Hi all,
Delia Scholes and I walked the distance to do Cheasty, which used to be a place where you were guaranteed not to encounter anyone but is oddly getting busier with pandemic-inspired-cabin-fever I guess.
We surprised two Wilson's Snipe on the trail in the forest and they flushed in a northward direction. We were way more surprised than they were though.
The changing patterns of Seattle avifauna were on display--When I got to Seattle Doug Wechsler told me to watch for Anna's Hummers in Disco, a few had been seen there. Now in a place like Discovery it's Rufous I'd be watching for and I'd assume that like the residential zone or Cheasty or anywhere in Seattle it's mostly all-Anna's-all-the-time, and I wouldn't believe anyone who argued that that wasn't a factor in the Rufous being hard to find. We have not been able to establish that they are present at Cheasty this year.
A paltry seven Crows were bombing a Raven overhead at Cheasty also. After 40 years of border warfare the Raven has finally broken through the Crow Maginot Line and has a beachhead in Seattle. Is it possible that in the not-too-distant future the Raven will go from insurgency to hegemony, even in the neighborhoods? How will people react to a Corvid that large? I understand the Jungle Crow is very controversial in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The shots I got show the incredible size difference, even more apparent for being at a distance.
Cheasty is one of the few places on the Hill where the original Jay, the Steller's, still holds a monopoly and we have yet to hear any Scrub Jays from Cheasty, but that's just because it's forested I suppose. On the spine of Beacon Hill, the Scrub-Jays seem to now outnumber the Steller's but so far the Steller's seem to be holding their own.
Probably our most surprising sighting at Cheasty today was an overflight of a modest number of Violet-green Swallows. When I arrived in 1976, this species covered the entire city and was abundant or at least common or present in all neighborhoods. Now we scan the empty skies and are delighted if we see one. I was thrilled to see a lone Violet-green foraging above a bluegrass stage at FolkLife last year. The same can be said for the other Aerial Insectivores, with the Nighthawk demised in 1981, the Barn Swallow in even worse shape than the Violet-green I think, and the Vaux's Swift on the ropes here.
On a brighter note another bird that I personally adore, the Caspian Tern, seems to be doing way better than I ever remember from the 70s's 80s or 90s (I know, memory is not data, and at my age may not even be baseline reliable). Unlike the Anna's Hummingbird, which has really got the attention of many non-birders, the Caspian Tern is often ignored and assumed to be a Glaucous-winged Gull and not bothered with, despite it's gorgeousness and it's amazing flying skills. From selling at my store I can tell it doesn't have a big following yet. We haven't seen one this year, but Jeff Bryant just did and we are looking forward hopefully to another exciting year of Caspian Tern watching.
Sorry for the long-winded musings, here are some shots of the Warbler migration at Butyl Creek that is slowly getting underway and the Raven and an entry into the "Handsomest Towhee Contest."
https://ednewbold.com/spring-on-butyl-creek/
Cheers,
Ed Newbold
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