[Tweeters] Congratulations to the newest birders of the 253 Club!

[Marcus Roening]

Hi Tweets,

Congratulations to our newest members of the 253 Club, here in Pierce 
County - Area Code 253. By achieving this lofty mile stone, all 253 
members are entitled to a beverage of their choice from yours truly! 
(And I still believe I have a couple of outstanding beverages to provide 

:-))


Craig Miller - finding a very sweet #253, the Nazca Booby at Dupont 
overlooking the Nisqually River Delta.

Scott Saunders - hitting #253 with a Tufted Puffin at Dune

Bryan Hansen - seeing a Black-legged Kittiwake at Brown's Point 
Lighthouse for #253

      One of the silver linings of COVID the past few years is that more 
people were birding locally within Pierce County.  Our biggest positive 
change was the addition of a new park in 2019: Dune Peninsula at Point 
Defiance Park accessed near Point Ruston. With a sweeping view to Des 
Moines to the Northeast, Commencement Bay to the East and Dalco Passage 
to the Northwest, the number of uncommon waterbirds and migrants has 
increased considerably. This is now the #1 eBird Hotspot in Pierce 
County with 223 species seen in just 4 years, thanks to the keen eyes of 
Charlie Wright and Will Brooks leading the way.  A less positive change 
is that the 5 Mile Drive that went around the tip of Point Defiance has 
been closed to cars due to severe erosion of the bluffs. It is still a 
wonderful place to bike and walk, now without cars, but just a little 
too far to haul a scope out to the Point on a regular basis.

And what about the now #2 eBird Hotspot in Pierce County, Gog-le-hi-te 
Mitigated Wetlands near the mouth of the Puyallup River?  It may soon 
regain it's preeminence as the number one spot to look at gulls - 
especially Iceland Gulls.  It appears that Darling Ingredients, adjacent 
to the wetlands, is in process of renegotiating their lease to restart 
the Rendering Plant that was closed by fire 2 years ago.  The gulls 
eagerly await the Ports decision.  And if you do go, this is near the 
working Port area and the volume of loading and truck noises can get 
quite loud. Weekends tend to be much quieter.

And for completeness, here's the current list of the prior thirteen 253 
members as divined by a combination of eBird and WA Birder records.  Any 
additions welcome.

Patrick Sullivan <2007

Charlie Wright 2011

Bruce LaBar 2014

Marcus Roening 2016

Ed Pullen 2017

Mike Charest 2017

Heather Ballash 2021

Wayne Sladek 2021

Peter Wimberger 2021

Heather Voboril 2022

Will Brooks 2022

Good birding to all in the New Year,

Marcus Roening Tacoma WA - Pierce County