Subject: [Tweeters] Ibis, Grackle, Rusty BB at blood pond today
Date: Nov 7 17:27:29 2015
From: Mike & MerryLynn - m.denny at charter.net


Hello all,
Headed west this morning and ran into dense fog on Byrnes rd - so went
up 9 Mile Canyon into bright sunshine. Many Savannah and White-crowned
Sparrows along with Horned Larks and a couple American Pipits in the
fields. 3 beautiful Rough-legged Hawks soaring overhead.

Heading west on Dodd road we ran into fog again before the blood pond -
but pulled up there anyway. The first bird we saw was an IBIS - but fog
so dense we waited an hour for it to lift before we could get photos - a
couple posted here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/m-ml_wallawalla/

As I was scoping the pond looking at shorebirds I came across a bright
RUSTY BLACKBIRD. After showing it to Mike I walked along the fence to
try for a photo - but it flushed and while scoping for it I found a
COMMON GRACKLE feeding along the edge of the sludge. It stuck right out
from the Brewer's Blackbirds by the larger size, the bluish head/goldish
brown body and when it flew the long scalloped tail made it easy to pick
out. It flew off with the blackbird flock - around 1600 birds - and we
could not refind it.

Other birds there: 2 Long-billed Dowitchers, 10 Dunlin, 30 Wilson's
Snipe, 26 Killdeer and 8 American Pipits.

The blackbirds flocks are often along Dodd road - but this is a very
busy road with constant truck traffic - you must pull COMPLETELY off the
road to bird this area. If the blackbirds are in the feedlot they are
very hard to see and there is no access - and the poop piles have been
moved away from the road - so it is pure luck to find these birds.
This is the 5th record of Common Grackle in Walla Walla county - the
last one was in spring over 15 years ago.
These additions put the WWCo. yearlist to 253. Still looking for scoters!

Good birding, MerryLynn

--
Mike & MerryLynn Denny
Birding the Beautiful Walla Walla Valley
"If you haven't gone birding, you haven't lived!"