Hi all -
This morning I was out at Discovery Park and was happy to run across
both the Lapland Longspur & the Mountain Chickadee mentioned Saturday
by Rachel Lawson.
The longspur was very close to the location described in Rachel's
post [below], on the paths near the end of the road at the gate for
the lighthouse. It fed mostly on the pathways as I watched it, and
allowed me to approach to within a couple feet w/o concern.

The Mountain Chickadee I came across was in a spot pretty distant
from the one found on Sat. Given all the reports, who knows how many
may be around in the park? Directions: From the South parking lot,
walk the main trail across the meadow [along the s.bluff]. At the
west end of the meadow, when you come to a dune, take the path that
turns right, rather than heading further west towards the beach.
Follow this path along the meadow edge and out towards where the
houses begin on the far side. Before getting to the houses, the trail
leaves the edge of the meadow, passes through some open meadow, and
then goes throuh a grove of good sized coniferous trees. The Mountain
Chickadee was in that grove.

Heavy fog kept down the water viewing today, but it was nice to see
the numbers of Western Grebes growing for the winter again --
Elsewhere in the park, mostly the usual suspects were around - lots
of Fox Sparrows, good numbers of Yellow-rumps, 4 Pileateds calling at
different spots, and a couple Orange-crowned Warblers.

Good birding,

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA

>
>The monthly Discovery Park Bird Census was today, and there were lots
>and lots of birds! The beach team found one LAPLAND LONGSPUR and saw
>two PARASITIC JAEGERS harrassing the BONAPARTE'S GULLS. I hiked down to
>the beach later in the day and found the longspur and one jaeger, but
>the biggest surprise was two MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES.
>
>Directions:
>
>The Lapland Longspur was just south of the West Point lighthouse. Walk
>down to the beach (or drive, if you qualify for a pass) and follow the
>paved road to the lighthouse. There is a turnaround just before the
>gate and a retaining wall with "Coast Guard" written on it. A path goes
>left from here along the beach. The bird was foraging on the path by
>the drinking fountain. It's very tame.
>
>By the time I got there, the Parasitic Jaeger was quite distant, but
>still visible from the beach around the north side of West Point,
>chasing gulls and terns. It might actually have been easier to see this
>bird from Shillshole or Golden Gardens.
>
>The Mountain Chickadees were in the trees around the pond above the
>beach on the north side of West Point. They were calling back and
>forth.
>
>Rachel Lawson
>Seattle
>RachelLawson at softhome.net
>
>
>
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