Subject: Lewis woodpecker and other Seward Park birds
Date: Jan 16 03:53:15 1999
From: tuisto at oz.net - tuisto at oz.net


Tweets:

I was thinking I might have to go to Fort Simcoe to see a Lewis'
woodpecker until one turned up on the cottonwoods by the tennis courts in
Seward Park today (well, I guess it's yesterday now). I couldn't make out
the white collar or pink breast, but the greenish body, red face and large
size were unmistakable. I can't imagine what else it could be. There was a
downy woodpecker on the next tree over and the size contrast was
remarkable. I didn't seem to remember reading many local (Seattle) reports
of them, so I checked Gene Hunn's book (1982 edition - is there a newer
one?) and found that this is even rarer than I imagined. Some of you who
have seen this bird before should probably try to verify the sighting,
unless they've become more common since 1982.

While I was watching the woodpeckers, a shorebird wandered by a few yards
in front of me. I have seen a solitary shorebird flying along the shore on
the south side of the park several times and assumed I would never manage
to identify it, but today I am convinced the bird I saw is a spotted
sandpiper (with no spots, of course!). After IDing it by pictures in the
NatGeo guide, it was reassuring to read that the weird teetering behavior I
was watching is characteristic of the spotted sandpiper, and that they are
usually solitary.

Last Sunday as I was getting the baby, stroller, and dog out of the car in
the parking lot by the tennis courts (this could become my favorite birding
spot), I noticed a bird land in the tree above me, followed by a few crows
squawking loudly. The shape and long tail reminded me of a mockingbird,
which seemed unlikely, so I aimed my binoculars and briefly looked at an
immature sharp-shinned hawk before the crows chased it into the same
cottonwoods where I later saw the Lewis' woodpecker. (In fact, I think I
may have seen the same hawk today, but it went by too quickly to be certain
what it was.)
I was distracted from trying to find the hawk again by squawking crows and
gulls, and followed the noise with my eyes to see one of the resident bald
eagles fishing offshore. The eagle made about five swoops and stalls, but
never broke the water surface. Eventually it left with the crows and gulls
in pursuit. Today I saw a near instant-replay of this drama, except that
the crows hung out on the sidelines and let the gulls do all the work. It
seems a wonder the eagles ever get anything to eat with this entourage
following them every time they try to fish. It was interesting to see how
tightly grouped the coots and ducks became when the eagle was over the water.
I thought I understood this kind of mobbing of predators until I thought
about the size difference between the eagle and the sharp-shinned hawk. The
latter was notably smaller than the crows, so I wonder why they bothered
about it, especially when it's not nesting season. Any ideas?

Most of the usual suspects were seen on the north and south bays on one or
both days:

scads of coots; mallards, including some white-fronted ones (does anyone
have any idea if these are mutants or hybrids? their overall body color is
browner than the normal mallards); gadwalls; common goldeneyes;
buffleheads; Canada geese; canvasbacks; scaups (lesser, I think); a female
common (?) merganser; pied-bill grebes; a western grebe; "Olympic" gulls;
glaucous-winged gulls; ring-billed gulls (they look like they're glued to
the pilings); double-crested cormorants.

Didn't spend much time in the woods, but they were pretty quiet. Not much
besides black-capped and chestnut-backed chickadees. Alas, I haven't heard
or seen the conures lately. They seem to pretty well disappear in the
winter. To where, I wonder?

Good birding!

Paul Talbert
Seattle
tuisato at oz.net