From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 1 14:49:05 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Martha Jordan via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 1 14:49:35 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Mid-winter Swan Survey volunteers needed Message-ID: The Mid-winter swan survey, conducted each year by WDFW, is needing more volunteers on various count days. I am coordinating Snohomish and King counties, and part of Skagit County. As an observer you will need to know swan identification and age (adult vs juvenile, although not all swans will be able to be sorted to species if they are far off in the field. There is information on swan ID on the web as well as in various books. Resources given below. Contact Martha Jordan 206-713-3684 (text or phone) for more info or to sign-up or if you have questions. The official count dates are (assuming no snow or ice): Yes, these are weekdays. Whatcom County Mon Jan 12 Skagit County Tues Jan 13 Snohomish County-north Wed Jan 14 Snohomish County-south Thurs Jan 15 King County Fri Jan 16 Swan ID video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCPLAPy5JeQ Swan ID on web: https://nwswans.org/swan-identification/ You can print out a Swan ID brochure to take with you in the field. It is an enjoyable day out and you never know what you will see besides swans. Thanks. Martha Jordan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 1 15:29:15 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (mark girling via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 1 15:29:31 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Birch Bay report References: <203843973.2320857.1764631755575.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <203843973.2320857.1764631755575@mail.yahoo.com> This weekend it's all been about Common Goldeneyes. Good numbers have moved into the Bay.White-winged Scoters still seem to be the largest Scoter numbers.?A lone Western Grebe was spotted by the Park boat launch.Harlequin ducks still in good numbers. Common Loons interspersed amongst the flocks.?Terrell Creek has a mix of Mallards and American Wigeon but a lone Eurasian Wigeon was amongst a small group in the Creek behind the Cabana Club Condos. Hooded Mergansers and Buffleheads could also be seen.Semiahmoo Spit was where the Surf Scoters could be found. And a mix of White-winged and Black Scoters scattered in the mix. Drayton Harbour side saw a Red-throated Loon.CBC will be here before long and there's alot to count. I'll keep my eyes peeled for something rare. markgirling@yahoo.com? Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 1 20:53:22 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 1 20:53:28 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Moses Lake Test CBC Message-ID: <1764651202.d9xhawks8w888kc8@webmail.sitestar.net> Folks, We are abandoning the effort to restart the Moses Lake area CBC. NAS requires a minimum of 10 participants and that isn't going to happen. This time of year people need to make plans and I don't want to keep this going on a hope that 5-6 people pop up at the last second. Maybe we'll try again next year Cheers Doug -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 1 22:39:29 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Eric Ellingson via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 1 22:39:53 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Action. Common Mergansers eating Kokanee salmon Message-ID: Tis the season for the Kokanee to be spawning up small streams from lakes just like their relatives, Sockeye salmon. Kokanee and sockeye salmon are the same species, but kokanee never make the journey to the ocean. They spend their entire lives in lakes, migrating to tributary streams to spawn in the fall. What does this have to do with birds? The Kokanee get eaten by Common Mergansers, Bald Eagles, Gulls, and their eggs get eaten by Bufflehead and American Dippers. As the Kokanee concentrate in shallow waters they can easily become prey to many others. Like other birds that catch & eat fish, the fish needs to go down the throat head first. So the real action begins after a merganser catches one & brings it to the surface. Gulls & other mergansers will chase it trying to steal the food out of their mouth. So if they grab it by the tail, they have to maneuver it around to get it in its mouth going head first before it is stolen or dropped. I've seen both happen. Here are a few shots of them in my online album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ericellingson/ FYI: These birds are VERY skittish. The slightest disturbance and especially one's presence sends them rapidly flying off. It can take 30-60 minutes for them to return IF they feel the coast is clear. I hope you enjoy these. Many hours were spent sitting low on the ground out of sight waiting for them to return, then a couple hours to catch the action. More later. Cheers Eric Ellingson 360-820-6396 esellingson@gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 1 23:04:09 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Alan Roedell via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 1 23:04:22 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Action. Common Mergansers eating Kokanee salmon In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Wow! Great photos and videos! On Mon, Dec 1, 2025, 10:40?PM Eric Ellingson via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Tis the season for the Kokanee to be spawning up small streams from lakes > just like their relatives, Sockeye salmon. Kokanee and sockeye salmon are > the same species, but kokanee never make the journey to the ocean. They > spend their entire lives in lakes, migrating to tributary streams to spawn > in the fall. What does this have to do with birds? The Kokanee get eaten by > Common Mergansers, Bald Eagles, Gulls, and their eggs get eaten by > Bufflehead and American Dippers. As the Kokanee concentrate in shallow > waters they can easily become prey to many others. > > Like other birds that catch & eat fish, the fish needs to go down the > throat head first. So the real action begins after a merganser catches one > & brings it to the surface. Gulls & other mergansers will chase it trying > to steal the food out of their mouth. So if they grab it by the tail, they > have to maneuver it around to get it in its mouth going head first before > it is stolen or dropped. I've seen both happen. > > Here are a few shots of them in my online album: > https://www.flickr.com/photos/ericellingson/ > > FYI: These birds are VERY skittish. The slightest disturbance and > especially one's presence sends them rapidly flying off. It can take 30-60 > minutes for them to return IF they feel the coast is clear. I hope you > enjoy these. Many hours were spent sitting low on the ground out of sight > waiting for them to return, then a couple hours to catch the action. More > later. Cheers > > Eric Ellingson > > 360-820-6396 > esellingson@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 Wed Dec 3 04:23:04 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dan Reiff via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 3 04:23:08 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] =?utf-8?q?FORBES=3A_She=E2=80=99s_Back!_Wisdom_The_Inc?= =?utf-8?q?redible_Laysan_Albatross_Has_Returned?= Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Wed Dec 3 11:34:47 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diann MacRae via Tweeters) Date: Wed Dec 3 11:34:50 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] TUVU reports Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 4 10:20:55 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (byers345@comcast.net via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 4 10:21:26 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Off topic--trip to Chiapas, Mexico Message-ID: Hello Tweeters, ????A while back I noticed a birding tour to Chiapas, Mexico was being offered. I'd always wanted to visit Chiapas?it's an epicenter of marimba playing, for instance?so Bill and I signed up. We finally did the tour last month and were not disappointed. Aside from the beauty of the area, and the friendliness of everyone we encountered, Chiapas is also close to Guatemala. So Chiapas gets quite a few birds that also occur in Guatemala and farther south. But a number of these birds, particularly those that live at higher altitudes, don't make it farther north in Mexico. This is because of a geographical feature known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a lowland that extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, preventing the higher altitude birds from moving north. ????I had a longish list of birds I was hoping to see in Chiapas. I didn't see them all and we didn't get photographs of all the ones we did see, but the opportunities for taking reasonable photos were fairly good. The link below takes you to the Flickr album with our Chiapas pictures. These are mostly birds with a sprinkling of other subjects. https://www.flickr.com/photos/29258421@N07/albums/72177720330701722 ????I hope you enjoy them. Charlotte Byers, Edmonds -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 4 11:20:08 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Shep Thorp via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 4 11:20:24 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 12/3/2025 Message-ID: Dear Tweets, The Refuge delivers again another wonderful day of Autumn Birding as approximately 25 of us enjoyed a dry but cold and cloudy day with temperatures in the 40's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a high Low 7'7" Tide at 9:48am and a High 14'10" Tide at 2:52pm. Highlights included BARN OWL seen from the Twin Barns Overlook, RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in a Pear Tree between the Technician Building and Maintenance Road just east of the Orchard; WILSON'S SNIPE roosting in the flooded field just west of the west side parking lot; NORTHERN SHRIKE perched above the BALD EAGLE nest next to the Twin Barns (currently being renovated by a bonded pair of Bald Eagle); BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER on the mudflats just north of the dike (Nisqually Estuary Trail) and west of Leschi Slough; continuing YELLOW-SHAFTED NORTHERN FLICKER where Leschi Slough runs parallel to the dike; two EURASIAN WIGEON among the 2,000-3,000 AMERICAN WIGEON visible on a high tide; PIGEON GUILLEMOT scoped from the closure gate at the end of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail off Luhr Beach; two First of Year CANVASBACK Ducks seen swimming in flooded mudflats just north of the dike and west of Leschi Slough on the High Tide; and relocated WHITE-THROATED SPARROW on the south side of the dike, just east of the Leschi Slough Aqueduct under the dike, along the Bramble and young Riparian Stand between the slough and the dike. For the day, we observed 74 species. With FOY Canvasback, we now have seen 179 species this year. Please see our eBird Report pasted below with additional details and photos. Other fun sightings included Eastern Gray Squirrel, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Harbor Seal, California Sea Lion in McAllister Creek, numerous Steller Sea Lions on the wreck off McNeil Street Trail/Dupont, and two Muskrats from the Visitor Center Pond Overlook in the afternoon. Map of Refuge: https://wos.org/documents/Birding%20Resources/NisquallyMap2014.pdf Note Leschi Slough is the largest slough on the Refuge and runs from the Twin Barns, under the dike via an aqueduct, and straight out the middle of the Refuge. The tidal area between Leschi Slough and the Nisqually River just north of the dike or Nisqually Estuary Trail is known as the 'Surge Plain', the tidal area between Leschi Slough and the McAllister Creek just north of the dike and on the inside of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail is known as the Mudflats. There are three additional sloughs on the Refuge, the second largest is Shannon Slough which starts along the Entrance Road and empties into McAllister Creek at their confluence just adjacent to the McAllister Creek/Medicine Creek Viewing Platform. Just east of the Puget Sound Viewing Platform is a 'mud box' where the old 5 mile loop dike was originally breached, and east of that between the Platform and Leschi Slough is a smaller 'Madrone Slough'. Between Leschi Slough and the Mouth of the Nisqually River is another small slough known as 'Animal or Six Gill Slough' which proceeds south to the area of the old 'ring dike' when the 5 mile dike still existed. Many have speculated that the Nisqually River may breach the old ring dike area and run into the Animal or Six Gill Slough in the future. The Access Road or Maintenance Road runs from across the Orchard out to the Twin Barns. There are three flooded fields along the Access Road: 1) one between the Access Road and the Entrance Road, 2) another on the south side of the old McAllister Creek Access Road, and 3) a third between the old McAllister Creek Access Road and the Twin Barns. The old McAllister Creek Access Road travels between the closure gate along the Access Road and joins up with the new dike south of the Green Closure Gate at the end of the Nisqually Estuary Trail. Finally, I'll be away for the remainder of December. I'm headed to Tanzania for some African Birding, and should return at the beginning of January. Ken Brown, Pet Kilburn, Jim Pruske, Ed Beck, Rob Chrisler and an excellent group of regular attenders will continue the Wednesday Walk while I'm away. I hope everyone has a nice December and Happy Holidays. Be well, and happy birding. Shep -- Shep Thorp Browns Point 253-370-3742 Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US Dec 3, 2025 7:42 AM - 4:22 PM Protocol: Traveling 2.886 mile(s) Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Cloudy with temperatures in the 40?s degrees Fahrenheit. A high Low 7?7? Tide at 9:48am and a High 14?10? Tide at 2:52pm. Others seen Eastern Gray Squirrel, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Harbor Seal, California Sea Lion, Steller Sea Lion, and Muskrat. 74 species (+8 other taxa) Cackling Goose (minima) 500 Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 10 Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 23 Trumpeter/Tundra Swan 2 Spotted by Anders flying over the Refuge and headed south. Northern Shoveler 60 Gadwall 25 Eurasian Wigeon 2 One spotted by Nathanael from the Observation Tower in the southwest corner of the flooded mudflats along Shannon Slough. The other spotted by Jon north of the dike just west of Leschi Slough. American Wigeon 2500 Mallard 150 Northern Pintail 500 Green-winged Teal (American) 2000 Canvasback 2 Great find by Tom, male and female, mingling with dabbling ducks north of dike and west of Leschi Slough. Ring-necked Duck 2 Visitor Center Pond. Surf Scoter 15 White-winged Scoter 10 Bufflehead 100 Common Goldeneye 30 Common Merganser 2 One spotted by Laurie in McAllister Creek, the other spotted by Jim in Nisqually River. Red-breasted Merganser 12 Mouth of McAllister Creek. Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 45 Anna's Hummingbird 1 Orchard. Virginia Rail 1 Heard only in afternoon south of dike in freshwater marsh. American Coot 10 Black-bellied Plover 1 Mudflats just north of dike west of Leschi Slough. Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher 4 Fly over with no vocalization. Most likely LBDO. Wilson's Snipe 1 Spotted by Kathleen in flooded field west of west side parking lot. Greater Yellowlegs 60 Counted in groups of 10 to 40. Large number flushed from freshwater marsh on high tide. Dunlin 300 Least Sandpiper 25 Pigeon Guillemot 1 Scoped from closure gate at end of Nisqually Boardwalk Trail. On Nisqually Reach beyond mouth of McAllister Creek foraging near RBME. Bonaparte's Gull 4 Foraging along the south side of Anderson Island. Short-billed Gull 50 Ring-billed Gull 25 Glaucous-winged Gull 6 Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 12 Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 20 Pied-billed Grebe 2 Visitor Center Pond. Horned Grebe 12 Common Loon 3 One seen from the McAllister Creek Viewing Platform. Brandt's Cormorant 13 Channel Marker at mouth of Nisqually River. Double-crested Cormorant 10 Great Blue Heron 35 Northern Harrier 3 Bald Eagle 11 Nest building in Cottonwoods above Twin Barns. Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 3 American Barn Owl 1 Spotted by Steve at 7:06am from the Twin Barns Observation Platform. Belted Kingfisher 4 Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 Orchard. Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1 Northern Flicker 2 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 Continuing female bird. Red-nape, brown face, and yellow shafts. First reported by Laurie but seen by many along Leschi Slough were it runs parallel to the dike. Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) 1 Red nape and red malar. Male. Peregrine Falcon 1 Northern Shrike 1 Reported earlier in the week on the inner dike in the sanctuary by the bird survey crew. Seen flying along the access road south from the Twin Barns to the Cottonwoods west of the west side parking lot. American Crow 200 Common Raven 1 Heard along McAllister Creek Hill Black-capped Chickadee 15 Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3 Bushtit (Pacific) 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5 Golden-crowned Kinglet 10 Brown Creeper 6 Pacific Wren (Pacific) 2 Marsh Wren 10 Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 4 European Starling 30 Varied Thrush 1 Orchard in an Apple Tree. American Robin 16 Purple Finch 1 Pine Siskin 2 American Goldfinch 4 Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 8 Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 2 Golden-crowned Sparrow 30 White-throated Sparrow 1 Spotted by Jim along the Nisqually Estuary Trail or dike just east and south of Aqueduct. Savannah Sparrow 1 Seen along the dike. Song Sparrow 22 Lincoln's Sparrow 1 Seen along the dike. Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 6 Red-winged Blackbird 60 Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1 View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S287229411 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Thu Dec 4 13:16:29 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) Date: Thu Dec 4 13:16:49 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2025-12-04 Message-ID: Tweets - It was dark and wet today, with mizzle, drizzle, and rain. And except for Short-billed Gulls (~250), American Robins, and Dark-eyed Juncos, it wasn't very birdy at all. My fingers are still cold from the combination of temps in the low 40's and wet, wet, wet. Highlights: Greater White-fronted Goose - Eight out near the Model Airplane Field Common Goldeneye - Quick flyby, with three heading up the slough. First of Winter (FOW) Common Merganser - 5-6 drakes seen from the Lake Platform. We've had very few this fall California Gull - Amongst the hordes of Short-billed, we found 2-3 California, just our 17th December record for this species White-throated Sparrow - Two with a flock of juncos in the Dog Area Western Meadowlark - Remain active on the grass/gravel parking area in the NE part of the park We also had a COYOTE trot across the grass fields while we were still in the parking lot, and an AMERICAN BEAVER swimming in the slough. Misses today were numerous: American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Anna's Hummingbird, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Shrike, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Marsh Wren, Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch. For the day, just 44 species. = Michael Hobbs = BirdMarymoor@gmail.com = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 5 04:59:37 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Jim Betz via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 5 04:59:45 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Great Pictures ... In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: ? ... from both Eric and Charlotte!? Thanks for posting the links.? - Jim in Skagit From tweeters at u.washington.edu Fri Dec 5 14:25:21 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Zora Monster via Tweeters) Date: Fri Dec 5 14:25:39 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Eurasian wigeon Message-ID: <657986A6-1A80-48DE-8887-A66011C5383E@mac.com> I found one, possibly 2, hanging with the American wigeons at Green Lake near the pool house. Zora Dermer Seattle Sent from my iPhone From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Dec 6 09:24:31 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) Date: Sat Dec 6 09:24:36 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] birding and carbon Message-ID: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> Here?s an interesting blog written by a friend of mine: https://chasingnature.substack.com/p/birdwatchings-carbon-problem-c3a Dennis Paulson Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Dec 6 11:52:37 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kevin Lucas via Tweeters) Date: Sat Dec 6 11:53:04 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] birding and carbon In-Reply-To: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> References: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> Message-ID: Thank you Dennis. That is a good read. He would be great to have as a friend. https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ Sincerely, Kevin Lucas Yakima County, WA *Qui tacet consentire videtur* *I prefer truth and decency to lies, hate mongering, cruelty, genocide, self-dealing, and theft of billions of dollars by an oligarchy of addled-brained selfish felons and billionaires.* On Sat, Dec 6, 2025 at 9:25?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Here?s an interesting blog written by a friend of mine: > > https://chasingnature.substack.com/p/birdwatchings-carbon-problem-c3a > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Dec 6 13:17:30 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Diane Yorgason-Quinn via Tweeters) Date: Sat Dec 6 13:17:34 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] birding and carbon In-Reply-To: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> References: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> Message-ID: I agree. Food for thought, and also a reason to not feel so guilty about SOME of our behaviors, just concentrate on the stuff a person can actually do. Diane Yorgason-Quinn Gig Harbor, WA Avosetta@hotmail.com ________________________________ From: Tweeters on behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters Sent: Saturday, December 6, 2025 9:24 AM To: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] birding and carbon Here?s an interesting blog written by a friend of mine: https://chasingnature.substack.com/p/birdwatchings-carbon-problem-c3a Dennis Paulson Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Dec 6 13:54:24 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Tom Benedict via Tweeters) Date: Sat Dec 6 13:54:39 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] birding and carbon In-Reply-To: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> References: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> Message-ID: <78A14B69-11D3-42B6-8ABE-6990C6D3F24D@comcast.net> Indeed, I often reflect on the impact we have while ?loving nature?. It?s a bit of a dilemma for me. Carbon offsets are a temporary solution, but ultimately we need to reduce our footprint. Yeah, hybrids and EVs help, a bit. Maybe a bit less chase and a lot more local will help more? What about ways to improve virtual birding to meet some of the need for discovery? Tom Benedict Seahurst, WA > On Dec 6, 2025, at 09:24, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters wrote: > > Here?s an interesting blog written by a friend of mine: > > https://chasingnature.substack.com/p/birdwatchings-carbon-problem-c3a > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sat Dec 6 20:49:01 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (J Christian Kessler via Tweeters) Date: Sat Dec 6 20:55:06 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] birding and carbon In-Reply-To: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> References: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> Message-ID: a very thoughtful piece touching many issues. Chris Kessler On Sat, Dec 6, 2025 at 9:25?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Here?s an interesting blog written by a friend of mine: > > https://chasingnature.substack.com/p/birdwatchings-carbon-problem-c3a > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -- ?Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ? it?s about learning how to dance in the rain.? Deborah Tuck -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 7 12:06:24 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Elaine Chuang via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 7 12:06:28 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] RE-POST TUVU report References: Message-ID: <355F0E53-23E9-4194-9C39-F84C44DE0C9F@uw.edu> This is a re-post of Diann MacRae's December 3 message, on Turkey Vultures and their recent movements. Thank you, Diann. Sent: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 11:34 AM To: tweeters t Subject: [Tweeters] TUVU reports Hi, Tweets Just a note to say no vulture report for November (not much flying around, vulturewise) but I'll do an end-of-year report later and then probably in Jan/Feb a winter report. A few winter over and there are always a few heading north in late January. Plus, so far we haven't had much in the way of weather, so who knows. Have a great holiday season and thanks for all your reports through the years. Cheers, Diann Diann MacRae Olympic Vulture Study 22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E. Bothell, WA 98021 tvulture@gmx.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 7 12:14:25 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 7 12:14:29 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding and carbon - a resource Message-ID: Hi all, I hope you don't mind me reposting the site I created to help folks reduce their climate harm: www.climateresponsible.org. I have been somewhat amazed by its lack of use - it is really hard to get the word out and capture eyeballs. Unfortunately all the search algorithms default to large orgs, or pay to play...the internet ain't the same as it used to be. So - appreciate you sharing it with you circles. Brad Liljequist Seattle, WA, US -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 7 13:49:50 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Nancy Morrison via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 7 13:50:07 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding and carbon Message-ID: When the Red-flanked Bluetail showed up at my house, I was introduced to the world of listers. I was freaked out at the number of people who flew across the country, or drove for two days to get to my backyard. There was one gentleman, however, who took all public transportation from the Kitsap Peninsula. It was getting close to sunset, and I offered to drive him to the ferry in my EV, but he declined. He was determined to do the entire trip on public transit. Can you just imagine if everyone did that, how much better the world would be?? Nancy Morrison -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 7 14:04:50 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Robert O'Brien via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 7 14:05:05 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding and carbon In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Carried to the extreme limits of the public transportation approach is: "Birder bicycle big year" refers to Dorian Anderson's groundbreaking 2014 'Biking for Birds' project, where he completed the first North American Big Year (seeing the most bird species in a year) entirely by bicycle, without fossil fuels, covering 18,000 miles. His trip was several years ago and the book had to wait to more recently to appear. I just read it and am glad that I did. *Birding Under the Influence*. There is somewhat more coverage of how he recovered from a variety of personal bad habits/addictions, and I would have liked to have seen more birding details as well. But there are quite a few as it is. *Well worth the read.* And with some time spent going through Washington. But this is unlikely to become a regular thing. Especially since he saw ~620 species. in the 48 states. AND, no pelagics. They use fossil fuels. I doubt anyone would try to beat this. But State, County, City, etc. are available for a much greater audience. And then there's walking. And then there's the Big Sit which doesn't even involve walking, other than to the sit spot. Bob OBrien Portland On Sun, Dec 7, 2025 at 1:50?PM Nancy Morrison via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > When the Red-flanked Bluetail showed up at my house, I was introduced to > the world of listers. I was freaked out at the number of people who flew > across the country, or drove for two days to get to my backyard. There was > one gentleman, however, who took all public transportation from the Kitsap > Peninsula. It was getting close to sunset, and I offered to drive him to > the ferry in my EV, but he declined. He was determined to do the entire > trip on public transit. Can you just imagine if everyone did that, how much > better the world would be?? > > Nancy Morrison > _______________________________________________ > 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 7 15:19:30 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Scott Ramos via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 7 15:20:11 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding and carbon In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I met Dorian Anderson at Oyhut Wildlife area at Ocean Shores during his big year and was impressed with his dedication to such a grand ambition, but also at his birding skill. But as Bob points out, this is unlikely to become a regular endeavour. On the other hand, local big days or even simple birding trips can be done mostly carbon-free with not that much effort. Several years ago, I participated in what was labeled a Big Day Birding by Bus. It was fun and I decided to continue the concept, leading Seattle Audubon Birding Big Day by Bus trips for several years. The plan was to meet at either a central location to begin the bus trips, or at least meet at the first birding hotspot to join the group. From then on, we would bird at least 3 prime locations and take public transport to get to each of them. The route usually started at Discovery Park, where at least 4-5 hours were spent on a full park traverse, ending the morning by crossing the Ballard Locks on foot. Some years, we allowed enough time for a burger break at the Red Mill in Ballard. Next was a bus trip to Husky Stadium where we continued on foot along the Montlake cut to the boat rental dock and on to the 'Fill' and Yesler Swamp, a route of at least a couple more hours. A walk up to Sand Point Way and then another bus to Magnuson where we used what time was left to mop up species missed elsewhere. Logistics were sometimes a challenge but we once had a group of 12 people and a best year of 109 species. It can be done. And before that, when backpacking was still more of a focus than birding, I had done some sector hikes on the PCT and worried about my carbon footprint because I needed rides to and from the starting and ending trailheads. With just a little research, I devised a carbon-free trip to hike sector L of the PCT from Stehekin to Manning Park: Metro bus from home to Amtrak where Mark Crawford joined me, train to Wenatchee, walk to a hotel, then in the morning, walk to a county bus stop for transit to the Lady of the Lake terminal, a boat trip to Stehekin, a local school bus to the PCT trailhead, then 8 days of backpacking, ending in Manning Park, Canada, with a walk to a hotel (to spend some carbon on clothes washing and drying--wet gear was hung in our room--as well as on nice burgers!), then in the morning flag a Greyhound to Vancouver, walk to the train station, Amtrak to Seattle and a metro bus to home. Again, it can be done. Scott Ramos Seattle P.S. For those who might be interested in the carbon free backpack trip and itinerary: https://naturenw.wordpress.com/2008/09/06/multi-modal-backpacking/ https://naturenw.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/stehekin-to-manning-park/ On Sun, Dec 7, 2025 at 2:05?PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Carried to the extreme limits of the public transportation approach is: > "Birder bicycle big year" refers to Dorian Anderson's groundbreaking 2014 > 'Biking for Birds' project, where he completed the first North American > Big Year (seeing the most bird species in a year) entirely by bicycle, > without fossil fuels, covering 18,000 miles. > His trip was several years ago and the book had to wait to more recently > to appear. I just read it and am glad that I did. *Birding Under the > Influence*. There is somewhat more coverage of how he recovered from a > variety of personal bad habits/addictions, and I would have liked to have > seen more birding details as well. But there are quite a few as it is. *Well > worth the read.* And with some time spent going through Washington. But > this is unlikely to become a regular thing. Especially since he saw ~620 > species. in the 48 states. AND, no pelagics. They use fossil fuels. I > doubt anyone would try to beat this. But State, County, City, etc. are > available for a much greater audience. And then there's walking. And then > there's the Big Sit which doesn't even involve walking, other than to the > sit spot. > Bob OBrien Portland > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 7 15:39:04 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Ann Kramer via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 7 15:39:45 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding and carbon - a resource In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thank you Brad. This is a very extensive website. If we can even do one thing on the options, we are helping our carbon footprint. I am on the board of directors at Skagit Audubon. If I have your permission, I would like to run this by the board to see if we can put this link on our website and in our newsletter. Packaged food is a hard one for me. We are vegetarian and I grow a lot of our summer food, but it's difficult to get around packaging, which is dreadfully plastice. I am over the top flabbergasted by big plastic boxes used to package lettuce!!! Unbelievable. Ann On Sun, Dec 7, 2025 at 12:14?PM BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hi all, > > I hope you don't mind me reposting the site I created to help folks reduce > their climate harm: www.climateresponsible.org. > > I have been somewhat amazed by its lack of use - it is really hard to get > the word out and capture eyeballs. Unfortunately all the search algorithms > default to large orgs, or pay to play...the internet ain't the same as it > used to be. So - appreciate you sharing it with you circles. > > Brad Liljequist > Seattle, WA, US > _______________________________________________ > 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 7 17:01:47 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Carolyn Heberlein via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 7 17:01:57 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Green Lake Wigeons Message-ID: There are a lot of wigeons at Green Lake. Because of their Buffy foreheads, I thought they were mostly Eurasians. On December 6, 2025, at 5:00 PM, via Tweeters wrote: Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to tweeters@u.washington.edu To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to tweeters-request@mailman11.u.washington.edu You can reach the person managing the list at tweeters-owner@mailman11.u.washington.edu When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Eurasian wigeon (Zora Monster via Tweeters) 2. birding and carbon (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters) 3. Re: birding and carbon (Kevin Lucas via Tweeters) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2025 14:25:21 -0800 From: Zora Monster via Tweeters To: tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] Eurasian wigeon Message-ID: <657986A6-1A80-48DE-8887-A66011C5383E@mac.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I found one, possibly 2, hanging with the American wigeons at Green Lake near the pool house. Zora Dermer Seattle Sent from my iPhone ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2025 09:24:31 -0800 From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters To: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: [Tweeters] birding and carbon Message-ID: <5BEB140D-B311-470A-B323-9FAFF49677A1@comcast.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Here?s an interesting blog written by a friend of mine: https://chasingnature.substack.com/p/birdwatchings-carbon-problem-c3a Dennis Paulson Seattle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2025 11:52:37 -0800 From: Kevin Lucas via Tweeters To: Dennis Paulson Cc: TWEETERS tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] birding and carbon Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Thank you Dennis. That is a good read. He would be great to have as a friend. https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ Sincerely, Kevin Lucas Yakima County, WA *Qui tacet consentire videtur* *I prefer truth and decency to lies, hate mongering, cruelty, genocide, self-dealing, and theft of billions of dollars by an oligarchy of addled-brained selfish felons and billionaires.* On Sat, Dec 6, 2025 at 9:25?AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters < tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Here?s an interesting blog written by a friend of mine: > > https://chasingnature.substack.com/p/birdwatchings-carbon-problem-c3a > > Dennis Paulson > Seattle > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > Tweeters@u.washington.edu > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list Tweeters@mailman11.u.washington.edu http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters ------------------------------ End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 256, Issue 6 **************************************** From tweeters at u.washington.edu Sun Dec 7 17:14:06 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters) Date: Sun Dec 7 17:14:11 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Birding and carbon - a resource In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Ann, that's great. I would love it if there was a link on the SAS website. I have enjoyed your programs! I'm with you on packaging! Endless. ________________________________ From: Ann Kramer Sent: Sunday, December 7, 2025 3:39 PM To: BRAD Liljequist Cc: via Tweeters Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Birding and carbon - a resource Thank you Brad. This is a very extensive website. If we can even do one thing on the options, we are helping our carbon footprint. I am on the board of directors at Skagit Audubon. If I have your permission, I would like to run this by the board to see if we can put this link on our website and in our newsletter. Packaged food is a hard one for me. We are vegetarian and I grow a lot of our summer food, but it's difficult to get around packaging, which is dreadfully plastice. I am over the top flabbergasted by big plastic boxes used to package lettuce!!! Unbelievable. Ann On Sun, Dec 7, 2025 at 12:14?PM BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters > wrote: Hi all, I hope you don't mind me reposting the site I created to help folks reduce their climate harm: www.climateresponsible.org. I have been somewhat amazed by its lack of use - it is really hard to get the word out and capture eyeballs. Unfortunately all the search algorithms default to large orgs, or pay to play...the internet ain't the same as it used to be. So - appreciate you sharing it with you circles. Brad Liljequist Seattle, WA, US _______________________________________________ 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 8 02:34:05 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Carolyn Heberlein via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 8 02:34:20 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Green Lake Wigeons Message-ID: There are a lot of wigeons at Green Lake. Because of their Buffy foreheads, I thought they were mostly Eurasians. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tweeters at u.washington.edu Mon Dec 8 08:50:28 2025 From: tweeters at u.washington.edu (Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters) Date: Mon Dec 8 08:50:42 2025 Subject: [Tweeters] Panama: 2006, 2012, 2025 - Thursday December 11th 7 pm Olympia or via Zoom Message-ID: Jerry Broadus and Clarice Clark will present their impressions and their photographs of three birding trips to Panama. This country has long been a favorite tropical birding area. The country is easy to access and explore even if you don?t speak much Spanish; there are lots of good accommodations and guides; and the varied terrain has a fascinating history. The presentation will be live at Temple Beth Hatfiloh, 201 8th Ave SE Olympia with social time at 6:30 pm. You can also watch from home via Zoom. Registration is required, below. This is a free program from South Sound Bird Alliance (formerly Black Hills Audubon). https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/rSnWmWzJTGu0jX5QuMWNlA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: