Early August Coast Trip

Ken Brown led a two day ABC trip to the coast on Friday and Saturday, August 7-8.  11 birders gathered at the usual I-5/Hwy512 park and ride to head west, with the first stop at Brady Loop where a lack of water limited the shorebirding opportunities but where we did see a male N. Harrier, and at one stop had at least 4 calling Willow Flycatchers, Yellow and Wilson’s warblers and Common Yellowthroats of all ages in their confusion plumages moving about while we had the scopes aimed at a  Bank Swallow on a wire with over a hundred other Tree, Violet-green and Barn swallows.  Bank swallow was a new Gray’s Harbor county bird for many of us and was an e-bird rare bird alert sighting.

From there we were off to catch high tide at Bottle Beach where we donned our rubber  boots and walked out to scope hundreds of Black-bellied plovers, Short-billed dowichers, Western sandpipers and scattered Least sandpipers, Semi-palmated plovers, Dunlin, and lots of gulls, Caspian terns, Brown pelicans and others to try in vain to ID a golden plover or semi-palmated sandpiper.  A nice stop but nothing unusual for species.  We did enjoy nice looks at a perched Olive-sided flycatcher.

Next at Tokeland we had lunch, searched the rock jetty for a different species of godwit, but settled for just 20 Marbled and 20 Whimbrel along with the quiz bird of the stop, a Red-throated loon that had hauled out on the rocks and grass and was just showing its head and neck.  It seemed an out-of-place loon but Ken reminded us that unlike the rest of our loons RTLO has a more typical molt timing and was likely in molt and resting there this time of year.

On the way back a quick stop at North Cove gave us a chance to see Sooty Shearwaters flying by in good numbers, streaming north at an estimated 200/ minute at the outer edge of the breaking waves.  Thousands of California gulls of various age groups were bathing in the river delta and loafing, feeding along with smaller numbers of Heermann’s and Western/GW gulls.

Next at Midway Beach we waded through the water over the road to get good looks at Least Sandpipers in the ponds nearly underfoot at the road edge.  Highlights here were 12 Cinnamon teal on the ponds, a fly-by American bittern and at least 6 N. Harriers.  We made it a fairly quick stop and headed for Westport.

At the inner jetty the expected 450 marbled godwits yielded no other species and after studying the gulls, cormorants and looking for other species on the water we headed for Westhaven SP.  There we enjoyed great looks at good numbers of alcids from the bluff.  We counted 20 Common murres, 30 Rhinocdros aucklets and 2 Pigeon guillemots as well as huge flocks of gulls over the mouth of the harbor and far off on Damon Point.  We also added both species of turnstones there.  A quick stop back at the marina at the mouth of the harbor gave us our first certain looks at Brant’s cormorant and a stop for dinner.

I picked up my car at Bottle beach and headed home while the rest of the  group headed for their hotel.  Diane Y-Q med the group in the morning and the rest of the story is hers:

Diane, Faye, Carol, and Laurel came over on day 2 of this beautiful weekend at the coast and met the group on the golf course, which of course was covered with golfers.   We followed them to the jetty, which was a totally different experience than ever before with much of the end of the jetty covered with pelican guano and Brown Pelicans, almost like Westport!   Some groups of Shearwaters were going by way out there, and Gulls flew everywhere, especially the Pelicans’ pet Heermanns.  A drama played out on the beach as we noticed some people gathered around a beached Common Murre.  Several of us walked over there to assess the situation.  The Murre was in distress, but one of the people, a young woman, was very protective of it, and soon the others wandered off.  The pelican may have been oiled or just dirty from being beached too long.  Dogs were starting to show up, and the immediacy of its situation became apparent.  Clarice, a bander who has handled many birds over the year, knew there was no close rehab facility and that getting the bird into deeper water was the best bet, but not possible where we were standing, as the tide was still coming in and would just re-beach the bird.  This young woman then carried the bird to the end of the jetty (NOT an easy hike!) and down to the water on the opposite side and released it.  We were gone by the time she got back, but we saw her start her return without the bird, so that was the best possible outcome of a bad situation.

Then off to the game range, where there was a surprise WILLET!!!!    Hurray!!    A first for any of us in that location.  Plus a few of the expected peeps.  The beach off the game range gave us breathtakingly close views of a couple dozen Red-Throated Loons in mixed plumages, offering a great lesson in molt for this little loon.   They were so close it seemed we could touch them and were amazingly tolerant of humans!

Then off to Bill’s Spit and a really great surprise there:  Someone has built a wooden staircase down to the beach so we no longer have to do the climb-and-jump thing!   It was brand new and beautiful.  We even had our group photo taken on it!  We would love to know who’s responsible and thank them!   We had our expected group of gulls and Caspian Terns out there and spent some time going through them as small bands of Peeps flew through as a distraction from time to time.

Best bird of the day (after the Willet, of course!) was at the Ocean Shores sewage ponds — A Franklin’s Gull!   This very cooperative bird offered long views and many photos to be sure of its ID before the looming Peregrine got the group up again.   A very good little side trip indeed!

David Marshall suggested our last stop at the Quinault casino beach, which apparently they had already stopped at before we met up with them early this morning, for a last look at a different tide, and it was gorgeous with a thin envelope of ground-level fog, making the tourists-on-horseback look like a thundering posse out to arrest Ken and Ryan!   Close-up views of Sanderlings in both Basic and Alternate plumages as well as lots and lots of immature Semipalmated Plovers, Peeps, and Dunlin were highlights.

A great day with great weather!

Ecuador birdbanding highlights

ECUADOR BIRDBANDING, SUMMER 2014, with Michael Walker

Mike Walker writes: My trip to Ecuador was my third time as part of a volunteer crew doing tropical bird population studies at a privately owned nature reserve. The work included 7 days of bird banding across 3 habitat types, two days of forest trail bird surveys, and several days of work on hummingbirds (22 species) and Andean Cock-of-the Rock’s.

My highlight was the studying the birds we captured to gain knowledge of how they use the various habitat types. Our trail surveys identified 165 species, and we captured 317 birds representing 64 species. As part of the team, I banded 40 of those birds representing 28 species. All are amazing birds, but one of the more spectacular birds is in the photo below (my new facebook profile picture): A crimson-rumped Toucanet.

Mike Walker, cotinga51@comcast.net

Hawk Migration Festival in Pateros

HAWK MIGRATION INVITATION:

Richard Scranton is now in his second year as the director of the Hawk Migration Festival in Pateros on the weekend of Sept 13th. He has invited Tahoma Aubudon, ABC members, and bird class members to come over for it.

On Friday the 12th, we will have Jerry Ligouri here from Hawk Watch International, arguably the premier raptor ID expert in the country, to give a workshop on raptor ID. Later that nite we will offer an owl prowl for those interested. The next day we offer a field trip to Wells Wildlife from 8am to 12 pm, a great birding spot along the Columbia river. And, of course, there will be shuttles up to Chelan Ridge from 8 am to 2 pm on Saturday to see the biologists in action: counting raptors overhead and banding hawks such as sharpies and coopers.

You can see more details and sign up for the events on the Audubon website: ncwaudubon.org.

The workshop and owl prowl are new events this year, and folks can email me to sign up. If a group of people want to come I can help make all the arrangements.

We are hoping to get an especially large turnout at this event to help support the people of Pateros who went thru a lot with the devastating fires earlier this year.

Any questions, please contact me at rscran4350@yahoo.com or 509-421-3166.

Thanks, Richard Scranton

Fall Field Trips

FALL FIELD TRIPS:

AUG 7: THELER WETLANDS – 7 AM: Meet at Theler Wetlands at Belfair. About 4 hours on level paths. See great birds AND great public art! No need to sign up — Just show up. If you need to Google directions, the address is 22871 NE SR3, Belfair 98529. This will be led by Faye McAdams Hands and John Riegsecker and will be a twice-a-month event. Assume this will be cancelled if really bad weather. FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAYS at 7 AM for the summer months. A later start time will be initiated sometime in the fall.

AUG 8-9: Coast trip with Ken Brown. Leave at 6:00am from P&R at I-5 and SR512. 2 days of coastal shorebirding, unless something interesting to chase shows up. We will motel, eat dinner out. Bring lunches, rubber boots. Call Ken at 360-876-9509 to reserve and set up carpooling.

AUG 12: Sehmel Homestead Park/Gig Harbor with Melissa Sherwood. June 17th, 8 AM. Enter park, turn right at the baseball fields and head south to the Heritage and Masters Gardens. Call Melissa with questions at 253-851-7230. She tends to cancel the trip during heavy windstorms. Sign up with Melissa directly. Future walk on Sept 23.

August 17, 7:30am – 5:00pm – Mt. Rainier/Sunrise Ptarmigan Hike: No, it’s not at dawn, but we’ll be hiking from Sunrise in Mt. Rainier National Park to Fremont Lookout to chase the elusive White-tailed Ptarmigan. Ptarmigan families are frequently seen in this area in August. We’ll enjoy a 5.6 mile roundtrip family-friendly hike with an elevation gain of 900 feet through wildflowers on our own favorite backyard mountain. Great territorial views on a clear day. Non-birders are very welcome. Trip leader is Martha Scoville, volunteer Meadow Rover for Mt. Rainier National Park, with birding help from Brian Pendleton. Meet at the first floor of the Tacoma Dome park-n-ride lot, 610 Puyallup Ave., at 7:30 am, and we will carpool to Sunrise. If you do not wish to carpool, meet at 9:30 at Sunrise by flagpole in front of the Visitors Center. Wear hiking boots and bring plenty of water, sunscreen, bug repellant, and a lunch. Rain or shine – bring appropriate garb. Don’t forget your Golden Age/Federal Parks Entrance Pass should you have one. Register by contacting Martha at mscoville@harbornet.com or (253) 752-5014 (h)/ (253) 221-7346 (cell).

AUG 21: JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course: Denis DeSilvis leads periodic field trips to this area with the next one coming up on Thursday, September 18. They meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00AM. Starting point is Bldg # 1514, Driving Range Tee, Eagles Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. Anyone is welcome to join, and you don’t have to have a base pass. For more info, contact Denis at: avnacrs4birds@outlook.com

AUG 23-24: Westport and Ocean Shores, including a pelagic trip. Art Wang will repeat the popular field trip to get pelagic birds and early shorebird migrants. It’s not too early to sign up with Westport Seabirds, which filled rapidly last year. To sign up for the pelagic trip on Saturday, contact Westport Seabirds at pmand001@comcast.net or call 360-268-9141. The boat trip portion of the field trip will leave Westport at 6:00 am on Saturday, Aug. 23. Say that you are part of the Tahoma Audubon field trip. Cost is $140, payable 30 days in advance. See www.westportseabirds.com.

AUG 30 (Saturday): Selleck swift chimney – Spend the sunset hour at Selleck hoping to see Vaux Swifts do their chimney trick (we got skunked last year, so trying the early part of the migration this time). See next Towhee for details or contact Diane Y-Q at Avosetta@hotmail.com

SEPT 6, 7, 8: KEN BROWN will lead a 3-day trip, Sat, Sun & Mon, Sept. 6, 7, & 8, to central & eastern Wash. looking for shorebirds & migrant songbirds. We will hit several areas going over, Getty’s cove, Gingko, Winchester sewage lagoon, Perch pt. Staying overnite in Othello. Para ponds, Washtucna, Lyons Ferry, Lind Coulee and possibly Potholes sp. in some order. E-mail for reservation, kennethwbrown@hotmail.com.

SEPT 14 (Sunday): JBLM Swift Chimney – Celebrate our local swift chimney! If you or your interested friend has base access, please join us to see a real spectacle! Still no official base field trip, so limited to those who have base access. Plan to be there an hour before sunset. For directions to the chimney, contact Diane Y-Q at Avosetta@hotmail.com

SEPT ??: Visit the swift chimney at the old Northern State Hospital at Sedro-Woolley. This is the tallest chimney on the swift’s route and has sometimes been the busiest. We will add on to Skagit Audubon’s field trip to assure access to what is now a Job Corps Center and will announce the date as soon as we know it.

September 28 (Sunday): 8:00am – 2pm. Montlake Fill, Seattle: “In My Nature” Field Trip with Connie Sidles The first book of the Fall for Tahoma Audubon’s Nature Book Club is In My Nature: A Birder’s Year at the Montlake Fill, by Constance Sidles. Following the book club discussion on Sept. 9, 1:30 pm, at the Hess Center, we’ll have a field trip to explore the birds and places in the book. You do not have to be a book club member to participate in the field trip. Meet at the Tacoma Dome Park-N-Ride, 610 Puyallup Ave., at 8 am, on Sunday, Sept. 28, and we will car-pool to the Montlake Fill (east of Husky Stadium). Bring lunch. We will tour the fabled Fill, search for fall migrants, and return in the early afternoon. Make reservations by emailing ArtNancy@harbornet.com or calling trip leader Art Wang at 253-209-4420. Special guest: Author Connie Sidles will join us and show us the places she loves at the Montlake Fill!

Charlie Wright

Charlie Wright has lost his dad:

Dear friends and family,

After a long period of illness and a fortunately much longer happy and adventurous life, my dad died of prostate cancer at 3am on 28 July 2014. This has been an extremely trying time for those close to him, but he would want us to find solace in knowing that he experienced “at least two lives’ worth” of joys in his 60 years. From roaming the creeks and beach of The Cove, to sailing to Hawaii and back, to leading Boy Scout troops and Little League teams for my two older brothers, to instilling a deep love of nature in Nick and me through exploring and camping in the natural areas of our home state, my dad always looked to the outdoors to enrich his and others’ lives. For this reason we will be having an outdoor memorial service/celebration of his life in mid-August. Details of the exact date and location have yet to be determined. Those specifics will be sent out when we know them.

If you are one who has been looking for a way to contribute in my dad’s memory, I have made two memorial accounts at Bank of America that anyone may contribute to as they wish.

The first fund is for funeral and close family expenses to help smooth out a rough transition. The savings account number is 138115153060.

The second fund will be donated to Hepatitis C research and charity. In his later years, before the cancer, my dad battled Hepatitis C (after he was found to have it in 1996, a fact he was not informed of until 2006). He found camaraderie in a large community of people across the United States in various stages of treatment for this often misunderstood disease, and thoughts of hope for those afflicted were always with him. The account number to donate to this cause is 138115153057. If you have any trouble making a donation, please let me know.

Best wishes,

Charlie, cwright7@uw.edu