Despite having to complete moving out of the back of the house today, I managed a bit of a start on Pierce County birding. I looked briefly for the Gyrfalcon at McChord AFB but no luck, and Heather Voboril had no luck yesterday either, so maybe it has moved on or met a jet collision.
A first light scoping from the condo yielded nothing unusual. Then a walk with Kay on Ruston where the best bird was an Orange-crowned warbler at the little park at the bottom of Starr St across 30th where it was flitting on top of the blackberry brambles.
Pretty much usual birds on the water.
Later after a Home Depot run and after looking for the Gyr I visited the American Lake Camp Murray boat launch, and managed 10 Canvassbacks far across the lake by the shore with many other ducks and coots. Also a very nice mobbing of DEJU, BCCH, RBNU and a DOWO near the little backwater beside the parking lot.
At Harry Todd Park I got RBGU and CAGU along with WEGR.
Species count for the day (and year) is 42.
Category: Ed’s Birding Notes
This is where I post my personal birding notes.
Gyrfalcon at McChord
Yesterday after working at SFM Hartland SDC 7-2, I stopped by the spot on Steele St where the Gyrfalcon has been seen. It was quite foggy, and I was not dressed for the cold or wet ground, but I set up my scope and scanned the power poles on the east side of the runway from the road next to the trucking parking lots. No Gyr on the first pass, or on a second pass. Other birders showed up, and I spent a few minutes scanning other fences, and potential perches. I walked to the end of the road, and on scanning again presto, the Gyrfalcon had flown in and was perched on the nearest power pole. I walked back to higher ground to get views unobstructed by the fence, and digiscoped very distant photos. Adequate views for ID, i.e. a very large grayish brown falcon, powerful looking shoulders, thick tail, and very short wings, but the fog and distance made it less than satisfying.
Today after finishing the decisions with Kay on the remodel issues, and before going to her doctors appointment, I brought Kay back hoping for another look. No bird on the power poles, but after looking around a bit I located a distant dark area in a tall tree to the east of the air base. On scoping it was the Gyrfalcon, and views were better than yesterday. After getting good but distant looks, I decided to try walking down the dirt road toward the tree. Incredibly the road led right beside the tree, and the Gyr just sat there quietly. I got much better photos, and went back to get Kay. She walked down also, and we both got close up looks, probably my best looks ever at a Gyrfalcon perched. On my first walk down I think it was calling too, a fairly soft squeeky call note, not too much different from an AMKE.
At one time an accipitor, I think a SSHA but possibly a COHA was perched very close to the Gyrfalcon in the same tree!
CBC on the Sound
Today I met Bruce Labar and Will Brooks to try for owls before getting out on the Citizens for a Clean Sound boat to bird the salt water areas of the count circle. We managed to find just one Great-horned owl at Pt Defiance and missed Saw-whet owl there as well as missing Barred owl at Puget Park.
We spent a little time on Ruston Way looking for Black turnstones, and missed them too.
The boat left at 9 AM with Sam at the helm, and is a very nice boat for birding. It has am covered relatively heated area with good visibility, and we did the usual route. Best birds were 4 Ancient murrelets spotted flying away by Will, a flock of 10 Long-tailed ducks, and lots of gulls and common alcids to sort through and count. I did the number recording, but was still able to get looks at all of the species and lots of birds.
After finishing at 2 PM I dashed to Brett’s to finish the shed roof before getting a text from Michael C. that their CBC group had a flock of 29 Common redpolls on Alexander Ave near the power station. I dashed there directly, met Bruce there, but the CORE had apparently moved on through.
Puget Creek Drainage Park
Today it was sunny, calm winds, and cold. A nice day for a walk, so I first headed to Gog-li-hi-ti and birded all the trails. Then after an early lunch I walked down Ruston Way to Puget Park. It is a well maintained trail up the creek drainage from Ruston Way to Proctor. Interestingly at the top of the park the straight trail that looks like it goes across Proctor St. on the maps actually goes about 80 feet under a bridge on Proctor crossing the gulch, and continues maybe a half mile to a dead end. The trail up to Proctor St. is off to the left, looks like it goes back down the gulch, but really just is a series of stepped switch-backs up to a small playground on Proctor. From there I walked back down 30th to home. None of the areas notable birdy, but a nice day anyway.
A Weather Break in the Afternoon
Today was a rainy morning, but when I figured out the TV/WIFI problem before the Comncast guy was due at 2 PM and so I took advantage to try again for the Redpoll at the Gog. No luck at all, really pretty quiet there, but on the way back I stopped at the gull bathing spot on the Puyallup River, and got great looks at the Glaucous gull. I saw it fly in, had backlit looks on the water, but then it flew up to a container for close up looks where I helped a birder (Allen) get on the bird and got nice photos.
Local Rarity Chases Today
Today Ken came over to chase the Glaucous Gull and Common Redpoll that had been seen near the Puyallup River recently. I made a really quick stop for the gull at the 11th Street Bridge without luck before meeting Ken and Bryan at the Gog. We chased two good sized flocks of PISI around for a couple of hours without any luck, and then headed back to the bridge to try for the gull. Very few gulls were at the bridge, but lots at the mouth of the river, so after a while we drove across to the Stewart St. entrance to the trail to the river mouth and hiked out there.
Lots of gulls, a good flock of Dunlin, and a few other birds but no GLGU at the mouith, but while out there we got a text from Peter W. that the GLGU was back at the gull bathing spot. We quickly walked back to find that it had flown away towards Gog-li-hi-ti just before we got back.
So back to the Gog where we almost immediately got on the Glaucous Gull on a container with pretty good scope views.
Another hour + of chasing siskins around failed to show the Redpoll, though I did spot a Black phoebe over the water in the second field. Marv Breese had the Redpoll, and I think I got a glimpse in his camera viewfinder, but none of the rest of us could locate it again before I left just after 1 PM. A nice day one Pierce lifer for me, but disappointment on missing the CORE.
Two More FOY and One County Lifer Today
This morning I headed out just after daylight in hopes of seeing the Snow Bunting located yesterday at Brown’s Point. On arrival Bruce, Peter and a Seattle birder were standing about 20′ from the SNBU near a blue trash can just off the beach. It was another super-easy Pierce lifer.
Bruce agreed to go over to Dash Point to see if we could find an Ancient Murrelet, and again it was really easy. I had one to the left of the pier before Bruce even got out of his car. No photos of this guy as he was very busy diving.
I only stayed out about an hour, and got two FOY Pierce birds, and the SNBU was a Pierce lifer for me. Quite a great morning.
Rough-legged Hawk at Gog-li-hi-ti
Late in the day yesterday Michael found a Rough-legged hawk at Gog-li-hi-ti and this AM Heather and Bruce relocated it. Bruce texted and I broke away from my pledge to help Kay pack up the kitchen stuff prior to our renovations that now start this Saturday. I dashed quickly and as I walked in Bruce and Heather appeared to be watching the hawk fly across the opening. As I got closer Bruce yelled, “In the top of the tree!” I looked at the top of the tallest cottonwood and there it perched. This was a Pierce County first for me, and one I’ve chased up Mt. Rainier, down to Mount’s Road, and never seen before in Pierce.
It seems to have hung around for most of the Pierce listers to see today, so joy abounds.
Later today I stopped at Dash Point after a dump run with Brett hoping to get the Ancient murrelet but no luck. Tomorrow AM I hope the Snow bunting that was seen at the Brown’s Point Lighthouse Park hangs around for another county first.
Harris’s Sparrow
This week has been busy with very little birding after flying back from ME Monday. So when Bruce found the Harris’s sparrow yesterday at the 11th Street bridge, I climbed down from the ladder at Brett’s where I was painting and dashed over to try for it. No luck as the flock of sparrows seemed to have dispersed.
After church today Peter Wimberger texted that he had relocated the sparrow, and I convinced Kay to come help me try to find it.
We got to the spot just after 11 AM and found Peter there along with Christopher Clark. We looked for a while with Peter, but on the first trip around the area no luck. Then we decided on one more try at the point/end of the trail and all 3 of us (Peter had just left) got great looks at the HASP when it popped up near the top of a bush, and again on a piece of driftwood. This was a Pierce FOY for me, and a lifer for Chris. Here is the eBird list with photos.
Finally a Storm
We Pierce County listers have been impatiently waiting for the first big fall windstorm to blow in pelagic and maybe other rarities to pad our year lists. Today it blew and rained heavily in the AM, and the sun came out but the wind continued to gust in the afternoon. I worked the AM around the condo, finally devoting a bit of time to clearing out the storage area, made trips to goodwill and Habitat for Humanity as well as Best Buy to turn in an extra printer, but the sunshine drew me to Point Defiance for a little peak in the afternoon.
Kay was still out running errands, so I didn’t feel too guilty. At the point one of the first birds I saw was a lone Snow Goose, fighting to fly against the wind up the waterway at the Dalco Passage overlook. This seemed promising, but the fight to hold either the scope or binos still in the strong gusts limited visibility and I found nothing else unusual.