Last night was one to remember for overnight birding in Tacoma. I had
been tracking the possibility for auroras overnight, and hoping for
clear skies, throughout the day. So, when I went outside around 11 p.m.
I was looking for the northern lights. They weren't to be seen at that
time, but I could hear the distinct calls of migrating birds flying
overhead. Natalie joined me outside when I told her about the migrating
birds, and we both listened for a while, hearing at least two species
with calls that sounded like shorebirds.

The real treat started around 11:20 p.m., when it looked like someone
had switched on the lights in the sky to the north. For the next 10
minutes we watched waves of light wash across the sky, while birds
continued to fly overhead and call to each other on their way south.

Sometimes the best birding moments are right in the front yard, when
nature puts on a show - even though the birds can't quite be identified!

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)
Mac Net Journal ---------- http://www.macnetjournal.com

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