Subject: [Tweeters] Blue Grouse at Mima Mounds
Date: Mar 23 16:28:39 2010
From: Douglas Canning - dcanning at igc.org


Tweets

This afternoon I walked the short trail loop around the Mima Prairie at
Mima Mounds Natural Area, and wandered through the recently logged and
cleared portion of the forested mounds. Here I was hearing a Blue
(Sooty) Grouse "drumming" frequently, but of course, never saw it. This
is the earliest I've ever heard them here; mid-April is usually my
annual first hearing.

Otherwise, it was a pretty slow day; my full list follows:

This report was mailed for Doug Canning by http://birdnotes.net

Date: March 23, 2010
Location: Mima Mounds Natural Area, Thurston County, Washington

Walked the short loop trail, plus wandered through the newly cleared
forested mounds, ~2.0 miles, 1110 to 1305 pst. Bird activity on prairie
very low.

Birds seen (in taxonomic order):

Blue Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) 1 [1]
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 2
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 2 [2]
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 3
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 1
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 1 [3]
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) [4]

Footnotes:

[1] Heard.
[2] Apparent pair.
[3] Heard too distant & infrequent to estimate population.
[4] Heard more than seen and moving around too much to count.

Total number of species seen: 9

*************************
Douglas Canning
Olympia, Washington
dcanning at scattercreek.com
dcanning at igc.org
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