Hello Tweets,

The NORTHERN PYGMY OWL was first reported calling on the Evergreen campus by
my fellow birders Eric Huston and Brendan McGarry. After eluding us for a
month, the NORTHERN PYGMY OWL has finally been spotted!
I decided to walk down to the beach this afternoon because it was so nice
out. There were many Oso berries, Trilliums and Salmon berries in bloom. I didn't
see many birds on the way down to the beach but there was a nice pair of
Barrow's Goldeneyes on the water once I got down there. On the way back I saw a
gorgeous Red-bellied Sapsucker hammering away only a few feet from the path. All
of a sudden I heard the Northern Pygmy Owl start to call so I followed the
trail to the road. I started to scan the trees and all of a sudden I saw it on
the top of a Doug fir, tooting away. I watched it for about 5 minutes as it
called. It then stopped to preen its wing and tail. After it was done preening it
flew to a neighboring Doug fir where it called loudly for a few more minutes.
It then flew to a dead Alder where I got a great look at it and then it flew
back to the Doug fir. I left after about 30 minutes and I could still hear it
calling.
It would be pretty exciting if they end up nesting on campus!

Simone Lupson-Cook
Olympia/Seattle
Zingie at aol.com