From mattxyz at earthlink.net Sat Apr 1 06:15:50 2023 From: mattxyz at earthlink.net (Matt Bartels) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park weekly walk to turn to ChatGPT for future reports. Message-ID: <0EB77F8F-D4A9-44BB-AA99-D1A0D56471C5@earthlink.net> Marymoor Park, in Redmond WA, is leading the way in AI-fueled birding. With the weekly Marymoor bird outings beginning their 30th year, Michael Hobbs, leader of the walk, announced a major change in how future walks will proceed. Beginning in April, ChatGPT will be used in lieu of birders in the field to generate the weekly bird reports. ChatGPT has exploded in popularity this year as the first widely used example of narrow AI. It appears capable of producing near-human sounding plausible narratives using a LLM in response to user questions. Hobbs, no stranger to technological advances, had just the dataset to train ChatGPT on ? namely, his website https://www.marymoor.org/BirdBlog.htm. With weekly reports for years of consistent birding outings at Marymoor Park, it contained patterns the AI would easily be able to learn from. ?Honestly, it takes very little work to train ChatGPT to produce reports -- arguably better reports than we humans can produce?, Hobbs reported. ChatGPT reviews past Marymoor reports for the week and broader trends on eBird and produces a near-perfect report for future weeks. Hobbs is now working to incorporate weather data into the model as well for better precision.? Although he has already had ChatGPT produce the reports for each week in 2023, he is keeping future reports a closely held secret, saying ?Afterall, the joy of being a birder is reading about other people?s birding stories, whether to smile at the absurd misses or to groan about the birds you missed by staying home that day. I wouldn?t want to take that away.? He will offer one clue to the future though: May the 4th ? go to Marymoor on that date. Faced with the prospect of AI produced bird reports, the Washington Bird Records Committee and the eBird reviewer community have tentatively agreed to treat reports seriously. Said one member ?Seriously, if the quality of detail produced by ChatGPT is as convincing as I?ve seen, it will be a step above many reports we look at already.? While some are hesitant, others welcome the coming change. ?Anything that might lessen the stress mobs of birders disturbing nature is constantly producing would be a step forward,? says one formerly avid birder. Others are less excited about the changes ? ChatGPT has not helped things with some of its more public failures ? Academics have pointed to papers produced with footnotes created out of whole cloth. A recent article saw the reporter holding an extended conversation w/ the AI that led to the reporter being urged to leave his spouse for the bot ? And ChatGPT is suspected to be behind the new awkward renaming choice of some local birding groups already. For now, Hobbs says he?ll continue to walk at Marymoor weekly, but he looks forward to stepping away and allowing the bots to continue his legacy ? ?Imagine all those Thursdays I could sleep in? he says wistfully. Matt Bartels Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 06:37:05 2023 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (Michael Hobbs) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] FW: Ebird to partner with ChatGPT Message-ID: We are excited to announce that eBird.org, the world's largest birding community, will be partnering with ChatGPT, a powerful language model, to provide even more accurate and predictive bird lists for birdwatchers across the globe. The integration of ChatGPT into eBird.org is a major breakthrough in the field of birding and citizen science, as it brings together the power of AI and community science to make birding more accessible and enjoyable for everyone. With ChatGPT's cutting-edge technology, eBird.org will be able to analyze and interpret vast amounts of data on bird sightings and environmental factors to create highly accurate and personalized bird lists for birdwatchers. By integrating ChatGPT's machine learning algorithms into our platform, we aim to provide users with the most up-to-date and accurate information on where and when to find the birds they are searching for. We are thrilled to be partnering with eBird.org on this exciting new initiative and look forward to seeing the impact that it will have on the birding community. By combining artificial intelligence with the passion and expertise of birders around the world, we are confident that we can continue to make amazing discoveries and gain a better understanding of the natural world. In fact, we are so thrilled that we let ChatGPT write this announcement! Cornell Lab of Ornithology www.eBird.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Sat Apr 1 07:24:33 2023 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park weekly walk to turn to ChatGPT for future reports. In-Reply-To: <0EB77F8F-D4A9-44BB-AA99-D1A0D56471C5@earthlink.net> References: <0EB77F8F-D4A9-44BB-AA99-D1A0D56471C5@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <11A2FC92-3BCD-43C2-B4FE-00C5210CC6C2@comcast.net> I totally support this change. The savings in fuel and time costs alone justify it and the positive effects on global climate change are immeasurable. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Apr 1, 2023, at 06:15, Matt Bartels wrote: > > Marymoor Park, in Redmond WA, is leading the way in AI-fueled birding. > > With the weekly Marymoor bird outings beginning their 30th year, Michael Hobbs, leader of the walk, announced a major change in how future walks will proceed. Beginning in April, ChatGPT will be used in lieu of birders in the field to generate the weekly bird reports. > > ChatGPT has exploded in popularity this year as the first widely used example of narrow AI. It appears capable of producing near-human sounding plausible narratives using a LLM in response to user questions. Hobbs, no stranger to technological advances, had just the dataset to train ChatGPT on ? namely, his website https://www.marymoor.org/BirdBlog.htm. With weekly reports for years of consistent birding outings at Marymoor Park, it contained patterns the AI would easily be able to learn from. > > ?Honestly, it takes very little work to train ChatGPT to produce reports -- arguably better reports than we humans can produce?, Hobbs reported. ChatGPT reviews past Marymoor reports for the week and broader trends on eBird and produces a near-perfect report for future weeks. Hobbs is now working to incorporate weather data into the model as well for better precision.? > > Although he has already had ChatGPT produce the reports for each week in 2023, he is keeping future reports a closely held secret, saying ?Afterall, the joy of being a birder is reading about other people?s birding stories, whether to smile at the absurd misses or to groan about the birds you missed by staying home that day. I wouldn?t want to take that away.? > > He will offer one clue to the future though: May the 4th ? go to Marymoor on that date. > > Faced with the prospect of AI produced bird reports, the Washington Bird Records Committee and the eBird reviewer community have tentatively agreed to treat reports seriously. Said one member ?Seriously, if the quality of detail produced by ChatGPT is as convincing as I?ve seen, it will be a step above many reports we look at already.? > > While some are hesitant, others welcome the coming change. ?Anything that might lessen the stress mobs of birders disturbing nature is constantly producing would be a step forward,? says one formerly avid birder. Others are less excited about the changes ? ChatGPT has not helped things with some of its more public failures ? Academics have pointed to papers produced with footnotes created out of whole cloth. A recent article saw the reporter holding an extended conversation w/ the AI that led to the reporter being urged to leave his spouse for the bot ? And ChatGPT is suspected to be behind the new awkward renaming choice of some local birding groups already. > > For now, Hobbs says he?ll continue to walk at Marymoor weekly, but he looks forward to stepping away and allowing the bots to continue his legacy ? ?Imagine all those Thursdays I could sleep in? he says wistfully. > > Matt Bartels > Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From baro at pdx.edu Sat Apr 1 09:32:10 2023 From: baro at pdx.edu (Robert O'Brien) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park weekly walk to turn to ChatGPT for future reports. In-Reply-To: <11A2FC92-3BCD-43C2-B4FE-00C5210CC6C2@comcast.net> References: <0EB77F8F-D4A9-44BB-AA99-D1A0D56471C5@earthlink.net> <11A2FC92-3BCD-43C2-B4FE-00C5210CC6C2@comcast.net> Message-ID: I totally support Chat-Birding as well.. The savings in Birding Equipment alone is worth it. Binos,Scopes, Cameras, Night-vision Imaging, Recording Equipment, the list goes on and on. I ain't no spring chicken any more and it was becoming a real chore to lug all this equipment around. I'm assuming here, of course, that the Chat Box will also produce photos, recordings, distinctive field marks, etc. of the rarer species that I can keep in my Birding Scrapbook. I am also guessing that Bird Lists from hard-to-bird places will also be available. For instance I've always been reluctant to bird Cartel-ridden areas of Mexico. But, via the Chatbox I can now search for the Imperial Woodpecker, And this will also open up Birding Areas in hostage-periled areas of Russia, China, Iran.... The sky is the limit. (For instance, I could search for Black Swifts on their South American wintering grounds where they fly for months without ever landing.) Such a joy to live in the modern world where human intelligence is a thing of the past. Bob OBrien Portland P.S. After all, I was never all that smart myself. On Sat, Apr 1, 2023 at 7:25?AM Tom Benedict wrote: > I totally support this change. The savings in fuel and time costs alone > justify it and the positive effects on global climate change are > immeasurable. > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, WA > > On Apr 1, 2023, at 06:15, Matt Bartels wrote: > > Marymoor Park, in Redmond WA, is leading the way in AI-fueled birding. > > With the weekly Marymoor bird outings beginning their 30th year, Michael > Hobbs, leader of the walk, announced a major change in how future walks > will proceed. Beginning in April, ChatGPT will be used in lieu of birders > in the field to generate the weekly bird reports. > > ChatGPT has exploded in popularity this year as the first widely used > example of narrow AI. It appears capable of producing near-human sounding > plausible narratives using a LLM in response to user questions. Hobbs, no > stranger to technological advances, had just the dataset to train ChatGPT > on ? namely, his website https://www.marymoor.org/BirdBlog.htm. With > weekly reports for years of consistent birding outings at Marymoor Park, it > contained patterns the AI would easily be able to learn from. > > ?Honestly, it takes very little work to train ChatGPT to produce reports > -- arguably better reports than we humans can produce?, Hobbs > reported. ChatGPT reviews past Marymoor reports for the week and broader > trends on eBird and produces a near-perfect report for future weeks. Hobbs > is now working to incorporate weather data into the model as well for > better precision.? > > Although he has already had ChatGPT produce the reports for each week in > 2023, he is keeping future reports a closely held secret, saying ?Afterall, > the joy of being a birder is reading about other people?s birding stories, > whether to smile at the absurd misses or to groan about the birds you > missed by staying home that day. I wouldn?t want to take that away.? > > He will offer one clue to the future though: May the 4th ? go to Marymoor > on that date. > > Faced with the prospect of AI produced bird reports, the Washington Bird > Records Committee and the eBird reviewer community have tentatively agreed > to treat reports seriously. Said one member ?Seriously, if the quality of > detail produced by ChatGPT is as convincing as I?ve seen, it will be a step > above many reports we look at already.? > > While some are hesitant, others welcome the coming change. ?Anything that > might lessen the stress mobs of birders disturbing nature is constantly > producing would be a step forward,? says one formerly avid birder. Others > are less excited about the changes ? ChatGPT has not helped things with > some of its more public failures ? Academics have pointed > to papers > produced with footnotes created out of whole cloth. A recent article > saw > the reporter holding an extended conversation w/ the AI that led to the > reporter being urged to leave his spouse for the bot ? And ChatGPT is > suspected to be behind the new awkward renaming choice of some local > birding groups already. > > For now, Hobbs says he?ll continue to walk at Marymoor weekly, but he > looks forward to stepping away and allowing the bots to continue his legacy > ? ?Imagine all those Thursdays I could sleep in? he says wistfully. > > Matt Bartels > Seattle, WA > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dennispaulson at comcast.net Sat Apr 1 09:34:14 2023 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park weekly walk to turn to ChatGPT for future reports. In-Reply-To: <0EB77F8F-D4A9-44BB-AA99-D1A0D56471C5@earthlink.net> References: <0EB77F8F-D4A9-44BB-AA99-D1A0D56471C5@earthlink.net> Message-ID: <9BC96279-A503-4617-A34E-806BF8C6D6F1@comcast.net> You?ve done it again, Matt. I always look forward to your April 1st post! Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Apr 1, 2023, at 6:15 AM, Matt Bartels wrote: > > Marymoor Park, in Redmond WA, is leading the way in AI-fueled birding. > > With the weekly Marymoor bird outings beginning their 30th year, Michael Hobbs, leader of the walk, announced a major change in how future walks will proceed. Beginning in April, ChatGPT will be used in lieu of birders in the field to generate the weekly bird reports. > > ChatGPT has exploded in popularity this year as the first widely used example of narrow AI. It appears capable of producing near-human sounding plausible narratives using a LLM in response to user questions. Hobbs, no stranger to technological advances, had just the dataset to train ChatGPT on ? namely, his website https://www.marymoor.org/BirdBlog.htm . With weekly reports for years of consistent birding outings at Marymoor Park, it contained patterns the AI would easily be able to learn from. > > ?Honestly, it takes very little work to train ChatGPT to produce reports -- arguably better reports than we humans can produce?, Hobbs reported. ChatGPT reviews past Marymoor reports for the week and broader trends on eBird and produces a near-perfect report for future weeks. Hobbs is now working to incorporate weather data into the model as well for better precision.? > > Although he has already had ChatGPT produce the reports for each week in 2023, he is keeping future reports a closely held secret, saying ?Afterall, the joy of being a birder is reading about other people?s birding stories, whether to smile at the absurd misses or to groan about the birds you missed by staying home that day. I wouldn?t want to take that away.? > > He will offer one clue to the future though: May the 4th ? go to Marymoor on that date. > > Faced with the prospect of AI produced bird reports, the Washington Bird Records Committee and the eBird reviewer community have tentatively agreed to treat reports seriously. Said one member ?Seriously, if the quality of detail produced by ChatGPT is as convincing as I?ve seen, it will be a step above many reports we look at already.? > > While some are hesitant, others welcome the coming change. ?Anything that might lessen the stress mobs of birders disturbing nature is constantly producing would be a step forward,? says one formerly avid birder. Others are less excited about the changes ? ChatGPT has not helped things with some of its more public failures ? Academics have pointed to papers produced with footnotes created out of whole cloth. A recent article saw the reporter holding an extended conversation w/ the AI that led to the reporter being urged to leave his spouse for the bot ? And ChatGPT is suspected to be behind the new awkward renaming choice of some local birding groups already. > > For now, Hobbs says he?ll continue to walk at Marymoor weekly, but he looks forward to stepping away and allowing the bots to continue his legacy ? ?Imagine all those Thursdays I could sleep in? he says wistfully. > > Matt Bartels > Seattle, WA > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sdd.bodhiheart at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 09:39:24 2023 From: sdd.bodhiheart at gmail.com (Ven. Dhammadinna) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park weekly walk to turn to ChatGPT for future reports. In-Reply-To: <9BC96279-A503-4617-A34E-806BF8C6D6F1@comcast.net> References: <0EB77F8F-D4A9-44BB-AA99-D1A0D56471C5@earthlink.net> <9BC96279-A503-4617-A34E-806BF8C6D6F1@comcast.net> Message-ID: OMG. I totally fell for this! On Sat, Apr 1, 2023 at 9:35?AM Dennis Paulson wrote: > You?ve done it again, Matt. I always look forward to your April 1st post! > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > > On Apr 1, 2023, at 6:15 AM, Matt Bartels wrote: > > Marymoor Park, in Redmond WA, is leading the way in AI-fueled birding. > > With the weekly Marymoor bird outings beginning their 30th year, Michael > Hobbs, leader of the walk, announced a major change in how future walks > will proceed. Beginning in April, ChatGPT will be used in lieu of birders > in the field to generate the weekly bird reports. > > ChatGPT has exploded in popularity this year as the first widely used > example of narrow AI. It appears capable of producing near-human sounding > plausible narratives using a LLM in response to user questions. Hobbs, no > stranger to technological advances, had just the dataset to train ChatGPT > on ? namely, his website https://www.marymoor.org/BirdBlog.htm. With > weekly reports for years of consistent birding outings at Marymoor Park, it > contained patterns the AI would easily be able to learn from. > > ?Honestly, it takes very little work to train ChatGPT to produce reports > -- arguably better reports than we humans can produce?, Hobbs > reported. ChatGPT reviews past Marymoor reports for the week and broader > trends on eBird and produces a near-perfect report for future weeks. Hobbs > is now working to incorporate weather data into the model as well for > better precision.? > > Although he has already had ChatGPT produce the reports for each week in > 2023, he is keeping future reports a closely held secret, saying ?Afterall, > the joy of being a birder is reading about other people?s birding stories, > whether to smile at the absurd misses or to groan about the birds you > missed by staying home that day. I wouldn?t want to take that away.? > > He will offer one clue to the future though: May the 4th ? go to Marymoor > on that date. > > Faced with the prospect of AI produced bird reports, the Washington Bird > Records Committee and the eBird reviewer community have tentatively agreed > to treat reports seriously. Said one member ?Seriously, if the quality of > detail produced by ChatGPT is as convincing as I?ve seen, it will be a step > above many reports we look at already.? > > While some are hesitant, others welcome the coming change. ?Anything that > might lessen the stress mobs of birders disturbing nature is constantly > producing would be a step forward,? says one formerly avid birder. Others > are less excited about the changes ? ChatGPT has not helped things with > some of its more public failures ? Academics have pointed > to papers > produced with footnotes created out of whole cloth. A recent article > saw > the reporter holding an extended conversation w/ the AI that led to the > reporter being urged to leave his spouse for the bot ? And ChatGPT is > suspected to be behind the new awkward renaming choice of some local > birding groups already. > > For now, Hobbs says he?ll continue to walk at Marymoor weekly, but he > looks forward to stepping away and allowing the bots to continue his legacy > ? ?Imagine all those Thursdays I could sleep in? he says wistfully. > > Matt Bartels > Seattle, WA > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Sat Apr 1 10:14:39 2023 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park weekly walk to turn to ChatGPT for future reports. In-Reply-To: References: <0EB77F8F-D4A9-44BB-AA99-D1A0D56471C5@earthlink.net> <11A2FC92-3BCD-43C2-B4FE-00C5210CC6C2@comcast.net> Message-ID: <6FAB7FE0-8AA8-43E9-A9E2-34EEA0A10AB3@comcast.net> > On Apr 1, 2023, at 09:32, Robert O'Brien wrote: > > ...But, via the Chatbox I can now search for the Imperial Woodpecker, Not only that, but it brings the very real possibility of ?re-discovering? the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, Passenger Pigeon and even the Dodo! Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA From tcstonefam at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 10:32:27 2023 From: tcstonefam at gmail.com (Tom and Carol Stoner) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] M & M Message-ID: Matt and Michael SCORE!!! I look forward to April 1 every year. Smiling-- Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 1northraven at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 10:38:03 2023 From: 1northraven at gmail.com (J Christian Kessler) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park weekly walk to turn to ChatGPT for future reports. In-Reply-To: References: <0EB77F8F-D4A9-44BB-AA99-D1A0D56471C5@earthlink.net> <11A2FC92-3BCD-43C2-B4FE-00C5210CC6C2@comcast.net> Message-ID: a brilliant response. but I expect that Tweeters will soon be flooded with 2nd hand binos, scopes, etc. for sale. should I update my 28 year old Swarovskis? just for my yard list, or can I learn how to use ChatGPT for that too? is this something WOS or the former Seattle Audubon can help with? Chris Kessler On Sat, Apr 1, 2023 at 9:32?AM Robert O'Brien wrote: > I totally support Chat-Birding as well.. The savings in Birding Equipment > alone is worth it. Binos,Scopes, Cameras, Night-vision Imaging, Recording > Equipment, the list goes on and on. I ain't no spring chicken any more and > it was becoming a real chore to lug all this equipment around. I'm assuming > here, of course, that the Chat Box will also produce photos, recordings, > distinctive field marks, etc. of the rarer species that I can keep in my > Birding Scrapbook. I am also guessing that Bird Lists from hard-to-bird > places will also be available. For instance I've always been reluctant to > bird Cartel-ridden areas of Mexico. But, via the Chatbox I can now search > for the Imperial Woodpecker, And this will also open up Birding Areas in > hostage-periled areas of Russia, China, Iran.... The sky is the limit. > (For instance, I could search for Black Swifts on their South > American wintering grounds where they fly for months without ever > landing.) Such a joy to live in the modern world where human intelligence > is a thing of the past. Bob OBrien Portland > P.S. After all, I was never all that smart myself. > > > > On Sat, Apr 1, 2023 at 7:25?AM Tom Benedict > wrote: > >> I totally support this change. The savings in fuel and time costs alone >> justify it and the positive effects on global climate change are >> immeasurable. >> >> Tom Benedict >> Seahurst, WA >> >> On Apr 1, 2023, at 06:15, Matt Bartels wrote: >> >> Marymoor Park, in Redmond WA, is leading the way in AI-fueled birding. >> >> With the weekly Marymoor bird outings beginning their 30th year, >> Michael Hobbs, leader of the walk, announced a major change in how future >> walks will proceed. Beginning in April, ChatGPT will be used in lieu of >> birders in the field to generate the weekly bird reports. >> >> ChatGPT has exploded in popularity this year as the first widely used >> example of narrow AI. It appears capable of producing near-human sounding >> plausible narratives using a LLM in response to user questions. Hobbs, no >> stranger to technological advances, had just the dataset to train ChatGPT >> on ? namely, his website https://www.marymoor.org/BirdBlog.htm. With >> weekly reports for years of consistent birding outings at Marymoor Park, it >> contained patterns the AI would easily be able to learn from. >> >> ?Honestly, it takes very little work to train ChatGPT to produce reports >> -- arguably better reports than we humans can produce?, Hobbs >> reported. ChatGPT reviews past Marymoor reports for the week and broader >> trends on eBird and produces a near-perfect report for future weeks. Hobbs >> is now working to incorporate weather data into the model as well for >> better precision.? >> >> Although he has already had ChatGPT produce the reports for each week in >> 2023, he is keeping future reports a closely held secret, saying ?Afterall, >> the joy of being a birder is reading about other people?s birding stories, >> whether to smile at the absurd misses or to groan about the birds you >> missed by staying home that day. I wouldn?t want to take that away.? >> >> He will offer one clue to the future though: May the 4th ? go to >> Marymoor on that date. >> >> Faced with the prospect of AI produced bird reports, the Washington Bird >> Records Committee and the eBird reviewer community have tentatively agreed >> to treat reports seriously. Said one member ?Seriously, if the quality of >> detail produced by ChatGPT is as convincing as I?ve seen, it will be a step >> above many reports we look at already.? >> >> While some are hesitant, others welcome the coming change. ?Anything that >> might lessen the stress mobs of birders disturbing nature is constantly >> producing would be a step forward,? says one formerly avid birder. Others >> are less excited about the changes ? ChatGPT has not helped things with >> some of its more public failures ? Academics have pointed >> to papers >> produced with footnotes created out of whole cloth. A recent article >> saw >> the reporter holding an extended conversation w/ the AI that led to the >> reporter being urged to leave his spouse for the bot ? And ChatGPT is >> suspected to be behind the new awkward renaming choice of some local >> birding groups already. >> >> For now, Hobbs says he?ll continue to walk at Marymoor weekly, but he >> looks forward to stepping away and allowing the bots to continue his legacy >> ? ?Imagine all those Thursdays I could sleep in? he says wistfully. >> >> Matt Bartels >> Seattle, WA >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- "moderation in everything, including moderation" Rustin Thompson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stevechampton at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 10:58:54 2023 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] BLACK PHOEBE in Port Townsend Message-ID: Not an April's Fools, but rather an anticipated first county record. Black Phoebes are a textbook example of a non-migratory species shifting northward with climate change. At least one pair was directly south of us last summer in Mason County. Location details are here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S132392232 good birding! -- Steve Hampton Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zoramon at mac.com Sat Apr 1 13:29:41 2023 From: zoramon at mac.com (Zora Monster) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park weekly walk to turn to ChatGPT for future reports. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ldhubbell at comcast.net Sat Apr 1 13:46:28 2023 From: ldhubbell at comcast.net (Hubbell) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } The Gift of Spring - BAEA Message-ID: <939E0F07-80FF-4119-A57F-FFC652CA6327@comcast.net> Tweeters, In case you haven?t noticed Spring is here! https://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-gift-of-spring.html I hope you enjoy the post! Have a great day on Union Bay, where nature lives in the city and Black Birders are welcome! Sincerely, Larry Hubbell ldhubbell at comcast dot net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vikingcove at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 14:06:15 2023 From: vikingcove at gmail.com (Kevin Lucas) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Name change Message-ID: <1873ea46958.28de.72de57011b8194b7f6cd87b3d7546c36@gmail.com> I think today's name migration to Yak-I-Me Autobahn Notquietly is long overdue in recognizing the exhausting amount of driving effort and no limits attitudes underlying our quest to see and hear the tic tic of the Carbon-collared Nothatch so we can unreservedly reality check the box: 'Are you submitting a complete list of all the birds you wanted to identify?' Always hoping to observe for myself something different in my bird watching, Kevin Lucas Yakima County, WA Sent with AquaMail for Android http://www.aqua-mail.com From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 14:36:20 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Surprising_discovery=3A_=E2=80=9CResearchers?= =?utf-8?q?_discover_birds_with_neurotoxin-laden_feathers_in_New_Guinea?= =?utf-8?b?4oCd?= Message-ID: <873498DE-DAED-422D-9D1B-714348108087@gmail.com> https://phys.org/news/2023-03-birds-neurotoxin-laden-feathers-guinea.html Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 14:39:31 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?=22The_bird=27s_toxin_is_the_same_type_as_th?= =?utf-8?q?at_found_in_frogs=2C_which_is_a_neurotoxin_that=2C_by_forcing_s?= =?utf-8?q?odium_channels_in_skeletal_muscle_tissue_to_remain_open=2C_can_?= =?utf-8?q?cause_violent_convulsions_and_ultimately_death=2C=22_explains_K?= =?utf-8?q?asun_Bodawatta=2E=E2=80=94Re=3A_Surprising_discovery=3A_?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=9CResearchers_discover_birds_with_neurotoxin-laden_feath?= =?utf-8?q?ers_in_New_Guinea=E2=80=9D?= In-Reply-To: <873498DE-DAED-422D-9D1B-714348108087@gmail.com> References: <873498DE-DAED-422D-9D1B-714348108087@gmail.com> Message-ID: Sent from my iPhone > On Apr 1, 2023, at 2:36 PM, Dan Reiff wrote: > > ? > https://phys.org/news/2023-03-birds-neurotoxin-laden-feathers-guinea.html > > > Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 14:41:07 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] A final present from birds killed in window collisions: poop that reveals their microbiomes Message-ID: https://phys.org/news/2023-03-birds-window-collisions-poop-reveals.html Sent from my iPhone From thefedderns at gmail.com Sat Apr 1 15:26:17 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Name change In-Reply-To: <1873ea46958.28de.72de57011b8194b7f6cd87b3d7546c36@gmail.com> References: <1873ea46958.28de.72de57011b8194b7f6cd87b3d7546c36@gmail.com> Message-ID: Well said Kevin! I myself am a descendant of a long line of Autobahn racing, kraut eating tribes. We have always lived up to the challenge of identifying birds while racing down the Autobahn at 200 klicks (km -kilometers) an hour in our Mercedes, however it can get downright yakki at times! Anything smaller than a White Stork gets lumped in the "max nix" (GI slang for macht nichts: it doesn't matter category) which comes under the heading of "Was war das?" Good birding and happy April Fools Day to you birders with Yak-I-Me Autobahn Society! I'll come see you as soon as there is no more snow on Snow -qualmie Pass ... Hans On Sat, Apr 1, 2023 at 2:06?PM Kevin Lucas wrote: > I think today's name migration to Yak-I-Me Autobahn Notquietly is long > overdue in recognizing the exhausting amount of driving effort and no > limits attitudes underlying our quest to see and hear the tic tic of the > Carbon-collared Nothatch so we can unreservedly reality check the box: > 'Are you submitting a complete list of all the birds you wanted to > identify?' > > Always hoping to observe for myself something different in my bird > watching, > > Kevin Lucas > Yakima County, WA > > > Sent with AquaMail for Android > http://www.aqua-mail.com > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Sat Apr 1 19:11:45 2023 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Osprey at Dumas Bay Sanctuary Message-ID: <80E460BB-7424-49DD-9337-0F3DF44CBF5F@comcast.net> Someone was asking the past few weeks whether Osprey had arrived in the Puget Sound area. I got to watch one fishing at Dumas Bay Sanctuary in Federal Way, WA this afternoon. It hovered for a while, then dove to a spectacular splashdown, catching a medium sized flounder which it carried to a tree on the eastern shore. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA From benedict.t at comcast.net Sat Apr 1 19:45:10 2023 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Bonaparte's Gull at Dumas Bay Sanctuary Message-ID: <1203D248-285A-4F3D-8658-BED8D4F34E1C@comcast.net> There were 20-25 Bonaparte?s Gulls flying offshore at Dumas Bay Sanctuary while doing the Puget Sound Seabird Survey this afternoon. A couple had dark heads. I know they are considered common throughout the winter, but I rarely seem them. Anyhow, it was a treat for me. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA From birdmarymoor at gmail.com Sun Apr 2 09:44:32 2023 From: birdmarymoor at gmail.com (Michael Hobbs) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] ChatGPT and eBird Message-ID: Tweets - As you should have guessed, my post yesterday about eBird teaming up with ChatGPT was an April Fools joke. But I thought I should share with you how I "wrote" the post. I signed into ChatGPT and gave it the prompt "Write an announcement that eBird.org will use ChatGPT to make predictive bird lists". That's all I gave it. I didn't tell the AI what eBird was, what kind of data they had, nor what kind of bird lists might be of interest. All of that was produced by ChatGPT in about two seconds, from the information and "understanding" it already had gleaned from the internet. I did have ChatGPT generate two versions, and I did substitute one paragraph from the second draft into the first. I also added the sentence at the end, boasting that ChatGPT wrote the announcement. Because it did. It is almost guaranteed that within a few years, eBird *will *be using AI to help extract and present data from eBird to birders, so this wasn't so much an April Fools joke as a prediction of near-future events. I would also like to mention that, last Thursday, I told Matt that I had *tried *to get ChatGPT to generate a predictive Marymoor Park report for March 29th, using the 15 years of weekly reports at www.marymoor.org/summaries/Week13.htm, and that I was disappointed that ChatGPT had not been able to do this. But ChatGPT is a general-purpose tool. The underlying technology could easily be trained to do this task. I will not, however, *ever* substitute a predictive survey result for the real thing. My survey grew out of my birding, but the goal has always been to go birding. So stop reading this drivel and go out birding! = Michael Hobbs -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From peggy_busby at yahoo.com Sun Apr 2 12:00:49 2023 From: peggy_busby at yahoo.com (peggy_busby) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] My FOY osprey Message-ID: <801940806.2179218.1680462056495@yahoo.com> Saw my first osprey of 2023.? Flying over the Yakima River just north of Toppenish this morning.?Peggy MundyBothell?Sent from my Galaxy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tenaya at alum.swarthmore.edu Sun Apr 2 18:01:11 2023 From: tenaya at alum.swarthmore.edu (Tenaya Scheinman) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Storm wigeon at Magnuson Park Message-ID: Saw a storm wigeon (American Wigeon with white head/cheeks) at Magnuson Park, Seattle around 1 pm today. With a group of about 25 American Wigeons between the boat launch and the swimming beach. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hank.heiberg at gmail.com Sun Apr 2 19:15:55 2023 From: hank.heiberg at gmail.com (Hank Heiberg) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Snoqualmie Pass to Othello In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: This past week we birded from Snoqualmie Pass to Othello. The following eBird trip report lists the bird species that we saw and it maps where we birded. https://ebird.org/tripreport/116238 Here is a link to the photo album for the trip. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/albums/72177720307155291 Washington Birder?s Dashboard was the tool that we used to plan our days. https://birddash.net/us/wa/ Hank & Karen Heiberg Issaquah, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ronpost4 at gmail.com Sun Apr 2 20:42:22 2023 From: ronpost4 at gmail.com (ronpost4@gmail.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Snoqualmie Pass to Othello In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Mon Apr 3 09:35:16 2023 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Cowlitz County birding Message-ID: Heya Tweets, I played digital nomad and snuck some birding in on March 29th and 30th down in Cowlitz County. It was quite productive with 17 new birds added for the year, bringing the Cowlitz year total to 100. A Eurasian Wigeon is still hanging around at Lake Sacajawea, (as is a Greater White-fronted Goose, I believe, although I missed it!). Ospreys and Turkey Vultures, Wood Ducks, Savannah Sparrows and Swallows are all back for the spring as well. Woodland Bottoms was particularly productive, with adds of White-breasted Nuthatch, White-throated Sparrow, American White Pelican (100ish at the south (bottom?) end of the bottoms), and Lesser Goldfinch. Much thanks to Russ Koppendrayer for tips on some of those birds! Blog updates on the first day of exploring at www.southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com. Southwest Washington Birding A monthly swing through the southwest corner of Washington state, including Cowlitz, Clark, Wahkiakum, and Skamania Counties, with a goal of finding 150 species of birds in each by year's end. www.southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com Cheers! Tim Brennan Renton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From osdlm1945 at gmail.com Mon Apr 3 11:55:22 2023 From: osdlm1945 at gmail.com (Dianna Moore) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival Message-ID: Hey Tweets! The Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival is live again and our registration process is now online for easy access. The festival dates are May 5-7, 2023. In addition to the great field trips and lectures, we are pleased to welcome our Friday night (May 5) keynote speaker Bart Rulon, wildlife artist and photographer and welcome back local wildlife biologist Dan Varland, PhD, who will talk about Gyrfalcons in Norway and Washington following our Saturday banquet on May 6. We are so excited to be getting out again to experience the joy and wonder of the spring shorebird migration and hope you will make plans to join us. For details, check out our new and updated website at shorebirdfestival.com. Dinner reservations are only open through April 12th so get them in early. Come join us for this wonderful experience! Dianna Moore Ocean Shores -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Owler at sounddsl.com Mon Apr 3 17:09:37 2023 From: Owler at sounddsl.com (J. Acker) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Old Sam Peabody Message-ID: <3pr4gwtter-1@m0247474.ppops.net> Hey Tweeters, Its that time of year again. I am hearing ?Old Sam Peabody? and I know that means that the White-throated sparrows that have been in the neighborhood for the winter will be leaving very soon. I will miss them. The first arrived at the feeder in early October and the second in mid-January. Both were tan morphs at the time, but have since seemingly molted. One still looks like a tan morph, though the white is brighter but it looks rather ragged, as if it just took a bath. The second now has bright yellow lores and bright white eye stripes, though the median crown still appears tan. Safe travels! J. Acker Owler@sounddsl.com Bainbridge Island, WA Sent from Mail for Windows -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Apr 3 17:11:20 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Can cities make room for woodpeckers? Researchers say wildlife corridors could help pileated woodpeckers survive forest fragmentation -- ScienceDaily Message-ID: <73B70E53-9278-4E87-BFC8-AB076387FB0F@gmail.com> https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230403100319.htm Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Apr 3 17:12:26 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding As a Blind Person Is Now Easier in Colombia, Thanks to a Tourism Project | Audubon Message-ID: https://www.audubon.org/news/birding-blind-person-now-easier-colombia-thanks-tourism-project Sent from my iPhone From dennispaulson at comcast.net Mon Apr 3 17:48:42 2023 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Old Sam Peabody In-Reply-To: <3pr4gwtter-1@m0247474.ppops.net> References: <3pr4gwtter-1@m0247474.ppops.net> Message-ID: <4A92BFE1-8C05-4E0F-96B6-6C266D80B12E@comcast.net> The same thing happened in our yard in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle. Last winter we had two White-throated Sparrows through the winter, from 3 November-12 April. This winter the first one we saw was on 5 November, then a second one a few days later, then on 27 November, Scott Ramos and I saw THREE birds at the same time. Subsequently I haven?t seen more than two at a time, but they were both still here two days ago, a very bright white-striped and a much duller tan-striped that didn?t look much brighter than an immature. And at least one of them just started to sing. Prior to last winter, I had seen a total of 5 White-throated Sparrows in our yard in 30 years, all in migration: 7-8 Oct 1995, 6 May 2002, 22-24 Sep 2010, and 5-8 Oct 2020. Of course I realize that two of the birds this winter could well be the same birds that stayed here last winter, but in any case, there has been a real change in the status of this species right here. Are they wintering farther north because of climate change, as Steve Hampton has documented (notwithstanding that it snowed a bit this morning!)? Or are a larger number of them coming down the Pacific coast than used to be the case? Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Apr 3, 2023, at 5:09 PM, J. Acker wrote: > > Hey Tweeters, > > Its that time of year again. I am hearing ?Old Sam Peabody? and I know that means that the White-throated sparrows that have been in the neighborhood for the winter will be leaving very soon. I will miss them. The first arrived at the feeder in early October and the second in mid-January. Both were tan morphs at the time, but have since seemingly molted. One still looks like a tan morph, though the white is brighter but it looks rather ragged, as if it just took a bath. The second now has bright yellow lores and bright white eye stripes, though the median crown still appears tan. Safe travels! > > J. Acker > Owler@sounddsl.com > Bainbridge Island, WA > Sent from Mail for Windows > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffgilligan10 at gmail.com Mon Apr 3 18:24:55 2023 From: jeffgilligan10 at gmail.com (Jeff Gilligan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Old Sam Peabody In-Reply-To: <4A92BFE1-8C05-4E0F-96B6-6C266D80B12E@comcast.net> References: <3pr4gwtter-1@m0247474.ppops.net> <4A92BFE1-8C05-4E0F-96B6-6C266D80B12E@comcast.net> Message-ID: <3AC20888-09D9-4431-AEB3-2A516A8F2C7B@gmail.com> I suspect that there are more because of intense logging in NE BC and northern Alberta, which results in brushier habitat rather than dense evergreen forests until the trees come back to sufficient height. I typically get a few in migration at Willapa Bay. Jeff Gilligan > On Apr 3, 2023, at 8:48 PM, Dennis Paulson wrote: > > The same thing happened in our yard in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle. Last winter we had two White-throated Sparrows through the winter, from 3 November-12 April. This winter the first one we saw was on 5 November, then a second one a few days later, then on 27 November, Scott Ramos and I saw THREE birds at the same time. Subsequently I haven?t seen more than two at a time, but they were both still here two days ago, a very bright white-striped and a much duller tan-striped that didn?t look much brighter than an immature. And at least one of them just started to sing. > > Prior to last winter, I had seen a total of 5 White-throated Sparrows in our yard in 30 years, all in migration: 7-8 Oct 1995, 6 May 2002, 22-24 Sep 2010, and 5-8 Oct 2020. Of course I realize that two of the birds this winter could well be the same birds that stayed here last winter, but in any case, there has been a real change in the status of this species right here. > > Are they wintering farther north because of climate change, as Steve Hampton has documented (notwithstanding that it snowed a bit this morning!)? Or are a larger number of them coming down the Pacific coast than used to be the case? > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > >> On Apr 3, 2023, at 5:09 PM, J. Acker > wrote: >> >> Hey Tweeters, >> >> Its that time of year again. I am hearing ?Old Sam Peabody? and I know that means that the White-throated sparrows that have been in the neighborhood for the winter will be leaving very soon. I will miss them. The first arrived at the feeder in early October and the second in mid-January. Both were tan morphs at the time, but have since seemingly molted. One still looks like a tan morph, though the white is brighter but it looks rather ragged, as if it just took a bath. The second now has bright yellow lores and bright white eye stripes, though the median crown still appears tan. Safe travels! >> >> J. Acker >> Owler@sounddsl.com >> Bainbridge Island, WA >> Sent from Mail for Windows >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stevechampton at gmail.com Mon Apr 3 18:38:48 2023 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Old Sam Peabody In-Reply-To: <3AC20888-09D9-4431-AEB3-2A516A8F2C7B@gmail.com> References: <3pr4gwtter-1@m0247474.ppops.net> <4A92BFE1-8C05-4E0F-96B6-6C266D80B12E@comcast.net> <3AC20888-09D9-4431-AEB3-2A516A8F2C7B@gmail.com> Message-ID: I've not really commented on WTSP wrt climate change, but I just checked the eBird Trends map for it, which is a winter-only map. https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/whtspa/trends-map It shows the typical decreasing in the south/increasing in the north we see with most species. In this case, a clear northward shift of its wintering range. The tiny West Coast population shows increases in winter, which could be due to the habitat issues that Jeff describes. On Mon, Apr 3, 2023 at 6:25?PM Jeff Gilligan wrote: > I suspect that there are more because of intense logging in NE BC and > northern Alberta, which results in brushier habitat rather than dense > evergreen forests until the trees come back to sufficient height. > > I typically get a few in migration at Willapa Bay. > > Jeff Gilligan > > > > On Apr 3, 2023, at 8:48 PM, Dennis Paulson > wrote: > > The same thing happened in our yard in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of > Seattle. Last winter we had two White-throated Sparrows through the winter, > from 3 November-12 April. This winter the first one we saw was on 5 > November, then a second one a few days later, then on 27 November, Scott > Ramos and I saw THREE birds at the same time. Subsequently I haven?t seen > more than two at a time, but they were both still here two days ago, a very > bright white-striped and a much duller tan-striped that didn?t look much > brighter than an immature. And at least one of them just started to sing. > > Prior to last winter, I had seen a total of 5 White-throated Sparrows in > our yard in 30 years, all in migration: 7-8 Oct 1995, 6 May 2002, 22-24 Sep > 2010, and 5-8 Oct 2020. Of course I realize that two of the birds this > winter could well be the same birds that stayed here last winter, but in > any case, there has been a real change in the status of this species right > here. > > Are they wintering farther north because of climate change, as Steve > Hampton has documented (notwithstanding that it snowed a bit this > morning!)? Or are a larger number of them coming down the Pacific coast > than used to be the case? > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > > On Apr 3, 2023, at 5:09 PM, J. Acker wrote: > > Hey Tweeters, > > Its that time of year again. I am hearing ?Old Sam Peabody? and I know > that means that the White-throated sparrows that have been in the > neighborhood for the winter will be leaving very soon. I will miss them. > The first arrived at the feeder in early October and the second in > mid-January. Both were tan morphs at the time, but have since seemingly > molted. One still looks like a tan morph, though the white is brighter but > it looks rather ragged, as if it just took a bath. The second now has > bright yellow lores and bright white eye stripes, though the median crown > still appears tan. Safe travels! > > J. Acker > Owler@sounddsl.com > Bainbridge Island, WA > Sent from Mail for > Windows > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tcstonefam at gmail.com Mon Apr 3 20:40:43 2023 From: tcstonefam at gmail.com (Tom and Carol Stoner) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Great Blue Herons in West Seattle Message-ID: There is a small group of GB Heron nests in West Seattle on the hill overlooking the WS Bridge and the Duwamish River. This morning I caught a quick glimpse and saw 4 to 6 herons perched next to nests. They are located on the northeast side of the hill (Pigeon Point) that is east of the Nucor Plant. I saw them as a passenger going over the bridge. I'm not sure if there is a spot along the Duwamish that would provide good safe viewing. Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rjm284 at gmail.com Mon Apr 3 20:53:23 2023 From: rjm284 at gmail.com (Ryan Merrill) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Carkeek Wigeon Message-ID: For more than a week now there has been an interesting mix of wigeon at the beach at Carkeek Park in northwest Seattle. There have usually been just a couple dozen or so wigeon in total, but among the flock has been a male and female Eurasian Wigeon so it's a good opportunity to practice identifying female Eurasian Wigeon. The female is usually one of the closest birds to the male so that can be helpful in spotting her. There is also a hybrid male American x Eurasian Wigeon that is much less obvious than most hybrids I've seen. The most obvious feature to me has been the gray sides, though after looking closely there are a few rusty feathers on the back of the head. There are pictures of both Eurasian Wigeon and the hybrid included in these eBird checklists: https://ebird.org/checklist/S132341303 https://ebird.org/checklist/S132102715 Good birding, Ryan Merrill Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jeffo4297 at gmail.com Tue Apr 4 08:35:50 2023 From: jeffo4297 at gmail.com (jeff o) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Article on birding in Skagit County Message-ID: Hi all, This link is a very good article written for the Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland. It is a great reminder for experienced birders and photographers and a must read for those of you headed north for the tulip season. It's all about safe, sane and respectful birding in Skagit County https://endive-asparagus-x2a9.squarespace.com/blog/bebirdwise Jeff Osmundson Stanwood -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hayncarl at gmail.com Tue Apr 4 08:44:44 2023 From: hayncarl at gmail.com (Carl Haynie) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?CASSIN=E2=80=99S_FINCHes_in_Skykomish_=28Kin?= =?utf-8?q?g_Co=29?= Message-ID: Hi Tweets, There are some very accessible CASSIN?S FINCHES (at least 10) in Skykomish this morning, including singing adult males. There?s also Purple Finches here so need to ID carefully. Loud Evening Grosbeaks, more than two dozen, also present. All were near the historic train depot in town from between 8 to at least 8:45 am (47.7084776, -121.3604250). Great photo opportunities. Good Birding! Carl Haynie Sammamish -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Tue Apr 4 09:11:12 2023 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Southwest Washington Birding - Blog updated Message-ID: Hiya Tweets, I got the blog updated at www.southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com, which is basically just a post on Woodland Bottoms with a brief mention of a Canada Jay found at Barnes State Forest. There is a fuzzy as all heck gull picture that I'm curious about. I'd be happy to get thoughts on it, because. . . who doesn't enjoy learning more about gull plumages? ? Right up there with getting your booster. Necessary evils! Cheers, Tim Brennan Renton Southwest Washington Birding A monthly swing through the southwest corner of Washington state, including Cowlitz, Clark, Wahkiakum, and Skamania Counties, with a goal of finding 150 species of birds in each by year's end. www.southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stevechampton at gmail.com Tue Apr 4 11:52:48 2023 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] another Black Phoebe in Jefferson Co Message-ID: This morning another BLACK PHOEBE came to me, this one at the Short Family Farm south of Chimacum. Given this is 11 miles south of the Apr 1 bird, I suspect it's a different individual, suggesting the possibility of a broader movement north for this species at the moment. A couple record shots and details here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S132692432 good birding, -- Steve Hampton Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mgfrrstr at comcast.net Tue Apr 4 19:56:43 2023 From: mgfrrstr at comcast.net (Mary Forrester) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] white throated sparrows Message-ID: <2058103890.587678.1680663403800@connect.xfinity.com> This winter I've walked the Green River Trail in Tukwila frequently & my Merlin app has picked up white throated sparrows there frequently -- at least a dozen of them. Alas, I haven't actually seen them. Mary Forrester -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com Wed Apr 5 11:16:05 2023 From: cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com (Christopher Clark) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Pierce County Great Egret (April 5th) Message-ID: Good morning, I'm currently watching the GREAT EGRET at Mountain View Cemetery. Right now it's hanging out in the shallow wetlands that are off to your right (east) as you're driving down to the lower part of the cemetery. Christopher Clark -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mike at chirohosting.com Wed Apr 5 12:18:33 2023 From: mike at chirohosting.com (Mike Melton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] white throated sparrows In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I usually get a White-throated her in Olympia that visits me early in the winter, but they usually pass on. Luckily, I had two of them spend the winter here. I haven't seen them for a week or so, so I think they must have moved on. They're such a delight! Mike Melton @waxwingeco On Wed, Apr 5, 2023 at 12:05?PM 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. white throated sparrows (Mary Forrester) > 2. Pierce County Great Egret (April 5th) (Christopher Clark) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2023 19:56:43 -0700 (PDT) > From: Mary Forrester > To: "tweeters@u.washington.edu" > Subject: [Tweeters] white throated sparrows > Message-ID: <2058103890.587678.1680663403800@connect.xfinity.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > This winter I've walked the Green River Trail in Tukwila frequently & my > Merlin app has picked up white throated sparrows there frequently -- at > least a dozen of them. Alas, I haven't actually seen them. > > Mary Forrester > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20230404/d18b524c/attachment-0001.html > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2023 11:16:05 -0700 > From: Christopher Clark > To: tweeters@u.washington.edu > Subject: [Tweeters] Pierce County Great Egret (April 5th) > Message-ID: > < > CABrHZwRys_A93DPsucRTE4PX0wOELEne8G2K3TghOThh6+wqXw@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Good morning, > > I'm currently watching the GREAT EGRET at Mountain View Cemetery. Right now > it's hanging out in the shallow wetlands that are off to your right (east) > as you're driving down to the lower part of the cemetery. > > Christopher Clark > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20230405/9f144993/attachment-0001.html > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 224, Issue 5 > **************************************** > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From barbaramandula at comcast.net Wed Apr 5 15:58:48 2023 From: barbaramandula at comcast.net (Barbara B. Mandula) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Goldfinches in Leschi/Madrona area Message-ID: <002a01d96812$2feafe50$8fc0faf0$@comcast.net> For the first time in the 17 years I've had birdfeeders up, a small flock of goldfinches has been visiting my seed feeder for the past week. Also, a lone Audubon's warbler has been eating the suet for the past few months. Barbara Mandula 206-922-3131 From thefedderns at gmail.com Wed Apr 5 22:10:36 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] (no subject) Message-ID: Another Twin Lakes Turkey Vulture I saw another single Turkey Vulture over Twin Lakes/Federal Way at 10:45 am yesterday, April 4th. It was circling and then gliding fast to NNE, likely a migrant. Good Birding! Hans -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thefedderns at gmail.com Wed Apr 5 22:14:00 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Twin Lakes Varied Thrush Message-ID: After our recent discussion on Tweeters about the lack of Varied Thrushes, I had one briefly show up in my backyard this morning! It looked like a female and I did have one on and off throughout the winter. -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vikingcove at gmail.com Thu Apr 6 11:03:28 2023 From: vikingcove at gmail.com (Kevin Lucas) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birds in Flight (BIF) photography Message-ID: At Poppoff on March 19 I saw several Vaux's Swifts flying with a mixed flock of Tree and Violet-green Swallows. Picking out the swifts from the swallows was easiest by their flight style and speed, rather than by field marks. Then I'd get my binocs on them to get a nicer view of the bird. Once I got into that, I tried adding in my camera as the last step, eventually skipping the binocs step. I wasn't my quickest or most coordinated that day, and even at my best, swifts are tough. They're swift. To my eye, there's no faster bird in "level" flight. I got just a few Loch Ness photos of swifts, and didn't even get any good ones of the swallows. I submitted a couple of photos with my checklist for the Vaux's Swifts. Vaux's Swift maven Larry Switters shared that some early Vaux's Swifts are expected with swallows. My sighting has not been bestowed eBird's seal of "Confirmed". https://ebird.org/checklist/S131477820 Since this morning is drizzling and I've not yet ventured out, I decided to search for some tips on swift photography. The most fun advice I found was: "... Then when you have finished, delete all the pictures on your card without wasting any more time by reviewing them. It really is a thankless task and you should be able to find something far more constructive to do with a warm, well-lit day. Remember to reset all the functions on your camera before getting on with your life." https://www.10000birds.com/dont-take-pictures-of-swifts.htm#:~:text=The%20speed%20and%20light%20reflecting,focussing%20range%20of%20your%20lens . I found some more advice, quite usable, at another site for anyone with a desire to go against the grain, whether my grail of trying to find and document rarities accurately and get them "confirmed" on eBird, or improving your skill at photographing birds in flight (BIF). I love seeing all the positions of birds and details of plumage that don't appear in any field guide, even in cruddy photos. They're fun, and also help me learn how many ways birds can be misidentified, even in individual photos. https://timcollierphotography.com/articles/photographing-swifts/ March 19th was by far the earliest I've found Vaux's Swifts here in Yakima County. Previously I've seen and photographed them here as early as April 10th. That was at the Johnson Auto Glass chimney roost. Even when I pre-focused on the chimney top there, most of my photos in low light and hand held have been merely acceptable. Capturing individuals as they flew over me there in the parking lot was more challenging. Capturing the swifts at Poppoff, when I'd not been psyched-up for the effort, and with the distractions of all the other little birdies there, was even more of a challenge, one I enjoyed. If anyone has tips that specifically help them with photographing birds in flight, I'd love to read them. Even a reminder of something I've learned before might be priceless. Poppoff Trail is the southernmost section of Yakima Greenway Path along the western side of the Yakima River. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Poppoff+Nature+Trail,+Union+Gap,+WA+98903/@46.5649757,-120.470624,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x5499d61600e45437:0xe001040245b92f08!8m2!3d46.5649757!4d-120.4684353!16s%2Fg%2F1pzqhtr25 Good Birding, https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography Kevin Lucas Yakima County, Washington *Qui tacet consentire videtur* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From peggy_busby at yahoo.com Thu Apr 6 11:27:51 2023 From: peggy_busby at yahoo.com (Peggy Mundy) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birds in Flight (BIF) photography In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <961653496.527171.1680805671547@mail.yahoo.com> BIF photography is fun, but yes, swifts and swallows are tough.? Here are my tips that I have shared with others,? - Start practicing BIF with larger, slower birds.? Gulls are great to start with due to their availability and flight style.? Work up to the smaller, more agile birds. - I prefer to shoot BIF in manual mode with a shutter speed of 1/1250 sec or higher (unless I am intentionally looking for wing-blur). - Practice panning with any moving object (e.g., cars, bicycles, sports like soccer). - I set my camera to Continuous High (I shoot Nikon, other manufacturers may call it differently).? Allows you to take multiple frames quickly. - Practice, practice, practice!?? - Observing birds' behavior also helps.? For example, if an individual bird uses a specific perch, you can more easily get photos of the bird approaching or leaving the perch. Keep it up, it is worth it! Peggy MundyBothell, WA On Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 11:04:04 a.m. PDT, Kevin Lucas wrote: At Poppoff on March 19 I saw several Vaux's Swifts flying with a mixed flock of Tree and Violet-green Swallows. Picking out the swifts from the swallows was easiest by their flight style and speed, rather than by field marks. Then I'd get my binocs on them to get a nicer view of the bird. Once I got into that, I tried adding in my camera as the last step, eventually skipping the binocs step. I wasn't my quickest or most coordinated that day, and even at my best, swifts are tough. They're swift. To my eye, there's no faster bird in "level" flight. I got just a few Loch Ness photos of swifts, and didn't even get any good ones of the swallows. I submitted a couple of photos with my checklist for the Vaux's Swifts. Vaux's Swift maven Larry Switters shared that some early Vaux's Swifts are expected with swallows. My sighting has not been bestowed eBird's seal of "Confirmed". https://ebird.org/checklist/S131477820 Since this morning is drizzling and I've not yet ventured out, I decided to search for some tips on swift photography. The most fun advice I found was: "... Then when you have finished, delete all the pictures on your card without wasting any more time by reviewing them. It really is a thankless task and you should be able to find something far more constructive to do with a warm, well-lit day. Remember to reset all the functions on your camera before getting on with your life." https://www.10000birds.com/dont-take-pictures-of-swifts.htm#:~:text=The%20speed%20and%20light%20reflecting,focussing%20range%20of%20your%20lens. I found some more advice, quite usable, at another site for anyone with a desire to go against the grain, whether my grail of trying to find and document rarities accurately and get them "confirmed" on eBird, or improving your skill at photographing birds in flight (BIF). I love seeing all the positions of birds and details of plumage that don't appear in any field guide, even in cruddy photos. They're fun, and also help me learn how many ways birds can be misidentified, even in individual photos. https://timcollierphotography.com/articles/photographing-swifts/ March 19th was by far the earliest I've found Vaux's Swifts here in Yakima County. Previously I've seen and photographed them here as early as April 10th. That was at the Johnson Auto Glass chimney roost. Even when I pre-focused on the chimney top there, most of my photos in low light and hand held have been merely acceptable. Capturing individuals as they flew over me there in the parking lot was more challenging. Capturing the swifts at Poppoff, when I'd not been psyched-up for the effort, and with the distractions of all the other little birdies there, was even more of a challenge, one I enjoyed. If anyone has tips that specifically help them with photographing birds in flight, I'd love to read them. Even a reminder of something I've learned before might be priceless. Poppoff Trail is the southernmost section of Yakima Greenway Path along the western side of the Yakima River. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Poppoff+Nature+Trail,+Union+Gap,+WA+98903/@46.5649757,-120.470624,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x5499d61600e45437:0xe001040245b92f08!8m2!3d46.5649757!4d-120.4684353!16s%2Fg%2F1pzqhtr25 Good Birding, https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography Kevin Lucas Yakima County, Washington Qui tacet consentire?videtur_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bluedarner1 at seanet.com Thu Apr 6 11:50:01 2023 From: bluedarner1 at seanet.com (Caryn Schutzler) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Bewick's nesting continues/ Wedgwood Message-ID: <53F515A9-5C34-483C-A6B0-BAF9629D9CEF@seanet.com> Yay, my Bewick?s nesting is underway?according to Burke Museum nesting phenology info thanks to Dennis Paulson?s help, mentions first egg date being March 11 and full into full nesting in first week of April! Any suggestions for an easy cam to set up to maybe see fledging remotely? Good birding! Caryn / Wedgwood From rich at rjassociates.ca Thu Apr 6 12:18:56 2023 From: rich at rjassociates.ca (Richard James) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birds in Flight (BIF) photography Message-ID: > Message: 6 Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2023 18:27:51 +0000 (UTC) > From: Peggy Mundy > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Birds in Flight > (BIF) photography > BIF photography is fun, but yes, swifts and swallows are tough.? > Here are my tips that I have shared with others,? > I set my camera to Continuous High (I shoot Nikon, other > manufacturers may call it differently).? Allows you to take multiple > frames quickly. In addition, set the focus mode to "closest object" or "Group" (latest Nikons) as the bird will generally be closest, esp in flight. > - Practice, practice, practice!?? And more... -- From an Island in the Pacific, Richard James, Victoria, BC From dennispaulson at comcast.net Thu Apr 6 12:45:19 2023 From: dennispaulson at comcast.net (Dennis Paulson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birds in Flight (BIF) photography In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Many new cameras allow you to specify what you are trying to photograph by selecting ?bird? (or airplane or automobile, etc.) in a menu. When you get the moving object in in the viewfinder, it draws a box around it, and I find it easier to follow birds in flight with that box. Whatever is in the box it keeps in focus. I?m totally addicted to BIF photography. I?m using an OM Systems (formerly Olympus) OM-1 with an Olympus 100-400 mm telephoto lens, and I?m doing a lot better with fast-flying birds than I used to. Vaux?s Swifts are among the very most difficult! Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Apr 6, 2023, at 12:18 PM, Richard James wrote: > >> Message: 6 Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2023 18:27:51 +0000 (UTC) From: Peggy Mundy Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Birds in Flight >> (BIF) photography > >> BIF photography is fun, but yes, swifts and swallows are tough.? >> Here are my tips that I have shared with others,? > >> I set my camera to Continuous High (I shoot Nikon, other manufacturers may call it differently).? Allows you to take multiple >> frames quickly. > > In addition, set the focus mode to "closest object" or "Group" (latest > Nikons) as the bird will generally be closest, esp in flight. > >> - Practice, practice, practice!?? > > And more... > -- > From an Island in the Pacific, > Richard James, Victoria, BC > > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From birdmarymoor at frontier.com Thu Apr 6 13:38:41 2023 From: birdmarymoor at frontier.com (birdmarymoor) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2023-04-06 References: <80831228.27579.1680813521645.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <80831228.27579.1680813521645@mail.yahoo.com> Tweets - The weather wasn't delightful, but it was really just a bit of mist and mizzle.? Temps were okay, and there wasn't much breeze.? Still doesn't really feel like spring, but there are signs pointing that way. Highlights ? ? * Canada Goose - Seem to be nesting atop both Osprey platforms, and in an island on the slough below the weir ? ? * Rufous Hummingbird - Now several males present, and we got our first decent views of spring ? ? * OSPREY - First of Spring (FOS).? Perched on softball field lights in the NE part of the park ? ? * Bushtit - Numerous and widespread ? ? * Tree and Violet-green Swallows - Numerous over the slough when we completed the main loop ? ? * Hermit Thrush - One in Big Cottonwood Forest.? Best time to see them is now through the first week of May ? ? * Lincoln's Sparrow - One in Pea Patch, first since February.? Same best season as Hermit Thrush. ? ? * Brown-headed Cowbird - Two below weir.? FOS, but not First of Year since we had one in January Misses today included Rock Pigeon (except for the tame released one), Wilson's Snipe, Pine Siskin, and Common Yellowthroat.? The COYE are almost always back by this time of the year (23 of 30 years).?? Tuesday, I had four species we missed today: AMERICAN WIGEON, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, HAIRY WOODPECKER, and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. For the day, 56 species plus the Ring-necked Pheasant.? 61 species total for the week.? Maybe next week the weather will be warm and birdy. = Michael Hobbs From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Thu Apr 6 13:50:57 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] BIF In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20230406135057.Horde.DAkte1B2b8Efwnl6WPqEw7Y@webmail.jimbetz.com> Kevin/anyone who cares ... I'm a LOT better bird photographer when the bird is both close and perched. *G*. I do not consider myself "adept" at photographing birds in flight. My experience tells me that I have to use manual focus, attempt to focus when the bird is moving, try to catch the bird moving across the frame rather than towards/away from you, use a high shutter speed (at least 1/1000th). if you look at those suggestions you quickly come to the conclusion that you need a lot of light and "side light" to get anything you would consider showing a friend. Oh yes, expect to throw away (delete) at least 90 percent of the images you attempt. Really great BIF photographers say stuff like "I keep about 1 in 20 - or less - on the average." And then add that the ratio gets worse depending upon how you intend to use the photo. Practice -will- increase the quality of your results ... and, eventually, even increase the number you "keep". My nephew lets me use some of his SmugMug space. Here's an example of a picture shot at 1/400th. That 'smudge' in the lower left is the second bird of the pair returning to this nest. Note how much the wings are blurred for the more easily identified bird just entering the nest. I have several images of goldfinches shot at 1/1000th and the wings are blurred. https://eamon.smugmug.com/Family-pics-from-jim/Birds-and-Stuff-from-Jim/n-4Cw3NF/Birds-Web/i-JXqqfJk/A Soaring birds (Bald Eagles/etc.) are a LOT easier. I've also had good luck with Snow Geese (and tossed a lot of images also). I have a few images of Harriers and Short-eared owls in flight. And a lot of pics of ducks on the water, birds at a feeder or sitting on a pole/wire ... those are easy compared to BIF. - Jim From margeecooper at gmail.com Thu Apr 6 14:23:22 2023 From: margeecooper at gmail.com (Margee Cooper) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] 1st Backyard Goldfinch Message-ID: The western edge of Longview (my backyard) has been visited by the FOY Goldfinch. Great to see a burst of color on these drab rainy days! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From baro at pdx.edu Thu Apr 6 17:13:08 2023 From: baro at pdx.edu (Robert O'Brien) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birds in Flight (BIF) photography In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Photographing Swifts. Here is a trick that worked for me, using an older but still great Canon EOS 7D & 300 mm lens. (Any modern camera and lens will work). I propped the camera on my car roof at the correct vertical angle, focusing on my chimney and at a right angle to the exit flight of 'our' nesting pair of swifts. The camera was in movie mode. When a bird entered the chimney I started it running. The bird soon emerged and 3-5 frames captured it. I stopped the movie and waited for the next entrance. Then I separated all the individual frames of the movie into jpgs and selected the 3-5.with the parent swift. (Software on the internet will do this; some is available with a free trial at times.) A Chimney Swift had come down the chimney into my house earlier in the season, (2nd Oregon State record; https://oregonbirding.org/wp-content/uploads/OBRCphotos/423-14-02.mp4and I was wondering whether it might be nesting with a Vaux's Swift. From the 'movie jpg' photos I was able to determine that it was not. Both were Vaux's. Then I got a little more creative and tried to capture the just-fledged young reentering the chimney. This was harder because I had to anticipate the entrance so that there would not be too much footage before the swiftlets entered. Here I got lucky and got photos of one fledgling missing the entrance and bouncing off the horizontal edge of the chimney. Unfazed, it went around and went in the next time. A miracle it can catch the side of the chimney and prevent its fall to the bottom what with it's new experience in flight. As to catching an adult entering the chimney. Absolutely no luck there. They enter the chimney vertically, full speed ahead. None of this fluttering downward you see with flocks entering chimneys. Bob OBrien Portland PS I'm sure those adept with movie editing (not me) could more easily extract just the desired frames rather than all of them as I did. On Thu, Apr 6, 2023 at 12:57?PM Kevin Lucas wrote: > At Poppoff on March 19 I saw several Vaux's Swifts flying with a mixed > flock of Tree and Violet-green Swallows. Picking out the swifts from the > swallows was easiest by their flight style and speed, rather than by field > marks. Then I'd get my binocs on them to get a nicer view of the bird. Once > I got into that, I tried adding in my camera as the last step, eventually > skipping the binocs step. I wasn't my quickest or most coordinated that > day, and even at my best, swifts are tough. They're swift. To my eye, > there's no faster bird in "level" flight. I got just a few Loch Ness photos > of swifts, and didn't even get any good ones of the swallows. I submitted a > couple of photos with my checklist for the Vaux's Swifts. Vaux's Swift > maven Larry Switters shared that some early Vaux's Swifts are expected with > swallows. My sighting has not been bestowed eBird's seal of "Confirmed". > > https://ebird.org/checklist/S131477820 > > Since this morning is drizzling and I've not yet ventured out, I decided > to search for some tips on swift photography. The most fun advice I found > was: > > "... Then when you have finished, delete all the pictures on your card > without wasting any more time by reviewing them. It really is a thankless > task and you should be able to find something far more constructive to do > with a warm, well-lit day. Remember to reset all the functions on your > camera before getting on with your life." > > > https://www.10000birds.com/dont-take-pictures-of-swifts.htm#:~:text=The%20speed%20and%20light%20reflecting,focussing%20range%20of%20your%20lens > . > > I found some more advice, quite usable, at another site for anyone with a > desire to go against the grain, whether my grail of trying to find and > document rarities accurately and get them "confirmed" on eBird, or > improving your skill at photographing birds in flight (BIF). I love seeing > all the positions of birds and details of plumage that don't appear in any > field guide, even in cruddy photos. They're fun, and also help me learn how > many ways birds can be misidentified, even in individual photos. > > https://timcollierphotography.com/articles/photographing-swifts/ > > March 19th was by far the earliest I've found Vaux's Swifts here in Yakima > County. Previously I've seen and photographed them here as early as April > 10th. That was at the Johnson Auto Glass chimney roost. Even when I > pre-focused on the chimney top there, most of my photos in low light and > hand held have been merely acceptable. Capturing individuals as they flew > over me there in the parking lot was more challenging. Capturing the swifts > at Poppoff, when I'd not been psyched-up for the effort, and with the > distractions of all the other little birdies there, was even more of a > challenge, one I enjoyed. > > If anyone has tips that specifically help them with photographing birds in > flight, I'd love to read them. Even a reminder of something I've learned > before might be priceless. > > Poppoff Trail is the southernmost section of Yakima Greenway Path along > the western side of the Yakima River. > > > https://www.google.com/maps/place/Poppoff+Nature+Trail,+Union+Gap,+WA+98903/@46.5649757,-120.470624,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x5499d61600e45437:0xe001040245b92f08!8m2!3d46.5649757!4d-120.4684353!16s%2Fg%2F1pzqhtr25 > > > Good Birding, > > https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ > > https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography > > Kevin Lucas > Yakima County, Washington > > *Qui tacet consentire videtur* > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Thu Apr 6 18:00:27 2023 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr NWR for 4/5/2023 Message-ID: Dear Tweets, Approximately 40 of us had a really fun day at the Refuge with chilly temperatures in the 30's to 50's degrees Fahrenheit and a southerly breeze with mostly cloudy skies. There was a Low 2.3ft Tide at 12:30pm. Highlights included FOY CALIFORNIA SCRUB-JAY and TURKEY VULTURE, Myrtle variety of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, and both EURASIAN WIGEON and AMERICAN X EURASIAN WIGEON hybrid. Overall the diversity at the Refuge is less than expected, as we would normally be seeing Cliff Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Caspian Tern, Osprey, Common Yellowthroat, Savannah Sparrow, and more shorebirds. Some of us have speculated that perhaps the stormy weather in California has slowed down some of our early spring migrants. Starting out at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook at 8am, we had great looks at PIED-BILLED GREBE, RING-NECKED DUCK, HOODED MERGANSER and BALD EAGLE. As it turns out, we had a Bald Eagle high count of 65 birds which is not something I usually see in April (usually 15-30 birds). A flock of 6 CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES flew through and a CALIFORNIA SCRUB-JAY teed up on a tall Alder Tree across the pond. I worry about the Chestnut-backed Chickadee when I see Scrub-jay in the neighborhood. The Orchard was good for PURPLE FINCH, RED-TAILED HAWK, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. We also had sightings of both hummingbirds, BEWICK'S WREN and VARIED THRUSH. BUSHTIT continued to work on a nest in a small Doughlas Fir tree. A nice flock of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER were foraging around the green gate to the Access Road and we got to pick through the flock for a couple of Myrtle variety mixed in with the predominantly Audubon's variety. The flooded fields adjacent to the Access Road were good for NORTHERN SHOVELER, AMERICAN WIGEON, AMERICAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN COOT, TREE SWALLOW and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW. A large flock of Taverner's variety of CACKLING GEESE, about 100, lined the entrance road. A SORA was heard calling. The numbers of NORTHERN PINTAIL were down, but hundreds of "dabbling ducks" were observed on the Reach and not identifiable due to the low tide and distance. We had a great look at a yellow shafted, red and black malar, red-naped Intergrade NORTHERN FLICKER. A couple of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS were heard and seen, as well a couple of BARN SWALLOW. Normally, this time of year we would see more Barn Swallow, as well Cliff Swallow and Northern Rough-winged Swallow, but they have been late to show. The west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail was great for WOOD DUCK, BROWN CREEPER and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. HOODED MERGANSER were observed visiting tree hole cavities in large Maple Trees. We also had good looks at Red-eared Slider Turtle, BullFrog, and Salamander Egg clusters. No Common Yellowthroat to be seen... usually reported at this time in previous years. The Twin Barns Overlook is a great spot for RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD and picking through the waterfowl and swallows. An AMERICAN X EURASIAN WIGEON was spotted by Rob. The Bald Eagle were fairly active hunting the waterfowl. Getting out on the Nisqually Estuary Trail, or dike, we checked on the BALD EAGLE continuing on the nest in the large Cottonwood north on the west bank of the Nisqually River. No chicks yet, but an occupied nest for three weeks now. The freshwater marsh on the inside of the dike was great for close looks of waterfowl, GREAT BLUE HERON, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, and MARSH WREN. Good numbers of CACKLING GEESE continue. As we say at Nisqually during a low tide, "acres of mud" to be scanned. SHORT-BILLED GULL, RING-BILLED GULL and GREATER YELLOWLEG were fairly evenly dispersed over the estuary as they foraged. On the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail, the tidal channels and receding waters edge of McAllister Creek consolidated the AMERICAN WIGEON, GADWALL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE, and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT. We had nice looks of RED-BREASTED MERGANSER displaying. Three EURASIAN WIGEON were located. Tom found a female Eurasian Wigeon being followed by a male EUWI. Anders spotted a distant FOY TURKEY VULTURE. Ken located two SPOTTED SANDPIPER on the west bank of McAllister Creek. The Puget Sound Viewing Platform was good for scoping BRANT GEESE, BRANDT CORMORANT, and HORNED GREBE. We dipped on Surf Scoter and Common Loon. There were hundreds of waterfowl on the reach, most likely AMWI and NOPI, but too far to distinguish. And plenty of "big guys" WESTERN/GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS. The Nisqually River Overlook was excellent for viewing COMMON MERGANSER, we also had many additional Common Goldeneye (high count for the day). A female BELTED KINGFISHER seemed to be closely sticking to the area. The maintenance crew has cleared the Willow Trees north of the Viewing Platform significantly improving the view downstream. Kudos to the Billy Frank Jr NWR Maintenance Crew, they do a stellar job maintaining our trails and regulating the water levels and vegetation in our fields, a big thank you! On our return we picked up PACIFIC WREN, SPOTTED TOWHEE and additional RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD and SONG SPARROW. We had 64 species for the day, and have seen 109 species for the year. Misses include Fox Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Cliff Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Harrier, Osprey, falcon (Peregrine or American Kestrel), Least Sandpiper, Dunlin. Caspian Tern, and Golden-crowned Kinglet. Mammals seen included Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, and Harbor Seal. Until next week, happy birding! Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Apr 5, 2023 7:21 AM - 4:02 PM Protocol: Traveling 7.187 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 30?s to 50?s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low 2.3ft Tide at 12:30pm. Mammals seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal. 64 species (+7 other taxa) Brant (Black) 50 Puget Sound Observation Platform. Birds on Nisqually Reach. Cackling Goose (minima) 500 Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 100 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 40 Old owl nest tree north section of Twin Barns Loop Trail. Northern Shoveler 175 Gadwall 20 Eurasian Wigeon 3 McAllister Creek Viewing Platform. American Wigeon 600 Eurasian x American Wigeon (hybrid) 1 Spotted by Rob Chrisler, a male Wigeon with red markings on head. Spotted from Twin Barns Observation Platform. Mallard 125 Northern Pintail 125 Green-winged Teal (American) 150 dabbling duck sp. 500 Nisqually Reach. Ring-necked Duck 11 Bufflehead 250 Common Goldeneye 65 We counted birds in McAllister Creek, the Nisqually Reach from the Puget Sound Observation Platform, and Nisqually River Overlook. We observed unusually high counts in both the McAllister Creek and Nisqually. For example, we may normally see 3-5 Goldeneye in Nisqually River, today we observed 20 species. Observations were with binoculars and scope at 100 feet to 0.5 mile on our regular walk. We had high numbers of Bufflehead as well. Hooded Merganser 8 Common Merganser 17 Nisqually River Overlook. Red-breasted Merganser 25 McAllister Creek and Reach Pied-billed Grebe 2 Horned Grebe 6 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 12 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Rufous Hummingbird 7 Orchard, Twin Barns cut-off from Loop Trail, Twin Barns Overlook, NE corner of Twin Barns Loop Trail, east side of Loop Trail. Sora 1 Heard, flooded field south of Access Road. American Coot 150 Spotted Sandpiper 2 West bank of McAllister Creek. Greater Yellowlegs 20 Short-billed Gull 125 Ring-billed Gull 45 Glaucous-winged Gull 3 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 15 Larus sp. 100 Brandt's Cormorant 4 Nisqually River channel marker. Double-crested Cormorant 5 Great Blue Heron 25 Turkey Vulture 1 Spotted by Anders over McAllister Creek hill. Bald Eagle 65 High count. Occupied next north of Nisqually Estuary Trail in big Cottonwood Tree on west back of Nisqually River. Red-tailed Hawk 2 Belted Kingfisher 1 Downy Woodpecker 7 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) 1 Steller's Jay 1 California Scrub-Jay 2 Visitor Center and Orchard. American Crow 30 Nest building in riparian habitat adjacent to sloughs and flooded fields. Common Raven 3 Black-capped Chickadee 12 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 10 Tree Swallow 125 Violet-green Swallow 3 Barn Swallow 4 Bushtit 7 Nest building in Douglas Fir next to Orchard. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6 Brown Creeper 4 Pacific Wren 1 Marsh Wren 4 Bewick's Wren 3 European Starling 300 Cavities in Cottonwoods and Maples. Varied Thrush 1 Orchard. American Robin 64 Purple Finch 5 American Goldfinch 6 Golden-crowned Sparrow 6 Song Sparrow 25 Spotted Towhee 2 Red-winged Blackbird 30 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 10 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S132849942 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From klawitterrichard at yahoo.com Thu Apr 6 18:27:02 2023 From: klawitterrichard at yahoo.com (rick klawitter) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Sage thrashers References: <4026F7CC-C12D-48C8-AD67-0C61B72DD368.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4026F7CC-C12D-48C8-AD67-0C61B72DD368@yahoo.com> Hello - Does someone know the usual dates that Sage Thrashers call and display on territory in central Washington? Thanks, Richard Klawitter Port Angeles Sent from my iPhone From krothnelson at yahoo.com Fri Apr 7 10:46:04 2023 From: krothnelson at yahoo.com (krothnelson@yahoo.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Upcoming Bird Programs from North Cascades Institute References: <58915446.894427.1680889564391.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <58915446.894427.1680889564391@mail.yahoo.com> North?Cascades?Institute?has several upcoming?bird-related programs that I think many of you will be interested in:? Saturday, April 29:?Birding the Salish Sea?aboard the Snow Goose. Explore the waters of Bellingham Bay, Lummi Island and surrounding areas in search of a variety of seabirds like loons, murres, auklets, guillemots, scoters, cormorants and more as well as marine mammals with expert naturalist?Amanda Colbert. Enjoy spectacular views of Mt. Baker, the Chuckanut Mountains, the Nooksack River estuary, Rosario Strait and San Juan Islands from a unique water-level perspective. Wednesday, May 10:?Something to Crow About, a?virtual presentation with Dr. Kaeli Swift.?Explore the unique features of corvids that make them so appealing to watch and study, how they have influenced our cultures across time and space, and how human attention towards these birds has shaped their own ecology and culture.? Saturday, May 12 - Sunday, May 14:?Spring Birding in the North Cascades.?Join longtime Institute instructor and birding extraordinaire Libby Mills to seek out spring bird life in the North Cascades ecosystem. This course?includes two nights of comfortable lodging, six delicious meals and interesting evening programs at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center.?*Only 2 spots left! There are many other programs that you all might enjoy including classes?focusing on art, photography, wolves, snakes, grizzly bears, killer whales, wildlife tracking, biodiversity, mushrooms and more!?Find out more about?these?classes and sign up at?https://ncascades.org/signup/programs/classes I also highly recommend signing up for?the?Institute?s monthly?eNewsletter?here. Scholarships and Student, Military and Disability discounts may also be available for in-person programs. Call (360) 854-2599 for more info.? | | Virus-free.www.avast.com | -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vikingcove at gmail.com Sat Apr 8 08:43:29 2023 From: vikingcove at gmail.com (Kevin Lucas) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birds in Flight (BIF) photography In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Robert, Dennis, Peggy, Richard, and Jim, (and if I missed someone's name, I apologize. I did read and save each reply.) Thank you all for sharing your experiences and your suggestions regarding birds in flight photography. As I'd hoped for, you gave me some new ideas, new perspectives on techniques and attitudes, renewed hope for success, and reminders of things I've not focused on, so to write. Good Birding, https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography Kevin Lucas Yakima County, Washington *Qui tacet consentire videtur* On Thu, Apr 6, 2023 at 5:13?PM Robert O'Brien wrote: > Photographing Swifts. Here is a trick that worked for me, using an older > but still great Canon EOS 7D & 300 mm lens. > (Any modern camera and lens will work). > I propped the camera on my car roof at the correct vertical angle, > focusing on my chimney and at a right angle to the exit flight of 'our' > nesting pair of swifts. > The camera was in movie mode. When a bird entered the chimney I started > it running. The bird soon emerged and 3-5 frames captured it. > I stopped the movie and waited for the next entrance. Then I separated > all the individual frames of the movie into jpgs and selected the 3-5.with > the parent swift. (Software on the internet will do this; some is > available with a free trial at times.) > > A Chimney Swift had come down the chimney into my house earlier in the > season, (2nd Oregon State record; > https://oregonbirding.org/wp-content/uploads/OBRCphotos/423-14-02.mp4and > I was wondering whether it might be nesting with a Vaux's Swift. From the > 'movie jpg' photos I was able to determine that it was not. Both were > Vaux's. > > Then I got a little more creative and tried to capture the just-fledged > young reentering the chimney. This was harder because I had to anticipate > the entrance so that there would not be too much footage before the > swiftlets entered. Here I got lucky and got photos of one fledgling > missing the entrance and bouncing off the horizontal edge of the chimney. > Unfazed, it went around and went in the next time. A miracle it can catch > the side of the chimney and prevent its fall to the bottom what with it's > new experience in flight. > > As to catching an adult entering the chimney. Absolutely no luck there. > They enter the chimney vertically, full speed ahead. None of this > fluttering downward you see with flocks entering chimneys. > > Bob OBrien Portland > > PS I'm sure those adept with movie editing (not me) could more easily > extract just the desired frames rather than all of them as I did. > > > > On Thu, Apr 6, 2023 at 12:57?PM Kevin Lucas wrote: > >> At Poppoff on March 19 I saw several Vaux's Swifts flying with a mixed >> flock of Tree and Violet-green Swallows. Picking out the swifts from the >> swallows was easiest by their flight style and speed, rather than by field >> marks. Then I'd get my binocs on them to get a nicer view of the bird. Once >> I got into that, I tried adding in my camera as the last step, eventually >> skipping the binocs step. I wasn't my quickest or most coordinated that >> day, and even at my best, swifts are tough. They're swift. To my eye, >> there's no faster bird in "level" flight. I got just a few Loch Ness photos >> of swifts, and didn't even get any good ones of the swallows. I submitted a >> couple of photos with my checklist for the Vaux's Swifts. Vaux's Swift >> maven Larry Switters shared that some early Vaux's Swifts are expected with >> swallows. My sighting has not been bestowed eBird's seal of "Confirmed". >> >> https://ebird.org/checklist/S131477820 >> >> Since this morning is drizzling and I've not yet ventured out, I decided >> to search for some tips on swift photography. The most fun advice I found >> was: >> >> "... Then when you have finished, delete all the pictures on your card >> without wasting any more time by reviewing them. It really is a thankless >> task and you should be able to find something far more constructive to do >> with a warm, well-lit day. Remember to reset all the functions on your >> camera before getting on with your life." >> >> >> https://www.10000birds.com/dont-take-pictures-of-swifts.htm#:~:text=The%20speed%20and%20light%20reflecting,focussing%20range%20of%20your%20lens >> . >> >> I found some more advice, quite usable, at another site for anyone with a >> desire to go against the grain, whether my grail of trying to find and >> document rarities accurately and get them "confirmed" on eBird, or >> improving your skill at photographing birds in flight (BIF). I love seeing >> all the positions of birds and details of plumage that don't appear in any >> field guide, even in cruddy photos. They're fun, and also help me learn how >> many ways birds can be misidentified, even in individual photos. >> >> https://timcollierphotography.com/articles/photographing-swifts/ >> >> March 19th was by far the earliest I've found Vaux's Swifts here in >> Yakima County. Previously I've seen and photographed them here as early as >> April 10th. That was at the Johnson Auto Glass chimney roost. Even when I >> pre-focused on the chimney top there, most of my photos in low light and >> hand held have been merely acceptable. Capturing individuals as they flew >> over me there in the parking lot was more challenging. Capturing the swifts >> at Poppoff, when I'd not been psyched-up for the effort, and with the >> distractions of all the other little birdies there, was even more of a >> challenge, one I enjoyed. >> >> If anyone has tips that specifically help them with photographing birds >> in flight, I'd love to read them. Even a reminder of something I've learned >> before might be priceless. >> >> Poppoff Trail is the southernmost section of Yakima Greenway Path along >> the western side of the Yakima River. >> >> >> https://www.google.com/maps/place/Poppoff+Nature+Trail,+Union+Gap,+WA+98903/@46.5649757,-120.470624,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x5499d61600e45437:0xe001040245b92f08!8m2!3d46.5649757!4d-120.4684353!16s%2Fg%2F1pzqhtr25 >> >> >> Good Birding, >> >> https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ >> >> >> https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography >> >> Kevin Lucas >> Yakima County, Washington >> >> *Qui tacet consentire videtur* >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Sat Apr 8 10:13:18 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding Guide in Sedona In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20230408101318.Horde.7dZg1jOUFod0_wqqgnTvfIr@webmail.jimbetz.com> Tweet, Tweet, ... T, T, TWEET! We have recently returned from a road trip. One of the best things we did was to go on a half day guided trip in Sedona with Tim Weber. Tim was excellent in terms of choosing good locations, helping us ID the birds we were seeing, and also very good at using bird calls to ID and find birds on the tops/backs of trees and bushes. I highly recommend Tim if you are going to the Sedona or Verde Valley areas. https://birdingnorthernarizona.com/ - Jim From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sat Apr 8 13:55:17 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Caching-in=3A_=E2=80=9CThe_brain_science_of_?= =?utf-8?q?tiny_birds_with_amazing_memories=E2=80=9D?= Message-ID: <878F21D3-1750-428B-B136-19487C273A2E@gmail.com> https://phys.org/news/2023-03-brain-science-tiny-birds-amazing.html Sent from my iPhone From margeecooper at gmail.com Sat Apr 8 14:13:12 2023 From: margeecooper at gmail.com (Margee Cooper) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Sandhills over Longview Message-ID: Hi tweeters! So thrilled to hear and see a gathering of Sandhill Cranes flying high over me while out walking my pup today. The cranes seemed to be heading in a NW direction and were divided into two groups, one larger than the other. Perhaps a total of 35, maybe more. Margee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marcus at rainierconnect.com Sat Apr 8 19:39:19 2023 From: marcus at rainierconnect.com (Marcus Roening) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Great Egrets in Pierce County, JBLM access Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Pierce County has been host to two Great Egrets this past week - a highly unusual occurrence. One is at Mountain View Cemetery in Lakewood WA. Happily the management is amenable to birders as long as we are respectful of others visiting the cemetery. If you go, follow the main entrance road due north. At the Tee go left and down the hill between a pond and part of the Flett Creek Holding Basins. You can park just past the pond on the left with good viewing of the marsh to the west that recently had a Northern Shrike. Another good parking spot is in the far NE corner near Holding Ponds 3 & 4 in a half circle pull out. The Great Egret has been seen from this area all the way upstream through a series of 4 holding ponds. Also, in the furthest 2 NE ponds in the next week should be Sora and Cinnamon Teal which are uncommon in Pierce County. The other Great Egret has been on Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Restricted Access Area- The Muck Creek Restoration Site. Thankfully, the military does provide a process to access their open Training Areas (Open Areas change weekly depending on military training activities). Here is the link to the getting a one year Range Access Pass from Range Control for which you do not need to be military: https://home.army.mil/lewis-mcchord/index.php/about/Directorates-support-offices/DPTMS/training-division/dptams-range-branch Range Control will provide a basic map outline, instructions on how to determine which areas are Open & Closed and a Range Control Pass for you and one for your vehicle. Note that Cell service is spotty in the Training Areas. All areas with breeding Streaked Horned Lark are Permanently Closed Training Areas to the public during breeding season. Good birding, Marcus Roening Tacoma WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From scottleavens at gmail.com Sat Apr 8 20:00:43 2023 From: scottleavens at gmail.com (Scott Leavens) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] FOY Enumclaw Turkey Vultures Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Saw 4 TUVU yesterday evening at a farm near Veazie. These are the first I've seen out here this year. -Scott Leavens -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Sun Apr 9 11:06:17 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Turkey Vultures In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20230409110617.Horde.mm-c20VtR518usUs0mK6xFs@webmail.jimbetz.com> Tweet - Tweet - Tweety Tweet, Hi all. It is quite common to see posts about TUVUs - and, it seems to me at least - they are often reported as though they are "rare" or "notable" (for example a FOY/FOS). We live about 300 feet up on a hill that faces East looking up the Skagit Valley. We see TUVU ... often. So much so that my tendency is to "just take long enough to establish if it is a TUVU or a Bald Eagle" ... and consider the ID of it being a TUVU as "disappointing" and at least half the time don't even report it on eBird. If it is a bald or some other raptor (usually an RTH) I almost always report it ... but the TUVUs are so "common" that they get dismissed as being unworthy of the time it takes to post a checklist (which is -not- a lot of time). And I will say that I -think- we see them pretty much all year round. I should just check my reports and see if this is true - my suspicion is that we see them in every month of the year. I did that - checked my reports to eBird - and in the 3 years I've been using eBird I see that I've seen TUVUs in every month except Jan and Feb. But I suspect that "I've just not reported them in those months rather than that I didn't see any ... ??? In fact, eBird shows TUVU reported in Skagit County for every week of the year except on in Jan and one it Dec ... so that seems to support that they are here year round. I do know that some TUVU migrate South - we saw many of them just last October in Veracruz, Mx. and they -seemed- to be migrating rather than residents. But the reports of TUVU in Skagit appear to support the statement that some of them, at least, do not migrate ... ??? It would seem correct for me to conclude that the TUVUs are 'common' here in Skagit County ... or at least not rare. I am NOT discounting other people's reports. I'm wondering if the reason they are so common here is because we live in a much more rural area where agriculture and logging are still major industries? Or maybe it is due to the fact that we sit where we have a very large field of view? Anyone have any ideas about this? - Jim From rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com Sun Apr 9 11:38:20 2023 From: rogermoyer1 at hotmail.com (Roger Moyer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Common Crane and Laughing Gull Message-ID: The Common Crane was still present yesterday just on Wakefield Road juat south of Elma. The Laughing Gull was present yesterday at Tokeland Marina around 330 pm. Roger Moyer Chehalis ,WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From scottleavens at gmail.com Sun Apr 9 12:27:12 2023 From: scottleavens at gmail.com (Scott Leavens) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Turkey Vultures In-Reply-To: <20230409110617.Horde.mm-c20VtR518usUs0mK6xFs@webmail.jimbetz.com> References: <20230409110617.Horde.mm-c20VtR518usUs0mK6xFs@webmail.jimbetz.com> Message-ID: Hey Jim, I've wondered the same thing. I live in Enumclaw and seeing them around the farms and fields is very common for most of the year. I reported the FOY ones yesterday because since joining tweeters I've noticed a lot of interest in them, although I haven't quite understood why. - Scott Leavens On Sun, Apr 9, 2023, 11:07 AM wrote: > Tweet - Tweet - Tweety Tweet, > > Hi all. It is quite common to see posts about TUVUs - and, it > seems to me at > least - they are often reported as though they are "rare" or "notable" (for > example a FOY/FOS). > We live about 300 feet up on a hill that faces East looking up the > Skagit Valley. > We see TUVU ... often. So much so that my tendency is to "just take > long enough > to establish if it is a TUVU or a Bald Eagle" ... and consider the ID of it > being a TUVU as "disappointing" and at least half the time don't even > report it > on eBird. If it is a bald or some other raptor (usually an RTH) I almost > always report it ... but the TUVUs are so "common" that they get dismissed > as > being unworthy of the time it takes to post a checklist (which is -not- a > lot of time). > > And I will say that I -think- we see them pretty much all year round. I > should just check my reports and see if this is true - my suspicion is > that we see them in every month of the year. > I did that - checked my reports to eBird - and in the 3 years I've > been using eBird I see that I've seen TUVUs in every month except > Jan and Feb. But I suspect that "I've just not reported them in those > months rather than that I didn't see any ... ??? In fact, eBird shows > TUVU reported in Skagit County for every week of the year except on in > Jan and one it Dec ... so that seems to support that they are here > year round. > I do know that some TUVU migrate South - we saw many of them just last > October in Veracruz, Mx. and they -seemed- to be migrating rather than > residents. But the reports of TUVU in Skagit appear to support the > statement that some of them, at least, do not migrate ... ??? > > It would seem correct for me to conclude that the TUVUs are 'common' > here in > Skagit County ... or at least not rare. > I am NOT discounting other people's reports. I'm wondering if the > reason > they are so common here is because we live in a much more rural area where > agriculture and logging are still major industries? Or maybe it is due to > the fact that we sit where we have a very large field of view? > > Anyone have any ideas about this? > - Jim > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jimullrich at gmail.com Sun Apr 9 12:27:18 2023 From: jimullrich at gmail.com (jimullrich) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival Message-ID: Hello Tweets: Our 27th Annual Grays Harbor & Nature Festival is just around the corner May 5-7, 2023. Please visit our webpages and updated videos at: https://shorebirdfestival.com So much to do out at the shores of the Pacific Ocean and inlets from Westport up to Quinault region. Key note speakers, lectures and vendor access May 5-7. Chairpersons Glynnis Nakai NWR Director & Arnie Martin Grays Harbor Audubon Sent from my iPhone From stevechampton at gmail.com Sun Apr 9 13:09:16 2023 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Turkey Vultures In-Reply-To: References: <20230409110617.Horde.mm-c20VtR518usUs0mK6xFs@webmail.jimbetz.com> Message-ID: I wholeheartedly agree. Turkey Vultures, in addition to being regular year-round in western Washington (although relatively sparse in winter), are definitely a climate change winner so far. I expect them daily now wherever there is open habitat. They are expanding north and increasing throughout the northern portions of their range, coast to coast, with few declines in the south. See eBird's new excellent trend maps, which have remarkably fine resolution. It shows (for TUVU) their trends in summer since 2007. https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/turvul/trends-map See my graph of their increase in winter as reported by Christmas Bird Counts in the PNW, at https://thecottonwoodpost.net/2020/03/09/the-invasion-of-the-pacific-northwest-californias-birds-expand-north-with-warmer-winters/ good birding, On Sun, Apr 9, 2023 at 12:27?PM Scott Leavens wrote: > Hey Jim, > > I've wondered the same thing. I live in Enumclaw and seeing them around > the farms and fields is very common for most of the year. I reported the > FOY ones yesterday because since joining tweeters I've noticed a lot of > interest in them, although I haven't quite understood why. > > - Scott Leavens > > On Sun, Apr 9, 2023, 11:07 AM wrote: > >> Tweet - Tweet - Tweety Tweet, >> >> Hi all. It is quite common to see posts about TUVUs - and, it >> seems to me at >> least - they are often reported as though they are "rare" or "notable" >> (for >> example a FOY/FOS). >> We live about 300 feet up on a hill that faces East looking up the >> Skagit Valley. >> We see TUVU ... often. So much so that my tendency is to "just take >> long enough >> to establish if it is a TUVU or a Bald Eagle" ... and consider the ID of >> it >> being a TUVU as "disappointing" and at least half the time don't even >> report it >> on eBird. If it is a bald or some other raptor (usually an RTH) I almost >> always report it ... but the TUVUs are so "common" that they get >> dismissed as >> being unworthy of the time it takes to post a checklist (which is -not- a >> lot of time). >> >> And I will say that I -think- we see them pretty much all year round. >> I >> should just check my reports and see if this is true - my suspicion is >> that we see them in every month of the year. >> I did that - checked my reports to eBird - and in the 3 years I've >> been using eBird I see that I've seen TUVUs in every month except >> Jan and Feb. But I suspect that "I've just not reported them in those >> months rather than that I didn't see any ... ??? In fact, eBird shows >> TUVU reported in Skagit County for every week of the year except on in >> Jan and one it Dec ... so that seems to support that they are here >> year round. >> I do know that some TUVU migrate South - we saw many of them just last >> October in Veracruz, Mx. and they -seemed- to be migrating rather than >> residents. But the reports of TUVU in Skagit appear to support the >> statement that some of them, at least, do not migrate ... ??? >> >> It would seem correct for me to conclude that the TUVUs are 'common' >> here in >> Skagit County ... or at least not rare. >> I am NOT discounting other people's reports. I'm wondering if the >> reason >> they are so common here is because we live in a much more rural area where >> agriculture and logging are still major industries? Or maybe it is due to >> the fact that we sit where we have a very large field of view? >> >> Anyone have any ideas about this? >> - Jim >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nreiferb at gmail.com Sun Apr 9 14:04:23 2023 From: nreiferb at gmail.com (Nelson Briefer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Turkey Vultures- Message-ID: Responding to Jim B. Report . I will never say that you are mis- identifying raptors, unless I am there with you and we are both on the same hawk. But, I am amazed at your report. Yes, you have a great location for observing raptors, and I am contemplating the areas of Clear Lake and Mud Lake and Barney Lake. Understand that I am in the sky every day in many areas, as I drive, especially in Anacortes areas and once a month to Oak Harbor. So it is best for me to say that to observe Turkey Vultures in winter in Burlington and Anacortes and North Whidbey Island, is for me, equals zero possibilities. However, it was last year or the year before that I observed my first winter Turkey Vulture perched near Best Road. When I reported this sighting to Skagit Audubon the response was? WHAT?? Just the same, I am still interested in your report and the reporting of other birders. Also, there is no need to clarify your report. The best, respectfully, Nelson, my message refers to 23 years of living at Deception Pass and in Anacortes. Nelson Briefer. And I understand that I am only one person. NB. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From merdave at homenetnw.net Sun Apr 9 16:30:39 2023 From: merdave at homenetnw.net (merdave@homenetnw.net) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Late Snowy Owl and Yellow-billed Loon Message-ID: It may be "Spring", but neighbors took me up Dyer Hill early this a.m. to see a beautiful Snowy Owl. It was on the west side of N. Division, near Rd. 24. This would be a Doug. Co. Bird. Yesterday, at Washburn Island (Okanogan Co.) we saw both a Pacific Loon and a Yellow-billed Loon. Meredith Spencer, Bridgeport From klawitterrichard at yahoo.com Sun Apr 9 18:10:00 2023 From: klawitterrichard at yahoo.com (rick klawitter) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Proverbial odd duck (merganser) References: Message-ID: Hello - Recently I photographed some version of an immature Red-breasted merganser I believe. I?d like to send a photo to someone with expertise to comment on the bird. What is most striking to me is the absence of reddish coloration. Thanks Richard Klawitter klawitterrichard@yahoo.com Port Angeles Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Apr 10 00:10:52 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Avian flu has killed 3 California condors in northern Arizona : NPR Message-ID: <684A6E64-A23F-4C26-B328-058DB72704A0@gmail.com> https://www.npr.org/2023/04/08/1168788132/avian-flu-california-condors-northern-arizona Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Apr 10 00:15:16 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?World=E2=80=99s_biggest_single_eradication_o?= =?utf-8?q?peration_aims_to_remove_mice_from_island_=7C_Wildlife_=7C_The_G?= =?utf-8?q?uardian?= Message-ID: <401621A4-FFDA-4392-9CAC-DA7E04493B5E@gmail.com> https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/21/world-biggest-single-eradication-operation-remove-mice-marion-sland Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Apr 10 00:20:51 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Animal Divorce: When and Why Pairs Break Up | TS Digest | The Scientist Message-ID: <059DE402-86CB-45A8-936A-4DE184DDEB7C@gmail.com> https://www.the-scientist.com/features/animal-divorce-when-and-why-pairs-break-up-70035 Sent from my iPhone From dianebachen at comcast.net Mon Apr 10 13:29:34 2023 From: dianebachen at comcast.net (Diane Bachen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Black-chinned Hummingbird Message-ID: <4C2DCCA9-FE24-4E31-B9BB-28E475C42622@comcast.net> I live in Bellingham, half way between the city limits and Lynden. My neighbor feeds hummingbirds and said that he had what he thought was a Black-chinned Hummingbird at his feeder. I haven?t been able to download his photo. Any reports of those birds this side of the mountains, this time of year. I haven?t seen any recent posts on eBird regarding this. Sent from my iPhone From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Mon Apr 10 14:02:49 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Turkey Vultures In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20230410140249.Horde.xWkPcgibnbRBIaJ24yHh7Nl@webmail.jimbetz.com> Nelson, We live on the East side of Burlington Hill. We have a 180 degree view that goes from where I-5 enters the hills to the North (near the casino) to the back side of the hills in East Mount Vernon. That's actually over 180 degrees of sky. Burlington Hill is about 325 feet high and we live near the 300 foot line. And we can see as far as the top of the Cascades to the East (when the weather permits). As I write this I can see at least to the Western Edge of Sedro Wooley (yes, even in today's weather). We've lived here for 3 years. The TUVUs we see are often/usually below us but also come up to and above eye level as they use the thermals/winds to climb up and over the hill. Some times the TUVUs come very close to us - I've seen them no further away than 30 feet. I was raised in Anacortes in the 50's and the 60's but left to work in California. I'm retired and in my late 70's so I might make a mistake in IDing a TUVU once in a while - but not often. I have reflected on "why I tend to discount the presence of the TUVUs". I think there are two reasons - first because I don't find them "pleasing to look at/watch" and second due to having lived in California for over 50 years have grown accustomed to seeing them. These two probably explain why I asked "what's the big deal about seeing a TUVU?" and I apologize to you and everyone about that. - respectfully ... Jim From raphael.fennimore at gmail.com Mon Apr 10 14:09:21 2023 From: raphael.fennimore at gmail.com (Raphael Fennimore) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] BLACK-HEADED GULL off Redondo Pier, King County, April 10th Message-ID: Hi Tweets, A few minutes ago from Saltwater State Park I spotted the BLACK-HEADED GULL flying into Redondo Pier (King County) from far to the south. John Puschock was driving close so I called him and he stopped by to confirm. I relocated and am watching the gull now, sitting in the water about 300 meters off of the pier - great looks. The pier is closed and so the boat ramp just south of it is good for observance. Obviously the gull might take off anytime, but good to know it?s still around! Good birding, Raphael Fennimore From byers345 at comcast.net Mon Apr 10 17:07:35 2023 From: byers345 at comcast.net (byers345@comcast.net) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Osprey observations Message-ID: <001c01d96c09$9ffe02f0$dffa08d0$@comcast.net> Hello Tweeters, Bill and I were at the Northern Pacific Ponds near Cle Elum this morning. As many of you will know, there is an Osprey nesting platform high on the hill above the ponds, right next to I-90. In fact, you can see the platform as you drive east on I-90. Two days ago, we had driven past the platform and seen nothing. Today we actually went to the ponds, despite the rain. While we were there, at least 3 and possibly 4 Ospreys flew in from the east, calling and flying around over the ponds. Finally, two landed on the nesting platform and copulated. So we might have actually seen these birds arriving from the south. What I wondered was if Ospreys waited until they arrived at their nesting site to copulate? It makes sense, I suppose. Bill got pictures of what I think might be a male and female Osprey and then the copulation. https://www.flickr.com/photos/29258421@N07/albums/72177720307399465 I'd be curious to know if Osprey do wait until they arrive at a nest location to copulate. Thanks, Charlotte Byers, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From s.chase at credoces.org Mon Apr 10 17:09:19 2023 From: s.chase at credoces.org (Stephen Chase) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Black-chinned Hummingbird In-Reply-To: <4C2DCCA9-FE24-4E31-B9BB-28E475C42622@comcast.net> References: <4C2DCCA9-FE24-4E31-B9BB-28E475C42622@comcast.net> Message-ID: Hi Diane, Two weeks ago I had a hummingbird at my feeder with a unique chipping sound. It took off quickly, but I hung out around the feeder and within 20 minutes, it was back. I got a brief look at it from a tough angle, and in the low light, the iridescent chin sure looked violet, even a bit blue! Again the bird took off, but I was pretty much glued to the feeder at that point with camera in hand, waiting for my county lifer, yard bird, code 5 Black-chinned Hummingbird! While waiting, I began to do some research. I knew Black-chinned do (very) occasionally show up in Western Washington, but I wondered if a March sighting was possible. The research turned out to be pretty conclusive, and pretty much killed my confidence in what I thought I had seen. Here's a live map of 2023 sightings; at this moment, there are no 2023 records north of central California. Two weeks ago the northernmost record was even further south. While waiting, I realized that while I wouldn't say that it was impossible that I had seen a Black-chinned. But I also began to understand how significantly the odds were stacked against it, and how much of a burden of proof I would have to have to be able to convince a rare bird reviewer or committee of what I claimed to have seen. I suppose your neighbor would be in the same situation. The hummingbird did return, and I got a great look at it. It was an Anna's Hummingbird - a different individual than I normally get, but an Anna's no less. It's actually still around, as I can ID it individually by its unique call. No new yard bird that day, but it was fun to learn anyway! All the best, Stephen On Mon, Apr 10, 2023 at 1:30?PM Diane Bachen wrote: > I live in Bellingham, half way between the city limits and Lynden. My > neighbor feeds hummingbirds and said that he had what he thought was a > Black-chinned Hummingbird at his feeder. I haven?t been able to download > his photo. Any reports of those birds this side of the mountains, this time > of year. I haven?t seen any recent posts on eBird regarding this. > > 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 dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Apr 10 22:58:42 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Woodpecker that likes burned forest can breed in unburned woods too, research shows | Oregon State University Message-ID: <710F140D-FDEB-4B04-A753-9445C2A98F42@gmail.com> https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/woodpecker-likes-burned-forest-can-breed-unburned-woods-too-research-shows Sent from my iPhone From leschwitters at me.com Tue Apr 11 09:56:39 2023 From: leschwitters at me.com (Larry Schwitters) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Vaux's in the USA Message-ID: Last night Vaux?s Happening documented its first 2023 USA communal roosting, 25 into the San Diego YWCA. Averaging 100-200 miles a day these swifts should make it to Canada in 8 to 10 days. Unless they?re not going to Canada. Both the inside and outside Monroe Wagner video streaming cameras are up and running. Links to on our website. https://www.vauxhappening.org/ Larry Schwitters Issaquah From bluedarner1 at seanet.com Tue Apr 11 10:37:59 2023 From: bluedarner1 at seanet.com (Caryn Schutzler) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] FOY Rufous and Bewick's nesting activity Message-ID: <3F4F4018-9D7F-4B2B-A9DC-02F751C113FF@seanet.com> Very excited to just spot (10:30am) on our First male rufous chowing down the white ribes in front garden. And?have been watching our Bewick?s wren (have a little Blink outdoor camera) focused on their front door? Much in and out and room service happening via "UBird Eats!! ? Not sure if in nestling phase yet, but must be very close! Hoping to catch fledging!! What a great bird day! Caryn / Wedgwood From charleseasterberg at gmail.com Tue Apr 11 19:09:23 2023 From: charleseasterberg at gmail.com (Charles Easterberg) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Osprey Message-ID: Saw one osprey fly over Meadowbrook Pond this afternoon. Didn't appear to hang around though; fairly high. Charles Easterberg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cariddellwa at gmail.com Tue Apr 11 21:15:41 2023 From: cariddellwa at gmail.com (Carol Riddell) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup - March 2023 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, As of the end of March, the Edmonds 2023 year list includes 123 species. In taxonomic order, these are the March additions: Snow Goose (code 3), 85 seen flying over the Edmonds Interurban Trail, 3-16-23. Northern Shoveler (code 1), 2 at Pine Ridge Park, 3-11-23. California Quail (code 3), 1 calling in a north Edmonds neighborhood, 3-22-23. Rufous Hummingbird (code 2), 1 in the Pine Ridge neighborhood, 3-22-23. Turkey Vulture (code 3), 2 flying over a north Edmonds neighborhood, 3-13-23. Tree Swallow (code 3), 2 at Edmonds marsh, 3-22-23. Violet-green Swallow (code 1), 2 and 4 reported from two central and north Edmonds yards, 3-22-23. Evening Grosbeak (code 3), 4 flying over the Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood, 3-19-23. As always, I appreciate it when birders get in touch with me to share sightings, photos, or audio. If you would like a copy of our 2023 city checklist, please request it from checklistedmonds at gmail dot com. (It reflects a species total of 280, including the Nazca Booby.) If eBirders will use the details field for unusual Edmonds birds, it will help us build the city year list. Photographs or recordings are also helpful. The 2023 checklist is posted in the bird information box at the Visitor Station at the base of the public pier. I will update it through March. Good birding, Carol Riddell Edmonds, WA Abundance codes: (1) Common, (2) Uncommon, (3) Harder to find, usually seen annually, (4) Rare, 5+ records, (5) Fewer than 5 records From margeecooper at gmail.com Wed Apr 12 10:04:41 2023 From: margeecooper at gmail.com (Margee Cooper) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Bushtits in Longview Message-ID: I had 3 Bushtits (FOY) in my backyard yesterday. I don't see many of these delightful tiny birds often. So dang cute! Margee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vikingcove at gmail.com Wed Apr 12 14:29:24 2023 From: vikingcove at gmail.com (Kevin Lucas) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Black-bellied Plover at Norbert & Dicie Maquez's Pond. Message-ID: <187775f8f20.28de.72de57011b8194b7f6cd87b3d7546c36@gmail.com> Today I found a breeding plumage Black-bellied Plover at Norbert & Dicie Marquez's Pond in Nass, along the Yakima Valley Highway between Outlook & Granger. It's foraging west of the pond. It's a striking bird, and the first one I've found in Yakima County this year. It's still foraging as of 2:22. Norbert & Dicie are the couple who own the pond. I've not met Dicie, and have called this pond Norbert's Nass Pond for years, because I've met and spoken with him, and I liked the ring of it. He's a nice guy. I realized that it wasn't right for me to call it that, since it left out Dicie, so I've started calling it, appropriately, Norbert & Dicie Marquez's Pond. Good Birding, Kevin Lucas Yakima County, Washington Sent with AquaMail for Android http://www.aqua-mail.com From vikingcove at gmail.com Wed Apr 12 15:18:50 2023 From: vikingcove at gmail.com (Kevin Lucas) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Black-bellied Plover at Norbert & Dicie Maquez's Pond. In-Reply-To: <187775f8f20.28de.72de57011b8194b7f6cd87b3d7546c36@gmail.com> References: <187775f8f20.28de.72de57011b8194b7f6cd87b3d7546c36@gmail.com> Message-ID: <187778cd110.28de.72de57011b8194b7f6cd87b3d7546c36@gmail.com> Yakima Valley Highway, at Norbert & Dicie Marquez's Pond, is not limited access, so bird watchers can & may legally & safely stop and park on the shoulder, and setup scopes and enjoy the view without danger and without angering other motorists. Dropped pin https://maps.app.goo.gl/t1Q2cSkjMt5JdNaC8 Good Birding, Kevin Lucas Yakima County, WA Sent with AquaMail for Android http://www.aqua-mail.com On April 12, 2023 2:29:26 PM Kevin Lucas wrote: > Today I found a breeding plumage Black-bellied Plover at Norbert & Dicie > Marquez's Pond in Nass, along the Yakima Valley Highway between Outlook & > Granger. It's foraging west of the pond. It's a striking bird, and the > first one I've found in Yakima County this year. > > It's still foraging as of 2:22. > > Norbert & Dicie are the couple who own the pond. I've not met Dicie, and > have called this pond Norbert's Nass Pond for years, because I've met and > spoken with him, and I liked the ring of it. He's a nice guy. I realized > that it wasn't right for me to call it that, since it left out Dicie, so > I've started calling it, appropriately, Norbert & Dicie Marquez's Pond. > > Good Birding, > Kevin Lucas > Yakima County, Washington > > Sent with AquaMail for Android > http://www.aqua-mail.com > > From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Wed Apr 12 15:23:51 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Northern Harrier In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20230412152351.Horde.zINdoYIDnHubi95NnO7VHxB@webmail.jimbetz.com> Hi guys, I was at the East 90 yesterday and this guy "sat for a portrait". https://eamon.smugmug.com/Family-pics-from-jim/Birds-and-Stuff-from-Jim/n-4Cw3NF/Birds-Web/i-5D4ddTn/A - Jim From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Wed Apr 12 15:37:19 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Leucistic Northern Harrier? In-Reply-To: <20230412152351.Horde.zINdoYIDnHubi95NnO7VHxB@webmail.jimbetz.com> References: <20230412152351.Horde.zINdoYIDnHubi95NnO7VHxB@webmail.jimbetz.com> Message-ID: <20230412153719.Horde.r_wMSDg7TxpPtMiI1ERWJ7E@webmail.jimbetz.com> Hello my tweets, Yesterday I saw an extremely light colored Northern Harrier at the East 90. It was so light I first thought it might be a peregrine - but the behavior was all wrong ... it was "working a ditch, down low and running down it, and then swooping up a bit and turning and going back down the same ditch". My next mistaken ID was thinking it was an SEO - but the wings were all wrong. I -finally- realized it was a Harrier. I also saw the same bird about 1/2 hour later and again it was behaving like a harrier. That pair of harriers that works the river dike - quite far away (East) was also working and chasing each other. I've seen this pair before. Almost always in the same general area and flying up high (200 feet?) rather than staying low like harriers are "supposed to do" ... *G*. Has anyone else seen the "leucistic Harrier" on the Samish Flats? - Jim From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Wed Apr 12 15:57:33 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit - Birding the Flats - April 2023 In-Reply-To: <20230412152351.Horde.zINdoYIDnHubi95NnO7VHxB@webmail.jimbetz.com> References: <20230412152351.Horde.zINdoYIDnHubi95NnO7VHxB@webmail.jimbetz.com> Message-ID: <20230412155733.Horde.j_O1TUpecrIt42QVAAxr1Xn@webmail.jimbetz.com> Hi all, So I "toured" the flats yesterday. I started at the Butler Flats, went to Edison and the Samish Flats (going all the way to Samish Island), and from there across the Skagit Flats on Best Road (no big fields of color from the tulips - but lots of daffodils!), and out onto Fir Island. I saw a few Bald Eagles, more than the normal amount of Northern Harriers (see other posts), 3 Ring-necked Pheasants, a lot of Brewers Blackbirds, one small group of about 200 Snow Geese (just resting while traveling North - LOS?), one Canadian Goose (may have been on a nest), 3 White Fronted Geese in the Samish River, Mallards "everywhere" but only in small numbers, several Crows, about twice as many Ravens, a smattering of passerines, a couple of small flocks of Coots, a respectable number of Great Blue Herons (both alongside the road in ditches and hunting out on the mud flats - the tide was low), one RTH, one Rough-Legged. Missing were any Trumpeters (too late?), no RWB (but my fault for not going looking for them in the right places), didn't see any other ducks than the Mallards (again probably my fault). There was a Bald Eagle peeking its head above the nest at the West 90. Could it have been sitting this early? Of all of the areas the -least- productive was Fir Island. BTW, in case you don't remember, all access to Wiley Slough is blocked off ... can't even go in to use the bathroom now. I think Snow Goose Produce is open now - ice cream from them is the alternative to seeing the tulips? I don't know if the SEOs are here or not - you usually have to be there late in the day (3 or later) and I was out earlier than that. The Skagit River is running fairly hard but not threatening any sort of flooding. Have you checked out the "super bloom" of poppies in California? The rest of the SW Desert areas are also seeing lots of flowers this year (and flooded areas where no one has seen water in a long time. And Tulare Lake! - Jim From shepthorp at gmail.com Thu Apr 13 09:21:44 2023 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR, Wednesday Walk for 4/12/2023 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Approximately 30 of us had a really nice Spring Day at the Refuge with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 30's to 50's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a High 11.7ft Tide at 9:25am, so we chased the tide and did the Nisqually Estuary Trail and Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail in the morning and saved the Orchard for the afternoon. Highlights included the arrival of several spring species including FOY COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, CLIFF SWALLOW, CASPIAN TERN and OSPREY. We had great looks at numerous GREATER YELLOWLEGS, Myrtle variety of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, WILSON SNIPE and breeding plumage COMMON LOON. We were able to see EURASIAN WIGEON and BRANT GEESE, but the waterfowl numbers have decreased from the last few weeks. Some of our group relocated the SEMIPALMATED PLOVER in the surge plain, and there was a snappy breeding plumage BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER on the mudflats west of Leschi Slough. We had 83 species for the day with 115 species for the year. eBird list copied below. Until next week, happy birding. Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Apr 12, 2023 7:05 AM - 5:04 PM Protocol: Traveling 7.984 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Cloudy in the morning, partly sunny in the afternoon. Temperatures in the 30?s to 50?s degrees Fahrenheit. A High 11.7ft Tide at 9:25am. Mammals seen Townsend?s Chipmunk, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Coyote, Harbor Seal, and Columbian Black-tailed Deer. Other sightings Pacific Chorus Frog, Red-eared Slider, Red-legged Frog, Garter Snake, Bullfrog, other very dark frog, Starry Flounder. 83 species (+7 other taxa) Brant 46 Cackling Goose 100 Cackling Goose (minima) 750 Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 75 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 30 Wood Duck 8 Northern Shoveler 77 Gadwall 10 Eurasian Wigeon 1 American Wigeon 250 Eurasian x American Wigeon (hybrid) 1 Mallard 200 Northern Pintail 150 Green-winged Teal (American) 400 Ring-necked Duck 6 Surf Scoter 18 Bufflehead 200 Common Goldeneye 75 Counted. Likely more. Seen along side Bufflehead, Scoters and Mergansers in McAllister Creek, Nisqually Reach, and Nisqually River. Hooded Merganser 6 Common Merganser 4 Red-breasted Merganser 25 Pied-billed Grebe 3 Horned Grebe 6 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 6 Band-tailed Pigeon 3 Anna's Hummingbird 2 Rufous Hummingbird 9 American Coot 175 Black-bellied Plover 1 Semipalmated Plover 4 Seen by some of our group in south east corner of surge plain. Small peep sized Plover with sing breast band. Least Sandpiper 80 Wilson's Snipe 4 Spotted Sandpiper 2 Greater Yellowlegs 40 Short-billed Gull 200 Ring-billed Gull 50 California Gull 1 Glaucous-winged Gull 2 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 10 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 20 Caspian Tern 7 Common Loon 2 Brandt's Cormorant 1 Double-crested Cormorant 4 Great Blue Heron 12 Turkey Vulture 1 Osprey (carolinensis) 1 Northern Harrier 2 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 40 Two nests. One West Bank of Nisqually River north of dike, the other on the West Bank of McAllister Creek adjacent to Puget Sound Observation Platform. Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 4 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Downy Woodpecker 6 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 Peregrine Falcon 1 Steller's Jay 1 California Scrub-Jay 2 American Crow 15 Black-capped Chickadee 20 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 12 Tree Swallow 40 Violet-green Swallow 30 Barn Swallow 25 Cliff Swallow 4 Bushtit 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Creeper 8 Pacific Wren 2 Marsh Wren 10 Bewick's Wren 6 European Starling 25 American Robin 75 Purple Finch 6 American Goldfinch 10 Dark-eyed Junco 1 White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 2 Golden-crowned Sparrow 10 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 4 Song Sparrow 27 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 3 Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 40 Brown-headed Cowbird 2 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 5 Common Yellowthroat 6 Yellow-rumped Warbler 10 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 10 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 6 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S133568859 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lindseysarahstern at gmail.com Thu Apr 13 10:03:39 2023 From: lindseysarahstern at gmail.com (Lin Stern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] WhatsApp Group for Washington Birders Message-ID: <05B8C9CE-155D-49AF-A406-3762BDE77763@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 322450312_247045674354266_2968257839190512550_n.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 20739 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Fleckenstein1 at comcast.net Thu Apr 13 12:20:49 2023 From: Fleckenstein1 at comcast.net (Fleckenstein) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] RFI Mazatlan Message-ID: <2E666853-C19A-4523-8725-7C23A0D1CC68@comcast.net> Friends, Our trip to Mazatlan was squelched by COVID in 2020. We?re trying again. I?m looking for recommendations of guides and good sites to visit. I haven?t birded in Mexico, so street birds will be good start. Beyond that, Estero el Yugo looks good, as does Camino la Noria. Other recommendations? John Fleckenstein p.s. Thanks for the suggestions on the Salton Sea area. We had a great time down there.The Lake isn?t as birdie as it used to be, but some surrounding locations were great. From birdmarymoor at frontier.com Thu Apr 13 14:52:17 2023 From: birdmarymoor at frontier.com (birdmarymoor) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2023-04-13 References: <1258214754.1703461.1681422737891.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1258214754.1703461.1681422737891@mail.yahoo.com> Tweets - Temperatures remain well below normal, but even so we had a spring-like day today.? Finally.? We had some sunshine to start, though it clouded up and got breezy by mid-walk.? But the birds were singing, and we saw lots of nesting behaviors.? We had five First of Year (FOY) birds, and a few surprises. Highlights: ? ? Cackling Goose - Small flock at 6:30; first in three weeks and quite possibly our last until fall ? ? Northern Pintail - Flyover of a pair.? Only our 2nd sighting since February ? ? Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Notably many, notably widespread.? Outnumbered Black-caps! ? ? Barn Swallow - At least one (FOY) ? ? Cliff Swallow - At least one (FOY) ? ? American Pipit - Small flock at model airplane field; we saw them from the Viewing Mound,?then Brian drove over and verified (FOY) ? ? White-crowned Sparrow - Pugetensis and Gambelii subspecies singing at the Pea Patch ? ? Lincoln's Sparrow - Again, one in the Pea Patch visible for a few of us ? ? Western Meadowlark - Two in the East Meadow ? ? Brewer's Blackbird - Two at south end of East Meadow (FOY) ? ? Common Yellowthroat - At least a dozen singing, two or three glimpsed (FOY) ? ? Townsend's Warbler - At least two near the Concert Venue ticket booth / south picnic shelter CANADA GEESE remain nesting on both Osprey platforms, despite the presence of at least three OSPREY.? The Ospreys appear to be trying to start a new nest on a different light pole in the NE ballfields, having (we heard from another birder) tried and failed to dislodge the geese earlier in the week. GREAT BLUE HERONS continue to sit on, and enhance, their nests.? A BALD EAGLE was in the nest south of the model airplane field.? A CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE brought nest materials into a box in the Pea Patch.? ?TREE SWALLOWS were laying claim to other boxes.? We found two BUSHTIT nests, one being built, the other looking finished.? We saw a BROWN CREEPER disappear into a nest in peeled bark on a snag.? At least 20 species were heard singing today, along with DOWNY and FLICKER drumming, and ANNA'S and RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS displaying. Misses today included Rock Pigeon, Pine Siskin, and Orange-crowned Warbler.? The latter are distinctly late this year, but by my recollection, they don't show up until the leaves come out, and the trees are still leafless. For the day, 67 species, including Lonesome George. = Michael Hobbs ???? From cariddellwa at gmail.com Thu Apr 13 15:37:31 2023 From: cariddellwa at gmail.com (Carol Riddell) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Addendum tp Edmonds Roundup - March 2023 References: Message-ID: <7529793D-0DA5-4661-BFA8-F8BDBE432484@gmail.com> Hi Tweets, I have received confirmation of two additional March species, which brings our Edmonds year number up to 125 as of the end of March. They are: Western Meadowlark (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh, 3-16-23. Wood Duck (code 3), 1 adult female flying along the public pier, 3-28-23. Good birding, Carol Riddell Edmonds WA > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Carol Riddell > Subject: Edmonds Roundup - March 2023 > Date: April 11, 2023 at 9:15:41 PM PDT > To: Tweeters > > Hi Tweets, > > As of the end of March, the Edmonds 2023 year list includes 123 species. In taxonomic order, these are the March additions: > > Snow Goose (code 3), 85 seen flying over the Edmonds Interurban Trail, 3-16-23. > > Northern Shoveler (code 1), 2 at Pine Ridge Park, 3-11-23. > > California Quail (code 3), 1 calling in a north Edmonds neighborhood, 3-22-23. > > Rufous Hummingbird (code 2), 1 in the Pine Ridge neighborhood, 3-22-23. > > Turkey Vulture (code 3), 2 flying over a north Edmonds neighborhood, 3-13-23. > > Tree Swallow (code 3), 2 at Edmonds marsh, 3-22-23. > > Violet-green Swallow (code 1), 2 and 4 reported from two central and north Edmonds yards, 3-22-23. > > Evening Grosbeak (code 3), 4 flying over the Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood, 3-19-23. > > > As always, I appreciate it when birders get in touch with me to share sightings, photos, or audio. If you would like a copy of our 2023 city checklist, please request it from checklistedmonds at gmail dot com. (It reflects a species total of 280, including the Nazca Booby.) If eBirders will use the details field for unusual Edmonds birds, it will help us build the city year list. Photographs or recordings are also helpful. The 2023 checklist is posted in the bird information box at the Visitor Station at the base of the public pier. I will update it through March. > > Good birding, > > Carol Riddell > Edmonds, WA > > 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 wingate at seanet.com Thu Apr 13 16:07:16 2023 From: wingate at seanet.com (David B. Williams) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Operation Mother Goose Message-ID: <8571C248-E3B9-4812-89E7-0BF2675F10A2@seanet.com> 53 years ago this week, Washington state officials collected Canada goose eggs soon to be flooded by the John Day Dam. Several weeks later, about 900 goslings were distributed along the Columbia River, and to Arizona and Idaho, and perhaps to Seattle. It?s a nutty story, in case you are interested. https://streetsmartnaturalist.substack.com/p/operation-mother-goose ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ David B. Williams -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From habarnes at earthlink.net Thu Apr 13 21:00:04 2023 From: habarnes at earthlink.net (Hilary Barnes) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Lots of Norther Pintails on Crockett Lake near Coupville Ferry Message-ID: Saw perhaps 130 Northern Pintails going bottoms-up on Crockett Lake (that stretch of water across from the ferry dock, extending along the road) yesterday at about 6:30 pm, and eventually a Northern Harrier. No Short-earred Owl this time, but it's often been good-hunting for them (and us ) there! Northern Pintails are not getting enough love on Tweeters! :) Hilary Barnes habarnes@earthlink.net From thefedderns at gmail.com Thu Apr 13 22:58:32 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Twin Lakes Varied Thrush - Again Message-ID: I hope that I am not boring everyone, but we just arrived home from a rather exciting birding trip to the San Diego area, when I looked out into our backyard and saw a female Varied Thrush! Maybe the same individual we had all winter. It does seem rather late, though but having seen the snow in the mountains from the plane today, I can see why her ladyship is in no hurry! It raises the question if this bird is indeed a local - Washington State - bird, or is a migrant from as far north as Alaska? Good Birding! Hans -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Fri Apr 14 06:27:40 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] How an African bird might inspire a better water bottle -- ScienceDaily Message-ID: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230411195920.htm Sent from my iPhone From TRI at seattleu.edu Fri Apr 14 12:26:07 2023 From: TRI at seattleu.edu (Tucker, Trileigh) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush - Washington's state bird? Message-ID: Hans-Joachim and others, Interestingly, Cornell?s Living Bird magazine has recently addressed the question of which birds should represent each state, based on a vast collection of eBird data. And they propose the Varied Thrush for us ?. We apparently have 24% of the global population overwintering here, for instance. Here?s Part 2 of Matt Smith?s and Marc Devokaitis?s extended report, which briefly addresses the Varied Thrush ? see the linked Part 1 for their methodology. I hope the article answers some of your questions. I treasure the Varied Thrush couple who overwinters in my own yard. Trileigh Trileigh Tucker Pelly Valley, West Seattle NaturalPresenceArts.com From: Hans-Joachim Feddern Date: Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 10:58 PM To: Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Twin Lakes Varied Thrush - Again I hope that I am not boring everyone, but we just arrived home from a rather exciting birding trip to the San Diego area, when I looked out into our backyard and saw a female Varied Thrush! Maybe the same individual we had all winter. It does seem rather late, though but having seen the snow in the mountains from the plane today, I can see why her ladyship is in no hurry! It raises the question if this bird is indeed a local - Washington State - bird, or is a migrant from as far north as Alaska? Good Birding! Hans -- Hans Feddern Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nreiferb at gmail.com Fri Apr 14 14:02:46 2023 From: nreiferb at gmail.com (Nelson Briefer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Peregrine perched Message-ID: A perched Peregrine, on a telephone pole wire. Chilberg Road and Best Road intersection, East of LaConner. At about noon. Nelson Briefer. Anacortes. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From florafaunabooks at hotmail.com Fri Apr 14 19:02:17 2023 From: florafaunabooks at hotmail.com (David Hutchinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] In shock Message-ID: Hi all, this is a report on a bird species I saw this afternoon. It was moving around in shrubby trees & bushes on the Oak Trail by the South Bluff Overlook in Discovery Park. When I saw it I thought right away that I had no idea what it was and that it was something I had never seen before. Having finally got hold of a Nat Geo, the bird looked like the eunomus race of a male Dusky Thrush. It was very active, flying quickly from branch to branch in open trees. If one said "migratory restlessness" I could believe it. As I was wheeling a wheelbarrow at the time, can't say I got fine details But: Robin size, lot of snow white on head, whitish on breast. A prominent black semi-circle higher on the breast. Prominent rufous orange in side view, some blackish on back. It flew off to the north. Looked like it was in passage. David Hutchinson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tcstonefam at gmail.com Sat Apr 15 11:01:21 2023 From: tcstonefam at gmail.com (Tom and Carol Stoner) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Orange-crowned Warbler Message-ID: I spotted an OC Warbler this morning feeding in the emerging Big-Leaf Maple blossoms this morning. Amazing color match between bird and blossoms. Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mj.cygnus at gmail.com Sat Apr 15 11:05:56 2023 From: mj.cygnus at gmail.com (Martha Jordan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Whooper returns to Marsh Lake Message-ID: Saw this post from Whitehorse in the Yukon Territories. Marsh Lake is the melting pot for migrating waterfowl coming from our area. And the Whooper was seen there. I do not have a photo of it, but could it be the Enumclaw Whooper or another one? The facial yellow pattern is distinctive, but I have no photos of either to compare. I will ask and see if anyone got a photo of the Yukon swan. https://www.yukon-news.com/local-news/rare-whooper-swan-returns-with-trumpeters-to-marsh-lake/ Martha Jordan Everett, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From florafaunabooks at hotmail.com Sat Apr 15 11:57:03 2023 From: florafaunabooks at hotmail.com (David Hutchinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Discovery bird Message-ID: Some folks are kindly saying that in reporting a "Dusky Thrush" I might not have eliminated an aberrant Varied Thrush, so back to the drawing bird. More comments later. David -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Sat Apr 15 12:18:46 2023 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Did someone say Varied Thrush? :) Message-ID: Yes! Someone sent that Cornell article my way a couple weeks back. The 24% statistic is fun. I also liked it over some other potential state birds, like Chestnut-backed Chickadee, because they are annual birds in every county in our state. As tacky as it is to challenge an election, I'll still question the crooks who allowed the schoolkids to vote the American Goldfinch in there as our bird. ? Varied Thrush for president! Tim Brennan Renton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thefedderns at gmail.com Sat Apr 15 16:17:41 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Did someone say Varied Thrush? :) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I agree Tim! Maybe we should start a movement to change our state bird to Varied Thrush! I wonder what it would take? My lady Varied Thrush put in three appearances yesterday, but I have not seen her today. Hans On Sat, Apr 15, 2023 at 12:19?PM Tim Brennan wrote: > Yes! Someone sent that Cornell article my way a couple weeks back. The 24% > statistic is fun. I also liked it over some other potential state birds, > like Chestnut-backed Chickadee, because they are annual birds in every > county in our state. As tacky as it is to challenge an election, I'll still > question the crooks who allowed the schoolkids to vote the American > Goldfinch in there as our bird. ? Varied Thrush for president! > > Tim Brennan > Renton > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From alanroedell at gmail.com Sat Apr 15 17:22:13 2023 From: alanroedell at gmail.com (Alan Roedell) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Did someone say Varied Thrush? :) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Whenever I see a Varied Thrush I remember the late Bob Sundstrom, the most knowledgeable, intellectual and gracious Washington bird guide in my experience. His license plate read "IXOREUS". He was well known and respected throughout the international birding world. His numerous writings for "Bird note" are still the most thoughtful, factual, and appealing to be heard on NPR. The garden he and Sally Alhadef built in Scatter Creek is a wonderful oasis for birds. He was kind, thoughtful man. If anyone wants to start a campaign to change the state bird to Varied Thrush count me in. Alan Roedell, Seattle On Sat, Apr 15, 2023, 4:18 PM Hans-Joachim Feddern wrote: > I agree Tim! Maybe we should start a movement to change our state bird to > Varied Thrush! I wonder what it would take? > > My lady Varied Thrush put in three appearances yesterday, but I have not > seen her today. > > Hans > > On Sat, Apr 15, 2023 at 12:19?PM Tim Brennan > wrote: > >> Yes! Someone sent that Cornell article my way a couple weeks back. The >> 24% statistic is fun. I also liked it over some other potential state >> birds, like Chestnut-backed Chickadee, because they are annual birds in >> every county in our state. As tacky as it is to challenge an election, I'll >> still question the crooks who allowed the schoolkids to vote the American >> Goldfinch in there as our bird. ? Varied Thrush for president! >> >> Tim Brennan >> Renton >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > > > -- > *Hans Feddern* > Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA > thefedderns@gmail.com > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From amk17 at earthlink.net Sat Apr 15 17:53:52 2023 From: amk17 at earthlink.net (AMK17) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Durrell Road Dark morph hawk Message-ID: Hi Tweets, I was at Durr Rd in Kittitas County today and observed a Dark morph hawk which Looked like a ferruginous hawk. Just wondered if anyone has observed furrugies on Durr Rd. bluebirds and vesper sparrows around as well. Cheers, AKopitov AMK17 From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Sat Apr 15 18:52:24 2023 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Did someone say Varied Thrush? :) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I did love Bob's plate! And it's interesting to imagine that, for as often as I go on my little rambles about the Varied Thrush, and why it's so amazing, that I stumbled on a new reason that it would make a lovely state bird, but how about this: It has two sets of vocal cords. I know all thrushes do, but I don't know that there's a thrush out there that highlights this as well as the varied thrush. The steam-whistle calls get their aching beauty from those paired tones, and the harmonics they produce. And our state, beautiful as it is, sometimes has two sets of vocal cords. . . doesn't it? (a note that just reminded me to cc our birding friends on the other side of the state). With the East and West sides of the state, there are such stark differences in weather, landscapes, professions, and politics. . . we're not always singing the same note! But it seems like we could hope that at times, when we're the wisest, best versions of ourselves, that those notes will pair up to make something as beautiful as what we get to hear on crisp March mornings. And where are these birds off to in the coming summer months? Up to the highest most beautiful parts of our state, where, on a clear day, you might be able to see both sides. I doubt that the symbolism would be lost on Governor Inslee, who has actually spent time living on both sides of the state. Now. . . leading up to 1951, it sounds like it was two contentious years of voting before the school kids picked the American Goldfinch. I don't know what kind of a fight it would take to get people to go through all of that again. But, c'mon. The junco was among the also-rans. . . folks, they had the Oregon? Junco in the running as our state bird. Reason to question the process? ? I'd be down to write a letter or two. Cheers, Tim Brennan Renton ________________________________ From: Alan Roedell Sent: Saturday, April 15, 2023 5:22 PM To: Hans-Joachim Feddern Cc: Tim Brennan ; Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Did someone say Varied Thrush? :) Whenever I see a Varied Thrush I remember the late Bob Sundstrom, the most knowledgeable, intellectual and gracious Washington bird guide in my experience. His license plate read "IXOREUS". He was well known and respected throughout the international birding world. His numerous writings for "Bird note" are still the most thoughtful, factual, and appealing to be heard on NPR. The garden he and Sally Alhadef built in Scatter Creek is a wonderful oasis for birds. He was kind, thoughtful man. If anyone wants to start a campaign to change the state bird to Varied Thrush count me in. Alan Roedell, Seattle On Sat, Apr 15, 2023, 4:18 PM Hans-Joachim Feddern > wrote: I agree Tim! Maybe we should start a movement to change our state bird to Varied Thrush! I wonder what it would take? My lady Varied Thrush put in three appearances yesterday, but I have not seen her today. Hans On Sat, Apr 15, 2023 at 12:19?PM Tim Brennan > wrote: Yes! Someone sent that Cornell article my way a couple weeks back. The 24% statistic is fun. I also liked it over some other potential state birds, like Chestnut-backed Chickadee, because they are annual birds in every county in our state. As tacky as it is to challenge an election, I'll still question the crooks who allowed the schoolkids to vote the American Goldfinch in there as our bird. ? Varied Thrush for president! Tim Brennan Renton _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -- Hans Feddern Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 41cdcook at gmail.com Sun Apr 16 08:06:48 2023 From: 41cdcook at gmail.com (David Cook) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] looking for male traveling companion to Ecuador Jan/Feb 2024 Message-ID: I am organizing a 12 day birding trip to the Ecuador Amazon and the east slope of the Andes. We are currently a group of 5, and I am looking for one man to join to be my roommate and traveling companion. We do not have space on the tour to add any other additional people. Here is the itinerary for the trip - Jan. 25 fly to Quito, night near airport Jan. 26 fly to Coca in the morning, travel by van and boat to Sacha lodge Jan. 26-30 Sacha lodge birding, leave morning of Jan. 30, travel to WildSumaco lodge in the afternoon Jan. 30-Feb. 2 WildSumaco area birding, leave at lunch time for San Isidro lodge Feb. 2-4 San Isidro area, leave sometime in the afternoon, stop at Guango lodge for one or more hours, night in Papalllacta village Feb. 5 bird in the paramo, end the day outside of Quito Please contact me directly at 41cdcook@gmail.com if you are interested. Dave Cook Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From florafaunabooks at hotmail.com Sun Apr 16 11:39:08 2023 From: florafaunabooks at hotmail.com (David Hutchinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] The Great Thrush Caper Message-ID: So thanks to all who assisted in this adventure and sent a variety of photos. What does one do when seeing an apparent Dusky Thrush in the park & not make a complete fool of one's self? Take the white head off of a leucistic Varied Thrush. Remove a black breast band from another Varied Thrush. Splurge lots of rusty orange color from an actual Varied Thrush around. Finally take a black eye stripe from a real Dusky Thrush. Mix it all up and bingo there you have it - a Harlequin Thrush, in actuality a lurid leucistic Varied Thrush ( I think !) It was a lot of fun while it lasted. Best to all, David Hutchinson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From skepsou at icloud.com Sun Apr 16 12:16:54 2023 From: skepsou at icloud.com (Debbie Mcleod) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Did someone say Varied Thrush? :) Message-ID: To add confusion, the lists I have seen show our state bird as "Willow Goldfinch". From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Sun Apr 16 13:05:56 2023 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Did someone say Varied Thrush? :) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Well, Wikipedia (and who doesn't trust Wikipedia, right?) is telling me that the Willow Goldfinch is a subspecies of American Goldfinch. . . found in California! (we have a PNW subspecies as well, who knew?) I will grudgingly allow for the possibility that the American Goldfinch may, at the time, been called the Willow Goldfinch everywhere (or that a PNW subspecies was split from it at a later date). But I mean. . . if the kids voted for the Willow Goldfinch, it's the Willow Goldfinch. And we don't have them here. Revote! I'm about to "whereas" the heck out of a letter to the desk of Jay Inslee. If anyone can please? shed light on the history of name changes here and/or the distribution of subspecies, it would be appreciated. Cheers! Tim Brennan Renton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stevechampton at gmail.com Sun Apr 16 16:54:57 2023 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush - the song Message-ID: With all this talk about Varied Thrush for state bird, I highly recommend this new song and delightful video by the recording artist, Sparkbird. It's called "Varied Thrush". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xwSzhOpZbU -- Steve Hampton Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jelder at meteorcomm.com Sun Apr 16 19:00:22 2023 From: jelder at meteorcomm.com (Jim Elder) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] The Great Thrush Caper In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dave, I may have seen your bird this afternoon at Discovery Park. It fits your description perfectly with the white flecked head except around the eye, black breast band, rusty flanks. If it was the same bird it was fun but it wasn't a Dusky Thrush. My bird at least was a leucistic Spotted Towhee. In addition to all the characteristics you listed, it also had a conical beak, red eye, and the mew call of a towhee. They are pretty striking with a white head. It was approximately here: 47.658280, -122.423375 which is near where your new Capehart trail returns into the loop trail by one of the overlooks. Is that where you saw your bird? Jim Elder, Seattle In response to: >> Message: 7 >> Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2023 18:39:08 +0000 >> From: David Hutchinson >> To: "tweeters@u.washington.edu" >> Subject: [Tweeters] The Great Thrush Caper >> Message-ID: >> >> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" >> >> So thanks to all who assisted in this adventure and sent a variety of photos. What does one do when seeing an apparent Dusky Thrush in the park & not make a complete fool of one's self? >> >> Take the white head off of a leucistic Varied Thrush. Remove a black breast band from another Varied Thrush. Splurge lots of rusty orange color from an actual Varied Thrush around. >> Finally take a black eye stripe from a real Dusky Thrush. Mix it all up and bingo there you have it - a Harlequin Thrush, in actuality a lurid leucistic Varied Thrush ( I think !) It was a lot of fun while it lasted. >> >> Best to all, David Hutchinson From meetings at wos.org Mon Apr 17 07:43:23 2023 From: meetings at wos.org (meetings@wos.org) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?WOS_Monthly_Meeting=2C_Mon=2E=2C_May_1=2C_7?= =?utf-8?q?=3A30_pm=2C_Steve_Hampton_to_present_Birds_and_Climate_C?= =?utf-8?q?hange=2C_with_a_Special_Focus_on_the_Pacific_Northwest?= Message-ID: <20230417144323.12832.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> The Washington Ornithological Society is very pleased to invite you to our next Monthly Meeting.?? Our presenter, Steve Hampton, will share the results of his recently published research on birds and climate change ? changes that are already happening ? with a special focus on the Pacific Northwest. Hampton has been birding since he was seven years old. He worked for the California Dept. of Fish & Wildlife for 25 years, where he was involved in oil spill response, natural resource damage assessment, seabird restoration, and partnerships with Native communities.??After retiring, he moved to Port Townsend where he serves as conservation chair and CBC compiler for Admiralty Audubon. The meeting will be conducted via Zoom.??Please go to http://wos.org/about-wos/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.??Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm. WOS invites everyone in the birding community to attend.?? If you are not yet a member, I hope you will consider becoming one at http://wos.org/about-wos/membership/. Please join us! Vicki King WOS Program Coordinator From birder4184 at yahoo.com Mon Apr 17 11:18:00 2023 From: birder4184 at yahoo.com (B B) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Blog Post - Tanzania Birding References: <1321286729.2466053.1681755480922.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1321286729.2466053.1681755480922@mail.yahoo.com> In February, Cindy Bailey and I joined the Victor Emanuel Nature Tours trip to Tanzania.? Excellent trip over 21 days with lots of birds and lots of animals and we were fortunate to get lots of photos. It has taken many weeks to edit the photos, compile lists etc. so I have just started writing the trip up for my blog - blairbirding.com.? Just some highlights:? 430 species seen (of which 70+ were lifers - due to overlap with previous trips to Kenya and South Africa) with photos of more than 75%.? Although we missed the big migration because the rains were late, there were thousands of animals as well including almost a hundred lions, 10 cheetahs, a leopard, and many many elephants. giraffes, hippos, antelopes and some of the few remaining Black Rhinos. It is going to take a while to do all the posts.? Here is the first one which covers the flight over through Doha, Qatar and the first day.? More to come. https://blairbirding.com/2023/04/17/africa-again-finally/ Blair Bernson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From itomas at onebox.com Mon Apr 17 11:56:14 2023 From: itomas at onebox.com (itomas@onebox.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Duck Message-ID: <70c44273897c41d5b682856733862ec7@6c117499f9de491c91159865816552a2> Question...Yesterday, a duck awkwardly landed on a wire right in front of my deck which is across the street from the Rutherford Slough in Fall City. The duck was kind enough to sit there long enough for me to go inside for binoculars, books and laptop computer and, according to all the pictures I could find, it was a Harlequin Duck. Is that really possible? I thought they were not in this area...and yes, there are Buffleheads in the water but this was not one of them. Thanks, Tomas Walsh Fall City, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From skepsou at icloud.com Mon Apr 17 12:24:14 2023 From: skepsou at icloud.com (Debbie Mcleod) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush - the song Message-ID: Wow, that song was Absolutely Fabulous! As well as the fashion - I enjoyed the way everyone was decked out in Varied Thrush colors. From benedict.t at comcast.net Mon Apr 17 12:36:28 2023 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Duck In-Reply-To: <70c44273897c41d5b682856733862ec7@6c117499f9de491c91159865816552a2> References: <70c44273897c41d5b682856733862ec7@6c117499f9de491c91159865816552a2> Message-ID: <3A8BE729-EF16-48D2-9F91-C1B3E37FEEEA@comcast.net> Harlequin Ducks spend their fall and winter in the water, usually rocky salt water, and their breeding season in alpine forest. It?s not unusual to see them in small creeks on Mt Rainier with young. I must confess, however, that I?ve never seen one on a wire. That must have been interesting. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Apr 17, 2023, at 11:56, wrote: > > Question...Yesterday, a duck awkwardly landed on a wire right in front of my deck which is across the street from the Rutherford Slough in Fall City. The duck was kind enough to sit there long enough for me to go inside for binoculars, books and laptop computer and, according to all the pictures I could find, it was a Harlequin Duck. Is that really possible? I thought they were not in this area...and yes, there are Buffleheads in the water but this was not one of them. > > Thanks, > > Tomas Walsh > > Fall City, WA > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Mon Apr 17 12:43:59 2023 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk - April 20 - 10th Anniversary Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, The Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagles Pride Golf Course (GC) birdwalk is scheduled for Thursday, April 20. Much like the Billy Frank Jr., Nisqually FWR (20 years), and Michael Hobbs's Marymoor birding outings (30 years), the JBLM Eagle's Pride birdwalk has a celebration - 10 years - this year. In 2013, Dave W, then of JBLM Morale, Welfare, and Recreation organization, asked me if I'd be interested in leading a birdwalk at the Eagle's Pride GC. I toured the site with him and I thought this forested area could prove interesting to some folks. Our first formal walk around the area was April 2013, with just a couple of participants. Now, we have about 10-15 birders every month. In addition, we've found 107 species over the years - much to my surprise because I anticipated perhaps 60-70 species would be a likely number given it's mainly a golf course built within a typical Northwest forested area. Please join us this month or anytime! The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00AM. Starting point is Bldg # 1514, Driving Range Tee, Eagles Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. When you turn into the course entrance, take an immediate left onto the road to the driving range - that's where we meet. Also, to remind folks that haven't been here before, you don't need any ID to attend these birdwalks. Hope you're able to make it! 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 jimf at cogenix.com Mon Apr 17 12:46:49 2023 From: jimf at cogenix.com (Jim Forrester) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Duck Message-ID: <1681760809682.83496@cogenix.com> They are definitely found on inland waters. We've seen them on Icicle River near Leavenworth, and multiple other locations away from the sea. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stephen.elston at gmail.com Mon Apr 17 13:10:36 2023 From: stephen.elston at gmail.com (Stephen Elston) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Duck In-Reply-To: <70c44273897c41d5b682856733862ec7@6c117499f9de491c91159865816552a2> References: <70c44273897c41d5b682856733862ec7@6c117499f9de491c91159865816552a2> Message-ID: In my understanding, Harlequin Duck breed along fast moving mountain streams. In the spring these birds migrate from saltwater wintering sites to high altitude breeding sites. I suppose this bird was taking a break during this migration. You can see the breeding range map for our state on BirdWeb. On Mon, Apr 17, 2023 at 11:57?AM wrote: > Question...Yesterday, a duck awkwardly landed on a wire right in front of > my deck which is across the street from the Rutherford Slough in Fall City. > The duck was kind enough to sit there long enough for me to go inside for > binoculars, books and laptop computer and, according to all the pictures I > could find, it was a Harlequin Duck. Is that really possible? I thought > they were not in this area...and yes, there are Buffleheads in the water > but this was not one of them. > > Thanks, > > Tomas Walsh > > Fall City, WA > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From 1northraven at gmail.com Mon Apr 17 13:34:06 2023 From: 1northraven at gmail.com (J Christian Kessler) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Duck In-Reply-To: References: <70c44273897c41d5b682856733862ec7@6c117499f9de491c91159865816552a2> Message-ID: yes, in the summer I find Harlequin Duck on the headwaters of the American River just over Chinook Pass. Chris Kessler Seattle On Mon, Apr 17, 2023 at 1:11?PM Stephen Elston wrote: > In my understanding, Harlequin Duck breed along fast moving > mountain streams. In the spring these birds migrate from saltwater > wintering sites to high altitude breeding sites. I suppose this bird was > taking a break during this migration. > > You can see the breeding range map > for our state on > BirdWeb. > > On Mon, Apr 17, 2023 at 11:57?AM wrote: > >> Question...Yesterday, a duck awkwardly landed on a wire right in front of >> my deck which is across the street from the Rutherford Slough in Fall City. >> The duck was kind enough to sit there long enough for me to go inside for >> binoculars, books and laptop computer and, according to all the pictures I >> could find, it was a Harlequin Duck. Is that really possible? I thought >> they were not in this area...and yes, there are Buffleheads in the water >> but this was not one of them. >> >> Thanks, >> >> Tomas Walsh >> >> Fall City, WA >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- "moderation in everything, including moderation" Rustin Thompson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From phwimberger at pugetsound.edu Mon Apr 17 13:50:11 2023 From: phwimberger at pugetsound.edu (Peter Wimberger) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Did someone say varied thrush / state bird Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Because I am developing a big crush on Stanley Jewett, a prominent PNW ornithologist and museum collector, this question interested me. Plus there's a big irony that the subspecies Willow Goldfinch, our original state bird, isn't even found here. The subspecies of goldfinch in western Washington is one of the few things named after Jewett, a vastly underappreciated biologist (not even a Wikipedia page!). He was a coauthor of the first comprehensive bird books for Oregon and Washington. Based on very quick research and please correct me if I'm wrong - Washington has two subspecies of American Goldfinch - jewetti in the west and pallidus in the east. Spinus tristis jewetti or the Pacific Northwest Goldfinch was erected by Van Rossem in 1943. Prior to that it was thought that the subspecies in western Oregon and Washington was the Willow Goldfinch S. t. salicamans, which ranges to southern California on the west side of the Sierra Nevadas and Cascades. In the last half of the 19th c and first half of the 20th c identifying birds to subspecies was a thing, a thing that I think was used to show where one stood in the ornithology hierarchy. If you look at Birds of Oregon and Birds of Washington, just like the old Bent's Birds of North America, all species are identified to subspecies. The Washington state bird was finally declared as Willow Goldfinch in 1951 after many years of haggling. Ironically by 1951 the Willow Goldfinch was no longer the subspecies recognized as the one residing in W. Washington. And no wonder folks in E. Washington feel marginalized by the state legislature (what are we, chopped pallidus?). It would be really interesting to know if the State Archives has the correspondence and other material pertaining to the decision. It could make for a fun WOS talk. I'm all in on a new state bird. Best, Peter Wimberger Tacoma, WA and the Slater Museum of Natural History -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From canyoneagle at mycci.net Mon Apr 17 14:01:56 2023 From: canyoneagle at mycci.net (LMarkoff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Duck In-Reply-To: <70c44273897c41d5b682856733862ec7@6c117499f9de491c91159865816552a2> References: <70c44273897c41d5b682856733862ec7@6c117499f9de491c91159865816552a2> Message-ID: <00a201d9716f$da181460$8e483d20$@mycci.net> Perhaps your Harlequin was migrating inland and made a brief stop at your place to rest? Harlequin Ducks nest inland, I once saw one on Smith Creek, which is at the top of the panhandle of Idaho. Just for fun, here is the location of Smith Creek. https://goo.gl/maps/KEn7vifsXXdB4e6Y9 And here are a few photos of the Harlequin I saw there: https://www.flickr.com/gp/canyoneagle/44bAi14x05 Am very happy that you got such a gorgeous visitor to brighten your day! Best wishes, Lori Markoff From: Tweeters On Behalf Of itomas@onebox.com Sent: Monday, April 17, 2023 11:56 AM To: tweeters@uw.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Duck Question...Yesterday, a duck awkwardly landed on a wire right in front of my deck which is across the street from the Rutherford Slough in Fall City. The duck was kind enough to sit there long enough for me to go inside for binoculars, books and laptop computer and, according to all the pictures I could find, it was a Harlequin Duck. Is that really possible? I thought they were not in this area...and yes, there are Buffleheads in the water but this was not one of them. Thanks, Tomas Walsh Fall City, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Apr 17 14:28:41 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] LOS ANGELES TIMES: SoCal can expect more birds, rabbits, rats, and snakes in wildlife surge after record rain Message-ID: <3D6ACAFE-1B52-4C05-BD5A-7FC1CE528233@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Mon Apr 17 14:30:25 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] READER'S DIGEST: Where Do Birds Go During a Rainstorm? Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From florafaunabooks at hotmail.com Mon Apr 17 15:44:04 2023 From: florafaunabooks at hotmail.com (David Hutchinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Dept of Chaos/more info Message-ID: First thanks for all the kind words and a few giggles from Tweeterworld. What a fun crowd you all are. So Project Thrush has now moved on to a) a report that the bird in question is likely a leucasistic Spotted Towhee And further a kind gentleman I met recently says he has an actual photo of the bird taken over a year ago. Messengers are being sent out to try and locate both gent and photo. Meanwhile I shall limp back in remore to my wheelbarrow. Another volunteer planting group tomorrow, out at The Cape. David Hutchinson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From deedeeknit at yahoo.com Mon Apr 17 17:10:03 2023 From: deedeeknit at yahoo.com (Dee Dee) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Subject: Harlequin Duck In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1C0332C9-B544-4AF7-8841-1B36DC3FA54A@yahoo.com> I believe it could well have been a Harlequin. Years ago I saw my first WA State Harlequin duck, a female with a couple of ducklings, on a swift-moving creek in the Cascades (up near Monte Carlo, I think, in summertime?rather too many decades ago) and once saw a small group of them on Puget Sound. The most I ever saw at one time was a large congregation, while looking down at the sea from a sea cliff in Iceland (c. 1981). So anyway, they have been here in WA and hopefully some still are. I saw that the WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife has posted a note on their species description page for these ducks, requesting anyone seeing this species please share the observation using their (linked) WDFW wildlife reporting form. They note there have been declines in wintering numbers on the Sound. Nice sighting, Tomas, especially when so cooperative. Dee Warnock Edmonds > Message: 7 > Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2023 18:56:14 GMT > From: > To: > Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Duck > Message-ID: > <70c44273897c41d5b682856733862ec7@6c117499f9de491c91159865816552a2> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Question...Yesterday, a duck awkwardly landed on a wire right in front of my deck which is across the street from the Rutherford Slough in Fall City. The duck was kind enough to sit there long enough for me to go inside for binoculars, books and laptop computer and, according to all the pictures I could find, it was a Harlequin Duck. Is that really possible? I thought they were not in this area...and yes, there are Buffleheads in the water but this was not one of them. > > Thanks, > Tomas Walsh > Fall City, WA > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 224, Issue 17 > ***************************************** From dovalonso at gmail.com Mon Apr 17 18:02:10 2023 From: dovalonso at gmail.com (Darwin A.) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] 3. Varied Thrush - the song (Steve Hampton) Message-ID: Thanks Steve (and Sparkbird) . That was brilliant. https://youtu.be/6xwSzhOpZbU -- Darwin Alonso Seattle,WA 98105 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Tue Apr 18 02:41:43 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] The surprising science behind long-distance bird migration Message-ID: https://phys.org/news/2023-04-science-long-distance-bird-migration.html Sent from my iPhone From info at shelflifestories.com Tue Apr 18 10:49:46 2023 From: info at shelflifestories.com (Shelf Life Community Story Project) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] White Throated Sparrow Seattle Central District Message-ID: I see plenty of Golden Crowned and White Crowned sparrows around here, but this is my first time seeing a White Throated in the CD. I was a little mystified until he started singing and Merlin Sound ID confirmed my suspicions. Very handsome. Jill -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From o.b.james at verizon.net Tue Apr 18 13:14:44 2023 From: o.b.james at verizon.net (Odette B. James) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Ducks in the Seattle area References: <006801d97232$6a9f3410$3fdd9c30$.ref@verizon.net> Message-ID: <006801d97232$6a9f3410$3fdd9c30$@verizon.net> I live in a retirement community with a good view of the Cedar River Delta. There was a female Harlequin hanging out with Buffleheads and feeding among the logs on the delta for about two weeks in the latter half of November, 2021. In early March 2022 and early May 2022 there were brief sightings of female Harlequins in the same area, perhaps the same bird? So they are here, just not terribly common. Odette James -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mj.cygnus at gmail.com Tue Apr 18 13:36:36 2023 From: mj.cygnus at gmail.com (Martha Jordan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Long distance migration Message-ID: Interesting post about song birds and fat vs protein burning during migration. Here is a book I highly recommend re: bird migration around the world, and it does speak to the physiological changes that happen in shorebirds (truly amazing) and other bird adaptations. A World on the Wing: The Global Odysse of Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul Martha Jordan Everett, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chandirah at gmail.com Tue Apr 18 13:53:24 2023 From: chandirah at gmail.com (Chandira H) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Ducks Message-ID: <7B3BC797-72E7-4388-870C-D982FB7C88E1@gmail.com> Thomas yes, last summer I saw 2 juvenile Harlequin ducklings floating down a creek up near Lake Kachess! Mom was nowhere to be found, apparently they are left to fend for themselves at quite a young age!! I?ve also seen adults in that same spot several years in a row. >> >> Question...Yesterday, a duck awkwardly landed on a wire right in front of my deck which is across the street from the Rutherford Slough in Fall City. The duck was kind enough to sit there long enough for me to go inside for binoculars, books and laptop computer and, according to all the pictures I could find, it was a Harlequin Duck. Is that really possible? I thought they were not in this area...and yes, there are Buffleheads in the water but this was not one of them. >> >> Thanks, >> Tomas Walsh >> Fall City, WA >> From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Tue Apr 18 14:08:18 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] State Bird? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20230418140818.Horde.C7x9mkY0l0xWwe96-4AADGQ@webmail.jimbetz.com> Hi, To me the State bird should be one that is "common" - so that kids like I once was have a good chance of seeing and hearing them. The Robin, Seagull, Red-tailed Hawk, Great Blue Heron and Bald Eagle come to mind as possibles. But I'm perfectly OK with the Goldfinch - they've been showing up here the last 2 or 3 weeks. Almost always in small flocks of 6 to 10 birds at a time. Very visible (both due to color and activity level) and a true joy to have in our backyard. Although I've seen a few Varied Thrushes ... not nearly as many as those I suggested in my list above. But I don't see the need to change from the flashy Goldfinch ... ;-) - Jim From janetlaura at earthlink.net Tue Apr 18 14:16:19 2023 From: janetlaura at earthlink.net (Janet Ray) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Duck In-Reply-To: <3A8BE729-EF16-48D2-9F91-C1B3E37FEEEA@comcast.net> References: <3A8BE729-EF16-48D2-9F91-C1B3E37FEEEA@comcast.net> Message-ID: I can?t speak to Harlequins perched on wires. But I can relate that one of the strangest bird sights I?ve see is a flock of about 6 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks perched on a wire outside a yard with many feeders (in Texas). They were hilariously rocking back and forth trying to stay on the wire with their broad flat feet obviously not optimized for that task Janet Ray Preston WA > On Apr 17, 2023, at 12:36 PM, Tom Benedict wrote: > > ?Harlequin Ducks spend their fall and winter in the water, usually rocky salt water, and their breeding season in alpine forest. It?s not unusual to see them in small creeks on Mt Rainier with young. > > I must confess, however, that I?ve never seen one on a wire. That must have been interesting. > > Tom Benedict > Seahurst, WA > >> On Apr 17, 2023, at 11:56, wrote: >> >> Question...Yesterday, a duck awkwardly landed on a wire right in front of my deck which is across the street from the Rutherford Slough in Fall City. The duck was kind enough to sit there long enough for me to go inside for binoculars, books and laptop computer and, according to all the pictures I could find, it was a Harlequin Duck. Is that really possible? I thought they were not in this area...and yes, there are Buffleheads in the water but this was not one of them. >> >> Thanks, >> >> Tomas Walsh >> >> Fall City, WA >> > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From phwimberger at pugetsound.edu Tue Apr 18 15:34:22 2023 From: phwimberger at pugetsound.edu (Peter Wimberger) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Did someone say varied thrush / state bird Message-ID: If folks are interested in more historical information on the establishment of the Willow Goldfinch as our state bird, here are a couple of blog posts from the Washington State Library blog, Between the Lines: https://blogs.sos.wa.gov/library/index.php/2016/08/the-tale-of-the-washington-state-bird-volume-1-meadowlarks-goldfinches-and-mugwumps/ and a second post here : https://blogs.sos.wa.gov/library/index.php/tag/willow-goldfinchs/ Happy Reading. best, Peter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tvulture at gmx.com Tue Apr 18 15:38:25 2023 From: tvulture at gmx.com (Diann MacRae) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Washington state bird Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TOKAJO4 at msn.com Tue Apr 18 22:15:41 2023 From: TOKAJO4 at msn.com (KAREN JONES) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Harlequin Ducks Message-ID: I have seen them in Yellowstone. I also saw a pair each year at the same place along the bank of Big Elk Creek in Eastern Idaho. K. Jones Get Outlook for iOS -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shrutijpmehta at gmail.com Wed Apr 19 12:48:50 2023 From: shrutijpmehta at gmail.com (Shruti Mehta) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Workshop | Photographing Birds in Flight Message-ID: Hi everyone, Eastside Audubon is hosting an interesting workshop by professional wildlife and conservation photographer Jennifer Leigh Warner . This workshop will cover best practices for photographing birds in flight including camera settings, how to prepare for photographing birds in different environments and prepare for an infield experience. Jennifer Leigh Warner is an award winning wildlife, landscape and conservation photographer living in Central Texas and specializes in creating meaningful images that conveys a message of hope for the natural world. You can find more details and register on the link below - https://www.eastsideaudubon.org/calendar/2023/5/18/photographing-birds-in-flight-workshop Thank you! Warm regards, Shruti -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tml at uw.edu Wed Apr 19 12:55:38 2023 From: tml at uw.edu (Thomas M Leschine) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Migrating Geese Flyover Message-ID: At about 12:15pm today, a large ?V? of geese flew over the top of West Queen Anne in Seattle headed NW. Roughly 100 birds. I just caught sight and sound of them as I stepped outside and thought from their vocalizations they were most likely Greater White-fronted Geese. Wonder if anyone else noticed this flock and can confirm or correct my ID. Tom Leschine Seattle From birder4184 at yahoo.com Wed Apr 19 13:09:46 2023 From: birder4184 at yahoo.com (B B) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Tanzania Blog Post - Days 3 and 4 - On to Speke Bay on Lake Victoria References: <812715233.3122704.1681934986897.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <812715233.3122704.1681934986897@mail.yahoo.com> This blog post covers days 3 and 4 in Tanzania.? Continuing at Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge, our flight to Mwanza from Kilimanjaro and then birding at Speke Bay Lodge on the shores of Lake Victoria.? Lots of birds and lots of photos. https://blairbirding.com/2023/04/19/tanzania-days-3-and-4-travel-and-speke-bay/ Blair Bernson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wagen at uw.edu Wed Apr 19 17:39:34 2023 From: wagen at uw.edu (Mike Wagenbach) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Stellar's Jay skin disease? Message-ID: Are jays prone to getting a skin disease on their feet? I've seen a Stellar's Jay at my house a couple of times recently that seems to have thicker, paler skin on its feet but not most of the toe. Almost like it was wearing fluffy toeless socks... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Thu Apr 20 07:32:11 2023 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 4/20/2023 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Approximately 30 of us braved the chilly wet weather but were rewarded with many nice sightings and good spring activity. We had cloudy skies with intermittent rain and hail, temperatures in the 30's to 50's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a Low 0.3ft Tide at 12:09pm. Highlights included FOY NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW and HERMIT THRUSH; COOPER'S HAWK in the Orchard, WILSON'S SNIPE in the flooded fields south of the Twin Barns, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK on the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail, GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE mixed in with CACKLING GEESE, and a EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL and EURASIAN WIGEON at the McAllister Creek Viewing Platform. We observed 83 species for the day and have seen 117 species for the year. Mammals seen included Coyote, Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Eastern Gray Squirrel, and Harbor Seal. See eBird list attached. Until next week, happy birding, Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Apr 19, 2023 6:21 AM - 3:44 PM Protocol: Traveling 8.557 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Cloudy with intermittent rain and hail. Temperatures in the 30?s to 50?s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low 0?3? Tide at 12:09pm. Mammals seen Coyote, Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal, Bullfrog, Pacific Chorus Frog. 83 species (+9 other taxa) Greater White-fronted Goose (Western) 1 Brant (Black) 20 Nisqually Reach Cackling Goose (minima) 1200 Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 100 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 20 Wood Duck 7 Cinnamon Teal 1 Northern Shoveler 150 Gadwall 100 Eurasian Wigeon 2 American Wigeon 300 Mallard 75 Northern Pintail 70 Green-winged Teal (Eurasian) 1 Seen from McAllister Creek Viewing Platform. Photo. Green-winged Teal (American) 1000 Green-winged Teal (Eurasian x American) 1 Prominent horizontal bar, visible vertical bar as well. Seen in freshwater marsh. dabbling duck sp. 1000 Nisqually Reach. Ring-necked Duck 18 Bufflehead 150 Common Goldeneye 75 Counted. McAllister Creek, Nisqually Reach, and Nisqually River. Hooded Merganser 6 Common Merganser (North American) 11 Nisqually River. Red-breasted Merganser 35 McAllister Creek Pied-billed Grebe 3 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 6 Mourning Dove 1 Rufous Hummingbird 15 Virginia Rail 1 American Coot 200 Killdeer 2 Least Sandpiper 2 Wilson's Snipe 2 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Greater Yellowlegs 25 Short-billed Gull 200 Ring-billed Gull 35 California Gull 1 Glaucous-winged Gull 3 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 12 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 20 Caspian Tern 2 Common Loon 2 Heard. Brandt's Cormorant 11 Double-crested Cormorant 5 Great Blue Heron 30 Turkey Vulture 1 Osprey 1 Northern Harrier 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk (Northern) 1 Cooper's Hawk 1 Bald Eagle 56 Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 1 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 4 Northern Flicker 1 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 American Kestrel 1 Steller's Jay (Coastal) 4 American Crow 12 Common Raven 2 Black-capped Chickadee 10 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 8 Northern Rough-winged Swallow 3 Tree Swallow 50 Violet-green Swallow 51 Barn Swallow (American) 50 Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 100 Bushtit (Pacific) 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Brown Creeper 6 Marsh Wren 6 Bewick's Wren 6 European Starling 100 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 61 House Finch 2 Purple Finch (Western) 5 American Goldfinch 10 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 1 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1 White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 4 Golden-crowned Sparrow 15 Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 5 Song Sparrow 28 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 3 Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 45 Brown-headed Cowbird 8 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 2 Common Yellowthroat 12 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 10 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 10 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S134335642 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birder4184 at yahoo.com Thu Apr 20 15:47:30 2023 From: birder4184 at yahoo.com (B B) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Tanzania Blog Continued - Speke Bay to the Serengeti References: <1621385225.3447659.1682030850128.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1621385225.3447659.1682030850128@mail.yahoo.com> Lots of bird and mammal photos in this blog post of day 5 in Tanzania - from Speke Bay on Lake Victoria into the Serengeti. https://blairbirding.com/2023/04/20/tanzania-day-5-speke-bay-and-the-serengeti/ Blair Bernson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From leschwitters at me.com Thu Apr 20 16:39:47 2023 From: leschwitters at me.com (Larry Schwitters) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Swifts in Wagner Message-ID: The Monroe Wagner Roost hosted ten or so individuals last night. First time this migration. Our inside camera shows they're back in at 4:30 this PM. Nothing yet at JBLM or Selleck. Larry Schwitters Issaquah From mattxyz at earthlink.net Thu Apr 20 16:46:47 2023 From: mattxyz at earthlink.net (Matt Bartels) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2023-04-20 Message-ID: <99984CA2-A2B3-4EAA-8901-5BB591933562@earthlink.net> Hi Tweeters - With Michael away, Brian Bell and I led the weekly Marymoor walk today. While we haven?t yet seen a sunny warm Thursday , this week?s weather was decent - cool and overcast, but we were done before the rain started - we?ll take it. The big highlight for the day was early on. Yesterday a SAGE THRASHER was reported at Marymoor by the east meadow viewing mound. An early crew of KC birders over there - about 7:15, word reached our main group that it was still present and we opted to go there right away. Great looks for all. I was surprised to find this was at least Sage Thrasher #7 for Marymoor ? still quite a fun eastside bird to see! We opted complete the loop in reverse direction from there, and the birding was decent throughout. Highlights: SAGE THRASHER - FOS - see above PURPLE MARTIN - several perched on a small tree in the east meadow - our FOS GREATER YELLOWLEGS - 2 along the slough below the weir - FOS ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER - 2 FOS [one seen, one singing] GREAT-BLUE HERON - many hatched eggs on ground below heronry, the first audible ?grum-grum-grum?ing from the nests LINCOLN?S SPARROW - 2 or 3 still lingering/passing FOX SPARROW - only one left today OSPREY - several around, but so far the 2 Canada Goose pairs have maintained their hold on last year?s 2 Osprey nests - looks like a new nest is going up on a light pole near the east nest [looks pretty flimsy tho] On the mammal side, we got nice looks at our first Long-tailed Weasel of the year too Misses today: Cackling Goose - gone for season? Ruby-crowned Kinglet - likewise, none today Red-tailed Hawk - maybe too overcast to soar, or just on nests? Killdeer - probably quiet on nests somewhere In all we tallied 62 species for the day - bring on spring! Matt Bartels [& Brian Bell] Seattle [& Woodinville] From avnacrs4birds at outlook.com Thu Apr 20 20:53:50 2023 From: avnacrs4birds at outlook.com (Denis DeSilvis) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) monthly bird walk - 4-20-2023 Message-ID: Tweeters, The cold (33degF) start only warmed up slightly (43degF) when the seven of us finished, but we did manage to dodge the rain - only getting sprinkled on a bit during the last half-mile of our 10th anniversary trip around JBLM's Eagle's Pride GC. We had a few notables (besides the bear report), mainly being FOY birds: BAND-TAILED PIGEON - 6 BARN SWALLOW - 4 VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW - 14 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER - 3 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER - 2 We also found a DARK-EYED JUNCO nest with 4 eggs in it, and a pair of CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES were excavating further into a partial cavity in a snaggish-looking (pretty thin - dead) tree near the pond at the 13th hole. Two pairs of WOOD DUCKS were a nice treat: one pair at Hodge Lake and the other at the 13th hole pond. Mammals include Townsend's chipmunk, Douglas squirrel, Eastern gray squirrel (one of the first seen on the golf course proper). A golf course employee stopped to tell us that a BLACK BEAR had been sighted recently in an area we go past. Most fortuitously, a golfer on the 15th hole showed us a photo that he took on March 29 of the bear on the far side of Hodge Lake. The bear was facing a coyote! The JBLM Eagle's Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00AM. Starting point is Bldg # 1514, Driving Range Tee, Eagle's Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. Upcoming walks include the following: * May 18 * June 15 * July 20 Anyone is welcome to join us! >From the eBirdPNW report: 38 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose 10 Wood Duck 4 A pair at hole 13 pond and another pair at Hodge Lake. Mallard 7 Ring-necked Duck 4 One pair at the maintenance pond and one pair at Hodge Lake. Bufflehead 9 Pied-billed Grebe 1 At Hodge Lake. Band-tailed Pigeon 6 Mourning Dove 4 Anna's Hummingbird 3 hummingbird sp. 1 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Northern Flicker 4 Hutton's Vireo 1 Steller's Jay 10 American Crow 5 Black-capped Chickadee 15 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 20 One pair excavating further into a probable woodpecker-drilled partial hole near the pond on hole 13. Tree Swallow 20 Violet-green Swallow 14 Barn Swallow 4 Bushtit 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 13 Red-breasted Nuthatch 10 Brown Creeper 2 Bewick's Wren 1 European Starling 6 American Robin 125 House Finch 8 Purple Finch 20 American Goldfinch 2 Dark-eyed Junco 22 One nest with four eggs found in the rough along the 4th hole of the Green course. White-crowned Sparrow 30 Song Sparrow 15 Spotted Towhee 5 Red-winged Blackbird 27 Orange-crowned Warbler 3 All singing. Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 Townsend's Warbler 2 View this checklist online at https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fchecklist%2FS134434118&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cb4d3524346d042a772fb08db421ae2e8%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638176455458414913%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=LqyMxIcpH243xcPh1KEEOYuWwwKmXQvDkh7XW4zetx4%3D&reserved=0 May all your birds be identified, Denis Denis DeSilvis Avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ldhubbell at comcast.net Fri Apr 21 16:20:19 2023 From: ldhubbell at comcast.net (Hubbell) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch - Just Right - BCCH Message-ID: <3CA378CE-7D16-4C53-B8CA-32E29C985CFB@comcast.net> Tweeters, What kind of tree do Black-capped Chickadees prefer to nest in? The answer is in this week?s post. https://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2023/04/just-right.html have a great day on Union Bay, where nature lives in the city and Black Birders are welcome! Sincerely, Larry Hubbell ldhubbell at comcast dot net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From glennjo at yahoo.com Fri Apr 21 17:28:31 2023 From: glennjo at yahoo.com (Glenn Johnson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Earth Day Bird Walk (w/ optional Tree Planting) at South Prairie Creek Preserve References: <1670717829.7304265.1682123311835.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1670717829.7304265.1682123311835@mail.yahoo.com> Hi Tweeters,? Tomorrow (Saturday 4/22) as part of Pierce Conservation District's celebration of Earth Day, I'll be leading a bird walk at South Prairie Creek Preserve, east of the town of South Prairie in Pierce Co. Later in the morning there will also be opportunities to plant trees and learn about other aspects of the Preserve. For example, you can help me plant a few Ponderosa Pine of the "Fort Lewis" variety that are native to the west-side of the Cascades and primarily found in the Spanaway/JBLM area (we can call it "assisted mini-migration". You could also join in other activities/stations run by other staff, or you can continue birding all morning if you like. The site is part of a multi-partner floodplain and riparian improvement program on one of the most productive salmon-bearing waterways in the county (see?https://www.piercecd.org/671/South-Prairie-Creek-Preserve?for more info, videos, story map, etc.). Though it is listed by eBird as a hotspot (https://ebird.org/hotspot/L9354629) the site is not typically open to the public. I anticipate detecting some regulars such as American Kestrel and America Dipper, as well as neotropical migrant species, and hopefully add to the site's species list.? Please see the following link for more info and to register:https://piercecd.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=2318&month=4&year=2023&day=21&calType=0Also, please call/text 253-325-8914 or email me at glennj@piercecd.org so I know you're coming.? I will meet birders starting at 0745 at the end of Spring Site Road East, then at 8 we'll walk south in to the preserve to the creek, and then upstream (east). Note that there is no access from the south off of Hwy 162/Pioneer East--so if you're using GPS type in?"Spring Site Rd E, Prairie Ridge, WA 98360". Go to the end of the road where the turn around and the gate are. We'll meet at the gate there and go south in to the preserve.? Though it is relatively flat and open, there are no real trails and the grass will be wet, so bring appropriate footwear. Also, if you'd like to participate in planting native plants feel free to bring gloves and your favorite spade fork, shovel, or other tree-planting equipment (we will certainly have some tools but since we're hosting many other work parties in other locations tomorrow, tools may be limited).? I realize it's late notice but I hope to see some of y'all there!? Glenn? Glenn Johnson Board of Directors,?Puget Sound Bird Observatory, &Riparian Stewardship Program Manager,?Pierce Conservation DistrictTacoma/Fircrest WA?Work cell: 253-325-8914 ? On Friday, April 21, 2023 at 12:05:59 PM PDT, tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu wrote: Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to ??? tweeters@u.washington.edu To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit ??? http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to ??? tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu You can reach the person managing the list at ??? tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." Today's Topics: ? 1. Tanzania Blog Continued - Speke Bay to the Serengeti (B B) ? 2. Swifts in Wagner (Larry Schwitters) ? 3.? Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2023-04-20 (Matt Bartels) ? 4. Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course ? ? ? (GC) monthly bird walk - 4-20-2023 (Denis DeSilvis) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2023 22:47:30 +0000 (UTC) From: B B To: Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Tanzania Blog Continued - Speke Bay to the ??? Serengeti Message-ID: <1621385225.3447659.1682030850128@mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Lots of bird and mammal photos in this blog post of day 5 in Tanzania - from Speke Bay on Lake Victoria into the Serengeti. https://blairbirding.com/2023/04/20/tanzania-day-5-speke-bay-and-the-serengeti/ Blair Bernson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2023 16:39:47 -0700 From: Larry Schwitters To: Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Swifts in Wagner Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain;??? charset=us-ascii The Monroe Wagner Roost hosted ten or so individuals last night. First time this migration. Our inside camera shows they're back in at 4:30 this PM. Nothing yet at JBLM or Selleck. Larry Schwitters Issaquah ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2023 16:46:47 -0700 From: Matt Bartels To: "Tweeters (E-mail)" Subject: [Tweeters]? Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2023-04-20 Message-ID: <99984CA2-A2B3-4EAA-8901-5BB591933562@earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain;??? charset=utf-8 Hi Tweeters - With Michael away, Brian Bell and I led the weekly Marymoor walk today. While we haven?t yet seen a sunny warm Thursday , this week?s weather was decent - cool and overcast, but we were done before the rain started? - we?ll take it. The big highlight for the day was early on. Yesterday a SAGE THRASHER was reported at Marymoor by the east meadow viewing mound. An early crew of KC birders over there - about 7:15, word reached our main group that it was still present and we opted to go there right away. Great looks for all. I was surprised to find this was at least Sage Thrasher #7 for Marymoor ? still quite a fun eastside bird to see! We opted complete the loop in reverse direction from there, and the birding was decent throughout. Highlights: SAGE THRASHER - FOS - see above PURPLE MARTIN - several perched on a small tree in the east meadow - our FOS GREATER YELLOWLEGS - 2 along the slough below the weir - FOS ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER - 2 FOS [one seen, one singing] GREAT-BLUE HERON - many hatched eggs on ground below heronry, the first audible ?grum-grum-grum?ing from the nests LINCOLN?S SPARROW - 2 or 3 still lingering/passing FOX SPARROW - only one left today OSPREY - several around, but so far the 2 Canada Goose pairs have maintained their hold on last year?s 2 Osprey nests - looks like a new nest is going up on a light pole near the east nest [looks pretty flimsy tho] On the mammal side, we got nice looks at our first Long-tailed Weasel of the year too Misses today: Cackling Goose - gone for season? Ruby-crowned Kinglet - likewise, none today Red-tailed Hawk - maybe too overcast to soar, or just on nests? Killdeer - probably quiet on nests somewhere In all we tallied 62 species for the day - bring on spring! Matt Bartels [& Brian Bell] Seattle [& Woodinville] ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2023 03:53:50 +0000 From: Denis DeSilvis To: "Tweeters@u.washington.edu" Subject: [Tweeters] Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf ??? Course (GC) monthly bird walk - 4-20-2023 Message-ID: ??? ??? Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Tweeters, The cold (33degF) start only warmed up slightly (43degF) when the seven of us finished, but we did manage to dodge the rain - only getting sprinkled on a bit during the last half-mile of our 10th anniversary trip around JBLM's Eagle's Pride GC. We had a few notables (besides the bear report), mainly being FOY birds: BAND-TAILED PIGEON - 6 BARN SWALLOW - 4 VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW - 14 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER - 3 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER - 2 We also found a DARK-EYED JUNCO nest with 4 eggs in it, and a pair of CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES were excavating further into a partial cavity in a snaggish-looking (pretty thin - dead) tree near the pond at the 13th hole. Two pairs of WOOD DUCKS were a nice treat: one pair at Hodge Lake and the other at the 13th hole pond. Mammals include Townsend's chipmunk, Douglas squirrel, Eastern gray squirrel (one of the first seen on the golf course proper). A golf course employee stopped to tell us that a BLACK BEAR had been sighted recently in an area we go past. Most fortuitously, a golfer on the 15th hole showed us a photo that he took on March 29 of the bear on the far side of Hodge Lake. The bear was facing a coyote! The JBLM Eagle's Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00AM. Starting point is Bldg # 1514, Driving Range Tee, Eagle's Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. Upcoming walks include the following: * May 18 * June 15 * July 20 Anyone is welcome to join us! >From the eBirdPNW report: 38 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose? 10 Wood Duck? 4? ? A pair at hole 13 pond and another pair at Hodge Lake. Mallard? 7 Ring-necked Duck? 4? ? One pair at the maintenance pond and one pair at Hodge Lake. Bufflehead? 9 Pied-billed Grebe? 1? ? At Hodge Lake. Band-tailed Pigeon? 6 Mourning Dove? 4 Anna's Hummingbird? 3 hummingbird sp.? 1 Red-tailed Hawk? 1 Northern Flicker? 4 Hutton's Vireo? 1 Steller's Jay? 10 American Crow? 5 Black-capped Chickadee? 15 Chestnut-backed Chickadee? 20? ? One pair excavating further into a probable woodpecker-drilled partial hole near the pond on hole 13. Tree Swallow? 20 Violet-green Swallow? 14 Barn Swallow? 4 Bushtit? 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet? 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet? 13 Red-breasted Nuthatch? 10 Brown Creeper? 2 Bewick's Wren? 1 European Starling? 6 American Robin? 125 House Finch? 8 Purple Finch? 20 American Goldfinch? 2 Dark-eyed Junco? 22? ? One nest with four eggs found in the rough along the 4th hole of the Green course. White-crowned Sparrow? 30 Song Sparrow? 15 Spotted Towhee? 5 Red-winged Blackbird? 27 Orange-crowned Warbler? 3? ? All singing. Yellow-rumped Warbler? 2 Townsend's Warbler? 2 View this checklist online at https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fchecklist%2FS134434118&data=05%7C01%7C%7Cb4d3524346d042a772fb08db421ae2e8%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638176455458414913%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=LqyMxIcpH243xcPh1KEEOYuWwwKmXQvDkh7XW4zetx4%3D&reserved=0 May all your birds be identified, Denis Denis DeSilvis Avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters ------------------------------ End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 224, Issue 21 ***************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thefedderns at gmail.com Fri Apr 21 22:47:51 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Redondo Grebes Message-ID: We walked the boardwalk at Redondo Beach Drive S in Des Moines this afternoon and found at least 20 or more Horned Grebes, mainly in breeding plumage. Noteworthy were two Eared Grebes in breeding plumage seen in the vicinity of s 284th Street and Redondo Beach Drive. These may still be the same birds seen at that location during the winter. Also seen from the boardwalk were 4 Pigeon Guillemots, 8 Surf Scoters (3 male, 5 females), a pair of White-winged Scoters, a single Short-billed Gull and a single Common Loon in full breeding plumage. Good Birding! Hans -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thefedderns at gmail.com Fri Apr 21 22:59:51 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] New Arrivals Message-ID: A single male Purple Martin over Lake Lorene, Treasure Island Park in Twin Lakes, Federal Way was a first of the year bird for me. It joined four other swallow species hunting for insects low over the water: good numbers of Barn -and Violet-green Swallows, a couple of newly arrived Northern Rough-winged Swallows and a single Cliff Swallow, the latter likely just passing through. Yesterday we had our FOY male Brown-headed Cowbird at the lake. A male Red-winged Blackbird chased it out of the area. The cowbird came back with 7 of his buddies today. They kept busy chasing a single female. Also yesterday we had the first White-crowned Sparrow singing on territory. Good Birding! Hans -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From panmail at mailfence.com Sat Apr 22 06:14:11 2023 From: panmail at mailfence.com (pan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit Harris's, and maybe... Message-ID: <1881123910.987079.1682169251213@fidget.co-bxl> Hi, Tweets, Yesterday mid-day, a couple friends and I saw the continuing Harris's Sparrow in the back yard near the airport west of Burlington, now molting into silvery gray.? One of my companions' Merlin application claimed Lesser Goldfinch.? There were certainly a lot of goldfinches, and had we more time, I would have stayed to verify, but no.? If you're there, have a closer examination.? (You can get the location in e-bird.? It seems knocking on the door is appropriate, as we were invited into the back when spotted peering from the car.)?? Also:? about 20 Whimblrel set down in a field along Chuckanut Drive.? We did not see Yellow-headed Blackbirds.? There are daffodils and tulips.? Of 21 April, 2023, Alan Grenon Seattle panmail AT mailfence.com -- Sent with https://mailfence.com Secure and private email -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jhoward at uw.edu Sat Apr 22 17:31:36 2023 From: jhoward at uw.edu (Judith A. Howard) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Mountain Bluebird on the coast! Message-ID: This afternoon, walking at Double Bluff Beach on Whidbey Island, we saw a pair of Mountain Bluebirds. I was astonished. Is this as rare as I think it is? What a gorgeous bird? Judy Howard -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davearm at uw.edu Sat Apr 22 19:10:39 2023 From: davearm at uw.edu (David A. Armstrong) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] South Whidbey Birds Message-ID: Seasons are changing and birds are coming and going. Some local highlights on the south end: - Mutiny Bay off our house. For the last 2.5-3 months there have been expansive black smudges on the water that resolve into large rafts of surf scoters with a spotting scope. They come and go from day to day, but the overall flocks of 300-500 birds are here far longer than we expected. Today they were virtually onshore as a mixed flock with 100s of red-breasted mergansers and horned grebes in breeding plumage - Deer Lagoon. Highlights included 12 white pelicans, whimbrels, black-bellied plovers, savannah sparrows, and still an assortment of pintails, green-winged teals, shovelers, wigeons, and gadwalls. Neat new bird group were several dozen caspian terns - Useless Bay proper, low tide: Still 100s of brant, dozens of great blue herons, and many eagles. david armstrong -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TRI at seattleu.edu Sun Apr 23 12:42:32 2023 From: TRI at seattleu.edu (Tucker, Trileigh) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] OT/not in PNW: Gator - Bald Eagle interaction Message-ID: Hi Tweets, This photo sequence by Chris Holwell, of a gator trying to snatch an immature Bald Eagle in the Orlando Wetlands Park in Florida, is dramatic enough that I thought you might like to see it. The eagle made it out alive, but it sure looked touch and go for a while there. Whew! (The photos were posted in a Facebook group for the park, so you may need to be on FB to view them.) Waiting with bated breath for our local warbler flood to start, Trileigh Trileigh Tucker Pelly Valley, West Seattle NaturalPresenceArts.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birder4184 at yahoo.com Sun Apr 23 15:19:49 2023 From: birder4184 at yahoo.com (B B) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Tanzania Blog Post Again - Day 6 in the Serengeti - Big Cats and Lots of Birds References: <1685547612.3963861.1682288389787.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1685547612.3963861.1682288389787@mail.yahoo.com> Continuing my blog posts from recent trip to Tanzania with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours blairbirding.com/2023/04/23/tanzania-day-6-the-central-serengeti-and-kubu-kubu-tented-lodge-birds-and-cats/ Blair Bernson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cohenellenr at yahoo.com Sun Apr 23 17:05:20 2023 From: cohenellenr at yahoo.com (Ellen Cohen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] avian flu References: <2042937357.6074321.1682294720906.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2042937357.6074321.1682294720906@mail.yahoo.com> Opinion | Why Dead Birds Are Falling From the Sky | | | | | | | | | | | Opinion | Why Dead Birds Are Falling From the Sky There?s an outbreak in the animal kingdom. | | | -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nreiferb at gmail.com Sun Apr 23 20:48:43 2023 From: nreiferb at gmail.com (Nelson Briefer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Goshawk class Message-ID: On Friday 28 April and Friday 5 May will be a Goshawk Identification Class at 11 am. at Similk Bay on Satterly Road. This is the back- end of the golf course in Anacortes. I will try and give the same class each week at various locations. Nelson Briefer? Anacortes. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Sun Apr 23 21:26:33 2023 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Southwest Washington Birding Message-ID: Hey Tweets! I spent a few days down in the Southwest Corner doing some birding, just arriving back home today. The spring arrivals have been a little delayed, but the weather wasn't all that bad, so there was some good birding to be had. Highlights: Skamania County: Mountain Bluebird at Hamilton Island at the far end of the Strawberry Loop. Ruffed Grouse and Dipper aren't all that unusual for the county, but still fun finds along Wind River Road. I picked up a few doves for my year list along Belle Center Road (Mourning Dove and Band-tailed Pigeon), including a stop at Wilson Cady's place to watch his feeders. Clark County: Quick-ish walk at Steigerwald, nothing out of the ordinary, but I enjoyed a FOY Greater White-fronted Goose, and Cinnamon Teal. Cowlitz County: Even quicker drive of Willow Grove, where I struck out again on Rough-legged Hawk! 3 reported there the day before. I also birded briefly at Ditch No. 6, where I had a singing, but not seen, White-throated Sparrow. Wahkiakum County: Early Hammond's Flycatcher at Julia Butler Hanson yesterday, and a few shorebirds today, including Least Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, and a Dowitcher (sp?) that was just too far out for my optics - all at the White-Tail Trail. Black Phoebe, Brown Creeper, and singing Townsend's Warblers near the headquarters entrance. Swallows (Barn, Cliff, Northern Rough-winged, and Tree) were found at the entrance pond as well. At Andrew Emlen's place, I had Ruffed Grouse, American Dipper, Band-tailed Pigeon, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and a fine game of Scrabble. This morning, Andrew and I went down to Altoona/Pigeon Point, scoping for waterbirds (Pelagic Cormorant, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, American White Pelican, and GREAT EGRET), listening for passerines (Pileated Woodpecker, Cassin's Vireo, Wilson's Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler), and then booting up to tromp out to the mouth of Crooked Creek. The tide was out quite a ways, and we were able to find some early Whimbrel, numerous Greater Yellowlegs, and some Black-bellied Plovers. Lots of good progress towards the goal of seeing 150 species in each of those four counties for the year: Skamania is up to 94, Clark 102, Cowlitz 107, and Wahkiakum way out in the lead with 115. ? Happy birding! Tim Brennan Renton, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bennetts10 at comcast.net Mon Apr 24 09:25:10 2023 From: bennetts10 at comcast.net (ANDREA BENNETT) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?b?S2luZyBDb3VudHksIFdBIC0g4oCcTmV34oCdIE9zcHJl?= =?utf-8?q?y_Nest?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1421205804.38402.1682353510638@connect.xfinity.com> Seattle, King County, WA Over last summer (2022) every single light on the Nathan Hale field behind Nathan Hale High School was pulled down and replaced with the exception of the light holding the nest of a pair of Ospreys who had successfully nested there since at least 2017 if not earlier. After the Ospreys migrated south for the winter, that light was pulled down and replaced with a new light with a nesting platform. This morning I visited the field and an Osprey was visiting the platform and starting to build a new nest! I only saw one Osprey this morning but hopefully there is a mate and there will be a new Osprey family! Andrea Bennett From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Mon Apr 24 09:52:03 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Getting rid of moles ... In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20230424095203.Horde.wELdtDCch_s81nBJsYtwIOw@webmail.jimbetz.com> Hi, Before you go right by this - there is a definite link to birds! We're reworking our yard and putting in native/bird friendly plants. We have a long history of trouble with moles - and the yard is going to be "all tan bark and plants". The lawn has already been removed and we're seeing evidence of mole activity. I know about/have tried most of the mole treatments - and they don't really work (temporary, at best). Moles eat earthworms. So if we get rid of the earthworms we'll get rid of the moles. Catch-22 ... we have a good number of robins that I don't want to loose and I'm concerned about doing something to the earthworms that will affect the robins and towhees. I especially don't want to poison the birds! Suggestions? - Jim From alanroedell at gmail.com Mon Apr 24 11:00:32 2023 From: alanroedell at gmail.com (Alan Roedell) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Getting rid of moles ... In-Reply-To: <20230424095203.Horde.wELdtDCch_s81nBJsYtwIOw@webmail.jimbetz.com> References: <20230424095203.Horde.wELdtDCch_s81nBJsYtwIOw@webmail.jimbetz.com> Message-ID: As someone who tore out our lawn 40+ years ago I congratulate you. You really care about the earth. You may wish to have control over your part of it. I've been there. Unknown plants keep trying to take over. Bluebells still come up after decades of pulling them out. Molehills periodically show up and then don't continue. You have a lot less control over how and which plants thrive. After four decades our yard isn't perfect, and I know it never will be. "So it goes." I admire you. alanroedell@gmail.com On Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 9:54 AM wrote: > Hi, > > Before you go right by this - there is a definite link to birds! > > We're reworking our yard and putting in native/bird friendly plants. > We have a long history of trouble with moles - and the yard is going > to be "all tan bark and plants". The lawn has already been removed > and we're seeing evidence of mole activity. > I know about/have tried most of the mole treatments - and they don't > really work (temporary, at best). Moles eat earthworms. So if we get > rid of the earthworms we'll get rid of the moles. > > Catch-22 ... we have a good number of robins that I don't want to > loose and I'm concerned about doing something to the earthworms that > will affect the robins and towhees. I especially don't want to > poison the birds! > > Suggestions? > - Jim > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From teresa at avocetconsulting.com Mon Apr 24 12:27:18 2023 From: teresa at avocetconsulting.com (Teresa Michelsen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Getting rid of moles ... In-Reply-To: References: <20230424095203.Horde.wELdtDCch_s81nBJsYtwIOw@webmail.jimbetz.com> Message-ID: <6de1d1567ea045baa341cecdc1a1ba12@avocetconsulting.com> I guess the question in my mind would be why you need to get rid of the moles, especially if you?re not invested in grass aesthetics. They?re part of the ecosystem, good for the soil, etc. maybe just get used to living with them? Take a rake out every now and then if you don?t like the molehills. Especially don?t get rid of the earthworms. Just let the ecosystem be what it is? that will be the most helpful to your plants and your birds. Maybe put in some good stone paths if you?re concerned about turning your ankle or something like that? All the best ? sounds like a great project! Teresa From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Alan Roedell Sent: Monday, April 24, 2023 11:01 AM To: jimbetz@jimbetz.com Cc: Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Getting rid of moles ... As someone who tore out our lawn 40+ years ago I congratulate you. You really care about the earth. You may wish to have control over your part of it. I've been there. Unknown plants keep trying to take over. Bluebells still come up after decades of pulling them out. Molehills periodically show up and then don't continue. You have a lot less control over how and which plants thrive. After four decades our yard isn't perfect, and I know it never will be. "So it goes." I admire you. alanroedell@gmail.com On Mon, Apr 24, 2023, 9:54 AM > wrote: Hi, Before you go right by this - there is a definite link to birds! We're reworking our yard and putting in native/bird friendly plants. We have a long history of trouble with moles - and the yard is going to be "all tan bark and plants". The lawn has already been removed and we're seeing evidence of mole activity. I know about/have tried most of the mole treatments - and they don't really work (temporary, at best). Moles eat earthworms. So if we get rid of the earthworms we'll get rid of the moles. Catch-22 ... we have a good number of robins that I don't want to loose and I'm concerned about doing something to the earthworms that will affect the robins and towhees. I especially don't want to poison the birds! Suggestions? - Jim _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From helen.gilbert.2 at gmail.com Mon Apr 24 12:49:38 2023 From: helen.gilbert.2 at gmail.com (Helen Gilbert) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Getting rid of moles ... Message-ID: <031f28c3-c697-943c-bbda-8801c6db10d5@gmail.com> Re: Jim Betz's dilemma My conclusion after trying unsuccessfully to get rid of moles at a previous house is that it isn't actually possible. We tried non-lethal efforts such as running hoses and pouring on predatory animal urine, but now I realize that it just caused the moles to pop up in new places. At my current house, moles started showing up a couple years ago in our sidewalk strip. We ignored them and they have pretty much just kept to the same burrows so there is very little damage. I don't think there's a chance that moles could deplete the earthworm population in healthy soil. Jim is creating a great natural habitat that should build rich soil, so I think the earthworms will be in no danger. And moles also aerate the soil -- and fertilize it too, I expect! Helen Seattle From benedict.t at comcast.net Mon Apr 24 13:03:30 2023 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Getting rid of moles ... In-Reply-To: <031f28c3-c697-943c-bbda-8801c6db10d5@gmail.com> References: <031f28c3-c697-943c-bbda-8801c6db10d5@gmail.com> Message-ID: <94F4E253-EFC4-49A5-9CD6-992E7310FCE9@comcast.net> > On Apr 24, 2023, at 12:49, Helen Gilbert wrote: > > I don't think there's a chance that moles could deplete the earthworm population in healthy soil. Jim is creating a great natural habitat that should build rich soil, so I think the earthworms will be in no danger. And moles also aerate the soil -- and fertilize it too, I expect! > > And the earthworms appear to have a dark side too. The part of North America which wasn?t covered in the Ice Age is filled with ?invasive earthworms? who are now "depleting terrestrial carbon stocks?. https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/invasive-earthworms-threat-forests-climate-change-1.6154164#:~:text=In%20the%20absence%20of%20earthworms,floor%2C%20breaks%20down%20very%20slowly.&text=When%20earthworms%20move%20into%20our,by%20devouring%20the%20leaf%20litter. Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA From hank.heiberg at gmail.com Mon Apr 24 13:30:14 2023 From: hank.heiberg at gmail.com (Hank Heiberg) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Kittitas County In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Last week we went to Kittitas County to bird and to escape the weather on the west side. Favorite birds: Black-backed Woodpecker https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/52836312145/in/dateposted/ Horned Grebe in breeding plumage https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/52832768122/in/dateposted/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/52832768342/in/dateposted/ Interesting photo of Black-billed Magpie https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/52831323714/in/dateposted/ (Prior to taking the Magpie photo we shared a Dilly bar in our car in a DQ parking lot. We saw 3 Magpies active in the parking lot. So we stayed to photo the Magpies. It paid off to Dilly dally.) Photo album for trip. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/albums/72177720307704954 eBird Trip Report. https://ebird.org/tripreport/120522 Hank & Karen Heiberg Issaquah, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pond at whidbey.com Tue Apr 25 08:48:36 2023 From: pond at whidbey.com (Sego Jackson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Cowbird Flock just passing through? Message-ID: <3q6f4f1ec7-1@m0247481.ppops.net> Last evening on our tray feeder and below it, on Whidbey Island, we had a minimum of 30 cowbirds show up to feed. Previously had only seen a couple at a time. Mixed male and females but probably 75% males. My first thought was ?none of our songbirds have a chance for just their own eggs.? Do any of you have thoughts on if a flock like this is just passing through, or if it disperses locally, or do they stay in a flock like this locally? Thanks. Sego Jackson Sent from Mail for Windows -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stevechampton at gmail.com Tue Apr 25 12:42:50 2023 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Cowbird Flock just passing through? In-Reply-To: <3q6f4f1ec7-1@m0247481.ppops.net> References: <3q6f4f1ec7-1@m0247481.ppops.net> Message-ID: The cowbird army has arrived. And to think they were fairly rare in western Washington until the 1950s. They came with habitat fragmentation, clear-cutting, feedlots, etc. As soon as my last Golden-crowned Sparrows leave, I stop feeding birds in the summer, not wanting to subsidize cowbirds, starlings, corvids, and house sparrows. I think they'll disperse some. With cowbirds, it's the females that establish territories -- the males just rove around. On Tue, Apr 25, 2023 at 8:49?AM Sego Jackson wrote: > Last evening on our tray feeder and below it, on Whidbey Island, we had a > minimum of 30 cowbirds show up to feed. Previously had only seen a couple > at a time. Mixed male and females but probably 75% males. My first thought > was ?none of our songbirds have a chance for just their own eggs.? Do any > of you have thoughts on if a flock like this is just passing through, or if > it disperses locally, or do they stay in a flock like this locally? Thanks. > > > > Sego Jackson > > > > Sent from Mail for > Windows > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- ?Steve Hampton? Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mj.cygnus at gmail.com Tue Apr 25 12:43:57 2023 From: mj.cygnus at gmail.com (Martha Jordan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] moles and septic systems Message-ID: And for those of us who have septic systems (vs. sewers), moles can devastate the drain field and cause it damage. It can lead to premature failure or blockages in some cases. Most of the time it is benign, but if the moles get too frisky, I have used a homemade castor oil spray to make the earthworms less enticing. It works in a small area like my drain field. Martha Jordan Everett, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From robfaucett at mac.com Tue Apr 25 13:00:10 2023 From: robfaucett at mac.com (Rob Faucett) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] moles and septic systems In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: With all due respect. Birds in Washington? Sent from my iPhone > On Apr 25, 2023, at 12:45 PM, Martha Jordan wrote: > > ? > And for those of us who have septic systems (vs. sewers), moles can devastate the drain field and cause it damage. It can lead to premature failure or blockages in some cases. Most of the time it is benign, but if the moles get too frisky, I have used a homemade castor oil spray to make the earthworms less enticing. It works in a small area like my drain field. > > Martha Jordan > Everett, WA > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Wed Apr 26 02:18:21 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Seeds and Fatballs: Study shows bird feeding helps small birds fight infection Message-ID: <4A214DC1-E56A-4E2C-9C83-69FCFAE426DB@gmail.com> ? https://phys.org/news/2023-04-bird-small-birds-infection.html Sent from my iPhone From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Wed Apr 26 02:19:31 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Condor crisis deepens; 18 deaths in three weeks - BirdWatching Message-ID: <35A9AB88-94FE-4A42-9199-D314A892C9D0@gmail.com> ? ? https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/conservation/condor-crisis-deepens-18-deaths-in-three-weeks/ Sent from my iPhone From stevechampton at gmail.com Wed Apr 26 06:38:13 2023 From: stevechampton at gmail.com (Steve Hampton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] BirdCast big night last night! Message-ID: Biggest night of spring migration so far! https://dashboard.birdcast.info/region/US-WA-033 I'm heading out to my nearest riparian corridor. good birding! -- Steve Hampton Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marvbreece at q.com Wed Apr 26 15:08:55 2023 From: marvbreece at q.com (MARVIN BREECE) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] M ST LB Curlew Message-ID: At about 2:00 this afternoon there was a LONG-BILLED CURLEW at M Street in Auburn. M Street is off of 15th between Hwy 167 and Emerald Downs. The bird was at the north end of the main pond. It was still there when I left. Marv BreeceTukwila, WA marvbreece@q.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com Wed Apr 26 16:54:22 2023 From: cjbirdmanclark at gmail.com (Christopher Clark) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Scatter Creek Wildlife Area 4/26/2023 Message-ID: Good afternoon, This morning I visited Scatter Creek Wildlife Area for the first time. It was an enjoyable trip! My first stop was the Case Rd access point. At the northernmost parking area, I heard FOY (First of Year) Wilson's Warbler. Savannah and White-crowned Sparrows were heard, as were two Lesser Goldfinches, now a rather widespread species along the south Puget Sound area. Next stop was the other parking lot along Case Rd, slightly farther south. The first birds to greet me here were a pair of Western Bluebirds! They were claiming the nest box on the information board. This allowed me a great chance to get some photos (maintaining an appropriate distance, of course). I have a few photos attached to my eBird checklist below. Hopefully they're ok with their nest being so close to the bathroom and trail access. Also present were several Violet-green Swallows, one of which was also interested in that nest box. Evening Grosbeaks were heard flying over, another FOY for me. Side note: That big pothole at the entrance of this parking area is brutal for most normal cars. I bottomed out a couple of times. Worth it though! Last stop was at the south end of the area, along Guava St SW. Violet-green Swallows were swarming the nest box here. Purple Finches were heard singing, as were FOY House Wrens. One was being chased by a Bewick's Wren. A pair of Purple Martins, another FOY, were seen perching in a tree. I'm looking forward to returning to the area, hopefully in a few weeks when some more of our summer visitors start arriving! Please note that to access any part of this wildlife area, you do need a Washington State Discover Pass. As I'm finishing this email I realized that Lesser Goldfinch and House Wren are new Thurston County birds for me. Cool! Ebird checklist below: https://ebird.org/pnw/checklist/S135117976 Christopher Clark -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Wed Apr 26 18:40:52 2023 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Southwest Washington Birding blog half-updated Message-ID: Heya Tweets, I have half the posts up from my trip down to SW Washington. https://southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com/2023/04/april-19th-20th-great-escape-days-1-and.html https://southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com/2023/04/april-21st-great-escape-day-3.html Two more to follow, but it may be a few days! Cheers, Tim Brennan Renton [https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibo_B37v8Sx9SKzKhz4d2_uV__kZymXyrNpcc0zab3vCreDYSJO3d0DbO6qy6tw60vNlRbqP3Aplq7Hhv3Q6ANcDTfYbdyYqoUOeIMGwxqrU3VSj85cOZDczPtoNfkc2mHWXj3uv8FWEHSTe-4DfC724OzEyiQvXHo4WcbK8AYVyVIIY6H2i04By7cgw/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/DSC_0120.JPG] April 21st - The Great Escape, Day 3 Where else would I wake up? Bingen, Klickitat County. An inexpensive place to lay my head comfortably. I actually slept in a little bit, wh... southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com [https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69pSOGPv_oYLybNTO9-yldGHlfDXABfbI3YwVJJV8pX_tIihIMgbd3hh3MAAtfDABKw_FFwqKg08DKDf6ivqvNAZTyGlg-Hf0rYkD56QKnw13Jr4NKZdOVaemJxVF35IHCY6xC3OXppGejBEMKHI70S2c6KkBZxuLElh4i-q7wzutnanBjHfz-1AKxw/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/DSC_0119.JPG] April 19th-20th The Great Escape, Days 1 and 2 When I leave on these trips, I'm usually leaving my daughter behind. As a 50/50 parent, I try to adjust the timing of my birding trips to mi... southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lpkreemer at gmail.com Wed Apr 26 23:31:49 2023 From: lpkreemer at gmail.com (Louis) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] King County Birding Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, Alex Sowers and I decided to do an early season Big Day in King County today. General route in order was Redmond, Duvall, North Bend, Enumclaw, Auburn, Des Moines, and North Seattle. Owling in the morning wasn't productive, but the Snoqualmie River valley kept us entertained with Vaux's Swift, Evening Grosbeak and American Dipper at Tolt MacDonald, Yellow-headed Blackbirds (SE 19th Way), and Lesser Goldfinch at Piano Ranch (thanks Scott for the tip!). Best from Veazie Marsh in Enumclaw was a calling Sora and a pair of Cinnamon Teal. When we pulled up to M Street Marsh, Marv told us about the Long-billed Curlew he had just found! It was still in the main pond when we got out there. We found some of the usual saltwater species at Saltwater SP and Des Moines pier - Harlequin Ducks were the highlight. Chipping Sparrow continues to be reliable at Lower Woodland Park. A Swainson's Hawk headed West was a nice surprise at Montlake Fill even though we were keeping an eye out for them. The long, narrow wings and dihedral held in soaring caught my eye right away. Plumage was pretty pale and we think it was a first year light morph. Carkeek Park held Hermit Thrush, our second Hammond's Flycatcher of the day, and third Barred Owl of the day. We opted not to look for owls after dusk, and called it a day. Overall a good day, but not a lot in the way of migratory warblers or shorebirds. There were lots of surprising misses for the day, including Merlin, Western Sandpiper, Downy Woodpecker, Green Heron, Red-breasted Merganser, Bonaparte's Gull, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Western Meadowlark, any owl other than Barred, and any vireo, among others. I suspect starting the day at a spot like Discovery Park would have provided some of those species. 115 species for the day. In a week or two, this route could be very productive! Louis Kreemer Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From meetings at wos.org Thu Apr 27 07:00:52 2023 From: meetings at wos.org (meetings@wos.org) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?REMINDER=3A__WOS_Monthly_Meeting=2C_Mon=2E?= =?utf-8?q?=2C_May_1=2C_7=3A30_pm=2C_Steve_Hampton_to_present_Birds?= =?utf-8?q?_and_Climate_Change=2C_with_a_special_focus_on_the_Pacif?= =?utf-8?q?ic_Northwest?= Message-ID: <20230427140052.39050.qmail@s401.sureserver.com> The Washington Ornithological Society is very pleased to invite you to our next Monthly Meeting.?? Our presenter, Steve Hampton, will share the results of his recently published research on birds and climate change ? changes that are already happening ? with a special focus on the Pacific Northwest. Hampton has been birding since he was seven years old. He worked for the California Dept. of Fish & Wildlife for 25 years, where he was involved in oil spill response, natural resource damage assessment, seabird restoration, and partnerships with Native communities.??After retiring, he moved to Port Townsend where he serves as conservation chair and CBC compiler for Admiralty Audubon. The meeting will be conducted via Zoom.??Please go to http://wos.org/about-wos/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.??Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm. WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend.?? If you are not yet a member, I hope you will consider becoming one at http://wos.org/about-wos/membership/. Please join us! Vicki King WOS Program Coordinator From blobbybirdman at gmail.com Thu Apr 27 07:55:55 2023 From: blobbybirdman at gmail.com (Mark Robinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Townsend=E2=80=99s_Solitaire?= Message-ID: Spotted a Townsend?s Solitaire at the intersection of Baker Ave and NW 53rd St, Seattle this morning at around 7:45am. The second time I?ve spotted one in this location although last time was more than five years ago. -Mark Robinson Sent from my iPhone From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Thu Apr 27 13:09:31 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Samish Flats - today In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20230427130931.Horde.zxswM1EBGUzgrmniJ9tXSVF@webmail.jimbetz.com> Taa-weeeet! I went out to the Samish Flats this morning. Most of the usual suspects - several Bald Eagles (with both nests occupied), about 10 Harriers, lots of RWBs, lots more Starlings, a half dozen or more GBH, a few Doves ... and, wait for it, about 2200 or so Snow Geese. Probable LOS for the Snows. They were in the field on the North of the T and then moved to the other side of the road and a few fields closer to the West 90. I saw -several- small raptors ... Kestrel sized ... but they may have been very small Harriers? Nah, probably Kestrels. Flying low to the ground like a Harrier but also sitting on the wires along the road. The tide was high. - Jim From marvbreece at q.com Thu Apr 27 13:10:19 2023 From: marvbreece at q.com (MARVIN BREECE) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] M Street Auburn and 204th & Frager Message-ID: <4BJYHFPMSJU4.C4BQRG932X5S@luweb03oc> The Long-billed Curlew did not show this morning at M Street in Auburn. What I did see at M Street today: Minima Cackling Geese - 100 or more Merlin Peregrine Falcon - chasing peeps Lesser Yellowlegs - 2 https://flic.kr/p/2owkBC3 Least Sandpiper - at least 150 Yellow-headed Blackbirds - 2 https://flic.kr/p/2owkB6G At 204th & Frager today: Greater Yellowlegs - 1 in the pond west of the horse track Yellow-headed Blackbird - male west of the horse track Marv BreeceTukwila, WA marvbreece@q.com On Wed, 26 Apr, 2023 at 3:08 PM, me wrote: To: tweeters@u.washington.edu At about 2:00 this afternoon there was a LONG-BILLED CURLEW at M Street in Auburn. M Street is off of 15th between Hwy 167 and Emerald Downs. The bird was at the north end of the main pond. It was still there when I left. Marv BreeceTukwila, WA marvbreece@q.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thefedderns at gmail.com Thu Apr 27 13:13:03 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] RFI Tricolored Blackbirds Message-ID: There used to be a colony of Tricolored Blackbirds in the marsh across from the entrance of the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, but it burned about a year ago. I stopped there yesterday and found it had regrown and there were a few blackbirds around. I only had good looks at one male and even though the yellow in the wing appeared more like a dirty white, it just did not look right for a Tricolored. Have any of you checked on them lately? Thanks, Hans -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From thefedderns at gmail.com Thu Apr 27 13:25:42 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Quilomene WMA Message-ID: I used to stop at the access to the Quilomene WMA off Old Vantage Road to look for "Sage" birds and thought it was a great spot. Much to my surprise, when I tried to stop there the other day, I found that all the sagebrush was gone! I almost missed the entrance! Now i know of the recent large wildfires in that area, but this spot was not touched by them. It seems all brush was removed all the way down to the Columbia River. When did this happen? I had not been there since last spring, but never heard anything about it in the news! This is a major habit loss for many species, including the endangered Sage Grouse. Another great birding spot lost is Birders Corner. There is very little water left and appears that the landowner is trying to reclaim it to graze cattle. Hans -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mch1096 at hotmail.com Thu Apr 27 14:31:35 2023 From: mch1096 at hotmail.com (mary hrudkaj) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Quilomene WMA In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Earlier this month I stopped at Quilomene and saw the fire devastation. In speaking with the folks at the Vantage rock shop the fire that decimated Quilomene was part of a 77,000-acre wildfire last year. The fire burned almost to the Wild Horse Wind Farm and north all the way to Wenatchee. A driver of a less that street worthy old car lost an axel or something under his car and sparks from it as he pulled off the road set the fire. Fortunately, there were no human injuries. Untold devastation though to range land and wildlife habitat. Nary a bluebird or other feathered creature was to be seen or heard when we were there on April 11. Mary Hrudkaj Belfair/Tahuya ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Hans-Joachim Feddern Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2023 1:25 PM To: Tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Quilomene WMA I used to stop at the access to the Quilomene WMA off Old Vantage Road to look for "Sage" birds and thought it was a great spot. Much to my surprise, when I tried to stop there the other day, I found that all the sagebrush was gone! I almost missed the entrance! Now i know of the recent large wildfires in that area, but this spot was not touched by them. It seems all brush was removed all the way down to the Columbia River. When did this happen? I had not been there since last spring, but never heard anything about it in the news! This is a major habit loss for many species, including the endangered Sage Grouse. Another great birding spot lost is Birders Corner. There is very little water left and appears that the landowner is trying to reclaim it to graze cattle. Hans -- Hans Feddern Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dick at dkporter.net Thu Apr 27 14:38:09 2023 From: dick at dkporter.net (dick) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Samish Flats - today In-Reply-To: <20230427130931.Horde.zxswM1EBGUzgrmniJ9tXSVF@webmail.jimbetz.com> Message-ID: <3q7xd9hg3e-1@m0247474.ppops.net> Small Harriet's?? Maybe SEOW?Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone -------- Original message --------From: jimbetz@jimbetz.com Date: 4/27/23 1:10 PM (GMT-08:00) To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Samish Flats - today Taa-weeeet!?? I went out to the Samish Flats this morning.? Most of the usualsuspects - several Bald Eagles (with both nests occupied), about 10Harriers, lots of RWBs, lots more Starlings, a half dozen or moreGBH, a few Doves ... and, wait for it,??????????? about 2200 or so Snow Geese.?? Probable LOS for the Snows.? They were in the field on the Northof the T and then moved to the other side of the road and a fewfields closer to the West 90.?? I saw -several- small raptors ... Kestrel sized ... but they mayhave been very small Harriers?? Nah, probably Kestrels.? Flyinglow to the ground like a Harrier but also sitting on the wiresalong the road.?? The tide was high.???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? - Jim_______________________________________________Tweeters mailing listTweeters@u.washington.eduhttp://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joannabird413 at gmail.com Thu Apr 27 15:32:19 2023 From: joannabird413 at gmail.com (Christina T bean 4 ever) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Merlin in flight Message-ID: Hello all, I can't be sure of the I'd but I had to post it too exciting! 2 fly overs in the last wk very slender small hawk with very thin wings maybe someone else sees it around the Federal way/Tacoma area happy birding Christina from Tacoma -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nearpost at gmail.com Thu Apr 27 15:37:19 2023 From: nearpost at gmail.com (Scott Ramos) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Quilomene WMA In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From benedict.t at comcast.net Thu Apr 27 17:11:35 2023 From: benedict.t at comcast.net (Tom Benedict) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Quilomene WMA In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4B42FC97-7540-4648-9F12-44F82CAD60E4@comcast.net> Here?s an article from 2019 about an area near Vantage where the Sagebrush Songbird Survey was done https://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2019/after-five-years-sagebrush-songbird-survey-ends Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Apr 27, 2023, at 15:37, Scott Ramos wrote: > > If you park at the east entrance to Quilomene WRA, then hike to the top of the hill, there is plenty of intact sage. I was there on March 11, as were Sagebrush Sparrow. > > Scott Ramos > Seattle > > >> On Apr 27, 2023, at 2:32 PM, mary hrudkaj wrote: >> >> ? >> Earlier this month I stopped at Quilomene and saw the fire devastation. In speaking with the folks at the Vantage rock shop the fire that decimated Quilomene was part of a 77,000-acre wildfire last year. The fire burned almost to the Wild Horse Wind Farm and north all the way to Wenatchee. A driver of a less that street worthy old car lost an axel or something under his car and sparks from it as he pulled off the road set the fire. Fortunately, there were no human injuries. Untold devastation though to range land and wildlife habitat. Nary a bluebird or other feathered creature was to be seen or heard when we were there on April 11. >> >> Mary Hrudkaj >> Belfair/Tahuya >> From: Tweeters on behalf of Hans-Joachim Feddern >> Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2023 1:25 PM >> To: Tweeters >> Subject: [Tweeters] Quilomene WMA >> >> I used to stop at the access to the Quilomene WMA off Old Vantage Road to look for "Sage" birds and thought it was a great spot. Much to my surprise, when I tried to stop there the other day, I found that all the sagebrush was gone! I almost missed the entrance! Now i know of the recent large wildfires in that area, but this spot was not touched by them. It seems all brush was removed all the way down to the Columbia River. >> When did this happen? I had not been there since last spring, but never heard anything about it in the news! This is a major habit loss for many species, including the endangered Sage Grouse. >> >> Another great birding spot lost is Birders Corner. There is very little water left and appears that the landowner is trying to reclaim it to graze cattle. >> >> Hans >> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From downess at charter.net Thu Apr 27 17:45:07 2023 From: downess at charter.net (Scott Downes) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Quilomene WMA In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mattxyz at earthlink.net Thu Apr 27 18:09:43 2023 From: mattxyz at earthlink.net (Matt Bartels) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2023-04-27 Message-ID: <3786E9A2-B970-48E4-B240-8FC23C34B043@earthlink.net> Hi Tweets - Brian & I led another round of Thursday birding at Marymoor Park. For I think the first time this year?. we had a thursday with sun and warm weather! Spring for real. It was mighty pleasant, and there was lots of singing among the birds. Highlights: Virginia Rail - after hearing them a bit, part of the crew stuck around and got looks at a baby Rail poking around- nice! Belted Kingfisher - first in several weeks, as they seem to mostly be further up the river/slough at nest burrows this time of year. Swainson?s Thrush - First of Season (FOS) - I heard several whitting predawn, and as a group later we were pleasantly surprised to get looks at 2 different Swainson?s poking around. They are getting back! Ruby-crowned Kinglet - while we totally missed them last week, they were thick this week, with many singing away in the sun. Evening Grosbeak - FOS - a flock flew over , frustratingly not seen but heard well Bullock?s Oriole - FOS - seen by some of the group, apparantly male Orange-crowned Warbler - 2-3 heard singing, but no views this week Wilson?s Warbler - FOS - 1 singing loudly. mystery sparrow - the east meadow east trail group got brief looks at a sparrow that looked possible for a Clay-colored or Brewer?s - unfortunately, it disappeared before more could be settled on the id Misses: Cackling Goose, Killdeer, Double-crested Cormorant, accipiters, falcons. In addition this is about the best week at the park for Hammond?s Flycatcher, & Nashville Warbler in the park, and we dipper there For the day, we had 64 species - and a lot of fun in the weather Matt Bartels Seattle, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Thu Apr 27 20:59:24 2023 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR 4/26/2023 Message-ID: <62AD60D3-8164-4CEA-977A-80119B1F0BCA@gmail.com> Hi Tweets, Approximately 25 of us enjoyed a really nice spring day at the Refuge. We had cloudy skies in the morning and sun in the afternoon with Temperatures in the 40?s to 60?s degrees Fahrenheit. There was a 9.11ft Tide at 9:38am, so we delayed the Orchard until the afternoon, to get out onto the dike. Highlights included two Great Horned Owlets in a nest tree, with an overlooking adult, between the old Nisqually River Dike and Nisqually River, just north of the Beaver Deceiver on the east side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail; five Lesser Yellowlegs in the flooded field south of the Twin Barns; seven Whimbrel associated with the tidal mudflats north of the Nisqually Estuary Trail; Purple Martins at the Luhr Beach gourds, and Pacific-slope Flycatcher calling from the east side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail. See eBird List pasted below. We observed 82 species for the day, and have seen 122 species for the year. I?ll be traveling to Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Spain, and Bonn Germany for the next month. Ken, Rob, Pete and Jim will lead the walk in my absence. I?ll be back 5/31. Happy May and good birding, Shep Shep Thorp, VMD Family Guy, Emergency Veterinarian, Birder Browns Point, Tacoma 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Apr 26, 2023 7:13 AM - 5:00 PM Protocol: Traveling 7.881 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Cloudy in the morning, sunny in the afternoon. Temperatures in the 40?s to 60?s degrees Fahrenheit. A High 9.11ft Tide at 9:38am. Mammals seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Townsend?s Chipmunk, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal, and Coyote. Also seen Red-eared Slider, Red-legged Frog, Bullfrog, Pacific Chorus Frog. 82 species (+9 other taxa) Cackling Goose (minima) (Branta hutchinsii minima) 400 Cackling Goose (Taverner's) (Branta hutchinsii taverneri) 25 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) (Branta canadensis moffitti/maxima) 30 Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 6 Cinnamon Teal (Spatula cyanoptera) 6 Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) 250 Gadwall (Mareca strepera) 50 Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope) 1 American Wigeon (Mareca americana) 300 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 100 Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 40 Green-winged Teal (American) (Anas crecca carolinensis) 600 Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 8 Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) 11 Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 150 Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 100 Counted. Several dozen in McAllister Creek, large flock off Luhr Beach, and another two dozen in Nisqually River. Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 6 Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 2 Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) 15 Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 6 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 16 Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) 1 Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 2 Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) 3 Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) 20 Virginia Rail (Virginia) (Rallus limicola limicola/friedmanni) 2 American Coot (Fulica americana) 200 Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) 7 Dunlin (Calidris alpina) 11 Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 250 Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) 2 Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) 3 Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 1 Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 12 Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) 5 Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) 3 Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus) 200 Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 40 California Gull (Larus californicus) 2 Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) 2 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) (Larus occidentalis x glaucescens) 7 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus occidentalis/glaucescens) 20 Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 12 Common Loon (Gavia immer) 1 Brandt's Cormorant (Urile penicillatus) 2 Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) 8 Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 25 Accipiter sp. (Accipiter sp.) 1 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 30 Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) (Buteo jamaicensis calurus/alascensis) 1 Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) 3 Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) 3 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) (Dryobates pubescens gairdnerii/turati) 4 Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) (Dryobates villosus [harrisi Group]) 2 Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) (Colaptes auratus [cafer Group]) 1 Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) 1 Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 6 American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 10 Common Raven (Corvus corax) 4 Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 20 Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) 4 Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) 7 Purple Martin (Progne subis) 3 Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 40 Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) 1 Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 40 Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) 75 Bushtit (Pacific) (Psaltriparus minimus [minimus Group]) 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) 2 Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 8 Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 10 Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) 6 American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 60 Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) 6 American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 16 White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii) 2 White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) (Zonotrichia leucophrys pugetensis) 4 Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) 18 Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 10 Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 39 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) (Pipilo maculatus [oregonus Group]) 3 Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 16 Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 60 Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 8 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) (Leiothlypis celata lutescens) 2 Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 12 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 20 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) (Setophaga coronata coronata) 6 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) (Setophaga coronata auduboni) 20 new world warbler sp. (Parulidae sp.) 1 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S135200735 From thefedderns at gmail.com Thu Apr 27 21:49:13 2023 From: thefedderns at gmail.com (Hans-Joachim Feddern) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Re. Quilomene WMA Message-ID: Many thanks to all of you who responded to my question re Quilomene WMA. It was very informative and I learned a lot - especially that my knowledge of wildfires went back to 2021! Having been there about the same time last year, I did not realize that there was an even bigger fire there in August 2022. I must have heard about, but it it somehow did not register. Thanks again everybody and good birding! Hans -- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mehta.raghav at yahoo.com Thu Apr 27 22:25:57 2023 From: mehta.raghav at yahoo.com (Raghav Mehta) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding Field Trips this Spring with Eastside Audubon References: <1660400946.839024.1682659557974.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1660400946.839024.1682659557974@mail.yahoo.com> Hi Tweeters, Eastside Audubon is leading several birding field trips this spring. We welcome all of you to join us to greet our feathered guests. Please click on the links below for more details: 1.?Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle on Saturday May 6.2.?Stillwater Unit, Carnation on Sunday May 7.3.?Nisqually,?Olympia?on Sunday May 14.4.?Lake Sammamish State Park, Issaquah on Monday May 15.5.?Three Forks, Snoqualmie on Tuesday May 16.6.?Robinson Canyon, Kittitas County on Saturday May 20.7.?Spencer Island, Everett on Sunday May 21. Warm regards,Raghav Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Fri Apr 28 00:42:37 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] This dirt parking lot in the San Gabriel Mountains is a magnet for migrating birds Message-ID: <2EE950B5-2096-46E5-BC90-094CD1968850@gmail.com> https://phys.org/news/2023-04-dirt-lot-san-gabriel-mountains.html Sent from my iPhone From tsbrennan at hotmail.com Fri Apr 28 06:01:32 2023 From: tsbrennan at hotmail.com (Tim Brennan) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Southwest Washington Birding - Wahkiakum updates Message-ID: Hi Tweets, The Southwest Washington Birding blog has been updated fully now, with Wahkiakum updates, and a splash of Cowlitz County birding. Snails, bats, mud, sparrow songs, whimbrels, and . . . a regular feature in my blogs. . . pictures of a shorebird that I couldn't identify. I know those pictures are often as easy and fun as the daily Wordle, so please let me know if you have thoughts on that dowitcher. https://southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com/2023/04/april-22nd-great-escape-day-4.html https://southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com/2023/04/april-23rd-great-escape-day-5.html Cheers, Tim Brennan Renton [https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJ9uWze9ucTFO4a7aFZIHSrBKGkKSR6mZicDg9yIFjMUVTNDn8-GDCwviEUg1YwES9qv4pnGUDD3Ya0VKw7IPp6_QA6tH73ik4eGfZ1gxxajuTlYo_GbRns1TdpYusiIIZN2k86RO8sGiS-_GXYqHlOlcLr7IPG7mdbxWd_TLDd_d7b4zFJ38GVkpBg/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/DSC_0241.JPG] April 23rd - The Great Escape, Day 5 Morning at Alcyon Farm I again let myself get a little sleep, resting up for the day ahead following an. . . interesting attempt to find o... southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com [https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG19Xk2DkJ0z3mYcu2sdYOCySeLauAKVlucmbWyV4fmXx3P7Jy0F23rbfoxXPT0DRiKw0C5pU4lzAMKDH62N_so8XbS_n6yZhUGBjdsI3pMnQk8tohwIe_kPvMva90p08Eh7new3sw13cF2aDfG51c8d78phFitDyhsIo4R7Kd93PbgO4_oTgQZApEEw/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/DSC_0147%20(2).JPG] April 22nd - The Great Escape, Day 4 I woke up Saturday morning, nice and late again. Being on the road, getting a lot of work in, but also getting a lot of birding and hiking i... southwestwashingtonbirding.blogspot.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tml at uw.edu Fri Apr 28 09:17:21 2023 From: tml at uw.edu (Thomas M Leschine) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Nashville Warbler at West Queen Anne Message-ID: <0A5B6C77-5273-4F36-A692-62E06F9FBF53@uw.edu> Tweeters People- A FOY Nashville Warbler for me, spotted off my balcony near the top of West Queen Anne Hill (Seattle). Photo on eBird report. S135281345 Tom Leschine Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From shepthorp at gmail.com Fri Apr 28 13:00:34 2023 From: shepthorp at gmail.com (Shep Thorp) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] DUNLIN deaths at Bottle Beach Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Myself and a number of other birders have observed 10-30 Dunlins in bad shape or dead at Bottle Beach. I was there Friday 4/21, and heard from other birders 4/22. Affected birds were lethargic, tremoring, falling over, tilting to one side, flying to one side or circling, and then deceased birds. To my veterinary eyes they looked ?vestibular?. Lin Stern plans to report WDFW, I?ll run it by my avian doc at the clinic. I suspect either a contagious infection or toxin. I don?t recognize it as Avian Flu, but that?s not saying much. Have a great weekend. Happy birding, Shep Shep Thorp, VMD Family Guy, Emergency Veterinarian, Birder Browns Point, Tacoma 253-370-3742 From blabar at harbornet.com Fri Apr 28 13:54:31 2023 From: blabar at harbornet.com (Bruce LaBar) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Westport Seabirds Pelagic Trip, April 22, 2023 Message-ID: <39BA9A4EAA1E4FF8ADE9FB4AD0C81F99@DESKTOPC93UPS5> Our second trip of the year was a very successful one, despite some bumpy and rainy conditions. Fortunately, the rain stopped and the ocean at times was manageable. With 18 birders, 3 spotters and Phil and Chris, we headed for Willapa Canyon in Pacific County instead of more normal trip out to Grays Canyon. Phil decided this would be the best for our comfort because of ocean conditions. After arriving in the canyon, we were lucky to observe a working trawler, fishing for bottom fish. Lots of Black-footed Albatross and a crowd pleasing Laysan, were two of the highlights in this deep water. Without describing our whole journey, other highlights and numbers follow: Greater White-fronted Geese-2505( large flocks), Pacific Loon-219(migrating, most in breeding plumage), Laysan Albatross-1, Black-footed Albatross-164, Northern Fulmar-3, Pink-footed Shearwater-3(just showing up from Chile), Sooty Shearwater-1074, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel-16, Red-necked Phalarope-5, Red Phalarope-3, Long-tailed Jaeger-1(breeding plumage and our only jaeger for the trip. Often the rarest in Spring), Ancient Murrelet-2, Cassin?s Auklet-33, Tufted Puffin-3(breeding plumage, one on the water for great looks), Black-legged Kittiwake-1, Sabine?s Gull-4. With some offshore winds, we encountered several miss-guided passerines out in deep water: Barn Swallow-2, kinglet sp.-1, Varied Thrush-1, Savannah Sparrow-1, Dark-eyed Junco-1 and perhaps not confused but maybe migrating over the water, 5 RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS! ( which kept buzzing the boat for miles). For our complete list for this trip, please visit our website. Mammal highlights: Humpback Whale-2 and Gray Whale-1. Many thanks to all the hardy participants on what turned out to be a fantastic trip! The rest of our scheduled trips are sold out for this year. Reserving a spot on a waiting list (in case of cancelations) is advised. For further information on the pelagic trips, visit the website: www.westportseabirds.com. Spotters for this trip were: Bill Tweit, Gene Revelas and myself. Phil and Chris Anderson were the boat personnel. Bruce LaBar Tacoma, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jimbetz at jimbetz.com Fri Apr 28 14:12:40 2023 From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Samish Flats - today (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20230428141240.Horde.-cFg3qw40558o29_Qr5xuwr@webmail.jimbetz.com> Halllooow, In response to comments and questions ... 1) The small raptors were definitely NOT SEOW, wrong shape to the wings and wrong flight pattern/flap speed. I'm still thinking "Kestrels" since they were so small - wing spread of at most 12". Pointed ends to the wings rather than broad sweeping rounded wingtips, no white rump patch on any of them. And definitely raptors - not some other type. 2) The "other" Bald Eagle nest is near the West 90, in the trees NW of the parking lot. You can not see the nest from the parking lot but it easily spotted as you go towards Samish Island on the road. Hard to spot coming the other way unless you have a spotter riding with you. 3) I checked eBird and others reported Snows in Skagit County yesterday. And I posted a picture of snows at essentially the same location - last year on 6 May 22. So perhaps this won't be my LOS! - Jim From jonbirder at comcast.net Fri Apr 28 16:47:32 2023 From: jonbirder at comcast.net (Jon Houghton) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Four Warbler afternoon (No YR!) Message-ID: <1648818490.1551094.1682725652270@connect.xfinity.com> Kathleen and I spent a lovely couple of hours this afternoon in the spring woods of Meadowdale Beach Park in north Edmonds. Everything is budding out and it seems the spring birds are arriving in numbers. In quick succession, we say Townsend's, BT Gray, Wilson's, and Orange-Crowned warblers, along with Pac-Slope FC. Merlin claimed to have also heard Hammond's FC in a couple of places, as well as Western Wood Pewee, but we couldn't hear or locate those. Two PM isn't usually such a birdy hour!! Happy Spring! - Jon Houghton, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vickibiltz at gmail.com Fri Apr 28 18:36:44 2023 From: vickibiltz at gmail.com (Vicki) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] 4 finch days, and hungry hummers Message-ID: Hello, So now that the American Goldfinches have returned, we now have 4 kinds of finches here. 4 Lesser Goldfinches have graced us with regular visitation, as well as a pair of Purple and House Finches The hummers are going through (draining my feeders) well over a gallon of nectar, just this past week. Anxiously anticipating Evening Grosbeaks in May. I had a Golden- Crowned sparrow for a day last week. I?ve also had up to 9 Band-Tailed Pigeons, as well as a 3rd Mourning Dove has joined my pair that frequent under our feeders. The Pileated Woodpecker male finally graced us with his presence this past week, but with the attached forest and wetland, he seems to find us more of an occasional snacking station. We also have the Hairy and Downy pair, as well as several busy flickers. Along with all the year round birds, this place has been hopping! Happy Birding, Vicki Biltz -- vickibiltz@gmail.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/saw-whets_new/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jdanzenbaker at gmail.com Fri Apr 28 18:50:10 2023 From: jdanzenbaker at gmail.com (Jim Danzenbaker) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Good migration on Larch Mountain, Clark County this morning Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, Given how delayed all the neotropical migrants seem to be this year and the shocking forecast of sunshine up in the mountains and a strong east north east gusty wind, I ventured up to Larch Mountain (east of Hockinson in Clark County) to see if I could witness any visible migration. I did. Over about 4.5 hours in several different locations, I had the following highlights: Calliope Hummingbird - 2. One adult male and the other one unknown Western Kingbird - 1. My first Western Kingbird in Clark County in active migration warbler/kinglet - a minimum of 750. 80% were Yellow-rumped, about 8% each for Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Orange-crowned Warbler, and some Townsend's Warblers and 3 Nashville Warblers. Townsend's Solitaire - 1 Sooty Grouse - 1 wandering around on the road at the yellow gate below the Thrillium Mountain Bike Trailhead Evening Grosbeak - about 20 Western Bluebird - 4 The bird that got away was a probable flyby MacGillivray's Warbler. I've never seen this species in active migration. Here are three ebird lists so you can "see" the locations: https://ebird.org/checklist/S135348233 https://ebird.org/checklist/S135348220 https://ebird.org/checklist/S135348181 Keep your eyes and ears skyward! Jim -- Jim Danzenbaker Battle Ground, WA 360-702-9395 jdanzenbaker@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From amk17 at earthlink.net Sat Apr 29 07:57:08 2023 From: amk17 at earthlink.net (AMK17) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] (no subject) Message-ID: <64d42cb1-64ee-f092-1c0d-63366a559e29@earthlink.net> Busy morning in Phinney. Flocks of yellow rumps in stunning breeding plumage, orange crowned warblers, western wood pewees, pacific slope flycatcher, evening grosbeak flyover, loads of white crowned sparrows, Wilson's warbler... Akopitov Seattle AMK17 From nreiferb at gmail.com Sat Apr 29 08:50:31 2023 From: nreiferb at gmail.com (Nelson Briefer) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] C. Waxwings Message-ID: Does anyone notice the lack of Waxwing sightings and the lack of noticing the reports which are lacking? Nelson Briefer - Anacortes. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pdickins at gmail.com Sat Apr 29 09:19:13 2023 From: pdickins at gmail.com (Philip Dickinson) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] C. Waxwings In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2EDCE780-1E93-4D30-9162-2E71D1737463@gmail.com> I still have not seen a waxwing in Snohomish County this year, although a couple were seen at Edmonds Marsh for awhile Phil Dickinson Sent from my iPhone > On Apr 29, 2023, at 8:51 AM, Nelson Briefer wrote: > > ?Does anyone notice the lack of Waxwing sightings and the lack of noticing the reports which are lacking? Nelson Briefer - Anacortes. _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tvulture at gmx.com Sat Apr 29 09:47:14 2023 From: tvulture at gmx.com (Diann MacRae) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] nest locations Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dantonijohn at yahoo.com Sat Apr 29 13:38:04 2023 From: dantonijohn at yahoo.com (john dantoni) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Bullocks Oriole References: <1386853815.1026385.1682800684870.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1386853815.1026385.1682800684870@mail.yahoo.com> Hi Tweeters,? A FOY beautiful Oriole just made an appearance...? ? ? ? Best, John Dantoni Malaga, WA Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dcsimonsen at comcast.net Sat Apr 29 14:04:55 2023 From: dcsimonsen at comcast.net (dcsimonsen@comcast.net) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Samish Flats - today (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <000501d97ade$40a083d0$c1e18b70$@comcast.net> Jim, I would not be at all surprised at your seeing American Kestrels on the Samish Flats. My wife and I are fortunate enough to live nearby, and we see them there quite often. Not in large numbers, for sure, but one or two per trip is not unusual. They often can be found perching on utility wires. Look for single small birds that are not obviously blackbirds, starlings or doves. We see them less often on days when lots of birders are out, so I suspect they are averse to disturbance. But they are definitely out there. Doug Simonsen Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2023 14:12:40 -0700 From: jimbetz@jimbetz.com To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Samish Flats - today (jimbetz@jimbetz.com) Halllooow, In response to comments and questions ... 1) The small raptors were definitely NOT SEOW, wrong shape to the wings and wrong flight pattern/flap speed. I'm still thinking "Kestrels" since they were so small - wing spread of at most 12". Pointed ends to the wings rather than broad sweeping rounded wingtips, no white rump patch on any of them. And definitely raptors - not some other type. 2) The "other" Bald Eagle nest is near the West 90, in the trees NW of the parking lot. You can not see the nest from the parking lot but it easily spotted as you go towards Samish Island on the road. Hard to spot coming the other way unless you have a spotter riding with you. 3) I checked eBird and others reported Snows in Skagit County yesterday. And I posted a picture of snows at essentially the same location - last year on 6 May 22. So perhaps this won't be my LOS! - Jim From birder4184 at yahoo.com Sat Apr 29 14:56:47 2023 From: birder4184 at yahoo.com (B B) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Day 10 in Tanzania - Our First Cheetahs References: <1696249930.1024097.1682805407619.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1696249930.1024097.1682805407619@mail.yahoo.com> Day 10 in Tanzania was in the Ndutu area of the Ngorongoro Conservation District? ?Over 110 species of birds, great lions and our first cheetahs. https://blairbirding.com/2023/04/29/tanzania-day-10-the-ndutu-area/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birder4184 at yahoo.com Sat Apr 29 15:02:10 2023 From: birder4184 at yahoo.com (B B) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Four Warbler afternoon (No YR!) In-Reply-To: <1648818490.1551094.1682725652270@connect.xfinity.com> References: <1648818490.1551094.1682725652270@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: <1868303752.1028194.1682805730521@mail.yahoo.com> And a four warbler morning on Saturday as Cindy and I walked from Point Edwards to Sunset Avenue in Edmonds - not birding - just enjoying the best weather of the year so far.? Just listening and then seeing very actively feeding birds:? Wilson's, Yellow Rumped and Orange Crowned Warblers plus Common Yellowthroat.? If we added the Townsend's and Black Throated Gray seen by Jon and Kathleen, we would just need a Yellow for the regular Edmonds Warblers and a Nashville for an extended local list.? Yay for Spring Migration! On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 04:47:41 PM PDT, Jon Houghton wrote: Kathleen and I spent a lovely couple of hours this afternoon in the spring woods of Meadowdale Beach Park in north Edmonds. Everything is budding out and it seems the spring birds are arriving in numbers. In quick succession, we say Townsend's, BT Gray, Wilson's, and Orange-Crowned warblers, along with Pac-Slope FC.? Merlin claimed to have also heard Hammond's FC in a couple of places, as well as Western Wood Pewee, but we couldn't hear or locate those. Two PM isn't usually such a birdy hour!!? Happy Spring! - Jon Houghton, Edmonds _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com Sat Apr 29 15:39:32 2023 From: dan.owl.reiff at gmail.com (Dan Reiff) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] nest locations In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hello Diann, I, and I believe others on Tweeters, would find it helpful if you would respond ?reply all? when you ask a question or make a comment about a previous post on Tweeters. That way, we can see what you?re referring to, or are concerned about. Thank you and Best regards, Dan Reiff Sent from my iPhone > On Apr 29, 2023, at 9:47 AM, Diann MacRae wrote: > > ? > Hi, Tweets > > Just a question: Since when do we report the exact locations of bald eagle (and other raptor nests), even though they are well known to many? > > Cheers, Diann > > Diann MacRae > Olympic Vulture Study > 22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E. > Bothell, WA 98021 > tvulture@gmx.com > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From vickibiltz at gmail.com Sat Apr 29 17:11:49 2023 From: vickibiltz at gmail.com (Vicki) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Lesser_Goldfinch_location_clarification?= =?utf-8?b?4oCm?= Message-ID: Hi, I?m getting a few emails with questions about the Lesser Goldfinches. They are in my yard, in Buckley, which is in Pierce County between Bonney Lake and Enumclaw. I?ve had them on a regular basis since 2016, when 7 showed up unexpectedly during the summer. Thanks for asking, so I can clarify the confusion ?? Vicki Biltz vickibiltz@Gmail.com Buckley, WA 98321 -- vickibiltz@gmail.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/saw-whets_new/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From judyem at olypen.com Sat Apr 29 17:29:07 2023 From: judyem at olypen.com (judyem@olypen.com) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Raven question Message-ID: I have a pair of raven I've been feeding and enjoying some interactions with over the winter. Today after I set out their food and steeped away a few yards I noticed what appeared to be a light-colored patch on the breast of one. I didn't have binoculars bur wondered if it might be a brooding patch. Do ravens develop such patches during incubation? Judy Mullally judyemull at olypen dot com in Port Angeles From richardawalker at outlook.com Sat Apr 29 21:07:36 2023 From: richardawalker at outlook.com (Richard Walker) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Dunlin at Bottle Beach Message-ID: Shep, I was at Bottle Beach on Wednesday, April 26 just at high tide and for an hour after. There were hundreds of Dunlin, plus other shorebirds. I did not see the distressed or dead birds you did. I did talk to a person who told me she was able to just reach down and pick up a Dunlin perhaps 30 minutes before I got there. None of the Dunlins that were in the dry grasses before the flocks showed up let me get anywhere near them. Richard Walker From amk17 at earthlink.net Sun Apr 30 10:13:32 2023 From: amk17 at earthlink.net (AMK17) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] (no subject) Message-ID: <7ca49ce0-5580-9f38-11de-a444ec2a3c6d@earthlink.net> Quite the mixed flock. Taking turns at the bird bath this morning including yellow warbler (gray dull), Townsends, more yellow rumped warblers and one large grosbeak-sized bird with what looked like a white collar, chestnut cheek patch, black stripe through eye with chestnut and black streaking on back, dark bill, pink legs. No idea what this was. Any clues? Thanks, AKopitov Seattle From marcydaddio89 at gmail.com Sun Apr 30 10:36:04 2023 From: marcydaddio89 at gmail.com (Marcy D'Addio) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Whimbrel flock and 1 TV Message-ID: Ebey's Landing, Whidbey Island, Sat. April 29 As we walked up the bluff trail from the beach parking lot, I spotted a flock of Whimbrel walking and feeding in a recently plowed field. Estimate 50+ First time seeing more than a single Whimbrel. 1 Turkey Vulture a 1:10pm White-crowned Sparrows Common Loon 25 Surf Scoters Gull sp. Merganser sp. Marcy D'Addio Redmond WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdbooker at zipcon.net Sun Apr 30 15:12:24 2023 From: birdbooker at zipcon.net (Ian Paulsen) Date: Fri Mar 22 11:41:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] The Birdbooker Report Message-ID: HI ALL: I just posted about 5 bird and 3 non-bird books at my blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2023/04/new-titles.html sincerely Ian Paulsen Bainbridge Island, WA, USA Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/