Hi Tweets:
It was a most unusual spring around here, birdwise. Usually the DARK-EYED JUNCO'S
are pretty-much gone by late spring. This year they seem to be everywhere in the
neighborhoods. Some are still perching quite high in trees and are singing.
We also
had PURPLE FINCHES singing and calling around here in the mornings until about 3
weeks ago. Then I started hearing HOUSE FINCHES, but not Purple Finches. And a
number of WESTERN TANAGERS were in the trees of Des Moines Creek Park this spring. I
continued to
see and hear them until early June. After that I didn't hear any in the park.
I decided to try to find Purple Finches and Western Tanagers in summer. And anything
else I could see.
I took a walk into a section of Des Moines Creek Park (DMCPk),
yesterday, July 11. I left the house about 9:10am. As I walked toward DMCPk I heard
an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER across the way on the north side of the park. I hadn't
heard it lately. It has come back for a number of years, and usually would call a
lot in the early morning in the spring. This year it came back late, and has not
called very much. I was very-glad to hear it call "quick, three beers". He only
called twice.
The bird song has decreased a lot lately, and even the robins are only calling, not
singing. The Blk-headed Grosbeaks have stopped singing. But there are a lot of SONG
SPARROWS singing. I walked down into the
woods, and heard a singing HUTTON'S VIREO. This was the first of about 3 separate
singing Hutton's. I walked in from 15th Ave S, and walk down to a footbridge over
Des
Moines Creek. Down by the bridge I heard a WARBLING VIREO singing.
I only heard two other Warbling Vireos yesterday, and they all were singing softly.
This is a big contrast to earlier this spring and summer when there were moderate
numbers of them and they sang quite loudly.
I started up the paved trail from the footbridge. I start up the trail from about
halfway up its two mile plus total length. I was heading moreless north. On the
walk I heard moderate numbers of SWAINSON'S THRUSHES singing and calling. Up where
the gradually climbing trail flattens out, I saw a skulky PILEATED WOODPECKER as it
flew through the trees. It landed about 12 feet up on a tree It was a beautiful day
yesterday, and there were a number of people, kids, and dogs on the trail. A huge
number of airplanes were coming into SeaTac from the south. The birds don't seem to
notice the planes. They hide and do alarm calls when kids and dogs come by. The
Pileated hid.
Then I heard a BLK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER. A few of these usually stay
during spring and into summer. Yesterday I heard at least 3 different birds singing,
and saw one right at the trail. I walked into the woods where there are some
conifers in the mixed woods. I was walking on dirt trails. I heard a singing
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET.
I started to worry that I would not hear or see a WESTERN TANAGER, but back toward
the west side of the woods I heard a "pri-dit" and a very short W Tanager song. I
never saw any birds fly, as I looked through the big fir trees there. I walked
through
the woods, and eventually ended up at the upper trailhead to the paved trail up on S
200th
near SeaTac Airport, and across 200th from the Tyee Golf Course. I walked down the
trail just a short way and a male PURPLE FINCH came in and sang for a brief time.
Wow! They remained here this summer. This is the first summer they have stayed here
I think.
A WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE was calling over to the east (by the jail that looks
like a fortress through the woods). The woods here is deciduous. Elev is about 180
ft I think. We are definitely in the lowlands near Puget Sound. There are lots of
alders. A BEWICK'S WREN sang and flew in. Then it did its imitation of a Brown
Creeper as it crawled up the trunk. An OSPREY flew by overhead. A LORQUIN'S ADMIRAL
butterfly flew by, my FOS (first of season).
I walked down the trail to a park bench and sat down to see what birds might come in.
A few squeeky finches were nearby. An AMERICAN GOLDFINCH and a PINE SISKIN landed in
the top of a dead part of a tree. Wow, a Pine Siskin here in the summer! A Pine
Siskin sang it's zzzzz song. I think there were several Pine Siskins. There were
many goldfinches. As I sat on the bench, a beautiful male WESTERN TANAGER flew into
a huge cherry tree w/ ripe cherries across the trail. There were a few BLK-HEADED
GROSBEAKS doing their schpik call. I finally saw a female grosbeak. All the birds
were hiding under the leaves and were hard to see. A while later the male Tanager
perched up where the finches had been, right across the trail from the bench. A
female W Tanager flew into the cherry tree, hid behind leaves, and left shortly. I
was unable to see any of the birds carrying food back to a nest.
It was now early afternoon, very warm in the sunshine, and I headed home. Down the
trail a little ways, the trail borders the creek. A lot of the birds are being
attracted to the creek during this hot weather. Yesterday I tried in vain to find
birds doing breeding behavior such as being in nests, or carrying nest material or
foods back to a nest. I would have loved to see some juvenile birds with the adults.
I've decided it is very hard to do breeding bird observations. I suppose I should
get up and out at dawn. And probably I should have been looking for breeding
behavior in late spring and earlier in summer. It is darn hard to verify breeding
birds in my local woods. I really tried. But it was great to at least hear and see
several birds species that I did not expect this time of year.
Yours, Carol Schulz
Des Moines, WA
linusq at att.net