Hey Tweets!


Long day of birding in Lewis, and I ended the day just shy of 100 species. I was able to find a fair number of the good birds people have been finding lately, got a few nice little surprises, and one big one - a Yellow-breasted Chat!


Highlights:


Independence Road - Great Horned Owl, Northern Pygmy Owl, Wilson's Snipe.

Lincoln Creek Road - Wood Duck

Galvin Road - Lazuli Bunting

Goodrich Pond - California Quail near the bridge

Airport Road - Green Heron flyover, but no shorebirds

Alexander Park - Bullock's Oriole

King Road - I took this from the Boitsfort side, and got out at MP8 to check the clearcut for House Wren (yes), MacGillivray's Warbler (yes), and Olive-sided Flycatcher (yes). The chat did what chat's often do, singing its varied song, pauses and all, from deep in the bush. I finally gave up on seeing the bird, made a recording. Western Bluebirds were also heard here.

Riffe Lake East End - Bank Swallows - they're nesting nearby, undoubtedly. 5-10 near a bridge the last two times I've been out, but I haven't seen the actual colony.

Palisades overlook - Peregrine Falcon

Knufen...Knupfer...Knupfenburg Lake? At any rate, a little lake on the right, just before you get to White Pass. - Barrow's Goldeneye.

White Pass - Fox Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Hermit and Varied Thrushes, Mountain Bluebirds (at the base of the hill near the lifts in Lewis County.

Longmire - nothing, BUT I ran into the wildlife biologist there who is trying to locate the Harlequin Duck nest for the birds he's been tracking. They have definitely been seen in Lewis, and the female is (for now) still pretty active. If you drive straight into Longmire until you get to the bridge over the Nisqually, the river is in Lewis to the right, and Pierce to the left. If you head up the Wonderland Trail to follow the river, the trail and river separate, and then approach each other fairly closely within a mile. If you follow the little path to the river there, the whole stretch you can see is Lewis. Most of the rest along the trail is Pierce. I didn't see the bird, but this was at 7-8 PM, mind you, and he says he's seen the birds along that whole stretch (but no male for the last day or so).


Whew. Tired. Hope those bread crumbs help someone!


Tim Brennan

Renton
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