Hi Tweets:
On Sunday, March 18, a good-size Rainier Audubon group saw lots of bird
species, and had some surprises on the way. The field trip was called
Exploration of Hylebos Creek. The creek starts in Federal Way in S King
County, and flows south to Fife, where it empties into the Hylebos Waterway
at Commencement Bay in Tacoma. Portions of the urbanized creek have been
saved from development, and portions have been been restored by Friends of
the Hylebos and by Citizens for a Healthy Bay.
Our group started at West Hylebos Wetlands State Park on 348th. This site
is 69 acres and contains a large bog and some ponds. We saw two
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS gleaning the high branches of a Redwood tree next to
a pond here, and 2 pair of Wood Ducks were in the pond. We also heard Pine
Siskins, Varied Thrush, and singing Brown Creepers at this location. We
didn't walk the 1+ mile boardwalk as this is closed for repair after the
blackout storm in December.
We drove south on hwy 99, and turned left (east) onto 373rd St, where
Hylebos Creek flows through large fields near Spring Valley Ranch. The
ranch has been bought by a Nature Conservancy, and restoration is planned
for the creek edges. We saw an amazing sight at this location. Looking at
a field just south of the road, we saw a female BARN OWL roosting on a
little tree right out in the open. She was oblivious to our group, and was
no more than 70 feet from us. It was a warm, cloudy day, and she looked
very peaceful. A Red-tailed Hawk was in the area, and it was quite active.
I was very surprised to see a nocturnal owl out in the open like that. She
was roosting about 8 feet up in the small bare tree. There is a ranch house
across the street so she may be used to people and cars. Her eyes remained
closed the entire time. Wow, what a sight for our group! We also observed
another RED-BR. SAPSUCKER here, right next to the road, sampling sap from
tree wells in a small tree. We heard Pine Siskins here.
>From here we journeyed south on hwy 99, and eventually turned toward the bay
on 54th Ave (at the Poodle Dog Restaurant). This is Fife, in north Pierce
County. We traveled north on 54th about 1/4 mile, and turned right on 12th
St. There are large, muddy field there in the Fife Flats. Here we saw a
male CINNAMON TEAL, 2 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 12 WILSON'S SNIPE, and
other birds and waterfowl. It was still warm and cloudy, and the birds were
quite active. We could only see the Snipe when they flew, as they would
land in 6" tall grass and disappear. One time 7 of them flew directly over
us. Then we traveled north on 54th, and took a right on 8th. We drove down
to the last warehouse, and pulled into the parking lot, where an employee
puts up bird feeder socks on a chainlink fence by a small pond. At the
socks we saw Gold Finches, Pine Siskin, Wht-crowned Sparrows, and one
Golden-crowned Sparrow. Back in Doris' Field behind the parking lot a
Wht-crned Sparrow was singing! It was a Pugetensis singing See Me, Pretty
Pretty Me. First of the season for me. Pine Siskins were zzizzz'ing in the
backround.
We drove north on 54th, and turned right on 4th. We drove all the way to
the end. Friends of the Hylebos, and other groups have restored Hylebos
Creek in this area. There is a foot bridge and trails along the bluff, and
thru the field. Here we observed one or maybe two RED-BR. SAPSUCKERS. It
was quite the sapsucker day. One of the Sapsuckers was calling. We heard a
singing Varied Thrush up on the bluff. Friends of the Hylebos count salmon
at this bridge area, when the salmon are running.
We continued north, and then turned right onto hwy 509, and drove along the
east side of Hylebos Waterway. In a couple of miles we reached 11th St at
the always-open Hylebos Bridge. This mudflat area has been restored by
Citizens for a Healthy Bay. They call this area the Hylebos mudflats. We
walked over to the bay and observed N. Pintail Ducks, several species of
waterfowl, and several Great Blue Herons, both adult and juvenile. There
are quite a few Purple Martin boxes made of white PVC on pilings in this
location. Those birds should return in April. A Peregrine Falcon sometimes
perches on the open bridge across the waterway, but on Sunday it was perched
on the large red tower next to the bridge, about halfway up. Wow, what a
great sight at the end of our field trip.
The Hylebos Creek areas are being restored with native plants, and the river
enhanced for Salmon habitat, and we birders really enjoyed seeing the birds
in the various areas. We saw more than 50 species on the field trip.
Yours, Carol Schulz, Des Moines, linusq at att.net