Tweeters,



Note: As I compose this, we just had our first two WESTERN TANAGERS fly into
the yard: great sighting by my wife!



Saturday was mostly a drippy day at Ft Lewis for four of us. Fortunately,
the bird gods were good to us and we managed to see or hear 60 species at
the Fort and Roy. Our consensus was that the NORTHERN BOBWHITE was the bird
of the day. At the Muck Creek bridge, we had just added NORTHERN
ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, MALLARD, and BALD EAGLE, and
were scouting around for some warblers, when we heard a call that was
"different," about 50 yards south of the bridge. After realizing it was the
"alternate" (I call it) call of a Northern Bobwhite, I finally managed to
get my tape and played the call. The bobwhite responded immediately, and
came toward us, where we got a brief glimpse of it. Playing the call again,
the bird came to the side of the road, but flew when a car came past.
However, it flew very close to us and landed in a small oak tree, about 8
feet from the ground, less than 50 feet away, where it stayed, looking at
us, as we had extremely good looks at it. Unfortunately, the only camera we
had was back at the cars, so we didn't get it, thinking the bird would
flush. It didn't, even as we drove off: an opportunity missed, but a life
bird (I think) for one of us, and a state bird for two. We all agreed that
we'd not ever had better looks at this gorgeous little quail. (We also saw
CALIFORNIA QUAIL on one of the bluffs along the north side of the 91st Div.
Prairie.)



We saw all six swallows that are usually at the Fort: CLIFF, VIOLET-GREEN
(VGSW), TREE, BARN, the aforementioned N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS, and PURPLE
MARTINS. The latter were at the relatively new nest boxes at the Brandenburg
Marsh and also at the north end of Chambers Lake. Many VGSWs were hanging
out on wires along the roads.



Because several prime areas to bird were closed Saturday, we had to stick to
roads around training areas 4 and 5. However, we did manage to get the our
first HOUSE WREN of the year just west of where the Second Div. Range Road
turns east. We found another of those well to the east along the road (near
Range 74), where MaryFrances scored a great spot of several RED CROSSBILLS
feed on Douglas-fir cones.



CHIPPING, SAVANNAH, and WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were ubiquitous in
appropriate habitat, with a few SONG SPARROWS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, SPOTTED
TOWHEES, and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS thrown in for good measure.



Warblers were much more plentiful than last week, with addition of YELLOW
and BLACK-THROATED GREY WARBLERS (BTYW) to the mix of YELLOW-RUMPED and
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERs, and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT seen also last week. The
BTYW, unfortunately, was singing on the Thurston County side of the
Nisqually River, and couldn't be added to MaryFrances' Pierce County list.
We had gone clear to the tank bridge over the river for lunch because Lewis
Lake was being used as a fill-the-water-bucket area by a Chinook helicopter
(those are the usual large twin-rotor choppers you see around here). Nearly
the whole time we were on base the helos were carrying large water
containers from a couple of different lakes to the 13th Division Prairie. (I
wonder how the Streaked Horned Larks that breed there liked THAT
entertainment.)



We also found HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER at the river (Pierce County side). Two
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS were found: one calling at Chambers Lake, and one
calling and well-seen at the same place we found the California Quail on the
bluff above the 91st Div Prairie.



SORA were calling and responding at Chambers Lake and Johnson Marsh, and
while we didn't hear any VIRGINIA RAILS at the Fort, one did respond behind
my house at Roy. Neither did we find CANADA GEESE where we toured on base,
but did find a pair near the house on one of the local ponds.



We located a female AMERICAN KESTREL in the same place I found the pair last
week, and also spotted RED-TAILED HAWKS in two different areas. (I saw an
accipiter - possibly a COOPER'S HAWK - opposite the area where we found the
crossbills, but it was too brief a glimpse to be definitive.)



A WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, very wet, was at the MUCK CREEK bridge when we passed
by it on the way to Brandenburg Marsh. I also saw two of these jays at their
usual area in Roy when I returned home later in the day.



WOOD DUCKS were at CHAMBERS LAKE, along with PIED-BILLED GREBES (several
vocalizing), with GADWALL pairs at Johnson Marsh. Also at the marsh we found
an active BUSHTIT nest.



For those interested, here's the complete list of birds we saw. Those found
only at Roy are noted with an "R."



Canada Goose - R

Wood Duck

Gadwall

Mallard

Bufflehead

California Quail (I)

Northern Bobwhite (I)

Pied-billed Grebe

Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

American Kestrel

Virginia Rail - R

Sora

Killdeer

Mourning Dove

Rufous Hummingbird

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Hammond's Flycatcher

Steller's Jay

Western Scrub-Jay

American Crow

Common Raven

Purple Martin

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

N. Rough-winged Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

Black-capped Chickadee

Chestnut-backed Chickadee - R

Bushtit

Red-breasted Nuthatch

House Wren

Marsh Wren

Western Bluebird

American Robin

European Starling (I)

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Spotted Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-winged Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Purple Finch

House Finch

Red Crossbill

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

Evening Grosbeak



May all your birds be identified,



Denis DeSilvis

Roy, WA

Mailto: avnacrs4birds at q.com