Adding to this thread -- a White-br Nuthatch was photographed in the Sequim
area yesterday.
We've had some Type 4 (Ponderosa) Red Crossbills around Port Townsend.
good birding,
On Wed, Aug 23, 2023 at 12:57 PM Eric Heisey <
magicman32 at rocketmail.com>
wrote:
>
Apologies for my tardy reply, I have been out of service lately. Thank you
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to the many who have commented and contributed to the conversation, I
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especially want to thank Bill Tweit for his in-depth commentary on the
>
matter. I want to add in a couple more thoughts that I omitted from my
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initial brief message.
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In Yakima Co, I have spent a ton of time at Clear Lake over the past
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decade. Pygmy Nuthatches are typically quite rare here, I have only
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recorded them a couple of times in the past despite the presence of
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Ponderosa Pines, always in the second half of July. This year I have
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encountered small groups of PYNU at Clear Lake on at least six occasions
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between 27 Jul and 21 Aug, further evidence of their dispersal from the
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core parts of their range, at least along the east flank of the cascades.
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My encounter of White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches right along the county
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line in Lewis Co suggest that the fringes of westside counties, such as the
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far eastern edges of Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, or King Cos may be good
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areas to search for dispersing nuthatches. I would wager that we will see
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at least a couple of nuthatches further afield on the westside as we
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continue to transition into fall (though, maybe I am wrong and this will
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end up being the primary dispersal window and later in fall will furnish
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few records).
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A White-breasted Nuthatch was photographed on the Hurricane Hill Trail in
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Olympic NP a few days ago (Charlie & Linnea Wright, Ryan Shaw;
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https://ebird.org/checklist/S147728940?fbclid=IwAR3BYD3oPhH4pjZ7hwnlHbRimlbzUDP1hN6AU3v-_KaPKeVNes698AiclNk),
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while a Pygmy Nuthatch was reported recently (though not documented) by a
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reliable observer, David Bell, at Rocky Point Bird Observatory on Vancouver
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Island, BC. This to me suggests that there is good potential for both
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White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches showing up along the coast. Tatoosh
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Island offshore Neah Bay has a record from 1970 (Dennis Paulson), and Neah
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Bay may be a prime locale to seek displaced nuthatches. I would postulate
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that Leadbetter Point (Grassy Island) or Cape Disappointment SP may also
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present ideal places to search for coastal p-nuts and WBNU, though it seems
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that with the relative lack of concentrating geography on the Washington
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coast away from these traps one might show up anywhere. The Olympic NP WBNU
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may suggest that wandering birds that make it to the coast may find the
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Olympic Mountains more to their liking, who knows. Keep an eye out wherever
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you may be!
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I have heard of out-of-place crossbills in many places. While I have
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observed Crossbills virtually annually at this time of the year in the
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Columbia basin and lowland Yakima Co, it does seem that they are straying
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more this fall than in years past. I will be curious to see the proportions
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of type 2 crossbills recorded on the westside through the fall. This is the
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type which is most reliant on Ponderosa Pines, and I suspect they might
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wander widely this fall. I have alerted several of my friends out east to
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take care in searching for type 2s this fall and winter, I will be curious
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to see how widely they wander/irrupt.
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Good luck, this should be a very interesting fall, what with this
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phenomenon as well as with the approaching downstream effects of the strong
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El Niño.
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Eric Heisey
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>
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>
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>
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>
--
Steve Hampton
Port Townsend, WA (qatáy)