Hello Tweets,

Today I observed an adult ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, just SW of Taylor Way, and SR
509, in the Port of Tacoma, in an overgrown open field, consisting mostly of
Scotch Broom. ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS are considered quite scarce in Pierce
County, being mostly in winter, with possible migrants from Sunrise in
fall, and my second record for Tacoma, with the other record seen on the
Tacoma CBC count day, just south of the Narrows Bridge in 1990, but could
not be relocated thereafter. They occur annually at Nisqually NWR in
Thurston Co., irregularly, with numbers varing from year to year, in late
fall through early spring, and have been noted on the east side of the
Nisqually River, NE of the refuge in Pierce County. They are probably
regular in the Ft. Lewis area in the vast open prairie region in winter to
early spring, but winter coverage is minimal. I also observed a single SNOWY
OWL on the top of St. Joseph Hospital being mobbed by approxiatemetly 65
Am.Crows at 3:45pm, being probably the same owl reported in mid November at
a nearby residence, and most recently in the Port of Tacoma in early
December, which was also observed by my mother and I on the 3rd of December,
as the bird was photographed roosting on new imported vehicles, but was not
seen since at that location. Hopefully these two quality Pierce County
species will be found on the Tacoma CBC on the 16th.

Good birding,

Patrick Sullivan
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net