apple news Plus, which is by paid subscription. So, I did not send >> the link because you would not be able to open it. >> I found this older article that covers some of the same ground, but from >> a hunter?s perspective. >> The last lines were interesting. >> Dan Reiff >> >> >> >> https://tpwmagazine.com/hunting/ribeye-of-the-sky/ >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 Tue Jun 9 15:13:31 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Bob Boekelheide via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 9 15:13:47 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Shorebirds on the Coast Message-ID: <9E2C75C1-44EC-4677-8D52-405F8B35BF7E@olympus.net> Hi Blair, Like Dennis says, early June is the slowest time for migrant shorebirds on the coast, because they?re all nesting somewhere else. Particularly so in Dungeness Bay, where the June swoon is in full swing right now. It?s slow out there! There are still Black-bellied Plovers here, almost none of which have black bellies, showing their youth. In the past ten days there have been occasional Marbled Godwits, Whimbrels, Semipalmated Plovers, Greater Yellowlegs, dowitchers, and one distant peep, but they are very elusive, depending on tides. We really look forward to the last few days in June, when the first ?fall? migrants start to arrive, like Dennis says. For example, the last few days in June and the first week in July is a particularly good time to see adult Semipalmated Sandpipers amongst the peeps in Dungeness Bay. Clallam County now has 50 shorebird species on the county list, but only four of those shorebird species regularly nest in the county. Can you name the four? Bob Boekelheide Dungeness From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Shorebirds on the Coast Date: June 8, 2026 at 12:23:12?PM PDT To: B B > Cc: Tweeters > Reply-To: Dennis Paulson > Hi Blair, Almost all of our wintering and migrant shorebirds have departed for the north by mid May, but there are a few late migrants after that. A small number of nonbreeding birds of some species do hang around during summer. The first arriving southbound migrants are usually in the last week of June, adults of the sex that isn?t involved in parental care. In species in which both sexes participate, they are mostly absent until mid July. Once the juveniles fledge, parental care ends, and the juveniles start appearing in southbound migration in August. So yeah, this is a dead time of year for migrant shorebirds. Time to head for southeast Oregon to enjoy the breeding ones! Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Jun 8, 2026, at 12:06 PM, B B via Tweeters > wrote: > > I am planning a trip to the Washington Coast tomorrow. I looked up observations in the past week on Birder's Dashboard and was surprised to see very few reports in general and few if any reports for a number of species. I was particularly surprised to find no reports of Willet at Tokeland and no reports of Marbled Godwits at Westport and frankly very few reports in general. > > I checked my Ebird reports and was surprised to find that I have birded the coast most months of the year but not June. I would love any insights as to whether the absence of reports for the past week is due mostly to not much birding there in the past week or to just not many birds as the shorebirds have migrated out (which of course would be a good reason for no birding there). > > Any feedback to my email or on tweeters would be appreciated. Thanks. > > Blair Bernson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 9 15:50:54 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Judith A. Howard via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 9 15:51:00 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] woodpecker numbers Message-ID: <3B7EF88D-DEE8-4E2B-AE12-F13A196931E2@uw.edu> We have had a markedly larger number of both hairy and downy woodpeckers at our feeders this past month or so, both adults and young ones. Even more of the pileateds than usual (of course, their numbers are fewer than the others). Has anyone else been noticing this? We are on South Whidbey, just a few miles north of the ferry dock. Judy Howard -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jun 10 15:37:47 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jun 10 15:37:51 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?THE_CHRISTIAN_SCIENCE_MONITOR=3A_=E2=80=98Th?= =?utf-8?q?e_Book_of_Birds=E2=80=99_illustrates_a_world_of_wonder?= Message-ID: <5CC62870-B0E7-47C1-BD52-759D95836613@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jun 10 20:23:00 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Danzenbaker via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jun 10 20:23:14 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] June 7, 2026 Westport Seabirds trip report Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, On Sunday, 25 of us met on the deck of the *Blitz* captained by Todd Sawin. If this doesn't sound like a typical introduction to a Westport Seabirds trip, Todd and the *Blitz* are the new faces of Westport Seabirds. A cloudy sky, occasional gusts, and a few sprinkles had us wondering about things to come but the double rainbow gave us hope for a great trip. This day was scheduled perfectly during a 24-hour window of worthy weather with a clearing sky and lack of significant wind. We bounced over the swells at the bar between the jetties and the seas eventually relaxed to a 4-foot multidirectional swell with no sheep on the pond (white caps). Soon, Sooty Shearwaters (2,067), Common Murres (154) and Rhinoceros Auklets (51) were sighted, although not in overwhelming numbers, so our keen-eyed pelagic enthusiasts could concentrate on the defining features of each species. The everpresent gulls occasionally flew by, but no worries as to their exact species since they were recorded as "big guys," which is probably a better name than "gull soup". Pink-footed Shearwaters (450) were added to the mix as we continued westward towards the edge of the Continental Shelf and the hoped for fishing fleet with attendant tubenoses. A great surprise and to the delight of many was a flyover South Polar Skua (1), which gave a brief but soul satisfying view. I've always loved yelling "Skua"! This species breeds in Antarctica and spends the austral winter (our summer) terrorizing shearwaters and gulls in the waters off Alaska. A June sighting of SP Skua is noteworthy although our list of June trips over the years is light compared to other months. As we neared the shelf edge, we wound our way through many smaller halibut fishing boats and saw quite a few diminutive Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (98) and Northern Fulmars (27) all hoping for little tidbits that might find their way back to the sea around the boats. A few hoped for Black-footed Albatrosses (10) made their appearance at the appropriate time so were able to compare small, medium, and large tubernoses in one view. We continued onwards to the deeper water beyond the shelf edge. The great thing about laying a slick is that sometimes it really works well and we were lucky today. Almost as soon as we set the table, the storm-petrels responded including one cooperative Leach's Storm-Petrel (1) which fed alongside the ~50 Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels which gave a perfect comparison of flight style and behavior. However, even mentioning several times to look for unusual looking birds like pterodromas didn't entice any of these hoped for species to the slick. Maybe later? On our way back east and close to the edge of the shelf, Captain Todd found a factory ship that was dragging a few lines. In its wake were quite a few Sooty and squeaking Pink-footed Shearwaters and the only Short-tailed Shearwaters (9). True to form, it seems that Short-tailed Shearwaters always prefer hanging out around these larger fishing boats. A bit later, I found that yelling "Skua" wasn't nearly as satisfying as yelling "HAWAIIAN PETREL"! Indeed, it flew down the side of the boat and continued flying away at the stern as I yelled although it didn't return. A handful of us saw it but it didn't allow for photos so only written descriptions can support this 3rd or 4th Washington State record. It certainly was a shot of adrenalin! The birds weren't the only things that highlighted our day. We spotted a total of 17 Humpback Whales (several breaching) and one small pod of about 10 Pacific White-sided Dolphins and a few Dall's Porpoises (3). A Northern Fur Seal rounded out the pelagic mammal sightings although both of the expected sea lion species and Harbor Porpoises (2) were added on the way in. One Ocean Sunfish (*mola mola)* (1) flapped lazily on the surface and a few Blue Sharks (6) were seen*. *Mola molas, though not the most energetic creatures on the planet, always garner many photo snaps and gasps of wonder. Closer to shore, Pacific Loons (2) and a Red-throated Loon (1) flew over heading north and a sizable flock of 30+ Surf Scoters was near the tip of the pelican and cormorant capped south jetty. Pigeon Guillemots (11) were common as we motored through the final leg of our day at sea. Westport Seabirds thanks all of the enthusiastic participants who make these trips a success. Also, thanks to Captain Todd for his consummate professionalism and knowledge of the sea and the ginger cookies delivered by Olivia! Also, a big thanks to our guides Shep Thorpe, Cindy McCormack, and your trip reporter. The entire crew and staff of Westport Seabirds is looking forward to a highlight rich 2026. Who knows what the predicted super El Nino will bring. Keep monitoring the Westport Seabirds website ( https://westportseabirds.com) and the 2026 schedule for updates and availability. We hope to see you onboard! Jim Danzenbaker for Westport Seabirds. -- Jim Danzenbaker Battle Ground, WA 360-702-9395 jdanzenbaker@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jun 10 21:09:48 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jun 10 21:10:03 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk for Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR 6/10/2026 Message-ID: Dear Tweets, Approximately 35 of us had a really nice Spring Day at the Refuge with mostly cloudy skies, temperatures in the 50's to 60's degrees Fahrenheit, and a High 9'8" Tide at 2:58pm. Highlights included many nesting birds including CEDAR WAXWING, BUSHTIT, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, MARSH WREN, YELLOW WARBLER, SONG SPARROW, RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, AMERICAN ROBIN, MALLARD, and BALD EAGLE. Some of the group had great looks of HUTTON'S VIREO nesting along the entrance road across from the Orchard. We are observing second clutches of RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD in the same nest as previous clutches. Two immature GREEN HERON flying over the flooded field adjacent to the Twin Barns and the freshwater marsh. An AMERICAN BITTERN booming and flying over the freshwater marsh. Great upclose views of both BLUE-WINGED TEAL and CINNAMON TEAL along the Nisqually Estuary Trail or Dike. Fly over of three late BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. Two occupied BALD EAGLE nests with chicks were observed along the west bank of McAllister Creek. And an unexpected adult breeding plumage SHORT-BILLED GULL roosting with other gulls along the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. Many of us enjoyed watching a River Otter eating a Starry Flounder on a tributary off Shannon Slough. For the day we observed 75 species with nothing new for the year. Thus far we have observed 148 species this year. Please see our eBird Report pasted below with additional details, and includes many awesome photographs from all the excellent photographers on the walk. Until next week when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook... be well and happy birding, Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Jun 10, 2026 7:03?AM - 4:48?PM Protocol: Traveling 3.364 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Partly cloudy with temperatures in the 50?s to 60?s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low 1?6? Tide at 8:36am and a High 9?8? Tide at 2:58pm. Others seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer with fawn, Muskrat, River Otter eating Starry Flounder, Harbor Seal, Western Swallow-tailed Butterfly, Nevada Bumblebee, Pacific Forktail Damselfly, American Bullfrog. 75 species (+2 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 100 Wood Duck 3 Blue-winged Teal 5 Freshwater marsh. Cinnamon Teal 6 Freshwater marsh Gadwall 3 Mallard 35 Common Merganser 3 Nisqually Reach Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 5 Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 12 Mourning Dove 3 Vaux's Swift 2 Anna's Hummingbird 4 Rufous Hummingbird 8 Occupied nests, second clutch, inside of west side Twin Barns Loop Trail just north of twin bench overlook south of Twin Barns cut-off, and inside of loop trail over borrow ditch on east side of Twin Barns Loop Trail just north of Beaver Deceiver. Virginia Rail 3 Access Road between west side parking lot and Twin Barns. Sora 1 Heard only in freshwater marsh. Black-bellied Plover 3 Fly over Nisqually Estuary Trail or Dike and freshwater marsh, flying south. Three large plovers with black axillaries. Distinctive plaintiff call. Rhinoceros Auklet 5 Short-billed Gull 1 Photos. Observed roosting on mudflats from Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. Spotted by Matt, seen by many, breeding plumage adult with small yellow bill. Smaller then area RBGU. Ring-billed Gull 60 California Gull 100 Glaucous-winged Gull 4 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 1 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 15 Caspian Tern 30 Pied-billed Grebe 3 Freshwater Marsh. Brandt's Cormorant 6 Double-crested Cormorant 100 American Bittern 1 Flushed and flew across freshwater marsh. Heard booming. Green Heron 2 Flying over flooded field adjacent to Twin Barns and around Freshwater Marsh. Two immature birds. Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 50 Osprey (American) 2 Bald Eagle 20 Two nests with young being fed. One on the west side of McAllister Creek south of the McAllister Creek Viewing Platform 50-75 feet above a white refuge sign adjacent to a large berm with a bush. The second is also on the west side of McAllister Creek north of the McAllister Creek Viewing Platform and 50 feet above a row of pilings adjacent to a slough. The nest in the Cottonwood on the West Bank of Nisqually River has fledged. Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 1 Belted Kingfisher 6 West Bank of McAllister Creek south of Puget Sound Observation Platform. Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Nest snag on outside of west side Twin Barns Loop Trail just north of the twin bench overlook south of the Twin Barns cut-off. Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Pileated Woodpecker 2 Heard and seen around Orchard and Visitor Center Pond. Northern Flicker 6 Western Wood-Pewee 8 Willow Flycatcher 3 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 2 Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 2 Entrance road adjacent to Orchard. Western Warbling Vireo 5 Steller's Jay 1 American Crow 6 Black-capped Chickadee 16 Nest cavity in dog leg snag off large Maple Tree between the Twin Barns Porta Potties and the boards to the Twin Barns Observation Deck, on the left hand side of the trail. Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5 Bank Swallow 1 Tree Swallow 40 Violet-green Swallow 4 Purple Martin 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 9 Barn Swallow (American) 30 Visitor Center. Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 30 McAllister Creek Viewing Platform. Bushtit (Pacific) 4 Doug Fir along entrance road across from Maintence Building entrance road and just right of green gate. Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 Brown Creeper 4 Marsh Wren 20 Multiple nests in Visitor Center Pond and freshwater marsh. Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 4 European Starling 30 Swainson's Thrush 31 American Robin (migratorius Group) 25 Cedar Waxwing 20 Purple Finch (Western) 4 American Goldfinch 24 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 6 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 30 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 3 Bullock's Oriole 2 Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 50 Brown-headed Cowbird 15 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1 Common Yellowthroat 15 Northern Yellow Warbler 40 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 2 Black-headed Grosbeak 6 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S355644170 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 11 06:50:25 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Marv via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 11 06:58:42 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] M Street Marsh 6.10.26 Message-ID: Yesterday (6.10.26) there were a few ducks at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. There were 3 pairs of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, but I saw no ducklings. Typically, they do not nest at M St. There was a single male LESSER SCAUP. Several CINNAMON TEAL, one pair with 7 ducklings. I did not see a Blue-winged Teal, but they may have been out of sight during my visit. VIDEOS: https://flic.kr/ps/376fhN -- Marv Breece Tukwila, WA *marvbreece@gmail.com * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 11 12:59:09 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Roger Moyer via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 11 12:59:20 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] New app for chasing bird. Message-ID: Can someone repose the url for the new app on WOS site. I've tried amd failed to find it again. Thanks, Roger Moyer Chehalis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 11 14:38:09 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Douglas Santoni via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 11 14:38:25 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] New app for chasing bird. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <600C19D1-B459-452E-9294-76D9CEF8F321@yahoo.com> Roger ? An extensive list of birding resources is available on the WOS website at https://wos.org/birding-resources/ The ?new app for chasing birds? (the chase report) is on that list, and can be found at https://wa.chasereport.com/ Hope this helps. Doug Santoni Seattle, WA Dougsantoni at gmail dot com > On Jun 11, 2026, at 12:59?PM, Roger Moyer via Tweeters wrote: > > Can someone repose the url for the new app on WOS site. I've tried amd failed to find it again. > > Thanks, > > Roger Moyer > Chehalis > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 11 16:29:02 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 11 16:29:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-06-11 Message-ID: Tweets - It was picturesque at the park today, with all of the trees in leafy glory, blue skies, temps mostly in the 50's, and no wind. We're into the time during the summer when we pretty much KNOW what species we're going to see, and the interest comes from noting and identifying babies. There were few surprises today. Highlights: Hooded Merganser - One at the Rowing Club was our first since late April and just our second since early March Rufous Hummingbird - Seemed unusually numerous, with ~5 adult males and 1-2 females/juveniles Pied-billed Grebe - One, again, from the Lake Platform. They used to breed in the park, but not in the last decade+, so a summer bird is unusual Yellow-rumped Warbler - One, again, from around the Mansion. They have bred in the park occasionally, but we've had them less than half the time in early June Brown-headed Cowbird - Baby being raised by a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT; our first BHCO baby of the year Babies (or likely babies) were noted for CANADA GOOSE, WOOD DUCK, MALLARD, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, GREAT BLUE HERON, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, TREE SWALLOW, BUSHTIT, EUROPEAN STARLING, AMERICAN ROBIN, HOUSE FINCH, DARK-EYED JUNCO, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD. Misses today included just Rock Pigeon and Green Heron. Like last week, nothing new for the year, and again we finished with 58 species noted. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 13 07:55:22 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 13 07:55:29 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: *****SPAM***** Re: [inland-NW-birders] Moscow - UI Arboretum Summer Tanager, 6/11 Message-ID: <1781362522.tx56uz974ckow0k4@webmail.sitestar.net> ? -------- Original Message -------- Subject: *****SPAM***** Re: [inland-NW-birders] Moscow - UI Arboretum Summer Tanager, 6/11 Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:34:49 -0700 From: Charles Swift via Inland-nw-birders To: inland-nw-birders@mailmanlists.us Correction: June 11, 2014 would have been 12 years ago! On Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 12:31?PM Charles Swift wrote: > Hi All, > > Visiting birders found a Summer Tanager at the UI Arboretum yesterday AM, > and it was subsequently relocated and seen by a number of local birders. It > was a first-year male based on its splotchy plumage, but it was still quite > striking and greatly enjoyed by all. More information, photos, etc. on the > Latah County eBird page here - https://ebird.org/region/US-ID-057. This > is only 1 of 2 spring records so far this year in the Pacific Northwest > (there are several winter records west of the Cascades where they are > somewhat casual winter visitors). Somewhat surprisingly this is the 2nd > record for Moscow; the prior record was also on June 11 in 2014 (almost > exactly 11 years ago!). It has not been reported so far this morning but > I'm not sure if anybody has looked. It was mostly in the lower (southern) > third of the UI Arboretum yesterday which is easily accessed from the lower > parking lot along Palouse River Drive. It would most easily be detected by > short burry song phrases (which Merlin was able to identify) as it was > frequently hidden by foliage in Cottonwood and Willow trees. > > thanks, Charles. > > -- > Charles Swift > Moscow, Idaho > 46?43?54? N, 116?59?50? W > chaetura@gmail.com > > > -- Charles Swift Moscow, Idaho 46?43?54? N, 116?59?50? W chaetura@gmail.com _______________________________________________ Inland-nw-birders mailing list send email to: Inland-nw-birders@mailmanlists.us manage subscription: https://mailmanlists.us/mailman/listinfo/inland-nw-birders -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 13 10:51:11 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 13 10:51:16 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Tick Season-Good review article: MARTHA STEWART: Found a Tick on Your Body? Here's Exactly What to Do Next Message-ID: <34C17F04-D26C-47AF-9DF2-F4F07F47A43E@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 13 10:55:03 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 13 10:55:06 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?NATIONAL_GEOGRAPHIC=3A_California=E2=80=99s_?= =?utf-8?q?endangered_condors_have_a_surprising_new_foe?= Message-ID: <4C23BAED-75E9-4F8B-B196-41E4965830B4@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 13 13:20:33 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Blythe Horman via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 13 13:20:48 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Panama Query: on and off topic Message-ID: Hi everyone, I'm a female, middle-aged lifelong birder considering a visit to Panama this fall or winter, and I'm also seriously thinking about relocating to a region there that prioritises conservation over extraction. I'd love recommendations on towns or areas you?d recommend visiting, especially places accessible by train or public transport from Panama City. And if anyone from the listserv happens to be heading down that way and wants to meet up, I'm very open to that. Looking forward to hearing what you know about the birds, the places, and the culture/community there. (I speak passable Spanish.) Thank you, Blythe Horman Lynnwood, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 13 13:40:40 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (ck park via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 13 13:41:20 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Panama Query: on and off topic In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: NOT panama, but close by: costa rica. just watched a video on conservation in costa rica, and it made me want to visit... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV4JyVRkN34 On Sat, Jun 13, 2026 at 1:20?PM Blythe Horman via Tweeters wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I'm a female, middle-aged lifelong birder considering a visit to Panama this fall or winter, and I'm also seriously thinking about relocating to a region there that prioritises conservation over extraction. I'd love recommendations on towns or areas you?d recommend visiting, especially places accessible by train or public transport from Panama City. And if anyone from the listserv happens to be heading down that way and wants to meet up, I'm very open to that. > > Looking forward to hearing what you know about the birds, the places, and the culture/community there. (I speak passable Spanish.) > > Thank you, > > Blythe Horman > > Lynnwood, WA > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 14 12:02:16 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Marv via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 14 12:02:36 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wilson's Phalarope at M St Marsh in Auburn Message-ID: This morning I observed copulation of Wilson's Phalarope at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. See videos: https://flic.kr/ps/376fhN -- Marv Breece Tukwila, WA *marvbreece@gmail.com * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 14 13:01:58 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (David Cook via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 14 13:02:13 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Panama query Message-ID: to Blythe Horman, I can share information regarding Panama if you contact me at 41cdcook@gmail.com Dave Cook Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 14 14:08:06 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 14 14:08:10 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows. References: Message-ID: This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing more about it. > Begin forwarded message: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 14 14:48:13 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom Benedict via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 14 14:48:27 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4E030A49-797C-408A-A84F-285F1BA11638@comcast.net> I?m only speaking for myself, but as a ?non-Twitcher? I don?t see this as good news. It's inevitable that this kind of decision support tool has become available, but I really don?t think we should be encouraging more chasing. We don?t need more ways to incent more people to chase birds all over the countryside. The photos that people post are almost always better than the image I would get to see in person with bionic or scope, so I?m more than satisfied staying home and enjoying the experience vicariously. But I?m not a WOS member, so maybe I should just get over it. Yes, I am a stick-in-the-mud. ;) Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Jun 9, 2026, at 12:19, Jane Hadley via Tweeters wrote: > > Dear Tweetsters - I wanted to alert you to a couple new additions to the WOS website (wos.org ) that might be of interest. > > First former WOS board member and officer Scott Ray has created a free web app that should be of interest to those who chase rarities. > > Here's how Scott describes it: > >> "Birders who chase rarities all know the question: If I drive there today, will the bird still be there? .... >> Chase Report is a free, mobile-friendly, web-based rare bird dashboard that uses current eBird notable sightings and organizes them into a practical ?chaseability? view. It requires no account, login, or installation. Open the site in a browser and you can immediately see which rare birds appear most likely to still be present, which are uncertain, and which are probably gone." > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 14 14:49:26 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 14 14:49:30 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Jun 14, 2026 at 14:08:06, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing > more about it. > > Begin forwarded message: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 > > It?s a decent technique. Here?s the most recent from Cornell Lab: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/09/protect-birds-windows-change-human-behavior Research has indicated a matrix of dots works quite well (an example of one product that implements this is Feather Friendly: https://featherfriendly.com/) ? and yes, you can add dots manually if you want with something like white-out but I?m not sure how weatherproof that is. Paracord has also been shown to be effective: https://www.birdsavers.com/using-paracord/ One thing that research has shown that is NOT effective are those bird-shadow appliqu?s. There was a study with the last year or two with swallows in a flight chamber that showed no difference in strikes between windows treated and untreated windows. Chuq --------------------------------------- Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me) Silverdale, Washington Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer 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 Sun Jun 14 14:54:45 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 14 14:54:48 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools In-Reply-To: <4E030A49-797C-408A-A84F-285F1BA11638@comcast.net> References: <4E030A49-797C-408A-A84F-285F1BA11638@comcast.net> Message-ID: On Jun 14, 2026 at 14:48:13, Tom Benedict via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > > I?m only speaking for myself, but as a ?non-Twitcher? I don?t see this as > good news. It's inevitable that this kind of decision support tool has > become available, but I really don?t think we should be encouraging more > chasing. > Here?s my rant: none of us should be gatekeeping. Whatever allows someone to enjoy birding is okay, and there is no right or wrong way to bird. I?m not a big chaser, but I?ve been doing a bit more of it in the last couple of years, and I know a number of birders for which the chase is their primary interest. More power to them, even though that?s not really what tickles my toes. I?m glad this tool exists for them. Will I ever use it? Probably not. But I think it?s important to remind all of us (including/especially me) that nobody gets to tell anyone else how to do birding ?right?. If it makes you happy, do it. Chuq --------------------------------------- Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me) Silverdale, Washington Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer 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 Sun Jun 14 16:36:36 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Philomena O'Neill via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 14 16:36:59 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We used this on our kitchen windows where we had a few strikes after putting up our feeders. Since applying the stripes there have been none. It seems to hold up in rain but if you wash the windows you will have to apply it again. Philomena Sent from my iPhone > On Jun 14, 2026, at 2:08?PM, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters wrote: > > ?This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing more about it. > >> Begin forwarded message: >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 >> > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 15 12:20:38 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Paradis via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 15 12:20:53 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Extreme Terrorial Behavior in Rufous Hummingbird Female In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Yesterday I was out at Nisqually hoping to see the 2nd Rufous hummingbird chick fledge from the hanging nest that is very visible (it did :) ), but almost immediately after a rival female flew down and pretty violently started attacking the chick trying to knock it to the ground. Fortunately the chick held on and the mother bird flew in to the rescue after a tense minute or two and two attacks. I know Rufous can be extremely territorial (and have certainly been buzzed by them before) but had not seen behavior quite so extreme and was wondering if anyone else had seen something like this before. (I did get it on video, but have not encoded it from the raw clip yet. I told the visitor's center I would forward it over once I do) p.s. Unrelatedly, one of the freshwater marsh-residing bitterns that has been taunting me with calls and never sightings for over a month finally allowed itself to be seen by me, so I can strike them from my Grudge Bird list On Mon, Jun 15, 2026 at 12:00?PM via Tweeters wrote: > Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to > tweeters@u.washington.edu > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu > > You can reach the person managing the list at > tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." > Today's Topics: > > 1. Wilson's Phalarope at M St Marsh in Auburn (Marv via Tweeters) > 2. Panama query (David Cook via Tweeters) > 3. how to prevent birds from flying into windows. > (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) > 4. Re: Some new birding tools (Tom Benedict via Tweeters) > 5. Re: how to prevent birds from flying into windows. > (Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters) > 6. Re: Some new birding tools (Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters) > 7. Re: how to prevent birds from flying into windows. > (Philomena O'Neill via Tweeters) > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Marv via Tweeters > To: Tweeters > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:02:16 -0700 > Subject: [Tweeters] Wilson's Phalarope at M St Marsh in Auburn > This morning I observed copulation of Wilson's Phalarope at the M Street > Marsh in Auburn. See videos: > https://flic.kr/ps/376fhN > > -- > Marv Breece > Tukwila, WA > *marvbreece@gmail.com * > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: David Cook via Tweeters > To: tweeters > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 13:01:58 -0700 > Subject: [Tweeters] Panama query > to Blythe Horman, > I can share information regarding Panama if you contact me at > 41cdcook@gmail.com > Dave Cook > Seattle > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters > To: TWEETERS tweeters > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:08:06 -0700 > Subject: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows. > This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing > more about it. > > Begin forwarded message: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters > To: TWEETERS tweeters > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:48:13 -0700 > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools > > > I?m only speaking for myself, but as a ?non-Twitcher? I don?t see this as > good news. It's inevitable that this kind of decision support tool has > become available, but I really don?t think we should be encouraging more > chasing. We don?t need more ways to incent more people to chase birds all > over the countryside. The photos that people post are almost always better > than the image I would get to see in person with bionic or scope, so I?m > more than satisfied staying home and enjoying the experience vicariously. > > But I?m not a WOS member, so maybe I should just get over it. > > > > Yes, I am a stick-in-the-mud. ;) > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, WA > > On Jun 9, 2026, at 12:19, Jane Hadley via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > Dear Tweetsters - I wanted to alert you to a couple new additions to the > WOS website (wos.org) that might be of interest. > > First former WOS board member and officer Scott Ray has created a free web > app that should be of interest to those who chase rarities. > > Here's how Scott describes it: > > "Birders who chase rarities all know the question: If I drive there today, >> will the bird still be there? .... >> Chase Report is a free, mobile-friendly, web-based rare bird dashboard >> that uses current eBird notable sightings and organizes them into a >> practical ?chaseability? view. It requires no account, login, or >> installation. Open the site in a browser and you can immediately see which >> rare birds appear most likely to still be present, which are uncertain, and >> which are probably gone." > > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters > To: Dennis Paulson > Cc: TWEETERS tweeters > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 23:49:26 +0200 > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows. > On Jun 14, 2026 at 14:08:06, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing >> more about it. >> >> Begin forwarded message: >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 >> >> > It?s a decent technique. Here?s the most recent from Cornell Lab: > > > https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/09/protect-birds-windows-change-human-behavior > > Research has indicated a matrix of dots works quite well (an example of > one product that implements this is Feather Friendly: > https://featherfriendly.com/) ? and yes, you can add dots manually if you > want with something like white-out but I?m not sure how weatherproof that > is. > > Paracord has also been shown to be effective: > https://www.birdsavers.com/using-paracord/ > > One thing that research has shown that is NOT effective are those > bird-shadow appliqu?s. There was a study with the last year or two with > swallows in a flight chamber that showed no difference in strikes between > windows treated and untreated windows. > > Chuq > > --------------------------------------- > > Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me) > Silverdale, Washington > Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer > > 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 > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters > To: Tom Benedict > Cc: TWEETERS tweeters > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 23:54:45 +0200 > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools > On Jun 14, 2026 at 14:48:13, Tom Benedict via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> >> >> I?m only speaking for myself, but as a ?non-Twitcher? I don?t see this as >> good news. It's inevitable that this kind of decision support tool has >> become available, but I really don?t think we should be encouraging more >> chasing. >> > > Here?s my rant: none of us should be gatekeeping. Whatever allows someone > to enjoy birding is okay, and there is no right or wrong way to bird. I?m > not a big chaser, but I?ve been doing a bit more of it in the last couple > of years, and I know a number of birders for which the chase is their > primary interest. More power to them, even though that?s not really what > tickles my toes. > > I?m glad this tool exists for them. Will I ever use it? Probably not. But > I think it?s important to remind all of us (including/especially me) that > nobody gets to tell anyone else how to do birding ?right?. If it makes you > happy, do it. > > > > Chuq > > --------------------------------------- > > Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me) > Silverdale, Washington > Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer > > 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 > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: "Philomena O'Neill via Tweeters" > To: Dennis Paulson > Cc: tweeters TWEETERS > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 16:36:36 -0700 > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows. > We used this on our kitchen windows where we had a few strikes after > putting up our feeders. Since applying the stripes there have been none. It > seems to hold up in rain but if you wash the windows you will have to apply > it again. > > Philomena > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jun 14, 2026, at 2:08?PM, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > ?This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing > more about it. > > Begin forwarded message: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -- Regards, Michael -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 15 14:28:39 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diane Eileen via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 15 14:28:43 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Acopian parachute cord, and white chalk to prevent bird strikes Message-ID: We moved into a mid-century home on Whidbey Island that had lots of glass and LOTS OF BIRD STRIKES. We put parachute cord around the house and white chalk lines on garage and shed windows. As far as we know, we have had only one bird strike in the last 15 months and I think it was due to a tussle between two male gold finches. Quite miraculous. Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 15 18:44:14 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 15 18:44:19 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk - Thursday, June 18 - 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, June 18 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 60degF-72degF start to finish (RealFeel 61-80) with a 0% chance of rain and mostly sunny during the walk. Looks like a fine day for birding. 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 Tue Jun 16 13:08:13 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 13:08:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> Hi, ? Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was just exiting the roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird streaked across the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before the open fields.? There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an RTH come out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few seconds, no more than 10 or 20.? As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black bird ... but not large enough to be crow-sized.? Looking in my rear view mirror I saw it go up towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually seeing it land. ? The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents (voles probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming). ? I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often.? And Bald Eagles on a pole consuming a duck.? And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse. But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch". ? I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time). ? Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement". ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- Jim in Skagit From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 16 13:13:11 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 13:13:25 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] territorial Rufous hummers Message-ID: I have had multiple similar experiences with *Anna's on Anna's *aggression - both male and female, fledgling on adult, adult on fledgling and nestling, as well as adult *Rufous on Anna's *aggression. -Anna's males attacking Anna's nestlings and grounded fledglings. -Rufous females attacking adult Anna's in Anna's nesting territory. -Anna's juvenile male attacking his own mother, taking her to the ground, pinning her to ground via toe claw in her eye and repeatedly stabbing her in the chest, resulting in puncture wound. -Adult Anna's female went in for antibiotics after retrieved from cat mouth, gone from her territory for 3 hours. Came back and another female had already attempted to claim. She attacked other female immediately after her release, knocking her to the ground. She weakly flew back up and perched on a branch. The interloper began a vicious aerial assault beating her with her beak for several minutes. She ultimately hung upside down and went into torpor - the assault continued. I thought she was a goner. Next morning she was outside the bedroom window alive and well. The same cat got the interloper and was not so lucky. Irony. *Hummingbirds spend a lot of time on the ground when fighting, and cats/predators notice - a prime opportunity to catch the otherwise evasive birds. FYI* -K -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 16 13:17:43 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 13:18:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack In-Reply-To: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> References: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> Message-ID: <861CDFAA-11CD-4376-A3F9-5F0B839E2DB8@shelflifestories.com> Cool story, Jim. I?ll never forget the time I saw a short-tailed weasel, in broad daylight, on the UW Bothell campus, take down a mole right in front of me. Then it stood over the carcass and stared me down until I gave it some space. But maybe the most astonishing kill I witnessed was in Rosario Strait last year, just off Washington Park. A Bald Eagle caught a Glaucous Winged Gull mid flight, close to the water, held the gull underwater until it was dead, and then took off, with the gull in its talons, from the position of sitting on the water. I?ve seen adult Bald Eagles struggle to take off from the water with much smaller prey, ultimately having to swim to shore. But this one lifted off like one of those military helicopters and flew that poor enormous gull back to its hungry nestlings. Jill Freidberg Co-Director, Seattle?Black?Spatial Histories Institute Public Artist? and Filmmaker Digital Media Editor, History?Link Editor, Limitless, Stories?from the Neighborhood?That Shaped Seattle Affiliate Faculty, University of Washington Bothell > On Jun 16, 2026, at 1:08?PM, Jim Betz via Tweeters wrote: > > Hi, > > Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was just exiting the > roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird streaked across > the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before the open > fields. There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an RTH come > out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few seconds, > no more than 10 or 20. As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized > bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black bird ... but > not large enough to be crow-sized. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw it go up > towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually > seeing it land. > The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents (voles > probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to > Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming). > I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often. And Bald Eagles > on a pole consuming a duck. And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse. > But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch". > I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the > shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time). > > Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more > common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement". > > - Jim in Skagit > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 16 13:35:28 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Harrell via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 13:36:08 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack In-Reply-To: <861CDFAA-11CD-4376-A3F9-5F0B839E2DB8@shelflifestories.com> References: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> <861CDFAA-11CD-4376-A3F9-5F0B839E2DB8@shelflifestories.com> Message-ID: Love these stories. Several years ago my wife and I were leaving Lake Merced park in San Francisco (very urban park, but lots of great birds). We were pulling out of our parking space in the lot adjacent to the park and a large flock of pigeons that had been on the ground all took to the sky at once. They flew right over our car and a red tail swooped down maybe 15' above and in front of our car and snatched a pigeon out of the air. It kept going as if it was the easiest thing on earth. I will never for get the agility and audacity! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 16 13:40:20 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Louise via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 13:40:34 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack In-Reply-To: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> References: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> Message-ID: Nice sighting, Jim! The only time I've seen a red-tail with prey, one was eating a garter snake on a pole by a hiking trail near North Bend. Those guys truly do have a broad diet. Louise Rutter Kirkland On Tue, Jun 16, 2026 at 1:08?PM Jim Betz via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hi, > > Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was > just exiting the > roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird > streaked across > the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before > the open > fields. There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an > RTH come > out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few > seconds, > no more than 10 or 20. As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized > bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black > bird ... but > not large enough to be crow-sized. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw > it go up > towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually > seeing it land. > The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents > (voles > probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to > Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming). > I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often. And Bald > Eagles > on a pole consuming a duck. And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse. > But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch". > I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the > shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time). > > Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more > common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement". > > - Jim in Skagit > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 16 13:59:21 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 14:00:22 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack In-Reply-To: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> References: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> Message-ID: <1781643561.q9msr2u94o0c4gw0@webmail.sitestar.net> Jim, Several times I've seen this with larger hawks. Twice with Northern Harrier and once with a Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA). The first incident with a Northern Harrier happened along SR-17 and the intersection of Trout Lodge Road. I saw a huge commotion on the ground. Dust was flying everywhere. Quickly I saw that a Northern Harrier had something on the ground. Immediately I was worried since it was very close to a known Burrowing Owl den. The fight continued for 10-15 seconds then stopped. As the wind blew the dust away the Northern Harrier was standing upright on the ground. As I slowly rolled the vehicle forward to get a look at what she (it was a female harrier) lifted off. She had a sizable rattlesnake in her talons. One talon gripped the snake firmly in the middle and the other gripped the snake firmly behind the head. It was incredible to watch. Alas no photos were forthcoming as I was so intent on the battle I forgot to grab the camera. The other was a harrier (male) that swooped across the road and landed on something. In this case the visibility was better since it was winter and there was snow on the ground. Feathers were flying everywhere but I still couldn't see what the harrier was trying to catch.Then a wing flopped up and I could see it was a mallard drake. Apparently the duck had been wounded by a hunter but was still alive. Never one to pass up an easy meal the harrier had pounce on the waddling duck. I snapped a few photos as the harrier began to dissect his meal. I watched for a good 15 minutes while the harrier consumed the breast of the mallard. I was only about 90 feet away and several cars passed by as I watched but he continued to eat, paying me and the other cars no mind. The RTHA was not as exciting as it was far off. I was in the Grand Coulee near Blue Lake looking at loons when a small flock of Rock Pigeons flew over to the cliff and landed. As I turned back I caught something out of the corner of my eye. It was a RTHA in full stoop. The hawk flew directly at the pigeons. For some reason the thought he might be after the pigeons didn't cross my mind. I got the hawk in the binoculars and watch as the hawk raced toward the cliff. About the time I thought he was going to crash into the cliff the pigeons spied the hawk and flushed. It was a brilliant maneuver on the hawks part as the pigeons escape routes were all one dimensional. The could go up, down, or sideways but that was all. A sheer cliff to their back had put them into a bad place. As the flushed helter-skelter the hawk put on the brakes and plucked one of the pigeons out of the air and lightly sat down on the shelf where moments before 9 pigeons had sat. I never saw that again but I am certain that wasn't the first time that hawk had used that maneuver to catch a meal. Doug On Tue, 16 Jun 2026 13:08:13 -0700, Jim Betz via Tweeters wrote: Hi, ? Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was just exiting the roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird streaked across the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before the open fields.? There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an RTH come out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few seconds, no more than 10 or 20.? As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black bird ... but not large enough to be crow-sized.? Looking in my rear view mirror I saw it go up towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually seeing it land. ? The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents (voles probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming). ? I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often.? And Bald Eagles on a pole consuming a duck.? And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse. But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch". ? I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time). ? Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement". ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- Jim in Skagit _______________________________________________ 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 Jun 16 17:56:06 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 17:56:11 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack In-Reply-To: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> References: <60c95aa8-edf5-4deb-be3b-73b6f600be3b@jimbetz.com> Message-ID: Nice! Several times at JBLM Eagle's Pride Golf Course we've seen Red-tailed Hawks (RTHA) on the grass grabbing earthworms. Once, in early Spring, two RTHAs were getting earthworms as we all watched. Lots of protein with relatively little energy expenditure! May all your birds be identified, Denis DeSilvis avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Jim Betz via Tweeters Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 2026 13:08:13 To: via Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack Hi, Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was just exiting the roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird streaked across the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before the open fields. There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an RTH come out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few seconds, no more than 10 or 20. As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black bird ... but not large enough to be crow-sized. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw it go up towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually seeing it land. The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents (voles probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming). I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often. And Bald Eagles on a pole consuming a duck. And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse. But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch". I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time). Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement". - Jim in Skagit _______________________________________________ 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 Jun 16 18:11:38 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ron Post via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 18:11:54 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Green Lake last two days Message-ID: Been watching a huge osprey here in late afternoons...also saw what could have been a shorebird skimming the surface about an hour ago. Maybe I was fooled by one of the leftover swallows... Ron Post ronpost4@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 16 13:01:04 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (JUDITH R TAYLOR via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 19:09:44 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] preventing bird window strikes Message-ID: Tweeters, Re: recent thread about preventing window strikes by birds. The American Bird Conservancy has a lot of info on the subject and they recently gave a zoom seminar about this. If I remember correctly it was sometime in the past 8-10 months. A variety of solutions were presented and it may be worthwhile to see if the session was archived and available on their website. Here is the url to the info page. https://abcbirds.org/solutions/preventing-collisions/ Apologies if this info was previously posted in answer to the inquiry; I have missed a few messages. Judy Rowe Taylor Spokane, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 16 20:14:55 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 20:15:24 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird Message-ID: This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a mouth full. Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 16 20:54:14 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom Benedict via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 20:54:28 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1D3A4D59-734E-4A04-B095-041AF1B96952@comcast.net> We hang dryer lint in a wire cage and I?ve seen Anna?s plucking link twice in the past week. I would have thought that nesting season was over by now, but maybe not? Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Jun 16, 2026, at 20:14, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters wrote: > > This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a mouth full. > > Carol Stoner > West Seattle From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 16 22:36:18 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nancy Crowell via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 16 22:42:23 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird In-Reply-To: <1D3A4D59-734E-4A04-B095-041AF1B96952@comcast.net> References: <1D3A4D59-734E-4A04-B095-041AF1B96952@comcast.net> Message-ID: Hi Tom, My understanding is that dryer lint is not recommended for bird nesting material and is potentially harmful. I am including a link to a helpful article about appropriate nesting materials from Cornell: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/providing-nest-material-for-birds-dos-donts/ Nancy La Conner Nancy "Images for the imagination." www.crowellphotography.com ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Tom Benedict via Tweeters Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 2026 20:54:14 To: Tom and Carol Stoner ; Tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird We hang dryer lint in a wire cage and I?ve seen Anna?s plucking link twice in the past week. I would have thought that nesting season was over by now, but maybe not? Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Jun 16, 2026, at 20:14, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters wrote: > > This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a mouth full. > > Carol Stoner > West 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 Wed Jun 17 11:50:38 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Martha Jordan via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jun 17 11:51:08 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Info needed on swans Message-ID: Hello fellow birders. I am in need of some information on how to connect with other birders across North America, more specifically the Canada/US States area where both Trumpeter and Tundra swans live, migrate or breed. I am working on collecting as much information and photos as possible regarding swans (Trumpeter and Tundra) that have kinked or swoop neck deformities. It appears we are seeing more of them in our area each winter, and I have found 3 other sightings from Idaho to Alberta. So, are there other chat lists, people, etc. that I could contact for finding more information or potential sightings? Thanks. Reply off line at mj.cygnus at gmail.com Thanks. Martha Jordan NW Swan Conservation Association nwswan dot org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jun 17 14:41:13 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jay via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jun 17 14:41:29 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Leucistic Canada Goose?? Message-ID: This Canada Goose was seen with a large group from the ASB (Aerated Stabilization Basin) Trail in Bellingham this morning. Is this goose leucistic? I looked up images of leucistic Canada geese and it matches. If it is, how do I report it on eBird? I could not find a way. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCWVWS Thanks - Jay E. Bellingham WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 18 10:25:01 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 18 10:25:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/17/2026. Message-ID: Dear Tweets, Approximately 28 of us enjoyed a nice spring day at the Refuge; skies were mostly cloudy in the morning and cleared to sunny in the afternoon. Temperatures ranged from the 50's to 70's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a Low -3'10" Tide at 2pm, so we did our routine walk. Highlights included three First Of Year sightings. Miles and Susan spotted a LAZULI BUNTING in the large field west of the west end parking lot. Many of us saw the bird fly towards the parking lot but were unable to relocate it. Jon and Lisa got us on a singing RED-EYED VIREO: one on the access road south of the west end parking lot closer to the green gate across from the Education Center parking lot and the other adjacent to the Twin Barns. Peter spotted a RED CROSSBILL type IV in the top of Douglas Fir along the same access road. Other fun sightings included a YELLOW WARBLER feeding a fledgling, a SONG SPARROW on a nest, and Nate located a DOWNY WOODPECKER nest cavity with young... all along the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail between the access road cut-through and the turn off to the Twin Barns. The colony of CLIFF SWALLOWS at McAllister Creek/Medicine Creek Viewing Platform on the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk trail is a real spectacle with over 60 mud huts. For the day we observed 72 species. With the FOY Lazuli Bunting, Red-eyed Vireo and Red Crossbill, we now have seen 151 species this year. See our eBird Report below. Janel and I birded Luhr Beach at 6:30am during the high tide. This location is the north west border of the Nisqually Reach. We observed 2 AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN at the mouth of the Nisqually River that we did not see on our regular walk. Bruce LaBar reported these same birds on the Pierce County Rare Bird WhatsApp Group as the crossed the County Line. >From Luhr Beach we observed MARBLED MURRELET, COMMON MURRE, RHINOCEROUS AUKLET and PIGEON GUILLEMOT. The Beach itself is great for PURPLE MARTIN in the morning. 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 Jun 17, 2026 7:37?AM - 4:14?PM Protocol: Traveling 3.032 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. A Low -3?10? Tide at 2:00pm. Partly cloudy morning with clearing skies in afternoon. Temperatures in the 50?s to 70?s degrees Fahrenheit. Others seen included Townsend?s Chipmunk, Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Muskrat, Eastern Ground Squirrel, Harbor Seal, American Bullfrog, Red-legged Frog, Pacific Chorus Frog, Western Swallow-tailed Butterfly, Paddle-tailed Darner, Pacific Forktail, Red-veined Meadowhawk and numerous Boxelder Bugs. 72 species (+5 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 25 Wood Duck 2 Blue-winged Teal 1 Freshwater Marsh Blue-winged/Cinnamon Teal 2 Gadwall 1 Mallard 14 Hooded Merganser 4 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 7 Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 26 Mourning Dove 9 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Land Trust Building area. Rufous Hummingbird 10 Virginia Rail 2 Sora 2 Killdeer 6 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Greater Yellowlegs 2 Ring-billed Gull 45 California Gull 90 Glaucous-winged Gull 4 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 5 gull sp. 100 Caspian Tern 22 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 50 Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 30 Osprey (American) 1 Bald Eagle 51 Counted individually. Two occupied nests along West Bank of McAllister Creek. hawk sp. 1 Belted Kingfisher 3 Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 3 Nest tree outside of west side Twin Barns Loop Trail north of Access Road cut-through. Northern Flicker 2 Western Wood-Pewee 4 Willow Flycatcher 6 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 2 Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 1 Western Warbling Vireo 4 Red-eyed Vireo 2 Heard only. Access Road south of west side parking lot. And picnic area Twin Barns. Steller's Jay 1 American Crow 3 Black-capped Chickadee 20 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5 Bank Swallow 6 Counted individually. Some in groups of 2-3 birds. Tree Swallow 52 Violet-green Swallow 1 Purple Martin 6 Luhr Beach Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 7 Barn Swallow (American) 40 Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 160 Bushtit (Pacific) 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 Heard only, West Bank of McAllistet Creek. Brown Creeper 20 Numerous small families feeding young. Marsh Wren 16 Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 10 European Starling 60 Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 42 American Robin (migratorius Group) 30 Cedar Waxwing 18 Purple Finch (Western) 5 Red Crossbill (Douglas-fir or type 4) 1 American Goldfinch 21 Chipping Sparrow 1 Nisqually Estuary Trail or dike. Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 4 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 32 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 6 Bullock's Oriole 2 Twin Barns ?rea. Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 51 Brown-headed Cowbird 16 Common Yellowthroat 8 Northern Yellow Warbler 40 Wilson's Warbler 2 Western Tanager 1 Heard only, West Bank of McAllister Creek. Black-headed Grosbeak 5 Lazuli Bunting 1 Spotted flying out of field west of west side parking lot into trees along access road. View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S358952376 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 18 12:05:50 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jane Hadley via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 18 12:06:04 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Yet another tool Message-ID: Hello Tweetsters - Scott Ray has come up with another tool that might be of interest to anybody who is wondering what county they're in at any particular moment. It's called "Current County" and is free and simple to use. All you need to do is click on the link or go to the address https://currentcounty.com/ in your browser and you will instantly be shown the county you are in. It will also give you the latitude and longitude of your location and the time and date. The app also will allow you to copy the lat/long coordinates so that you can paste them elsewhere, such as into an email or text message. And you can click on a button and be shown a map of the county. Finally, you can click on another button and be taken to eBird's King County page. I've added this to the List of Birding Resources on the WOS website. https://wos.org/birding-resources/ Jane Hadley Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 18 12:32:14 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 18 12:32:33 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-06-18 Message-ID: Tweets - Gorgeous day to be out, with comfortable temps, sunshine, and just a hint of a breeze. This time of year, we aren't expecting surprises, as almost all the birds we find are nesting in the park. That was mostly true today, but there were a couple of surprises. Highlights: Canada Goose - Just four, and not seen until the Rowing Club Virginia Rail - One or two responded. June responses are unusual Spotted Sandpiper - One called as it flew, unseen, down the slough Gulls - Four with black wingtips. Possibly California? Cooper's Hawk - One from the Viewing Mound Red-tailed Hawk - Twice seen, both times massively mobbed by crows Pileated Woodpecker - One across the slough from below the weir Merlin - One flew over the concert venue a little before 6:00 a.m. Swainson's Thrush - Actually SAW two, heard many more Orange-crowned Warbler - One singing, unseen, at the Rowing Club At the Rowing Club, Mason and I heard a large number of twittering birds. We were hoping to add BUSHTIT and CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE to our day list (which we did, though Bushtits remained invisible). But there were BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, BEWICK'S WRENS, DOWNY WOODPECKERS, SONG-SPARROWS, and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH as well. We figured they must be mobbing a predator. Finally, Mason spotted a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL a good 20 yards into the shrubbery. WESTERN SCREECH-OWL was heard once, back in January, but otherwise have not been noticed in the park this year. This bird appeared to be an adult. Based on timings of past breeding within the park, the presence of an adult mid-June does not necessarily indicate breeding within the park this year; young should have fledged already, if only recently. This sighting does make it seem more probable that they nested a least near the park this year, though. Baby birds were everywhere, complete with difficult-to-identify baby sounds. MALLARD and WOOD DUCK ducklings were numerous. Other babies included GREAT BLUE HERON (many juvies fishing), AMERICAN CROW, BLACK-CAPPED and CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, PURPLE MARTIN, HOUSE FINCH, DARK-EYED JUNCO, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. This is also a season where many birds are best described as Breeding-plumage Male vs. Female/Juvenile. For instance, the hummingbirds we saw were not breeding males, but age was otherwise indeterminate in the brief looks we got. Same goes for COMMON YELLOWTHROATS. Anyway, for the day, 61 species, but nothing new for the year. = 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 Jun 18 19:55:04 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Madrone Ruggiero via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 18 19:55:09 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Accessible field trip/Small Sit tomorrow June 19th at Keystone on Whidbey Island 0800-1000 References: <1718120607.100255.1781837704760.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1718120607.100255.1781837704760@mail.yahoo.com> Hi all,Tomorrow June 19th from 0800-1000 I will be leading an accessible birding outing at the Keystone Dive Park/Boat launch (next to the Keystone Ferry) on Whidbey Island. This event is open to all and is focused on observing bird behavior, learning to identify birds, and just enjoying listening to and watching birds. Beginners and those with children are encouraged to attend. Loaner optics will be available. There is no walking for this event, just park next to the viewing area and sit or stand and observe the birds for as long as you want. Attendees can come and go as they please at any time during the two hour sit.?Address is?Keystone Dive Park and Boat Launch 1390 State Route 20 Coupeville, WA 98239?We will be at the picnic tables near the water. No discover pass needed, it is a state parks free day for the Juneteenth holiday.?For full details please visit the field trip event page at?Keystone Dive Park/Boat Launch Small Sit ? Whidbey Audubon Society ?Thank you and hope to see you there or at another WAS event in the future,Madrone Ruggiero | | | | | | | | | | | Keystone Dive Park/Boat Launch Small Sit ? Whidbey Audubon Society Celebrate Juneteenth and the upcoming summer solstice by joining us for a small sit to watch and listen to our s... | | | | | Virus-free.www.avg.com | -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 19 10:15:58 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Marv via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 10:16:18 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs Message-ID: Yesterday there were 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. They were noisy & seemed restless. After a short visit they picked up and flew south. Harbingers? -- Marv Breece Tukwila, WA *marvbreece@gmail.com * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 19 10:57:18 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 10:57:33 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: They breed farther south than many of our migratory shorebirds, so they presumably are on their breeding grounds relatively early, and they may well be the first fall migrants. Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Jun 19, 2026, at 10:15?AM, Marv via Tweeters wrote: > > Yesterday there were 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. They were noisy & seemed restless. After a short visit they picked up and flew south. > > Harbingers? > > > -- > Marv Breece > Tukwila, WA > marvbreece@gmail.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 Jun 19 12:17:59 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jane Hadley via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 12:18:12 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Yet another tool - a correction Message-ID: I mistakenly said in my Tweeters post yesterday about the new https://currentcounty.com/ tool that if you clicked on a certain button you would be taken to eBird's King County page. The correct information is that if you click on the button you will be taken to the eBird page for that county that you are in. (One of many mistakes I make each and every day!) Jane Hadley Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 19 12:28:12 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kenneth Brown via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 12:28:17 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Eagle's Pride walk Message-ID: <309361935.154300.1781897292932@connect.xfinity.com> The weather was as good as it gets here in June, warm, but not too warm, clear sunny skies and only a slight breeze. A couple of the birders found a Bullock's Oriole nest very near where we started out. We were able to observe the parents carry food into the nest, and some saw a couple of the young emerge from the nest and fledge. We briefly saw Wood Ducks on the first pond before they swam out of sight behind the vegetation along the shore. Those were the only ducks we saw all day. Though it was a dry day, humidity recovery left the tall grass outside the fairway and along the powerline wet, soaking fabric shoes and lower pant legs. A few walkers, new to this site, felt unprepared and left early, vowing to be prepared next time. Along the way we got clear looks at McGillivray's Warbler, Orange -crowned Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, and Northern Yellow Warbler. Flycatchers were abundant as were Western Tanagers. A pair of Pied-billed Grebe's were the sole occupants of Hodge's Lake , though it's surface was skimmed by Barn, Tree, and Violet-Green Swallows, along with Cedar Waxwings. Strangely missing were American Crows and Common Raven. Where did the Corvids go? Having no answer to that question, see the following checklist for more details. Eagle's Pride GC, Pierce, Washington, US Jun 18, 2026 7:58?AM - 12:40?PM Protocol: Traveling 2.648 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Monthly walk. Sunny, north breeze at 3-5:knots, and 57-79? F. 56 species Wood Duck 7 Band-tailed Pigeon 3 Mourning Dove 4 Vaux's Swift 1 Anna's Hummingbird 2 Rufous Hummingbird 5 Glaucous-winged Gull 1 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Hodges Lake Bald Eagle 3 Second cycle and adults Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 3 Olive-sided Flycatcher 2 Western Wood-Pewee 14 Willow Flycatcher 11 Hammond's Flycatcher 1 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 8 Hutton's Vireo 2 Western Warbling Vireo 3 Steller's Jay (Coastal) 4 Black-capped Chickadee 8 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 23 Tree Swallow 12 Violet-green Swallow 16 Purple Martin 2 Barn Swallow 20 Bushtit (Pacific) 18 Golden-crowned Kinglet 14 Red-breasted Nuthatch 12 Brown Creeper 6 Northern House Wren (Northern) 4 Pacific Wren (Pacific) 2 Bewick's Wren 2 European Starling 4 Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 16 American Robin 34 Cedar Waxwing 25 House Finch 4 Purple Finch (Western) 18 American Goldfinch 6 Chipping Sparrow 2 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 10 White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 15 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 13 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 11 Bullock's Oriole 6 Male & female were feeding 2 young in the nest when we arrived. The chicks fledged while we were watching! Red-winged Blackbird 3 Brown-headed Cowbird 12 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 10 MacGillivray's Warbler 1 Common Yellowthroat 2 Northern Yellow Warbler 20 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 2 Wilson's Warbler 5 Western Tanager 11 Black-headed Grosbeak 6 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S359712500 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 19 17:04:33 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diann MacRae via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 17:04:37 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] May 2026 turkey vulture report Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 19 17:55:00 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 17:55:13 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Picking Up Binoculars Could Change Your Brain For The Better References: <3352E686-E98F-46DB-8662-D692EAD96C87@comcast.net> Message-ID: <65F7F260-28FB-413B-98E5-6FF5D1EA4784@comcast.net> Begin forwarded message: > > https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/why-birdwatching-may-be-one-of-best-hobbies-for-your-brain-what-the-research-found > From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 19 18:09:22 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kim Thorburn via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 18:09:28 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Yesterday I counted at least 12 greater yellowlegs on Florence Lake at the WDFW Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County. They were busily foraging and actually less vocal than I expect with that many. This arrival does seem a bit earlier than what's in the literature. I didn't see many GRYE during spring migration and counted just one during the IMWSS in April. I saw them frequently in northern Chile in February. Shorebirds are SO amazing. It was not GRYE that I was looking for but rather, Wilson's phalarope. It's so dry I began to feel like I was on a fool's errand traipsing around the shrubsteppe covered with cheatgrass, compliments of the 2020 Whitney fire. Four prairie-breeding shorebirds are in the state's 2025 wildlife action plan update: no surprise, American avocet and long-billed curlew are species of greatest conservation need and lesser yellowlegs and Wilson's phalarope are species of greatest information need. (The latter is also petitioned for federal listing.) I'm on a mission to convince the shorebird conservation world that the Columbia plateau should receive much more attention for shorebird conservation efforts-both Pacific flyway migration and prairie-breeding shorebirds. (All those giant saline lakes of the Great Basin get all the attention.) I decided to start with WIPH to learn something about breeding on the plateau. With all the vernal ponds bone dry, saline lakes getting there, and even large wetlands greatly shrunk, I thought the best I could hope for would be finding suitable habitat. I lucked out and actually found breeding behavior. A male was foraging in the pond. However, a female suddenly exploded under my nose, did a little broken wing, and then mobbed me before joining the male. While the females don't brood, they do false brood to decoy. I suspect she might have been covering for a brooding male while he was out getting some calories. I opted to not look for the nest for fear of stepping on in in the dense vegetation. Fun day. 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: Friday, June 19, 2026 10:57 AM To: Marv Cc: Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs They breed farther south than many of our migratory shorebirds, so they presumably are on their breeding grounds relatively early, and they may well be the first fall migrants. Dennis Paulson Seattle On Jun 19, 2026, at 10:15?AM, Marv via Tweeters wrote: Yesterday there were 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. They were noisy & seemed restless. After a short visit they picked up and flew south. Harbingers? -- Marv Breece Tukwila, WA marvbreece@gmail.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 Jun 19 18:12:35 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom Benedict via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 18:12:51 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird In-Reply-To: References: <1D3A4D59-734E-4A04-B095-041AF1B96952@comcast.net> Message-ID: <7386A2FD-3969-4B15-9737-13211AB8D107@comcast.net> Thanks for the link Nancy. I guess I?ll take down the lint cage. On a related note, I must admit that the longer I live the less I enjoy birdwatching. There was a time, not long ago, that I carried binoculars with me on every trip. In my youth, 60+ years ago my father and I birded with Hazel Wolf and Zella Schultz. Heck, I was even a Merit Badge counselor for the Boy Scout Bird Study merit badge when my sons were scouts. But the past 4-5 years it seems different. Maybe it?s that the hobby has grown so much and seemingly everyone is doing it now. Maybe it?s cognitive decline, but I seem less and less capable of identifying birds anymore. Sparrows, Finches and Juncos all look alike and I don?t even try with gulls anymore. I?ve stopped putting out bird seed in the feeders because of rats and squirrels. Stopped suet too for similar reason. Plus baiting is really not ethical. Or maybe I?m just losing interest in being interested things. Now I find out that the dryer lint I?ve been putting out for the past 60 years is likely harmful. The times they are achangin?.. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Jun 16, 2026, at 22:36, Nancy Crowell wrote: > > Hi Tom, > My understanding is that dryer lint is not recommended for bird nesting material and is potentially harmful. I am including a link to a helpful article about appropriate nesting materials from Cornell: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/providing-nest-material-for-birds-dos-donts/ > > Nancy > La Conner > > Nancy > "Images for the imagination." > www.crowellphotography.com > From: Tweeters on behalf of Tom Benedict via Tweeters > Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 2026 20:54:14 > To: Tom and Carol Stoner ; Tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird > > We hang dryer lint in a wire cage and I?ve seen Anna?s plucking link twice in the past week. I would have thought that nesting season was over by now, but maybe not? > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, WA > > > On Jun 16, 2026, at 20:14, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters wrote: > > > > This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a mouth full. > > > > Carol Stoner > > West 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 Fri Jun 19 18:33:12 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ann Kramer via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 18:33:28 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird In-Reply-To: <7386A2FD-3969-4B15-9737-13211AB8D107@comcast.net> References: <1D3A4D59-734E-4A04-B095-041AF1B96952@comcast.net> <7386A2FD-3969-4B15-9737-13211AB8D107@comcast.net> Message-ID: Hi Tom, I understand; things change as our senses age and change. It?s pretty easy to get an organic nest fill even on Amazon. I got some with fluffy cotton like as well as more straw like pieces. But I?m sure you made a lot of birds happy over the years. We found that the chili pepper suet, also available on Amazon, works as a deterrent for squirrels and rodents. And thistle (nyger) and safflower are repellent to rodents. As a gardener, I also use blood meal in areas to deter the squirrels and chipmunks. Probably works on rodents as well It?s good to simplify as we get older. Sometimes, I also just think it?s fine to not worry about identifying birds and I close my eyes and just listen to the beautiful orchestration of distinct birdsong around me. I hope you can find a way to continue to enjoy what has clearly brought you a lot of pleasure in the past, in a way that works for you. And I want to thank you, from the birds, for all you?ve offered them over the years. After all these years I still haven?t received a thank you note!!!! Ann On Fri, Jun 19, 2026 at 6:13?PM Tom Benedict via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Thanks for the link Nancy. I guess I?ll take down the lint cage. > > On a related note, I must admit that the longer I live the less I enjoy > birdwatching. There was a time, not long ago, that I carried binoculars > with me on every trip. In my youth, 60+ years ago my father and I birded > with Hazel Wolf and Zella Schultz. Heck, I was even a Merit Badge > counselor for the Boy Scout Bird Study merit badge when my sons were > scouts. But the past 4-5 years it seems different. Maybe it?s that the > hobby has grown so much and seemingly everyone is doing it now. Maybe it?s > cognitive decline, but I seem less and less capable of identifying birds > anymore. Sparrows, Finches and Juncos all look alike and I don?t even try > with gulls anymore. I?ve stopped putting out bird seed in the feeders > because of rats and squirrels. Stopped suet too for similar reason. Plus > baiting is really not ethical. Or maybe I?m just losing interest in being > interested things. Now I find out that the dryer lint I?ve been putting out > for the past 60 years is likely harmful. > > The times they are achangin?.. > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, WA > > On Jun 16, 2026, at 22:36, Nancy Crowell wrote: > > Hi Tom, > My understanding is that dryer lint is not recommended for bird nesting > material and is potentially harmful. I am including a link to a helpful > article about appropriate nesting materials from Cornell: > https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/providing-nest-material-for-birds-dos-donts/ > > Nancy > La Conner > > Nancy > "Images for the imagination." > www.crowellphotography.com > ------------------------------ > *From:* Tweeters on behalf > of Tom Benedict via Tweeters > *Sent:* Tuesday, 16 June 2026 20:54:14 > *To:* Tom and Carol Stoner ; > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird > > We hang dryer lint in a wire cage and I?ve seen Anna?s plucking link twice > in the past week. I would have thought that nesting season was over by now, > but maybe not? > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, WA > > > On Jun 16, 2026, at 20:14, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > > > This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff > that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a > mouth full. > > > > Carol Stoner > > West Seattle > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 19 18:46:36 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 19 18:47:01 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Request for Information regarding birds, locations and guide recommendations for all of Kauai and Princeville, Hawaii Message-ID: <7F9E21E2-D661-43C5-8333-5B1FFAEBF189@gmail.com> Hello Tweeters, Friends will be at Kauai and Princeville, Hawaii in June-next week-and asked for information regarding birds, locations and guide recommendations for all of Kauai and Princeville, Hawaii. Please respond directly to me and I will forward to them. Thank you for your help. Dan Reiff Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 20 12:24:44 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Elaine Chuang via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 20 12:24:50 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: RE-POST TUVU report for May 2026 References: <355F0E53-23E9-4194-9C39-F84C44DE0C9F@uw.edu> Message-ID: Below is a re-post of Diann MacRae's May 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 ... behalf of Diann MacRae via Tweeters Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 5:04 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] May 2026 turkey vulture report Hi, Tweets - a little late but lots of turkey vultures back and enjoying their summer vacations . . . hopefully nesting, too. This report is mostly Washington with a few from British Columbia. MAY 02 -- One at Chase Lake Elem.School, King County. 05 -- One consuming a deer carcass on the side of the Issaquah-Hobart Road S.E./Hyw 18, clear and 60 F, 20:00, King County. 06 -- One just south of Blewett Pass on Hwy. 97 at 11:21, Chelan County. 07 -- Two turkey vultures soaring over I-90 east of North Bend, King County. 08 -- One turkey vullture at the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR, cool and breezy, 50/60 F, Thurston County: four at the Campbell River Airport, B.C, 09 -- Two just west of Cle Elum over I-90 at 09:37, Kittitas County; three turkey vultures over Wenas Road at 14:38, Yakima/Kittitas Counties; seven at East Sooke Park, Aylard Farm, B.C. 14 -- Three over Dry Falls Lake in Sun Lakes State Park at 16:42, Grant County. 15 -- 18 turkey vultures over Rufus Woods Lake at the Seaton's Grove Boat Launch at 14:16. 16 -- Eight kettling above the Palouse to Cascades Trail. 20 -- Four over Perch Lake in Sun Lakes State Park at 17:42. 21 -- Four seen at the west bank hillside of McAllister Creek at the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR, cloudy/sunny in 50-60s F; one seen at the Rowing Club, Marymoor Park, King County, FOY; one over JBLM Eagle's Pride Golf Course, 26 -- Five at Powell River, Wildwood Bluffs, B.C. 27 -- One seen at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR, 50-70s F. 28 -- Two turkey vultures sitting at the top of a tree in Fall City, King County; one flying over Delanty Lake Road near Discovery Bay, ca. 11:00, Jefferson County. Thanks for the great reports. Maybe soon there will be some young ones to be seen (black heads, not red). Cheers, Diann Olympic Vulture Study Bothell, Wa 98021 From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 20 15:50:42 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 20 15:50:58 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] contacting Liam Hutcheson Message-ID: <8256D4FB-7A7E-4C63-BEFD-C43DA1830F95@comcast.net> Hello tweets, Does anyone have an email address for Liam Hutcheson? I?m trying to get in touch with him on a dragonfly matter! Dennis Paulson Seattle From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 20 16:22:07 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (peggy_busby via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 20 16:22:16 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] contacting Liam Hutcheson In-Reply-To: <8256D4FB-7A7E-4C63-BEFD-C43DA1830F95@comcast.net> Message-ID: <473130957.360280.1781997733647@yahoo.com> Dennis, this is what I have for Liam, as of 2022:? liamhutcheson2020@gmail.comPeggySent from my Galaxy -------- Original message --------From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters Date: 6/20/26 15:51 (GMT-08:00) To: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] contacting Liam Hutcheson Hello tweets,Does anyone have an email address for Liam Hutcheson? I?m trying to get in touch with him on a dragonfly matter!Dennis PaulsonSeattle_______________________________________________Tweeters mailing listTweeters@u.washington.eduhttp://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 21 10:26:12 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Mike Wagenbach via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 21 10:26:33 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Pet hair for nest material Message-ID: We have two guinea pigs, one short-haired and one long-haired, who shed a lot of hair and live on and in polarfleece cage liners and "muffs" (little tunnels) instead of disposable bedding. These are laundered every week, and after removing them from the washer there are little balls of felted hair left behind. The "long" hair is about three inches or so and the shorter about one inch. The balls seem to contain both long and short hair. I stuck a handful of these in an unused suet cage and hung it outside a couple of months ago next to the bird feeders. It looks like some bits have been pulled out, but we haven't "sold out" of this product, so I guess guinea pig hair isn't the most popular nest material. Mike Wagenbach Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 21 13:27:26 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 21 13:27:34 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] TUVU Reports In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ? While birding yesterday we saw turkey vultures here in Skagit County: ? 1) Three TUVU (3) soaring/circling at Rosario Beach. ? ? ? ?Rosario, in general, was "pretty dead" - no Kingfisher, no Alcids, a few Oystercatchers, no Harlequin or ? ? ? ?Wood Ducks, no Canada Geese, a larger than normal amount of White-crowned Sparrows and a ? ? ? ?normal amount of Tree Swallows.? Heard, but did not see, a Flicker.? Several crows but no Ravens. ? ? ? ?Almost no gulls of any kind and only one flight of cormorants (but 20 in that one flight!), ? 2) Four TUVU on the ground near the road between the West 90 and where you go onto Samish Island. ? ? ? This was one by itself and 3 more 'close' to each other - all were down on the ground and in ? ? ? what I'd call "recently cut hay/grasses". ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jim in Skagit From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 21 16:02:46 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Peter Relson via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 21 16:02:53 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Pet hair for nest material References: <1006276813.708228.1782082966225.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1006276813.708228.1782082966225@mail.yahoo.com> >so I guess?guinea pig hair isn't?>the most popular nest material. Husky fur/hair, on the other hand, is a big hit with our tufted titmice. Peter RelsonUlster Park, NY -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Jun 21 17:50:35 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Price via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 21 17:50:49 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs Message-ID: Hi tweets Those Greater Yellowlegs are for sure the first southbound shorebirds of the summer. I spent nearly fifteen years monitoring shorebirds at the Iona Island settling ponds mostly as well as Boundary Bay from the northbound rush in April, through the May/June hiatus to the bitter end in November. Getting to know what birds loitered in the five or six weeks between migrations made the first southbound arrivals conspicuous. Usually the first southbound birds to arrive were the Yellowlegs, sometimes as early as June 18. Then the arrivals of adult Western, SemiSandpiper, Least in week 4 June. The first shorebird juveniles start showing up in Weeks 4-5 July, three to four weeks after the arrival of the adults. Everybody's pretty much gone by November. Of course, there's waaayyy more to it but there's a very quick overview. 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 Mon Jun 22 12:31:00 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Mary Reese via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 22 12:31:14 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Pet hair for nesting material In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <938110779.646575.1782156660701@mail.yahoo.com> I've been using cat fur for many years. The birds seem to preferSoft longhair white fur.? When brushing a longhair cat, you get tons of it. You just have to make sure that your cat's fur is not full of poison from parasite meds (flea, tick, worm, etc.). As indoor cats, mine never needed the meds, so the fur is non-toxic for for the baby birds. I have noticed that the birds who enjoy this soft, fluffy fur the most are the hummingbirds, so I put the fur dispenser close to their feeder. I've seen chickadees and house finches use it, too. Make sure your dispenser (suet feeders work great) is under a shelter of some sort.? If it gets rained on, it will become a big, hard fur ball. Isn't that ironic that the baby birds are all snuggled up in the fur of their predator?? Mary ReesePortland OR Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer On Mon, Jun 22, 2026 at 12:01 PM, via Tweeters wrote: Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to ??? tweeters@u.washington.edu To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit ??? http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to ??? tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu You can reach the person managing the list at ??? tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." Today's Topics: ? 1. TUVU Reports (Jim Betz via Tweeters) ? 2. Re: Pet hair for nest material (Peter Relson via Tweeters) ? 3. Re: Greater Yellowlegs (Michael Price via Tweeters) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026 13:27:26 -0700 From: Jim Betz via Tweeters To: via Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] TUVU Reports Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed ? While birding yesterday we saw turkey vultures here in Skagit County: ? 1) Three TUVU (3) soaring/circling at Rosario Beach. ? ? ? ?Rosario, in general, was "pretty dead" - no Kingfisher, no Alcids, a few Oystercatchers, no Harlequin or ? ? ? ?Wood Ducks, no Canada Geese, a larger than normal amount of White-crowned Sparrows and a ? ? ? ?normal amount of Tree Swallows.? Heard, but did not see, a Flicker.? Several crows but no Ravens. ? ? ? ?Almost no gulls of any kind and only one flight of cormorants (but 20 in that one flight!), ? 2) Four TUVU on the ground near the road between the West 90 and where you go onto Samish Island. ? ? ? This was one by itself and 3 more 'close' to each other - all were down on the ground and in ? ? ? what I'd call "recently cut hay/grasses". ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jim in Skagit ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026 23:02:46 +0000 (UTC) From: Peter Relson via Tweeters To: "tweeters@u.washington.edu" Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Pet hair for nest material Message-ID: <1006276813.708228.1782082966225@mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" >so I guess?guinea pig hair isn't?>the most popular nest material. Husky fur/hair, on the other hand, is a big hit with our tufted titmice. Peter RelsonUlster Park, NY -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026 17:50:35 -0700 From: Michael Price via Tweeters To: tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs Message-ID: ??? Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hi tweets Those Greater Yellowlegs are for sure the first southbound shorebirds of the summer. I spent nearly fifteen years monitoring shorebirds at the Iona Island settling ponds mostly as well as Boundary Bay from the northbound rush in April, through the May/June hiatus to the bitter end in November. Getting to know what birds loitered in the five or six weeks between migrations made the first southbound arrivals conspicuous. Usually the first southbound birds to arrive were the Yellowlegs, sometimes as early as June 18. Then the arrivals of adult? Western, SemiSandpiper, Least in week 4 June. The first shorebird juveniles start showing up in Weeks 4-5 July, three to four weeks after the arrival of the adults. Everybody's pretty much gone by November. Of course, there's waaayyy more to it but there's a very quick overview. 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: ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters ------------------------------ End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 262, Issue 22 ***************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 22 20:59:04 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 22 20:59:10 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wiley Slough In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <62c2efe2-6d5c-4d37-b570-511c2882bd6b@jimbetz.com> Hi all, ? I went to Wiley today and spent from before 7am to after 10am.? I got all the way to where the 'dike trail' turns into single track. ? I saw lots of robins (perhaps twice to three times as many as typical), heard lots of marsh wrens (normal, and even saw a couple - also typical), and saw and heard lots of Red-winged Blackbirds.? One Bald Eagle, a fair number of crows, normal amounts of sparrows (although not very many White-crowned).? And one Great-Horned Owl (Yeah!). ? What I did not see were any gulls, any Great Blue Herons, no Osprey, very few ducks (about a dozen mallards is all), no shorebirds (other than one Killdeer, but zero Yellowlegs, zero sandpipers/peeps of any kind), and no Kingfishers. ? My overall bird count was pretty normal, the number of species was low (very low?). ? The tide was low (slack water) when I got there and stayed low the entire 3 hours (no 'flow' in the water runs between the cattails). ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jim in Skagit From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 22 22:24:08 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Madrone Ruggiero via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 22 22:24:56 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Small Sit at Deception Pass State Park West Beach July 18, 2026 1615-1815 References: <1850508577.746509.1782192248729.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1850508577.746509.1782192248729@mail.yahoo.com> Hi all,On July 18th from? 4:15PM to 6:15PM I will be leading an accessible birding outing at West Beach in Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island. This event is open to all and is focused on observing bird behavior, learning to identify birds, and just enjoying listening to and watching birds. Beginners and those with children are encouraged to attend. Loaner optics will be available. There is no walking for this event, just park next to the viewing area and sit or stand and observe the birds for as long as you want. Attendees can come and go as they please at any time during the two hour sit.Address is?41229 State Route 20 Oak Harbor, WA 98277.? We will be at the picnic table at the North end of the parking lot that overlooks the channel between the islands. A discover pass is needed to park.For full details please visit the field trip event page at?West Beach at Deception Pass State Park Small Sit ? Whidbey Audubon Society | | | | | | | | | | | West Beach at Deception Pass State Park Small Sit ? Whidbey Audubon Society Join us for a small sit and spend your evening observing marine birds of the nearshore foraging in the channel b... | | | ?Thank you and hope to see you there or at another WAS event in the future,Madrone Ruggiero | | Virus-free.www.avg.com | -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jun 24 09:19:40 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jun 24 09:19:54 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Three toed woodpeckers yes Message-ID: <3D18206C-7209-46EE-B669-284FFC220D9B@gmail.com> Hi Tweets. Hi Tweets, What?s luckier than finding a three-toed woodpecker? That?s right ? finding a pair, next to each other on a tree. Score! I found a pair Tuesday on the Crest trail near White Pass. Interestingly the female foraged ceaselessly while the male sat still. A couple times she offered him food. I succeeded at getting lousy photos and video with my phone. Bird on, Jerry From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Jun 24 16:31:36 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Malcolm Mano via Tweeters) Date: Wed Jun 24 16:31:40 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] American Three-toed Woodpecker - yes! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: To me, there is nothing luckier than finding one single American Three-toed Woodpecker, but you really hit the jackpot! Congratulations on the super cool finding and I was glad you got photos and video!! Good Birding, Ruth Mano Everett ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of via Tweeters Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2026 12:00 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 262, Issue 24 Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to tweeters@u.washington.edu To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7C27fbdab78eaa438e35e208ded222e333%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639179244453310545%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=nibKYNeRTac4VZPsOnXzn51MiHuH2XMZksxrf58QYT4%3D&reserved=0 or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu You can reach the person managing the list at tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Three toed woodpeckers yes (Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser via Tweeters) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:19:40 -0700 From: Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser via Tweeters To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Three toed woodpeckers yes Message-ID: <3D18206C-7209-46EE-B669-284FFC220D9B@gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Hi Tweets. Hi Tweets, What?s luckier than finding a three-toed woodpecker? That?s right ? finding a pair, next to each other on a tree. Score! I found a pair Tuesday on the Crest trail near White Pass. Interestingly the female foraged ceaselessly while the male sat still. A couple times she offered him food. I succeeded at getting lousy photos and video with my phone. Bird on, Jerry ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7C27fbdab78eaa438e35e208ded222e333%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639179244453352098%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2B%2FTXE1di1Vx3KDvfZQ6M%2BRs6tExBvxO5ZRkob%2FljnaU%3D&reserved=0 ------------------------------ End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 262, Issue 24 ***************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 25 08:52:47 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 25 08:53:03 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/24/2026 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Approximately 30 of us enjoyed a beautiful warm spring day at the Refuge with sunny skies and temperatures ranging from the 60's to 80's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a Low 0''6" Tide at 9:04am and a High 10'7" Tide at 4:23pm so we walked our regular route. Highlights included occupied nests of BARN SWALLOW, CEDAR WAXWING, BUSHTIT, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, DOWNY WOODPECKER, YELLOW WARBLER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, CLIFF SWALLOW and BALD EAGLE. We also observed recently fledged CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, WOOD DUCK, MALLARD, HOODED MERGANSER, BARN SWALLOW, and COMMON MERGANSER. The bird of the day may have been an adult GREEN HERON that flew over and around the Twin Barns Overlook while we took a snack break. For the day we observed 69 species with nothing new for the year. Please see our eBird Report pasted below for additional details and embedded photos. One of our birders observed an AMERICAN ROBIN trying to eat a Western Brook Lamprey from the Nisqually River Observation Platform along the riverbank. We were surprised to hear of this species attempting to eat such large prey. Until next week when we meet again at the Visitor Center Pond overlook at 8am. Happy birding, Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Jun 24, 2026 6:06?AM - 3:54?PM Protocol: Traveling 3.457 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday walk. Sunny with temperatures in the 60?s to 80?s. A Low 0?6? Tide at 9:04am and a High 10?7? Tide at 4:23pm. Mammals seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Townsend?s Chipmunk, Muskrat, and Harbor Seal. Others seen Western Brook Lamprey, Pacific Chorus Frog, and American Bullfrog. Others seen Paddled-tailed Darner, Red-veined Meadow Hawk, 8 Spotted Skimmer, and Western Swallow-tailed Butterfly. 69 species (+2 other taxa) Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 24 Wood Duck 15 Visitor Center Pond. Cinnamon Teal (Northern) 1 Freshwater Marsh Mallard 8 Visitor Center Pond. Hooded Merganser 3 Visitor Center Pond. Common Merganser (North American) 3 Nisqually River Overlook. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 9 Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 10 Anna's Hummingbird 2 Rufous Hummingbird 8 Several nests west side of Twin Barns Loop Trail between access road cut through and Twin Barns Cut-off. Virginia Rail 2 Heard only. Freshwater marsh inside of Nisqually Estuary Trail dike. Killdeer 2 Wilson's Snipe 1 Seen flying over flooded field south of Twin Barns. Rhinoceros Auklet 2 Scope views flying north between Nisqually Reach and Anderson Island. Ring-billed Gull 150 California Gull 225 Glaucous-winged Gull 2 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 10 Caspian Tern 42 Brandt's Cormorant 5 Nisqually River Channel Marker Double-crested Cormorant 120 Green Heron 1 Spotted by Jon and seen by all from Twin Barns Overlook flying from slough adjacent to Twin Barns into the flooded field south of Twin Barns Overlook. Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 75 Turkey Vulture (Northern) 1 Soaring over McAllister Hill Osprey (American) 1 Early morning hunting Shannon Slough seen between 6:15-6:30am. Bald Eagle 16 Two brown young in nest on west bank of McAllister Creek north of McAllister Creek Viewing Platform. Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2 Belted Kingfisher 5 Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 6 Nest tree outside of west side Twin Barns Loop Trail south of twin bench overlook south of Twin Barns cut-off. Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 4 Merlin 1 Olive-sided Flycatcher 1 Heard by Brittany and seen by Barb in area around Twin Barns. Western Wood-Pewee 6 Nest in Willow Tree on inside of west side of Twin Barns Loop Trail south of Twin Barns cut-off. Willow Flycatcher 4 Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 4 Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 2 Western Warbling Vireo 3 Steller's Jay (Coastal) 1 Heard only west bank of McAllister Creek. American Crow 3 Black-capped Chickadee 10 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 7 Bank Swallow 3 Tree Swallow 30 Violet-green Swallow 1 Purple Martin 15 Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 4 Barn Swallow (American) 98 Visitor Center Pond Overlook. Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 400 McAllister/Medicine Creek Overlook. Bushtit (Pacific) 6 Nest in Douglas Fir along entrance road across from orchard and just to the right of the green gate across from the Maintenance Building entrance road. Brown Creeper 3 Marsh Wren 20 Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 8 European Starling 100 Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 40 American Robin (migratorius Group) 25 Cedar Waxwing 40 Nest in cottonwood tree to the left of the green gate across the entrance road from the Maintenance Yard entrance road. Purple Finch (Western) 6 American Goldfinch 18 Nest above Twin Barns Picnic Area. Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 3 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 31 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 10 Bullock's Oriole 1 Heard and seen along the north section of the Twin Barns Loop Trail at 7am. Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 60 Brown-headed Cowbird 25 One chick being fed by Song Sparrow. Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1 Common Yellowthroat 12 Northern Yellow Warbler 40 On nest on the outside of the west side Twin Barns Loop Trail just south of the twin bench overlook south of the Twin Barns cut-off. Western Tanager 1 Heard only west bank of McAllister Creek. Black-headed Grosbeak 3 Heard only. View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S362918064 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 25 12:10:10 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Paradis via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 25 12:10:24 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/24/2026 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Shep - I have a set of photos I took of a robin eating a (relatively small, but large prey for a robin I thought) garter snake on the dike trail a few weeks back. Here is a link to one of them if interested: https://zorthcloud.com/apps/memories/s/7Rti5xNsZM6zDLC -- Happy birding, Michael -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 25 12:27:35 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Carol Riddell via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 25 12:27:48 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup - May 2026 Message-ID: <134EDF9B-3A99-46A7-8E39-7F29F5C48CB5@gmail.com> Hi Tweeters, We ended May with 170 species for our Edmonds year list. The new species in taxonomic order are: California Quail (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (songs heard and described), 5-3-26. (Subsequent May marsh sightings; ID photo.) Mourning Dove (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (ID photo), 5-5-26. Common Nighthawk (code 4), 1 at Edmonds marsh (calls described), 5-30-26. Black Oystercatcher (code 4), 1 at the waterfront (field marks described), 5-30-26. Long-billed Dowitcher (code 3), 1 at the Edmonds side of Lake Ballinger, 5-8-26. Spotted Sandpiper (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (ID photo), 5-7-26. Semipalmated Sandpiper (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (critical field marks described), 5-10-26. Parasitic Jaeger (code 3), 1 at the waterfront (ID photos), 5-4-26. Sabine?s Gull (code 4), flock of 50 at the waterfront (critical field marks described; eBird confirmed), 5-15-26. Manx Shearwater (code 5), 2 at the waterfront (critical field marks described), 5-14?26. (Two subsequent May waterfront sightings of this species.) Brown Pelican (code 4), 2-6 at the waterfront (ID photos; field mark descriptions), 5-16-26. Broad-winged Hawk (code 5), 1 seen from a north Edmonds residence (ID photo), 5-10-26. Olive-sided Flycatcher (code 3), 1 at Southwest County Park (field marks described), 5-18-26. (Subsequent May sightings at other locations.) Western Wood-Pewee (code 2), 1 at Yost Park, 5-9-26. Willow Flycatcher (code 2), 1 at Southwest County Park, 5-24-26. Hammond?s Flycatcher (code 2), 2 at Yost Park, 5-3-26. Cassin?s Vireo (code 3), 1 in Southwest County Park (recordings), 5-12-26. (Subsequent May reports in the park of this bird.) California Scrub-Jay (code 4), 1 on Edmonds Interurban Trail (ID photos), 5-5-26. Northern Rough-winged Swallow (code 3), 2 at Edmonds marsh (critical field marks described), 5-16-26. Cliff Swallow (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (critical field marks described), 5-16-26. Northern House Wren (code 4), 1 at Edmonds marsh (critical field marks described), 5-5-26. Bullock?s Oriole (code 3), 2 in Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood (recording), 5-13-26. Nashville Warbler (code 4), 1 in Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood (ID photo), 5-3-26. MacGillivray?s Warbler (code 4), 1 in Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood (recording), 5-13-26. Black-headed Grosbeak (code 2), 1 in a north Edmonds neighborhood, 5-1-26. Lazuli Bunting (code 5), 1 in Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood (recording), 5-13-26 Other birds of interest: A Turkey Vulture (code 3) was seen at Marina Beach, 5-14-26. This is the second Edmonds sighting this year. The Bullock?s Oriole, MacGillivray?s Warbler, and Lazuli Bunting were part of an overnight fallout of migrants in the Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood. Bullock?s Oriole was, at one time, reported annually in Edmonds. Its presence during migration has become much more sporadic at this location. 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. Declined for lack of any documentation: Black Swift (code 4); Sora (code 4); Semipalmated Plover (code 3). 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 May 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 Thu Jun 25 15:58:09 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 25 15:58:24 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-06-25 Message-ID: Tweets - It was pleasantly cool today, with a thin overcast but a breeze that was annoying at times. We didn't have any surprising species of birds, but we did have a few interesting sightings: Highlights: Common Merganser - One or more females flying around seemingly aimlessly. One female in the slough with one duckling Green Heron - One below the weir. With recent sightings about every other week, we figure it's likely there's a nest in or near the park Great Blue Heron - Fewer and fewer on nests, more and more juveniles along the slough, many birds flying every which way in/out of the park Cooper's Hawk - A couple of glimpses Downy Woodpecker - Many, including at least one juvenile Swainson's Thrush - Startlingly, we had ACTUAL VIEWS of at least FIVE birds, as well as hearing many more Black-headed Grosbeak - Newly fledged young seen; males still around singing A good day for non-bird sightings, including MUSKRAT, two RIVER OTTERS, a small mammal that might have been a TOWNSEND'S VOLE, and a GARTER SNAKE at the Rowing Club. We have had very, very few snakes at Marymoor in the last few years. Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Band-tailed Pigeon (never missed before during Week 26), Pied-billed Grebe, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Cliff Swallow, and Yellow-rumped Warbler. For the day, just 53 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 Jun 25 17:20:06 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 25 17:20:32 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/24/2026 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Wow! Very neat and highly unusual, Michael. Thanks for posting the photo. Dan Reiff Sent from my iPhone > On Jun 25, 2026, at 9:10?AM, Michael Paradis via Tweeters wrote: > > ? > Shep - > > I have a set of photos I took of a robin eating a (relatively small, but large prey for a robin I thought) garter snake on the dike trail a few weeks back. > > Here is a link to one of them if interested: https://zorthcloud.com/apps/memories/s/7Rti5xNsZM6zDLC > > -- > > Happy birding, > Michael > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 25 17:38:33 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Paradis via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 25 17:38:53 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/24/2026 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I ended up with several shots before it flew off into the grass & put them into a small gallery since I found it to be pretty interesting behavior: https://zorthcloud.com/apps/memories/a/hvyIiSOMc240l7n3iYrh40bL5apNpxYw On Thu, Jun 25, 2026 at 5:20?PM Dan Reiff wrote: > Wow! Very neat and highly unusual, Michael. > Thanks for posting the photo. > Dan Reiff > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jun 25, 2026, at 9:10?AM, Michael Paradis via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > ? > Shep - > > I have a set of photos I took of a robin eating a (relatively small, but > large prey for a robin I thought) garter snake on the dike trail a few > weeks back. > > Here is a link to one of them if interested: > https://zorthcloud.com/apps/memories/s/7Rti5xNsZM6zDLC > > -- > > Happy birding, > Michael > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > -- Happy birding, Michael -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Jun 25 19:37:59 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nelson Briefer via Tweeters) Date: Thu Jun 25 19:38:14 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Photo of a Broad- winged hawk on May 2026. Message-ID: the photo of a Broad- winged hawk. This is not a photo of a Broad- winged hawk. The photo suggests an accipiter, and not a Cooper?s hawk. I will not go into the proportions and the structure of the bird in the photo. Nelson Briefer. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 26 12:00:55 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Emily Birchman via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 26 12:01:10 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] RFI: ruff and bar-tailed godwit in Stanwood Message-ID: Hello Tweeters! I saw the Ebird Rare-bird alert for Snohomish county this morning regarding the ruff and the bar-tailed godwit seen yesterday off of Boe Road. I am wondering if anyone has any intel from today - are they still being seen? I have time to drive up there but it's an hour away so would love to know if there's even a remote chance of seeing them first. How do people find out about these kinds of sightings same-day? thank you! sincerely, Emily Birchman, Kenmore WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 26 12:07:33 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Emily Birchman via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 26 12:07:46 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] RFI: ruff and bar-tailed godwit in Stanwood In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Apologies for not noticing this first - I see the ruff was also sighted this morning! I was thinking it would take longer for a sighting to be confirmed. Sorry for the extra email! sincerely, Emily Birchman, Kenmore WA On Fri, 26 Jun 2026 at 12:00, Emily Birchman wrote: > Hello Tweeters! > > I saw the Ebird Rare-bird alert for Snohomish county this morning > regarding the ruff and the bar-tailed godwit seen yesterday off of Boe > Road. I am wondering if anyone has any intel from today - are they still > being seen? I have time to drive up there but it's an hour away so would > love to know if there's even a remote chance of seeing them first. How do > people find out about these kinds of sightings same-day? > > thank you! > sincerely, > Emily Birchman, Kenmore WA > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Jun 26 19:21:02 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Hank Heiberg via Tweeters) Date: Fri Jun 26 19:21:16 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Coeur_d=E2=80=99Alene_Trip?= References: Message-ID: Monday we returned from a 5 day trip with our daughter to visit our grandson in Coeur d?Alene. Even though birding was definitely secondary, we had some very good birding experiences. Here are the birding highlights. On the first day we saw a Common Nighthawk on a fence rail near the entry to the Wild Horse Renewable Energy Center. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/55351975223/in/dateposted/ On day two we drove to Soap Lake to see Black-necked Stilts before heading to Coeur d?Alene. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/55354350210/in/dateposted/ On the way to Soap Lake we came upon a Burrowing Owl perched on a rock very close to the side of the road. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/55353931181/in/dateposted/ On day 4 we headed to Moses Lake from Coeur d?Alene and stopped at Sprague Lake, a new hotspot for us, and saw two Western Grebes ?walking on water?. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/55355509476/in/dateposted/ On day 5 we stopped to bird a little near Ellensburg. At Woodhouse Loop, 12 American Pelicans flew overhead. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/55358540016/in/dateposted/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/55358738069/in/photostream/ A very cooperative Swainson?s Hawk perched near Tjossem Pond https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/55357594154/in/dateposted/ and a California Quail found a safe place to perch. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/55357548688/in/photostream/ Photo album for trip. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/albums/72177720334364159/ eBird trip report. https://ebird.org/tripreport/540549 Hank & Karen Heiberg Issaquah hankheiberggmail -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 27 12:10:25 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kersti Muul via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 27 12:10:39 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Re Godwits Message-ID: Mark W reported at 0541 (sat AM) Ruff continues at Boe Rd. Very close right now! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 27 13:57:06 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jeff Borsecnik via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 27 13:57:12 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] avocets Message-ID: I don't imagine it's unusual, but we saw a good bunch of American avocets (and chicks) and a few Wilson's ? phalaropes ?both lifers for us?and black-necked stilts near the Columbia NWR, at some random little ponds ("county line ponds") along HWY 26 just west of Othello this past weekend. Very cool birds! Bunches of pelicans over the refuge. ... For the record, Othello has an oddly great coffee shop/coffee for a small farm town. I guess they get enough tourists to make it go. (We were over there to go rafting in Hell's Canyon, which was great.) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 27 21:07:53 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Karen Fardal via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 27 21:08:06 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] RFI: ruff and bar-tailed godwit in Stanwood In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <3D63C814-105A-4764-B761-DBA5118AF450@gmail.com> Hello, I think you already figured this out, the Ruff stuck around today, but the godwit wasn?t seen at least when I was there. For anyone heading over, the Google Maps directions are faulty, make sure to take Marine Drive to Boe Rd. Some ways to find out quickly about rarities include signing up for county Rare Bird Alerts and joining the Washington Discord server, the latter of which has separate channels for the most heavily birded counties in the state and their rarities, and other forums for various types of discussions and questions. You can set it up to give you notifications for certain things or just leave them all off and check in when you have time. It?s currently kind of quiet but the more people who join and participate, the better! Here is a join link that should work for a while, if you have questions about how to use it there is a Tech Support channel. https://discord.gg/GxhVPGngy Hope you got to see the fun bird or will soon! Karen Fardal Seattle . > On Jun 26, 2026, at 12:00?PM, Emily Birchman via Tweeters wrote: > > ? > Hello Tweeters! > > I saw the Ebird Rare-bird alert for Snohomish county this morning regarding the ruff and the bar-tailed godwit seen yesterday off of Boe Road. I am wondering if anyone has any intel from today - are they still being seen? I have time to drive up there but it's an hour away so would love to know if there's even a remote chance of seeing them first. How do people find out about these kinds of sightings same-day? > > thank you! > sincerely, > Emily Birchman, Kenmore WA > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Jun 27 22:23:06 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters) Date: Sat Jun 27 22:23:20 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] avocets In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Jeff, The County Line Ponds are a well known hot spot for birders. I always make a point of stopping there when birding in Eastern Washington. They are a good spot for avocets, stilts, Wilson?s Phalarope, other shorebirds and ducks and thousands of Cackling geese and hundreds of Sandhill Cranes! Congrats on your lifers ! Good Birding ! Hans *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com On Sat, Jun 27, 2026 at 1:57?PM Jeff Borsecnik via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > I don't imagine it's unusual, but we saw a good bunch of American avocets > (and chicks) and a few Wilson's ? phalaropes ?both lifers for us?and > black-necked stilts near the Columbia NWR, at some random little ponds > ("county line ponds") along HWY 26 just west of Othello this past weekend. > Very cool birds! Bunches of pelicans over the refuge. ... For the record, > Othello has an oddly great coffee shop/coffee for a small farm town. I > guess they get enough tourists to make it go. > > (We were over there to go rafting in Hell's Canyon, which was great.) > > _______________________________________________ > 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 Jun 28 14:50:19 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ian Paulsen via Tweeters) Date: Sun Jun 28 14:50:20 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] The Birdbooker Report Message-ID: HI ALL: I posted about one bird and three non-bird books at my blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2026/06/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 Jun 29 10:54:37 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Hubbell via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 29 10:54:58 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } For the First Time - CORA Message-ID: <502D867A-DAF6-471C-A264-281DE8C3236F@comcast.net> Tweeters, The young Raven, from this year?s Arboretum nest, has fledged. See the photos and learn more about its behavior at: https://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2026/06/for-first-time.html Have a great day on Union Bay, where nature lives in the city! Larry Hubbell ldhubbell at comcast dot net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 29 11:07:16 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Brian Zinke via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 29 11:07:28 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Teachers wanted: 5-minute survey to help build placed-based curriculum for local students using bird data Message-ID: Hi Tweets, I'm reaching out on behalf of a University of Washington student completing her Environmental Studies capstone project internship with Pilchuck Audubon Society. She's developing a place-based curriculum built around our Vaux's Swift community science dataset ? and she needs your input. Vaux's Swifts are migratory birds that pass through Washington each spring and fall with a special tie to a large roost in Monroe, among several others in the state. We're looking for teachers from all grade levels to complete a short survey (under 20 questions) that covers: - Your familiarity with place-based learning and concepts like ecological citizenship - Your comfort level with incorporating local wildlife data into classroom instruction - Whether you've worked with Pilchuck Audubon Society in the past The survey will use a Likert scale format and should take about 5 minutes to complete. At the end, you'll also have the option to express interest in piloting the lesson plan with your students and/or participating in a longer follow-up interview with the intern. Your perspective ? whatever your grade level or experience with outdoor or environmental education ? is genuinely valuable to this project. *If you're interested, please respond to this email indicating so.* I will share your name and email address with the intern who will follow up with regards to the survey. Also ? please feel free to share this opportunity with anyone you know who might be interested in participating! Thank you for your consideration! Brian Zinke -- [image: Logo] Brian Zinke Executive Director phone: (425) 232-6811 email: director@pilchuckaudubon.org Pilchuck Audubon Society 1429 Avenue D, PMB 198, Snohomish, WA 98290 [image: Facebook icon] [image: Twitter icon] [image: Instagram icon] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 29 11:33:36 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Elaine Chuang via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 29 11:33:41 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1 References: <419ADAB0-898C-4E44-84E8-F6F760C0CBC8@uw.edu> Message-ID: Dear Tweets who enjoy The Montlake Fill / Union Bay Natural Area, and who drive there? this is to let you know that on July 1, the new policy commences for parking (Lot E-16) adjacent to the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc. Connie and allies were able to achieve a 2-hour free parking accommodation, plus free parking on Saturday afternoons and all day Sundays (not true of all UW lots). Thank you to Connie and others who engaged! Currently, there is only a sandwich-board notice indicating that payment will be required starting July 1. It's a dopey ?ransom-note? sign which gives no information, and is no doubt temporary (but July 1 is less than 2 days away). According to the June 23 update, https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2026/06/23/updates-to-parking-at-the-center-for-urban-horticulture/ ? "the first two hours of parking are free, and beyond that the fee will be $5 per day. All visitors?even for free parking?will need to register their vehicle using the onsite kiosk or PayByPhone app. Parking will be enforced Monday - Friday 6AM - 9PM, Saturday 7AM - Noon (free outside those hours)." Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at uw dot edu Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 12:11:40 -0700 From: Constance Sidles via Tweeters To: tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Latest on parking fees at Montlake Fill Hey tweets, I just heard of a partial reversal of parking fees at the Montlake Fill parking lot. Here is an email from Mark Huppert, interim director of the UW's transportation services: ?I have reviewed [the comments] on the proposed changes to the parking fee at UW's Parking Lot E16 by the Center for Urban Horticulture and Union Bay Natural Area. During the 30-day comment period which closed last week, 118 of the 120 public comments we received on our campus parking rate proposal were in opposition to the $5/day fee at E16. There were some excellent suggestions from community members of how UW can meet the needs of the community while also balancing our need for financial sustainability and compliance under our transportation management plan. As a result, we will be advancing a revised proposal to the Board of Regents that provides 2-hours of free parking for E16 to allow continued community and volunteer access to the Urban Bay Natural Area, Center for Urban Horticulture, Miller Library, and UW Farm. Beyond the 2-hour limit, parking will be $5/day. All vehicles will be required to register their license plate at a new kiosk to be placed on site at E16 or by using the Pay-By-Phone application. We hope that this hybrid registration approach satisfies the technology fears of the many retirees who provided public commen! as well as your concerns about neighborhood parking. Thank you for your sharing your concerns and being an active contributor in the public process." From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 29 16:43:59 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Karen Fardal via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 29 16:44:13 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5F647048-9104-48BA-86E7-682DC4AA4016@gmail.com> Thanks Elaine for spreading the word. I contacted the UW interim transportation director last week to ask about the kiosks since there is no sign of them yet. He said they would be installed before July 1 so I guess they will be going in today or tomorrow. They weren?t there yet as of this morning, Monday. It will be interesting to see if anyone pays and/or if this becomes another commuter lot to campus. It?s a disappointing turn of events for anyone enjoying a longer ramble than 2 hrs minus waiting for a turn at the kiosk, not to mention the staff is totally out of luck. Hope it doesn?t suppress attendance at this wonderful community resource so many of us enjoy. Karen Fardal > On Jun 29, 2026, at 11:33?AM, Elaine Chuang via Tweeters wrote: > > ?Dear Tweets who enjoy The Montlake Fill / Union Bay Natural Area, and who drive there? this is to let you know that on July 1, the new policy commences for parking (Lot E-16) adjacent to the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc. Connie and allies were able to achieve a 2-hour free parking accommodation, plus free parking on Saturday afternoons and all day Sundays (not true of all UW lots). Thank you to Connie and others who engaged! > > Currently, there is only a sandwich-board notice indicating that payment will be required starting July 1. It's a dopey ?ransom-note? sign which gives no information, and is no doubt temporary (but July 1 is less than 2 days away). > > According to the June 23 update, https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2026/06/23/updates-to-parking-at-the-center-for-urban-horticulture/ ? "the first two hours of parking are free, and beyond that the fee will be $5 per day. All visitors?even for free parking?will need to register their vehicle using the onsite kiosk or PayByPhone app. Parking will be enforced Monday - Friday 6AM - 9PM, Saturday 7AM - Noon (free outside those hours)." > > Elaine Chuang > Seattle > elc at uw dot edu > > > Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 12:11:40 -0700 > From: Constance Sidles via Tweeters > To: tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] Latest on parking fees at Montlake Fill > > Hey tweets, I just heard of a partial reversal of parking fees at the Montlake Fill parking lot. Here is an email from Mark Huppert, interim director of the UW's transportation services: > ?I have reviewed [the comments] on the proposed changes to the parking fee at UW's Parking Lot E16 by the Center for Urban Horticulture and Union Bay Natural Area. > During the 30-day comment period which closed last week, 118 of the 120 public comments we received on our campus parking rate proposal were in opposition to the $5/day fee at E16. There were some excellent suggestions from community members of how UW can meet the needs of the community while also balancing our need for financial sustainability and compliance under our transportation management plan. As a result, we will be advancing a revised proposal to the Board of Regents that provides 2-hours of free parking for E16 to allow continued community and volunteer access to the Urban Bay Natural Area, Center for Urban Horticulture, Miller Library, and UW Farm. Beyond the 2-hour limit, parking will be $5/day. All vehicles will be required to register their license plate at a new kiosk to be placed on site at E16 or by using the Pay-By-Phone application. We hope that this hybrid registration approach satisfies the technology fears of the many retirees who provided public commen! > as well as your concerns about neighborhood parking. > Thank you for your sharing your concerns and being an active contributor in the public process." > From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 29 17:04:02 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Stef Neis via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 29 17:04:15 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] avocets Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 29 17:16:29 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Bob Flores via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 29 17:16:34 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] avocets In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Stef, Use these coordinates on your gps. 46.82547? N, 119.38198? W Bob Flores On Jun 29, 2026, at 17:04, Stef Neis via Tweeters wrote: ? ?We would like to go to the County Line Ponds by Othello soon but cannot find them specifically on Google Maps. Could someone please give use directions or a more specific location? Thanks much, Stef Neis Whidbey Island Sent from my iPad On Jun 27, 2026, at 10:24?PM, Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters wrote: ? Jeff, The County Line Ponds are a well known hot spot for birders. I always make a point of stopping there when birding in Eastern Washington. They are a good spot for avocets, stilts, Wilson?s Phalarope, other shorebirds and ducks and thousands of Cackling geese and hundreds of Sandhill Cranes! Congrats on your lifers ! Good Birding ! Hans Hans Feddern Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com On Sat, Jun 27, 2026 at 1:57?PM Jeff Borsecnik via Tweeters > wrote: I don't imagine it's unusual, but we saw a good bunch of American avocets (and chicks) and a few Wilson's ? phalaropes ?both lifers for us?and black-necked stilts near the Columbia NWR, at some random little ponds ("county line ponds") along HWY 26 just west of Othello this past weekend. Very cool birds! Bunches of pelicans over the refuge. ... For the record, Othello has an oddly great coffee shop/coffee for a small farm town. I guess they get enough tourists to make it go. (We were over there to go rafting in Hell's Canyon, which was great.) _______________________________________________ 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 Mon Jun 29 18:51:46 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kym Foley via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 29 18:52:00 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Nisqually cliff swallows sad state Message-ID: Long time lurker, regular Nisqually Wildlife Refuge evening birder - several dead and sick fledgling cliff swallows under and around the boardwalk shelter where they roost. Took a peak back through Tweeters and didn?t anything? anyone know what?s up? Seems beyond a typical sibling rivalry getting bumped from the nest.. very sad to see and hopefully not indicative of something more serious. Thanks tweets, Kym Olympia, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Jun 29 19:08:56 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Loitz via Tweeters) Date: Mon Jun 29 19:09:11 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Nisqually cliff swallows sad state In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sad to hear it. We have also seen a decline in Cliff Swallow populations this year east of the Cascades in Kittitas and Yakima Counties. It has been a topic of concern amongst the local birding community. We are aware of a longer term population decline due to nest invasions by House Sparrow and lack of food resulting from pesticide use, but I have not heard nor read a theory re the abrupt decline from last summer. Maybe something occurred during the spring migration? -- Steve Loitz Ellensburg, WA steveloitz@gmail.com On Mon, Jun 29, 2026 at 6:55?PM Kym Foley via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Long time lurker, regular Nisqually Wildlife Refuge evening birder - > several dead and sick fledgling cliff swallows under and around the > boardwalk shelter where they roost. Took a peak back through Tweeters and > didn?t anything? anyone know what?s up? Seems beyond a typical sibling > rivalry getting bumped from the nest.. very sad to see and hopefully not > indicative of something more serious. > > Thanks tweets, > > Kym > Olympia, WA > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 30 11:13:07 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan McDougall-Treacy via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 30 11:13:20 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Nice photo Message-ID: An Anna?s Hummingbird photo showed today on my Merlin page. Jason Vasallo, photographer. Dan McDougall-Treacy From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 30 13:18:58 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 30 13:19:22 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening in Late June. Message-ID: The Monroe Wagner historic roost has sheltered a thousand swifts the last two nights. If the temperature stays down they should be back again tonight. Larry Schwitters Issaquah From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 30 17:49:34 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Elaine Chuang via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 30 17:49:39 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1 References: <1A42536A-2FD6-41EF-83AB-B65F75992B9F@uw.edu> Message-ID: Sorry all. One more installment on this topic. As of 2PM today, there were no ?kiosks" installed anywhere in the area. What was new from 2 days ago were signs on poles (I counted about 10, each currently bagged in black plastic), ready for unveiling. Peeling open a bag, one could see that they are standard PayByPhone signs (Note: the number for E-16 is 123227), and a second plate for special events. If you?ve not used the cell phone app PayByPhone, now might be a good time to acquire and become familiar with it. For E-16, you wouldn?t have to queue at a kiosk (if kiosks are ever installed) to pay that $5.00. The E-16 fee is for the whole day, but in other scenarios, PayByPhone does track and allow you to extend your parking time, which is nice. Some of you may be inventive enough to find a way to use it, entering "123227" when you are out in the field, near the end of that free one hour 59 minutes! As for enforcement, there may be a short grace period, but I?d predict they?ll be issuing citations! Gratefully, street parking is available. Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at uw dot edu From: Tweeters ... on behalf of Karen Fardal via Tweeters Sent: Monday, June 29, 2026 4:43 PM To: Elaine Chuang Cc: tweeters@u.washington.edu ; Elaine Chuang Subject: Re: [Tweeters] UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1 Thanks Elaine for spreading the word. I contacted the UW interim transportation director last week to ask about the kiosks since there is no sign of them yet. He said they would be installed before July 1 so I guess they will be going in today or tomorrow. They weren?t there yet as of this morning, Monday. It will be interesting to see if anyone pays and/or if this becomes another commuter lot to campus. It?s a disappointing turn of events for anyone enjoying a longer ramble than 2 hrs minus waiting for a turn at the kiosk, not to mention the staff is totally out of luck. Hope it doesn?t suppress attendance at this wonderful community resource so many of us enjoy. Karen Fardal From: Tweeters ? on behalf of Elaine Chuang via Tweeters > Sent: Monday, June 29, 2026 11:33 AM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Cc: Elaine Chuang > Subject: [Tweeters] UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1 Dear Tweets who enjoy The Montlake Fill / Union Bay Natural Area, and who drive there? this is to let you know that on July 1, the new policy commences for parking (Lot E-16) adjacent to the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc. Connie and allies were able to achieve a 2-hour free parking accommodation, plus free parking on Saturday afternoons and all day Sundays (not true of all UW lots). Thank you to Connie and others who engaged! Currently, there is only a sandwich-board notice indicating that payment will be required starting July 1. It's a dopey ?ransom-note? sign which gives no information, and is no doubt temporary (but July 1 is less than 2 days away). According to the June 23 update, https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2026/06/23/updates-to-parking-at-the-center-for-urban-horticulture/ ? "the first two hours of parking are free, and beyond that the fee will be $5 per day. All visitors?even for free parking?will need to register their vehicle using the onsite kiosk or PayByPhone app. Parking will be enforced Monday - Friday 6AM - 9PM, Saturday 7AM - Noon (free outside those hours)." Elaine Chuang Seattle elc at uw dot edu Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 12:11:40 -0700 From: Constance Sidles via Tweeters > To: tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] Latest on parking fees at Montlake Fill Hey tweets, I just heard of a partial reversal of parking fees at the Montlake Fill parking lot. Here is an email from Mark Huppert, interim director of the UW's transportation services: ?I have reviewed [the comments] on the proposed changes to the parking fee at UW's Parking Lot E16 by the Center for Urban Horticulture and Union Bay Natural Area. During the 30-day comment period which closed last week, 118 of the 120 public comments we received on our campus parking rate proposal were in opposition to the $5/day fee at E16. There were some excellent suggestions from community members of how UW can meet the needs of the community while also balancing our need for financial sustainability and compliance under our transportation management plan. As a result, we will be advancing a revised proposal to the Board of Regents that provides 2-hours of free parking for E16 to allow continued community and volunteer access to the Urban Bay Natural Area, Center for Urban Horticulture, Miller Library, and UW Farm. Beyond the 2-hour limit, parking will be $5/day. All vehicles will be required to register their license plate at a new kiosk to be placed on site at E16 or by using the Pay-By-Phone application. We hope that this hybrid registration approach satisfies the technology fears of the many retirees who provided public commen! as well as your concerns about neighborhood parking. Thank you for your sharing your concerns and being an active contributor in the public process." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 30 18:46:13 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 30 18:46:18 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west Message-ID: <8A3B0692-89D1-4402-897C-2DAF7E855C1B@comcast.net> 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 From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 30 19:45:06 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 30 19:45:11 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 Message-ID: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> 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 Tue Jun 30 20:36:17 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Robert O'Brien via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 30 20:36:31 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: 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 > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 30 21:02:39 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Zora Monster via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 30 21:03:00 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: Regarding the reduction in the insect population on the east side, I remember my first trip from Seattle to Lewiston, ID back in 1997. The windshield was so covered with big splats that I was stopping at gas stations because I needed to clear the windshield of the corpses. It?s been a long time since I?ve experienced that driving across the state. Zora Dermer Seattle Sent from my iPhone > On Jun 30, 2026, at 6:46?PM, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters wrote: > > ?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 > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Jun 30 21:06:50 2026 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Hampton via Tweeters) Date: Tue Jun 30 21:07:04 2026 Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 In-Reply-To: References: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> Message-ID: 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? 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