Tweeters, addendum -- Add Common Yellowthroat -- a locally common
species. Total is 55 spp for the day. // djd

> ______________________________________________
> From: Desilvis, Denis J
> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 9:10 AM
> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> Subject: Ft Lewis -- 04-28-2007 -- Cassin's Vireo -
> Black-throated Gray Warbler - Purple Martins
>
> Tweeters,
> Six of us toured Ft Lewis on a cool, breezy, but very nice Saturday
> (no rain!) during this Seattle Audubon Society Birdathon outing.
> Highlights included CASSIN'S VIREO (life bird for some),
> BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, and PURPLE MARTINS. The vireo was very
> vocal, and rewarded most of us with a view just east of Brandenburg
> Marsh, near a wetland that now has some new martin residences.
> Although we didn't see Purple Martins (PUMA) there, we did see two as
> they flew over us, vocalizing, at Brandenburg Marsh. One of the three
> PUMA nesting trees has burned down recently, and it looks as if one of
> the other trees has been taken over by starlings. One "natural" PUMA
> nesting trees still remains, and it could be that these two birds were
> checking that out. We didn't see martins at their usual nest site at
> the north end of Chambers Lake.
>
> The Black-throated Gray Warbler was seen along Second Division Road --
> a very productive birding area.
>
> With the PUMA, we managed to get all six of the swallows we typically
> see, adding Barn, Cliff, Tree, Violet-green, and Northern Rough-winged
> at the bridge over Muck Creek at the east side of the 91st Division
> Prairie. This is a prime spot for all those birds. In addition, we
> added Common Merganser at Muck Creek -- a first for me on this side of
> Ft. Lewis.
>
> The usual sparrow breeders -- White-crowned, Savannah, and Chipping --
> were prevalent. It might have been a bit early to see the man, and
> almost ubiqitous, Yellow Warblers, but we did catch a few at Chambers
> Lake.
>
> Although we tried, we couldn't elicit responses from Sora and Virginia
> Rails at Chambers Lake. I know they're around (many at my wetland in
> Roy). We did manage to snag a Sora at the same spot as the vireo.
>
> Our route included Second Division Road, 91st Division Prairie, a
> whole lot of woodland to the north of this prairie (road maintenance
> in this area changed my typical route), Muck Creek, Brandenburg Marsh,
> Chambers Lake, and the east side of Johnson Marsh -- lots of Rufous
> Hummingbirds there.
>
> Interestingly enough -- we didn't see any gulls, of which California
> and Glaucous-winged are usually in the area of the Post Exchange. We
> could likely have scored a Brewer's Blackbird also had we stopped
> there.
>
> Here's what we saw (54 species):
> Canada Goose
> Mallard
> Ring-necked Duck
> Bufflehead
> Common Merganser
> Pied-billed Grebe
> Turkey Vulture
> Bald Eagle
> Northern Harrier
> Sharp-shinned Hawk
> Red-tailed Hawk
> American Kestrel
> Sora
> American Coot
> Killdeer
> Rock Pigeon
> Mourning Dove
> Rufous Hummingbird
> Downy Woodpecker
> Northern Flicker
> Cassin's Vireo
> Steller's Jay
> American Crow
> Common Raven
> Purple Martin
> Tree Swallow
> Violet-green Swallow
> Northern Rough-winged Swallow
> Cliff Swallow
> Barn Swallow
> Black-capped Chickadee
> Bewick's Wren
> Winter Wren
> Marsh Wren
> Golden-crowned Kinglet
> Ruby-crowned Kinglet
> Western Bluebird
> American Robin
> European Starling
> Orange-crowned Warbler
> Yellow Warbler
> Yellow-rumped Warber
> Black-throated Gray Warbler
> Spotted Towhee
> Chipping Sparrow
> Savannah Sparrow
> Song Sparrow
> White-crowned Sparrow
> Dark-eyed Junco
> Red-winged Blackbird
> Brown-headed Cowbird
> Purple Finch
> Pine Siskin
> American Goldfinch
>
> May all your birds be identified,
>
> Denis DeSilvis
> Seattle, WA
> mailto:denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com
>