Hi Tweets:

Saturday's sunny weather and 12 keen East Lake Washington Audubon Society
birders enjoyed great birding at Ft. Lewis. Yellow Warblers continue to be
abundant at Johnson's Marsh. Purple Martins, Wood Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks,
Hooded Mergansers, Western Tanager, and Yellow-headed Blackbird were some of
the "water" highlights.

One interesting and perplexing sighting was that of a Cooper's Hawk, high in
a conifer tree. It was making a repetitive single call note and its white
undertail coverts were spread like a fan. All this while appearing to be
gleaning something from the moss along a horizontal branch. There was no
apparant change in the "fan" when the hawk flew. As for the call, Stokes
Field Guide to Birds mentions the high "kek kek kek kek" call given during
alarm or during pair interaction. By day's end, we had totaled 64 species
for the trip.

In Spanaway, we stopped for refreshments. As we piled out of our cars, a
female mallard and her 12 kids were attempting to cross the very busy 5-lane
road. Many people were involved with getting the cars stopped and turning
the family back to the sidewalk. Teenagers from across the street appeared
to be attempting to roundup the ducks, so most of us went for coffee.
However, ELWAS' Sedonia St. Germaine crossed the street to help. Good thing
she did. To cut to the conclusion, the duck family was boxed up and we
transported them to Spanaway Park. With a flurry of family photos and a
feeling of success, we released the mallard family at one of the park's
ponds.

SPECIES SEEN AND/OR HEARD - 64 - Ft. Lewis

Pied-billed Grebe
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Hooded Merganser
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail
American Coot
Killdeer
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Vaux's Swift
Rufous Hummingbird
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Warbling Vireo
Western Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Marsh Wren
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Horned Lark
House Sparrow
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Purple Finch
House Finch
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Savannah Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Western Tanager
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird

Joyce Meyer
Woodinville, WA
MEYER2J at aol.com