Date: 10/3/26 5:34 pm From: Blythe Horman via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] WDFW seeks public comments on recommendation to list burrowing owl as endangered
Thank you Denis regarding your note "WDFW seeks public comments on
recommendation to list burrowing owl as endangered". Might there be talking
points available online to utilize as a template?
Best regards,
Blythe
Blythe Horman
Lynnwood, WA
On Sat, Oct 3, 2026 at 12:01 PM via Tweeters <tweeters...>
wrote:
This lost falconry bird was posted on FB today. Per Tess Starr it's
telemetry
was on - frequency is 216.35.
Direction last seen heading per Tess in the comments:
"South. She was in forest land south of 99 when the GPS stopped at around 9
last night and wouldn't pick up a signal again."
Date: 10/3/26 10:31 am From: B B via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marvelous Melbourne Blog Post
This is the second of what will be five blog posts about our recent visit to Australia. It covers birding and much more in the wonderful city of Melbourne. Next up will be our visit to Uluru.
https://blairbirding.com/2026/10/03/marvelous-melbourne/
Date: 10/2/26 6:04 pm From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Dumas Bay Sanctuary Franklin’s Gull
We took a walk down to Dumas Bay Sanctuary here in Federal Way this
afternoon. Things were quite lively, but an adult -likely- Franklin’s Gull
was the most interesting. It had a dark/dirty back of the head, dark
mantel, incomplete eye ring and was a little bigger than the Bonaparte’s
Gulls. It was hanging out at the mouth of the creek flowing into the bay.
Also at Dumas were 200 or more Bonaparte’s Gulls, American Wigeons, Surf
Scoters, Short-billed Gulls and a single Ring-billed Gull. A Black-bellied
Plover flew in, landing right in front of us and showing its “dirty
armpits”. It joined a pair of Killdeer.
Good Birding!
Hans
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
<thefedderns...>
Date: 10/2/26 12:58 pm From: Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Fw: WDFW seeks public comments on recommendation to list burrowing owl as endangered
In case you haven't seen this request from the WDFW....
May all your birds be identified,
Denis DeSilvis
avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com
________________________________
From: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife <WDFW...>
Sent: Friday, October 2, 2026 11:08
To: <royhome...> <royhome...>
Subject: WDFW seeks public comments on recommendation to list burrowing owl as endangered
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
October 2, 2026
Media contact: <Communications...><mailto:<Communications...>
WDFW seeks public comments on recommendation to list burrowing owl as endangered
OLYMPIA The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking public input on a draft status report for the burrowing owl, which includes a recommendation to classify the owl as a state endangered species. The public comment period is open through Dec. 31, 2026.
While burrowing owls used to be present across much of Washington, theyve since been eradicated from most of the state outside of the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin, said Gerald Hayes, WDFW burrowing owl specialist and lead author on the recent status report. Today, we estimate that fewer than 100 breeding pairs can be found in Washington. Habitat loss and degradation are major contributors to the burrowing owls population decline in Washington.
Following the public comment period, WDFW staff will brief the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission on the status report and recommendation. The Commission has the authority to approve or decline the Departments request to list the species as endangered. The Commission is currently scheduled to consider this topic in February 2027.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife works to preserve, protect, and perpetuate fish, wildlife, and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.
This email was sent to <royhome...> using Granicus Communications Cloud on behalf of: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife 1111 Washington St. SE Olympia, WA 98501
Date: 10/2/26 10:34 am From: louiserutter1000 via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Clay-colored sparrow
Continuing at the Montlake Fill urban farm. Was in the pollinator habitat with savannahs and golden-crowned then flew over towards the beans.Louise RutterKirklandSent via the Samsung Galaxy A6, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 10/1/26 5:27 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-10-01
Tweets - Unexpectedly nice weather this morning, as there was no pre-dawn fog and the thin overcast cleared by about 8:30. So mostly sunny, no wind, pleasant temperatures. The switch-over to fall/winter birds continues.
Highlights: Greater White-fronted Goose - One somewhat briefly associated with Canadas north of the Viewing Mound. First of Fall (FOF) American Wigeon - Two flew down the slough (FOF) Killdeer - About 20; quite a lot, really Wilson's Snipe - One below weir (FOF) Double-crested Cormorant - One flew north; we had one 3 weeks ago, so this is Second of Fall California Gull - At least one with a few Glaucous-winged Gulls, staying on the Event Pad (paved area west of the velodrome) (FOF) Cooper's Hawk - Juvenile harassing/being harassed by American Crows all morning Hutton's Vireo - At least 2 near the windmill (FOF) American Pipit - A couple of flybys; at least two birds Evening Grosbeak - Calling while flying north (unseen) White-crowned Sparrow - "Gambel's"-type heard singing (FOF for subspecies) Savannah Sparrow - We counted at least 8, so a migrant push of these; none the last 2 weeks. Western Meadowlark - At least 5, including some singing, near Climbing Rock and north of Fields 7-8-9 (FOF) Common Yellowthroat - A very few heard calling, quite probably the last of the year
That's six species FOF, and one subspecies. Quite the changeover.
Misses today included Gadwall, Hooded Merganser, American Coot, Green Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, and Bushtit. Rather a short list.
For the day, 55 species.
= Michael Hobbs = <BirdMarymoor...> = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
Date: 10/1/26 1:55 pm From: Kathy Kaplan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Union Bay Parking Updates
Hello! I hadn't been in bit to Union Bay but now it seems like a new change
even from the new paid parking and I'm hoping someone can confirm: I
noticed today that the entire parking lots on both sides of the
horticulture center now have not only the paid parking signs, but also
"Event Parking Only, all hours" everywhere. Does that mean we birders who
are looking to walk but not attend an event should not be parking in those
lots at all anymore? Thanks for clarifying!
Kathy Kaplan
:)
On Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 5:44 PM Karen Fardal via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hi all, I have a few updates about the parking changes at UBNA/Montlake
> Fill.
>
> First of all, there is zero signage in the Yesler lot and nearby parking
> areas about the two hours of free parking, so many people are parking in
> the neighborhood and crossing the busy street (41st) where cars go fast and
> there are no crosswalks. If you plan to stay fewer than two hours, parking
> in the lot and registering your license plate with the Pay to Park app will
> save you that hassle and danger. They were supposed to put a registration
> kiosk in the main lot for those who don’t have or bring their smartphones
> but that has been delayed for unknown reasons. There are currently two, one
> in the smoking area behind the CUH loading dock and one near the bird info
> kiosk/UW farm. I am continuing to bug UW Transportation about these issues
> and they say they will take care of them.
>
> Another confusing thing is that on one recent day, all of the Pay to Park
> signs were covered up with a placard that said “Event Parking Only - All
> Spaces” but no event seemed to be going on and the lot was empty. I asked
> CUH to clarify and this is what they said:
>
> “ When the event parking sign is posted that means parking is "free" for
> everyone that day. We have events going on most days so this is what will
> be posted when that is the case. You don't have to register your car on
> the days this sign is posted, you can park in the lots at no charge if
> spaces are available”
>
> Confusing, but maybe eventually they will get better signs and we will all
> figure it out. If you are leading or attending any groups with Parks & Rec,
> Birds Connect Seattle or other orgs, please consider telling folks so
> nobody ends up frustrated and going home since street parking can be very
> tight with all the construction in the area.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Karen Fardal
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 10/1/26 12:33 pm From: Heidi Erland via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Ecuador guide book, out of print
Hi Tweets!
I would like to buy a copy of: Fieldbook of the Birds of Ecuador including Galapagos by Miles McMullan and Lelis Nvarette. Asking here in case anyone has a copy they no longer use and are willing to sell.
Date: 10/1/26 12:10 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Turkey Vulture movement
The does are definitely not laughing. Male deer and elk are known to ‘decorate’ their antlers with weeds and grasses to enhance their desirability. I suspect that guy’s chances at reproductive success are pretty good this season. Especially if he keeps his head dress.
Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA
> On Oct 1, 2026, at 11:45, mary hrudkaj via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> We have an adult buck with a large piece of chicken wire fencing stuck on one of his antlers. He's able to feed, forage, and follow the does around so we're leaving him alone. And the other deer are nice enough to not laugh out loud when they see this guy sporting the latest head dressing.
>
Date: 10/1/26 11:56 am From: mary hrudkaj via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Turkey Vulture movement
As I arrived home above the Tahuya River NE of Tahuya, a group of 7 Turkey Vultures were headed SW toward Tahuya. Migration is still on. Hopefully more will be seen over the next couple weeks.
A neighbor in the other end of our subdivision has a family of 8 Mountain Quail feeding in her driveway yesterday afternoon.
We have an adult buck with a large piece of chicken wire fencing stuck on one of his antlers. He's able to feed, forage, and follow the does around so we're leaving him alone. And the other deer are nice enough to not laugh out loud when they see this guy sporting the latest head dressing.
Date: 9/30/26 10:12 pm From: Madrone Ruggiero via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Whidbey Island Fieldtrips (Pelagic, Small Sit, Deer Lagoon, BINS/BINN)
Hi all,Thanks to everyone who attended Wings Over Whidbey last week. If you missed the event we will be repeating two of the fieldtrips in October, have a seawatch small sit, the Whidbey Audubon Society general meeting on October 8th and the usual BINS North and South outings.
This weekend Saturday October 3rd is a Keystone to Port Townsend Ferry Boat Pelagic on the 1015 AM boat. Jaegers and shearwaters seen recently in the area so a chance of something rare. More information and pre-registration here https://www.whidbeyaudubonsociety.org/events-list/poor-mans-pelagic
October 8th 7pm General Meeting: Working Together for Spotted Owl Resilience in Washington with Emilie Kohler and Emma Gashi at the Coupeville School Performing Arts Center and on zoom https://www.whidbeyaudubonsociety.org/monthly-programs-3 October 14 9AM -11 AM Birding in the Neighborhoods North More information herehttps://www.whidbeyaudubonsociety.org/events-list/o2nrmz9h80fuv79tjvctxp41aacmuy-2erec-5kzaf-6pwgx-4byyb-h6wr8-lae9s-m4am6-nya2x-ndwjt-9mg5z-k8h74-e8exd-7yknc-yh4mg-fkjfb-tkcxg-4g3jh-3dm5f-k4f7n-33xef-dla6t-2tnlx-h8sp8-gnyhk-lynz3
Everyone is welcome to attend these free Whidbey Audubon Society events. We also have some events already scheduled for November and beyond so check out the events calendar for future events.-Madrone Greenbank (Whidbey Island)
Date: 9/30/26 10:11 pm From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk for Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 9/30/2026
Dear Tweets,
Approximately 25 of us enjoyed a nice Fall day at the Refuge with fog in
the morning clearing to sunny skies and temperatures in the 50's to 60's
degrees. There was a High 13'1" Tide at 9:16am, so we skipped the Orchard
in the morning to chase the tide. Highlights included a PEREGRINE FALCON
catching a GREEN-WINGED TEAL in flight, great views of an AMERICAN KESTREL
in the surge plain, a MARBLED GODWIT seen well from the Puget Sound
Observation Platform, and nice views of WHITE-THROATED SPARROW just north
of the northeast corner of the Twin Barns Loop Trail. The RED-SHOULDERED
HAWK was heard only in the morning west of the west end parking lot. We
observed GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE adjacent to CACKLING GEESE in the
flooded field between the access road and entrance road.
For the day, we saw 77 species. The Marbled Godwit was FOY, and we have
now seen 167 species this year. See our eBird report pasted below.
Other fun sightings included River Otter in the slough adjacent to the Twin
Barns and crossing the old Nisqually River dike just south of the Nisqually
River Overlook.
Until next time when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond
Overlook, happy birding,
Shep
--
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Sep 30, 2026 7:08 AM - 4:29 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.168 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Fog in the morning, transitioning
to sun. Temperatures in the 50’s to 60’s degrees Fahrenheit. A High 13’1”
Tide at 9:16am. Others seen Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, Columbian
Black-tailed Deer, Muskrat, Townsend’s Chipmunk, Pacific Chorus Frog,
Harbor Seal, River Otter, Eastern Gray Squirrel.
77 species (+5 other taxa)
Greater White-fronted Goose 14 Roosting in field between access road
and entrance road.
Cackling Goose (minima) 420
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 5
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 15
Wood Duck 12
American Wigeon 100
Mallard 150
Northern Pintail 500
Green-winged Teal 500
Surf Scoter 1 Puget Sound Observation Platform.
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 45
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Virginia Rail 1
Black-bellied Plover 2
Killdeer 4
Marbled Godwit 1 Observed foraging on mudflats 100 yards east of Puget
Sound Observation Platform at the end of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk
Trail. A large tan shorebird with long two toned upwardly curved bill and
dark legs. Larger and longer billed then area Greater Yellowlegs. Plain
faced. Using bill to probe deeply into mud as it foraged for food. Observed
twice and seen for over 5 minutes. Observed flying as well.
Greater Yellowlegs 40
Dunlin 1 Scoped on Nisqually Reach with peeps from Puget Sound
Observation Platform.
Least Sandpiper 200
Western Sandpiper 40
peep sp. 300
Rhinoceros Auklet 8
Ring-billed Gull 200
California Gull 1
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 15
Larus sp. 500
Caspian Tern 2 Foraging along McAllister Creek in the afternoon.
Pied-billed Grebe 1 Visitor Center Pond.
Western Grebe 2 Nisqually Reach.
Common Loon 2
Brandt's Cormorant 4
Double-crested Cormorant 20
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 30
Northern Harrier 2
Bald Eagle 6
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Heard only. Repeated Kyeer call from riparian
Forrest west and south of west end parking lot.
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Belted Kingfisher 6
Red-breasted Sapsucker 4
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 5
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 6
American Kestrel (Northern) 2
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1 Captured and ate a Green-winged Teal.
Hutton's Vireo 1 Orchard.
Steller's Jay 1
American Crow 125
Common Raven 4
Black-capped Chickadee 15
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3
Barn Swallow 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10
Golden-crowned Kinglet 15
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4
Brown Creeper 9
Pacific Wren 4
Marsh Wren 4
Bewick's Wren 6
European Starling 300
Varied Thrush 2
Swainson's Thrush 2
American Robin (migratorius Group) 30
Cedar Waxwing 25
American Pipit 4
Purple Finch (Western) 2
Red Crossbill 4
Pine Siskin 20
American Goldfinch 25
Fox Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 15
White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) 1 Orchard.
Golden-crowned Sparrow 30
White-throated Sparrow 1 Observed north of the NE corner of the Twin
Barns Loop Trail.
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 20
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 25
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 8
Western Meadowlark 1 Surge plain.
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 250
Common Yellowthroat 2
Northern Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 10
Date: 9/30/26 7:26 pm From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Ruffed grouse
I managed to get a photo of a ruffed grouse today! I was out hiking near Easton and it was just sitting on the edge of the forest road to the trailhead. I think this is the first time I've ever got to study a ruffed grouse instead of seeing a back half of a bird disappearing into the bushes...
Date: 9/30/26 3:43 pm From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Reminder: WOS Monthly Meeting, October 5, 2026 (online only)
The Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) is pleased to announce the first of our new season of Monthly Meetings, which commences on Monday, Oct 5, when Jeff Kozma will present, "Western Bluebird Nest Survival and Nest-site Selection in Ponderosa Pine Forests."
Western Bluebirds (WEBL, Sialia mexicana) are brilliant blue songbirds found in a variety of western U.S. habitats. On the west side of the Cascades, they historically had relied on mature Garry oak woodlands: because of habitat loss (e.g., old oak trees with natural cavities), the WEBL is listed as a "Species of Greatest Conservation Need.” Groups in Washington have been putting up nest boxes for the WEBL for decades. Did you know that the Western Bluebird is also thriving by using nest cavities in managed ponderosa pine forests? Join us and Jeff Kozma by Zoom on October 5 to learn more.
Our speaker, Jeff Kozma moved to Washington in 1996 as biologist for the Army’s Yakima Training Center where he worked on habitat restoration projects and surveys of Sage Grouse, Bald Eagle and other raptors. Since 2002 Jeff has worked as a Wildlife Biologist for the Yakama Nation, where Gray Flycatcher, White-headed Woodpecker and Western Bluebird are among his most favored subjects of field research and surveys.
This meeting will be conducted virtually, via Zoom (no in-person attendance). Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm, and the meeting commences at 7:30 pm. Please go to the WOS Monthly Meetings page: https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.
When joining the meeting, we ask that you mute your device and make certain that your camera is turned off.
This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend. Thanks to the generosity of our presenters, recordings of past programs are available at the following link to the WOS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonornithologicalso7839/videos
If you are not yet a member of WOS, we hope you will consider becoming one at https://wos.org.
Date: 9/30/26 1:02 pm From: Scott Ramos via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] UNBA Clay-colored Sparrow
Finding a window of time to finally chase the frequently seen Clay-colored Sparrow, I made my way to The Fill, heading toward the UW Farm where the bird has mostly been reported. Not really knowing where 'the beans' were, I figured it would be obvious. Approaching the planted area, I could see from a distance a few sparrows perched on the support poles. Two were clearly Savannahs but the third had a different appearance.
Before I could get any closer a Merlin came zooming through the area from behind me, scattering birds in every direction. A crow gave chase but couldn't keep up, so went its own way. At least 30-40 small passerines could be seen frantically trying to avoid the hunter. But the Merlin passed through the entire garden area, then turned north. And the small birds quickly resumed feeding, mostly disappearing into the vegetation.
When I got close enough to the tall plants I could see 'the beans', but no birds were visible at that point. Another birder, Douglas M, had just arrived and came over and we talked about what we had seen. And then the Clay-colored appeared on the ground right in front of us! It spent most of the time feeding on the grasses mixed in with the nasturtiums edging a row of tomato plants just south of the beans. We got great looks for several minutes.
Doug had to leave after a satisfying show, while I stayed to see if the sparrow would pop up again. After only a minute or two, an immature Cooper's Hawk flew in and perched on the netting above the next row of vegetables, looking intently toward the beans and to the ground; the sparrow flew quickly deeper into the tomato patch, not to be seen again.
The Coop seemed unperturbed by my presence. I wanted to see if it was banded so slowly moved closer to where I could see the legs--no band. Again, it was unconcerned that I was now about 10 feet away. It then jumped to the ground and an unidentified sparrow flew into the beans. The hawk continued looking around and eventually started walking in my direction, approaching close enough that I could no longer focus my telephoto lens! It turned to look in the other direction and eventually gave up and flew off.
So, I guess I was lucky to have seen the sparrow, given the circumstances. And the sparrow can be considered lucky as well to have averted potential attacks from two different raptors in the space of 15 minutes. Hope its luck continues.
Date: 9/30/26 9:07 am From: Elaine Chuang via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Come Join The Big Sit! SUNDAY, Oct 11, 2026 (Discovery Park, Seattle)
Tweets, apologies for my date error in the subject line, and thanks to AG. The Big Sit! for us at Disco is on Sunday (not Saturday), October 11.
Begin forwarded message:
From: Elaine Chuang <elc...>
Subject: Come Join The Big Sit! Sat, Oct 11, 2026 (Discovery Park, Seattle)
Date: September 29, 2026 at 8:33:17 PM PDT
To: "<tweeters...>" <tweeters...>
If you're casting about for something birdy to do on Oct 11, consider taking part in The Big Sit <https://www.thebigsit.org/>! For those unfamiliar, the The Big Sit! was founded in New Haven, Connecticut in 1992 and is conducted annually for fun (internationally in fact). Without question, this is birding's most sedentary event (also designated The Big Snack by Neil, our local leader). Veteran devotees (NZ, AS, KS, AG, EC et al) will again be joining forces for an autumn dose of Community Science and Camaraderie over birds. We, the "South Meadowlarks" will take up our posts in the required 17-foot diameter circle, from pre-dawn until who-knows-when, on Sunday, October 11. The goal is to identify as many species as possible by sight and / or sound (to date, our team record is 60 species), and per the rules, participants cannot venture outside of that tiny 17-foot circle.
Come by for as short or as long a visit as you wish! We'll be at Discovery Park in the South Meadow (he, he) at the Sand Dunes (47°39'25.2"N 122°25'17.8"W), next to the bluff. We take up our post there starting at 6:00AM (for owls) and will persevere racking up species, seen or heard, for as long as we can manage (the rule is to confine the count to a 24 hour period).
We welcome your eyes and ears, encouragement, snacks, etc. Wave if you are sailing by on Elliott Bay, or clue us in to approaching Brown Pelicans or Shearwaters heading our way around West Point. Hope to see ya for some good birding and fellowship!
Date: 9/29/26 8:43 pm From: John Williams via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] More details on Peru tours
I recommended Patricia (it’s her company) at Patu Peru Tours without checking if it was easy to find information. I couldn’t. So today I contacted her on WhatsApp and had some long “conversations”. We (4 of us) were there in 2018. COVID had a really large negative effect on the travel industry in Peru. But, she survived and still is in the travel business. She mostly works by word of mouth and designs custom tours.
We traveled with friends mostly for birding, but obviously couldn’t miss traveling to Machu Picchu. We did go birding there, and at a couple of sites in the Cusco area. Patricia also arranged 2 days of travel to see Lima and a day birding on the coast. We spent 9 days on the Manu portion. We had 4 different birding guides and identified 423 species.
I haven’t tried contacting her via the website, but via WhatsApp works:
+51 984 384 852.
Since she works mostly by word of mouth, indicate that I provided her number (which she said was okay).
Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 9/29/26 8:42 pm From: Elaine Chuang via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Come Join The Big Sit! Sat, Oct 11, 2026 (Discovery Park, Seattle)
If you're casting about for something birdy to do on Oct 11, consider taking part in The Big Sit <https://www.thebigsit.org/>! For those unfamiliar, the The Big Sit! was founded in New Haven, Connecticut in 1992 and is conducted annually for fun (internationally in fact). Without question, this is birding's most sedentary event (also designated The Big Snack by Neil, our local leader). Veteran devotees (NZ, AS, KS, AG, EC et al) will again be joining forces for an autumn dose of Community Science and Camaraderie over birds. We, the "South Meadowlarks" will take up our posts in the required 17-foot diameter circle, from pre-dawn until who-knows-when, on Sunday, October 11. The goal is to identify as many species as possible by sight and / or sound (to date, our team record is 60 species), and per the rules, participants cannot venture outside of that tiny 17-foot circle.
Come by for as short or as long a visit as you wish! We'll be at Discovery Park in the South Meadow (he, he) at the Sand Dunes (47°39'25.2"N 122°25'17.8"W), next to the bluff. We take up our post there starting at 6:00AM (for owls) and will persevere racking up species, seen or heard, for as long as we can manage (the rule is to confine the count to a 24 hour period).
We welcome your eyes and ears, encouragement, snacks, etc. Wave if you are sailing by on Elliott Bay, or clue us in to approaching Brown Pelicans or Shearwaters heading our way around West Point. Hope to see ya for some good birding and fellowship!
Date: 9/27/26 8:39 pm From: John Williams via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Bird guides in Peru
I can highly recommend Pata Peru Travel. The owner (Patricia) is amazing. She can arrange travel itineraries that include excellent bird guides. For general travel in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, she’ll likely lead the tour. She set up bird guides for us in areas around Cusco, on a trip to Machu Picchu (stayed 2 nights), and the Lima area. We had an amazing guide with whom we hiked (6 hours) into Machu Picchu from mile post 104 where the train stopped. Not only a great guide in Machu Picchu, but he also took us around Aguas Calientes to see a lot of birds in the surrounding area. Patricia can set up a Manu trip also.
Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 9/27/26 9:03 am From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] THE WASHINGTON POST: Ospreys made a great comeback. Now they’re in crisis along the East Coast.
Thanks for the info, Dan. Non-paywalled link for those who need one.
At the Reedville plant, menhaden are processed on an industrial scale into
fishmeal, fish oil and other products. Its exclusive supplier, Ocean
Harvesters, caught nearly 300 million pounds
<https://archive.is/o/X9MuJ/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/08/19/fight-save-tiny-fish-powering-atlantic-coast/> of Atlantic menhaden for the plant in 2024. That scale alone has made the
fleet impossible to ignore in the debate over how many menhaden are being
left for everything else that eats them.
Louise Rutter
Kirkland
On Sun, Sep 27, 2026 at 7:41 AM Dan Reiff via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
>
> *Ospreys made a great comeback. Now they’re in crisis along the East
> Coast.*
> At the center of a widening crisis for one of the nation's great wildlife
> comebacks is a fish most Americans would hardly recognize.
>
> Read in The Washington Post: https://apple.news/AXaSSkrMFRgitypo0uww6Pg >
>
> Shared from Apple News <https://www.apple.com/news> >
> Sent from my iPhone
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Doug Santoni
Seattle, WA
Dougsantoni at gmail dot com
> On Sep 27, 2026, at 7:41 AM, Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Ospreys made a great comeback. Now they’re in crisis along the East Coast.
> At the center of a widening crisis for one of the nation's great wildlife comebacks is a fish most Americans would hardly recognize.
> Read in The Washington Post: https://apple.news/AXaSSkrMFRgitypo0uww6Pg
Date: 9/27/26 7:50 am From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] THE WASHINGTON POST: Ospreys made a great comeback. Now they’re in crisis along the East Coast.
Date: 9/27/26 3:45 am From: Ellen Cohen via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Juan Fernandez petrel in BC
Visiting NYC now. This is from the equivalent of tweeters, for those who might want to check out the ebird report and chase:
"While vastly far from NY, or anywhere in the east, a stunning seabird find, probably new to the nation of Canada if confirmed in any avian-records committees, was confirmed for eBird, off British Columbia - of a Juan Fernandez Petrel, photographed and thus far agreed by experts to be of that species, and seen from land, no less. Thats in the northeastern Pacific so we easterners should not be expecting that, but it is a reminder that pelagic birds can show up at times far from where typically expected."
Also, Steve Shunk, a birder from Central Oregon who wrote the Peterson
Reference Guide to Woodpeckers, now lives just south of Puerto Vallarta.
He is based out of Rancho Primavera, which is itself a birding
destination. He also offers tour services. See here:
https://www.paradisebirding.com/rancho-primavera-mexico
Both great options.
Have a great trip!
Thanks,
Duke
Duke Tufty
503.320.3130
<dukedt...>
On Sat, Sep 26, 2026 at 6:05 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Just up in the hills east of the town is great. You can walk up there, 20
> years ago, anyway. When I was there i photographed a immature warbler, long
> tailed type fantstic plumage, that in a worldwide warbler book, was listed
> as undescribed. Had never been kmown, the immature plumage that is. BUT
> that was 20 years ago.
> Bob obrien carver OR
>
> On Saturday, September 26, 2026, Nagi Aboulenein via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Mark Stackhouse is based out of San Blas, maybe 1.5h north of Puerto
>> Vallarta. BTW, San Blas is must-see if you haven’t birdied there before -
>> multiple different habitats within a 20km radius make for an amazing bird
>> diversity, and Mark is literally a bird whisperer.
>>
>> —
>> Nagi Aboulenein
>>
>>
>> On Saturday, Sep 26, 2026 at 15:43, Shelf Life Community Story Project
>> via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>> Hi Dorothy,
>>
>> Worth the trip north to San Pancho, you could arrange a guided tour with
>> Luis from the San Pancho Bird Observatory. Truly amazing people and REALLY
>> amazing birds.
>>
>>
>> https://www.avesanpancho.org/bienvenidos-welcome/home/about-us/spbo-visitor-center >>
>> Jill Freidberg
>>
>>
>> On Sep 26, 2026, at 12:09 PM, Dorothy Jacobsen via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>> I would appreciate some suggestions . It will be a group of 4 birders in
>> Nov. 😉 thanks - Dorothy
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...>
>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...>
>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>
>> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 9/26/26 6:17 pm From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Guides in Puerto Vallarta
Just up in the hills east of the town is great. You can walk up there, 20
years ago, anyway. When I was there i photographed a immature warbler, long
tailed type fantstic plumage, that in a worldwide warbler book, was listed
as undescribed. Had never been kmown, the immature plumage that is. BUT
that was 20 years ago.
Bob obrien carver OR
On Saturday, September 26, 2026, Nagi Aboulenein via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Mark Stackhouse is based out of San Blas, maybe 1.5h north of Puerto
> Vallarta. BTW, San Blas is must-see if you haven’t birdied there before -
> multiple different habitats within a 20km radius make for an amazing bird
> diversity, and Mark is literally a bird whisperer.
>
> —
> Nagi Aboulenein
>
>
> On Saturday, Sep 26, 2026 at 15:43, Shelf Life Community Story Project via
> Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
> Hi Dorothy,
>
> Worth the trip north to San Pancho, you could arrange a guided tour with
> Luis from the San Pancho Bird Observatory. Truly amazing people and REALLY
> amazing birds.
>
> https://www.avesanpancho.org/bienvenidos-welcome/home/ > about-us/spbo-visitor-center
>
> Jill Freidberg
>
>
> On Sep 26, 2026, at 12:09 PM, Dorothy Jacobsen via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> I would appreciate some suggestions . It will be a group of 4 birders in
> Nov. 😉 thanks - Dorothy
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
>
Date: 9/26/26 4:03 pm From: Nagi Aboulenein via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Guides in Puerto Vallarta
Mark Stackhouse is based out of San Blas, maybe 1.5h north of Puerto Vallarta. BTW, San Blas is must-see if you haven’t birdied there before - multiple different habitats within a 20km radius make for an amazing bird diversity, and Mark is literally a bird whisperer.
—
Nagi Aboulenein
> On Saturday, Sep 26, 2026 at 15:43, Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <tweeters...> (mailto:<tweeters...>)> wrote:
> Hi Dorothy,
>
> Worth the trip north to San Pancho, you could arrange a guided tour with Luis from the San Pancho Bird Observatory. Truly amazing people and REALLY amazing birds.
>
> https://www.avesanpancho.org/bienvenidos-welcome/home/about-us/spbo-visitor-center >
> Jill Freidberg
>
>
> > On Sep 26, 2026, at 12:09 PM, Dorothy Jacobsen via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
> > I would appreciate some suggestions . It will be a group of 4 birders in Nov. 😉 thanks - Dorothy
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Tweeters mailing list
> > <Tweeters...>
> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 9/26/26 3:54 pm From: Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Guides in Puerto Vallarta
Hi Dorothy,
Worth the trip north to San Pancho, you could arrange a guided tour with Luis from the San Pancho Bird Observatory. Truly amazing people and REALLY amazing birds.
> On Sep 26, 2026, at 12:09 PM, Dorothy Jacobsen via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> I would appreciate some suggestions . It will be a group of 4 birders in Nov. 😉 thanks - Dorothy
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Red-necked Phalarope (code 3), 84 at the waterfront (ID photos), 8-30-26. (There were reports earlier in the month but other birders provided no documentation of the species. Assuming these were all correct reports, there was an unusual abundance of these phalaropes either lingering or passing through Edmonds waters.)
Arctic Tern (code 5), 1 at waterfront (ID photos), 8-27-26.
Elegant Tern (code 5), 2 at waterfront (critical field marks described), 8-20-26.
Great Egret (code 4), 1 at Edmonds marsh (ID photos), 8-25-26.
Other birds of interest: Sightings of a Tufted Puffin (code 5) along the waterfront that began in late July continued into August. There were no reports of Turkey Vulture (code 3) sightings in Edmonds during August.
Declined for lack of any documentation: Black-bellied Plover (code 4); Lesser Yellowlegs (code 4); Peregrine Falcon (code 3). Regarding Peregrine Falcon, as it becomes more and more difficult to see in Edmonds, it pops up with greater frequency on Merlin’s Sound ID, particularly at Edmonds marsh where this bird was ticked. If there is no Peregrine in sight, when you play back the recording, it is almost always some sort of human or mechanical noise for which Merlin offers the falcon as a suggestion. It is necessary to have an excellent recording or actually see and describe the bird.
By way of explanation, we start additions to our year list based on birders letting me know about sightings. We then review eBird reports to see if we can add further species based on information included in checklists. With rarer birds, code 3 or rarer, we look for something more than a checklist tick. Those of us who use eBird know that we occasionally make data entry errors, so those have to be ruled out for our purposes. We then look for evidence such as a description of critical field marks, photos, or recordings. If none of those is included, we then decline to add the species at this time. This has no effect on an eBirder’s personal records.
As always, I appreciate it when birders get in touch with me to share sightings, photos, or recordings. It helps us build our collective year list. If you would like a copy of our 2026 Edmonds city checklist, please request it from this email address: checklistedmonds at gmail dot com. The 2026 checklist, with August sightings on it, is in the bird information box at the Olympic Beach Visitor Station at the base of the public pier.
Date: 9/25/26 3:02 pm From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Whidbey Audubon Society “Wings over Whidbey” Festival
We would love to see you there! We will have our Bird Specimen Collection for hands-on engagement. It is pretty amazing!
Louie Shellenberger
Subject [Tweeters] Whidbey Audubon Society "Wings over Whidbey" Festival
From Jim Ullrich via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
Date Thu 12:07
Hello Tweets:
If nothing planned, maybe we should all consider supporting Whidbey Audubon Societies "Wings over Whidbey" event this weekend. Visit: https://whidbeyaudubonsociety.org [1] for trips, talks and vendors setup at Fort Casey. Swarovski Optiks display and Orchard Mason Bees featured in the vendor area.
Date: 9/24/26 2:10 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-09-24
Tweets - Changes are afoot as we enter into the darker half of the year. It was a chilly 49 degrees to start, and we were mostly under overcast skies. Winter birds are arriving, and we've lost most or all of our "summer" birds.
Highlights: Cackling Goose - One with Canadas on Fields 7-8-9. First of Fall (FOF) Hooded Merganser - One at the Rowing Club - First since early August. Does that make it (FOF)? Band-tailed Pigeon - Distant flyby of ~6. Last of the year, possibly California Scrub-Jay - One heard at East Meadow (FOF) Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Single birds, East Meadow and Rowing Club (FOF) Pacific Wren - One at the Rowing Club (FOF) Evening Grosbeak - One high over the weir area, calling CHIPPING SPARROW - One in the NE corner of the Pea Patch. First of Year (FOY) Black-throated Gray Warbler - One below the weir with Yellow-rumps Townsend's Warbler - One at Rowing Club with Yellow-rumps; for the survey, (FOY)
The CHIPPING SPARROW is both First of Year and very likely Last of Year. We've never had one after September. Probably also our last BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER. We had no Osprey, Swainson's Thrush, nor Western Tanager, and those are all probably done for the year.
Missing birds today included American Coot, Green Heron, American Barn Owl, Barn Swallow, American Pipit, Savannah Sparrow, and Orange-crowned Warbler.
For the day, 56 species. For the year, the survey is at 122 species.
= Michael Hobbs = <BirdMarymoor...> = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
Date: 9/24/26 12:16 pm From: Jim Ullrich via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Whidbey Audubon Society “Wings over Whidbey” Festival
Hello Tweets:
If nothing planned, maybe we should all consider supporting Whidbey Audubon
Societies “Wings over Whidbey” event this weekend. Visit:
https://whidbeyaudubonsociety.org for trips, talks and vendors setup at
Fort Casey.
Swarovski Optiks display and Orchard Mason Bees featured in the vendor
area.
Jim Ullrich
Date: 9/23/26 8:37 pm From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 9/23/2026
Hi Tweets,
Approximately 37 of us enjoyed our first of Fall walk at the Refuge;
conditions were nice and the birding was great. There was a Low 0'11" Tide
at 10:07am and a High 12'9" Tide at 5:08pm. Highlights included the return
of CACKLING GEESE, minima variety. A BARRED OWL was near the Orchard. We
observed a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK hunting in the Willows on the west side of
the field south of the Twin Barns. VIRGINIA RAIL was seen on the west side
of the Twin Barns Loop Trail. We had great looks of PECTORAL SANDPIPER
along the Nisqually Estuary Trail. A single WESTERN GREBE swam up
McAllister Creek on the incoming tide.
For the day we observed 86 species. With First Of Year RED-SHOULDERED
HAWK, PINE SISKIN, and WESTERN GREBE, we now have observed 166 species so
far this year. For more details see our eBird Report pasted below.
Other fun sightings included Mink, Muskrat, Harbor Seal and River Otter.
Until next week when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond
Overlook, happy birding!
Shep
--
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Sep 23, 2026 7:17 AM - 5:33 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.196 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Mostly cloudy with temperatures in
the 50’s to 60’s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low 0’11” Tide at 10:07 and a High
12’9” Tide at 5:08pm. Others seen: Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern
Cottontail Rabbit, Mink, Harbor Seal and River Otter.
86 species (+3 other taxa)
Cackling Goose (minima) 360
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 24
Wood Duck 30
Northern Shoveler 16
Gadwall 6
American Wigeon 20
Mallard 200
Northern Pintail 1000
Green-winged Teal 500
Surf Scoter 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 80
Band-tailed Pigeon 20
Mourning Dove 1
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Virginia Rail 3 One seen adjacent to the Twin Bench Overlook south of
Twin Barns cut-off.
Black-bellied Plover 11 Counted individually. Seen multiple times
through out the walk on the surge plain and mudflats. Seen foraging,
roosting, flying and vocalizing.
Killdeer 1
Long-billed Dowitcher 1
Greater Yellowlegs 40
Least Sandpiper 100
Pectoral Sandpiper 3 Surge plain and Nisqually Estuary Trail.
Western Sandpiper 80
Rhinoceros Auklet 8
Short-billed Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 200
Glaucous-winged Gull 1
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 10
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 30
Larus sp. 300
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Western Grebe 1 Seen in McAllister Creek on incoming tide.
Common Loon 4
Brandt's Cormorant 8 Nisqually River channel marker.
Double-crested Cormorant 75
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 15
Turkey Vulture 1
Cooper's Hawk 2
Northern Harrier 2
Bald Eagle 8
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Spotted by Danielle and seen by group in the
Riparian Stand along the central access road between the old McAllister
Creek access road and Twin Barns. Observed foraging from the Willow trees
on the west side of the field south of the Twin Barns. Perched and flying.
First year subadult bird. Small buteo with prominent crescents at base of
flight feathers. Strongly barred long tail. No belly band.
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Barred Owl 1 Spotted by Ken and Cathy, seen by group, along slough
across from the entrance to the Education Center parking lot near green
gate.
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-breasted Sapsucker 5
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 6
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 4
American Kestrel 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Hutton's Vireo 2
Western Warbling Vireo 1
Steller's Jay (Coastal) 3
California Scrub-Jay 1
American Crow 100
Common Raven 6
Black-capped Chickadee 30
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 8
Barn Swallow 30
Bushtit (Pacific) 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8
Golden-crowned Kinglet 12
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 8
Marsh Wren 6
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 6
European Starling 20
Varied Thrush 1
Swainson's Thrush 1
American Robin (migratorius Group) 30
Cedar Waxwing 60
American Pipit 10
Evening Grosbeak 3
Purple Finch (Western) 4
Red Crossbill 2
Pine Siskin 20
American Goldfinch 8
Fox Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 2
White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) 16
Golden-crowned Sparrow 30
White-throated Sparrow 1 Spotted by Laurie in the Orchard.
Savannah Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 22
Spotted Towhee 3
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Spotted by Marc in the Orchard.
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 3
Common Yellowthroat 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 2
Date: 9/23/26 10:33 am From: Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Passing through and returning
Tweeters,
Western Bluebirds have been passing through our place in Roy the past few days. This morning we had two small groups of four each drop by and leave, heading south.
Golden-crowned Sparrows were here when we returned from back East; this morning eight of them were at some ground feeding spots we have set up. They were briefly gone after some California Quail showed up and took over the ground feed.
May all your birds be identified,
Denis DeSilvis
avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com
Date: 9/22/26 2:42 pm From: Hank Heiberg via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Piano Ranch Bear
FYI for people who bird at Piano Ranch in Fall City. On Sunday our neighbor encountered a bear with two cubs on the path from the parking area to the path that parallels the river.
Date: 9/20/26 8:16 am From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] "Pish" rarities app
Thanks for the heads-up Gary! Maybe you should Yahoo to rest ?? Hope this
finds you well! I am sitting at the Orlando airport right now. Just got in
from a cruise this morning. Not too birdy, nothing pelagic except for a few
Frigatebird. Now I am partial to them since I added them to the Colorado
state list! Google frigatebird in Colorado sometime!
Tschuess!
Hans
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
<thefedderns...>
On Sat, Sep 19, 2026 at 2:35 PM Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> On Sep 19, 2026 at 11:16:36, Gary Bletsch via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> As several Tweeters have recently reported, the new app "Pish" is
>> supposed to notify birders about rarities. I just tried it out, but was not
>> at all impressed.
>>
>
> I fired up Pish when it was first announced and it’s earned a place on my
> phone. It’s not perfect, but it’s a nice and solid 1.0 release.
>
> Unlike Gary, I didn’t have any issues signing in. The biggest issue I’ve
> seen so far is it has a tendency to forget my settings, and reset the
> search list to everything. An easy and quick fix when I fire it up, but
> still a bit annoying.
>
> (Note on using a yahoo.com email: as someone who used to run large scale
> email systems for a living, I’d strongly encourage people to migrate their
> email address to something else. Investment/maintenance of Yahoo stuff Is
> minimal these days, and I’m honestly surprised they haven’t retired the
> system already)
>
> What really makes me suspicious of Pish is that the next closest rarity on
>> its map of my region is an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, reported from some
>> place up north of Toronto.
>>
>
> This is not a Pish problem, it’s an eBird thing. A couple of days after I
> fired up Pish, I started getting REALLY funky rarity reports from it; it
> turned out someone decided to visit the Tacoma Zoo and eBird list every
> thing they saw at the zoo that day. Those sorts of things happen and I
> sympathize with eBird reviewers that get to sort it out.
>
> The thing Pish solves for me is something I’ve wanted eBird to do forever:
> let me drop a pin somewhere and only get rare bird alerts within a range
> from that point. Where I live here in Kitsap, if I want to monitor rarities
> within about an hour’s drive, I need alerts set up for five different
> counties, and those will include locations 3-4 hours away. Pish solves that
> and does so pretty well. So far, where I’ve checked on it, it’s reported
> everything I expect it to, and it hasn’t neglected to report something to
> me, so it seems accurate.
>
> I haven’t used some of the secondary features (like loading in my lifer
> list), so I can’t comment on that. I’d be just as happy if they did away
> with those and focus on refining and improving the core feature. It’s good
> — I’d give it a B grade as a first release, and I think it has potential,
> and so far, it’s been a useful addition to my phone.
>
> chuq
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------
>
> Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
> Silverdale, Washington
> Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
> Vice President, Kitsap Audubon Society
>
> Email me at: <chuqvr...>
> Mastodon: @<chuqvr...>
>
> Stay Updated with what I'm doing: https://www.chuq.me/6fps/ > My latest e-book: https://www.chuq.me/ebooks >
> I have opinions
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 9/19/26 1:40 pm From: Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Kent Valley Shorebirds
Early this morning there was a STILT SANDPIPER with a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. The birds were at the east edge of the plowed field next to the main pond. After about 20 minutes, the birds took flight. The Stilt flew out of sight to the south and I lost track of the Baird's.
Date: 9/19/26 11:42 am From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] "Pish" rarities app
On Sep 19, 2026 at 11:16:36, Gary Bletsch via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> As several Tweeters have recently reported, the new app "Pish" is supposed
> to notify birders about rarities. I just tried it out, but was not at all
> impressed.
>
I fired up Pish when it was first announced and it’s earned a place on my
phone. It’s not perfect, but it’s a nice and solid 1.0 release.
Unlike Gary, I didn’t have any issues signing in. The biggest issue I’ve
seen so far is it has a tendency to forget my settings, and reset the
search list to everything. An easy and quick fix when I fire it up, but
still a bit annoying.
(Note on using a yahoo.com email: as someone who used to run large scale
email systems for a living, I’d strongly encourage people to migrate their
email address to something else. Investment/maintenance of Yahoo stuff Is
minimal these days, and I’m honestly surprised they haven’t retired the
system already)
What really makes me suspicious of Pish is that the next closest rarity on
> its map of my region is an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, reported from some
> place up north of Toronto.
>
This is not a Pish problem, it’s an eBird thing. A couple of days after I
fired up Pish, I started getting REALLY funky rarity reports from it; it
turned out someone decided to visit the Tacoma Zoo and eBird list every
thing they saw at the zoo that day. Those sorts of things happen and I
sympathize with eBird reviewers that get to sort it out.
The thing Pish solves for me is something I’ve wanted eBird to do forever:
let me drop a pin somewhere and only get rare bird alerts within a range
from that point. Where I live here in Kitsap, if I want to monitor rarities
within about an hour’s drive, I need alerts set up for five different
counties, and those will include locations 3-4 hours away. Pish solves that
and does so pretty well. So far, where I’ve checked on it, it’s reported
everything I expect it to, and it hasn’t neglected to report something to
me, so it seems accurate.
I haven’t used some of the secondary features (like loading in my lifer
list), so I can’t comment on that. I’d be just as happy if they did away
with those and focus on refining and improving the core feature. It’s good
— I’d give it a B grade as a first release, and I think it has potential,
and so far, it’s been a useful addition to my phone.
chuq
---------------------------------------
Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
Silverdale, Washington
Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
Vice President, Kitsap Audubon Society
Date: 9/19/26 11:26 am From: Gary Bletsch via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] "Pish" rarities app
Dear Tweeters,
As several Tweeters have recently reported, the new app "Pish" is supposed to notify birders about rarities. I just tried it out, but was not at all impressed.
I had hoped to use Pish, since eBird's Rare Bird Alert balks at any attempt to use it with my Yahoo e-mail address. As an aside, I heard a story on NPR the other day, in which Yahoo and some other "legacies" on the Internet were described as "zombies," a term which seems quite accurate! Pish is far too young to be a zombie, but it does lumber about in an ungainly manner.
Anyway, the first failing of Pish occurred every time I tried to log on with my newly selected user name and password. Pish sent me on an endless loop, saying that my e-mail address was not confirmed. I had already confirmed my e-mail address with Pish, having received a message intended to accomplish that step. I had had a similar experience with Pish a few weeks ago, after I had first heard about it. So, problem number one involves signing up for an account.
Pish allows one to check for rarities as a guest, so I tried that. I don't know how Pish is working for rarities in Washington, but it is not working very well in Western New York and surrounding areas. Within a large radius of Jamestown, NY, there are only a handful of rarities showing up. A Eurasian Moorhen in Rochester is showing up on Pish's map. I am wondering if that is really a Eurasian Moorhen, or just a misidentified Common Gallinule. I see nothing about a recent NY State occurrence of a Eurasian Moorhen on eBird.
What really makes me suspicious of Pish is that the next closest rarity on its map of my region is an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, reported from some place up north of Toronto. As best I know, the presumably extinct IBWO was never ever recorded anywhere in Canada, so this is probably a report by a beginner who had seen a Pileated Woodpecker. It seems that Pish does not vet the rarities it reports. So, problem number two is that a birder using Pish gets stuck with the "Boy Who Cried Wolf" effect.
From my current geographic standpoint, the next suite of rarities shown on Pish's map are a bunch of what I'd call "good birds," all of which are down in the New York City area. They include an Eastern Whip-poor-will, a Pine Siskin, a Savannah Sparrow, and a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. The last three are just normally occurring migrants that one would expect to see down there every year; the Whip-poor-will is a species in severe decline, but still reported annually in NY State. Those are all four very nice, but three of them are probably not worthy of a rare-bird alert. For example, there are scores of other reported Savannah Sparrows in the greater NY metro area, just for September of 2026. I don't know why a single one merits mention on Pish, while the others are all ignored, unless perhaps it was a good bird for the county where it showed up. So, problem number two is a seemingly inconsistent reporting of uncommon or "barely rare" birds.
The next closest bird reported on Pish's map is a Yellow Grosbeak reported from Central New Jersey. That grosbeak is normally found in Mexico, but has occurred a handful of times in the SW United States, as well as Arkansas and Iowa. I suppose it might be legit, but I would certainly not drive all day to look for a bird reported on a website that also reports an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Ontario! That is especially true in view of the fact that there is absolutely nothing that I can find on eBird in reference to a Yellow Grosbeak in NJ.
Well, how do I find out about rarities? I have found a workaround on the eBird rare bird alert. I put a shortcut to it on my cell phone, and so I can check it when the thought crosses my mind. My barely functioning old Yahoo e-mail account won't let me receive any alerts, but at least I can check for them manually. Unless Pish cleans up what appear to be several serious drawbacks, I won't be bothering with it anytime soon.
Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch
<garybletsch...>
_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 9/18/26 2:19 pm From: deborah kirner via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Fwd: Highly recommended: Featured Article in the New Yorker magazine, September 21, 2026: “Flight Risk” “A scientist called the b\x8A\xB7y impossible“
Date: 9/18/26 1:27 pm From: Jeff Harrell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Fwd: Highly recommended: Featured Article in the New Yorker magazine, September 21, 2026: “Flight Risk” “A scientist called thy\xB8\xAB
On Fri, Sep 18, 2026 at 1:00 PM Dan Reiff via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> *Subject:* *Highly recommended: Featured Article in the New Yorker
> magazine, September 21, 2026: “Flight Risk” “A scientist called
> the bird’s trip from Patagonia to Alaska “technically impossible“*
>
> Hello Tweeters,
> I have a subscription for New Yorker magazine. I do not have a link for
> you.
> Perhaps a Tweeter can find a way of posting the article.
>
> When the New Yorker magazine does a long lead article on birds, it gets my
> attention. And it will be read by many that are not in the world of Birds.
> Which, I hope will bring more positive attention to birds, and birds in
> their environments and all environments.
>
> I highly recommend this article.
> a really fine piece of interesting and very informative writing. It covers
> much ground: research and researchers; firsthand experiences in the field,
> history, and past ideas about birds and migration. And highlights the
> importance of shorebirds to the environments.
> I can imagine Dennis smiling while reading it.
>
> “The perils and triumphs of the astonishing migration of the Hudsonian
> Godwit”
>
> Yes, an adult Hudsonian godwit is larger than a city pigeon.
>
> Dan Reiff, PhD
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 9/18/26 1:27 pm From: Carla Conway via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Fwd: Highly recommended: Featured Article in the New Yorker magazine, September 21, 2026: “Flight Risk” “A scientist called thy\xB8\xAB
Thank you, Dan. I don't have a New Yorker subscription but am looking
forward to reading this article with the Libby app. Anyone with a valid
library card from KCLS, Seattle Public Library and almost any other public
library can download the app for access to magazines, ebooks, etc.
Have a good weekend,
Carla
On Fri, Sep 18, 2026 at 12:59 PM Dan Reiff via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> *Subject:* *Highly recommended: Featured Article in the New Yorker
> magazine, September 21, 2026: “Flight Risk” “A scientist called
> the bird’s trip from Patagonia to Alaska “technically impossible“*
>
> Hello Tweeters,
> I have a subscription for New Yorker magazine. I do not have a link for
> you.
> Perhaps a Tweeter can find a way of posting the article.
>
> When the New Yorker magazine does a long lead article on birds, it gets my
> attention. And it will be read by many that are not in the world of Birds.
> Which, I hope will bring more positive attention to birds, and birds in
> their environments and all environments.
>
> I highly recommend this article.
> a really fine piece of interesting and very informative writing. It covers
> much ground: research and researchers; firsthand experiences in the field,
> history, and past ideas about birds and migration. And highlights the
> importance of shorebirds to the environments.
> I can imagine Dennis smiling while reading it.
>
> “The perils and triumphs of the astonishing migration of the Hudsonian
> Godwit”
>
> Yes, an adult Hudsonian godwit is larger than a city pigeon.
>
> Dan Reiff, PhD
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 9/18/26 1:07 pm From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Highly recommended: Featured Article in the New Yorker magazine, September 21, 2026: “Flight Risk” “A scientist ca\x96W\x9D\xB6\x9B\x8A\xB7
>
> Subject: Highly recommended: Featured Article in the New Yorker magazine, September 21, 2026: “Flight Risk” “A scientist called the bird’s trip from Patagonia to Alaska “technically impossible“
>
> Hello Tweeters,
> I have a subscription for New Yorker magazine. I do not have a link for you.
> Perhaps a Tweeter can find a way of posting the article.
>
> When the New Yorker magazine does a long lead article on birds, it gets my attention. And it will be read by many that are not in the world of Birds.
> Which, I hope will bring more positive attention to birds, and birds in their environments and all environments.
>
> I highly recommend this article.
> a really fine piece of interesting and very informative writing. It covers much ground: research and researchers; firsthand experiences in the field, history, and past ideas about birds and migration. And highlights the importance of shorebirds to the environments.
> I can imagine Dennis smiling while reading it.
>
> “The perils and triumphs of the astonishing migration of the Hudsonian Godwit”
>
> Yes, an adult Hudsonian godwit is larger than a city pigeon.
>
> Dan Reiff, PhD
>
Date: 9/17/26 10:08 pm From: Kenneth Brown via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Eagle's Pride.
The calendar says it's still summer, but today was an early fall day. Sure, it was warm, the sky was clear, the air mostly still. Birds were active and vocal in the early morning. But the light lets you know. There is something different, the air seems clearer than before, the contrast and color saturation turned up, just a bit.
We gathered outside the driving range shed without the founding father of the walk, Denis DeSilvas. He's away attending a familial obligation. We muddled through, none the less. Right from the start, those with ears to hear reported Red Crossbills, lots of them. They occupied the tops of most of the visible fir trees. North of the road there were birds in almost constant motion from a small puddle to nearby trees and back again. The Crossbills, some Golden-crowned Sparrows, and Pine Siskins, bathed communally. Red-breasted Nuthatches could also be heard. A couple of Barn Swallows swooped over the nearby pond, late to head south.
Walking to the first pond, we were surrounded by more Crossbills and Nuthatches, a Merlin flew northwesterly overhead. A lone young Pied-billed Grebe, some juvenile face striping still evident, was the pond's only occupant. Returning to the pond near the start, no bird swam in the receding water but the encircling willows held Golden-crowned and White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and a couple more Pine Siskins.
Throughout the remainder of the usual route we continued to be inundated with more Crossbills, Nuthatches, and Juncos. Also encountered were Band-tailed Pigeons, Crows, Steller's Jays, a California Scrub Jay, House Finches, Black-capped and Chestnut -backed Chickadees, Golden-crowned, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Anna's Hummingbirds, an Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Wood Ducks and a couple more Pied-billed Grebes on Hodges Lake. The happiest surprise for me was a Nashville Warbler.
The Autumnal Equinox, the official astrological start of autumn, will occur at 5:04 p.m. P.T., September 22 this year, next week. So I guess it's not autumn yet, but it is early fall. _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 9/17/26 2:27 pm From: Matt Bartels via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-09-17
Hi Tweets -
Micheal was out today, so it was up to Jordan and I to lead a small group of 4 on the weekly Marymoor walk. It was a beautiful clear day after a little ground fog burned off, and though the birds weren’t numerous, it definitely showed the changing of the seasons - winter sparrows had returned - Golden-crowned Sparrows were here in force, and Fox Sparrows were ticking away from the brush. White-crowned Sparrows also seem to have increased in numbers.
Highlights:
Osprey - still one lingering
American Kestrel - one in the East Meadow, being pursued by 3 Anna’s Hummingbirds
Horned Lark - 6 in the gravel parking lot near the Climbing Wall - first in a long time for the Marymoor walk
American Pipits - same field as the Horned Larks - should be around for a long stretch now
Fox Sparrow & Golden-crowned Sparrows [see above] First of Fall [FOF]
Lincoln’s Sparrow 2 seen well
Western Tanager - 2 around
Misses today were numerous - we missed American Goldfinch, European Starling, Brown Creeper and Golden-crowned Kinglet! - we also missed swallows and swifts --
Date: 9/17/26 1:00 pm From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 9/17/2026.
Dear Tweets,
Approximately 40 of us had a beautiful last day of Summer Walk at the
Refuge with sunny skies and temperatures in the 50's to 70's degrees
Fahrenheit. There was a High 11'10" Tide at 10:31am so we followed our
routine route. Highlights included significant bird activity in the
morning, featuring migration and song (perhaps the autumnal recrudescence
of the amatory urge). The Orchard yielded migrating OLIVE-SIDED
FLYCATCHER, GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW, HUTTON'S VIREO and RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCH (species typically difficult to find on the Refuge). Numerous
CEDAR WAXWING and PURPLE FINCH were seen along the Access Road. The group
had great views of VIRGINIA RAIL on the west side of the Twin Barns Loop
Trail 100 feet south of the Twin Barns cut-off on the inside of the trail.
The Twin Barns Overlook offered good views of migrating warblers including
TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and NORTHERN YELLOW WARBLER. The dike or Nisqually
Estuary Trail was great for shorebirds, including expected SEMI-PALMATED
PLOVERS, WESTERN SANDPIPER, LEAST SANDPIPER, and GREATER YELLOWLEGS. We
observed three falcon species: AMERICAN KESTREL, MERLIN and PEREGRINE
FALCON. Most of the group had nice views of the WILSON'S SNIPE in the
freshwater marsh. In the morning before the walk there was a large flock
of over 20 EVENING GROSBEAKS in the riparian forest around the big Douglas
Fir near the center of the Visitor Center Pond. We also had a couple of
brief flyovers of First of Year AMERICAN PIPIT.
For the day we totaled 81 species, including the first of the year AMERICAN
PIPIT, we now have seen 163 species this year. Check out our eBird Report
pasted below for further details.
Other sightings included Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, Townsend's Chipmunk,
Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Muskrat, Harbor Seal, a Townsend's Vole being
ingested by a Great Blue Heron, and many Common Green Darners.
Until next week when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond
Overlook, happy birding.
Shep
--
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Sep 16, 2026 6:49 AM - 5:08 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.389 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday walk. Sunny with temperatures in the
50’s to 70’s degrees Fahrenheit. A High 11’10” Tide at 10:31am. Others
seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Townsend’s Chipmunk, Columbian
Black-tailed Deer, Muskrat, Pacific Chorus Frog, Red-legged Frog, Common
Green Darner, and Harbor Seal.
81 species (+4 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 24
Wood Duck 13 Visitor Center Pond.
American Wigeon 45
Mallard 75
Northern Pintail 150
Green-winged Teal (American) 15
Hooded Merganser 6 Shannon slough.
Common Merganser (North American) 2 Nisqually River.
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 50
Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 16 Peregrine Tree or Douglas Fir in
center of Visitor Center Pond.
Mourning Dove 1
Anna's Hummingbird 3
hummingbird sp. 1
Virginia Rail 2 One showing very well for entire group on the inside
of the west side Twin Barns Loop Trail south of Twin Barns cut-off.
Killdeer 4
Semipalmated Plover 9 Mudflats west of Leschi Slough and north of
Nisqually Estuary Trail.
Wilson's Snipe 1 Freshwater marsh.
Spotted Sandpiper 1 West side of McAllister Creek.
Greater Yellowlegs 40
Least Sandpiper 200
Western Sandpiper 100
Ring-billed Gull 250
Western Gull 1
California Gull 5
Glaucous-winged Gull 1
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 10
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 20
Larus sp. 500
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Brandt's Cormorant 4 Nisqually River channel marker.
Double-crested Cormorant 35
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 25
Cooper's Hawk 1 Spotted by Ken.
Northern Harrier 2
Bald Eagle 8
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 1
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-breasted Sapsucker (ruber) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 6
American Kestrel (Northern) 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher 2 Orchard.
Willow Flycatcher 2
Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 2
Western Warbling Vireo 4
Steller's Jay (Coastal) 3
California Scrub-Jay 9
American Crow 50
Common Raven 3
Black-capped Chickadee 30
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4
Barn Swallow (American) 8
Bushtit (Pacific) 60
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 10
Red-breasted Nuthatch 6
Brown Creeper 6
Marsh Wren 3
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 4
European Starling 250
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 1
American Robin (migratorius Group) 25
Cedar Waxwing 30
American Pipit 4
Evening Grosbeak 25
Purple Finch (Western) 8
Red Crossbill 4
American Goldfinch 15
Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 2
White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) 10
Golden-crowned Sparrow 25
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 6
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 22
Lincoln's Sparrow 2 Nisqually Estuary Trail.
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 200
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 3
Common Yellowthroat 10
Northern Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 1
Townsend's Warbler 1 Spotted by Pat at Twin Barns Observation Platform.
Western Tanager 2
Date: 9/17/26 12:54 pm From: Debbie Mcleod via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge
I was just thinking about that this morning! I was at the Trestle Bridge on the Sammamish River Trail checking for salmon. No luck there - but I did hear 21 different birds! And observed some action in the river below. A pair of mallards getting frisky. There was bobbing, and preening. He had her pinned underwater, briefly. She didn't seem to care that he was not resplendent in breeding plumage. Debbie McLeod, Redmond _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 9/17/26 12:28 pm From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge
Elaine,
I was at Hayton Reserve on Fir Island yesterday. There was a "pair"
of Killdeer that
were flying around 'together' in what I'd describe as a "playful"
manner. I saw them
several times over at least a half hour. Here, there, and everywhere -
always together
and never combative/territorial ... go here (sweeping and swooshing as
they went),
perch near each other, get up and rinse and repeat. What they didn't do
was to go
to the ground like they do in Spring ... otherwise it seemed like
"courtship".
I have also seen pairs of Anna's doing similar things here around our
fountain.
Most of the birds at our fountain are 'immature Goldfinches' and
that's been
true for about 2 or 3 weeks.
The rest of the bird world seems "pretty typical" here in Skagit
County. The increase
(arrival?) of Harriers and Short-Eared Owls hasn't quite started yet.
No sign of any
Snow Geese or Trumpeter Swans yet. LOTS of Canada Geese.
Date: 9/16/26 9:31 pm From: Elaine Chuang via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge
Dear Tweets. It's that time of year again: September 22 is the Fall Equinox (thank you PPL), and as regular as rain, "The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge" becomes evident!
Wait! Did that Anna's hummingbird male just execute a "J-dive" display?! Have you been hearing bird song or observing somewhat out-of-season behavior lately? We have begun to enjoy the annual avian phenomenon that's based upon partial reactivation of breeding behaviors. Whether triggered by the effects of the changing "photoperiod" on birdy hormones (the prevailing explanation) or other factors, the shift has poetically become known as, "The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge." Please honor Susan Stiles, who gave us this lovely bit of verse (and with thanks to Dennis Paulson, from whom many of us first heard Stiles' poem):
"The Autumnal Recrudescence of the Amatory Urge" - by Susan Stiles (December 1973)
When the birds are cacaphonic in the trees and on the verge
Of the fields in mid-October when the cold is like a scourge.
It is not delight in winter that makes feathered voices surge,
But autumnal recrudescence of the amatory urge.
When the frost is on the punkin' and when leaf and branch diverge,
Birds with hormones reawakened sing a paean, not a dirge.
What's the reason for their warbling? Why on earth this late-year splurge?
The autumnal recrudescence of the amatory urge.
The scientifically best and yet ‘readable’ article on the general topic, in my humble opinion, has been one by the wonderful GrrlScientist (https://about.me/grrlscientist): "Why do songbirds sing in autumn? Many songbirds sing in autumn. If these birds aren’t breeding in the autumn, then why are they singing?” I’m sorry to find that the author has placed a paywall around this article since last year. https://grrlscientist.substack.com/p/why-do-songbirds-sing-in-autumn
Date: 9/15/26 11:56 pm From: Dee Dee via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Lesser Goldfinch returns
This afternoon (~3pm) I was thrilled to see a male Lesser Goldfinch (LEGO) on our large 6-port tube-feeder. Exclamations of delight and a sprint for the camera (6 feet away) ensued.
I had been hoping to see if a male LEGO would appear in my yard again this fall, as in the past two years; the first sighting of this species in my yard was in late November 2024, with numerous more sightings each month through February 2025. After a 6-month hiatus, a male LEGO was sighted in the yard in late September 2025, again in December 2025, and again multiple times in January through late March of 2026. Then no LEGOs were seen for 5 months, until today. This green-and-yellow bird is a treat to see, especially now that the American Goldfinches are molting out of their bright breeding plumage.
I have submitted an eBird checklist and a couple of the photos for those who’d like to see them (spoiler alert—he looks the same as before). As in the previous two winters, I will be interested to see word of any other sightings of this species in the Snohomish County area.
Date: 9/15/26 4:03 pm From: Krystal via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Suspected Avian Pox in West Seattle?
Hello-
A couple of the juvenile House Finches that frequent our feeder in south West Seattle have foot growths that look very much like Avian Pox. Feeders and birdbath are down and being disinfected.
Please keep an eye out if you have feeders or birdbaths nearby!
Date: 9/15/26 11:46 am From: Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk - Thursday, September 17 - 8:00AM Start
Hi Tweeters,
The next Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) birdwalk is scheduled for Thursday, September 17 at 8:00AM.
The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders do the tour d'course the third Thursday of every month. We meet at 8:00AM<outlook-data-detector://2> through October 2026. (Change to 9:00AM in November.)
Starting point is the Driving Range Tee, Eagle's Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. When you turn into the course entrance, take an immediate left onto the road to the driving range - that's where we meet.
Also, to remind folks that haven't been here before, even though Eagle's Pride is a US Army recreation facility, you don't need any ID to attend these birdwalks. Hope you're able to make it!
Current weather forecast is 50degF-69degF start to finish (RealFeel 54-73) with 0% chance of rain during the walk. Lookin' good! As always, dress for success!
Note: I won't be there (wedding in Beantown) but other folks will fill in the gap.
Date: 9/14/26 9:41 pm From: Madrone Ruggiero via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] New Wings Over Whidbey Field Trips Added!
Hi all,I wanted to let folks know that there have recently been a few field trips added to the Wings Over Whidbey Bird Festival on September 25 and 26th. There has also been an additional live raptor presentation by Dr. Mark Borden added on the 26th from 3:30 to 4pm.The new field trips are: Penn Cove Small Sit from noon to 2 pm (there are two 1 hr time slots to choose from) on the 25thCamp Casey scope station from 11:30am to 1pm on the 26thShoreline Walk with Sound Water Stewards 10-11 am on the 26th
The link below will take you to the Wings Over Whidbey event page where you can read field trip descriptions and sign up if you are interested. Wings over Whidbey Bird Festival — Whidbey Audubon Society
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Wings over Whidbey Bird Festival — Whidbey Audubon Society
Date: 9/14/26 3:51 pm From: Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] BBSA in Auburn
Late this morning there was a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. The bird was pectoral-sized with a dark eye surrounded by buff & no facial markings. There was a small amount of spotting on the sides of the breast. The bird was on a dirt clod facing me for about 15 seconds until it took flight. I could not find the bird again. No photos.
The bird was in the field between M Street and the main pond, as opposed to the overflow of Mill Creek to the south. A probable beaver dam just south of 29th has backed up the water in this area, making access difficult. Scoping from M Street into the bare fields may be the best option, if the bird remains.
-- Marv Breece Tukwila, WA *<marvbreece...> <marvbreece...>*
Date: 9/14/26 12:06 pm From: mary hrudkaj via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Turkey Vulture report
This morning when driving into Gorst from Port Orchard there was a growing kettle of Turkey Vultures over Gorst. We were able to pull into the parking area of the public storage facility on Hwy 3 between Hwy 16 and Hwy 3 northbound.
The kettle grew from 10 to 14 vultures. We watched for a few minutes but no more TV's appeared. We headed south on Hwy 3 to Belfair but none of the vultures were seen in Belfair after we got groceries. The vultures in Gorst appeared to come up from the area of Old Belfair Hwy, about a quarter mile north of Hwy 3 and may have been in trees in Jarstad Park. There's also a basalt quarry just a bit farther north they might have overnighted in.
Hopefully those vulture watchers farther south in the Sound area will be visited soon by this flock.
Date: 9/14/26 8:53 am From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] WOS Monthly Meeting, October 5, 2026 (online only)
The Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) is pleased to announce the first of our new season of Monthly Meetings, which commences on Monday, Oct 5, when Jeff Kozma will present, "Western Bluebird Nest Survival and Nest-site selection in ponderosa pine forests."
Western Bluebirds (WEBL, Sialia mexicana) are brilliant blue songbirds found in a variety of western U.S. habitats. On the west side of the Cascades, they historically had relied on mature Garry oak woodlands: because of habitat loss (e.g., old oak trees with natural cavities), the WEBL is listed as a "Species of Greatest Conservation Need.” Groups in Washington have been putting up nest boxes for the WEBL for decades. Did you know that the Western Bluebird is also thriving by using nest cavities in managed ponderosa pine forests? Join us and Jeff Kozma by Zoom on October 5 to learn more.
Our speaker, Jeff Kozma moved to Washington in 1996 as biologist for the Army’s Yakima Training Center where he worked on habitat restoration projects and surveys of Sage Grouse, Bald Eagle and other raptors. Since 2002 Jeff has worked as a Wildlife Biologist for the Yakama Nation, where Gray Flycatcher, White-headed Woodpecker and Western Bluebird are among his most favored subjects of field research and surveys.
This meeting will be conducted virtually, via Zoom (no in-person attendance). Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm, and the meeting commences at 7:30 pm. Please go to the WOS Monthly Meetings page: https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.
When joining the meeting, we ask that you mute your device and make certain that your camera is turned off.
This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend. Thanks to the generosity of our presenters, recordings of past programs are available at the following link to the WOS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonornithologicalso7839/videos
If you are not yet a member of WOS, we hope you will consider becoming one at https://wos.org.
Date: 9/14/26 7:01 am From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] “1000 hour fuels” Exclusive: TNT gets tour of the new landscape at Mount Rainier's Sunrise area
Thanks for the article, Dan. Sunrise is one of my favourite places for
summer and autumn hiking, and I'm sad I won't get to do Burroughs now this
year.
I'm not sure I want to see what Grand Park looks like after the fire's
burned there for so many weeks. I'd been planning to do that hike from the
Lake Eleanor entrance this year, but the fire got there first. Grand Park
was a stunningly gorgeous place - I just hope the trees weren't all killed
and recovery might take years rather than centuries :-(
Louise Rutter
Kirkland
On Mon, Sep 14, 2026 at 1:25 AM Dan Reiff via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hello Tweeters,
>
> Sunrise, Mt Rainier, for me, is an Eden and a place I truly love. Day and
> night.
>
> Some Definitions of Eden: “a place of pristine or abundant natural
> beauty”. “A place or state of great happiness; an unspoiled paradise.”
>
> I understand and accept, but am sad that I and others will not be able to
> visit there this fall.
> I respect and appreciate the efforts of the firefighters. I find it
> startling to see the necessary clear-cuts around the buildings.
>
> https://www.thenewstribune.com/outdoors/article317132292.html >
> As always, if you cannot open the link, copy and paste the article title
> onto your browser, Safari or Google, and tap the enter key on your computer
> or phone.
>
> Best regards,
> Dan Reiff, MPH, PhD
>
> Sent from my iPhone
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 9/14/26 1:33 am From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] “1000 hour fuels” Exclusive: TNT gets tour of the new landscape at Mount Rainier's Sunrise area
Hello Tweeters,
Sunrise, Mt Rainier, for me, is an Eden and a place I truly love. Day and night.
Some Definitions of Eden: “a place of pristine or abundant natural beauty”. “A place or state of great happiness; an unspoiled paradise.”
I understand and accept, but am sad that I and others will not be able to visit there this fall.
I respect and appreciate the efforts of the firefighters. I find it startling to see the necessary clear-cuts around the buildings.
As always, if you cannot open the link, copy and paste the article title onto your browser, Safari or Google, and tap the enter key on your computer or phone.
Date: 9/12/26 8:07 pm From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Hermit or Swainson's Thrush In Burien
Tom,
Have you tried Merlin Photo ID? It will tell you with better than
90% certainty.
1) Open Merlin in your phone (install Merlin first).
2) Go to "photo id".
3) Click on "take a picture".
4) Take a picture of your picture (of the display on your computer).
5) Tell it where and when you took the picture.
6) Tell it to ID.
It will, almost always, come back with a single candidate that you
can trust. If
you have several photos of the bird do it for all of them for confirmation.
I do this, literally, ALL the time. I find it especially helpful for
species that I
find difficult ... such as "which gull is that".
- Jim in Skagit
_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 9/12/26 3:54 pm From: Jim Danzenbaker via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] September 4, 2026 Westport Seabirds trip report
Hi Tweeters,
Westport Seabirds welcomed a group of birders from the American Birding Association as well as pelagic enthusiasts from the Puget Sound area and further afield for a full day of pelagic birding on a relatively comfortable "no spray" day. After opening announcements and orientation, Captain Todd fired up the *Blitz* and we headed toward the open ocean and Willapa Canyon in Pacific County. Soon, a broad band of Sooty Shearwaters (20,110) and scattered Common Murres (365 - many with a chick in tow) were garnering views by everyone onboard.
As is usually the case, our increasing knowledge of flight style, size, and plumage of the Sootys made finding Pink-footed Shearwaters (1,992) much easier. Several small flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes (76) and Rhinoceros Auklets (65) soon were added to our lists. Buller's Shearwaters (5) put in brief appearances although our daily total was lower than the last several trips.
Unfortunately, there were no fishing boats of any kind on the radar so we knew that we had to find our own birds without the assistance from pelagic bird feeders. Regardless of this setback, as we neared the dropoff to Willapa Canyon, we found a few Black-footed Albatrosses (19) which were more than happy to visit our boat. At one point, we found a large congregation of shearwaters actively feeding which included Sooty and Short-tailed (203) diving on the bait and Pink-footed grabbing food on the surface. Three Pomarine Jaegers (3) as well as diminutive Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (64) and one Northern Fulmars (1) were working this area as well. It wasn't totally surprising that we only saw one Northern Fulmar all day since they seem to prefer hanging out with the fishing boats. A few Sabine's Gulls (37 - both adults and immatures) made distant passes and we were treated to an Arctic Tern (21) which was taking a break on a log from its long distance journey from the arctic to the antarctic. Red Phalaropes (298) were growing in number and we soon realized that it was going to be a very good day for seeing this species well which can be difficult based on sea conditions and their habit of taking flight quickly on approach.
We continued southwest to the deeper parts of Willapa Canyon where the water temperature was a balmy 62 degrees. Our hoped for bird filled chumming area never really materialized although we were treated to good looks at Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, Sabine's Gulls, Arctic Terns, Cassin's Auklets (23) and a beautiful dark morph Parasitic Jaeger. We decided to head north on the edge of the canyon and hopefully spot a few things along the way. At this point, our non-avian highlight had to be the numerous Northern Fur Seals (10) that we encountered including a group of 3 with telltale jug handled flippers and curious eyes studying us just as much as we were studying them. Humpback Whales (12) were feeding in the area too which brought on quite a few shutter clicks and gasps of wonder. Not surprising, the calm water also helped us to find *Mola Mola*s (Ocean Sunfish - 10) and Blue Sharks (6). One of the *mola mola*s breached multiple times which made us wonder how this round, generally placid, heavy fish could possibly get airborne! On our return trip, we added a distant South Polar Skua (1) and Parasitic Jaegers which are birds that I always love to see.
We checked the tip of the cormorant and pelican clad south jetty for the booby but it wasn't to be today. Another day perhaps. The seawall at the Westport harbor held an incredible 225 Elegant Terns, a reminder of the continued incursion of this El Nino driven visitor from southern California and points further south. Who knows if we'll ever be treated to this many Elegant Terns in Washington again.
Westport Seabirds thanks all of the enthusiastic participants who make these trips a success. Also, thanks to Captain Todd for his consummate professionalism and knowledge of the sea and Garrett who passed around the ginger cookies! Also, a shout out to our guides Bill Tweit, Charlie Wright, and your trip reporter.
The entire crew and staff of Westport Seabirds is looking forward to a highlight rich 2026. Who knows what the predicted super El Nino will bring. Keep monitoring the Westport Seabirds website ( https://westportseabirds.com) and the 2026 schedule for updates and availability.
We hope to see you onboard!
Jim Danzenbaker for Westport Seabirds. -- Jim Danzenbaker Battle Ground, WA 360-702-9395 <jdanzenbaker...>
Date: 9/11/26 2:07 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Hermit or Swainson's Thrush In Burien
I had a Swainson’s or early Hermit Thrush here in the Seahurst neighborhood of Burien this morning. Merlin says that HETH is "unlikely in Burien today", but got a photo of it and I’m no sure. I must admit that the comparison photos in allaboutbirds don’t help me at all. They all look alike to me!
The bird had found its way into our detached garage and was trying to get out through a window that doesn’t open. It fluttered about then sat patiently as I photographed it before I redirected it to the main door.
If anyone would like to see the photo to help me identify it conclusively, I can send it to you. I don’t have an online photo library.
Date: 9/11/26 11:43 am From: Brian Zinke via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Swifts Night Out in Monroe - Tomorrow (9/12)!
Hi Tweets,
Vaux's Swifts have been roosting in the Monroe chimney all week (see numbers below), and we invite you out tomorrow evening to witness their spectacular roosting behavior for yourself!
We'll have children's activities, a presentation on swifts at 6pm by Larry Schwitters, the 911 GRUB food truck on site, and wildlife-focused vendors to peruse.
Normally the swifts enter the chimney near sunset, but with rain in the forecast Saturday evening, they may decide to enter a little early. So, we encourage you to arrive early so you don't miss them!
Here are the swift numbers from this past week at the chimney:
Date: 9/10/26 2:51 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-08-10
Tweets - It was another super-quiet day at the park, with long stretches without a single bird to hear or see. The day was otherwise okay, with temps in the low 60's, but building overcast. It seems that virtually all of the "summer" birds are gone, without much in the way of returning birds or migrants:
Highlights: Band-tailed Pigeon - Two in a quick flyby. Quite possibly Last of Year, as they tend to clear out of Marymoor after mid-September Mourning Dove - A single bird flew south over the East Meadow. Only our 2nd sighting of the year American Coot - One from the Lake Platform. First of Fall (FOF) Double-crested Cormorant - Two flying near the lake (FOF) Green Heron - One at the Rowing Club pond Cooper's Hawk - Juvenile, seen a couple of times. Last seen kerfuffling with American Crows in the Pea Patch Red-breasted Sapsucker - One near the heronry (FOF) Merlin - Seen a couple of times; quite a dark bird Evening Grosbeak - One heard flying near the mansion. First of Year (FOY), though we've thought we heard some before Savannah Sparrow - Two at the Viewing Mound looked bigger and brighter than our nesting birds Lincoln's Sparrow - One at the Viewing Mound (FOF) Western Tanager - One calling from SW of the mansion at the start of the walk. Probably Last of Year by dates
We had NO swifts, flycatchers, vireos, swallows, or Swainson's Thrush, and our only warblers were COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and a couple of NORTHERN YELLOW WARBLER.
Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Vaux's Swift, Red-tailed Hawk, American Barn Owl, Willow Flycatcher, Barn Swallow, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Black-throated Gray Warbler.
We did have one special sighting: we were joined by Lee Crawford who is in the area on a brief visit from NYC. She was a Marymoor regular for many years. Great to see her again.
Date: 9/10/26 11:46 am From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 9/9/2027
Dear Tweets,
Approximately 40 of us had a really nice day at the Refuge; temperatures
ranged from the 50s to 70s Fahrenheit with mostly sunny skies. There was a
Low -1'0" Tide at 10:53am and a High 13'8" Tide at 5:56pm. Highlights
included really nice flocks of migrating birds including WARBLING VIREO,
YELLOW WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and WILSON'S WARBLER. Also seen
were migrating PECTORAL SANDPIPER, WESTERN SANDPIPER, LEAST SANDPIPER,
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and a SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER. We observed many
first-of-season returning sparrows, including FOX SPARROW, GOLDEN-CROWNED
SPARROW, and LINCOLN'S SPARROW. Some of our group had brief looks at the
VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA and AMERICAN BITTERN. Everyone had great looks of
WILSON'S SNIPE. Waterfowl are returning, including AMERICAN COOT, NORTHERN
PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL and AMERICAN WIGEON. Unfortunately, we couldn't
relocate the Ruff, Golden Plover, or Hudsonian Godwit seen over the weekend.
For the day we observed 84 species. With First-Of-Year Pectoral Sandpiper
and LESSER GOLDFINCH, we have now observed 162 species for the year.
See our eBird Report below for additional details and photos.
Until next time when we meet again at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook at
8am, happy birding.
Shep
--
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Sep 9, 2026 6:45 AM - 5:45 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday walk. Partly cloudy transitioning to
sunny skies with temperatures in the 40’s to 70’s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low
-1’0” Tide 10:53am and High 13’8” Tide at 5:56pm. Others seen River Otter,
Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Harbor Seal, Townsend’s Chipmunk, Pacific
Chorus Frog, and American Bullfrog.
84 species (+6 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 20
Wood Duck 6 Visitor Center Pond.
Cinnamon Teal (Northern) 1 Freshwater marsh inside of Nisqually
Estuary Trail.
American Wigeon 12
Mallard 34
Northern Pintail 100
Green-winged Teal (American) 20
dabbling duck sp. 1000 Distant dabbling ducks in tidal marsh. Likely
Mallards, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, and American Wigeon.
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 25
Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 6
Anna's Hummingbird 2
hummingbird sp. 2
Virginia Rail 1 Freshwater marsh inside of Nisqually Estuary Trail.
Sora 1 Freshwater marsh inside of Nisqually Estuary Trail.
American Coot (Red-shielded) 2
Killdeer 4
Semipalmated Plover 6 Mudflats between Leschi Slough and Nisqually
Estuary Boardwalk Trail.
Wilson's Snipe 3 Freshwater marsh inside Nisqually Estuary Trail.
Spotted Sandpiper 2 West side of McAllister Creek.
Greater Yellowlegs 60
Least Sandpiper 300
Pectoral Sandpiper 5 Freshwater marsh inside of Nisqually Estuary
Trail.
Western Sandpiper 600 Counted in groups of 50-100. Some foraging on
mudflats mixed with LESA, others predominantly WESA. Two groups of 100
birds flying over the dike, and one group approximately of 300 birds seen
flying over Nisqually Reach.
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1 Observed at 7am adjacent to entrance to
Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail along Shannon Slough.
Rhinoceros Auklet 7 Scoped from Puget Sound Observation Platform.
Ring-billed Gull 200
California Gull 6
Glaucous-winged Gull 3
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 10
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 10
Larus sp. 300
Caspian Tern 1
Brandt's Cormorant 5 Nisqually River channel marker.
Double-crested Cormorant 28
American Bittern 1 Seen flying in the freshwater marsh by Ellen at 7am.
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 45
Turkey Vulture (Northern) 3
Osprey (American) 1
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 6
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-breasted Sapsucker (ruber) 3
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 4
Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1 Heard only from McAllister Creek West Bank.
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 6
Merlin 1
Willow Flycatcher 1
Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 1
Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 2
Western Warbling Vireo 8
Steller's Jay (Coastal) 7
California Scrub-Jay 2
American Crow 13
Common Raven 4
Black-capped Chickadee 20
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
Bank Swallow 1
Tree/Violet-green Swallow 1
Barn Swallow (American) 150
Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 2
Bushtit 10
Golden-crowned Kinglet 11
Red-breasted Nuthatch 3
Brown Creeper 6
Marsh Wren 2
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 6
European Starling 50
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 5
American Robin (migratorius Group) 20
Cedar Waxwing 3 Heard only
Purple Finch (Western) 3
Red Crossbill 20
Lesser Goldfinch 1 Seen by Marc in the morning adjacent to the parking
lot.
American Goldfinch 16
Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 5
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 15
White-crowned Sparrow 20
Golden-crowned Sparrow 6
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 12
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 30
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 5
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 15
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 2
Common Yellowthroat 11
Northern Yellow Warbler 9
Wilson's Warbler 2
Western Tanager 2
Date: 9/10/26 8:12 am From: Kevin Lucas via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Unusual bill color - White-crowned Sparrow
One of the adult plumage White-crowned Sparrows in our front yard this morning has a dark upper bill. The base of the bill is normal yellow-orange. The lower bill is normal yellow-orange, with a dark patch in the middle. I've never seen this before.
Date: 9/9/26 5:46 pm From: Jim Danzenbaker via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] fun birding at Migration Corner, Larch Mountain, Clark County
Hi Tweeters,
Some fun birding times over the last few days.
Well, it's been a fairly slow season at Migration Corner with the hoped for northeast breeze rarely coming to fruition. Then yesterday and today came along and the season was turned on its head! I'll try to summarize in some sort of coherent order.
The highlights were many on each day but today, Wednesday, we had one of the best species diversity (62 species) and rarity events that I can ever remember without having to move more than 50 feet from our cars. Think flycatchers on Tuesday followed by finches and woodpeckers today. If you want details, please read on.
*WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER*
I don't know what just happened with WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER on both Tuesday (immature female) and Wednesday (adult male). These are only the second and third records for Clark County. Of course, the first record for this location was on September 16, 2023 also at Migration Corner! When the adult male flew by today, it floored us and we didn't speak for several seconds. Gotta love this birding thing!
but wait, there's more......
*BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER*
10 minutes later, Dave I. quieted us down so we could hear the BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER that was "ker-[0lppppppp80jppllp"ing from a large dead doug fir in front of us. We soon spotted it on the side of the tree although we were caught without cameras at the ready so missed the photo. This is the *first *Clark County record!!!! High 5s all around!
*CASSIN'S FINCH*
In short, there were 5 (1-2-1-1) separate individuals that flew over this site yesterday. I was amazed by this since I had only seen a total of 26 (all but 15 at Migration Corner) over the years in Clark County since 2006. Today, I hoped we would find a few but getting 5 within 15 minutes of our arrival was incredible! More relaxed viewing this time with calling birds atop one of the tall doug firs at the edge of the parking area. I can only assume that the food failure in the northeast and north central part of the US and Canada and the forest fires in eastern Washington and elsewhere had these birds ranging farther afield to find food.
*PINE GROSBEAK*
Today, we had a flock of four fairly large, bulky, rather long-tailed passerines that flew over us. After we compared notes (pinkish on a few of them, general dullish gray underparts on others) we came to the conclusion that they were Pine Grosbeaks! This is another rare bird in Clark County and a record early date. This morning was shaping up to be a record breaking day!
*CLARK'S NUTCRACKER*
It's difficult to figure out this species which has become annual at Migration Corner since 2023 (couldn't find any records for last year though). Therefore, when Greg J called out "flock of large birds flying toward us over the ridge", we all looked up and counted 14 Clark's Nutcrackers! Later on, we had an additional two. Dave and Shawneen also found one to the west on Larch Mountain when they were driving down the mountain. This is an amazing trend and I hope it continues although I wonder what this is telling us about the availability of food in areas where they would ordinarily be hanging out.
*FLYCATCHERS*
After seeing or hearing only WW Pewees and Olive-sided Flycatchers on previous visits this year, the empidonax floodgates opened. On Tuesday, there were 5 Hammond's, 2 Dusky, 2 Western, 2 Willow Flycatchers iand 2 unidentified in the area. At one point, there were three calling empids at one time. Today, one Hammond's and one Olive-sided. Can't explain why the empids went from 13 to 1. You never know what will be around when you go birding.
*WARBLERS*
9 species of warblers capped the morning on Tuesday and 8 species today kept us on our toes (as if the rarities weren't already doing that). Tuesday's total number was 95 and Wednesday's was 281. Of course, it was only me on Tuesday for about 3 hours vs today with 6 observers over almost 6 hours.
*SPARROWS AND KINGLETS*
The first push of sparrows (including juncos) and kinglets happened over the last several days. Tuesdays totals were 16 and 16 and Wednesday's were 79 and 38
*THRUSHES AND SOLITAIRES*
As with other species, these species also rebounded. Varied (22) and Swainson's Thrushes (41) were quite prominent today. Solitaires jumped to 2 and 7.
I hope everyone is able to experience a day like today up at Migration Corner. You never know when it will happen but persistence pays as well as many, many visits. Monitor BirdCast and windy.com for help in predicting the next big day.
Remember to bring your Discover Pass and an ability to avoid potholes on the paved road leading to the mountain and many bumps and binks on the forest road leading to Migration Corner.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Keep your eyes and ears skyward!
Jim
-- Jim Danzenbaker Battle Ground, WA 360-702-9395 <jdanzenbaker...>
Date: 9/9/26 4:54 pm From: Marcus Roening via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Dune Peninsula and the Parasitic Jaeger show
Hi Tweets,
It is once again time for the Parasitic Jaeger show at the Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park in Ruston/Tacoma WA. Several hundred Caspian Terns showed up in late August and anywhere from 2-6 Parasitic Jaegers of all age classes have shown up daily to check on the Terns ability to hold on to juvenile salmon. Quite a bit of fancy flying occurs by both parties until the Caspian Terns usually drop the fish. The Caspian Terns tend to stay to the end of September in large numbers, which should keep a couple of Jaegers around, as well.
On the final drive into the Park, you’ll see a fenced in parking lot above you with multitudes of Caspian Terns and California Gulls. You can look through the fence, but it does slope down and away, so you can’t see all of the Terns from there. If you’d like to scope them and see if there are any smaller Terns, such as Common Terns, among them, back up a block and look from the top of the parking structure.
Continue down the drive to parking, restrooms and a waterfront park. Yes, it is a popular place on a nice day, so you may have to wait for parking to open up if you arrive later in the day. Or, there is paid parking a block earlier and a walking trail back.
A scope is not needed to see the Parasitic Jaegers chasing the Caspian Terns back to the fenced parking lot, but it does let you view birds further out on the Sound. The last few days have seen fair numbers of Common Terns flying through (with a few roosting in the lot), a few Arctic Terns, Red-necked Phalaropes, juvenile Sabine’s & Franklin’s Gulls and fair numbers of Rhinocerous Auklets. All of the last birds listed really require a scope to enjoy as the birds tend to be at least 1-2 miles out. If you come in the morning, there’s bound to be someone doing a seawatch from one of the Dune hills!
Date: 9/9/26 7:33 am From: Vicki via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] App for Washington tides?
Thank you for all of the recommendations for apps and websites. I have a
lot to work with now, to figure out the tides!
I especially appreciate someone sending me the information on how to mark
a website on my safari on my phone. That was extremely helpful
Happy Birding!
Vicki Biltz
On Tue, Sep 8, 2026 at 6:47 PM Tom Bowden via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I use a web site called Deep Zoom https://deepzoom.com/. It covers Puget
> Sound and the Ocean, and shows both tide and current stations. One feature
> I like is a “dial” at the bottom of the map which allows you to see the
> tide for any time.
>
> Tom
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 9/8/26 6:57 pm From: Tom Bowden via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] App for Washington tides?
I use a web site called Deep Zoom https://deepzoom.com/. It covers Puget Sound and the Ocean, and shows both tide and current stations. One feature I like is a “dial” at the bottom of the map which allows you to see the tide for any time.
Date: 9/8/26 1:10 pm From: Larry Schwitters via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening
Tweeters,
We just might have some swifts at Swift Night Out this year. Last night Betsy bagged over 4200 at the Wagner roost. While that was going on another PNW roost was stuffing in 11,400.
Date: 9/8/26 11:58 am From: Stephen Elston via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] App for Washington tides?
I am happy with the Tide Alert app, which lets me save stations near places
I go frequently. I also use the same method Greg does at times. Happy
birding, Steve
On Tue, Sep 8, 2026 at 8:17 AM Vicki via Tweeters <tweeters...>
wrote:
> Hello, I was looking at going to the ocean to study my shorebirds as I’m
> quite rusty. However the tides app I used before is no longer available.
> Any idea what the best one is for our state? I don’t mind paying if
> necessary
> Thank you,
> Vicki Biltz
> <Vickibiltz...>
>
>
>
>
> <vickibiltz...>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/saw-whets_new/ >
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 9/8/26 10:44 am From: Peggy Mundy via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] App for Washington tides?
I also use Tides Near Me. I use the free version, but they also have a paid "premium" version.
<peggy_busby...> on Instagram
On Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 10:11:44 AM PDT, Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
I use 2 ios apps, Tides, and Tides Near Me. Both are pretty user friendly.
On Tue, Sep 8, 2026 at 8:17 AM Vicki via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
Hello, I was looking at going to the ocean to study my shorebirds as I’m quite rusty. However the tides app I used before is no longer available. Any idea what the best one is for our state? I don’t mind paying if necessary Thank you, Vicki <BiltzVickibiltz...>
Date: 9/8/26 10:19 am From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] App for Washington tides?
I use 2 ios apps, Tides, and Tides Near Me. Both are pretty user
friendly.
On Tue, Sep 8, 2026 at 8:17 AM Vicki via Tweeters <tweeters...>
wrote:
> Hello, I was looking at going to the ocean to study my shorebirds as I’m
> quite rusty. However the tides app I used before is no longer available.
> Any idea what the best one is for our state? I don’t mind paying if
> necessary
> Thank you,
> Vicki Biltz
> <Vickibiltz...>
>
>
>
>
> <vickibiltz...>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/saw-whets_new/ >
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 9/8/26 8:24 am From: Vicki via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] App for Washington tides?
Hello, I was looking at going to the ocean to study my shorebirds as I’m
quite rusty. However the tides app I used before is no longer available.
Any idea what the best one is for our state? I don’t mind paying if
necessary
Thank you,
Vicki Biltz
<Vickibiltz...>
Date: 9/8/26 6:53 am From: Neil Johannsen via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] California scrub-jay
Enjoyed seeing a rather bold and intelligent California scrub-jay on our suet cake, Sept 7.
We live 300 meters north of Bainbridge Island ferry dock.
Neil C. Johannsen
Date: 9/7/26 2:14 pm From: t vulture via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] email for tuvu comments
Hi, if you reply to my vulture report, please use the <tvulture...> address (which is erased when I send reports by gmail). Tweeters demands I use gmail's plain text and I do not use gmail for my regular mail. Thanks.
Date: 9/7/26 2:06 pm From: t vulture via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] August 2026 TUVU report
Hi, Tweets
August is the preview month for the turkey vultures heading south to
their wintering grounds, whether in California, or Central and South
America. September should be an interesting month of groups gradually
winging their way down along the central and west coast. Thanks to
everyone for the great reports, nothing from ebird this time, all
local.
AUGUST
03 – One each on I-5 mp 250/270, Whatcom County.
05 – Fifteen taking turns feeding on a deer carcas w/ravens on west
side of Dungeness River west of Sequim, Clallam County.
06 – One each on I-5 mp 255, Bellingham and mp 209; one on the
Jefferson side of the Hood Canal Bridge at 21:49, Kitsap County.
12 – One turkey vulture over Snoqualmie Ridge Golf Course at 14:04,
King County; Eight seen at Dugualla Bay soaring low over a field at
14:02, Island C.
15 – Two seen over the Snoqualmie Ridge Golf Course at 14:17.
17 – Three over High Cedars Golf Course at 13:32.
20 – One flyingover Paradise Bay north of Hood Canal Bridge at 15:30.
Kitsap County, neat photo.
22 – Two over Belfair at 12:03, Mason County.
23 – One turkey vulture over Belfair at 12:00.
24 – One cirling over Bothell at 11:30, King County; one at Belfair at 11:49.
25 – 3 or 4 between Mt. Vernon/Bellingham, seen regularly, Skagit
County; one at Belfair at 14:45.
26 – One flying between Mt. Erie/Sugarloaf, Fidalgo Island, heading
south, Skagit County.
27 – Two over Carnation Rd/Sykes Lake, Carnation at 16:30; one at
Chinook Bend, Carnation at 1635, King County.
28 – Two over Belfair at 14:40.
29 – One over Belfair at 11:05.
30 – Five over Theyler Wetlands at 13:00, Mason County.
31 -- One between Duvall and Monroe, King/Snohomish Counties; one
over Mud Bay, Olympia at 10:45, Thurston County; six hanging out in
treetops on the bank of Lake Cortez, Malaga; later, 21 turkey vultures
flying over the orchard in Malaga, Chelan County.
Cheers, Diann
Diann MacRae
Olympic Vulture Study
22622 - 53rd Avenue S.E., Bothell, WA 9821
Bothell, WA 98021
_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 9/7/26 8:37 am From: AMK17 via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] More Phinney birds
It's been an interesting season. This morning I had a truly "Wow" moment when a pileated woodpecker landed on my back fence then suet feeder then flew directly at me and landed just overhead (I dare not move) within 5 feet. Yesterday, Merlin picked one up but I didn't really think it was possible. So seeing it in the yard was a pleasant shock. Once it flew it out of the yard I could hear it drumming in some of the neighborhood conifers.
Otherwise, yellow warblers and the resident birds were in the yard. Dark morning made for difficult birding with camera and bins. But that woodpecker - neat.
Date: 9/7/26 8:09 am From: Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] THE POWER OF CONNECTING Thursday Sept 10th 7 pm Olympia
Join Maria Ruth and South Sound Bird Alliance board members Rachel Holland
and Melinda Wood for a triple header presentation on how birders of all
skill levels and interests can make important discoveries about our local
birds. Their connections to each other and their curiosity about the
natural world have played critical roles in discoveries about Pigeon
Guillemots as well as the Vaux’s Swifts.
Maria Ruth is the author of several books of non-fiction natural history
including *The Bird with Flaming Red Feet: Seasons with an Uncommonly
Common Seabird*. This free program from South Sound Bird Alliance can be
enjoyed in person at Temple Beth Hatfiloh (201 8th Ave SE Olympia) or via
Zoom, register at
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/E3HGBN4DQqOEOpwGsu5bKA
Date: 9/7/26 12:14 am From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Phinney mixed flock -flycatcher image
Fascinating observation and photographs, the branches notwithstanding.
I had no idea that the designation "new world flycatcher sp." was even
possible in eBird. Great that it is. Very forward-thinking for eBird
I checked eBird for Sep empidonax and found fewer than a dozen for all time
that include photos. Kudos to Anna for the photos for this one.
Empidonax Flycatchers are notoriously difficult to ID. This is one.
BUT, in my experience and research, Western Flycatchers are 'easy' (ha!)]
They are well known for having 'Tear-drop shaped eyerings'.
This translates to a horizontal (gravity defying) eardrop with the rear
coming to a point.behind the eye.
I looked at all the eBird photos and they appeared to be all Western to me,
Including some ot which that were identified otherwise.
As to Anna's 3 photos, blocked partially by thin branches, the middle one
can be interpreted as to have a point at the rear end.
I'd go with that but would be interested to hear what others think.
Bob OBrien Portland.
On Sun, Sep 6, 2026 at 2:13 PM AMK17 via Tweeters <tweeters...>
wrote:
>
>
> An image of the flycatcher observed in Phinney was uploaded in case
> someone can id it. unfortunately
> twigs and leaves in the way. https://ebird.org/checklist/S390404956 >
>
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> Akopitov
> Seattle
>
>
> AMK17
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Anna via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Sent: Sep 6, 2026 8:15 AM
> To: Anna via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Phinney mixed flock
>
>
> This morning a nice sized mixed flock foraged in the back between several
> yards. Flycatchers, yellow and orange crowned warblers, warbling vireos
> and tanagers. Possibly yellow rumped but I didn’t see or hear it.
>
>
> Again Merlin picked up evening grosbeaks and I may have observed 3 flying
> out from conifers but lighting was not conducive to id so went off size and
> shape. Has anyone observed these in Phinney area of Seattle. The recording
> was faint so not confident. But Merlin keeps picking this one up.
>
>
> Haven’t id’d the large headed flycatcher yet but it is not a willow or
> western. Might send a link to photos if anyone wants to assist with id.
>
>
> Good morning for birds!
>
>
> Cheers,
> AKopitov
> Seattle
>
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone with all the auto correct quirks.
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
An image of the flycatcher observed in Phinney was uploaded in case someone can id it. unfortunately
twigs and leaves in the way. https://ebird.org/checklist/S390404956
Thanks!
Akopitov
Seattle
AMK17
-----Original Message-----
From: Anna via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Sep 6, 2026 8:15 AM
To: Anna via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Phinney mixed flock
This morning a nice sized mixed flock foraged in the back between several yards. Flycatchers, yellow and orange crowned warblers, warbling vireos and tanagers. Possibly yellow rumped but I didn’t see or hear it.
Again Merlin picked up evening grosbeaks and I may have observed 3 flying out from conifers but lighting was not conducive to id so went off size and shape. Has anyone observed these in Phinney area of Seattle. The recording was faint so not confident. But Merlin keeps picking this one up.
Haven’t id’d the large headed flycatcher yet but it is not a willow or western. Might send a link to photos if anyone wants to assist with id.
Date: 9/6/26 12:50 pm From: Jim Danzenbaker via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] August 23, 2026 Westport Seabirds trip report
Hi Tweeters,
One hopes for a blend of species abundance, a mammal show, and pleasant weather conditions on every Westport Seabirds pelagic trip and this trip filled the bill on all of them. We gathered on the deck of the *Blitz* captained by Todd Sawin and, after orientation, headed to the bay and through the jetties to the open ocean. Even before we reached the jetties, we had great views of Elegant Terns which have invaded the area thanks to the developing super El Nino which has driven them from the south. Beyond the jetties, it was all about the steady stream of Sooty Shearwaters (11,551) and Common Murres (545) with 3/4 sized young ones.
Soon, Pink-footed Shearwaters (458) joined in with the Sootys for good comparisons of these two most commonly occurring tubenoses in Washington waters. Several small flocks of Red-necked Phalaropes (123) and Rhinoceros Auklets (RHAU - 212) soon were added to our lists. At one point, the hoped for call of "puffin" rang out and we all watched as an adult Tufted Puffin (2) flew by with a RHAU for good comparison of body size and flight style. Buller's Shearwaters (16) appeared and we concentrated on getting excellent views of this elegant species from New Zealand. I will never tire of seeing them! Surprsingly common small flocks of Cassin's Auklets (72) also winged their way by us - an encouraging sign of the abundance of life below the surface of the water.
The target was a group of Hake fishing boats working the waters at the edge of Willapa canyon in Pacific County. As we neared the first boat, we were delighted to see many birds flying around as well as resting on the water waiting for the boat to bring up nets so they could grab their next meal. Black-footed Albatrosses (127) took center stage with about 112 in the area! Diminutive Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (49) and bulky Northern Fulmars (13) were working this area as well. Sabine's Gulls (58 - both adults and immatures) made forays behind the boat as did a pair of Arctic Terns (4). A few Red Phalaropes (8) were in the area too! We soon headed to the deep blue waters of Willapa Canyon.
Calm waters and a comfortable ride have drawbacks as we soon found out when we laid our chum slick. No wind meant no help in wafting the aroma of fresh suet and oil which attracts birds to the slick. A few Northern Fulmars and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels flew through but we never managed a more formidable flock. We decided to head back to the waters along the shelf edge. Regardless of the low numbers, we did see several pairs of Pigeon Guillemots (7) which were winging their way northward to their wintering grounds in the Salish Sea. It always seems counterintuitive to think of a species that has populations that winter north of their breeding grounds!
Another highlight was a large pod of mixed dolphins including very active Risso's Dolphins (15) which aren't regularly encountered on Westport seabirds trips. We watched as they lept halfway out of the water showing their large pale head and scratched bodies. With the sometimes bow riding Pacific White-sided Dolphins (55) that were in their company it was a sight to behold! The show was interrupted briefly by a Humpback whale that motrored towards the Blitz and probably swam under us before emerging on the other side to continue its way to unseen feeding grounds. In addition to the dolphins, we encountered Humpback Whales (6), Blue Sharks (30), and Ocean Sunfish (*mola mola)* (14). Mola molas, though not the most energetic creatures on the planet, always garner many photo snaps and gasps of wonder. Both Guadalupe (1) and Northern Fur Seals (1) were also seen as well as a few fur seals which defied identification. Its always encouraging to see Guadalupe Fur Seals since there was a time when they were almost extinct.
Our return trip was punctuated by 2 South Polar Skuas (2), a Parasitic Jaeger (4) and the day's second Tufted Puffin. Little did we know that the highlight of the day was further ahead.
As we neared the tip of the pelican and cormorant capped south jetty, we always hope to find something out of the ordinary and this was our day. Bill said "Is that a booby" and we all turned our attention to the booby that was perched on one of the rocks. Long lens photography allowed us to see the red legs on the booby which clinched its identification. This Red-footed Booby was a first for Westport Seabirds and a second record for Grays Harbor County. Bill had the first single observer record many moons ago.
Westport Seabirds thanks all of the enthusiastic participants who make these trips a success. Also, thanks to Captain Todd for his consummate professionalism and knowledge of the sea and the ginger cookies! Also, a big thanks to our guides Charlie Wright, Bill Tweit, and your trip reporter.
The entire crew and staff of Westport Seabirds is looking forward to a highlight rich 2026. Who knows what the predicted super El Nino will bring. Keep monitoring the Westport Seabirds website ( https://westportseabirds.com) and the 2026 schedule for updates and availability.
We hope to see you onboard!
Jim Danzenbaker for Westport Seabirds.
-- Jim Danzenbaker Battle Ground, WA 360-702-9395 <(360)%20702-9395> <jdanzenbaker...>
Date: 9/6/26 8:24 am From: Anna via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Phinney mixed flock
This morning a nice sized mixed flock foraged in the back between several yards. Flycatchers, yellow and orange crowned warblers, warbling vireos and tanagers. Possibly yellow rumped but I didn’t see or hear it.
Again Merlin picked up evening grosbeaks and I may have observed 3 flying out from conifers but lighting was not conducive to id so went off size and shape. Has anyone observed these in Phinney area of Seattle. The recording was faint so not confident. But Merlin keeps picking this one up.
Haven’t id’d the large headed flycatcher yet but it is not a willow or western. Might send a link to photos if anyone wants to assist with id.
Date: 9/6/26 8:24 am From: Anna via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Phinney mixed flock
This morning a nice sized mixed flock foraged in the back between several yards. Flycatchers, yellow and orange crowned warblers, warbling vireos and tanagers. Possibly yellow rumped but I didn’t see or hear it.
Again Merlin picked up evening grosbeaks and I may have observed 3 flying out from conifers but lighting was not conducive to id so went off size and shape. Has anyone observed these in Phinney area of Seattle. The recording was faint so not confident. But Merlin keeps picking this one up.
Haven’t id’d the large headed flycatcher yet but it is not a willow or western. Might send a link to photos if anyone wants to assist with id.
Date: 9/6/26 8:22 am From: Anna via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Phinney mixed flock
This morning a nice sized mixed flock foraged in the back between several yards. Flycatchers, yellow and orange crowned warblers, warbling vireos and tanagers. Possibly yellow rumped but I didn’t see or hear it.
Again Merlin picked up evening grosbeaks and I may have observed 3 flying out from conifers but lighting was not conducive to id so went off size and shape. Has anyone observed these in Phinney area of Seattle. The recording was faint so not confident. But Merlin keeps picking this one up.
Haven’t id’d the large headed flycatcher yet but it is not a willow or western. Might send a link to photos if anyone wants to assist with id.
Date: 9/4/26 4:31 pm From: Ian Paulsen via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] NEW Princeton guide
HI ALL: THIS JUST IN: It looks like the new Princeton bird guide is online now (click on "Look Inside" at the link below) . You can see the Collins Birds of Europe influence in it! FYI: Say hello to Prairie and Saltmarsh Willets, Western and Eastern Marsh Wrens, and Painted Whitestart!
Date: 9/4/26 1:39 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Population of Kākāpō surpassing 300, first time in 75 years
For the first time in 75 years, the breeding population of Kākāpō has
produced 90 chicks and is surpassing 300. As the world's largest parrot
who are also flightless and nocturnal, they were nearly extinct due to the
introduction of predators. Article is in The Guardian. In case WSU
doesn't allow the link, it is a recent publication, August 31, 2026, and
the Guardian is accessible without a subscription.
“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our
deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner
sense of justice than we do.”
Date: 9/4/26 12:40 pm From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] East and West 90 report
Hi,
I was in Edison for dinner at The Longhorn (Jalapeno, mango, prawn
tacos!)
yesterday and drove thru/around the East and West 90s on the way home.
Saw 3 red-tails, a couple of GBH, no eagles, no owls, lots of blackbirds
on the
wires, and one un-identified white bird that might have been some kind of
kite or a very large swift or perhaps a dove/pidgeon. One of the RTHs was
sitting on a very low bush along the waterway that flows near the corner of
Farm-to-Market and Allen West ... remarkable since it was so low and not up
on a wire.
There were a -few- fishermen in the Samish and some recent reports of
Coho
(silvers) in the Skagit ... so the fall in rush is not far away.
The state of the tide was "high" so we didn't go to Channel Drive.
