Tweeters,

Although the Fort Lewis biologists I checked with hadn't seen WESTERN
BLUEBIRDS on base this year, Shep Thorp and I found five (two male, two
female, and one that flew before we could ID it) on the east side of 8th Ave
S in the 13th Division Prairie this afternoon. In the same area were four
WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS.



As prep for a field trip to Ft Lewis with Seattle Audubon next week, I
decided I'd better see what might be there, and took Shep along as shotgun.
Although the day started off chilled (34degF when I left Roy), with icy
roadways, the sun brightened and the weather was just fine all day. Quite a
lot of the usual areas I bird were closed for troop training, which appears
to be more the rule than the exception right now. Nonetheless, we were able
to bird along the paved roads through some of the closed areas (not
stopping, but slowing down), and did have some fine views of some birds,
including the two birds highlighted above. Other interesting sights included
at least 16 BALD EAGLES (various places, including 8 at the reservoir off
Story Rd); about 150 COMMON GOLDENEYES with about 200 RING-NECKED DUCKS in a
moving raft at the south end of Chambers Lake; a solitary DOUBLE-CRESTED
CORMORANT at Lewis Lake; at least eight RED-TAILED HAWKS in a wide variety
of plumage variations, from lighter "typical" to one bird that was almost
totally dark; three BROWN CREEPERS, many GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS (feeding on
the ground), several RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, and a sprinkling of
CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES in a mixed flock at the south side of training
area 13 on the 13th Division Prairie; and a single VARIED THRUSH on a dirt
road just off the Eastgate Road near Johnson Marsh.



Chambers Lake had more water in it than I've seen in the past few years, but
Nisqually Lake appeared to be dry, at least from the vantage point we had.
This latter lake previously was good for some of the more prevalent puddle
ducks. Don't know what's happened there.



Notable missing birds included any of the usual finches and sparrows,
Black-capped Chickadees, Bushtits, Great Blue Herons, and Canada Geese.
Although we saw several Northern Flickers, the only other woodpecker we
found was a Downy, and that was heard. Not being able to bird two of the
prime areas likely contributed to the lack, especially of the finches,
sparrows, and woodpeckers.



The complete list of 38 species seen today:

American Wigeon

Mallard

Ring-necked Duck

Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Pied-billed Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

American Kestrel

Ring-billed Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Steller's Jay

Western Scrub-Jay

American Crow

Common Raven

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Bewick's Wren

Winter Wren

Marsh Wren

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Western Bluebird

American Robin

Varied Thrush

European Starling (I)

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-winged Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird





May all your birds be identified,



Denis DeSilvis

Roy, WA

Mailto: avnacrs4birds at q.com