Thanks to Ruth Sullivan's great directions, we made our first trip out to
Black Lake Meadows. It won't be our last, though--nice, varied habitat, a
couple of well-placed benches, and no crowds!
We saw:
2 solitary sandpipers
8 Least sandpipers
2 greater yellowlegs
4 (at least) killdeer
red-winged blackbirds, too mobile to count, but at least 5 were in sight at
one time, both male and female
tree swallows, too mobile to count
barn swallow--saw 2 at separate times, so could have been the same one
4 bufflehead, m and f; as we left another flock of 6 flew overhead and
landed
mallards, m, f, babies--at least 5 mothers with babies in tow, several
mothers and babies hiding in overhanging branches
shovelers, m, f, and babies--saw only one mother with babies--considerably
larger than mallard babies, but still fluffy-looking
1 gr blue heron
3 Am goldfinches, 2 m, 1 f
3 white-crowned sparrows
several robins
song sparrows--too mobile to count, but saw groups of 3-4 each time we
spotted them
1 yellow-rumped warbler--this is a first for us, and identified through
book pic/descriptions ---has anyone else seen one there? This was in the
tiny pond nearest the gate, splashing in the water. We watched it for
about 3 minutes before it flew. A robin was also splashing on the other
side of this "pond" at the same time. Our first guess had been Bullock's
Oriole, but it had a yellow throat.....
Great trip---thanks for the tip!
Nancie Howell Willey
rewilley at localaccess.com
Centralia, WA 98531