Hi Birders:
An Audubon (Rainier plus Tahoma) field trip on Sat, June 19 in S King
County was supposed to be for birdsong. But we had great views of
many species. The birds were perched up and singing. A
Virginia Rail came right in to our feet! We actually saw a Red-eyed
Vireo instead of just hearing it!
The trip started from Auburn, went east to Flaming Geyser State Park
(near Black Diamond), and a few folks journeyed back to Green
River Natural Resources Area (Kent Ponds) in the afternoon. The day
was sunny, and
quite warm.
After meeting in Auburn, WA at 7am, our first stop was Academy Road.
To reach this spot, drive east from Auburn on hwy 18, exit on
Auburn-Black Diamond Rd, and turn right (east) on Green Valley Rd
which goes to Flaming Geyser. Academy Road is about 1/3 mile past the
Meat Market on the right. It is a closed-off road that is now a trail
about 3/4 mile long with a wooded pond at the bottom. It gains about
150 feet elevation. This small elevation gain, and changes in woods
and clearings affords a good mix of habitats, and always seems to have
quite a number of breeding birds. As we got out of the cars, we could
hear a number of birds calling and singing. We heard Swainson's
Thrush, Western Wood-Pewee, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, and an
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER calling, "Quick, Three Beers". As we walked up
the
trail we had 4 singing flycatchers, the WW-Pewee, Pac-slope Fly, TWO
Olive-sided Flys, and a Willow Fly. We had great views of all of
these, except for the Pac-slope. At the top of the trail, an
Olive-sided Flycatcher perched on a telephone line right above our
heads, affording great views of its field marks, including the white
rump patches. A Cooper's Hawk flew overhead. We also saw and heard
Black-headed Grosbeaks, and Western Tanagers. There were about 8
Wilson's Warblers singing. A Hutton's Vireo was glimpsed down low
near the trail by some of us. It make a loud squeaky sound. We heard
28 species (and saw most of them) along this trail.
Next we doubled back to the Meat Market for a break, and in this area
we heard a RED-EYED VIREO in the tall cottonwoods across the street.
A walk along the road there gave us a partial view of a singing Common
Yellowthroat.
Then we drove east on Green Valley Road to Flaming Geyser State Park,
paid our $5. per car and entered the park. The next view of a bird
was an excellent return for our money. At the little marsh next to
the road, we attracted an adult Virginia Rail. None of us had ever
seen a view like this of this species. It came toward us across a
little ditch, paraded back and forth in front of us in full view, and
approached to within 5 feet of us. Some of us thought it was going to
attack. It called its oink, oink, oink call. Wow!
After lunch in the park, we walked up to the end and lit the flaming
geyser. The flame is about 1 foot high now. It varies from year to
year. In this area there are some tall evergreens and cottonwoods. A
lady on the trip started to whit back at a calling Swainson's Thrush.
She drew the bird in and we all got some good views of it perched. I
played a tape of Cassin's and Red-eyed Vireo. A Red-eyed Vireo flew
over our heads and perched above us. One of us got a good view of its
face. At first it sang like a Cassin's Vireo (question and answer
with pauses), but then settled into its classic song. Very neat. Up
the trail, we observed a Pacific-slope Flycatcher at eye level
through the trees about 30 feet away. It was calling a very short
chip note that sounded almost like "snk". The Green River was popular
w/ happy rafters and families, so we didn't see the American Dipper
that is usually here.
In the afternoon, we returned to Auburn, and a few of us drove north
to
Kent Ponds to try for the Lazuli Bunting. We knew that 3 males and a
female had been seen there on Sun, Jun 13. At Kent Ponds, we tried
for the birds behind the Anixter Bldg on 64th Ave by the Animal
Shelter, as that's where they had been seen the previous week. No
response, except for excited Common Yellowthroats, and one singing
Marsh Wren. It was hot by now. Then we went to the grassy knoll
south of the Animal Shelter on 64th across from Web Press. We saw an
American Kestrel, some Ruddy Ducks, and tried for Lazuli Bunting. No
response. We lingered for a bit, and finally a female LAZULI
BUNTING flew in, doing a small chip note. She is a gray-brown color
with clear underparts, and has a nice salmon-tan wash on her breast.
She has a small bill. I hope she finds a mate at Kent Ponds, but he
sure didn't show himself to us on a warm afternoon (86 degrees).
The list follows for the entire trip:
[AR=Academy Road, MM=Meat Market, FG=Flaming Geyser State Park,
KP=Kent
Ponds.]
--------------------
Great Blue Heron
Gadwall
Ruddy Duck
Osprey - 1 KP
Cooper?s Hawk - 1 AR
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel - 1 KP
Virginia Rail - 1 FG
Killdeer
Rock Dove
Rufous Hummingbird - 20 AR, FG
Belted Kingfisher - 1 ea at FG, KP
Red-breasted Sapsucker - 1 heard drumming AR
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher - 2 AR
Western Wood-Pewee - all areas
Willow Flycatcher - all areas
Pacific-slope Flycatcher - AR, MM, FG
Hutton?s Vireo - 1 AR
Red-eyed Vireo - 1 ea at MM, FG
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blk-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-bk?d Chickadee
Bewick?s Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Swainson?s Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler - KP
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson?s Warbler - AR
Western Tanager - AR
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak - AR, FG
Lazuli Bunting - 1 female KP
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer?s Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

52 total species
Yours, Carol Schulz
DesMoines, WA
mailto:linusq at att.net