ABC Meeting report, May 20, 2013

We had a great meeting tonight reviewing some of the rare and unusual birds we’ve seen lately. At least one member of our group has seen each of the following lately:

Citrine Wagtail Red-Flanked Bluetail Brambling White-Winged Crossbills Thick-Billed Murre Horned Puffin Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Black-Necked Stilt, out of range (ocean) Hermit Warbler, out of range Slaty-Backed Gull Glaucous Gull White-Breasted Nuthatch (in Pierce County) Semi-Palmated Sandpiper

Eyewitness reports and/or photos were presented by Ed Pullen, Faye McAdams Hands, Ryan Wiese, Brian Pendleton, Rolan Nelson, Carol Smith, and Ken Brown (and photos in absentia from Laurel Parshall, Vicki Biltz, Heather Roskelley, and Wayne Sladek). Difficult bird ID photo on Least Sandpipers was provided by John Riegsecker. Historical background was also provided by Ruth Sullivan on the Gulls.

Thanks to all. It was lively!

Swan Creek Excellent Breeding Bird Song Lab

Kay and I took a hike today from the upper end, off 56th St from Portland Ave entrance, down the creek trail to Pioneer today, starting a very civilized 9 AM, ending just after 11AM.  It’s a fairly easy hike, but just beautiful, dappled light, not much outside noise so a great place to hear many of the common local breeding birds.

The upper part of the trail was especially alive, with Hutton’s vireo, several Pacific slope flycatchers, BTG warblers, and Wilson’s warblers especially well heard.  I strongly recommend this as a great place this time of year to work on learning and reviewing the local breeding bird songs.  The outside noise is minimal, the walk easy but enjoyable, and the variety and numbers of birds pretty darn good.   Hope you get a chance to go.  It’s best to do with 2 vehicles, leave one at the Pioneer entrance, and go up to the end of 56th off Portland Ave to park the other car and hike down. If it’s your first time, be sure to start by turning on the trail to the right, heading up stream, then in a while it curves back downstream going down some stairs to the creekside. The best bird song area is really the first half mile, but the whole hike is beautiful.  Here’s our list form e-bird.

Species Count
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 12
Hutton’s Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Steller’s Jay 2
American Crow 2
Common Raven 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 8
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4
Brown Creeper 1
Pacific Wren 25
Bewick’s Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
Swainson’s Thrush 2
American Robin 4
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Black-throated Gray Warbler 8
Wilson’s Warbler 9
Spotted Towhee 14
Song Sparrow 22
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 16
Western Tanager 2
House Finch 2
Pine Siskin 20

Upcoming ABC Meetings Spring/Summer 2013

May 20, 2013: – ABC Meeting at UPlace Library – 6:45. We’ll be reviewing the amazing parade of rare birds that have visited our area in the past few months with eyewitness reports from many of you. If you have photos of some recent rarities or stories, bring them!

June meeting – (fourth week in June, actual date to be announced): We’ll visit the slater Museum at the University of Puget Sound and see their bird and wing collections, hosted by director Peter Wimberger, who is also on the board of Tahoma Audubon. Stay tuned for particulars.

July 25, 2013: (4th Thursday) – UPlace Library – 6:34: Malheur and other field trip reports, plus a look at Jamaican endemics courtesy of ABC member David Marshall who spends his winters there and is co-editor of their birding journal. He’ll have a riveting report on the bird smuggling trade there, too.

We may take the month of August off unless someone has a program they’re burning to present.

Ryan & Ed’s Birdathon 2013

Birdathon Report 2013- Ed Pullen & Ryan Wiese

3:05 PM May 3 until  2:40 PM May 4, 2013

Ryan and I had no one sign up for our TAS overnight birdathon trip this year, and we so enjoyed the time together and the ability to both move quickly and yet have plenty of time to enjoy the birding. We are contemplating just doing private birdathon’s in years to come. The weather was perfect, high 60’s on Friday afternoon and in the 70’s most of Saturday.  A strong offshore breeze kept it cool, and migration kept it fun.

We saw 119 species, with just the highlights mentioned, the full list to follow.  We started at Steilacoom Park and found mostly expected species, but no House wren this year.  The waters off Steilacoom were very quiet, and we missed most of the expected water birds there, but picked nearly all of them up at later times.  Not even  a Pigeon guillemot seen from the ferry terminal, but we did pick up Common merganser and Common Goldeneye in Chamber’s creek.

Nisqually NWR was beautiful, and two bright male Yellow-headed blackbirds that had been reported for a week or so were obliging and flew in on our walk back off the marsh to the base of the trail.  After a few minutes they flew back out toward the sound and disappeared. We did do well on ducks, and heard and saw both Dowicher species as well as both yellow-legs species there.  Not a single rail was heard or seen though. Across McAlister creek at Luir beach we got Purple martins, and as they sang away we found Brant (geese) and Caspian terns.

Then as it started to get dark we dashed to Elma, where at the new access off Wenzel Slough Rd we saw two Barn owls flying over the fields and heard American bittern calling as Wilson’s snipe winnowed overhead.

After a short sleep in Ocean Shores we were at the Jetty just after daybreak, and watched migration happening.  Highlights were 3 “rock birds”.   Ruddy and Black turnstones and Surfbirds were easily seen at the base of the jetty, and many Pacific loons flew north, mixed with some Common and Red-throated loons.  Boneparte’s gulls fed in the turbulent water off the “bar” and Sooty shearwaters used the offshore wind to swoop over the waves.  Later, just before the 9AM high tide at Bill’s spit were large numbers of shorebirds, and Ryan found one Red knot by sorting through an estimated 3-4000 other shorebirds.  We squinted to make out two distant Whimbrel before turning around and getting great looks at three on our walk back to the car.

At Ocean City State Park we had plenty of time to be sure the Black-throated gray warblers were were hearing were not the similar sounding Townsend’s warbler, and added Golden-crowned kinglets and Stellar’s jays.  On the ride back east we stopped at Burrow’s road, Hoquiam’s Bowerman basin, Brady Loop, Schouweiler marsh and ended our day enjoying being in tee-shirts and counting at least 100 Whimbrel in a freshly mowed field off the west end of Wenzel Slough Rd.   Overall we had a great trip.  Thanks to anyone who chooses to donate to the Tahoma Audubon Society.  You can donate at my First Giving site by clicking on this link.  Good birding.

See the trip list below:

 

1

Mallard 3:05 Ft.

2

American coot Steilacoom  Park

3

Pied-billed grebe

4

Red-winged blackbird

5

Ruddy Duck

6

Yellow-rumped warbler

7

Northern shoveler

8

Lesser scaup

9

Wood duck

10

Song sparrow

11

American robin

12

Brown-headed cowbird

13

Bufflehead

14

American crow

15

Spotted towhee

16

Golden-crowned sparrow

17

American goldfinch

18

Purple finch

19

Canada goose

20

Anna’s hummingbird

21

Violet-green swallow

22

Black-headed grosbeak

23

House finch

24

Bushtit

25

Western tanager

26

White-crowned sparrow

27

Northern flicker

28

Savannah sparrow

29

Red-tailed hawk

30

European starling

31

American wigeon

32

Common merganser Chamber’s creek

33

Great-blue heron

34

Rock pigeon

35

Glaucous-winged gull

36

Common goldeneye

37

Bald eagle

38

Killdeer

39

Least sandpiper

40

House sparrow Steilacoom

41

Surf scoter

42

Tree swallow Nisqually NWR

43

Cliff swallow 5:17 PM

44

Common yellowthroat

45

Northern pintail

46

Ringed-neck duck

47

Swainson’s thrush

48

Lesser yellowlegs

49

Marsh wren

50

Hooded merganser

51

Gadwall

52

Green-winged teal

53

Greater yellowlegs

54

Long-billed dowicher

55

Yellow-headed blackbird 2 males at base

56

Cinnamon teal of trail to board

57

Western sandpiper walk

58

Black-capped chickadee

59

Brown creeper

60

Rufous hummingbird

61

Barn swallow

62

Ruby-crowned kinglet

63

Yellow warbler only one on trip

64

Short-billed dowicher

65

Purple martin Luir beach

66

Caspian tern

67

Brant Wenzel Slough

68

American bittern Rd Elma

69

Barn owl 9:00 PM

70

Wilson’s snipe

71

Dark-eyed junco 5:30 AM Ocean

72

Winter wren shores

73

Common loon

74

Brandt’s cormorant OS Jetty

75

Pelagic cormorant

76

Double-crested cormorant

77

Red-throated loon many flying by

78

Pacific loon

79

Sooty shearwater

80

Brown pelican

81

Pigeon guilemot

82

Western gull

83

Boneparte’s gull

84

Western grebe

85

Black turnstone

86

Ruddy turnstone

87

Surfbird

88

Common murre

89

Dunlin

90

Greater scaup

91

Cackling goose

92

Sanderling

93

Marbled godwit

94

Semi-palmated plover

95

White-winged scoter

96

Ring-necked pheasant OS Game

97

Orange-crowned warbler Range 6:40 AM

98

Black-bellied plover Community cntr

99

Red knot Bill’s spit

100

Whimbrel

101

Red-breasted merganser

102

Mew gull

103

Peregrine falcon End of Tonkin

104

Red-necked phalarope Ave on game

105

Eurasian collared-dove range

106

Wilson’s warbler

107

Golden-crowned kinglet OS St. Park

108

Steller’s jay

109

Black-throated gray warbler

110

Pacific slope flycatcher

111

Greater white-fronted goose Burrows Rd

112

error

113

Pine siskin

114

Scrub jay On hwy near

115

Brewer’s blackbird Montesano

116

Osprey Wenzel Slough

117

Turkey vulture Rd.

118

Common raven

119

Northern rough-winged swallow

120 Really 119

Band-tailed pigeon

2:35 PM