Abut noon, also low tide, I dashed over to the 11th St. Bridge to look for the Glaucous gull, but it was not with thei 60-70 bathing gulls. While there I did manage a distant look at the Tacoma resident Peregrine falcon high on a brown building to the right of where it is often found on the tall white building with window ledges.
Since the GLGU was not at the bridge, I decided on a quick try at the Gog, and sure enough I got pretty nice looks at the gull on the roof with a large flock of big guys. I managed digiscope photos, but on trying with the camera, couldn’t see it and on looking back in the scope, it had moved out of sight.
This brings me to 74 for Pierce in 2018.
Tag: Gog-li-hi-ti
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.
Short-eared Owl at Gog-Li-Hi-Ti
I was on the way home from our administrative office at SFM today where I stopped by to pick up some things, when Bruce Labar called to let me know he had flushed a Short-eared owl at the mitigated marsh called Gog-li-hi-ti near the tide flats in Tacoma. I dashed home, got boots and binos and headed there. On the way Marcus Roening called and asked how far out I was. I had not even left home and he was already there. He graciously agreed to try not to flush the bird away until I arrived. On getting there Bruce and Marcus had flushed the bird again and were awaiting me to move closer. The owl was in the corner of the marshy middle area, nearest the river and the original first pond area. As we moved that direction the SEOW flushed and lazily flew across to the side nearer the third pond. While there we also saw several Wilson’s snipe, about 55 American pipits and a smattering of other birds. Marcus and I tried for the “Bridge” owl but not to be found (a Barn Owl sometimes roosts under the overpass that runs beside the area). This was Pierce county bird #209 for 2015 for me, far more than I had even considered possible when I started the year with Kay on Jan 1 with a day of birding the county. Tomorrow I hope to add White-throated sparrow.