On a beautiful mid-September day Nathanael Swecker led a trip of 11 to explore and learn to navigate part of his JBLM e-Bird patch. Nathanael burst on the Pierce County birding scene last year with several posts a week from various areas of JBLM, often finding birds the rest of us only dreamed about finding. He has immersed himself in birding in the 3+ years since he became an avid birder, and has decided to undertake studying and documenting on e-Bird the JBLM avifauna.
We began our day meeting at the Roy “Y” park-and-ride, where 10 ABC birders joined Nathanael where he showed us excellent topographic maps of the JBLM area, complete with range map borders, and outlined our plan for birding today. Here is a copy of the Range brochure with a simple map. In order to bird it is first necessary to obtain a free range pass from the base Range Control Office. Then you need to check with the range control website or phone number to see what ranges are open.

Our first stop was at the Spanaway Marsh, although not in the usual way for most of us. Most birders access the marsh from the turn-around at the south end of 176th Street where it crosses Pacific Ave. Nathanael explained that this area is a joint JBLM/County road, and sometimes he has encountered police who don’t want him to park there, or access the area from there. Instead we circled around to the back of Training area 9, via a right-hand turn just past the railroad tracks near the usual entrance to Chambers Lake. We turned there, then another right onto Transmission Line Road, and entered the back of the marsh area. We got great access to large areas of the marsh water that are not visible from the 176th St. entrance, and saw Wood Ducks, swallows, and a good variety of fall passerines.

Next we visited Chambers Lake, taking a nice walk down the back side of the lake accessed by taking a left off the main road past the dam bridge, going a ways, parking and walking on the road nearest to the lake. It gives much nicer water views that the front side, and we saw upwards of 80 wood ducks, a flock of 8 Blue-winged teal, several other waterfowl, Red-breasted sapsuckers, and experiences an area many of us had not seen from that perspective.

Our last stop was the Area 15 part of the 13th Division Prairie. Many of us learned that the 13th Division Prairie encompasses much of 3 training areas, and the access is often limited to only area 15, sometimes area 13 and essentially never area 14. Area 14 is the big open prairie area where environmental concerns limit access. There we found bluebirds, a Peregrine falcon, both Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks, and again found ways to visit the Muck Creek riparial corridor from a vantage new to most of us.

Many thanks to Nathanael for teaching us about how to bird his “patch” on JBLM, and we look forward to his promised website on birding JBLM in the near future.

Here are e-bird links to our lists for the day when we totaled 58 species.

Spanaway Marsh

Chamber’s Lake

JBLM Training Area 15

Good Birding.
Ed Pullen

These instructions are from Nathanael Swecker for access to his “patch” at JBLM and will work for other range areas as well:

Directions for getting Training Area Access pass for JBLM:

1) I went to the Main Gate of JBLM off of I-5 (exit 120).

2) I stopped and parked at the Visitor’s Center right before the gate itself and entered the office.

3) I pulled a numbered tab and sat in the waiting area for a clerk to call my number (just like in a DMV or DOL center).

4) My number was called and I approached the clerk’s window. I presented my Driver’s License, Proof of Insurance, Vehicle Registration. I stated that I would like to document bird populations on the Training Areas and that I needed access to the “Range Control” office.

5) The clerk didn’t ask me any probing questions or why I wanted to bird the areas. He simply made sure all my documents were valid and then told me to wait while he processed my request.

6) I sat back down in the waiting area and waited for him to call my name. This only took 5 min. He gave me a ONE DAY pass that I may only use to pass thru the gates and proceed to the Range Control office.

7) I left the Visitor’s Center and went south on I-5 to the next exit (exit 119) and went thru the Dupont Gate.

8) At the Dupont gate I used the far right lane to approach the guard station and presented my ONE DAY pass and my license. I stated that I was proceeding to the Range Control office. The guard waved me thru with no questions and I proceeded on Clark Road.

9) I went forward from the guard station thru the first intersection of Clark and West and proceeded to the next intersection and took a right on Kaufman Ave.

10) I passed the first building on the right and went on to the second building (bld 4074). I parked here and entered the building.

11) I approached the front desk and said that I would like to obtain a Range Pass for the purpose of “Wildlife Observation”. I presented only my Driver’s License and the quickly processed a pass for me on the spot.

12) They handed me my Vehicle pass that I must display on my dash and my wallet-pass that I must keep on my person at all times while on the Training areas. They gave me a pamphlet explaining the rules and regulations and sent me on my way! I was ready to explore the vast reaches of the JBLM Training Areas!

THINGS TO NOTE:

A. This pass will not get you thru any of the gated areas of JBLM. It only allows you access to the sanctioned Training areas that are ungated

B. You must only be on the Training Areas that are currently open. The website, http://www.lewis-mcchord.army.mil/DPTMS/training/range/docs/allocations.pdf , tells you which areas are open and closed.

C. You must call ahead and leave your info at (253) 967-6277. (this is just a recording number. You can’t actually talk to anyone, you just leave your permit number, time in, time out and activity to be performed)

D. Troops may be conducting activities on the open training areas. DO NOT BE ALARMED this is normal. The troops will not bother you and you do not need to ask them permission to be there. If an officer approaches you just explain what you are doing and they will let you know if you need to move or simply be aware of their presence. I run into troops all the time and they almost always ignore me.

E. Range Operations often drive the training areas in large pickup trucks with yellow license plates. They will stop you and engage you to make sure you are a permit holder. Their job is to make sure that the civilians are safe. Feel free to talk with them. They are not soldiers, they are contractors who monitor the training areas.

F. Military Police monitor the main paved roads. If they see you near any of the main paved roads they will stop and ask you for proper documents. I find it best to avoid them. Park in non visible places from the road.

G. Other civilians may be on the ranges as well. Sometimes I find groups of people horse back riding or walking their dogs. Sometimes I will travel all day for miles and not encounter a single person. There are sometimes biologists doing survey work as well.

H. There are wild animals on the training areas. There are bear, deer, elk, coyotes and more. Please be respectful around the wildlife.

This may appear to be a lot of info to gain access to the area, but if you do these things you will find it is really not that complicated.

Further notes from JBLM biologist, Denis DeSilvis:

Area access passes are only issued by Range Control personnel Monday through Friday up to 5 PM.

Item 4. You only need to mention that you need a vehicle pass in order to go to the Range Control office to get an area access pass. (The folks that issue the vehicle pass are checking to see if you are on any list of wanted criminals, terrorists, etc.) All passengers need to have a valid government-issued ID card to hand in at the same time as the driver/vehicle owner. Everyone will be listed on the pass.

Item 7. This is absolutely the best way to get to Range Control once you have the vehicle pass. All passengers need to hand over ID cards to the guard at the same time as the driver. (Driver should collect everyone’s cards beforehand and hand them over together with the vehicle pass.)

Item C. When you call into Range Control, you must include what training areas you’re going to visit, as well as the info Nathanael indicates.

Item F. Military Police (MP) drive both marked and unmarked vehicles. And they also check unpaved roads as well as paved ones. In some areas, civilian DOD police will be monitoring traffic.

When Training Areas are closed, don’t go there. Right now, because of budget constraints, all training areas are closed for recreation on Sundays and holidays.

If you see anything suspicious while out in the training areas, be sure to call the number that Range Control has on one of the handouts you’ll receive. This could be something like someone dumping trash, walking in an impact area, etc.

JBLM has some unique habitat in western Washington, with some unique birds for this side of the mountains.

And let me know if you find a White-breasted Nuthatch – I’ve been looking for one at JBLM for over 35 years.

May all your birds be identified,

Denis DeSilvis

Anyone wanting to register for this lecture on August 6, 2015, please e-mail Diane Yorgason-Quinn at Avosetta@hotmail.com. Cost is $20.

For more details about it, see: http://abcbirding.com/dennis-paulson-workshop-aug-6-2015/#comments

August 1, 2015: A dismal report:

Maybe it was the early and continuing hot weather, maybe it was global warming, maybe it was El Nino, maybe it was just the odds, but the usual happy reports from Osprey nests on the peninsula are sad this year.

The very reliable Purdy spit nest on the power tower there seems to have failed after what looked like a successful effort to rebuild that nest after winter depridations. At this writing, an Osprey or two are often seen perching on the towers, using them to eat their prey and look down into the water for interesting prey fish swimming by, but no sign of chicks at the nest. Both Laurel Parshall and I watched this nest on an almost daily basis at different times of the day, and we have both done so for years, so we know the signs. This nest has been used (often having to be rebuilt) for at least 25 years, probably longer. Now more bad news: The power company has designs on tearing down those towers, as they did with the towers in the same line at Allyn. At least 15 years ago they put up a nest platform on the Purdy side which continues to be spurned by the birds. We’ll have to see what happens.

Speaking of Allyn, this is the second nesting season since the power towers were torn down. Those towers rising up out of North Bay held usually 2 Osprey nests as well as a very funky Heronry where the herons had 6 to 12 nests built on the lower rungs of the towers, probably finding some protection from the Ospreys from those nasty eagles. No idea where the Herons went, but a single mitigation platform was erected on the Victor side of the water which was immediately used by one of the pairs last year. This year they used it again, and it’s successful! At least 2 young. It’s hard to see while driving, but if you pull into the WDFW “park” on the west side of the road where the power lines come across from Allyn (a single pointy tower in the water now), there are 2 toilets (Discover Pass required), you can look up to the east and see this very tall nest platform.

Moving east from Purdy, you can find the cell tower at 156th St NW & Peacock Hill Road. John Riegsecker lives on this road and sees it daily. Although a pair of Osprey have been hanging around, there has been no evidence of young. They do bring in fish and use the tower as a dining table. Last year, John reported the same result. The birds that “own” this tower have been successful at fending off Bald Eagles who nested there previously, but there are still a few things they need to figure out on making a successful nest. Last year, John ran across the term “frustration eyrie,” which is still the descriptive terminology this year.

No nest at the Little League park this year, which is a good thing since the last time they nested there on a light standard, it shorted out, burned down, and the young were all killed.

Moving down the peninsula, the nest on the cell tower behind JMS Wood Sculptors and Budget Truck Rental, clearly visible on the east side of Highway 16, was removed and not rebuilt this year. Another cell tower nest, this one in Port Orchard rising east of Bethel Road in a subdivision just off Silvis Lane, was also removed and not rebuilt this year.

Meanwhile, the cell tower on Wollochet Bay with the WDFW camera trained on it seems to have produced just one chick this year according to the camera, one which was been wildly successful in the past usually with 3 chicks. Unfortunately about the 3rd week in July this chick appeared dead on camera, almost full grown, and the camera was turned off, just keeping the last image on there. Both adults were in the area, one perched on the camera riser and one flying overhead. They were talking back and forth, and it didn’t sound like happy talk.

The Inn at Gig Harbor seemed to have a successful nest for most of the summer, but several visits in July did not reveal the usual cacophony of young, and the adults were visiting infrequently. It sounds like another frustration eyrie.

This is the worst report I can remember in 26 years on the peninsula.

Pictured below is the nest platform at Victor, about the only young Osprey I was able to observe this year. Photo was taken July 23, 2015. Click to enlarge.

ABC met on July 23rd for our 2nd annual book discussion. This year we read “The Thing with Feathers” by Noah Strycker, as suggested by Jerry Broadus last year. The discussion was conducted ably by Kay Pullen, and everyone who wanted to got a chance to give their opinions. Every chapter was touched upon.

A highlight was the presence of Bruce LaBar, who gave a report of birding in Colombia with Noah earlier this summer as part of Noah’s Big Global Year, an attempt to reach 5000 world species in one year. Bruce reported that Noah, still in his 20s, has the brains and stamina to make anything work, and those following Noah’s Big Year blog are certainly believers. Bruce also said Noah has a kind of “magic” to make the right birds appear for him.

A/V included 2 short internet videos, including:

For the second chapter, “Spontaneous Order,” we watched the original video of the huge starling flocks in Ireland doing their aerial displays. See it here:

For the chapter, “Beat Generation,” check out Snowball’s video at:

The discussion was mostly celebratory with a few nods towards maybe too much anthropomorphism from Ken and Ed. Most people had a favorite chapter or observation.

Noah is maintaining a blog in connection with his Big Year and will eventually do a book on it as well. The blog is at: http://www.audubon.org/features/birding-without-borders

If you have a suggestion about a compelling book about birds for next summer, let Kay know at kaypullen@me.com.

We had a few minutes left, so the discussion shifted towards discussion of the movie shown at the Grand Cinema this week to which many of us went, “Emptying the Skies,” concerning the ongoing slaughter of songbirds in Europe as they migrate across the Mediterranean. It was educational, but shocking even to those who knew about it.

Here’s part of the group discussing the book including Bruce Labar (front left) and moderator Kay Pullen (white blouse 3rd from right). Click to enlarge.

On July 21, 2015, ABC and TAS members were invited to a special showing at the Grand Cinema of EMPTYING THE SKIES, a film spearheaded by award-winning author Jonathan Franzen and based on his essay. This documentary gave us a close-up-and-personal view of the unbelievable massacre of songbirds attempting to cross the Mediterranean by humans on their twice-yearly migrations. These tiny birds are eaten, but are not needed as food. Many of these species have had alarming downturns in their numbers outside of the millions being trapped by these poachers, who prefer not to know or believe they have an impact. In some areas, the Mafia is behind the poaching since cooking and serving something illegal makes it pricier and more of a luxury, with money to be made.

The film zeroed in on several of the anti-poaching activists who risk their lives to release trapped birds right under the poachers’ noses. The film does briefly mention that other less threatening means are also being employed against the slaughter. But seeing these men at work shows what drives them and gives us a close-up look at the birds themselves either dying or being saved by them, making it personal for us as well as for them.

The activities depicted took place in Cyprus, Italy, and France, but it is more widespread than just those countries. In the after-show discussion led by Art Wang, Art mentioned that since the Arab Spring unrest, Egypt has emerged as one of the worse as it has been left without its previous framework.

Art led a spirited discussion afterwards until we were invited to leave. Thanks for the research, Art!

For those wanting to know more:

Info on and reaction to the film: http://www.musicboxfilms.com/emptying-the-skies-movies-114.php

The CABS group highlighted in the film: http://www.komitee.de/en/homepage

Lots of other reactions on the internet to the slaughter including this from Prince Charles: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2586928/Stop-barbaric-slaughter-British-songbirds-Prince-Charles-demands-private-letter-head-Army-base-Cyprus.html

Art Wang (right) leads spirited after-show discussion on 7/21/15. Click to enlarge.

Mark your calendars for Sept. 21, 2015 (a Monday) at 6:45 at the UPlace library for a presentation on the recovery of the Steller’s Eider!

Tasha Di Marzio is employed by the Alaska Sea Life Center (Seward, AK) and the Dept of Fish & Wildlife Alaska. She has been working in partnership with both places. She has recently been out on the Yukon Delta with DFW working on this project. She has worked on this species’ recovery for 11 years.

Some of you might have heard of her work, as she is the daughter of ABC’er Shelley Parker.

Tasha will also have some photographs you’ve never seen before!

Dennis Paulson Lecture, Thursday, August 6, 6:45 – 8:45pm, at UPS

Join the ABC Club and top nationally recognized birder Dennis Paulson presenting:BIRDS OF THE WIND – THE LIVES AND TIMES OF NORTHWEST SHOREBIRDS.

This photo-illustrated lecture will treat the natural history of Pacific Northwest shorebirds, discussing in depth their foraging, migration, and breeding. Learn why shorebirds are even more interesting than you thought! Dennis Paulson has studied these far-flying birds for years and has written two books about them.

Dennis Paulson, retired a decade ago from being Director of the Slater Museum of Natural History, University of Puget Sound (UPS), has been a professional biologist and naturalist all of his adult life. He began studying natural history as a boy and is a world expert on dragonflies. He is the author of nine books, including Shorebirds of North America and Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest, and 90 scientific papers on birds and dragonflies. He is the primary instructor for the Master Birder program run by Seattle Audubon and occasionally by Tahoma Audubon.

This is a fundraiser benefitting the Slater Museum of Natural History at UPS$20.00

Lecture Location: Thompson Hall on the University of Puget Sound Campus. Park in the parking lot at N 14th and N. Union. Thompson Hall is on the north end of the lot. Room number will be posted on the front door.

Please contact Diane Yorgason-Quinn avosetta@hotmail.com to reserve your place in the class.