Hello Rob,
We know that you meant Tree Swallows since you wrote them on the list down
below.Nice trip report.


Ruth Sullivan
Tacoma Fircrest
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob McNair-Huff" <rob at whiterabbits.com>
To: "Tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 10:07 AM
Subject: Nisqually post correction, and Tacoma birding on Monday morning


> This morning I was reminded why it isn't a good idea to post to Tweeters
> late at night and without closely reading what I was about to post. In my
> Nisqually saunter post I meant to refer to seeing a vigorous flock of 25
> TREE SWALLOWS along McAllister Creek, as noted in the species list, not
> Tree Sparrows. Thanks to Ian Paulsen for pointing out the error.
>
> Meanwhile, back at home this morning I enjoyed better than normal early
> a.m. birding in Tacoma's North End. The first bird of the day was a
> Sharp-shinned Hawk riding the northern winds over the street in front of
> our house as it was being pursued by six American Crows. The sharpie
> showed its superior aerial skills by knifing through the breezy air and
> staying well out in front of the crows.
>
> A few minutes later, after dropping Natalie off at her workplace in
> downtown Tacoma, I saw three Bald Eagles (two immature and one mature)
> riding the wind above Schuster Parkway, and a Red-tailed Hawk riding the
> wind just over the top of Garfield Gulch. The waters of Commencement Bay
> are growing less and less full of birds each day, as birds move to new
> areas for the spring, but despite the white caps that were crashing
> against the rocky sea walls and up onto the sidewalks at times, there
> were still a handful of Horned Grebes, Barrow's Goldeneye, White-winged
> and Black Scoters in the bay.
>
> Back at home, the Anna's Hummingbirds are growing less and less common at
> our feeders and displaying in our yard. The females are now sitting on
> their nests and these prominent winter hummingbirds are transitioning to
> being less visible in urban landscapes. I can still see the males sitting
> on their territories just a couple of blocks away at the top of Mason
> Gulch. Meanwhile, my eyes are peeled for the first appearance of a Rufous
> Hummingbird in our yard.
>
> Happy birding!
>
> --
> Rob McNair-Huff ---------- Tacoma, WA
> Author of Birding Washington (Falcon Publishing, 2004)
> and Insider's Guide to the Olympic Peninsula (Globe Pequot, 2001)
> White Rabbit Publishing ---- http://www.whiterabbits.com
> Mac Net Journal ---------- http://www.macnetjournal.com
> The Equinox Project ------ http://www.whiterabbits.com/weblog.html
>
>