> Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 23:25:25 -0700
> From: Pharris Nicholas J <pharrinj at PLU.EDU>
> To: BIRDCHAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
> Subject: Birding at PLU
>
> Hello again.
>
> Today was the first halfway warm day in a long time, so I took the
> opportunity to do some birding around the Pacific Lutheran University
> campus.
>
> The sky was absolutely packed with Violet-Green Swallows and their chirps
> and squeaks. The Bewick's Wrens were also out in force, each belting out
> its own idiosyncratic song (which can get quite confusing, I don't have to
> tell you!). They seem quite a bit bolder than they were a week or two
> ago, and it is not difficult to find one out in the open now.
>
> For a while I thought maybe the foul weather had driven all the warblers
> away for good. However, I was pleased to be greeted today by a gorgeous
> male butterbutt (this being the Northwest, he was also a butterbeard :-).
>
> Highlights of the day included a very high-flying Bald Eagle, a
> magnificent flying Great Blue Heron, and a Golden-crowned Sparrow (a lifer
> for me--give me a break; I'm new at this!).
>
> I also encountered a family of Oregon (Dark-eyed) Juncos. It consisted of
> one gray-headed parent, one black-headed parent, and their juvenile, who
> looked to be just out of the nest--fully feathered and capable of limited
> flight, but with a very short, mostly white tail and retaining its
> baby-bird "lips". The youngster seemed as adept at hopping on the ground
> as its parents, and it would follow them around, peeping at them, until
> one or the other brought it a morsel of food. At first I was worried that
> so small a chick should be down on the ground. Is this typical? Are
> juncos ground-nesters?
>
> Anyway, one thing I'm interested in is cataloging bird species within
> specific ecological communities. To that end I have been roaming the PLU
> campus whenever weather has permitted, making note of all the species I
> see (and missing a lot I'm sure, as I only began birding seriously last
> month).
>
> The following species were seen on, over, or within a few blocks of the
> Pacific Lutheran University campus, outside Tacoma, Washington. They are
> listed under the date I first recorded them (lifers in CAPS):
>
> April 11 (including a number of no-brainers I new about before):
> Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
> Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
> Rock Dove (Domestic Pigeon) Columba livia
> Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
> Violet-green Swallow Tachycineta thalassina
> Crow Corvus sp. (C. brachyrhynchos, C.
> caurinus, or hybrids)
> Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapilla
> Chestnut-backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens
> Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus
> GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET Regulus satrapa
> American Robin Turdus migratorius
> Townsend's Warbler Dendroica townsendi
> European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
> Oregon Junco Junco hyemalis oreganus
> House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus
> Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus
>
> April 16:
> ?falcon ?Falco sp.
> AUDUBON'S WARBLER Dendroica coronata auduboni
>
> April 18:
> Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens
> Band-tailed Pigeon Columba fasciata
> Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
> House Sparrow Passer domesticus
>
> April 19:
> BEWICK'S WREN Thryomanes bewickii
> DOWNY WOODPECKER Picoides pubescens
>
> April 20:
> ?tern ?Sterna sp.
>
> April 21:
> Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
> Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus
> White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
>
> April 22:
> RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH Sitta canadensis
> VARIED THRUSH Ixoreus naevius
>
> April 26:
> BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD Molothrus ater
> (You may remember my query regarding this one. I got a good look
> today and it was definitely a Cowbird.)
>
> April 27:
> SWAINSON'S THRUSH Catharus ustulatus
>
> May 4:
> KILDEER Charadrius vociferus
> (I was surprised to find a pair nesting right here on campus)
> Canada Goose Branta canadensis
>
> May 5:
> Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
> Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
> GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW Zonotrichia atricapilla
>
>
> Aside from the omnipresent starlings and crows, the most common elements
> of the PLU avifauna are the two species of Chickadees, Violet-green
> Swallows, Bushtits, Robins, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Bewick's Wrens, House
> Finches, and Juncos.
>
> Nick Pharris
> Pacific Lutheran University
> Tacoma, WA 98447
> (253)535-7045
> pharrinj at plu.edu
>
>