Trip leader Dalton Spencer stops for lunch
After Ed Pullen’s Bird Banter podcast interviewed Dalton Spencer, we realized we needed to go birding with Dalton before he left for college in Montana in August! You can never tell when an 18-year-old whiz kid will end up, and we wanted to be able to say we knew him when! Dalton seemed kind of surprised that we would want him to lead a field trip, but we were right about him! We set out to Lewis County on June 22, 2019.
The field trip to Lewis County ABC participants
Dalton led 4 carloads of ABC’ers with co-spotter Rachel Hudson, also a whiz kid from south of here. And the reports were not wrong!
They led us to Schaefer County Park, Centralia-Goodrich Road, Fort Borst Park, and Chandler Road, as well as lesser stops where they knew the odds were good for target species. Check out the eBird lists, which also include some of Rachel’s incredible photos:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57634388
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57634486
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57634591
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S57634643
More photos from Diane are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/76552838@N03/albums/72157709226298557
Dalton took us to the river, or rather several rivers, starting with Skookumchuck, then Chehalis River and Lincoln Creek and everything in between.
Highlights were Red-breasted Sapsuckers of all ages everywhere! A Black-headed Grosbeak sitting on a nest! Nesting Orioles! An Anna’s Hummer on a nest! Baby Downy Woodpeckers, baby Bushtits, baby Creepers, baby everything!
Red-breasted Sapsuckers were THE woodpeckers of the day
The culmination of the day was at the cemetery on Chandler Road where the hoped-for Hermit Warbler was heard immediately by our intrepid leaders, then seen by all. A little confusion ensued over a hybrid hanging around with the Hermit, but the hybrid was mostly Hermit, not the more typical HETO with streaking on the front.
Hermit Warbler! A lifer for some of us. (Photo/Rachel Hudson)
Hermits still haven’t been swamped out at this site. A life for several of our group!
Not just one Kestrel, but at least 3! (Photo/Rachel Hudson)
The day ended with a closer look at a Lazuli Bunting, to make up for an incredibly distant look earlier. Everyone went home very happy!
The Kingfisher Kids (Photo/Rachel Hudson)