Tweeters,

Not as many species yesterday for the monthly Eagles Pride bird walk, but
the 16 of us had a good time. Noteworthy were the number of RED CROSSBILLS
(46), including one flock of 22, and the spotting of a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK at
the top of a cottonwood tree behind Hodge Lake. Leah said she happened to
see the leaves twitching in the slight breeze, put her bins on the area, and
found the bird, which is a first of this species noted during our walks. The
eBird report is at the bottom of this message.



NOTE: After the flurry of PINE SISKIN reports on Tweeters during the past
month, during which we had quite a few on our walk, they seemed to have
mostly disappeared. We found only three yesterday at Eagles Pride, and at my
home in Roy, after having as many as 25 coming to feeders every day, I now
have none. Is this a more widespread occurrence than just our local area?



The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at
8:00AM. Starting point is Bldg # 1514, Driving Range Tee, Eagles Pride Golf
Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. Upcoming walks include the
following:

. October 16

. November 20

. December 18



Anyone is welcome to join!



Eagles Pride GC, Pierce, US-WA

Sep 18, 2014 8:15 AM - 12:05 PM

Protocol: Traveling

3.5 mile(s)

Comments: Overcast, with little to no breeze, 58 degrees F, and slightly
humid day following an overnight rain -- the first in a while. Initially, we
found very few birds, but two of our primary hotspots -- the powerline
corridor and the road behind Hodge Lake -- were very birdy with large
mixed-species flocks in both places. RED CROSSBILLS were particularly
evident from start to finish, with one flock of 22 birds seen between the
13th hole and the tee-box to #14. A highlight, and a first for this walk,
was the immature SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. How Leah spotted that bird astounded
everyone (including her son!), but good looks were had by all. In addition,
we also scoped an adult COOPER'S HAWK (only the second record for the walk
for this species) at the top of a tree near the Dupont housing area adjacent
to the JBLM property. Three BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS continued our
record of warblers seen in hotspot behind Hodge Lake. Last month, it was
Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warblers that were in the mixed-species flock.

32 species (+1 other taxa)



Wood Duck 2

Pied-billed Grebe 6 Found at the pond near the 4th (?) hole. These
could be the family of birds that we've seen the past two months on Hodge
Lake, where the adults presumably nested.

Great Blue Heron 3 Given our first sighting of this species was last
month, finding three today was a bonus.

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1

Cooper's Hawk 1

gull sp. 1

Mourning Dove 17

Anna's Hummingbird 1

Downy Woodpecker 1

Northern Flicker 4

Steller's Jay 13

American Crow 8

Black-capped Chickadee 25

Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2 Likely under-counted by at least an order
of magnitude, but these were confirmed sightings

Bushtit 24 In one large foraging party

Red-breasted Nuthatch 14

Brown Creeper 1

Pacific Wren 3

Golden-crowned Kinglet 26

American Robin 6

European Starling 24

Cedar Waxwing 3

Yellow-rumped Warbler 10

Black-throated Gray Warbler 3

Spotted Towhee 3

Song Sparrow 6

Lincoln's Sparrow 1

White-crowned Sparrow 8

Dark-eyed Junco 21

House Finch 6

Purple Finch 1

Red Crossbill 46

Pine Siskin 3



View this checklist online at
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19875091



May all your birds be identified,



Denis DeSilvis

Roy, WA

avnacrs4birds at outlook dot com