I led the monthly Tahoma Audubon Third Sunday Nature Walk at Pt.
Defiance Park in Tacoma this morning, and it turned out to be a real
treat of a morning. Although no one opted to join me in the 19 degree
temperatures at 8 a.m., the birds didn't seem to mind the cold at all.

The big highlight of the day was first hearing, then seeing and
recording a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL that was calling non-stop in the heart of
the woods just a half mile from the start of Five Mile Drive. I called
to the tiny owl for a little bit, while I tried to get a look at the
bird, but I abruptly stopped without calling the bird in further for a
photo, because the owl sounds were causing a nearby GREAT HORNED OWL to
start vocalizing. Not wanting to be responsible for feeding a Northern
Pygmy-Owl to a Great Horned Owl, I climbed over the top of a trio of
cedar trees that blocked the path and continued on my way.

There were other highlights in the solo walk through the woods. As soon
as I stepped out of my car from the starting point in the Pt. Defiance
Zoo parking lot, I heard a pair of WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and watched
two PILEATED WOODPECKERS pecking away in the top of a fir tree on the
edge of the parking lot. By the end of the three-hour walk I had seen at
least five Pileated Woodpeckers, as well as two DOWNY WOODPECKERS and
three NORTHERN FLICKERS.

The other main highlight was a pair of TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS seen feeding
in a cedar tree near the Fort Nisqually portion of the park.

What a great morning for 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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