Hello Tweets,

This morning my mother and I encountered a small push of migrant passerines in our front yard between 8:55am-9:25am,of which were confined mainly to our large Paper Birch tree. A combination of an imitation of a Northern Pygmy Owl and "pishing"helped bring many of the species closer into view. Away from our regular resident flock of "feeder" birds species this morning included the following:

1 Downy Woodpecker
8+ Red-breasted Nuthatches
3 Hutton's Vireos
1 Bewick's Wren
1 Varied Thrush(our personal first of the season and heard calling only from our residence)
2 Orange-crowned Warblers
1 Yellow Warbler
3 Townsend's Warblers(2 males and 1 female)
1 female Western Tanager
1 Song Sparrow
3 Dark-eyed"Oregon"Juncos
1 Purple Finch(heard,then seen calling as it flew over)
8+ Evening Grosbeaks(observed flying over)

In addition we made a stop during slowly outgoing tide at Luhr Beach between 11:45am-1:15pm,which produced the lingering immature Brown Pelican,which was our sole highlight of our visit. The bird was observed primarily in Pierce Co.,as it loafed on the open water to the northeast of Luhr Beach,as well as rested atop an offshore piling for the majority of the time. Conditions were slightly windy at times,but also calm too and due to the lack of mudflats no shorebirds were encountered,except for a small distant flock of "peeps" beyond the Nisqually River. A few other species of note at this location included the following:

12 Common Loons
15 Horned Grebes
5 Red-necked Grebes
22 Western Grebes
280+ Double-crested Cormorants
2 Brandt's Cormorants
4 Pelagic Cormorants
38 Surf Scoters
23 White-winged Scoters
3 Bald Eagles
2 Red-tailed Hawks(observed circling over the Nisqually Delta)
1 Peregrine Falcon
1 Red-necked Phalarope
58+ Bonaparte's Gulls
1 Western Gull
4 Pigeon Guillemots
8 Rhinoceros Auklets
33 Band-tailed Pigeons(observed as a flock foraging along McAllister Creek just south of the Nisqually Reach Audubon Center)
2 Mourning Doves
1 Pileated Woodpecker


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net