From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 1 08:10:31 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 1 08:10:59 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } Mystery Island In-Reply-To: <866BE812-7418-4104-AB39-8AF23B7FEC7F@comcast.net> References: <866BE812-7418-4104-AB39-8AF23B7FEC7F@comcast.net> Message-ID: Larry, that was a superb and interesting account?thanks much! Dennis Paulson Seattle > On Nov 30, 2024, at 2:57 PM, Hubbell via Tweeters wrote: > > Tweeters, > > This week?s post attempts to discover the origin of a new island that has appeared in Union Bay. Unlike temporary winter islands in the past, this new Mystery Island is just north of the boat channel and lies parallel to the walking bridge that connects Marsh and Foster Islands. Questions abound. Where did it come from? What is it made of? Which birds are using it and how??. > > https://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2024/11/mystery-island.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 > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 1 10:05:09 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Rob Faucett via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 1 10:05:26 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } Mystery Island In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 2 14:46:41 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Morgan Edwards via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 2 14:46:45 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Canon R3 Body & Super Telephoto Lens For Sale Message-ID: Canon R3 body in like new condition $4,000 cash. I bought this new from Canon USA and selling because I just received my new R1. As an FYI, my R3 was a big improvement over the R5 it replaced (sold thru Tweeters). Canon EF 500mm F4 IS USM image stabilized super telephoto prime lens I bought new from Adorama in New York. The lens is in perfect working condition with no glass scratches or imperfections. $2,500 cash. Canon EF 800mm F5.6L IS USM image stabilized super telephoto prime Lens prime I bought new from Adorama in New York. The lens is in perfect working condition with no glass scratches or imperfections with hardly any use. $6,000 cash. Both lenses have their original Canon hard cases, etc. Can meet in the Bellevue area to try before buying. Morgan Edwards Cell 206.601.4009 morgan2047@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 3 12:03:33 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Gavin Hughes via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 3 12:04:03 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Last Call for Volunteers: Puget Sound Shorebird Count Message-ID: Hi Tweets, Ecostudies Institute is still recruiting volunteers for the 2024 Puget Sound Shorebird Count! We are particularly interested in volunteers who are available in the afternoon this *Sunday, 12/8 *(survey times variable between 2 and 4 pm by site), as the weather appears to be more favorable this day than our originally scheduled survey date of 12/7. This may also alleviate some scheduling conflicts with other bird counts, such as the Puget Sound Seabird Survey and the Neighborhood Bird Survey. If you are available this Saturday or Sunday and are interested in participating in the shorebird count, please reach out to me at ghughes@ecoinst.org. Thanks, and happy birding this weekend to all! ~~~ *Gavin Hughes* (he/him) *Avian Science Technician ? Americorps* Ecostudies Institute ghughes@ecoinst.org | (805) 434-8427 Web: http://www.ecoinst.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 3 17:01:34 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 3 17:01:59 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Life list software Message-ID: Hi Tweets, I know this has been discussed, but archives searches using a variety of search terms didn?t turn up those conversations. And perhaps there are new resources at this point anyway? I?d like to start filling out a life list that includes trips that go years back. Using eBird?s ?List-Building checklist? option looks like it will take approximately forever to include all the birds I have, even though my data are far fewer than what would be ideal for eBird: looking up on maps exactly where the sighting was, time of day for each sighting, recording each small area on a single checklist, recording each sighting for the same species in different locations, etc. I?d love to find an app or software that includes a world checklist, possibly organized by region (South America, Africa, etc., for instance), which I could tick and that could generate a single long numbered list. Or perhaps eBird?s option really isn?t that onerous? Has anyone used it for a project like this? Thanks for any ideas. And if it?s simply a matter of cranking slowly through the eBird system one by one, then that?s what I?ll do, and will report back when I?m 96. Good birding (and listing) to all! Trileigh Trileigh Tucker Pelly Valley, West Seattle NaturalPresenceArts.com T r i ~ a t ~ s e a t t l e u ~ d o t ~ e d u -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 3 18:04:01 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Vicki King via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 3 18:04:15 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] No crows at the Bothell crow roost tonight Message-ID: We decided to take our out-of-town guests to the Bothell campus this evening, to show them the spectacle of the thousands of crows that fly in for the night. We left the Magnuson Park area around 4 pm. The traffic was relatively slow until we got to Highway 104 but we were surprised to see no crows gathering in groups in the tall trees as we drove north on Sand Point Way and the Bothell Highway. We were really surprised to arrive at the parking lot on the Bothell Campus that overlooks the playfields and wetlands where not even one crow was visible. When we returned home (5:40 pm), a quick online search turned up an article in Birds Connect Seattle (November 1, 2024) that mentions a newly restored wetland at Sixty Acres Park where a subset of the crows went during last year's Christmas Bird Count. Does anyone have more recent information about the crows' use of that site? If they are not using it, can anyone tell me where the crows in the north end are now going to roost? Thanks for any information. Vicki King Seattle v k b i r d e r @ g m a i l. c o m -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 3 21:44:49 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 3 21:44:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Life list software In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <03cb01db460f$a2c98090$e85c81b0$@gmail.com> Trileigh, I have been using Birder's for around 25 years. It is a great piece of commercial listing software. It allows me to input a lot of additional information on behavior or anything else. It also has the advantage of being able to purchase other taxonomic lists such as mammals, butterflies or even plants. They also have and eBird tool kit to upload your sightings into eBird if you want to do that and not enter things twice. Check them out on the web at birdersdiary.com Mike Munts Colville From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 5:02 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Life list software Hi Tweets, I know this has been discussed, but archives searches using a variety of search terms didn't turn up those conversations. And perhaps there are new resources at this point anyway? I'd like to start filling out a life list that includes trips that go years back. Using eBird's "List-Building checklist" option looks like it will take approximately forever to include all the birds I have, even though my data are far fewer than what would be ideal for eBird: looking up on maps exactly where the sighting was, time of day for each sighting, recording each small area on a single checklist, recording each sighting for the same species in different locations, etc. I'd love to find an app or software that includes a world checklist, possibly organized by region (South America, Africa, etc., for instance), which I could tick and that could generate a single long numbered list. Or perhaps eBird's option really isn't that onerous? Has anyone used it for a project like this? Thanks for any ideas. And if it's simply a matter of cranking slowly through the eBird system one by one, then that's what I'll do, and will report back when I'm 96. Good birding (and listing) to all! Trileigh Trileigh Tucker Pelly Valley, West Seattle NaturalPresenceArts.com T r i ~ a t ~ s e a t t l e u ~ d o t ~ e d u -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 4 06:18:46 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Matt Bartels via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 4 06:18:32 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] WBRC Fall 2024 MEETING RESULTS Message-ID: WBRC Fall 2024 MEETING RESULTS On Saturday, November 23, 2024, the Washington Bird Records Committee met in person for its fall meeting. A summary of our results: ? 35 reports were accepted as valid new records. ? 1 additional record was accepted as a continuing sighting of a record previously accepted at an earlier meeting. ? 19 reports were not accepted. Three species were added to the official Washington state list with the discovery of: ? Great Knot on 15 May 2024 ? Lesser Nighthawk on 23 May 2024 ? Marsh Sandpiper on 19 October 2024. In addition, two more changes to our state list come from taxonomic updates by the American Birding Association Checklist Committee this year: ? First, Common and Hoary Redpoll were lumped into a single species, Redpoll, reducing the state list by one. ? Second, Siberian Pipit was split from American Pipit, adding one species to the state list based on a sight-only record from 2014. Finally, the state list is updated to incorporate a few name changes that don?t affect the number of species on the list: ? Brown Booby was split, with WA records all assigned to Cocos Booby ? Yellow-crowned and Black-crowned Nigh Heron both lose their second hyphens ? Cattle Egret was split and our records are now Western Cattle Egret ? The Barn Owl split, leaves us now with American Barn Owl ? And the House Wren split leaves us with Northern House Wren The state checklist is now 528 species, including 515 species fully accredited (supported by specimen, photograph, or recording) and 13 species which are sight-only records (supported only by written documentation). Key: Votes in parentheses (# accepted ? # not accepted ? # abstain) [Notations: p=photo, v = video, a = audio, s = sketch, w = written documentation] ACCEPTED RECORDS: LENI-2024-1, Lesser Nighthawk ? 23 May - 27 July 2024, Getty's Cove, Vantage, Kittitas County. Liam Hutcheson [w, p, a], Ryan Merrill [p], Grace & Ollie Oliver [p], Ellen Stepniewski [p], Dave Swayne [p, a], Jason Vassallo [p], Barbara Webster [p] (7-0-0). State first record UPSA-2024-1, Upland Sandpiper ? 24 September 2024, Kaiser Wetlands, Olympia, Thurston County. Liam Hutcheson [w, a] (6-1-0). GRKN-2024-1, Great Knot ? 15-25 May 2024, Smith Creek mudflats, Willapa Bay, Pacific County. Cameron Cox [w, p] (7-0-0). State first record MASA-2024-1, Marsh Sandpiper ? 19 October 2024, Wa'atch Valley, Neah Bay, Clallam County. Liam Hutcheson [w, p], Jayson D Zolle [w] (7-0-0). State first record TBMU-2024-2, Thick-billed Murre ? 25 July 2024, Semiahmoo Marina, Blaine, Whatcom County. Michele Louden [w, p] (6-0-1). GUMU-2024-1, Guadalupe Murrelet [2] ? 17 August 2024, 15:54, 47.148, -125.816. [about 63 nm west-southwest of Cape Elizabeth or about 67 nautical miles north-northwest of Point Brown], Grays Harbor County. Michael Force [w, p] (7-0-0). GUMU-2024-2, Guadalupe Murrelet [2] ? 17 August 2024, 16:44, 47.147, -125.657, [about 56 nautical miles west-southwest of Cape Elizabeth], Grays Harbor County. Michael Force [w, p] (7-0-0). GUMU-2024-3, Guadalupe Murrelet [2] ? 23 August 2024, 11:37, 46.858, -127.536, [about 134 nautical miles southwest of La Push], Grays Harbor County. Michael Force [w, p] (7-0-0). GUMU-2024-4, Guadalupe Murrelet [2] ? 23 August 2024, 13:16, 47.115, -127.485, [about 125 nautical miles southwest of La Push], Grays Harbor County. Michael Force [w, p] (7-0-0). GUMU-2024-5, Guadalupe Murrelet [2] ? 25 August 2024, 8:45, 47.148, -125. 866, [about 64 nautical miles west-southwest of Cape Elizabeth], Grays Harbor County. Michael Force [w, p] (7-0-0). GUMU-2024-6, Guadalupe Murrelet [2] ? 25 August 2024, 9:10, 47.185, -125.947, [about 67 nautical miles southwest of Cape Elizabeth], Grays Harbor County. Michael Force [w, p] (7-0-0). BHGU-2024-2, Black-headed Gull ? 14-29 September 2024, Stinky Corner, Birch Bay, Whatcom County. Eric Ellingson [w, p], Philip Calise [p], Andy DeBroux [p], Melissa Hafting [p], Ed Newbold [p], Maxine Reid [p] (7-0-0). LIGU-2024-1, Little Gull ? 20-21 August 2024, Point Defiance Park, Tacoma and King Co waters, Pierce & King County. Charlie Wright [w, p], Jordan Gunn [p], Craig Miller [p], Sandy Pringle [p] (7-0-0). LAGU-2024-1, Laughing Gull ? 22 August - 25 September 2024 [and beyond], Hoquiam STP & Old Cannery Park, Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County. Wayne Sladek [w, p], Liam Hutcheson [p], Maxine Reid [p], Darchelle Worley [p] (7-0-0). WISP-2024-1, Wilson's Storm-Petrel ? 26 August 2024, 46.905246, -124.535523, off-shore, Westport Pelagic, Grays Harbor County. Bill Tweit [w], Liam Hutcheson [p], John Puschock [p], Darshelle Worley [p] (7-0-0). WISP-2024-2, Wilson's Storm-Petrel ? 29 August 2024, 8:05, 46.905246, -124.535523, off-shore, Westport Pelagic, Grays Harbor County. Ryan Merrill [w, p] (7-0-0). WISP-2024-3, Wilson's Storm-Petrel ? 29 August 2024, 12:55, 46.977N and 124.710W, off-shore, Westport Pelagic, [about 3.5 miles from the location of the morning WISP], Grays Harbor County. Ryan Merrill [w, p], Bill Tweit [w], Charlotte Byers [p], Andy DeBroux [p] (7-0-0). HAPE-2024-1, Hawaiian Petrel ? 23 August 2024, 46.436, -127.594, [about 146 nautical miles west-southwest of Point Grenville], Grays Harbor County. Michael Force [w, p] (7-0-0). COOK-2009-1, Cookilaria petrel sp. ? 24 March 2009, Juan de Fuca Canyon, Clallam County. Ryan Merrill [w] (Cook's Petrel = 0 Cookilaria sp. = 7). GRSH-2024-1, Great Shearwater ? 28 June 2024, 48.482, -125.029, nw of Neah Bay, Clallam County. Alan Ketchem [w, p] (7-0-0). RFBO-2024-1, Red-footed Booby ? 31 July ? 4 November 2024, Dungeness Spit Red Chanel Marker & Dungeness Landing Park/Oyster House, Dungeness, Clallam County, Port Townsend, Protection Island & Point Wilson, Jefferson County, Clallam, Jefferson County. Colleen Farrell [w, p], Steve Hampton [w], Liam Hutcheson [w], Nadine Drisseq [p], Tom Mansfield [p], Barry Ulman [p] (7-0-0). EAPH-2024-1, Eastern Phoebe ? 7-8 September 2024, Swallows Park, Clarkston, Asotin County. Kas Dumroese [w, p], Catherine Temple [w, p], Nathaniel Cooley [p], Nik Kristensen [p], Alexander Sowers [p] (7-0-0). BRAM-2024-1, Brambling ? 17-19 May 2024, Point Robinson, Vashon Island, King County. Bob Keller [w, p], Catherine Rokitka [w, p], Anna Sander [w, p, v], Hannah Toutonghi [w, p], Nadine Drisseq [p] (7-0-0). LAGO-2024-1, Lawrence's Goldfinch ? 19-21 May 2024, Orcas Ct., Lacey, Thurston County. John Green [w, p] (7-0-0). CCLO-2024-1, Chestnut-collared Longspur ? 7-9 October 2024, Ediz Hook, Dungeness, Clallam County. Bob Boekelheide [p], Michael Charest [p], Jordan Gunn [p], Roger Hoffman [p], Maxine Reid [p], Kevin Waggoner [p] (7-0-0). LARB-2024-1, Lark Bunting ? 27 August 2024, Crockett Lake, Whidbey Island, Island County. Bob Flores [w], Ian Burgess [p], Nick Park [p] (7-0-0). OROR-2024-1, Orchard Oriole ? 4 October 2024, Neah Bay Town, Clallam County. Ryan Merrill [p], Kevin Waggoner [p] (7-0-0). OROR-2024-2, Orchard Oriole ? 8 October 2024, Long Beach, Pacific County. Patric Mauz [p] (7-0-0). COGR-2024-1, Common Grackle ? 20-21 April 2024, Neah Bay, Clallam County. Michael Barry [w, p], Henry Lehman [w], Cameron Boyer [p], Liam Hutcheson [p] (7-0-0). OVEN-2024-1, Ovenbird ? 14 June 2024, Kamiak Butte, Whitman County. RJ Baltierra [w], Cameron Heusser [w, p, a] (7-0-0). MAWA-2024-1, Magnolia Warbler ? 15-20 June 2024, Deming Homestead Eagle Park, Deming, Whatcom County. Jeremy Cowan [p], Jordan Gunn [p], Greg Harrington [p], Sia McGown [p], Ed Newbold [p], Wayne Palsson [p] (7-0-0). MAWA-2024-2, Magnolia Warbler ? 6 September 2024, Mountain View 4x4 Trailhead (Migration Corner), Clark County. David Irons [w] (6-0-1). BBWA-2024-1, Bay-breasted Warbler ? 27 May 2024, Nespelem - Park City Loop Rd., Okanogan County. Liam Hutcheson [w, p, a] (7-0-0). BLPW-2024-1, Blackpoll Warbler ? 4 September 2024, Hooper, Whitman County. Bill & Nancy LaFramboise [w, p], Laurie Ness [w] (7-0-0). CAWA-2024-1, Canada Warbler ? 2-4 September 2024, Potholes State Park, Grant County. Jef Blake [w, p], Scott Downes [w], Lisa Hansen [w, p], Andy Stepniewski [w], Shiraz Vira [w] (7-0-0). Reports after 4 September not accepted. RECORDS ACCEPTED AS CONTINUING SIGHTINGS OF PREVIOUSLY-ACCEPTED RECORDS: King Eider in 2014. The committee reviewed and accepted a 26 June 2014 report of a King Eider as an earlier first date of the record already accepted as KIEI-2014-1. The two records are merged and treated as KIEI-2014-1. Dates and observation info for 26 June 2014 occurrence: King Eider ? 26 June 2014, Dungeness Spit, Dungeness, Clallam County. Reed Barry [w, p] (7-0-0). REPORTS NOT ACCEPTED YBCU-2024-1, Yellow-billed Cuckoo ? 6 July 2024, N. Summit Rd., Mead, Spokane County (0-7-0). RTHU-2024-1, Ruby-throated Hummingbird ? 25 August - 4 September 2024, Zillah, Yakima County (0-7-0). BTAH-2024-1, Broad-tailed Hummingbird ? 28 July 2024, WA 125, College Place, Walla Walla County (0-5-2). KIRA-2024-1, King Rail ? 24 May 2024, 122nd Pl SE, Renton, King County (0-7-0). CUSA-2024-1, Curlew Sandpiper ? 6 August 2024, Hoquiam STP, Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County (0-7-0). LTST-2024-1, Long-toed Stint ? 12 October 2024, Port Williams/Marlyn Nelson County Park Area, Sequim, Clallam County (0-7-0). RNST-2024-1, Red-necked Stint ? 21 July 2024, Bottle Beach, Ocosta, Grays Harbor County (4-3-0). BLSK-2024-1, Black Skimmer ? 28 August 2024, between Fidalgo & Padilla Bay, Skagit County (0-7-0). WISP-2024-4, Wilson's Storm-Petrel ? 31 August 2024, 47.150000, -124.766700, off-shore, Westport Pelagic, Grays Harbor County (0-7-0). WISP-2024-5, Wilson's Storm-Petrel ? 19 September 2024, 46.905246, -124.535523, off-shore, Westport Pelagic, Grays Harbor County (4-3-0). TOSP-2024-1, Townsend's Storm-Petrel ? 3 August 2024, 47N, 1249W, off-shore, Grays Harbor County (0-7-0). COPE-2024-1, Cook's Petrel ? 10 May 2024, off-shore, 46.044773, -125.697306, Pacific County (1-6-0). GIFL-2024-1, Gilded Flicker ? 26 July 2024, Point Defiance Park, Tacoma, Pierce County (0-7-0). STFL-2024-1, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher ? 22 April 2024, W. Hanks Rd., Grandview, Benton County (1-5-1). MAWA-2024-3, Magnolia Warbler ? 9 September 2024, Casey Rd., Walla Walla County (0-7-0). BLBW-2024-1, Blackburnian Warbler ? 25 June 2024, Bennington Lake, Walla Walla, Walla Walla County (5-2-0). BLPW-2017-5, Blackpoll Warbler ? 12 June 2017, Umptanum Creek Trail, Yakima County (0-6-1). INBU-2024-2, Indigo Bunting ? 4 May 2024, Lower Biscuit Ridge, Dixie, Walla Walla County (3-4-0). INBU-2024-3, Indigo Bunting ? 27 June 2024, Wenas Creek, Yakima County (0-7-0). Further details including an updated state checklist and all the WBRC review decisions over time can be found on the WOS website at: https://wos.org/records/ Best, Matt Bartels Secretary, WBRC -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 4 07:10:21 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Scott Richardson via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 4 07:10:27 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Life list software In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <012001db465e$a419dc70$ec4d9550$@aves-specta.com> Trileigh, eBird's list-building option may be the most flexible long term. You can use county, state, or country as location where you're not particular but can be granular when desired. I often found hotspots at or very near some of my historical locations, simplifying entry, and once you create a personal location it's ready to select for multiple visits to that site. If your dates are vague, you can use the catch-all January 1, 1900. The guidance in the eBird Help Center is great. Sure, it will take time, but you'll likely find a rhythm and be done in weeks or months rather than years. Scott Richardson From: Tweeters On Behalf Of Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2024 17:02 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Life list software Hi Tweets, I know this has been discussed, but archives searches using a variety of search terms didn't turn up those conversations. And perhaps there are new resources at this point anyway? I'd like to start filling out a life list that includes trips that go years back. Using eBird's "List-Building checklist" option looks like it will take approximately forever to include all the birds I have, even though my data are far fewer than what would be ideal for eBird: looking up on maps exactly where the sighting was, time of day for each sighting, recording each small area on a single checklist, recording each sighting for the same species in different locations, etc. I'd love to find an app or software that includes a world checklist, possibly organized by region (South America, Africa, etc., for instance), which I could tick and that could generate a single long numbered list. Or perhaps eBird's option really isn't that onerous? Has anyone used it for a project like this? Thanks for any ideas. And if it's simply a matter of cranking slowly through the eBird system one by one, then that's what I'll do, and will report back when I'm 96. Good birding (and listing) to all! Trileigh Trileigh Tucker Pelly Valley, West Seattle NaturalPresenceArts.com T r i ~ a t ~ s e a t t l e u ~ d o t ~ e d u -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 4 12:06:54 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Chris via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 4 12:06:56 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Costa Rica Gateway Message-ID: <8f159fa3-f316-4a79-8455-ef6f239c80bc@gmail.com> Has anyone used or know someone who has recently used Costa Rica Gateway for a birding tour. Thanks, Chris From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 4 13:24:57 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Mark Oberle via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 4 13:25:01 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Life list software Message-ID: <3d3816c8-66cc-73bf-7360-d5aaec368ff5@mindspring.com> Avisys software is still available for free and has the advantage that you can easily time in your own Places for each checklist. Reports are also easier than eBird. Volunteers update the taxonomy within days of the annual Clements update https://avisys.info/ I also enter sightings in the field in eBird and then use the AviSyseBird import function once a month to add eBird data to AviSys There is a work around for data after 2030 Mark Oberle Port Orchard, WA oberle@mindspring.com www.puertoricobirds.com From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 4 14:30:43 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (John Williams via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 4 14:30:57 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding software Message-ID: I have also used Birder?s Diary for 20+ years. It?s relatively easy to add life birds. While I haven?t tried yet, it will now also accept eBird check lists. John Williams Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 5 12:18:24 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (B B via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 5 12:18:32 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Last Blog Post - Ecuador Trip October 2024 References: <248113333.3611659.1733429904796.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <248113333.3611659.1733429904796@mail.yahoo.com> This is my second (and last) blog post about my birding trip in September/October this year to Ecuador with friend Tom St. John and excellent guide Nelson Apolo Jaramillo.? It was followed by my trip to the Galapagos Island - blogs for which I have posted here previously.? Lots of great birds in this incredible country. https://blairbirding.com/2024/12/05/blair-and-toms-excellent-ecuador-adventure-part-2/ Blair Bernson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 5 12:48:22 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 5 12:48:55 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Costa Rica Gateway Message-ID: No, but I can absolutely and enthusiastically recommend Paco Madrigal and his company, Cotinga Tours. He also leads a tour through Cheesemans? Ecology Safaris, which we took and which was fabulous. Good luck, Trileigh Trileigh Tucker Pelly Valley, West Seattle NaturalPresenceArts.com T r i ^ a t ^ s e a t t l e u ^ d o t ^ edu From: Chris via Tweeters Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 12:06?PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: [Tweeters] Costa Rica Gateway Has anyone used or know someone who has recently used Costa Rica Gateway for a birding tour. Thanks, Chris -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 5 14:46:44 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 5 14:46:58 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2024-12-05 Message-ID: Tweets - A frosty and foggy start to our morning, but that cleared pretty well by about 9:00, leaving us with gorgeous weather. There were, however, very noticeably fewer birds this week than in either of the past two weeks. Highlights: Ducks - 9 species Horned Grebe - A late scan of the lake confirmed a Horned Grebe that we thought we might have had from the Lake Platform. First in 8 weeks. Falcon - One distant bird was likely a Merlin ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER - One at the Pea Patch; only our 5th December Orange-crowned ever Yellow-rumped Warbler - 5-6 birds; never common by December Not a long list of highlights, but we did have most of the regular Winter birds. A PILEATED WOODPECKER that flew past the Lake Platform during my late scan of the lake was our 4th woodpecker species for the day (missing only sapsucker from the likely woodpeckers). And except for Northern Shrike, we had all of the expected passerines. No sign of last week's Mountain Chickadee. Misses today included Green-winged Teal, American Coot, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Cooper's Hawk, and Northern Shrike. For the day, 55 species. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 5 15:11:07 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Martha Jordan via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 5 15:11:37 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Mid-winter Swan Survey volunteers Message-ID: Hello This January, WDFW will conduct their annual Mid-winter Swan Survey. This year, I am assisting with coordination of people who are willing to volunteer their time to help get better coverage during the survey period. The counties we are working is Skagit, Snohomish and King. Not the entire county but in specific areas. Thus, I am reaching out to all of you who may be interested in volunteering to do one or more areas during the official count week of January 13-17. Yes, this is during the week and each county will have a specific day. WDFW staff will be participating, thus we need to do these on a weekday. That said, in King County, there is a need for additional swan observation reporting during that entire week, no route, no schedule. If you are interested you can learn more by visiting our website: https://nwswans.org/events/ and scrolling down to Volunteer Opportunities. You can also call me at 206-713-3684. The amount of time for each survey is typically 3-4 hours although it can go longer if you find large numbers of swans in your designated area. Requirements for participation: have binoculars and a spotting scope (loaner scopes are available so do not let that stop you). The ability to ID swans is important. And there are resources to help you learn or brush up on this so do not let that stop you. You are welcome to participate for one day or more if you like learning new places. Thank you. Martha Jordan mj dot cygnus at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 5 15:59:16 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kenneth Brown via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 5 15:59:42 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday at Nisqually Message-ID: <1275097570.2292160.1733443156479@connect.xfinity.com> It was cold in the early morning, just above freezing. Heavy fog limited visibility and somewhat muffled the sound of constant I-5 traffic. A few Mallards, Bufflehead, and a female Ring-necked duck shared the Visitor?s Center Pond with a River Otter, a V-shaped wake trailing its progress across the pond. Steve Meyer cheerfully described his sighting (at the south barn) of two Barn Owls at first light to the 30 or so envious birders assembled on the deck to start our tour. In the trees adjacent to the south parking lot, we encountered a mixed flock of Black-capped Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets and Brown Creepers. In the play area and orchard, we saw Dark-eyed Juncos, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhee, Varied Thrush, American Robin, and Northern Flicker. Pine Siskins flash mobbed a bare Alder. Near the Land Trust office, a Red-breasted Sapsucker tended its accustomed harvest trees. Both Kinglet species, and both Chickadees flitted in the alders south of the side road. A Sharp-shinned Hawk swooped through the treetops, attempting to snatch a meal and having failed, disappeared in imagined embarrassment. >From the roads, what was visible of the foggy flooded fields collectively yielded Mallards, Northern Shovelers, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintails, a few Gadwall, hundreds of Cackling Geese, a single Wilson?s Snipe, a Downy Woodpecker and a Northern Harrier hunting low over the grass. A Merlin was spotted near the North parking lot, a solo Mourning Dove watched us from a Willow above the SW entrance to the loop trail. Fox Sparrows, and Song Sparrows announced their presence along the trail. At the Twin Barns Overlook, a variety of the familiar duck species were scanned closely and a few birders provided snacks, including Rob?s Snow Goose sausage. The circle of life. Out on the dike, visibility still limited, among a few Cananda Geese a bright white adult Snow Goose supervised 3 gray juveniles. (no mention our snack was made) On the freshwater side A Virginia Rail called, a couple of American Coots hung out with the ducks, and a pair of Lincoln?s Sparrows used the cattails as cover. Another Harrier searched the marsh for prey. Hundreds of American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintail occupied the surge plain, along with smaller numbers of other expected species and a single Lesser Scaup. A large flock of Dunlin allowed a few Western and Least Sandpipers, including one Western with a bad leg or foot hopping on its good leg as it fed along the shoreline. Two Long-billed Dowitchers feeding nearby showed no empathy. When we reached the boardwalk along McAllister Creek the fog began to lift and we could see the forested far shore though not the top of the ridge. Whisps of fog clung to the water?s surface and eddied with the current. Scanning a raft of American Wigeon produced one Eurasian Wigeon. Bufflehead, Surf Scoters, Common Goldeneye, Red-Breasted Merganser, a Horned Grebe and a pair of Hooded Mergansers mixed with Harbor Seals in the creek. Several Greater Yellowlegs and a Spotted Sandpiper patrolled its shores. From the gated end of the boardwalk, we saw several more Surf Scoters, and Red-breasted Mergansers, and another Horned Grebe, along with a group of California Sea Lions. Bald Eagles, Double-crested and Brant?s Cormorants and perched Peregrine Falcon were also seen. Returning to the dike the fog continued to lift and a partial blue sky appeared. We felt the warmth of the sun for the first time. A large flock of Pine Siskins swarmed the closest Alders as we approached the treeline. At the Nisqually River Overlook was a Common Merganser and another Harbor Seal. We're near the end and this report is already far too long, please see the checklist that follows. Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Dec 4, 2024 7:50 AM - 4:15 PM Protocol: Traveling 5.63 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Heavy fog in morning limited visibility across the fields, burning off after 12:30 p.m. Temperatures ranged from 28-36? F, with light 0-5 knot east breeze. There was a 14.6-foot high tide at 8:34 a.m., ebbing to a +8.77-foot low water at 2:09 p.m. Mammals seen included an otter at the Visitors' Center pond in the morning and a muskrat there in the afternoon, also: Townsend's Chipmunk, eastern grey squirrel, eastern cottontail, Columbian black-tailed deer, a coyote, Harbor seals in the estuary and the River, and a group of California Sea Lions in Nisqually Reach. 72 species (+7 other taxa) Snow Goose 4 Adult with 3 immature birds Greater White-fronted Goose (Western) 26 Cackling Goose 350 Cackling Goose (minima) 865 Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 35 Canada Goose 7 Trumpeter Swan 2 Northern Shoveler 165 Gadwall 24 Eurasian Wigeon 1 Drake in McAllister Creek estuary; seen from boardwalk American Wigeon 1350 Mallard 175 Northern Pintail 480 Green-winged Teal 850 dabbling duck sp. 1 Described as a 'teal-sized duck with white crescent on face'. Ring-necked Duck 1 Female at Visitors' Center pond Lesser Scaup 1 Surge plain Surf Scoter 75 Bufflehead 60 Common Goldeneye 40 Hooded Merganser 2 Common Merganser 1 Red-breasted Merganser 6 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 32 Mourning Dove 1 Willow near west boardwalk entrance Virginia Rail 1 Vocalized from cattail marsh American Coot 6 Long-billed Dowitcher 2 Wilson's Snipe 1 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Greater Yellowlegs 35 Dunlin 1055 Least Sandpiper 12 Western Sandpiper 5 Short-billed Gull 65 Ring-billed Gull 50 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 6 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Cattail marsh Horned Grebe 2 Brandt's Cormorant 9 Nisqually Reach channel marker Double-crested Cormorant 6 cormorant sp. 4 Great Blue Heron 24 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Northern Harrier 3 Bald Eagle 16 Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 1 American Barn Owl 2 Seen by Steve M from Twin Barns overlook; entering the boxes at 6:50 & 7:01 a m Belted Kingfisher 2 Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker 3 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 Merlin 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 American Crow 100 Minimum estimate: many vocalizing as they flew over in the fog Common Raven 1 Black-capped Chickadee 12 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3 Bushtit (Pacific) 32 two flocks Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10 Golden-crowned Kinglet 28 Brown Creeper 7 Pacific Wren 5 Marsh Wren 4 Bewick's Wren 9 European Starling 9 Varied Thrush 2 American Robin 12 Purple Finch (Western) 4 Pine Siskin 225 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 3 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 2 Orchard Golden-crowned Sparrow 30 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 23 Lincoln's Sparrow 3 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4 Red-winged Blackbird 4 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S204527150 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 6 01:27:37 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 6 01:27:43 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Biologists identify traits correlating with all bird extinctions since 1500 Message-ID: <3102A81C-49CB-4283-BF18-E052E6DB0E36@gmail.com> https://phys.org/news/2024-11-biologists-traits-bird-extinctions.html Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 6 10:50:50 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (thomas gergen via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 6 10:51:03 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Microphone Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, I've started seeing birders with little microphones plugged into their phones. Anyone have suggestions on a one that works well? Tgergen7@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 6 10:56:59 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nagi Aboulenein via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 6 10:57:12 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Microphone In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <91347c58-362e-48c3-a2f1-7bd003e2817e@Canary> We?ve had good luck with the Cubilux lovelier directional mics on Amazon. Relatively inexpensive and seem to perform well. ? Nagi Aboulenein > On Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 10:50, thomas gergen via Tweeters wrote: > Hi Tweeters, > > I've started seeing birders with little microphones plugged into their phones. Anyone have suggestions on a one that works well? > > Tgergen7@gmail.com (mailto:Tgergen7@gmail.com) _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Dec 7 07:16:22 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Hank Heiberg via Tweeters) Date: Sat Dec 7 07:16:36 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit County Birding Trip In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Earlier this week we went on a birding trip to Skagit County that was limited and curtailed by what was at times very dense fog. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/54186308297/in/dateposted/ However, we were lucky because the fog lifted at Wylie Slough https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/54182085516/in/dateposted/ where we saw a good variety of birds including this pair of Sandhill Cranes. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/54182373139/in/dateposted/ We also got lucky at Rosario Head. No fog, so we could bird and see the beautiful scenery! https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/54187872561/in/dateposted/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/54187873136/in/dateposted/ eBird trip report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/297343 Photo album for trip: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/albums/72177720322401451/ Hank & Karen Heiberg Issaquah, WA hank dot heiberg at gmail -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 8 11:31:31 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Liam Joaquin Wallace via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 8 11:31:45 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] D500 Message-ID: Hi Tweets, I am planning on getting a D500 to replace my D7200 in the near future and would like to test the D500 in the field for a few days before I do so. I live in Seattle and the only camera rental place here is a place called Glazer's which charges ridiculous prices for their rentals. Because of this, I was wondering if anyone in the Seattle area would be willing to let me borrow a D500 for a couple days like next weekend? I know it's a big ask but get back to me if it's a possibility. Best, Liam Wallace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 8 12:18:54 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Norman via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 8 12:19:10 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] D500 Message-ID: <5489C240-987E-4124-AC57-69E1E323E592@comcast.net> ?Liam, Unfortunately I can?t help with a D500 to borrow, but I had one that I bought when they were first released until 2 years ago. Mine was a workhorse that I absolutely loved. It traveled to the Philippines and Africa shooting mostly wildlife (especially birds). It is a great camera. I traded my D500 and D850 in on two Z9?s for my job as a pro rugby team photographer. If the Z9?s hadn?t come out I would still be shooting my D500. I highly recommend it. Hope this helps. Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 8 12:19:06 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Norman via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 8 12:19:19 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] D500 Message-ID: ?Liam, Unfortunately I can?t help with a D500 to borrow, but I had one that I bought when they were first released until 2 years ago. Mine was a workhorse that I absolutely loved. It traveled to the Philippines and Africa shooting mostly wildlife (especially birds). It is a great camera. I traded my D500 and D850 in on two Z9?s for my job as a pro rugby team photographer. If the Z9?s hadn?t come out I would still be shooting my D500. I highly recommend it. Hope this helps. Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 8 15:02:04 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ian Paulsen via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 8 15:02:08 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Best Bird Books of 2024 Message-ID: <2f0ad29-1bef-bd19-f0be-f733f9f05d52@zipcon.net> HI ALL: I just posted my: Best Bird Books of 2024. https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/2024/12/best-bird-books-of-2024.html sincerely Ian Paulsen Bainbridge Island, WA, USA Visit my BIRDBOOKER REPORT blog here: https://birdbookerreport.blogspot.com/ From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 8 16:20:10 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 8 16:20:16 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Very_important_guidance_regarding_how_to_han?= =?utf-8?q?dle_sick_or_injured_birds_to_decrease_risk_of_contracting_bird_?= =?utf-8?q?flu=3A_=E2=80=9CHow_to_handle_influx_of_birds_falling_from_the_?= =?utf-8?q?sky_over_KC_metro=E2=80=9D?= Message-ID: Hello Tweeters, Very important guidance regarding how to handle sick or injured birds to decrease risk of contracting bird flu: https://fox4kc.com/news/how-to-handle-influx-of-birds-falling-from-the-sky-over-kc-metro/ Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 8 17:13:59 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jill Rain via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 8 17:14:14 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Avocet on Lopez Message-ID: <4BDA6318-F878-46B4-9634-C1B6BB49A0B3@rockisland.com> A lone American avocet has been hanging out in a shallow brackish pond on Lopez Island for the past week. It?s been actively foraging, seems to be doing fine. Sent from my iPad From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 8 21:44:47 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Peter Jones via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 8 21:44:52 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Liam Wallace borrow D500 Message-ID: I have one you can borrow Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 9 09:43:10 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Patty Cheek via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 9 09:43:27 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Whidbey Audubon Society Go Fish! Connie Sidles References: Message-ID: Whidbey Audubon Society is offering a 4-part Zoom class called Go Fish! with Connie Sidles starting Jan. 7. It?s exploring all the different ways birds have devised to catch fish. Connie is an engaging, wonderful teacher and we are so lucky that she has agreed to offer this course. I hope you will sign up for this interesting online course that will be on Zoom Jan. 7, 14, 21, and 28 from 7:00-8:30 pm. It?s only $100 for all four classes. What a way to start the new year by diving into fishing like a bird. Register online at https://www.whidbeyaudubonsociety.org/class-and-presentation-store/p/lfn2fo8i30lwrax5xchbhwbz3irnq5-becnj-rj9g9. The course will be recorded for those who miss certain classes. Patty Cheek Past President WAS -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 9 10:10:17 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nathan Wall via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 9 10:10:33 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Zeiss & Leica Binoculars For Sale Message-ID: Hello all, Due to a recent upgrade I am hoping to rehome a few pairs of my binoculars. I would be delighted if these binoculars remained in our local birding community before surrendering them on eBay or otherwise. All binoculars have been well cared for and are in good working order. Located in NE Seattle, the units are as follows: Zeiss Victory SF 8x42 binoculars with original box, caps, new eye cups, case, etc - $1850 OBO. Zeiss 10x25 B compact travel or backpacking binoculars with original Zeiss case - $225 OBO. Leica Trinovid BCA 8x20 compact travel or backpacking binoculars with original Leica case - $275 OBO. Thanks for looking and good birding to all! Also, here are Craigslist links with photos of each set: Zeiss Victory SF 8x42: https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/for/d/seattle-zeiss-victory-sf-8x42-binoculars/7807440257.html Zeiss 10x25 B: https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/for/d/seattle-zeiss-10x25-compact-binoculars/7807442531.html Leica Trinovid BCA 8x20: https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/for/d/seattle-leica-trinovid-bca-8x20-compact/7807441610.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 9 11:01:48 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (John Suciu via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 9 11:02:04 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] D500 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: You can rent a D500 for 86 dollars a week from Lens Rentals. https://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon-d500 You pick the equipment you want, they ship it to you in a secure Pelican case. When you're done, they give you all of the things that you need to return the shipment. I've found the process to be pretty straightforward and I find their prices to be reasonable. --John On Sun, Dec 8, 2024 at 11:31?AM Liam Joaquin Wallace via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hi Tweets, > > I am planning on getting a D500 to replace my D7200 in the near future and > would like to test the D500 in the field for a few days before I do so. I > live in Seattle and the only camera rental place here is a place called > Glazer's which charges ridiculous prices for their rentals. Because of > this, I was wondering if anyone in the Seattle area would be willing to let > me borrow a D500 for a couple days like next weekend? I know it's a big ask > but get back to me if it's a possibility. > > Best, > > Liam Wallace > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 9 11:30:26 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nagi Aboulenein via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 9 11:30:41 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] D500 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I?ll second the LensRentals recommendation - I have rented gear from them many times, and always had excellent experiences. Good luck. On Dec 9, 2024 at 11:02 -0800, John Suciu via Tweeters , wrote: > You can rent a D500 for 86 dollars a week from Lens Rentals.?https://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon-d500 > > You pick the equipment you want, they ship it to you in a secure Pelican case.? When you're done, they give you all of the things that you need to return the shipment. I've found the process to be pretty straightforward and I find their prices to be reasonable. > > --John > > On Sun, Dec 8, 2024 at 11:31?AM Liam Joaquin Wallace via Tweeters wrote: > > Hi Tweets, > > > > I am planning on getting?a D500 to replace my D7200 in the near future and would like to test the D500 in the field for a few days before I do so. I live in Seattle and the only camera rental place here is a place called Glazer's which charges ridiculous prices for their rentals. Because of this, I was wondering if anyone in the Seattle area would be willing to let me borrow a D500 for a couple days like next weekend? I know it's a big ask but get back to me if it's a possibility. > > > > Best, > > > > Liam Wallace > > _______________________________________________ > > Tweeters mailing list > > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 9 13:34:52 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kerry Tremain via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 9 13:35:10 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] D500 Message-ID: <2E3F310E-8EEF-4F02-9C24-E2861F298DCD@gmail.com> For Liam. I have a D500 you can borrow and possibly then sell you if you?re interested. I?m in Port Townsend. From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 9 14:39:30 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 9 14:39:45 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Cle Elum CBC December 16th Message-ID: Tweets - I've had a couple of cancellations, and it would be helpful to have one or two more people for the Cle Elum CBC, Monday, December 16th. Please let me know if you can join us. Thanks = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 9 19:08:03 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Rick Forsman via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 9 19:08:07 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] How do I get off this mailing list !! Message-ID: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 9 19:17:27 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Rob Faucett via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 9 19:17:45 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] How do I get off this mailing list !! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Just ask for help. You need to send an email to the LISTSERV not to TWEETERS. Hold on I?ll try to help. ? Rob Faucett +1(206) 619-5569 robfaucett@mac.com Seattle, WA 98105 > On Dec 9, 2024, at 7:08?PM, Rick Forsman via Tweeters wrote: > > ? > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 9 23:49:41 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dee Dee via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 9 23:49:55 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Lesser Goldfinch yardbird, 3rd time in 2.5 weeks References: <318EAA9A-8A95-4729-B722-16CE61C71343.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <318EAA9A-8A95-4729-B722-16CE61C71343@yahoo.com> I had thought a 2nd visit to my yard within a week (on November 27th) by a Lesser Goldfinch was quite surprising and special, hence my sharing it in Tweeters back then. But Monday morning (December 9th) after seeing a dark green back in the apple tree along with the usual not-as-green American goldfinches, I was holding my breath as I grabbed the binoculars?not really believing it was what I hoped it might be?but it WAS! A very unexpected male Lesser Goldfinch! Unfortunately, though my camera has capabilities far beyond point-and-shoot, I do not, so the result was one truly decent shot (and quite a few mediocre) of the handsome little guy as he perched in amongst the branches. Since one good shot (and a few mediocre) are enough to make a valid ID and submit an eBird checklist I was stoked. I am, however not letting the Lesser Goldfinch visits overshadow my delight that a beautiful White-throated Sparrow has been putting in appearances pretty much every day since first seen in November. Wishing birding delights, whether familiar or unfamiliar, to all in this holiday season. Danene (Dee W) Edmonds From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 10 20:25:36 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (jmyb@aol.com via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 10 20:25:41 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warbler References: <1584439261.1083092.1733891136528.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1584439261.1083092.1733891136528@mail.yahoo.com> Our Townsend's Warbler returned to our seed feeders today. He brightens up the day. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 11 15:22:19 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 11 15:22:45 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] a new bird game References: Message-ID: <96A8C175-ACF1-4CD1-9DE0-49BAD4F15DFE@comcast.net> Hello, tweets. Maybe many of you know about this, but I just learned about it yesterday. There is a new bird game that is not only fun (why most people play games, right?) but educational. It may not be for everyone, but it?s worth a look. https://birdiegame.net/ Dennis Paulson Seattle From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 11 16:03:44 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Todd Sahl via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 11 16:04:11 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] a new bird game In-Reply-To: <96A8C175-ACF1-4CD1-9DE0-49BAD4F15DFE@comcast.net> References: <96A8C175-ACF1-4CD1-9DE0-49BAD4F15DFE@comcast.net> Message-ID: Having flashbacks to Master Birder class PTSD. Thanks Dennis! Todd Sahl Orrville, Ohio Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 11, 2024, at 6:24?PM, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters wrote: > > ?Hello, tweets. > > Maybe many of you know about this, but I just learned about it yesterday. There is a new bird game that is not only fun (why most people play games, right?) but educational. It may not be for everyone, but it?s worth a look. > > https://birdiegame.net/ > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 11 16:30:56 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Linda Phillips via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 11 16:31:02 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warblers Message-ID: Typically, I consider myself blessed if I see one Townsend's Warbler a year. I think they must have had a particularly good breeding season this past year. Since October I have been seeing 1 or 2 on a regular basis at Wallace Swamp Creek Park. I have high expectations that they will make an appearance for the CBC this Saturday. I have seen them 3 times in the past 10 days. Anyone else seeing TOWA more often than usual this fall? Linda Phillips Kenmore -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 11 16:34:46 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Louise via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 11 16:34:58 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warblers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I still haven't seen them in my yard this winter. They usually put in a showing from early-mid December, or in a milder year, sometimes not until January. But last winter was the first time in 18 years I didn't see them at all, so I'm hoping this year won't be a repeat of that. Louise Rutter Juanita, Kirkland On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 4:31?PM Linda Phillips via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > > Typically, I consider myself blessed if I see one Townsend's Warbler a > year. > I think they must have had a particularly good breeding season this past > year. > Since October I have been seeing 1 or 2 on a regular basis at Wallace > Swamp Creek Park. > I have high expectations that they will make an appearance for the CBC > this Saturday. I have seen them 3 times in the past 10 days. > Anyone else seeing TOWA more often than usual this fall? > > Linda Phillips > Kenmore > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 11 16:49:16 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diane Yorgason-Quinn via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 11 16:49:24 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] a new bird game In-Reply-To: References: <96A8C175-ACF1-4CD1-9DE0-49BAD4F15DFE@comcast.net> Message-ID: That game looks like it was stolen from Dennis' "Stump the Chumps" game that he runs at WOS conferences. Diane Yorgason-Quinn Gig Harbor, WA Avosetta@hotmail.com ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Todd Sahl via Tweeters Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2024 4:03 PM To: Dennis Paulson Cc: tweeters TWEETERS Subject: Re: [Tweeters] a new bird game Having flashbacks to Master Birder class PTSD. Thanks Dennis! Todd Sahl Orrville, Ohio Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 11, 2024, at 6:24?PM, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters wrote: > > ?Hello, tweets. > > Maybe many of you know about this, but I just learned about it yesterday. There is a new bird game that is not only fun (why most people play games, right?) but educational. It may not be for everyone, but it?s worth a look. > > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbirdiegame.net%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C14c9947ae8b4442a7c9708dd1a408394%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638695586574391331%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ZDw4EoQrPDZ%2FvG%2B9ybysGl6LUlg%2BgFU9XV2zERYybQg%3D&reserved=0 > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7C14c9947ae8b4442a7c9708dd1a408394%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638695586574406630%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ieO%2BBGuiRpVgSmGMY%2FcnVMjXJxU6RWrDcSBkUrv%2BGtA%3D&reserved=0 _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7C14c9947ae8b4442a7c9708dd1a408394%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638695586574413775%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=A%2F0hypYW9MYjU6LLzCqIWhHNbyyf77U8P%2BIUYA5cF9M%3D&reserved=0 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 12 08:54:40 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Char via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 12 08:55:20 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warblers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Linda, In which area of Wallace Swamp Creek Park do they usually hang out? In case I head over there I'd like to narrow down my search. :D I've never seen one before! Thanks, Charlene On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 4:35?PM Louise via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > I still haven't seen them in my yard this winter. They usually put in a > showing from early-mid December, or in a milder year, sometimes not until > January. But last winter was the first time in 18 years I didn't see them > at all, so I'm hoping this year won't be a repeat of that. > > Louise Rutter > Juanita, Kirkland > > On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 4:31?PM Linda Phillips via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > >> >> >> Typically, I consider myself blessed if I see one Townsend's Warbler a >> year. >> I think they must have had a particularly good breeding season this past >> year. >> Since October I have been seeing 1 or 2 on a regular basis at Wallace >> Swamp Creek Park. >> I have high expectations that they will make an appearance for the CBC >> this Saturday. I have seen them 3 times in the past 10 days. >> Anyone else seeing TOWA more often than usual this fall? >> >> Linda Phillips >> Kenmore >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 12 09:33:23 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Loitz via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 12 09:34:11 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Townsend's Warblers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Linda, Over the past 38 years, I have seen dozens, some years hundreds, of TOWAs each year from May through September during my travels in WA's mountains, i.e., Cascades, Olympics, Kettle Range, Selkirks and Blue Mountains, and some in lower hills, e.g., Tiger, N side of Manastash Ridge, Table Mountain (Kittitas Co.). Based on my informal observations, TOWA populations in WA's mountains have appeared relatively stable. I did not notice any unusually high numbers in 2024. I have encountered more Townsend's x Hermit Warbler hybrids in the past few years, e.g., in summer 2023, we saw TOWA x HEWA hybrids in two different spots several miles apart in the Indian Heaven Wilderness Area, a few on the Tumac Plateau and one near Chinook Pass. It is possible that I just started noticing TOWA x HEWA hybrids in the past few years and/or that my eyes are getting use to IDing them (which can be tricky). It is also possible that HEWA range is expanding northward and thus we may see more TOWA x HEWA hybrids in the future. Steve Loitz Ellensburg On Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 4:31?PM Linda Phillips via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > > Typically, I consider myself blessed if I see one Townsend's Warbler a > year. > I think they must have had a particularly good breeding season this past > year. > Since October I have been seeing 1 or 2 on a regular basis at Wallace > Swamp Creek Park. > I have high expectations that they will make an appearance for the CBC > this Saturday. I have seen them 3 times in the past 10 days. > Anyone else seeing TOWA more often than usual this fall? > > Linda Phillips > Kenmore > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- Steve Loitz Ellensburg, WA steveloitz@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 12 10:53:17 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diann MacRae via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 12 10:53:21 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] turkey vultures Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 12 15:39:00 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 12 15:39:15 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2024-12-12 Message-ID: Tweets - A bit mizzly this morning, maybe even getting to drizzle for a minute or two, though more often merely gray. Not too cold, with just a touch of frost pre-dawn. Not tremendously birdy, but not bad. Highlights: Greater White-fronted Goose - Four with Cacklers, first in 6 weeks Cackling Goose - After several weeks with few-to-none, a flock of 1000-1500 today Wilson's Snipe - One posed quite patiently for us below the weir Common Loon - First of Fall (FOF); we were loonless during October/November, which is the peak time for fall/winter sightings Northern Shrike - On the far side of the slough in a birch Northeast of the mansion, there were large numbers of American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, and Golden-crowned Kinglets on the ground, as well as a few chickadees. Alas, there was no repeat of the Mountain Chickadee which was seen in a very similar flock two weeks ago. Tony reported TEN (10) AMERICAN BEAVER from the Lake Platform pre-dawn! Misses today included Green-winged Teal, Killdeer, Bushtit, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Red-winged Blackbird. Despite those misses, we did manage to find 53 species today. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 12 17:25:21 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kenneth Brown via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 12 17:25:47 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday at Nisqually Message-ID: <1983199786.2236702.1734053121991@connect.xfinity.com> The vagaries of birding are part of what makes the avocation so captivating. You go to the same location, at the same time of day, week after week, and while there are constants, it's a different experience every time. It was cold, like last week. Foggy at the start but it dissipated swiftly. A recent constant, Steve again trekked out to the barns before daybreak and saw two Barn Owls as they returned to their roost. He heard them "scream" at each other in greeting. A fine way to start his day of birding. Mallards, a female Bufflehead, and a pair of Hooded Mergansers occupied the Visitor Center Pond. The birds were quiet as we started our usual route, most prominent were Crows overhead, most flying westerly as expected when they leave their roost. Some of us got a quick glimpse of a silent Barred Owl as it flew behind the Education Center and out of sight. A solo Raven watched from the top of a bare tree near the Maintenance compound. The play area and the orchard had much less bird activity than last week, though the visibility was much better. The flooded fields were much the same as last week, with Cackling Geese, Mallards, American Wigeon, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, a few Gadwall, three Wilson's Snipe, an American Coot, and a hunting Northern Harrier making low passes over the grass. A Bald Eagle passed overhead inciting a brief flurry of airborne anxiety among the waterfowl that settled back to ground quickly when the instigator moved on. From the service road, Ellen spotted a Pileated Woodpecker that landed in a big maple and went to work hammering a dead limb more than long enough for us all to get great scope views. The west half of the loop trail produced Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Spotted Towhee, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned, Fox, Song, and Lincoln's Sparrows. Also, Bushtits, Bewick's and Pacific Wrens, Downy Woodpecker, and Northern Flicker. In the maple grove at the Twin Barns were a single Hairy Woodpecker and Red-breasted Sapsucker, plus European Starlings, more Creepers, Chickadees and Kinglets along with Orange-crowned Warblers. From the Twin Barns platform along with the expected duck species, Jason pointed out Long-billed Dowitchers mingling with the Pintail, Jon found a young Northern Shrike in the top of an Alder, the first Shrike of the season for this walk. A small flock of Purple finch competed with larger numbers of Pine Siskin for space in the Alders north of the platform. On the dike appeared a couple more Lincoln's Sparrows, a small flock of House Finch, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows, and Marsh Wrens. The same four Snow Geese hung out on the dike, separate from Cackling Geese. A coot, a female Hooded Merganser, and a Eurasian Wigeon were found among the other ducks, and a Virginia Rail called from the cattails. On the surge plain were numerous ducks, flocks of Dunlin and Least Sandpipers, a couple of Western Sandpipers and Greater Yellowlegs scattered singly or in small groups. We started out on the estuary boardwalk near peak high tide. At 14.8 ' above MSL, no mud was visible, only the boardwalk was dry. American Wigeon were the most numerous species, they were joined by Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, and Surf Scoters. Our attention was quickly drawn to a lot of thrashing and splashing in the creek, we watched California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals catching and eating Chum Salmon in several places along the creek. Flurries of gulls circled over each site and dipped to the waters surface to snatch untended chunks. Farther out we found 2 Spotted Sandpipers on the far shore. From the gated end we located Common Loons, Horned Grebes, Red-breasted Mergansers, more Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, and Surf Scoters. Double-crested and Brant's Cormorants were also seen as well as a small flock of Bonaparte's Gulls. When we started back towards the dike, the tide had turned and the water had receded enough to expose shore line very near the boardwalk. Splashing on the waters edge drew us to a strange sight, what looked at first glance like wings slapping the water were in fact the pectoral fins of a Spotted Ratfish, normally a deep water species. It had large eyes that appeared in the ambient light to be a luminescent green. Closer in on the west side we saw a large healthy looking Chum Salmon trapped in a shallow pool apparently stranded as the tide receded, probably having run to the shallow water to avoid the marauding pinnipeds. (I had to look that up). At the Nisqually River overlook were more Sea Lions and Harbor Seals after more salmon, a couple Common Mergansers, and a Great Blue Heron perched high in a tree on the far shore. The sun had gone below the horizon and the chill in the air deepened as we walked the east half of the loop trail, mostly bird free, and returned to the Visitors Center Deck to go over the day's tally. While we talked the little birds fell silent as a Sharp-shinned hawk landed in at tree on the north side. A punctuation mark to end another Wednesday Walk. See the following checklist: Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Dec 11, 2024 7:55 AM - 4:19 PM Protocol: Traveling 5.54 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Light fog and thin high clouds in morning soon gave way to clear skies for the remainder of the walk, with temperatures ranging from 34-46? F, with light 0-5 knot southerly breeze. There was a +5.7-foot low tide at 7:23 a.m., flooding to a +14.9-foot high water at 1:20 p.m. Mammals seen included eastern grey squirrel, Columbian black-tailed deer, Harbor seals in the estuary and the River, and a several California Sea Lions foraging on winter chum salmon in McAllister Creek and the River. Of interest was a chum salmon stranded by the tide along the Estuary Boardwalk and a lethargic Spotted Ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei) also seen from the Estuary Boardwalk. 71 species (+6 other taxa) Snow Goose 4 Continuing; Adult with 3 immature birds Cackling Goose 175 Cackling Goose (minima) 625 No Taverner's Cacklers identified today Northern Shoveler 195 Gadwall 32 Eurasian Wigeon 3 American Wigeon 1465 Mallard 145 Northern Pintail 715 Green-winged Teal 1100 Surf Scoter 65 About 12 in McAllister Creek; remainder in Nisqually Reach Bufflehead 175 Common Goldeneye 58 Hooded Merganser 3 Common Merganser 2 Nisqually River Overlook Red-breasted Merganser 35 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 7 Virginia Rail 1 Vocalizing from cattail marsh American Coot 2 Long-billed Dowitcher 12 Wilson's Snipe 3 Spotted Sandpiper 2 West bank of McAllister Creek Greater Yellowlegs 45 Dunlin 1150 Least Sandpiper 95 Western Sandpiper 2 Bonaparte's Gull 16 Flying north over Nisqually Reach near mouth of river Short-billed Gull 35 Ring-billed Gull 55 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 65 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 40 Larus sp. 40 Horned Grebe 2 Nisqually Reach Common Loon 2 Nisqually Reach Brandt's Cormorant 11 Nisqually Reach Channel marker Double-crested Cormorant 6 Great Blue Heron 22 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Passing view in morning. Perched at Visitors' Center at dusk Cooper's Hawk 1 Northern Harrier 3 Bald Eagle 12 Several 'courtship' flights by at least 3 pairs Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 3 American Barn Owl 2 Seen by Steve M & Jason Z at 7:08 at the South Barn Barred Owl 1 Behind the Environmental Ed Center Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 4 Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Female at the eagle nest tree near the Twin Barns Northern Flicker 3 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 Northern Shrike 1 Immature seen in willow tree southwest from Twin Barns overlook American Crow 115 Common Raven 2 One perched in cottonwood along entrance road seen from Orchard; the other heard vocalizing from timber west of McAllister Creek Black-capped Chickadee 12 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Bushtit (Pacific) 33 Flocks of 12; 21 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 19 Golden-crowned Kinglet 35 Brown Creeper 7 Pacific Wren 4 Marsh Wren 4 Bewick's Wren 5 European Starling 45 American Robin 10 House Finch 6 Purple Finch (Western) 7 Seen from Twin Barns overlook Pine Siskin 140 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 2 White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 1 Golden-crowned Sparrow 39 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 21 Lincoln's Sparrow 4 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 7 Red-winged Blackbird 28 Orange-crowned Warbler 2 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1 Townsend's Warbler 2 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S205129308 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 12 18:01:28 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kenneth Brown via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 12 18:01:33 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday on Thursday. Message-ID: <229769947.2237669.1734055288605@connect.xfinity.com> Fellow Tweeters, The weekly Wednesday Walk at the Billy Frank J. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge occurs every Wednesday, rain or shine, beginning at 8:00 am at the Visitor's Center. The rare exception to this otherwise inflexible policy is when Christmas and New Years day fall on Wednesday. Such is the case this holiday season. This year Wednesday will be on Thursday, 12/26/2025 and 1/02/2025. Shep Thorp should be back from his Antarctic adventure and in attendance on the 2nd. Hope to see you there and Happy Holidays! Ken Brown -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 12 23:33:55 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 12 23:34:00 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] THE WASHINGTON POST: Scientists just confirmed the largest bird-killing event in modern history Message-ID: <70E8F3F2-6C30-478A-B7B8-FD445A5005B9@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 12 23:38:25 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 12 23:38:30 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?b?4oCYQmxvYuKAmSBoZWF0IHdhdmUga2lsbGVkIG1pbGxp?= =?utf-8?q?ons_of_seabirds=E2=80=94and_they_haven=E2=80=99t_bounced_back_?= =?utf-8?q?=7C_Science_=7C_AAAS?= Message-ID: <71155176-6299-46CF-B782-1B0C1A833E18@gmail.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 13 11:23:41 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dee Dee via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 13 11:24:10 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?Lesser_is_more=E2=80=A6?= References: Message-ID: Sorry for the bad pun? Anyway, a ?dare I say THE?? male Lesser Goldfinch visited again this morning. Got a few photos. Yay! Danene W Edmonds From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 13 12:09:04 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Carol Riddell via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 13 12:09:19 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup - November 2024 Message-ID: Hi Tweeters, With November additions we have reached 195 species for our Edmonds 2024 list. In taxonomic order, the new species are: Ruddy Duck (code 3): 4 in the Edmonds section of Lake Ballinger, 11-24-24. Cassin?s Auklet (code 4): at the waterfront (critical field marks described), 11-5-24. Leach?s Storm-Petrel (code 5): 1 at waterfront, 11-5-2024. Lesser Goldfinch (code 5): 1 at feeders on Puget Drive (photo ID), 11-21 and 11-27-2024. (This is a new species for Edmonds, the 283rd that we have confirmed in the city.) Of Interest: We added Swamp Sparrow (code 5) to the 2024 list last February, based on an eBird-confirmed sighting. There was a second Swamp Sparrow at Edmonds marsh 11-1-24, both seen and heard. As always, I appreciate it when birders get in touch with me to share sightings, photos, or recordings. It helps us build our collective year list. If you would like a copy of our 2024 city checklist, with 281 species, please request it from checklistedmonds at gmail dot com. The 2024 checklist, with sightings through November, is in the bird information box at the Olympic Beach Visitor Station at the base of the public pier. Season?s Greetings and Good birding, Carol Riddell Edmonds, WA cariddellwa at gmail dot com Abundance codes: (1) Common, (2) Uncommon, (3) Harder to find, usually seen annually, (4) Rare, 5+ records, (5) Fewer than 5 records -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 16 15:05:28 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 16 15:05:32 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird Range Maps on Merlin Message-ID: Hi all, ? A friend in Japan sent me a photo of a Northern Pintail.? I went to Merlin to check the range map and found it only covered North American. How do we see the world wide range of birds?? Is it a setting in Merlin? The Northern Pintail, as just one example, seems to go down both sides of the Pacific in its Southerly migration. -- Jim From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 16 15:11:06 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Zora Monster via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 16 15:11:25 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird Range Maps on Merlin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <5C3352D9-7499-47CC-AFE8-FBAE88258EC4@mac.com> Hi, Jim. Did you try swiping the map left? You?ll be able to see the full range map if you do. Kind regards, Zora Dermer Seattle Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 16, 2024, at 3:05?PM, Jim Betz via Tweeters wrote: > > ?Hi all, > > A friend in Japan sent me a photo of a Northern Pintail. I went to Merlin to > > check the range map and found it only covered North American. How do we > > see the world wide range of birds? Is it a setting in Merlin? The Northern > > Pintail, as just one example, seems to go down both sides of the Pacific in its > > Southerly migration. > > -- > Jim > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 16 15:57:24 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kenneth Brown via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 16 15:57:28 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride walk. Message-ID: <937622436.820261.1734393444839@connect.xfinity.com> Tweeters, The Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagles Pride Golf Course (GC) monthly bird walk is scheduled for Thursday, December 19. The customary leader, Denis DeSilvis, is off on an extended adventure but we will muddle on without his expert eyes and ears. The walk will begin at 9:00 am at the Driving Range building, Eagle?s Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. When you drop down the entrance ramp, take an immediate left at the bottom and continue to the Driving Range shed on the left. Though the golf course is part of JBLM, it is open to the public, no need for a pass or to show ID. We're usually done by noon, current weather forecast is 42-50 deg F with some showers before and after the scheduled walk, cloudy during, but this is the PNW, be prepared for rain. Hope to see you there. Ken Brown -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 16 17:21:25 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Rob Faucett via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 16 17:21:44 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Bird Range Maps on Merlin In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8AB89920-B4CC-4824-8761-92F53D42CB5E@mac.com> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 16 19:30:23 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Mike & MerryLynn via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 16 19:25:51 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Walla Walla CBC results Message-ID: <6b6f0fb7-c914-4521-ae02-76867de5097c@charter.net> Count was held on the 14th - our 52nd. One of our warmest count days ever with temp 48 to 54, sunshine in the morning then rain after 2:45. We had a Milberts Tortoiseshell Butterfly up Blue Creek - definitely our first ever on a CBC. Found an average 85 species plus two count week birds - but 2 FIRST for our count - a TURKEY VULTURE and a RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER. HARRIS'S SPARROW, AMERICAN PIPIT, and AMERICAN GOSHAWK were uncommon finds. Broke a couple records - 24 Common Goldeneye beating our previous 13 and 94 Red-breasted Nuthatch beating 56 back in 1994. CALIFORNIA SCRUB-JAY - our first were 3 in 2022, only one last year but a total of 6 were found this year - this species is now regular in Burbank, Touchet, College Place, Walla Walla and Prescott. Ruddy Duck and Pied-billed Grebe - only our 3rd ever. VERY LOW numbers of Robins and Varied Thrush - despite abundant apple and berry crop. Enjoy all those Christmas Bird Counts - Mike & MerryLynn Denny -- Mike & MerryLynn Denny Birding the Beautiful Walla Walla Valley "If you haven't gone birding, you haven't lived" -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 06:14:14 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Gary Bletsch via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 06:14:20 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] bridge camera References: <1120382526.1016345.1734444854430.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1120382526.1016345.1734444854430@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Tweeters, A few weeks ago, I wrote to Tweeters in regard to bridge cameras. My trusty Canon SX50 HS had gone kaputt, so I needed a replacement. I then spent a few weeks reading up on various cameras. Thanks to all of the Tweeters who wrote to me with recommendations and disrecommendations and such. In between lake-effect blizzards, I drove the 63 miles to Buffalo; Delaware Camera up there is the only camera store within a hundred miles of where I live. I got there early and was glad that I did, as they soon got pretty busy--hardly surprising, when they are the only brick-and-mortar camera store in the entire region, not counting Canada. Luckily, I had the only old guy in the store helping me, which is just what I wanted! Long story short, I ended up buying a Nikon Coolpix P950. This camera is roughly as good as was the Canon SX50 HS, better in some ways, worse in others. Here is a breakdown comparison between the two cameras. I would add that the Canon SX70 would be roughly comparable to the older SX50, so that one could probably compare the P950 to the SX70 and get a fairly similar result to that between the P950 and SX50.? By the by, Lillian Stokes did not recommend the Canon SX60 when that camera came out as the replacement for the SX50. I don't see any commentary on the Stokes website in regard to the SX70, but some birders have told me that they likewise preferred the older SX50 to the SX70. I am still considering having my old SX50 repaired, if Canon can do that for a reasonable price. It's probably just some little chip that went bad. The Nikon P950 is better than the Canon as far as focus goes; the Canon had no useable manual focus. The P950 does indeed have a manual focus that is fairly easy to use.? The P950 costs about a third more than a new Canon SX70, a little over $900 compared to $699. I am sure that I could have bought the P950 online and saved a few dollars, but I always prefer buying in person, and don't mind paying a bit more for the superior shopping experience one gets in a real store.? The P950 is big. I do not ever want to have a camera slung around my waist, or have a foot-long lens hanging down my side. I want to keep my camera stashed away under my birding vest, ready to photograph rarities and hard-to-ID individuals, and otherwise stay out of sight and out of mind. The size and weight of the P950 places it at the extreme high end of the range of cameras that can be stowed in this manner. It weighs over a kilogram, nearly double the weight of the SX50. Over the past week and a half, I have had to adjust to having such a cinderblock bulging out my vest, but it is workable, even when I'm wearing the bulky parka and layers that one must wear here this time of year. The zoom on the P950 is good. I am not sure if it is any better than the remarkable zoom on the SX50, but I can get photos of distant waterfowl out on the ice. I am not yet certain whether the P950's zoom is as good as the one on the SX50; sometimes the images I get with the zoom all the way out do seem a bit dimmer than the ones I was used to before. Time will tell. At times, the Canon SX50 could be infuriatingly slow. That came and went. It almost seemed as if the SX50 had mood swings like a person's, sometimes "deciding" that it would take its sweet time about turning on, or zooming in on something. By comparison, the Nikon P950 does seem a bit slow to respond, but it is consistent, not moody--if that makes sense! I don't really care about "features" as much as most people do. The much newer P950 is loaded with features that the Canon SX50 did not have. Maybe the engineers had not yet invented those features when the SX50 came out. For example, one can obtain software for the Nikon, and use that to connect the camera to a phone or maybe to a computer, via Bluetooth. So far, I have just uploaded my photos by means of a cable, which is fine by me. My eyes start swimming when I start to read up on all of the other features, so I can't say anything about them. Buried in the menus of the P950, there are all sorts of capabilities that I have not explored. I might never get around to doing so.? There is actually a "bird" mode in this camera, but I have not tried it. Maybe I'll try it today; all one needs to do is turn the mode dial to the little "bird" icon, so it shouldn't be too hard to do! Thanks again to all of the Tweeters who responded to my original enquiry. Yours truly, Gary Bletsch -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 07:26:51 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Mark Walton via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 07:27:08 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] bridge camera In-Reply-To: <1120382526.1016345.1734444854430@mail.yahoo.com> References: <1120382526.1016345.1734444854430.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1120382526.1016345.1734444854430@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Hello Gary, I've been following this discussion with great interest. I currently use a Nikon D850 with a Tamron 150-600 mm lens. I've generally been fairly happy with it but, as I get older, my back becomes progressively unhappy about me walking long distances with a super-heavy camera around my neck. This camera has lasted through > 3000 birding trips over the last several years so I am well aware that it could die a sudden death at any time. So I've begun to think about a replacement. I also have a Nikon D1000, which is nice when I want to document a rarity that is super far away and that is helpfully just standing around. The main drawback I see is that focusing requires pushing the button halfway down and then pushing it the rest of the way down to snap the photo. This doesn't work well for me in the far more common situation where I'm trying to photograph a flyover rarity, or a passerine that pauses on a branch for no more than one Planck Time. For my next camera I gave serious thought to a Panasonic Lumix FZ80D -- except that it seems that this is another camera that requires that you push the button halfway down to focus. I just don't do well with that because, when a nice rarity is flying over, I am usually so frantic to get a quick photo that I mess that up. I've noticed that a lot of the skilled birders have some sort of Canon camera with a long, white lens. No idea what model the camera and lens are but it looks *FAR* lighter than my current backbreaker camera. Does anyone know what kind of camera that is? Any other suggestions are welcome -- I will never be a competent photographer. I just want to document rarities and get photos that show the field marks of hard-to-identify birds. Mark Ar M?irt 17 Noll 2024 ag 06:15, scr?obh Gary Bletsch via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu>: > Dear Tweeters, > > A few weeks ago, I wrote to Tweeters in regard to bridge cameras. My > trusty Canon SX50 HS had gone kaputt, so I needed a replacement. > > I then spent a few weeks reading up on various cameras. Thanks to all of > the Tweeters who wrote to me with recommendations and disrecommendations > and such. > > In between lake-effect blizzards, I drove the 63 miles to Buffalo; > Delaware Camera up there is the only camera store within a hundred miles of > where I live. I got there early and was glad that I did, as they soon got > pretty busy--hardly surprising, when they are the only brick-and-mortar > camera store in the entire region, not counting Canada. Luckily, I had the > only old guy in the store helping me, which is just what I wanted! > > Long story short, I ended up buying a Nikon Coolpix P950. This camera is > roughly as good as was the Canon SX50 HS, better in some ways, worse in > others. Here is a breakdown comparison between the two cameras. I would add > that the Canon SX70 would be roughly comparable to the older SX50, so that > one could probably compare the P950 to the SX70 and get a fairly similar > result to that between the P950 and SX50. > > By the by, Lillian Stokes did not recommend the Canon SX60 when that > camera came out as the replacement for the SX50. I don't see any commentary > on the Stokes website in regard to the SX70, but some birders have told me > that they likewise preferred the older SX50 to the SX70. I am still > considering having my old SX50 repaired, if Canon can do that for a > reasonable price. It's probably just some little chip that went bad. > > The Nikon P950 is better than the Canon as far as focus goes; the Canon > had no useable manual focus. The P950 does indeed have a manual focus that > is fairly easy to use. > > The P950 costs about a third more than a new Canon SX70, a little over > $900 compared to $699. I am sure that I could have bought the P950 online > and saved a few dollars, but I always prefer buying in person, and don't > mind paying a bit more for the superior shopping experience one gets in a > real store. > > The P950 is big. I do not ever want to have a camera slung around my > waist, or have a foot-long lens hanging down my side. I want to keep my > camera stashed away under my birding vest, ready to photograph rarities and > hard-to-ID individuals, and otherwise stay out of sight and out of mind. > The size and weight of the P950 places it at the extreme high end of the > range of cameras that can be stowed in this manner. It weighs over a > kilogram, nearly double the weight of the SX50. Over the past week and a > half, I have had to adjust to having such a cinderblock bulging out my > vest, but it is workable, even when I'm wearing the bulky parka and layers > that one must wear here this time of year. > > The zoom on the P950 is good. I am not sure if it is any better than the > remarkable zoom on the SX50, but I can get photos of distant waterfowl out > on the ice. I am not yet certain whether the P950's zoom is as good as the > one on the SX50; sometimes the images I get with the zoom all the way out > do seem a bit dimmer than the ones I was used to before. Time will tell. > > At times, the Canon SX50 could be infuriatingly slow. That came and went. > It almost seemed as if the SX50 had mood swings like a person's, sometimes > "deciding" that it would take its sweet time about turning on, or zooming > in on something. By comparison, the Nikon P950 does seem a bit slow to > respond, but it is consistent, not moody--if that makes sense! > > I don't really care about "features" as much as most people do. The much > newer P950 is loaded with features that the Canon SX50 did not have. Maybe > the engineers had not yet invented those features when the SX50 came out. > For example, one can obtain software for the Nikon, and use that to connect > the camera to a phone or maybe to a computer, via Bluetooth. So far, I have > just uploaded my photos by means of a cable, which is fine by me. My eyes > start swimming when I start to read up on all of the other features, so I > can't say anything about them. Buried in the menus of the P950, there are > all sorts of capabilities that I have not explored. I might never get > around to doing so. > > There is actually a "bird" mode in this camera, but I have not tried it. > Maybe I'll try it today; all one needs to do is turn the mode dial to the > little "bird" icon, so it shouldn't be too hard to do! > > Thanks again to all of the Tweeters who responded to my original enquiry. > > Yours truly, > > Gary Bletsch > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 07:34:19 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nancy Crowell via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 07:34:24 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] bridge camera In-Reply-To: References: <1120382526.1016345.1734444854430.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1120382526.1016345.1734444854430@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Probably Sony - which also have white lenses. Super lightweight. By the way, you can reprogram your shutter release on most Nikons. I routinely change mine to back button focus. Just read your camera manual and you should come across a custom buttons section that will explain. Nancy "Images for the imagination." www.crowellphotography.com ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Mark Walton via Tweeters Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 7:26:51 AM To: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] bridge camera Hello Gary, I've been following this discussion with great interest. I currently use a Nikon D850 with a Tamron 150-600 mm lens. I've generally been fairly happy with it but, as I get older, my back becomes progressively unhappy about me walking long distances with a super-heavy camera around my neck. This camera has lasted through > 3000 birding trips over the last several years so I am well aware that it could die a sudden death at any time. So I've begun to think about a replacement. I also have a Nikon D1000, which is nice when I want to document a rarity that is super far away and that is helpfully just standing around. The main drawback I see is that focusing requires pushing the button halfway down and then pushing it the rest of the way down to snap the photo. This doesn't work well for me in the far more common situation where I'm trying to photograph a flyover rarity, or a passerine that pauses on a branch for no more than one Planck Time. For my next camera I gave serious thought to a Panasonic Lumix FZ80D -- except that it seems that this is another camera that requires that you push the button halfway down to focus. I just don't do well with that because, when a nice rarity is flying over, I am usually so frantic to get a quick photo that I mess that up. I've noticed that a lot of the skilled birders have some sort of Canon camera with a long, white lens. No idea what model the camera and lens are but it looks *FAR* lighter than my current backbreaker camera. Does anyone know what kind of camera that is? Any other suggestions are welcome -- I will never be a competent photographer. I just want to document rarities and get photos that show the field marks of hard-to-identify birds. Mark Ar M?irt 17 Noll 2024 ag 06:15, scr?obh Gary Bletsch via Tweeters >: Dear Tweeters, A few weeks ago, I wrote to Tweeters in regard to bridge cameras. My trusty Canon SX50 HS had gone kaputt, so I needed a replacement. I then spent a few weeks reading up on various cameras. Thanks to all of the Tweeters who wrote to me with recommendations and disrecommendations and such. In between lake-effect blizzards, I drove the 63 miles to Buffalo; Delaware Camera up there is the only camera store within a hundred miles of where I live. I got there early and was glad that I did, as they soon got pretty busy--hardly surprising, when they are the only brick-and-mortar camera store in the entire region, not counting Canada. Luckily, I had the only old guy in the store helping me, which is just what I wanted! Long story short, I ended up buying a Nikon Coolpix P950. This camera is roughly as good as was the Canon SX50 HS, better in some ways, worse in others. Here is a breakdown comparison between the two cameras. I would add that the Canon SX70 would be roughly comparable to the older SX50, so that one could probably compare the P950 to the SX70 and get a fairly similar result to that between the P950 and SX50. By the by, Lillian Stokes did not recommend the Canon SX60 when that camera came out as the replacement for the SX50. I don't see any commentary on the Stokes website in regard to the SX70, but some birders have told me that they likewise preferred the older SX50 to the SX70. I am still considering having my old SX50 repaired, if Canon can do that for a reasonable price. It's probably just some little chip that went bad. The Nikon P950 is better than the Canon as far as focus goes; the Canon had no useable manual focus. The P950 does indeed have a manual focus that is fairly easy to use. The P950 costs about a third more than a new Canon SX70, a little over $900 compared to $699. I am sure that I could have bought the P950 online and saved a few dollars, but I always prefer buying in person, and don't mind paying a bit more for the superior shopping experience one gets in a real store. The P950 is big. I do not ever want to have a camera slung around my waist, or have a foot-long lens hanging down my side. I want to keep my camera stashed away under my birding vest, ready to photograph rarities and hard-to-ID individuals, and otherwise stay out of sight and out of mind. The size and weight of the P950 places it at the extreme high end of the range of cameras that can be stowed in this manner. It weighs over a kilogram, nearly double the weight of the SX50. Over the past week and a half, I have had to adjust to having such a cinderblock bulging out my vest, but it is workable, even when I'm wearing the bulky parka and layers that one must wear here this time of year. The zoom on the P950 is good. I am not sure if it is any better than the remarkable zoom on the SX50, but I can get photos of distant waterfowl out on the ice. I am not yet certain whether the P950's zoom is as good as the one on the SX50; sometimes the images I get with the zoom all the way out do seem a bit dimmer than the ones I was used to before. Time will tell. At times, the Canon SX50 could be infuriatingly slow. That came and went. It almost seemed as if the SX50 had mood swings like a person's, sometimes "deciding" that it would take its sweet time about turning on, or zooming in on something. By comparison, the Nikon P950 does seem a bit slow to respond, but it is consistent, not moody--if that makes sense! I don't really care about "features" as much as most people do. The much newer P950 is loaded with features that the Canon SX50 did not have. Maybe the engineers had not yet invented those features when the SX50 came out. For example, one can obtain software for the Nikon, and use that to connect the camera to a phone or maybe to a computer, via Bluetooth. So far, I have just uploaded my photos by means of a cable, which is fine by me. My eyes start swimming when I start to read up on all of the other features, so I can't say anything about them. Buried in the menus of the P950, there are all sorts of capabilities that I have not explored. I might never get around to doing so. There is actually a "bird" mode in this camera, but I have not tried it. Maybe I'll try it today; all one needs to do is turn the mode dial to the little "bird" icon, so it shouldn't be too hard to do! Thanks again to all of the Tweeters who responded to my original enquiry. Yours truly, Gary Bletsch _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 08:16:02 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Elston Hill via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 08:16:22 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Tell us what you think about unleashed dogs at Seattle parks | The Seattle Times References: Message-ID: Please send your comments to The Seattle Times which is preparing an article on unleashed dogs in Seattle Parks. My own personal experience is that dog owners are treating the wilder areas in our parks as a place to unleash their dogs. > > https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/tell-us-what-you-think-about-unleashed-dogs-at-seattle-parks/ > > Tell us what you think about unleashed dogs at Seattle parks > Greg Kim Dec. 16, 2024 at 1:16 pm > By > Seattle Times staff reporter > > Seattle is famously a dog city . If you go to any of its parks, there?s a good chance you?ll see one running around with other dogs or playing fetch with its owners. > > Increasingly, those dogs might be unleashed in areas where the city says they shouldn?t be. > > The Seattle Times wants to know whether Seattle residents have noticed this trend ? or if they care. Do you bring your dogs to parks unleashed? Do you walk your dogs on-leash at parks? Do you use the park for other reasons? > > Greg Kim: 206-464-2532 or grkim@seattletimes.com . Greg Kim is a reporter covering homelessness for The Seattle Times. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 09:49:38 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Hank Heiberg via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 09:49:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Kinglet Encounters References: Message-ID: <2C7D9760-0F5A-4E3E-9A94-CB3430E181C3@gmail.com> Sunday we birded at Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland. We were about to walk past the large conifer just west of the restroom building when something dropped straight down from the conifer. That something turned out to be a Golden-crowned Kinglet. Then we realized that there were 4 Golden-crowned Kinglets on the ground near us. They were unaware of us. So we stood and watched them for a long time. Two kinglets got within a foot or two of us. Here is a photo of one of them. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/54209745118/in/dateposted/ Earlier in December we had similar encounters with Golden-crowned Kinglets at Marymoor Park in Redmond. One encounter was in the lawn north of the mansion. The second encounter was along the slough when kinglets landed in a tree a couple of feet from us. Here?s a photo from the slough encounter. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/54191515348/in/dateposted/ If anyone can ID the Juanita conifer for us, we would appreciate it. Hank & Karen Heiberg Issaquah, WA hank dot heiberg at gmail -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 11:57:48 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 11:57:57 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Lightroom Classic In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9cf0bb34-37da-4be9-ad38-286e5148f731@jimbetz.com> Hi all, ? The following is about birding photography rather than about birding in general or recent sightings ... if you aren't interested in it just skip. ? I am just learning Lightroom Classic.? LrC has a feature called "keywords" which you can assign to the individual images and then use later to make finding prior images both easier and quicker.? If you've assigned a keyword "puffins" you can search and see only the images you have of puffins. ? The Keywords can also be in a hierarchy.? Although it would be easy to just say "I use the taxonomy for my hierarchy" I am not going there. ? ===> So I'm interested in what you use for keywords ... ? ? My photos are currently in folders arranged by place and date (month and year). And I add the bird ID to that info in my captions.? So, for example, a recent image I worked on is captioned "Yellow-winged Cacique - Puerto Vallarta 2022" and is in a folder called /Lumix/Puerto Vallarta 2022/.? Would you recommend that I just keep/reuse that same kind of hierarchy for my keywords? - Jim in Burlington From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 12:29:43 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Barbara Mandula via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 12:30:06 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Golden-crowned kinglet Madrona Woods Message-ID: <00e401db50c2$68d33030$3a799090$@comcast.net> While walking on a path in Madrona Woods, I noticed a quick motion. I immediately stood still, and watched a golden crowned kinglet move among nearby twigs and branches for five minutes. Best views ever. Also, pine siskin flock continuing to visit seed feeders. Barbara Mandula 206-922-3131 (landline) barbaramandula@comcast.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 12:31:11 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Robert O'Brien via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 12:31:25 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Lightroom Classic In-Reply-To: <9cf0bb34-37da-4be9-ad38-286e5148f731@jimbetz.com> References: <9cf0bb34-37da-4be9-ad38-286e5148f731@jimbetz.com> Message-ID: Actually, the program 'Everything' finds any filename on your computer, image, pdf, doc, etc. literally everything, as fast as you can type in the name of what you're looking for. Free download; incredibly useful. You can set it to search only for images, folders, or just set it to find Everything/ I have several million files accumulated on my computer since when computers started. Without this program I would literally be 'up the creek' Bob OBrien Portland. On Tue, Dec 17, 2024 at 11:58?AM Jim Betz via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hi all, > > The following is about birding photography rather than about birding in > > general or recent sightings ... if you aren't interested in it just skip. > > > I am just learning Lightroom Classic. LrC has a feature called > "keywords" > > which you can assign to the individual images and then use later to make > > finding prior images both easier and quicker. If you've assigned a keyword > > "puffins" you can search and see only the images you have of puffins. > > The Keywords can also be in a hierarchy. Although it would be easy > to just > > say "I use the taxonomy for my hierarchy" I am not going there. > > > ===> So I'm interested in what you use for keywords ... ? > > > My photos are currently in folders arranged by place and date (month > and year). > > And I add the bird ID to that info in my captions. So, for example, a > recent image > > I worked on is captioned "Yellow-winged Cacique - Puerto Vallarta 2022" > and is in a > > folder called /Lumix/Puerto Vallarta 2022/. Would you recommend that I > just > > keep/reuse that same kind of hierarchy for my keywords? > > - Jim in Burlington > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 12:40:55 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Stan Bezimienny via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 12:41:10 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Conifer in Juanita Bay Message-ID: <75228757-4C51-4D6D-BE3E-350BFEB912FE@gmail.com> Hank, There is a large cedar (*true* cedar - many other conifers are called in the US ?cedar? - ie Cedrus sp. I am not sure if it is C. deodara or C. atlantica) growing W of the restrooms in Juanita Bay. Many of them planted in the area, notably in older neighborhoods of Seattle etc. Nice, large, upright cones. Stan From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 13:25:17 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom Benedict via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 13:25:54 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Lightroom Classic In-Reply-To: References: <9cf0bb34-37da-4be9-ad38-286e5148f731@jimbetz.com> Message-ID: So have you been naming your files in a way that includes enough information so that the ?Everything? program can find what you?re looking for? Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Dec 17, 2024, at 12:31, Robert O'Brien via Tweeters wrote: > > Actually, the program 'Everything' finds any filename on your computer, image, pdf, doc, etc. literally everything, as fast as you can type in the name of what you're looking for. Free download; incredibly useful. You can set it to search only for images, folders, or just set it to find Everything/ > I have several million files accumulated on my computer since when computers started. Without this program I would literally be 'up the creek' > Bob OBrien Portland. > > On Tue, Dec 17, 2024 at 11:58?AM Jim Betz via Tweeters > wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> The following is about birding photography rather than about birding in >> >> general or recent sightings ... if you aren't interested in it just skip. >> >> >> I am just learning Lightroom Classic. LrC has a feature called >> "keywords" >> >> which you can assign to the individual images and then use later to make >> >> finding prior images both easier and quicker. If you've assigned a keyword >> >> "puffins" you can search and see only the images you have of puffins. >> >> The Keywords can also be in a hierarchy. Although it would be easy >> to just >> >> say "I use the taxonomy for my hierarchy" I am not going there. >> >> >> ===> So I'm interested in what you use for keywords ... ? >> >> >> My photos are currently in folders arranged by place and date (month >> and year). >> >> And I add the bird ID to that info in my captions. So, for example, a >> recent image >> >> I worked on is captioned "Yellow-winged Cacique - Puerto Vallarta 2022" >> and is in a >> >> folder called /Lumix/Puerto Vallarta 2022/. Would you recommend that I just >> >> keep/reuse that same kind of hierarchy for my keywords? >> >> - Jim in Burlington >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Tweeters mailing list >> Tweeters@u.washington.edu >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 13:42:43 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jay via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 13:42:58 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Subject: Lightroom Classic Message-ID: Hi Jim - I've used LrC for years and do extensive keywording and also rename my files. When I import images into LrC, I set the keywords to the year and location. I add species name and other keywords after the import. On a recent trip to Africa, the keywords during the import were 2024, location (Serengeti NP), Tanzania, and then I add the details such as species name after I have culled the images. I know some people who do even more extensive keywording. For the filename, I use the location and sometimes the state, e.g., Nisqually NWR_Washington, along with the capture date. After the import I will cull the images to keep my favorites, then rename the files to include the species common name, e.g., Northern Pintail_Nisqually NWR_December 17, 2024_sequence#. I also use Smart Collections where the logic is based on the keywords. The images are imported into folders but I don't search the folders after the import. E.g., I can find an image of an American Bittern taken at Ridgefield NWR in 2014 in about 10 seconds. This may be more work than some people want to do, but I enjoy the process. Hope this helps - Jay Eisenberg Bellingham, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 14:33:02 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nancy Crowell via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 14:33:06 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Subject: Lightroom Classic In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I add broad generic words upon import, like location, birds, fog, snow and I apply my copyright in the metadata. I rename files with date_myname_anything extra I want (like location). When I cull I add more specific keywords in batches where appropriate. You can also create collections based on your ratings each year so you can quickly access your best images per year. You should just use whatever hierarchy makes sense to you. Nancy "Images for the imagination." www.crowellphotography.com ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Jay via Tweeters Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 1:42:43 PM To: tweeters@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Subject: Lightroom Classic Hi Jim - I've used LrC for years and do extensive keywording and also rename my files. When I import images into LrC, I set the keywords to the year and location. I add species name and other keywords after the import. On a recent trip to Africa, the keywords during the import were 2024, location (Serengeti NP), Tanzania, and then I add the details such as species name after I have culled the images. I know some people who do even more extensive keywording. For the filename, I use the location and sometimes the state, e.g., Nisqually NWR_Washington, along with the capture date. After the import I will cull the images to keep my favorites, then rename the files to include the species common name, e.g., Northern Pintail_Nisqually NWR_December 17, 2024_sequence#. I also use Smart Collections where the logic is based on the keywords. The images are imported into folders but I don't search the folders after the import. E.g., I can find an image of an American Bittern taken at Ridgefield NWR in 2014 in about 10 seconds. This may be more work than some people want to do, but I enjoy the process. Hope this helps - Jay Eisenberg Bellingham, WA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 15:33:45 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Richard James via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 15:33:52 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Cameras... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On 2024-12-17 12:05 p.m., via Tweeters wrote: > Message: 7 > Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2024 07:26:51 -0800 > From: Mark Walton via Tweeters > To: TWEETERS tweeters > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] bridge camera > Message-ID: > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hello Gary, > > I've been following this discussion with great interest. I currently use a > Nikon D850 with a Tamron 150-600 mm lens. I've generally been fairly happy > with it but, as I get older, my back becomes progressively unhappy about me > walking long distances with a super-heavy camera around my neck. This > camera has lasted through > 3000 birding trips over the last several years > so I am well aware that it could die a sudden death at any time. So I've > begun to think about a replacement. Mark, the solution to the weight issue is the "Cotton Carrier", a harness that takes the weight off the neck strap. https://www.cottoncarrier.com/ I'm fine with that with a 200-500 on my D850 (120k clicks, long life ahead)! -- From an Island in the Pacific, Richard James, Victoria, BC From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 15:49:01 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Richard James via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 15:49:07 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Lightroom Keywords In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <35d36bcb-aefb-43d9-9e5c-5309b07d10d3@rjassociates.ca> On 2024-12-17 12:05 p.m., via Tweeters wrote: > Message: 11 Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2024 11:57:48 -0800 From: Jim Betz via > Tweeters To: via > Tweeters > Subject: [Tweeters] Lightroom > Classic Message-ID:<9cf0bb34-37da-4be9- > ad38-286e5148f731@jimbetz.com> Content-Type: text/plain; > charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Jim, > ? I am just learning Lightroom Classic.? LrC has a feature called > "keywords" which you can assign to the individual images and then > use later to make finding prior images both easier and quicker.? Keywords are a great tool for finding what/where/when. > ? My photos are currently in folders arranged by place and date > (month and year). Good. If you use YYYY-MM-dd + place you can easily find folders by date. It is also critical to keep a unique identifier for each image and all derivatives of it. Also, keep them all in the same folder. My identifier is Camera - prefix - serial no Camera, for example is "D85" (D850), Prefix is a 2-digit prefix as the camera will only got 9999 before recycling (many utils can do a batch rename, LR unfortunately is not flexible enough for me). And serial no is the no assigned by the camera (don't reset it). This gives for example: D85-120753 this prefixes all derivatives that have a "what I did" suffix. > And I add the bird ID to that info in my captions.? So, for example, > a recent image I worked on is captioned "Yellow-winged Cacique - > Puerto Vallarta 2022" and is in a folder called /Lumix/Puerto > Vallarta 2022/.? Would you recommend that I just keep/reuse that > same kind of hierarchy for my keywords? For keywords it is best to use a hierarchy, minimum is place and species. So: a Location might be: National Parks/Pacific Rim/Tofino and Species might be: Birds/Sandpiper/Marbelled Godwit Or Birds/Godwit/Marbelled So long as you are absolutely consistent this gives you the ability to filter by Date/Place/Species. -- From an Island in the Pacific, Richard James, Victoria, BC From tweeters at u.washington.edu Tue Dec 17 20:52:36 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Larry Schwitters via Tweeters) Date: Tue Dec 17 20:52:51 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] First ever WA State Dec. Vaux'a Message-ID: <4114F48F-7CC3-48F9-A08F-AE55A3F6E662@me.com> A couple days ago Scott Carpenter and Tara Nemesis photo documented 4 Vaux?s Swift at Ridgefield NWR. Tomorrow Will Clemons hopes to catch then using a suspected hollow roost tree. As far as eBird knows this is a first for Washington and would be only the second for Oregon. Larry Schwitters Issaquah From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 18 18:25:23 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Vicki via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 18 18:25:37 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] 11 Lesser Goldfinches today Message-ID: Hello, They were all there in a nice flock, hanging out in my crabapple tree and focusing on the sunflower seeds. Female Hairy, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, red breasted nuthatch and chestnut sided chickadees were also present. I did a swan count in my area, with only 34 swans, in one location, no one else seems to be showing up in the Enumclaw through Sumner valley, unless I missed an EBird report. Happy Holidays, Vicki Biltz Bonney Lake, WA vickibiltz@gmail.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/saw-whets_new/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 18 19:07:54 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Wayne Palsson via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 18 19:08:11 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] (no subject) Message-ID: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 19 12:23:04 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 19 12:23:08 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Snowy Owl in Whatcom? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6a49af68-5c25-4548-8017-b45a254a55fa@jimbetz.com> Hi, ? Does anybody know if the Snowy Owl is still hanging out at Sandy Point? Or if it has moved somewhere else? - Jim in Skagit From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 19 13:26:37 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (David B. Williams via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 19 13:27:08 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] crows and lawns Message-ID: <277DA2F2-6904-40C7-9905-93DEAFB0D02F@seanet.com> Greetings all. I apologize if this was previous asked and I missed the answer. I assume that people have noticed all of the lawns and green grassy areas that look roughed up, as if someone was digging in the grass looking for something. I am pretty sure it?s crows but I don?t remember this behavior being so widespread and common. Any thoughts? Thanks kindly, David Williams -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 19 14:35:36 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 19 14:35:53 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2024-12-19 Message-ID: Tweets - Ridiculously nice weather today, with temps in the high 40's and HITTING 50! High overcast, and only a little mizzle now and then. No wind or fog. How can this be the weather in late December? It was a pleasant day, with a couple of surprises. Highlights: Canvasback - Male seen out from the Lake Platform; First in over two years (FOY) Horned Grebe - Two seen from Lake Platform Four Woodpeckers - Including a heard-only Pileated Woodpecker at the Rowing Club Northern Shrike - Seen at two different locations looking across the slough MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE - Probably the same individual seen in November, high in a tree west of the mansion As I left the park, I saw our only RED-TAILED HAWK, and was able to locate the two CALIFORNIA SCRUB-JAYS that seem resident near the eastern maintenance building near the park's east entrance. Mammals were also around, including AMERICAN BEAVER and COYOTE pre-dawn, and two RIVER OTTERS seen from the Lake Platform. Misses today included Green-winged Teal, American Coot, Cooper's Hawk, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch (might have heard), and Lincoln's Sparrow. For the day, 57 species. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 19 15:16:12 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Maggie Baumann via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 19 15:16:29 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Eagles pride GC Message-ID: <19918AD1-DFD5-4543-ABA5-D95AB34141E9@mac.com> I am looking at my photos from the walk at Eagles pride and I believe I have not one, but two owls in a tree! How do I send you a photo? It?s not on the ebird list?YET! Sent from my iPhone -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 19 22:02:48 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kenneth Brown via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 19 22:03:15 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Nisqually Wednesday Message-ID: <1304066177.2433881.1734674568662@connect.xfinity.com> After the deluge. The talk in the morning was about who lost power, for how long, and how many inches of rain fell at my house last night. (generally 3" or so) Ellen told of arriving when it was still dark seeing a Barred Owl illuminated by her headlights in the middle of the entrance road. She went to the Twin Barn Overlook and was soon met there by Ed and two Barn Owls, in that order. Only a few Mallards showed on the Visitor Center Pond as we congregated to begin. In the south parking lot we found a Downy Woodpecker, creepers, a couple Dark-eyed Juncos, both Kinglet species, and Black-capped Chickadees. A stream of Crows flew westerly overhead, singly, in pairs, and larger groups but constantly crossing the sky above. The play area, the orchard, and side road to the Maintenance compound were unusually quiet. A few typical ducks and a pair of Wilson's Snipe underpopulated the two ponds in the flooded fields south of the service road and we wondered where the birds were. We found them in the ponds west of the service road. Hundreds of Cackling Geese shared space with Mallards, American Wigeon and a Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, a few Buffleheads, a couple Gadwall, and a single male Ring-necked Duck. In addition to the waterfowl were a few American Coots and several Great Blue Herons. Thirty plus Greater Yellow legs clustered on the south edge of the pond and a few Long billed Dowitchers mingled with the ducks in the middle. The shorebirds were likely in this freshwater environment because the 15 foot tide left them no saltwater mud to feed in. A Northern Harrier made low passes over the swampy ground and a Red-tailed Hawk crossed over the field and the road to perch in a fir tree on the east side of the Visitor Center pond. Golden-Crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Brown Creepers, Spotted Towhees, Black-capped Chickadees, Pacific, Marsh, and Bewick's Wrens, all made their presence known along the west side of the loop trail. At the Twin Barns observation platform among the ducks a few more Long-billed Dowitchers were found. House Sparrows flew into the Blackberry bramble and looking north over the bramble, in short bare trees just north of the dike road, we saw Western Meadowlarks, their black triangular bibs contrasting with bright yellow breasts. Here we departed from our usual routine. Eric having left the group to finish the loop trail, called to ask for someone with a scope to meet him on the east side of the loop. He had another Owl. We converged on Eric and were directed to a difficult obstructed view of a Great-horned Owl. When asked how he was able to spot the bird Eric said he was lucky. He gets "lucky" pretty often. Lincoln's, Gold-crowned and White-crowned Sparrows were found in the brush out along the dike. A couple Northern Harriers worked the grasses on both sides, Red-winged Blackbirds and Marsh Wrens, a calling Virginia Rail a couple Hooded Mergansers were on the freshwater side. Four continuing Snow Geese and couple dozen Greater White-fronted Geese waddled on the dike. Hundreds of ducks ignored the flocks of Dunlin, with a few Western and Least Sandpipers on the salt water side. Out on the estuary boardwalk, the tide had dropped to mid level. Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoters, American Wigeon and another Eurasian Wigeon (drake) steered away from the Sea Lions and Harbor Seals feeding on Chum Salmon. A Spotted Sandpiper and several more Greater Yellowlegs worked the waters edge. From the north end we saw Red-breasted Mergansers, Surf Scoters, Bufflehead, Common Loons, a Horned Grebe, Brant and Double-crested Cormorants, and a Peregrine Falcon perched in one of the skeletal remnants of a willow along the old outer dike location. At the Nisqually River overlook another Sea lion was feeding on Salmon, a few Common Goldeneye were at the bend in the river, a Double-crested Cormorant on a snag in the water dried its wings in the air. Walking south along the east side of the loop trail we relocated the Great Horned Owl. Reaching Owl saturation, we complete the loop and the penultimate 2024 Wednesday walk. See the complete checklist as follows: Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Dec 18, 2024 8:00 AM - 4:09 PM Protocol: Traveling 5.83 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. High clouds in the morning soon gave way to clear skies for most of the walk, although a light rain shower came through at 2:30 p.m. Temperatures ranged from 49-54? F, with a light 0-8 knot southerly breeze. There was a +15.18-foot high tide at 8:38 a.m., ebbing to a +7.89-foot low water at 2:24 p.m. Mammals seen included eastern grey squirrel, Columbian black-tailed deer, Harbor seals in the estuary and the River, and a several California Sea Lions foraging on winter chum salmon in McAllister Creek and the River. 65 species (+4 other taxa) Snow Goose 4 continuing adult with 3 immature birds Greater White-fronted Goose 28 Cackling Goose (minima) 1150 Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 35 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 40 Northern Shoveler 70 Gadwall 22 Eurasian Wigeon 3 Three drakes seen; surely there must be females in the flocks American Wigeon 1175 Mallard 175 Northern Pintail 415 Green-winged Teal 675 Ring-necked Duck 1 Surf Scoter 65 Bufflehead 110 Common Goldeneye 70 Hooded Merganser 4 Red-breasted Merganser 85 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 48 Virginia Rail 1 Vocalizing from cattail marsh American Coot 34 Long-billed Dowitcher 11 Wilson's Snipe 3 Spotted Sandpiper 2 West bank of McAllister Creek Greater Yellowlegs 45 Dunlin 450 Least Sandpiper 36 Western Sandpiper 7 * Flagged for high count. Continuing with Dunlin flocks; these 7 were counted in a flock of 185 Dunlin Short-billed Gull 120 Ring-billed Gull 45 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 5 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 12 Larus sp. 225 Too far out on reach to identify accurately Horned Grebe 1 Common Loon 3 Seen from north end of estuary boardwalk in Nisqually Reach Brandt's Cormorant 11 Nisqually Reach channel marker Double-crested Cormorant 6 Great Blue Heron 22 Northern Harrier 3 Bald Eagle 18 Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 1 Adult American Barn Owl 2 Twin Barns at 7:15 a m Great Horned Owl 1 Found by Eric just west of the "Beaver Deceiver" Barred Owl 1 Near Visitors' Centre at 6:50 a m Belted Kingfisher 3 Two along McAllister Creek; one on Nisqually River Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2 One male, one female Northern Flicker 2 Peregrine Falcon 1 American Crow 215 Black-capped Chickadee 15 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 17 Golden-crowned Kinglet 16 Brown Creeper 5 Pacific Wren 3 Marsh Wren 4 Bewick's Wren 6 European Starling 25 American Robin 13 House Finch 4 Twin Barns overlook Purple Finch 2 Feeding in Crab-apple along north dike Pine Siskin 105 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 2 White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 2 Golden-crowned Sparrow 24 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 14 Lincoln's Sparrow 3 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4 Western Meadowlark 8 Red-winged Blackbird 12 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S205900858 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 20 07:30:13 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Constance Sidles via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 20 07:30:28 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] crows and lawns In-Reply-To: <277DA2F2-6904-40C7-9905-93DEAFB0D02F@seanet.com> References: <277DA2F2-6904-40C7-9905-93DEAFB0D02F@seanet.com> Message-ID: <04FC7754-E825-42A2-ABD4-5E865EB704E9@gmail.com> Hey tweets, in answer to David's question, the lawn chews are most probably being caused by an invasive beetle, the European chafer beetle. The larvae feed on grass roots underground, loosening divots of grass clumps. The crows then move in and turn over the loose divots to eat the beetle larvae. So the crows are helping, not hurting! What surprises me is the sheer immensity of the beetles' activity. At Montlake Fill, large areas of the IMA fields are torn up. There must be thousands of beetle grubs at work. We need more hungry crows, and what about the gulls? They should get busy too. - Connie, Seattle > On Dec 19, 2024, at 1:26?PM, David B. Williams via Tweeters wrote: > > Greetings all. I apologize if this was previous asked and I missed the answer. > > I assume that people have noticed all of the lawns and green grassy areas that look roughed up, as if someone was digging in the grass looking for something. I am pretty sure it?s crows but I don?t remember this behavior being so widespread and common. > > Any thoughts? > > Thanks kindly, > David Williams > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 20 13:24:31 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kenneth Brown via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 20 13:24:56 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Eagle's Pride walk Message-ID: <740328843.2447919.1734729871281@connect.xfinity.com> A dozen of us met up at the driving range shed without Denis DeSilvis, the founder and leader of this monthly walk. Hopefully he is finding Australia as fascinating as it seems from afar. Here it was overcast but warm, for mid-December, almost the Winter Solstice. The sun broke through, the walk was beautiful and the company enjoyable. The most numerous species was Pine Siskin. Varied Thrush were seen and heard throughout the walk. A pair of Bald Eagles flew south over us, a bit unusual for this walk, despite the place name. More California Scrub-jays than usual were making a racket along the northern perimeter road, we searched but never found the object of their agitation. Our most obvious misses, beside Denis, were: no Red-tailed Hawk, no warblers of any kind, no Hummingbird, no Pied-billed Grebe on Hodges Lake. We hope for better luck in the new year, next month. See the checklist below. Eagles Pride GC, Pierce, Washington, US Dec 19, 2024 8:48 AM - 12:07 PM Protocol: Traveling 3.2 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Monthly Bird Walk on Third Thursday. Overcast and 47? at the start, with sun breaks and 50? F at the end. 29 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose 1 American Wigeon 7 Mallard 24 Bufflehead 8 Mourning Dove 2 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 1 Bald Eagle 2 Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker 3 Steller's Jay (Coastal) 7 California Scrub-Jay 5 American Crow 30 Common Raven 5 Black-capped Chickadee 2 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 16 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 22 Red-breasted Nuthatch 16 Brown Creeper 1 Pacific Wren 4 Varied Thrush 15 American Robin 17 Red Crossbill 13 Pine Siskin 115 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 3 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 22 Golden-crowned Sparrow 2 Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 5 Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4 Red-winged Blackbird 3 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S205944577 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 20 15:51:03 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 20 15:51:36 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Does weather influence bird behavior? Message-ID: Since Tweeters is the source of much reliable information, I wonder if there are any studies suggesting weather prediction in birds. I ask because the last couple big storms that have been predicted for the Puget Sound/Seattle area seem to have been preceded by serious, somewhat frenzied, feeding behavior from my local birds: D-E Juncos, Y-R Warblers, Bushtits, Am Goldfinches, Pine Siskins. Both the suet and seed feeders have hosted jostling, rowdy bird crowds. Are they sensing barometric pressure changes? Other weather change markers? Or is it just me anthropomorphizing? Conflating correlation with causation? On to the Solstice-- Carol Stoner West Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 20 20:03:04 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dee Dee via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 20 20:03:40 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] crows and lawns References: <1B1CBC5C-B840-4F06-8076-5E63864B3397.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1B1CBC5C-B840-4F06-8076-5E63864B3397@yahoo.com> Our yard has evolved over the last 10 years from primarily grass and moss, to become it?s own eclectic mix of grass, moss, clovers, and what-have-you. This is no doubt aided by the wind, as well as contributions by passing birds and other critters. We don?t treat the yard with anything and figured some of its bad areas, many of which were there when we bought the house 15 years ago, were due to damage by larvae of cranefly, 10-lined June beetle, and others. During the day we of course observed excavation-foraging by different bird species, and when I had to occasionally tamp dirt and grass back into place in the lawn, I assumed birds were making the holes. It wasn?t until we installed exterior Ring cameras that we discovered that raccoons are frequent, methodical and focused excavators in our lawn, and not always quartering the yard singly. So now I know that a good number of the torn up spots are their work. Since we some years ago embraced the concept of our backyard as a more diverse ecosystem rather than just a lawn, we enjoy reviewing video clips in the morning to see who happened to be foraging in the yard overnight?besides the blasted rabbits?. The main point behind all the narrative being, to keep in mind that crows, flickers, and robins, etc. aren?t the only ones who can create surprisingly large and numerous holes in one?s yard and garden. Dee Warnock Edmonds From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 20 20:47:48 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 20 20:48:16 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] 50 best photos of 2024 Message-ID: <000801db5363$7cfacac0$76f06040$@comcast.net> Hello Tweeters, For several years I have shared an end-of-the-year album on Flickr with our year's best Washington bird photos. This usually ran to over 100 photos. For this year's retrospective I decided to limit myself to just 50 photos that I thought were reasonably good quality and possibly had some artistic merit. So that's what is in the Flickr link below. The photos are all Washington state birds, from all over the place, but a surprising number from our back yard. They are not in taxonomic order, but sort of grouped by type of bird. I wish you all a restful holiday season and an excellent New Year. https://www.flickr.com/photos/29258421@N07/albums/72177720322723414 Charlotte Byers, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 20 22:01:54 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Lee Jaszlics via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 20 22:02:11 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] crows and lawns In-Reply-To: <04FC7754-E825-42A2-ABD4-5E865EB704E9@gmail.com> References: <277DA2F2-6904-40C7-9905-93DEAFB0D02F@seanet.com> <04FC7754-E825-42A2-ABD4-5E865EB704E9@gmail.com> Message-ID: They're probably going after European chafer beetle grubs. The beetle is newly introduced, spreading fast, and apparently delicious. On Fri, 20 Dec 2024, 07:31 Constance Sidles via Tweeters, < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hey tweets, in answer to David's question, the lawn chews are most > probably being caused by an invasive beetle, the European chafer beetle. > The larvae feed on grass roots underground, loosening divots of grass > clumps. The crows then move in and turn over the loose divots to eat the > beetle larvae. So the crows are helping, not hurting! What surprises me is > the sheer immensity of the beetles' activity. At Montlake Fill, large areas > of the IMA fields are torn up. There must be thousands of beetle grubs at > work. We need more hungry crows, and what about the gulls? They should get > busy too. - Connie, Seattle > > On Dec 19, 2024, at 1:26?PM, David B. Williams via Tweeters < > tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > > Greetings all. I apologize if this was previous asked and I missed the > answer. > > I assume that people have noticed all of the lawns and green grassy areas > that look roughed up, as if someone was digging in the grass looking for > something. I am pretty sure it?s crows but I don?t remember this behavior > being so widespread and common. > > Any thoughts? > > Thanks kindly, > David Williams > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Dec 21 14:02:26 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Sat Dec 21 14:02:30 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?b?Q2Fu4oCZdCB0b3AgdGhpczog4oCcQW4gb3dsIGNhbWUg?= =?utf-8?q?down_a_family=27s_chimney_and_perched_on_their_Christmas_tree?= =?utf-8?q?=3A_See_the_video_-_CBS_News=E2=80=9D?= Message-ID: <7B06DFD6-E1CD-4665-B297-9580734F59BE@gmail.com> https://www.cbsnews.com/news/barred-owl-chimney-christmas-tree-video-virginia/ Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 22 09:36:43 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Steve Hampton via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 22 09:36:57 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Port Townsend CBC Summary Message-ID: The 47th Port Townsend Christmas Bird Count, held on December 14, 2024, came in howling. A front moved through at dawn, producing gusts of 60 mph, though rain quickly turned to sunshine. The winds didn?t relax until after noon, making birding difficult. The boat was cancelled, owling was nearly impossible, and many birds were difficult to locate. Nevertheless, the count ended up with 124 species, just one shy of last year?s all-time high. Moreover, participation was through the roof, with 104 participants, a number that includes an amazing 22 feeder watchers. The previous high was 78 participants, set last year. The field teams put in 140 party hours, second only to last year. We added two new species for the count: the continuing Rough-legged Hawk just north of Short Farm, and a Short-tailed Shearwater, picked out by Bob Boekelheide during a brave two-hour seawatch from Pt Wilson as the front moved through. Brian Ellis negotiated limited access to Indian Island, which yielded two Yellow-billed Loons (sorry, not chaseable). Other highlights included the continuing Rock Sandpiper at Flagler, two Western Meadowlarks at Pt Wilson, and two Orange-crowned Warblers and 10 Townsend?s Warblers (both tying high counts), reported from multiple teams. California Scrub-Jays were reported from three different parties, a new high. With no freezing temps along the water yet this winter, berries were plentiful. The 183 waxwings (an undercount based on what I'm seeing out my window right now as I type) was the 2nd highest ever. In addition to the 124 species, we just missed five more: Western Sandpiper, Barn Owl, Peregrine Falcon, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and Canada Jay. These will go down as ?count week? birds, as they were seen within three days of the count in either direction. Record high counts were set for 7 species. These were: Canada Goose (583 > 520) Mourning Dove (143 > 141) Black-capped Chickadee (282 > 259 last year) Red-breasted Nuthatch (122 > 96 last year) Brown Creeper (24 > 19) Savannah Sparrow (6 > 5) Purple Finch (77 > 67) The feeder watchers provided the margin of difference for the chickadee, nuthatch, and finch. Several species tied previous high counts: Yellow-billed Loon (2), Sharp-shinned Hawk (7, matching last year), Rock Sandpiper (1), Great-horned Owl (2), Orange-crowned Warbler (2), and Townsend?s Warbler (10). There were no record low counts, though many were below average ? and even more so when adjusted to birds per party hour. Remarkably, given the weather, there were no notable misses. We also capped the day with the return of the Compilation Potluck, where we all added Great-horned Owl, which was hooting behind building! Thanks to all the area leaders and participants! In 2025, we hope to add more opportunities for part-day routes. -- Steve Hampton Port Townsend, WA (qat?y) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 22 15:10:18 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Scott Atkinson via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 22 15:10:23 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Everett-Marysville CBC next Saturday (Dec. 28th) seeks experienced observer(s), sea-watch and Hat Island Message-ID: Tweeters: The Everett-Marysville CBC is next Saturday, and we just had a last-minute cancellation of the lead pair of birders and seek someone experienced to undertake open salt-water coverage in route and then on-foot island coverage of Hat Island. The 32' motorized sailboat, the Isola, leaves close to dawn next Saturday from the North Everett marina, running from the north Everett marina out to Hat Island; there is a quick drop-off at Jetty I. and then onto Hat, the boat trip takes about 30 min or so (5 miles). There, a very friendly group of islanders awaits, eager to help us out and even let us use the golf course clubhouse for lunch. We've only been doing regular on-foot coverage for about 5 years, and thus far the island appears to be very good for upland birds, with Conwell Park, the south end loop road, and other spots being noteworthy. We will have about 4-5 hours to cover the island; there is enough for two parties, but we've done it with one as well. We are considering a circular survey route on Possession Sound?either after the Hat Island drop-off or before it--heading northwest toward the south tip of Camano and then east back towards Jetty I., before coming back to Hat. Last year this proved productive. Please let me know as soon as possible if interested. First come, first served. By the way, this is our 50th Anniversary Count?50 years to the day since we began this CBC. Scott Atkinson, Compiler Everett-Marysville CBC scottratkinson@hotmail.com (425) 210-2716 M -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 22 17:03:22 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jon Houghton via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 22 17:03:27 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Drama on the Dock Message-ID: <1137983364.1194194.1734915802431@connect.xfinity.com> Hi Tweets - Last week we witnessed an interesting look at how nature and Bald Eagles work. We were on the end of the Edmonds fishing pier watching an adult eagle make repeated low passes at a specific point in the water, extending its legs and talons into the water at the nadir of each pass. On about the fourth pass, we noticed a quick appearance at the surface by Red-necked Grebe which had been the target all along, unseen by us, but obviously seen by the eagle each time it approached the surface for a breath. On that last pass, the eagle nailed it and held it underwater, with the eagle's body about half underwater itself. The eagle then did a breast stroke, using its wings in a rotating motion, to drag its still unseen prey to the breakwater where he hauled it out and devoured it. I've seen eagles do this before when they capture a salmon too large to fly with. Happy Birding! Jon Houghton, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 22 18:41:53 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jon Houghton via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 22 18:41:58 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Okanogan trip, Dec. 19 - 21 (long) Message-ID: <13008919.1195666.1734921713603@connect.xfinity.com> Hi Tweets - This week we made our traditional December trip through the Waterville Plateau to Omak, and the Okanogan Highlands in a final effort to boost my meager Washington list for the year. There was some good news and some less good news. Stevens Pass was bare and wet so driving was easy and scenery was nice with pretty complete, though thin snow cover all the way to Omak. We started with a brief stop at Debbie S's feeders in Cashmere where I hoped to catch a glimpse of the Evening Grosbeak she'd reported. No luck. Heading up Badger Mt., we saw just two Horned Larks, and going over the mountain and down the Waterville side - pretty much nothing. The house with many feeders on Route 2 in Waterville seems to have changed hands with a new fenced yard and no feeders. East of town along Rt. 2 there were the usual flocks of larks but none the birds we could get in the bins were anything different. We went into Moses Coulee about a mile and played a lot of Canyon Wren calls near good looking rock scree slopes w/o response. We turned north on H Rd up to 1st and turned east through areas where past winters have had Gray Partridge and Snowy Owls. None of them, but we did find a nicely perched up Prairie Falcon. Nothing much around Atkins Lake. Heritage/Woods Rd north was untracked so we went east on Rt. 2 to 17 north to Simms Corner and then west on 172 towards Mansfield. Ravens, magpies, an occasional Rough-legged Hawk and lots of larks were there. Approaching Mansfield, a large lark flock stayed on the road in front of us long enough to pick out one lone Snow Bunting; finally, a FOY! The trip down Bridgeport Hill Rd was, as expected, bleak and mostly bird free since the big fire took our all the good grouse habitat. We skipped Bridgeport SP owling since I had just seen a Saw-whet in the Everett CBC. There were NO birds in the orchard at the jct of Rt 17 and 97 where Bohemian Waxwings have been seen in previous years. That ended Day 1. Side note: Rancho Chico in Omak is closed indefinitely for a reported health violation. We (and the WOS trips) always enjoyed our meals there so hope they'll be back in biz soon! The next day we headed north to Tonasket and up Havilla Rd. to Fancher Rd. A Golden Eagle was perched in the usual place on the cliff side. There were no Chukar down at the farm but they were heard on the hillside above. We then circled back down past the stock yards (many Mallards) to Siwash Cr. Rd. The hills around Siwash canyon had minimal snow with bare spots under most of the sage so we had little hope for Sharp-tailed Grouse and there were none to be seen in the creek-side shrubs all the way up. Chickadees (2 spp.) and Red-breasted Nuthatches responded to most of my Pygmy Owl tooting, along with one flock of Red Crossbills. That was pretty much the case all the way up and over No, Siwash to Havilla Rd. At one area of large ponderosa with some good snags, Merlin picked up all three spp. of nuthatches but we still only saw Red-breasted. At that place we had a great scene of a Pileated WP and a White-headed WP in the same tree. We had a very unbirdy trip up Havilla Rd. to Nealy Rd. (one RLHA - better than last January!) and along (foggy, 28 degree) Nealy to the feeders which were bird free as far as we could tell from the road. Few birds (ravens, magpies) from there to Chesaw for hot lunch at the Chesaw Tav. (rumor is it may be sold!). Not many birds around Chesaw, out Bolster Rd., or up to the Chesaw Cemetery. A couple of flocks of Pine Siskins did not seem to include any redpolls. After lunch, in cold (28 degree) light rain, we headed up Mary Ann Creek Rd. where we found a No. Shrike and No. Pygmy Owl, each on the top of a tall tree, higher than we've ever seen either species (!?). Nothing new or very exciting to be seen in Molson although we didn't go all the way to the lake. We then went back east on Chesaw Rd to Havilla Rd., and back to the Sno Park without any new birds (4 Rough-legs in the Highlands for the day - much better than last January). We hit the Sno Park at early dusk, perfect time for Great Grays to be out and about - alas, no repeat of our great encounters there in past years. Also, we saw no owls on poles or rock piles all the way back to Tonasket. - No FOYs for the day (even a Pygmy Nuthatch would have been a FOY!). Day 3 dawned foggy and cool (28 degrees) in Omak with ice on the car and pavement in the parking lot. We skipped our usual trip up to Conconully, and went straight to Cameron Lake Rd. We ascended up out of the fog but into light, cold (30 degree) rain on the Cameron Lake Loop Rd. Again, no Pygmy Nuthatch (or any other birds) could be found in the few ponderosa that escaped the inferno of 2 years ago. No birds were seen in the 4-5 miles to the place, about 1/2 mi. north of Timentwa Rd., where the only reliable flowing water crosses the road. Wetlands up and downstream of the road were almost totally burned in the fire but their skeletons, and cattails continue to provide wintering habitat for a few Song Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows. On Timentwa Road, at the first farm (house burned, family now in a trailer), we hit the jackpot with several flocks of Gray Partridge (FOY!) at various locations among the cattle, taking advantage of the forage provided for and by the cattle. Very large flocks of larks were also present but, again, none of the hundreds of Snow Buntings we used to see here. That's about it...many more larks along the rest of Cameron Lk Rd. but the only unusual bird was a lone Bald Eagle, a long way from the river. Anyway, sorry about the length above, but hope this may aid in your decisions about heading up there. The scenery is always worth the trip for this snow-starved West-Sider but I think some more winter-like weather with some greater snow cover is needed to make for a more memorable birding trip, especially to get those chickens down where we can see them! Happy Birding AND Happy Holidays and New Year. - Jon Houghton, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 22 21:15:45 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 22 21:16:00 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Drama on the Dock In-Reply-To: <1137983364.1194194.1734915802431@connect.xfinity.com> References: <1137983364.1194194.1734915802431@connect.xfinity.com> Message-ID: We once watched an adult Bald Eagle at the park just north of Steilacoom trying to to catch a female Common Goldeneye. Whenever the eagle swooped in for the kill, the goldeneye would dive. Unfortunately she would always surface within a small circle and the eagle knew this and was right on her. If she would have only resurfaced with some distance, the eagle would have not known where to attack next. The duck eventually tired and stayed on the surface a little too long and the eagle got her. Here again the eagle was unable to lift off the water with it?s prey and ended up ?rowing? with a lot of wing flapping about a 100 yards to shore where it started plucking the hard earned lunch. *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA thefedderns@gmail.com On Sun, Dec 22, 2024 at 5:03?PM Jon Houghton via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hi Tweets - Last week we witnessed an interesting look at how nature and > Bald Eagles work. We were on the end of the Edmonds fishing pier watching > an adult eagle make repeated low passes at a specific point in the water, > extending its legs and talons into the water at the nadir of each pass. On > about the fourth pass, we noticed a quick appearance at the surface by > Red-necked Grebe which had been the target all along, unseen by us, but > obviously seen by the eagle each time it approached the surface for a > breath. On that last pass, the eagle nailed it and held it underwater, with > the eagle's body about half underwater itself. The eagle then did a breast > stroke, using its wings in a rotating motion, to drag its still unseen prey > to the breakwater where he hauled it out and devoured it. I've seen eagles > do this before when they capture a salmon too large to fly with. Happy > Birding! > > 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 tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 22 22:23:55 2024 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Greg via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 22 22:24:10 2024 Subject: [Tweeters] Drama on the Dock In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: