Tweeters,

Although the weather forecast looked problematic for this morning's birdwalk at JBLM Eagles Pride GC, and while cold (37degF-43degF), the sun beamed brightly on the 11 of us touring the area today. (The morning sky was simply gorgeous!) We had mostly duck sightings on the two closest ponds to the driving range and few passerines. However, two RED-TAILED HAWKS on the 18th fairway gave us all a good view of them hunting earthworms - definitely a different style of getting protein!

It took quite a while before the birds seemed to wake up, and even though the numbers of birds were relatively low, the species count was typical for this time of year (36 spp). (Sounds like a repeat of last month, including the number of birders!) Highlights, besides the two hawks gleaning earthworms, include the following:



1. ROCK PIGEON - 5 - and our erstwhile eBird guru, Russ, will check to see if this might be our first sighting of this species on the walk.

2. HERMIT THRUSH - 3 - with enough distance separating the sightings to have a high probability of these being three different birds. This is a high for the count.

3. CALIFORNIA SCRUB-JAY - 2 near the maintenance pond. Last month, we had our first scrub-jay at this particular spot. Could be a new territory for this species on the course.

4. BUSHTIT - 10 - most of which were feeding on the ground! (Hey, if Red-tailed Hawks can do it, so can these little guys.)



We missed seeing or hearing Spotted Towhee (!) on the walk and only had two Steller's Jays.



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:

* January 20

* February 17

* March 17

Anyone is welcome to join us!




>From the eBird PNW report:




36 species



Cackling Goose 80

Northern Shoveler 8 At Hodge Lake - found a lone female there last month

American Wigeon 13

Mallard 7

Ring-necked Duck 22

Bufflehead 3 Hodge Lake

Hooded Merganser 3

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 5

Mourning Dove 2

Anna's Hummingbird 2

Bald Eagle 1

Red-tailed Hawk 2 Gleaning earthworms from grass on 18th fairway

Downy Woodpecker 3

Hairy Woodpecker 1

Northern Flicker 7

Steller's Jay 2

California Scrub-Jay 2

American Crow 66

Black-capped Chickadee 4

Chestnut-backed Chickadee 11

Bushtit 10 Most of which were feeding on the ground (cut-through area between holes 13 and 14)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8

Golden-crowned Kinglet 8

Red-breasted Nuthatch 15

Brown Creeper 2

Pacific Wren 9

Bewick's Wren 3

European Starling 40

Varied Thrush 5

Hermit Thrush 3

American Robin 16

Pine Siskin 3

Fox Sparrow 4

Dark-eyed Junco 15

Golden-crowned Sparrow 6

Song Sparrow 13



View this checklist online at https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Fchecklist%2FS98978853&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cc38a2e809e51497a7c9f08d9c1094cf5%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637753067977931288%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=37HlYU1BiBXFjay3yEa1mFe%2BXeyqDiyfoIfx5Lcmmcc%3D&reserved=0


Joys of the season, and may all your birds be identified,

Denis DeSilvis
avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com

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