Thanks to Will Brooks who found the LBCU and Bruce Labar who called me while he was seeing the bird, I was able to make a frantic dash to the newly plowed field just off Hwy 162 near 80th Ave. to see my first Pierce County Long-billed Curlew about 12:50 today, get photos, and dash back to Good Samaritan Hospital to park and get to work by 1:30 and precept for the East Pierce County Family Medicine Residency program for the afternoon. The power of eBird and a good cell phone network is amazing. Pierce County species # 243 is on record now. Check out my best photos on eBird.
Category: Pierce County
Ft. Steilacom Park and Mountain View Cemetery
Today I chased the Redhead seen for the last 2 days at Waughop Lake and it was sitting with the same 6 Lesser Scaup as yesterday. Overall it was a sunny morning and the breeding birds were in good chorus. As has been typical for me I could not find the Bullock’s Orioles that have been seen there recently, but otherwise saw most of the expected birds. I also spent some effort on photos, trying to practice what Heather has been teaching at the TAS class. My biggest challenge remains getting birds in proper focus.
Best birds of the day were lots of Yellow Warblers, several Black-headed Grosbeaks, Wilson’s Warblers, a nice look at a Cassin’s Vireo, California Quail, and a singing Hammond’s Flycatcher.
From here I made a quick stop at the Mountainview Cemetery and heard the House Wren in full song at his usual nest spot but could not get a look. No Cinnamon Teal in sight either.
Last stop was at JBLM to renew my range pass.
134th St Quickstop
On the way home from working with Brett today I made a stop at 134th St (beside the old Van Lierop’s Farm Stand) looking for the Lesser Goldfinch sighted there recently. I had not really birded this area before, and found that walking the road plus the dirt road beside the big field gives access to large areas of dense brush and trees with a big field on the other side of the dirt road.
Right as I parked on the side of 134th near the ramshackle barn I heard a LEGO calling. It called repeatedly and sang a few times but I never could get a look at it in the big tree beside the road, then it flew away. No luck with callback recordings. Next I walked down the road and onto the dirt road off to the left. There I saw a large flycatcher working from the top of a tree way over by the Shaw Road overpass. It was a WEKI. It then flew high right across the dirt road, singing and sallying about until it landed on the large snag in the far corner of the field. There was another WEKI there, 2 total, and they had ?courtship like interactions and hung out in the snag. ? a nest tree?
Back in Pierce
This morning I got out birding in Pierce County for the first time since April 16, and so Pierce FOY birds were pretty available. That said I missed the real target of the morning when I could not find the Brewer’s Sparrow at the 56th St Stormwater Ponds. I met Bruce Labar an Peter Wimberger there though and did manage to get lots of American Pipits and a Greater Yellowlegs.
Next stop was at 178th Ave in Orting to look for what has become the annual Western Kingbird there. Bruse and Peter were there too and Bruce located the bird on a fence post.
Shortly after 6 Band-tailed Pigeons flew into a cottonwood nearby for my 4th FOY Pierce species this morning.
This afternoon there was a Western Tanager calling and singing in the back yard while I weeded.
More Spring Arrivals
Today was a day for work around the house, but I started the day off right with an exercise walk from the edge of Manorwood past Pierce College and around Bradley Lake and back. The road was closed to traffic and on a sunny morning the birds were singing nicely. Best bird of the walk was Black-throated Gray Warbler with at least 3 singing loudly for FOY IDs. Also had at least 2 Hutton’s Vireos singing, and I think I heard an Evening Grosbeak, though I was not sure enough to list it.
Kay and I were about to head out on errands after meeting Steve to review and send in taxes when Bruce Labar texted that he had a Yellow-headed Blackbird at the 56th St. Stormwater Ponds. Kay and I headed there on a revision of our errand route, and sure enough after a few minutes a bright breeding male plumage YHBL strutted along the sandbar between the 2nd and 3rd ponds. This was both a FOY WA bird and a first ever Pierce species for me. We only stayed a few minutes, but for a day not focused on birding two FOY Pierce and WA birds, and a new Pierce lifer made it pretty great. All photos digiscoped.
Spring Arrivals Showing Up
Today was the first day of April Pierce County birding for me, and for FOY Pierce birds it was cherry picking easy. In about 2 1/2 hours on a cool rainy day I visited Levy Pond (FOY Barn Swallow, and Savannah Sparrow. Nothing new at Sha Dax, but at the 56th Street Stormwater Ponds I added FOY Cliff Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Common Yellowthroats were singing seemingly all over. I walked a quick loop in the upper Swan Creek area but rain kept is short, and nothing new there. Then later on the way to work this afternoon at Bonney Lake two Turkey Vultures soared overhead. 6 FOY Pierce species in an easy day. TGIS (Spring).
Say’s Phoebe in Pierce Today
Yesterday a Say’s Phoebe was sighted at the Brown’s Point Lighthouse Park, but Bruce tried for it with no luck. Today it was relocated, I think by Marcus about 11:30 and I got a text from Marcus. I couldn’t go until after Rotary at noon-1:30 because I had invited the speaker, but right after watching the League of Women’s Voters program Kan and I headed for the bird. Heavy rain, cold, and no luck on the park property itself. Kay retreated to the car while I searched the neighborhood. I walked around, and finally went down the dead-end road beside the park to the beach. Sure enough, I noted a small bird sally flycatcher-like over the beach, and Voila.
Overall a great opportunity for a first Pierce bird.
Sunny Saturday Morning around Puyallup
This morning I made a few stops between 9-11 AM near home. First at the Vann Ogle’s-Ford Rd area. Only 11 Trumpeter swans this AM, and no PEFA. The WEME remain, are singing and easy to find now.
Next at Levy Pond not much on the water but a nice flock of WCSP with a single nice look at a Lincoln’s sparrow.
Very little at Sha-Dax next.
Then at the 56th St Stormwater Ponds a few ducks but little else. I did manage to find a Eurasian Collared-dove just after leaving the ponds, for a county FOY bird.
Longmire and Back
Bruce Labar, Marcus Roening and I met at the Roy-Y Park & Ride at 7:20 AM and headed for Longmire Rainier NP in hopes of finding a few FOY Pierce birds. At Longmire it was generally quiet but we managed to find a small flock of mixed chickadees, CBC’s mostly, but at least 2 Mountain Chickadees. We also enjoyed a pair of dippers on the river from the bridge area. As always amazed at how they “dip” under the rushing water and bob back up again oblivious to the cascade of freezing water. Two large flocks of Pine Siskins were FOY for Marcus.
We made several stops on the way back, best by far was hearing and then seeing a FOY WA Pygmy Owl on a back road out of Ashford.
We met Will Brooks on 416th and he told us he had heard a California Quail at Kreger Lake so we continued out to that stop. No CAQU but we were all pleased by a FOY pair of Cinnamon Teal.
Our last stops around the 13th Division Praires at Ft. Lewis yielded two California Quail and a Western Bluebird, but we were not able to locate the Horned Larks Will had seen and heard earlier.
A great day with 2 WA and 5 Pierce FOY birds.
Tundra Swans on the Orting Farm Loop Today
Today I tried once more for the Brant in the wet fields between Riverside Rd and Auto Way in Sumner, finding a diminishing flock of Cackling Geese behind the Honda dealership again, but today the Snow Geese were gone and the Brant still not found. Rain was found though and increasing hard rain at 33 degrees, so I decided car birding was in order.
I headed for Orting hoping for Peregrine Falcon or who knows what. I got two good FOY Pierce birds as in a flock of sparrows on the Orting Farm Loop off Calistoga I had nice looks from the drivers window at an obliging Lincoln’s Sparrow and near the end of the loop I noted four big white birds with the Cackling Geese. I assumed Trumpeter Swans, but was really surprised and pleased to see four Tundra Swans, one with a really lot of yellow in front of the eye on the bill. I hoped for maybe Bewick’s Swan or even Whooper Swan, but it was just a very upper limits of normal yellow on the bill of a Tundra. I called Bruce Labar to come see and while I waited for him another 3 Tundra Swans walked into view. That was two good birds on one of my favorite winter bad-weather birding-by-car drives. Sweet.
