The Eagles Pride Golf Course birders’ walk takes place every third Thursday, and is ably led by Denis DeSilvis; This month he had to take a break, so we were without his excellent hearing and expertise. The group met at the Driving range at 8 a.m., when it was raining lightly and 49º F, with a 3-to-12-knot south breeze that kept up all morning. The rain subsided by 9:30 and we finished with mostly clear skies. We noted that there were few songbirds showing today, with the result being that we finished our walk in a little over three hours, rather than the four it usually takes when we are seeing birds! Notable was the paucity of chickadees and kinglets calling from the fir timber, and no sightings of Varied Thrush, Crossbills, hawks or eagles.
After the walk, which finished after only 3 hours (!), we stopped at Nisqually to see if the Saw-whet Owl was still in the Orchard, but it wasn’t found in the cedar tree where it was yesterday.
The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 8:00 AM. Starting point is Bldg # 1514, Driving Range Tee, Eagles Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. The next walk will be 17th February; Hope to see you there.
Jon. Anderson
OlyWA
festuca at comcast dit net
Eagles Pride GC, Pierce, Washington, US
Jan 20, 2022 8:00 AM - 11:13 AM
Protocol: Traveling 3.62 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: The group met at the Driving range at 8 a.m., when it was raining lightly and 49º F, with a 3-to-12-knot south breeze that kept up all morning. The rain subsided by 9:30 and we finished with mostly clear skies. We noted that there were few songbirds showing today, with the result being that we finished our walk in a little over three hours, rather than the four it usually take when we are seeing birds! Notable was the paucity of chickadees and kinglets calling from the fir timber, and no sightings of hawks or eagles. Mammals seen included a Coyote and 7 Columbian Black-tailed deer
24 species (+2 other taxa)
Cackling Goose (minima) (Branta hutchinsii minima) 130 Two skeins of 60 and 70 geese, flying over
American Wigeon (Mareca americana) 18
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 1
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 16
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 19 All in cottonwoods adjacent to the MacArthur Street power lines
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) 7
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus occidentalis/glaucescens) 4
Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) (Colaptes auratus [cafer Group]) 12 8 in one group
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 3
California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 145 Mostly fly-overs
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 4
Ruby-crowned/Golden-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula/Regulus satrapa) 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 3
Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus) 9
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) 3
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 26
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 38
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) (Junco hyemalis [oreganus Group]) 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) 8
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) (Pipilo maculatus [oregonus Group]) 2