Date: 7/4/26 2:23 pm From: Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] M Street Marsh, 7.4.26
It isn't often I see a MALLARD with a fish. But that's what I saw this morning at M Street. Here are 2 distant videos. One shows the bird with the fish and the second shows unsuccessful efforts to swallow it. A few minutes later I did see the duck swallow the fish while looking through the scope. https://flic.kr/p/2sngPtz https://flic.kr/p/2sn93FV
Also at M Street were 24 LEAST SANDPIPERS & 3 GREATER YELLOWLEGS. The GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE continues.
-- Marv Breece Tukwila, WA *<marvbreece...> <marvbreece...>*
Date: 7/4/26 8:32 am From: Marcy D'Addio via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Bird call-song help
Today I looked for previous ebird checklists and found 3 over the years in
the approximate location. I posted my sighting and recording.
My husband first IDed the call. We lived in WV 15 years so very familiar
with the bird.
We were just surprised and thrilled to hear it.
> Marcy, a Bobwhite calls its name!
>
>
> *Hans Feddern*
> Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
> <thefedderns...>
>
> On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM Marcy D'Addio via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> We're hearing (only) a bird near Carnation, WA. Merlin doesn't ID. We
>> suspect Northern Bobwhite. What local bird sounds similar? If anyone wants
>> to hear it I can share the wav file via email.
>> Marcy D'Addio
>> Redmond, WA
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...>
>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>
>
Date: 7/4/26 8:05 am From: Kim Thorburn via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Hi Tweets,
My point is range expansion/shifting is often an innate adaptive mechanism in mobile species. It can definitely be aided by changing
environmental conditions. Species whose habitat needs are generalist or are habitats that occur in a broad range of landscapes can respond to land conversion by moving. Species with obligate habitat needs are more limited. Those that rely on sagebrush, for example, will not move to western Washington. From a conservation standpoint, it is important to understand their adaptations, if any other than population decline, and range-wide maps generally don't provide that kind of information.
Thanks, Steve, for the tip about the eBird trend maps. It's a great function to explore.
Kim
Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH
Spokane, WA
(509) 465-3025 home
(509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Steve Hampton via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Friday, July 3, 2026 10:21 AM
To: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
eBird's trend maps are relatively new, but I expect they'll update them by simply extending the duration from 2012 to the present.
The "Green Glacier" on the Great Plains refers to the spread of trees, especially Eastern Redcedar (which is actually a juniper) with European colonization and the cessation of Indigenous burning. The encroachment of trees onto the Plains has really accelerated in recent decades. For more information and links, see my post on it here: Nebraska burning<https://substack.com/@schampton/p-194800995>. The eBird trend maps associated with this are striking for both increasing and decreasing species.
On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 9:44 AM Ann Kramer <lens4birds...><mailto:<lens4birds...>> wrote:
Thank you for pointing this out, Steve. Are the results posted every ten years or do you expect there will be updates sooner? What is the "Green Glacier"?
On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:53 PM Steve Hampton via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
Kim et al.,
I highly recommend people check out the eBird trend maps under the Science tab. Though they only map trends from 2012 to 2022, they generally correspond with more academic field research. Each dot (about the size of a CBC circle) communicates species abundance and trend based on the color and size of the dot. For each species, their trend map is like a thousand research stations.
* range shifts from climate change
* declines in grassland species and increases in woodland species across the Great Plains due to the "Green Glacier"
* massive declines in common species in the Corn Belt where neonic use is concentrated
* and even the footprint of large fires in the West
On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:24 PM Kim Thorburn via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
Hi,
These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in terms of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management.
Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes.
I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations. One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire. Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush. It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk. Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year.
Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides. Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much more needs to be learned.
Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection, such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than other intermountain West basin states.
Some of my thoughts,
Kim
Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH
Spokane, WA
(509) 465-3025 home
(509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...><mailto:<tweeters-bounces...>> on behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM
To: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Hello, tweets.
Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent, Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered eastside birds that are turning up on the west side.
I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were.
It’s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data to test my hypothesis.
Date: 7/4/26 7:40 am From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Whie Pelicans in Squamish Harbor
Carolyn Eagan informed me that three American White Pelicans appeared in Squamish Harbor, at the north end of the Hood Canal in Jefferson County, yesterday, if anyone is in that area and is interested in looking for them.
Date: 7/3/26 10:04 pm From: J Christian Kessler via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Close-ups of Pileated Woodpecker juvenile getting fed
never seen fledglings so young, in this plumage. crests are almost white.
they must grow new crests when they really leave the nest on their own
Chris
On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 8:36 PM <byers345...> via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hello Tweeters,
> Pileated Woodpeckers visit our feeders with some frequency. They are
> generally quite unconcerned about us staring at them from inside the house
> and even come in to feed when we are outside. Yesterday, Bill noticed a
> Pileated Woodpecker on our fence railing, then he saw that there were two
> birds. We were delighted to see that the second bird was a juvenile with a
> pink crest! We'd never seen one up close before. The youngster gradually
> made its way down below where the female was tanking up on suet. She then
> dropped down and fed her child (sorry for probably not using the correct
> technical terms). Bill and I both took pictures and I put some in a small
> album on Flickr, which you can see via the link below.
>
> Pileated Woodpecker mother and juvenile, Edmonds, WA, 2 July 2026 | Flickr
> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/29258421@N07/albums/72177720334535049> >
> I hope you enjoy them. Charlotte Byers, Edmonds, WA
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
--
“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass … it’s about learning how
to dance in the rain.”
Deborah Tuck
Date: 7/3/26 9:38 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Close-ups of Pileated Woodpecker juvenile getting fed
Lovely photos Charlotte!
We’ve had PIWO parents with juveniles in the past, but they had orange crests and were pretty much the same size as their parents. What a treat to see a younger, almost fledgling, bird with pink crest.
Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA
> On Jul 3, 2026, at 20:34, <byers345...> via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Hello Tweeters,
> Pileated Woodpeckers visit our feeders with some frequency. They are generally quite unconcerned about us staring at them from inside the house and even come in to feed when we are outside. Yesterday, Bill noticed a Pileated Woodpecker on our fence railing, then he saw that there were two birds. We were delighted to see that the second bird was a juvenile with a pink crest! We'd never seen one up close before. The youngster gradually made its way down below where the female was tanking up on suet. She then dropped down and fed her child (sorry for probably not using the correct technical terms). Bill and I both took pictures and I put some in a small album on Flickr, which you can see via the link below.
>
> Pileated Woodpecker mother and juvenile, Edmonds, WA, 2 July 2026 | Flickr <https://www.flickr.com/photos/29258421@N07/albums/72177720334535049> >
> I hope you enjoy them. Charlotte Byers, Edmonds, WA
Date: 7/3/26 9:22 pm From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Bird call-song help
Marcy, a Bobwhite calls its name!
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
<thefedderns...>
On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM Marcy D'Addio via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> We're hearing (only) a bird near Carnation, WA. Merlin doesn't ID. We
> suspect Northern Bobwhite. What local bird sounds similar? If anyone wants
> to hear it I can share the wav file via email.
> Marcy D'Addio
> Redmond, WA
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 7/3/26 8:45 pm From: <byers345...> via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Close-ups of Pileated Woodpecker juvenile getting fed
Hello Tweeters,
Pileated Woodpeckers visit our feeders with some frequency. They are generally quite unconcerned about us staring at them from inside the house and even come in to feed when we are outside. Yesterday, Bill noticed a Pileated Woodpecker on our fence railing, then he saw that there were two birds. We were delighted to see that the second bird was a juvenile with a pink crest! We'd never seen one up close before. The youngster gradually made its way down below where the female was tanking up on suet. She then dropped down and fed her child (sorry for probably not using the correct technical terms). Bill and I both took pictures and I put some in a small album on Flickr, which you can see via the link below.
Date: 7/3/26 6:29 pm From: Jr Mikulec via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Hey Hal,
Thank you for the tip that climate change is a natural process. Unfortunately if the earth’s atmosphere was unchanged from the 1700s we would be in a cooling era of the Milankovitch cycles. Instead CO2 ppm is increasing at a rate 250 times that seen in the last 16,000,000+ years. Humans evolved around 40,000 years ago and we started agriculture about 12,000 years ago. It would have been accurate to say that climate change is “now accelerating” in the 1970s, I think we are beyond that point now.
Best,
James
> On Jul 3, 2026, at 5:36 PM, HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> Actually, haven't we had "eastern" species moving west for decades. Two that come to mind are the Eastern Kingbird in the Skagit Valley and Barred Owl moving south. We are also seeing the Tropical Kingbird moving north, but not yet breeding and Anna's Hummingbirds moving north and the east.
>
> My perspective is that we have a couple things happening that allow range expansions. Climate Change, which is actually a normal (albeit now accelerating) process. The second is all the habitat changes. The movement of riparian trees west, the conversion of conifer forests from old growth to 60-year rotational farms, all the urbanization, and so on.
>
>
>
>
>
> Hal Michael
> Olympia WA
> 360-459-4005
> 360-791-7702 (C)
> <ucd880...>
>
>
>> On 07/03/2026 3:54 PM PDT Steve Loitz via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>>
>> A few thoughts:
>>
>> 1. Snoqualmie Pass and other WA Cascade passes are on a long-term warming trend due to climate change. The 2025-26 winter was the mildest winter we've seen in over a decade. IME, it is not unusual to see E WA and Central WA species spill over to the west side in mild winters. (FTR, I'm a frequent mountain traveler, on foot and ski.)
>>
>> 2. Yellow-breasted Chats and Lazuli Buntings could have moved north from the Willamette Valley, which has been part of their summer range for decades. I regularly saw both species when I lived in Eugene in the early 1980s. Both species have been summer residents of Basket Slough NWR for as long as I recall.
>>
>> 3. Range expansion across the warming passes may be a bi-directional phenomenon, possibly due to climate change. Some predominately W-of-crest species have recently become more common sights E of the crest -- e.g., Pacific Wren, Bushtit, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Western Flycatcher -- all of which were uncommon IDs in and around Eburg when we moved here in 2016, but are now relatively common IDs. Some might suggest that the Western Flycatchers in our area may be Cordillerans which moved W, but the WEFLs we hear in and around Eburg sound like the Pacific-slopes I heard during the 30 years I lived in and around Seattle, not the voicings of Cordillerans I've heard many times in the Kettle Range, Idaho Sawtooths, etc. Also, RBSA range is somewhat confusing due to (IME) increased RBSA x RNSA hybridization (again, possibly the result of climate change warming), althogh we have had numerous confirmed sightings of RBSAs in the past few winters that did not appear to be hybrids. Also note that RNSAs migrate S out of WA in winter.
>>
>> Steve Loitz
>> Ellensburg
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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: 7/3/26 5:46 pm From: HAL MICHAEL via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Actually, haven't we had "eastern" species moving west for decades. Two that come to mind are the Eastern Kingbird in the Skagit Valley and Barred Owl moving south. We are also seeing the Tropical Kingbird moving north, but not yet breeding and Anna's Hummingbirds moving north and the east.
My perspective is that we have a couple things happening that allow range expansions. Climate Change, which is actually a normal (albeit now accelerating) process. The second is all the habitat changes. The movement of riparian trees west, the conversion of conifer forests from old growth to 60-year rotational farms, all the urbanization, and so on.
Hal Michael Olympia WA 360-459-4005 360-791-7702 (C) <ucd880...>
> On 07/03/2026 3:54 PM PDT Steve Loitz via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote: > > > A few thoughts: > > 1. Snoqualmie Pass and other WA Cascade passes are on a long-term warming trend due to climate change. The 2025-26 winter was the mildest winter we've seen in over a decade. IME, it is not unusual to see E WA and Central WA species spill over to the west side in mild winters. (FTR, I'm a frequent mountain traveler, on foot and ski.) > > 2. Yellow-breasted Chats and Lazuli Buntings could have moved north from the Willamette Valley, which has been part of their summer range for decades. I regularly saw both species when I lived in Eugene in the early 1980s. Both species have been summer residents of Basket Slough NWR for as long as I recall. > > 3. Range expansion across the warming passes may be a bi-directional phenomenon, possibly due to climate change. Some predominately W-of-crest species have recently become more common sights E of the crest -- e.g., Pacific Wren, Bushtit, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Western Flycatcher -- all of which were uncommon IDs in and around Eburg when we moved here in 2016, but are now relatively common IDs. Some might suggest that the Western Flycatchers in our area may be Cordillerans which moved W, but the WEFLs we hear in and around Eburg sound like the Pacific-slopes I heard during the 30 years I lived in and around Seattle, not the voicings of Cordillerans I've heard many times in the Kettle Range, Idaho Sawtooths, etc. Also, RBSA range is somewhat confusing due to (IME) increased RBSA x RNSA hybridization (again, possibly the result of climate change warming), althogh we have had numerous confirmed sightings of RBSAs in the past few winters that did not appear to be hybrids. Also! note that RNSAs migrate S out of WA in winter. > > Steve Loitz > Ellensburg > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > <Tweeters...> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 7/3/26 5:23 pm From: Marcy D'Addio via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Bird call-song help
We're hearing (only) a bird near Carnation, WA. Merlin doesn't ID. We suspect Northern Bobwhite. What local bird sounds similar? If anyone wants to hear it I can share the wav file via email. Marcy D'Addio Redmond, WA
Date: 7/3/26 4:03 pm From: Steve Loitz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
A few thoughts:
1. Snoqualmie Pass and other WA Cascade passes are on a long-term warming trend due to climate change. The 2025-26 winter was the mildest winter we've seen in over a decade. IME, it is not unusual to see E WA and Central WA species spill over to the west side in mild winters. (FTR, I'm a frequent mountain traveler, on foot and ski.)
2. Yellow-breasted Chats and Lazuli Buntings could have moved north from the Willamette Valley, which has been part of their summer range for decades. I regularly saw both species when I lived in Eugene in the early 1980s. Both species have been summer residents of Basket Slough NWR for as long as I recall.
3. Range expansion across the warming passes may be a bi-directional phenomenon, possibly due to climate change. Some predominately W-of-crest species have recently become more common sights E of the crest -- e.g., Pacific Wren, Bushtit, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Western Flycatcher -- all of which were uncommon IDs in and around Eburg when we moved here in 2016, but are now relatively common IDs. Some might suggest that the Western Flycatchers in our area may be Cordillerans which moved W, but the WEFLs we hear in and around Eburg sound like the Pacific-slopes I heard during the 30 years I lived in and around Seattle, not the voicings of Cordillerans I've heard many times in the Kettle Range, Idaho Sawtooths, etc. Also, RBSA range is somewhat confusing due to (IME) increased RBSA x RNSA hybridization (again, possibly the result of climate change warming), althogh we have had numerous confirmed sightings of RBSAs in the past few winters that did not appear to be hybrids. Also note that RNSAs migrate S out of WA in winter.
Date: 7/3/26 10:31 am From: Steve Hampton via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
eBird's trend maps are relatively new, but I expect they'll update them by
simply extending the duration from 2012 to the present.
The "Green Glacier" on the Great Plains refers to the spread of trees,
especially Eastern Redcedar (which is actually a juniper) with European
colonization and the cessation of Indigenous burning. The encroachment of
trees onto the Plains has really accelerated in recent decades. For more
information and links, see my post on it here: *Nebraska burning
<https://substack.com/@schampton/p-194800995>*. The eBird trend maps
associated with this are striking for both increasing and decreasing
species.
On Fri, Jul 3, 2026 at 9:44 AM Ann Kramer <lens4birds...> wrote:
> Thank you for pointing this out, Steve. Are the results posted every ten
> years or do you expect there will be updates sooner? What is the "Green
> Glacier"?
>
> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:53 PM Steve Hampton via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Kim et al.,
>>
>> I highly recommend people check out the eBird trend maps under the
>> Science tab. Though they only map trends from 2012 to 2022, they generally
>> correspond with more academic field research. Each dot (about the size of a
>> CBC circle) communicates species abundance and trend based on the color and
>> size of the dot. For each species, their trend map is like a thousand
>> research stations.
>>
>> Here's the one for Lazuli Bunting:
>> https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/lazbun/trends-map >>
>> For example, they often show:
>>
>> - range shifts from climate change
>> - declines in grassland species and increases in woodland species
>> across the Great Plains due to the "Green Glacier"
>> - massive declines in common species in the Corn Belt where neonic
>> use is concentrated
>> - and even the footprint of large fires in the West
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:24 PM Kim Thorburn via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in
>>> terms of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well
>>> recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation
>>> is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes
>>> and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of
>>> biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute
>>> to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management.
>>>
>>> Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat
>>> alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not
>>> require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping
>>> sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined
>>> in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western
>>> Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more
>>> habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate
>>> compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is
>>> a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes.
>>>
>>> I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations.
>>> One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at
>>> Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd
>>> fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire.
>>> Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in
>>> some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is
>>> untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial
>>> bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and
>>> hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a
>>> large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was
>>> surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've
>>> always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush
>>> but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage
>>> thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush.
>>> It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows
>>> required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present
>>> innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might
>>> contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye
>>> is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper
>>> sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk.
>>> Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer
>>> does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year.
>>>
>>> Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and
>>> multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but
>>> invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is
>>> also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable
>>> conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides.
>>> Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much
>>> more needs to be learned.
>>>
>>> Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are
>>> wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection,
>>> such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like
>>> Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important
>>> contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such
>>> information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington
>>> that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than
>>> other intermountain West basin states.
>>>
>>> Some of my thoughts,
>>>
>>> Kim
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH
>>>
>>> Spokane, WA
>>>
>>> (509) 465-3025 home
>>>
>>> (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on
>>> behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM
>>> *To:* TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
>>> *Subject:* [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
>>>
>>> Hello, tweets.
>>>
>>> Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats
>>> reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent,
>>> Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the
>>> many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a
>>> simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered
>>> eastside birds that are turning up on the west side.
>>>
>>> I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside
>>> habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be
>>> sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the
>>> changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of
>>> the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because
>>> of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely
>>> been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were.
>>>
>>> It’s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this,
>>> with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding
>>> season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an
>>> analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data
>>> to test my hypothesis.
>>>
>>> Dennis Paulson
>>> Seattle
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Tweeters mailing list
>>> <Tweeters...>
>>>
>>> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce8f469e94e89425ff94108ded71298cf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639184672035266382%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=antv2Rh2eJNALKIeUqFaJ7Aa%2BP90lni5idHYVoy%2FpmY%3D&reserved=0 >>> <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters> >>> _______________________________________________
>>> Tweeters mailing list
>>> <Tweeters...>
>>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Steve Hampton
>> Port Townsend, WA (qatáy)
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...>
>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>
>
Date: 7/3/26 9:51 am From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Thank you for pointing this out, Steve. Are the results posted every ten
years or do you expect there will be updates sooner? What is the "Green
Glacier"?
On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:53 PM Steve Hampton via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Kim et al.,
>
> I highly recommend people check out the eBird trend maps under the Science
> tab. Though they only map trends from 2012 to 2022, they generally
> correspond with more academic field research. Each dot (about the size of a
> CBC circle) communicates species abundance and trend based on the color and
> size of the dot. For each species, their trend map is like a thousand
> research stations.
>
> Here's the one for Lazuli Bunting:
> https://science.ebird.org/en/status-and-trends/species/lazbun/trends-map >
> For example, they often show:
>
> - range shifts from climate change
> - declines in grassland species and increases in woodland species
> across the Great Plains due to the "Green Glacier"
> - massive declines in common species in the Corn Belt where neonic use
> is concentrated
> - and even the footprint of large fires in the West
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:24 PM Kim Thorburn via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in
>> terms of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well
>> recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation
>> is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes
>> and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of
>> biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute
>> to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management.
>>
>> Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat
>> alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not
>> require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping
>> sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined
>> in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western
>> Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more
>> habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate
>> compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is
>> a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes.
>>
>> I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations.
>> One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at
>> Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd
>> fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire.
>> Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in
>> some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is
>> untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial
>> bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and
>> hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a
>> large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was
>> surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've
>> always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush
>> but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage
>> thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush.
>> It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows
>> required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present
>> innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might
>> contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye
>> is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper
>> sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk.
>> Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer
>> does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year.
>>
>> Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and
>> multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but
>> invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is
>> also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable
>> conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides.
>> Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much
>> more needs to be learned.
>>
>> Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are
>> wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection,
>> such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like
>> Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important
>> contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such
>> information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington
>> that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than
>> other intermountain West basin states.
>>
>> Some of my thoughts,
>>
>> Kim
>>
>>
>>
>> Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH
>>
>> Spokane, WA
>>
>> (509) 465-3025 home
>>
>> (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
>> of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM
>> *To:* TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
>> *Subject:* [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
>>
>> Hello, tweets.
>>
>> Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats
>> reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent,
>> Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the
>> many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a
>> simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered
>> eastside birds that are turning up on the west side.
>>
>> I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside
>> habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be
>> sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the
>> changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of
>> the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because
>> of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely
>> been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were.
>>
>> It’s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this,
>> with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding
>> season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an
>> analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data
>> to test my hypothesis.
>>
>> Dennis Paulson
>> Seattle
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...>
>>
>> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce8f469e94e89425ff94108ded71298cf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639184672035266382%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=antv2Rh2eJNALKIeUqFaJ7Aa%2BP90lni5idHYVoy%2FpmY%3D&reserved=0 >> <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters> >> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...>
>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>
>
>
> --
> Steve Hampton
> Port Townsend, WA (qatáy)
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 7/2/26 7:51 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-07-02
Tweets - It was a nice enough day at the park today; mostly overcast and sometimes a touch chilly, but otherwise not bad. It was a pretty typical breeding-season visit.
Highlights: Gadwall - Female with a couple of small ducklings - our first Gadwall 'lings of the summer? Green Heron - One below the weir again Great Blue Heron - Nests mostly empty, with many, many juveniles fishing the slough Osprey - Adult feeding young on the east nest on the baseball lights Four woodpecker day - With both Downy and Red-breasted Sapsucker appearing to be feeding fledged young Western Warbling Vireo - For unknown reasons, all of the Warblings have been at the Rowing Club this year. None in the main park Northern Yellow Warbler - Matt heard singing pre-dawn, but we only had one visual of a hatch-year bird and no singing Black-throated Gray Warbler - Hatch-year bird at the Rowing Club. Astonishingly, First of Year (FOY)
Generally, there were many hatch-year (or apparently hatch-year) birds about, and fewer adults than recently.
The RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, WESTERN WARBLING VIREO, and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, as well as CANADA GOOSE were all noted only at the Rowing Club. It is often very much worth going over there to extend your list.
Mammals included a pre-dawn RACCOON (FOY) and a MULE DEER across the slough.
Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Cliff Swallow, and Bullock's Oriole. Two other species that we saw in the last few weeks, but not today, typically become less common by Week 27. Common Merganser and Lazuli Bunting both have been seen less than 1/3 of years this week, so no great surprise that we missed them today.
For the day, 55 species. For the year, adding the Black-throated Gray, we're up to [a paltry] 113 species for the survey. We didn't add any new Year Birds in June.
= Michael Hobbs = <BirdMarymoor...> = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
Date: 7/2/26 4:03 pm From: Steve Hampton via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Kim et al.,
I highly recommend people check out the eBird trend maps under the Science
tab. Though they only map trends from 2012 to 2022, they generally
correspond with more academic field research. Each dot (about the size of a
CBC circle) communicates species abundance and trend based on the color and
size of the dot. For each species, their trend map is like a thousand
research stations.
- range shifts from climate change
- declines in grassland species and increases in woodland species across
the Great Plains due to the "Green Glacier"
- massive declines in common species in the Corn Belt where neonic use
is concentrated
- and even the footprint of large fires in the West
On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 3:24 PM Kim Thorburn via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in terms
> of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well
> recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation
> is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes
> and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of
> biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute
> to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management.
>
> Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat
> alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not
> require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping
> sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined
> in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western
> Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more
> habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate
> compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is
> a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes.
>
> I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations.
> One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at
> Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd
> fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire.
> Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in
> some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is
> untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial
> bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and
> hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a
> large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was
> surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've
> always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush
> but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage
> thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush.
> It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows
> required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present
> innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might
> contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye
> is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper
> sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk.
> Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer
> does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year.
>
> Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and
> multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but
> invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is
> also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable
> conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides.
> Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much
> more needs to be learned.
>
> Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are
> wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection,
> such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like
> Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important
> contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such
> information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington
> that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than
> other intermountain West basin states.
>
> Some of my thoughts,
>
> Kim
>
>
>
> Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH
>
> Spokane, WA
>
> (509) 465-3025 home
>
> (509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
> of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM
> *To:* TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Subject:* [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
>
> Hello, tweets.
>
> Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats
> reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent,
> Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the
> many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a
> simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered
> eastside birds that are turning up on the west side.
>
> I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside
> habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be
> sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the
> changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of
> the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because
> of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely
> been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were.
>
> It’s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, with
> birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding season,
> and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an analysis
> of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data to test
> my hypothesis.
>
> Dennis Paulson
> Seattle
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
>
> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmailman11.u.washington.edu%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Ftweeters&data=05%7C02%7C%7Ce8f469e94e89425ff94108ded71298cf%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639184672035266382%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=antv2Rh2eJNALKIeUqFaJ7Aa%2BP90lni5idHYVoy%2FpmY%3D&reserved=0 > <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters> > _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 7/2/26 3:34 pm From: Kim Thorburn via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Hi,
These are interesting observations. I like to think of these data in terms of conservation and clearly, habitat alterations and loss are well recognized threats to biodiversity. An important question for conservation is understanding adaptations made by species in response to habitat changes and how management might boost adaptation. Natural selection is a form of biologic adaptation but there are also other innate traits that contribute to adaptation and that are more amenable to conservation management.
Range expansion or transition is an adaptive mechanism to habitat alteration, especially for a taxonomic class as mobile as Aves. It may not require genetic selection. Is there evidence that lazuli bunting, chipping sparrow, and yellow-breasted chat populations have significantly declined in eastern Washington as more mobile individuals push into western Washington? Perhaps less habitat is pushing species, especially more habitat generalist species, beyond historic ranges as an innate compensatory response to habitat loss. Irruption, for example, is a behavioral response to temporal habitat changes.
I've been interested by some more micro, within-range observations. One example is wildland fire recovery. This week, I spent a day birding at Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area that was devastated by the 2020 Whitney Rd fire. The area was fairly intact basin shrubsteppe before the fire. Management, including plantings and weed control, assist fire recovery in some parts of the wildlife area but it is a large piece of land and much is untouched since the fire, including the area I was walking. Perennial bunchgrass recovery is far greater than shrub growth, which is spotty and hasn't achieved the size of the plants before the fire. Basin wildrye is a large bunchgrass that seems rather fire resistant and fast growing. I was surprised to find the patches of wildrye full of Brewer's sparrows. I've always considered them as shrubsteppe-obligate species reliant on sagebrush but their numbers have remained stable after the fire, unlike sage thrashers that have drifted from the area to places with unburnt sagebrush. It is not apparent that the shift in habitat usage by Brewer's sparrows required genetic selection. It seems more likely it was an already present innate adaptive mechanism. If the observation were to hold up, it might contribute to habitat protection and restoration practices. Basin wildrye is also important to other shrubsteppe species. Savannah and grasshopper sparrows use it and were present in substantial numbers during my walk. Some ground-nesting birds use it for nest sites. I often flush mule deer does stashing their fawns in the patches during this time of year.
Insect populations decline is a global phenomenon that is complex and multifactorial. Indiscriminate insecticide use is a contributor but invertebrate ecology is incompletely understood and habitat degradation is also a major factor. Insecticide use is definitely a controllable conservation management tactic, probably including a ban on nicotinamides. Unfortunately, though, reversal of the phenomenon won't be so simple. Much more needs to be learned.
Biodiversity conservation is intensively data dependent and birds are wonderful indicators. eBird data are useful and systematic data collection, such as the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, is essential. Biologic research like Jeff Kozma's work with white-headed woodpeckers makes important contributions to conservation management on multi-use lands. All such information is important to biodiversity conservation in eastern Washington that has proportionately less public land and more land conversion than other intermountain West basin states.
Some of my thoughts,
Kim
Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH
Spokane, WA
(509) 465-3025 home
(509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2026 6:46 PM
To: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Hello, tweets.
Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent, Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered eastside birds that are turning up on the west side.
I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were.
Its quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data to test my hypothesis.
Date: 7/2/26 12:17 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Hi Ronda,
Yes, that was one suggestion which I think is a good suggestion for DOT.
It was also suggested that possibly some Audubon chapters could apply salt
at a safer location for the birds. I'm unfamiliar with where that would be
but it's another good idea I am exploring with other board members.
Ann
On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 12:01 PM David Swinford <dgswinford...> wrote:
> Thanks for providing the DOT contact info. If the carnage is ongoing,
> perhaps nature lovers across the state could flood the DOT zone (email,
> voice message) asking them to post a temporary speed limit reduction
> through the area and perhaps a law enforcement presence. I just did and
> wished I had a photo, too graphic for Facebook to attach to it. Having
> graphic photos would be very helpful. If you have those, send them to DOT
> and your local media. If you don't have those and are nearby, go get
> some. Graphic photos, some years ago, of migrating Antelope slaughtered
> on a Wyoming highway helped lead to over and underpass mitigations.
> https://www.nfwf.org/programs/path-pronghorn/better-path-pronghorn >
>
> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 11:34 AM Ronda Stark via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Hi Ann,
>>
>> I think the idea is to remove the salt from the roadway as that is
>> attracting the Grosbeaks and Finches. That said, multiple messages from
>> Board members is likely to carry more
>> weight than random messages.
>>
>> Thank you,
>> Ronda
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:52 AM Ann Kramer via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>>> Thank you for all the suggestions that have been given.
>>>
>>> I copied this email chain with the issues and potential remedies and
>>> just mailed it to my Skagit Audubon chapter board members, of which I'm
>>> one. The North Cascades is close to our region. I asked them for their
>>> ideas to see if we could do anything. I'm not very familiar with Hwy 20
>>> but if there is a way to apply salt or gravel safely, I would appreciate
>>> any direction on how to go about that or if it even is a safe option. We
>>> are willing to get the salt and try to make it up there this weekend.
>>>
>>> I've also contacted WSDOT and was transferred to communications, where I
>>> had to leave a message.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Ann
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:33 AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters <
>>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I haven’t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a
>>>> policy statement?
>>>>
>>>> —Jerry Tangren
>>>>
>>>> Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef> >>>> ------------------------------
>>>> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on
>>>> behalf of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <
>>>> <tweeters...>
>>>> *Sent:* Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15
>>>> *To:* David Swinford <dgswinford...>
>>>> *Cc:* Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>>>> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
>>>>
>>>> My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT
>>>> office. Even if they don’t care about the birds, the people who DO care are
>>>> causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the
>>>> shoulder. They’re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don’t do
>>>> something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the
>>>> salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary
>>>> traffic slowing measures.
>>>>
>>>> (206) 440-4000
>>>> <nwpublicaffairs...>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Jill Freidberg
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31 AM, David Swinford via Tweeters <
>>>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation
>>>> activism. What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and
>>>> informing the public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not
>>>> to stop traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to
>>>> stop drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on
>>>> the road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action?
>>>>
>>>> While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local
>>>> media, DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what
>>>> you are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too.
>>>> I, in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support
>>>> it. I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the
>>>> checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and
>>>> happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the
>>>> relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from
>>>> supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable
>>>> solutions might also follow.
>>>>
>>>> My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook
>>>> group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a
>>>> place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post
>>>> featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird
>>>> carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post
>>>> showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at
>>>> gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to
>>>> raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too
>>>> graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter
>>>> was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed.
>>>>
>>>> .
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56 PM Scott Downes via Tweeters <
>>>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a
>>>> solution together it’s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist
>>>> and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and
>>>> grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for
>>>> safety. I’ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email.
>>>>
>>>> Scott Downes
>>>> <Downess...>
>>>> Yakima Wa
>>>>
>>>> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45 PM, via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hi Tweeters,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an
>>>> absolute horror.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North
>>>> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little
>>>> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up
>>>> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes
>>>> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to
>>>> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line,
>>>> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting
>>>> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible
>>>> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have
>>>> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I
>>>> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several
>>>> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is
>>>> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found
>>>> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that
>>>> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road
>>>> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is
>>>> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This
>>>> is unacceptable.*
>>>>
>>>> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
>>>> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they
>>>> didn’t respond.*
>>>> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the
>>>> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.*
>>>> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Nikita*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> 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 >>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> 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: 7/2/26 12:12 pm From: David Swinford via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Thanks for providing the DOT contact info. If the carnage is ongoing,
perhaps nature lovers across the state could flood the DOT zone (email,
voice message) asking them to post a temporary speed limit reduction
through the area and perhaps a law enforcement presence. I just did and
wished I had a photo, too graphic for Facebook to attach to it. Having
graphic photos would be very helpful. If you have those, send them to DOT
and your local media. If you don't have those and are nearby, go get
some. Graphic photos, some years ago, of migrating Antelope slaughtered
on a Wyoming highway helped lead to over and underpass mitigations.
https://www.nfwf.org/programs/path-pronghorn/better-path-pronghorn
On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 11:34 AM Ronda Stark via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hi Ann,
>
> I think the idea is to remove the salt from the roadway as that is
> attracting the Grosbeaks and Finches. That said, multiple messages from
> Board members is likely to carry more
> weight than random messages.
>
> Thank you,
> Ronda
>
> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:52 AM Ann Kramer via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Thank you for all the suggestions that have been given.
>>
>> I copied this email chain with the issues and potential remedies and just
>> mailed it to my Skagit Audubon chapter board members, of which I'm one.
>> The North Cascades is close to our region. I asked them for their ideas to
>> see if we could do anything. I'm not very familiar with Hwy 20 but if
>> there is a way to apply salt or gravel safely, I would appreciate any
>> direction on how to go about that or if it even is a safe option. We are
>> willing to get the salt and try to make it up there this weekend.
>>
>> I've also contacted WSDOT and was transferred to communications, where I
>> had to leave a message.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ann
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:33 AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>>> I haven’t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a
>>> policy statement?
>>>
>>> —Jerry Tangren
>>>
>>> Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef> >>> ------------------------------
>>> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on
>>> behalf of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <
>>> <tweeters...>
>>> *Sent:* Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15
>>> *To:* David Swinford <dgswinford...>
>>> *Cc:* Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>>> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
>>>
>>> My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT
>>> office. Even if they don’t care about the birds, the people who DO care are
>>> causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the
>>> shoulder. They’re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don’t do
>>> something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the
>>> salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary
>>> traffic slowing measures.
>>>
>>> (206) 440-4000
>>> <nwpublicaffairs...>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Jill Freidberg
>>>
>>>
>>> On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31 AM, David Swinford via Tweeters <
>>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>>
>>> A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation
>>> activism. What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and
>>> informing the public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not
>>> to stop traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to
>>> stop drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on
>>> the road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action?
>>>
>>> While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local
>>> media, DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what
>>> you are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too.
>>> I, in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support
>>> it. I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the
>>> checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and
>>> happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the
>>> relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from
>>> supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable
>>> solutions might also follow.
>>>
>>> My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook
>>> group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a
>>> place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post
>>> featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird
>>> carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post
>>> showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at
>>> gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to
>>> raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too
>>> graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter
>>> was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed.
>>>
>>> .
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56 PM Scott Downes via Tweeters <
>>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>>
>>> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a
>>> solution together it’s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist
>>> and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and
>>> grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for
>>> safety. I’ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email.
>>>
>>> Scott Downes
>>> <Downess...>
>>> Yakima Wa
>>>
>>> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45 PM, via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Tweeters,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an
>>> absolute horror.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North
>>> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little
>>> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up
>>> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes
>>> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to
>>> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line,
>>> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting
>>> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible
>>> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have
>>> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I
>>> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several
>>> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is
>>> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found
>>> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that
>>> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road
>>> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is
>>> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This
>>> is unacceptable.*
>>>
>>> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
>>> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they
>>> didn’t respond.*
>>> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the
>>> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.*
>>> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Nikita*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 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 >>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 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: 7/2/26 12:04 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
I called the 509-309-8175 number above.They recommended emailing at
<info...> for a prompt reply and the automated message
suggested to contact WDFW for urgent issues.
WDFW 360-902-2200
I pressed #4 at their prompt to leave a message.
On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 9:07 PM Steve Hampton via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Contact WDFW as well. (509) 309-8175 Email us: <info...>
>
> They may be able to work with Dept of Transportation for a solution.
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 8:36 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Sounds terrible. Other than contacting some authority who prefers not to
>> be contacted, I guess the best thing to do is to document it thoroughly in
>> hopes of future remediation.. I queried Chat GPT, which confirmed your
>> analysis. Here is the response. There were photos supporting what you
>> report,, which I've had to delete because Tweeters don't accept them. Bob
>> OBrien Portland
>>
>> ChatGPT response.
>>
>> Yes. In fact, as I read the message, several details immediately rang a
>> bell. This is *not a new phenomenon*, although it does appear to be
>> unusually severe in some years.
>>
>>
>> The key point is that the explanation given—*road salt attracting
>> Evening Grosbeaks*—is considered the leading explanation by many
>> ornithologists and transportation biologists. It isn't just internet
>> speculation.
>>
>> Several independent sources document this:
>>
>> - Evening Grosbeaks, along with Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, and other
>> finches, are well known to congregate on salted roads where they pick up *salt
>> and small gravel (grit)* needed for digestion.
>> - Birds feeding on roads often become surprisingly reluctant to flush
>> and can appear almost tame or lethargic, leading to heavy mortality from
>> vehicles. Transportation researchers have even proposed studies to
>> determine whether excessive sodium itself contributes to this behavior.
>> - One documented case in British Columbia reported *at least 2,000
>> Evening Grosbeaks killed along only 16 km of highway*.
>>
>> The interesting part is that *Kelly McAllister of the Washington State
>> Department of Transportation* actually proposed research on exactly this
>> issue over a decade ago. The proposal notes that finches are periodically
>> drawn to salted roads, where many are crushed by vehicles, and that
>> transportation agencies need better information to develop mitigation
>> strategies.
>> Why this year?
>>
>> That's the million-dollar question.
>>
>> Several things probably have to line up:
>>
>> - A large local concentration of Evening Grosbeaks.
>> - Late snow or limited natural mineral sources.
>> - Fresh salt remaining on the pavement after winter.
>> - Dry pavement that makes the salt easy to find.
>> - The birds' seasonal need for grit and minerals.
>>
>> These "perfect storm" years may occur only occasionally, which explains
>> why someone could drive SR-20 for years without seeing anything like this.
>> Is road salt definitely the culprit?
>>
>> Probably—but with an important qualification.
>>
>> The birds are likely attracted to *both*:
>>
>> - sodium salts, and
>> - grit (small stones) that they swallow to grind seeds in the
>> gizzard.
>>
>> Those two often occur together on mountain highways.
>> What can actually be done?
>>
>> Simply banning road salt isn't necessarily practical. SR-20 crosses high
>> mountain passes, and road salt can greatly reduce serious accidents.
>>
>> More realistic mitigation measures might include:
>>
>> - sweeping residual salt and grit from shoulders after snow season,
>> - using alternative de-icers where feasible,
>> - identifying recurring "hot spots,"
>> - temporary warning signs during peak mortality,
>> - reduced speed limits through affected stretches,
>> - research into whether different de-icing materials reduce bird
>> attraction.
>>
>> Transportation biologists have been discussing these possibilities for
>> years, but there is still surprisingly little hard research.
>> One thing that caught my attention
>>
>> The writer says:
>>
>> "dead birds every few feet"
>>
>> If that is literally true over many miles, that represents *an
>> exceptionally large mortality event*, even by the standards of previous
>> reports. I would hope the state wildlife agency documents it.
>>
>> Given your birding background, I'd also be interested in one more
>> question: *Were they really all Evening Grosbeaks?* Large flocks of
>> finches can include Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, and Cassin's Finch in
>> the Cascades. An actual survey of the carcasses would tell us whether one
>> species is disproportionately affected.
>>
>> This is exactly the sort of event that organizations such as the Washington
>> Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology would
>> likely want documented if it is occurring on the scale described.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 7:45 PM via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Tweeters,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an
>>> absolute horror.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North
>>> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little
>>> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up
>>> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes
>>> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to
>>> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line,
>>> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting
>>> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible
>>> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have
>>> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I
>>> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several
>>> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is
>>> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found
>>> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that
>>> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road
>>> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is
>>> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This
>>> is unacceptable.*
>>>
>>> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
>>> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they
>>> didn’t respond.*
>>> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the
>>> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.*
>>> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Nikita*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Tweeters mailing list
>>> <Tweeters...>
>>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...>
>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>
>
>
> --
> Steve Hampton
> Port Townsend, WA (qatáy)
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 7/2/26 11:43 am From: Ronda Stark via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Hi Ann,
I think the idea is to remove the salt from the roadway as that is
attracting the Grosbeaks and Finches. That said, multiple messages from
Board members is likely to carry more
weight than random messages.
Thank you,
Ronda
On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:52 AM Ann Kramer via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Thank you for all the suggestions that have been given.
>
> I copied this email chain with the issues and potential remedies and just
> mailed it to my Skagit Audubon chapter board members, of which I'm one.
> The North Cascades is close to our region. I asked them for their ideas to
> see if we could do anything. I'm not very familiar with Hwy 20 but if
> there is a way to apply salt or gravel safely, I would appreciate any
> direction on how to go about that or if it even is a safe option. We are
> willing to get the salt and try to make it up there this weekend.
>
> I've also contacted WSDOT and was transferred to communications, where I
> had to leave a message.
>
>
>
> Ann
>
> On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:33 AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> I haven’t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a
>> policy statement?
>>
>> —Jerry Tangren
>>
>> Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef> >> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
>> of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...>
>> *Sent:* Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15
>> *To:* David Swinford <dgswinford...>
>> *Cc:* Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
>>
>> My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT
>> office. Even if they don’t care about the birds, the people who DO care are
>> causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the
>> shoulder. They’re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don’t do
>> something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the
>> salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary
>> traffic slowing measures.
>>
>> (206) 440-4000
>> <nwpublicaffairs...>
>>
>>
>>
>> Jill Freidberg
>>
>>
>> On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31 AM, David Swinford via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>> A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism.
>> What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the
>> public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop
>> traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop
>> drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the
>> road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action?
>>
>> While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media,
>> DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you
>> are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I,
>> in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it.
>> I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the
>> checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and
>> happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the
>> relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from
>> supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable
>> solutions might also follow.
>>
>> My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook
>> group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a
>> place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post
>> featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird
>> carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post
>> showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at
>> gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to
>> raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too
>> graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter
>> was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed.
>>
>> .
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56 PM Scott Downes via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a
>> solution together it’s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist
>> and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and
>> grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for
>> safety. I’ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email.
>>
>> Scott Downes
>> <Downess...>
>> Yakima Wa
>>
>> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45 PM, via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi Tweeters,
>>
>>
>>
>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an
>> absolute horror.
>>
>>
>>
>> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North
>> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little
>> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up
>> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes
>> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to
>> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line,
>> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting
>> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible
>> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have
>> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I
>> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several
>> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is
>> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found
>> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that
>> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road
>> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is
>> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This
>> is unacceptable.*
>>
>> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
>> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.*
>>
>>
>>
>> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they
>> didn’t respond.*
>> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the
>> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.*
>> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Nikita*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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 >>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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: 7/2/26 11:03 am From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Thank you for all the suggestions that have been given.
I copied this email chain with the issues and potential remedies and just
mailed it to my Skagit Audubon chapter board members, of which I'm one.
The North Cascades is close to our region. I asked them for their ideas to
see if we could do anything. I'm not very familiar with Hwy 20 but if
there is a way to apply salt or gravel safely, I would appreciate any
direction on how to go about that or if it even is a safe option. We are
willing to get the salt and try to make it up there this weekend.
I've also contacted WSDOT and was transferred to communications, where I
had to leave a message.
Ann
On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 10:33 AM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I haven’t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a
> policy statement?
>
> —Jerry Tangren
>
> Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef> > ------------------------------
> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
> of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...>
> *Sent:* Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15
> *To:* David Swinford <dgswinford...>
> *Cc:* Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
>
> My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT office.
> Even if they don’t care about the birds, the people who DO care are causing
> traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the shoulder.
> They’re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don’t do
> something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the
> salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary
> traffic slowing measures.
>
> (206) 440-4000
> <nwpublicaffairs...>
>
>
>
> Jill Freidberg
>
>
> On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31 AM, David Swinford via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism.
> What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the
> public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop
> traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop
> drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the
> road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action?
>
> While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media,
> DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you
> are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I,
> in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it.
> I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the
> checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and
> happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the
> relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from
> supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable
> solutions might also follow.
>
> My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook group
> with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a place for
> Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post featured some
> beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird carnage on
> SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post showing
> mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at gravel
> alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to raise
> awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too graphic
> for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter was too
> graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed.
>
> .
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56 PM Scott Downes via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a
> solution together it’s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist
> and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and
> grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for
> safety. I’ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email.
>
> Scott Downes
> <Downess...>
> Yakima Wa
>
> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45 PM, via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi Tweeters,
>
>
>
> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an
> absolute horror.
>
>
>
> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North
> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little
> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up
> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes
> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to
> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line,
> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting
> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible
> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have
> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I
> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several
> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is
> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found out
> the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most
> likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt.
> If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT
> still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is
> unacceptable.*
>
> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.*
>
>
>
> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they
> didn’t respond.*
> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the
> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.*
> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?*
>
>
>
> *Nikita*
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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 >
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 7/2/26 10:44 am From: Jerry Tangren via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
I haven’t seen this in the discussion, but does WADOT already have a policy statement?
—Jerry Tangren
Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef> ________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Thursday, 02 July 2026 10:26:15
To: David Swinford <dgswinford...>
Cc: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT office. Even if they don’t care about the birds, the people who DO care are causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the shoulder. They’re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don’t do something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary traffic slowing measures.
On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31 AM, David Swinford via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism. What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action?
While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media, DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I, in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it. I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable solutions might also follow.
My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed.
.
On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56 PM Scott Downes via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a solution together it’s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for safety. I’ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email.
On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45 PM, via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
Hi Tweeters,
I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute horror.
Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is just horrible carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable.
I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.
1. I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn’t respond.
2. Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.
3. Most important: what can we do to help the birds?
Date: 7/2/26 10:37 am From: Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
My friend at DNR said to flood the phones at the NW Regional WSDOT office. Even if they don’t care about the birds, the people who DO care are causing traffic hazards by swerving, braking suddenly, running along the shoulder. They’re going to end up with a pile up on HWY 20 if they don’t do something. Seems like some robust street cleaners could scrub / rinse the salt from that stretch of road any/or THEY could create some temporary traffic slowing measures.
> On Jul 2, 2026, at 9:31 AM, David Swinford via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism. What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action?
>
> While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media, DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I, in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it. I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable solutions might also follow.
>
> My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook group with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a place for Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post featured some beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird carnage on SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post showing mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at gravel alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to raise awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too graphic for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter was too graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed.
>
> .
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56 PM Scott Downes via Tweeters <tweeters...> <mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
>> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a solution together it’s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for safety. I’ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email.
>>
>> Scott Downes
>> <Downess...> <mailto:<Downess...> >> Yakima Wa
>>
>>> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45 PM, via Tweeters <tweeters...> <mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Tweeters,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute horror.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is just horrible carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable.
>>>
>>> I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn’t respond.
>>> Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.
>>> Most important: what can we do to help the birds?
>>>
>>>
>>> Nikita
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Tweeters mailing list
>>> <Tweeters...> <mailto:<Tweeters...> >>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...> <mailto:<Tweeters...> >> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 7/2/26 9:48 am From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for July 1st, 2026.
Dear Tweets,
Approximately 30 of us enjoyed a cool Wednesday Walk on this 1st of July at
the Refuge with mostly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 50's to 60's
degrees Fahrenheit. There was a Low -1'10" Tide at 1:18pm. Highlights
included active nesting of BARN SWALLOW/CEDAR WAXWING/BUSHTIT/WESTERN
WOOD-PEWEE/YELLOW WARBLER/RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD/AMERICAN GOLDFINCH/CLIFF
SWALLOW and BALD EAGLE, great views of PURPLE MARTIN over the fields south
of the Twin Barns; continued good numbers of BANK SWALLOW, continued good
views of GREEN HERON flying around the Twin Barns Overlook and the
slough/dike adjacent to the Twin Barns; a First of Year SHARP-SHINNED HAWK
spotted along the Nisqually Estuary Trail, BULLOCK'S ORIOLE feeding young
in the Orchard early in the morning, and the autumnal return of good
numbers of LEAST SANDPIPER and WESTERN SANDPIPER to the surge plain and
mudflats early in the morning during the high tide (11'03" AT 6:01AM).
Good numbers of CLIFF SWALLOW chicks were still in their mudhuts at the
McAllister Creek Observation Platform.
For the day we observed 68 species. With the FOY Sharp-shinned Hawk, we
now have observed 152 species this year. See our eBird Report pasted below
for additional details.
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
Jul 1, 2026 6:08 AM - 4:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.258 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Mostly cloudy with temperatures in
the 50’s to 60’s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low -1’10” Tide at 1:18pm. Others
seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Muskrat, Columbian Black-tailed Deer,
Townsend’s Chipmunk, Harbor Seal. Also seen American Bullfrog, Pacific
Forktail Damselfly.
68 species (+4 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 50
Wood Duck 16 Visitor Center Pond.
Cinnamon Teal 1 Freshwater marsh.
Blue-winged/Cinnamon Teal 1
Mallard 20
Ring-necked Duck 2 Seen by Ellen and Jon in Visitor Center Pond.
Hooded Merganser 2 Visitor Center Pond.
Common Merganser (North American) 3 Nisqually River.
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 21
Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 8
Mourning Dove 5
Rufous Hummingbird 9 Nest above Twin Bench Overlook on west side of
Twin Barns Loop Trail south of Twin Barns cut off.
Virginia Rail 4 Heard only. Freshwater marsh.
Sora 1 Heard only.
Killdeer 12
Greater Yellowlegs 6
Least Sandpiper 200 Surge plain and mudflats north of Nisqually
Estuary Trail at 7am during hide tide.
Western Sandpiper 50
Ring-billed Gull 50
California Gull 30
Glaucous-winged Gull 2
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 10
gull sp. 50
Caspian Tern 22
Brandt's Cormorant 7 Nisqually River channel marker.
Double-crested Cormorant 60
Green Heron 1 Seen flying over the slough adjacent to the Twin Barns
and the surge plain.
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 115
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Spotted by Al on the Nisqually Estuary Trail.
Bald Eagle 46 Occupied nest with two young on West Bank of McAllister
Creek north of McAllister Creek/Medicine Creek Viewing Platform.
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2
Belted Kingfisher 3
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 9
Western Wood-Pewee 6
Willow Flycatcher 2
Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 2
Western Warbling Vireo 1 Orchard.
Steller's Jay 2 Heard along the West Bank of McAllister Creek.
American Crow 6
Black-capped Chickadee 15
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 4
Bank Swallow 10 Counted individually. Three to four observed just west
of west parking lot. Five to six observed south of the Twin Barns later in
the morning. Four to five seen over the freshwater marsh. An additional
three seen on the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail along Shannon Slough.
Suspect approximately 10 birds.
Tree Swallow 20
Violet-green Swallow 1
Purple Martin 6
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 3
Barn Swallow (American) 50
Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 80
Bushtit (Pacific) 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Brown Creeper 6
Marsh Wren 15
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 2
European Starling 80
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 39
American Robin (migratorius Group) 26
Cedar Waxwing 20
Purple Finch (Western) 6
Red Crossbill 1
American Goldfinch 38
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 2
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 4
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 31
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4
Bullock's Oriole 3
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 80
Brown-headed Cowbird 24 Being fed by Willow Flycatcher.
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Northern Yellow Warbler 35
Date: 7/2/26 9:42 am From: David Swinford via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
A quick solution might require some old fashioned conservation activism.
What if local birding clubs, dedicated to conservation and informing the
public got a few volunteers together to block the road? Not to stop
traffic but to establish something of an information checkpoint to stop
drivers briefly and inform them of the natural phenomenon occurring on the
road ahead so they are aware and can take appropriate action?
While you have your group of volunteers together, inform the local media,
DOT and State Patrol and/or local law enforcement and tell them what you
are going to do and why. If it's in the National Park, tell them too. I,
in my eternally naive state, believe the agencies would likely support it.
I visualize flashing lights on an emergency vehicle ahead of the
checkpoint manned by smiling bird club volunteers, appreciative drivers and
happy birds, if they experience such things. First responders and the
relevant agencies would love the feel good press they would get from
supporting efforts to mitigate wildlife slaughter. More durable solutions
might also follow.
My quick research found a post on June 23 on a large public Facebook group
with 167K members titled KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography. It's a place for
Northwest photographers to share their photography. The post featured some
beautiful photo's of North Cascades nature but noted the bird carnage on
SR20. Someone submitted a short video in response to that post showing
mixed flocks of Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin's Finches picking at gravel
alongside the road. There was another FB post by Nikita trying to raise
awareness on Facebook by posting a photo that was apparently too graphic
for Facebook and was blocked! If a photo of bird slaughter was too
graphic for Facebook, then maybe some real activism is needed.
.
On Wed, Jul 1, 2026 at 3:56 PM Scott Downes via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a
> solution together it’s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist
> and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and
> grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for
> safety. I’ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email.
>
> Scott Downes
> <Downess...>
> Yakima Wa
>
> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45 PM, via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi Tweeters,
>
>
>
> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an
> absolute horror.
>
>
>
> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North
> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little
> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up
> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes
> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to
> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line,
> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting
> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible
> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have
> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I
> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several
> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is
> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found out
> the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most
> likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt.
> If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT
> still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is
> unacceptable.*
>
> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.*
>
>
>
> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they
> didn’t respond.*
> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the
> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.*
> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?*
>
>
>
> *Nikita*
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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: 7/2/26 8:36 am From: Patty Cheek via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wings over Whidbey Keynote Dinner
We are having our 4th annual Wings over Whidbey event September 25 and 26. The keynote speaker will be Paul Bannick. Festival activities on Sept. 26 all free and include Connie Sidles - Why Bother About Birds? Other speakers will include Eric Wagner, Thomas Bancroft, and a live demonstration by NW Game Hawkers. We have lots of other activities including our bird specimen library, bird walks, booths, food vendors, and children’s activities.
Join us for a very special dinner catered by Orlando’s Southern Barbecue and featuring a new presentation by Paul Bannick called “The Heartbeat of the Western Forest: Exploring the Lives of Our Keystone Birds."
September 25, 2025
6:30 pm presentation
Whidbey Island Nordic Lodge – 63 Jacobs Rd., Coupeville, WA
Date: 7/1/26 4:05 pm From: Scott Downes via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
I work for WDFW and regularly work with WSDOT on projects. To get a solution together it’s likely this needs to get to their regional biologist and to the WDFW district biologist to discuss solutions. Both road salt and grit (sand) can be an attractant but also used for road projects for safety. I’ll send those contacts to you tomorrow from my work email.
Scott Downes
<Downess...>
Yakima Wa
> On Jun 30, 2026, at 7:45 PM, via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
>
> Hi Tweeters,
>
> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute horror.
>
> Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is just horrible carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable.
> I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.
>
> I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn’t respond.
> Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.
> Most important: what can we do to help the birds?
>
> Nikita
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 7/1/26 2:16 pm From: AMK17 via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Can you notify the park service?
AMK17
-----Original Message-----
From: Ted Ryan via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Jul 1, 2026 1:14 PM
To: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Nikita,
If advocacy on behalf of the birds is your goal I'd like to suggest that using the term "murder" and slowing down to 15MPH on a highway is a tough way to persuade those that are unaware of the issue. Everyone else in their cars are only going to see someone driving at an unsafe speed, more likely to inflame than inform.
We all care about birds here and I think agree in taking reasonable measures to insure they thrive. In my experience, that is best done through appealing to people's general sense of doing what is right, not calling them murderers and proposing a ban on road salt, which is a human safety issue that is just as important.
Best regards,
Ted Ryan
Kitsap County
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:45:06 -0700
From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> (mailto:<tweeters...>)> To: <Tweeters...> (mailto:<Tweeters...>)> Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Message-ID: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hi Tweeters,
I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute
horror.
Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades
highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are
getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the
Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down
after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for
some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips
and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by
the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are
dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen
birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch
of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad
(their problem!), and I didn't hit any birds, but it is just horrible
carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are
called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are
on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at
least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt?
Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable.
I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.
1. I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn't
respond.
2. Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt?
If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.
3. Most important: what can we do to help the birds?
Date: 7/1/26 1:24 pm From: Ted Ryan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Nikita,
If advocacy on behalf of the birds is your goal I'd like to suggest that using the term "murder" and slowing down to 15MPH on a highway is a tough way to persuade those that are unaware of the issue. Everyone else in their cars are only going to see someone driving at an unsafe speed, more likely to inflame than inform.
We all care about birds here and I think agree in taking reasonable measures to insure they thrive. In my experience, that is best done through appealing to people's general sense of doing what is right, not calling them murderers and proposing a ban on road salt, which is a human safety issue that is just as important.
Best regards,
Ted Ryan Kitsap County
> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2026 19:45:06 -0700 > From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: <Tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20 > Message-ID: <008b01dd0903$a04018d0$e0c04a70$@gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > > > Hi Tweeters, > > > > I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute > horror. > > > > Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades > highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are > getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the > Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down > after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for > some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips > and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by > the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are > dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen > birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch > of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad > (their problem!), and I didn't hit any birds, but it is just horrible > carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are > called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are > on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at > least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? > Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable. > > I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like > evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened. > > > > 1. I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn't > respond. > 2. Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? > If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past. > 3. Most important: what can we do to help the birds? > > > > Nikita > > > >
Date: 6/30/26 9:14 pm From: Steve Hampton via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Contact WDFW as well. (509) 309-8175 Email us: <info...>
They may be able to work with Dept of Transportation for a solution.
On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 8:36 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Sounds terrible. Other than contacting some authority who prefers not to
> be contacted, I guess the best thing to do is to document it thoroughly in
> hopes of future remediation.. I queried Chat GPT, which confirmed your
> analysis. Here is the response. There were photos supporting what you
> report,, which I've had to delete because Tweeters don't accept them. Bob
> OBrien Portland
>
> ChatGPT response.
>
> Yes. In fact, as I read the message, several details immediately rang a
> bell. This is *not a new phenomenon*, although it does appear to be
> unusually severe in some years.
>
>
> The key point is that the explanation given—*road salt attracting Evening
> Grosbeaks*—is considered the leading explanation by many ornithologists
> and transportation biologists. It isn't just internet speculation.
>
> Several independent sources document this:
>
> - Evening Grosbeaks, along with Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, and other
> finches, are well known to congregate on salted roads where they pick up *salt
> and small gravel (grit)* needed for digestion.
> - Birds feeding on roads often become surprisingly reluctant to flush
> and can appear almost tame or lethargic, leading to heavy mortality from
> vehicles. Transportation researchers have even proposed studies to
> determine whether excessive sodium itself contributes to this behavior.
> - One documented case in British Columbia reported *at least 2,000
> Evening Grosbeaks killed along only 16 km of highway*.
>
> The interesting part is that *Kelly McAllister of the Washington State
> Department of Transportation* actually proposed research on exactly this
> issue over a decade ago. The proposal notes that finches are periodically
> drawn to salted roads, where many are crushed by vehicles, and that
> transportation agencies need better information to develop mitigation
> strategies.
> Why this year?
>
> That's the million-dollar question.
>
> Several things probably have to line up:
>
> - A large local concentration of Evening Grosbeaks.
> - Late snow or limited natural mineral sources.
> - Fresh salt remaining on the pavement after winter.
> - Dry pavement that makes the salt easy to find.
> - The birds' seasonal need for grit and minerals.
>
> These "perfect storm" years may occur only occasionally, which explains
> why someone could drive SR-20 for years without seeing anything like this.
> Is road salt definitely the culprit?
>
> Probably—but with an important qualification.
>
> The birds are likely attracted to *both*:
>
> - sodium salts, and
> - grit (small stones) that they swallow to grind seeds in the gizzard.
>
> Those two often occur together on mountain highways.
> What can actually be done?
>
> Simply banning road salt isn't necessarily practical. SR-20 crosses high
> mountain passes, and road salt can greatly reduce serious accidents.
>
> More realistic mitigation measures might include:
>
> - sweeping residual salt and grit from shoulders after snow season,
> - using alternative de-icers where feasible,
> - identifying recurring "hot spots,"
> - temporary warning signs during peak mortality,
> - reduced speed limits through affected stretches,
> - research into whether different de-icing materials reduce bird
> attraction.
>
> Transportation biologists have been discussing these possibilities for
> years, but there is still surprisingly little hard research.
> One thing that caught my attention
>
> The writer says:
>
> "dead birds every few feet"
>
> If that is literally true over many miles, that represents *an
> exceptionally large mortality event*, even by the standards of previous
> reports. I would hope the state wildlife agency documents it.
>
> Given your birding background, I'd also be interested in one more
> question: *Were they really all Evening Grosbeaks?* Large flocks of
> finches can include Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, and Cassin's Finch in the
> Cascades. An actual survey of the carcasses would tell us whether one
> species is disproportionately affected.
>
> This is exactly the sort of event that organizations such as the Washington
> Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology would
> likely want documented if it is occurring on the scale described.
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 7:45 PM via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Hi Tweeters,
>>
>>
>>
>> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an
>> absolute horror.
>>
>>
>>
>> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North
>> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little
>> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up
>> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes
>> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to
>> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line,
>> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting
>> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible
>> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have
>> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I
>> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several
>> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is
>> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found
>> out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that
>> most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road
>> salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is
>> WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This
>> is unacceptable.*
>>
>> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
>> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.*
>>
>>
>>
>> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they
>> didn’t respond.*
>> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the
>> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.*
>> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?*
>>
>>
>>
>> *Nikita*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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: 6/30/26 9:12 pm From: Zora Monster via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Regarding the reduction in the insect population on the east side, I remember my first trip from Seattle to Lewiston, ID back in 1997. The windshield was so covered with big splats that I was stopping at gas stations because I needed to clear the windshield of the corpses. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced that driving across the state.
Zora Dermer
Seattle
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jun 30, 2026, at 6:46 PM, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Hello, tweets.
>
> Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent, Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered eastside birds that are turning up on the west side.
>
> I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were.
>
> It’s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data to test my hypothesis.
>
> Dennis Paulson
> Seattle
> _______________________________________________
> 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: 6/30/26 8:44 pm From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Sounds terrible. Other than contacting some authority who prefers not to
be contacted, I guess the best thing to do is to document it thoroughly in
hopes of future remediation.. I queried Chat GPT, which confirmed your
analysis. Here is the response. There were photos supporting what you
report,, which I've had to delete because Tweeters don't accept them. Bob
OBrien Portland
ChatGPT response.
Yes. In fact, as I read the message, several details immediately rang a
bell. This is *not a new phenomenon*, although it does appear to be
unusually severe in some years.
The key point is that the explanation given—*road salt attracting Evening
Grosbeaks*—is considered the leading explanation by many ornithologists and
transportation biologists. It isn't just internet speculation.
Several independent sources document this:
- Evening Grosbeaks, along with Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, and other
finches, are well known to congregate on salted roads where they
pick up *salt
and small gravel (grit)* needed for digestion.
- Birds feeding on roads often become surprisingly reluctant to flush
and can appear almost tame or lethargic, leading to heavy mortality from
vehicles. Transportation researchers have even proposed studies to
determine whether excessive sodium itself contributes to this behavior.
- One documented case in British Columbia reported *at least 2,000
Evening Grosbeaks killed along only 16 km of highway*.
The interesting part is that *Kelly McAllister of the Washington State
Department of Transportation* actually proposed research on exactly this
issue over a decade ago. The proposal notes that finches are periodically
drawn to salted roads, where many are crushed by vehicles, and that
transportation agencies need better information to develop mitigation
strategies.
Why this year?
That's the million-dollar question.
Several things probably have to line up:
- A large local concentration of Evening Grosbeaks.
- Late snow or limited natural mineral sources.
- Fresh salt remaining on the pavement after winter.
- Dry pavement that makes the salt easy to find.
- The birds' seasonal need for grit and minerals.
These "perfect storm" years may occur only occasionally, which explains why
someone could drive SR-20 for years without seeing anything like this.
Is road salt definitely the culprit?
Probably—but with an important qualification.
The birds are likely attracted to *both*:
- sodium salts, and
- grit (small stones) that they swallow to grind seeds in the gizzard.
Those two often occur together on mountain highways.
What can actually be done?
Simply banning road salt isn't necessarily practical. SR-20 crosses high
mountain passes, and road salt can greatly reduce serious accidents.
More realistic mitigation measures might include:
- sweeping residual salt and grit from shoulders after snow season,
- using alternative de-icers where feasible,
- identifying recurring "hot spots,"
- temporary warning signs during peak mortality,
- reduced speed limits through affected stretches,
- research into whether different de-icing materials reduce bird
attraction.
Transportation biologists have been discussing these possibilities for
years, but there is still surprisingly little hard research.
One thing that caught my attention
The writer says:
"dead birds every few feet"
If that is literally true over many miles, that represents *an
exceptionally large mortality event*, even by the standards of previous
reports. I would hope the state wildlife agency documents it.
Given your birding background, I'd also be interested in one more
question: *Were
they really all Evening Grosbeaks?* Large flocks of finches can include Pine
Siskin, Red Crossbill, and Cassin's Finch in the Cascades. An actual survey
of the carcasses would tell us whether one species is disproportionately
affected.
This is exactly the sort of event that organizations such as the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology would
likely want documented if it is occurring on the scale described.
On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 7:45 PM via Tweeters <tweeters...>
wrote:
>
>
> Hi Tweeters,
>
>
>
> I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an
> absolute horror.
>
>
>
> *Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North
> Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little
> birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up
> after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes
> back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to
> the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line,
> rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting
> plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible
> before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have
> also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I
> drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several
> other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn’t hit any birds, but it is
> just horrible carnage out there regardless.* *Looking online, I found out
> the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most
> likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt.
> If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT
> still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is
> unacceptable.*
>
> *I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like
> evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.*
>
>
>
> 1. *I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they
> didn’t respond.*
> 2. *Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the
> salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past.*
> 3. *Most important: what can we do to help the birds?*
>
>
>
> *Nikita*
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 6/30/26 7:54 pm From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] evening grosbeaks in urgent trouble on hwy 20
Hi Tweeters,
I drove to the north cascades on Saturday for a hike, and I saw an absolute horror.
Something absolutely horrible is happening right now on the North Cascades highway (SR-20). Definitely hundreds, if not thousands of little birds are getting murdered. Right after the highway starts to climb up after the Diablo reservoir and reaches the sub-alpine areas until it goes back down after the Washington pass, these little birds are attracted to the road for some reason. Flocks of birds are sitting on the median line, rumble strips and sides. There are many birds and they are just getting plowed through by the car drivers. I have never seen something so horrible before. There are dead birds on the road every few feet. Literally. I have also never seen birds being so attracted to the roadway before either. I drove this stretch of the highway at 15mph for an hour and made several other drivers mad (their problem!), and I didn't hit any birds, but it is just horrible carnage out there regardless. Looking online, I found out the birds are called evening grosbeaks and several people think that most likely birds are on the road because they are attracted to the road salt. If that is true, at least we can do something to save them. Why is WSDOT still using road salt? Who can we complain to ban road salt??? This is unacceptable.
I see many other people reported the same situation online, looks like evening grosbeaks are getting killed by thousands since Hwy opened.
1. I have already messaged WSDOT on their social media, but they didn't respond. 2. Is the guess even correct, and the birds are attracted to the salt? If so, why I have not seen this problem in years past. 3. Most important: what can we do to help the birds?
Date: 6/30/26 6:56 pm From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] eastern WA birds moving west
Hello, tweets.
Looking in the eBird report, the amazing number of Yellow-breasted Chats reported in western WA recently stand out. Redstarts seem more frequent, Lazuli Buntings are seen all over the place, and we discussed earlier the many Chipping Sparrows turning up west of the Cascades, So I came up with a simple hypothesis to explain all these birds that we have long considered eastside birds that are turning up on the west side.
I hypothesize that the tremendous and ongoing destruction of eastside habitat, especially at lower elevations in the Columbia Basin, may be sending these birds westward. I have been here for over 50 years, and the changes east of the mountains have been horrendous from the standpoint of the environment. Not only has so much habitat been destroyed, but because of the use of pesticides in agriculture, the insect populations have surely been reduced to a tiny fraction of what they once were.
It’s quite possible that natural selection is playing a part in this, with birds on the west side more likely to have a successful breeding season, and their young returning to where they were raised. Presumably an analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey results would furnish a lot more data to test my hypothesis.
Date: 6/30/26 5:58 pm From: Elaine Chuang via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1
Sorry all. One more installment on this topic. As of 2PM today, there were no “kiosks" installed anywhere in the area. What was new from 2 days ago were signs on poles (I counted about 10, each currently bagged in black plastic), ready for unveiling. Peeling open a bag, one could see that they are standard PayByPhone signs (Note: the number for E-16 is 123227), and a second plate for special events. If you’ve not used the cell phone app PayByPhone, now might be a good time to acquire and become familiar with it. For E-16, you wouldn’t have to queue at a kiosk (if kiosks are ever installed) to pay that $5.00. The E-16 fee is for the whole day, but in other scenarios, PayByPhone does track and allow you to extend your parking time, which is nice. Some of you may be inventive enough to find a way to use it, entering "123227" when you are out in the field, near the end of that free one hour 59 minutes! As for enforcement, there may be a short grace period, but I’d predict they’ll be issuing citations! Gratefully, street parking is available.
Elaine Chuang
Seattle
elc at uw dot edu
From: Tweeters ... on behalf of Karen Fardal via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2026 4:43 PM
To: Elaine Chuang <elc...>
Cc: <tweeters...> <tweeters...>; Elaine Chuang <elc...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1
Thanks Elaine for spreading the word. I contacted the UW interim transportation director last week to ask about the kiosks since there is no sign of them yet. He said they would be installed before July 1 so I guess they will be going in today or tomorrow. They weren’t there yet as of this morning, Monday.
It will be interesting to see if anyone pays and/or if this becomes another commuter lot to campus. It’s a disappointing turn of events for anyone enjoying a longer ramble than 2 hrs minus waiting for a turn at the kiosk, not to mention the staff is totally out of luck. Hope it doesn’t suppress attendance at this wonderful community resource so many of us enjoy.
Karen Fardal
From: Tweeters … on behalf of Elaine Chuang via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> Sent: Monday, June 29, 2026 11:33 AM
To: <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...> <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> Cc: Elaine Chuang <elc...><mailto:<elc...>> Subject: [Tweeters] UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1
Dear Tweets who enjoy The Montlake Fill / Union Bay Natural Area, and who drive there… this is to let you know that on July 1, the new policy commences for parking (Lot E-16) adjacent to the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc. Connie and allies were able to achieve a 2-hour free parking accommodation, plus free parking on Saturday afternoons and all day Sundays (not true of all UW lots). Thank you to Connie and others who engaged!
Currently, there is only a sandwich-board notice indicating that payment will be required starting July 1. It's a dopey ‘ransom-note’ sign which gives no information, and is no doubt temporary (but July 1 is less than 2 days away).
According to the June 23 update, https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2026/06/23/updates-to-parking-at-the-center-for-urban-horticulture/ … "the first two hours of parking are free, and beyond that the fee will be $5 per day. All visitors—even for free parking—will need to register their vehicle using the onsite kiosk or PayByPhone app. Parking will be enforced Monday - Friday 6AM - 9PM, Saturday 7AM - Noon (free outside those hours)."
Elaine Chuang
Seattle
elc at uw dot edu
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 12:11:40 -0700
From: Constance Sidles via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> To: tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> Subject: [Tweeters] Latest on parking fees at Montlake Fill
Hey tweets, I just heard of a partial reversal of parking fees at the Montlake Fill parking lot. Here is an email from Mark Huppert, interim director of the UW's transportation services:
“I have reviewed [the comments] on the proposed changes to the parking fee at UW's Parking Lot E16 by the Center for Urban Horticulture and Union Bay Natural Area.
During the 30-day comment period which closed last week, 118 of the 120 public comments we received on our campus parking rate proposal were in opposition to the $5/day fee at E16. There were some excellent suggestions from community members of how UW can meet the needs of the community while also balancing our need for financial sustainability and compliance under our transportation management plan. As a result, we will be advancing a revised proposal to the Board of Regents that provides 2-hours of free parking for E16 to allow continued community and volunteer access to the Urban Bay Natural Area, Center for Urban Horticulture, Miller Library, and UW Farm. Beyond the 2-hour limit, parking will be $5/day. All vehicles will be required to register their license plate at a new kiosk to be placed on site at E16 or by using the Pay-By-Phone application. We hope that this hybrid registration approach satisfies the technology fears of the many retirees who provided public commen!
as well as your concerns about neighborhood parking.
Thank you for your sharing your concerns and being an active contributor in the public process."
Date: 6/29/26 7:17 pm From: Steve Loitz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Nisqually cliff swallows sad state
Sad to hear it. We have also seen a decline in Cliff Swallow populations
this year east of the Cascades in Kittitas and Yakima Counties. It has been
a topic of concern amongst the local birding community. We are aware of a
longer term population decline due to nest invasions by House Sparrow and
lack of food resulting from pesticide use, but I have not heard nor read a
theory re the abrupt decline from last summer. Maybe something occurred
during the spring migration?
--
Steve Loitz
Ellensburg, WA
<steveloitz...>
On Mon, Jun 29, 2026 at 6:55 PM Kym Foley via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Long time lurker, regular Nisqually Wildlife Refuge evening birder -
> several dead and sick fledgling cliff swallows under and around the
> boardwalk shelter where they roost. Took a peak back through Tweeters and
> didn’t anything… anyone know what’s up? Seems beyond a typical sibling
> rivalry getting bumped from the nest.. very sad to see and hopefully not
> indicative of something more serious.
>
> Thanks tweets,
>
> Kym
> Olympia, WA
>
Date: 6/29/26 7:00 pm From: Kym Foley via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Nisqually cliff swallows sad state
Long time lurker, regular Nisqually Wildlife Refuge evening birder -
several dead and sick fledgling cliff swallows under and around the
boardwalk shelter where they roost. Took a peak back through Tweeters and
didn’t anything… anyone know what’s up? Seems beyond a typical sibling
rivalry getting bumped from the nest.. very sad to see and hopefully not
indicative of something more serious.
Date: 6/29/26 5:23 pm From: Bob Flores via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] avocets
Stef,
Use these coordinates on your gps. 46.82547° N, 119.38198° W
Bob Flores
On Jun 29, 2026, at 17:04, Stef Neis via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
We would like to go to the County Line Ponds by Othello soon but cannot find them specifically on Google Maps. Could someone please give use directions or a more specific location?
Thanks much,
Stef Neis
Whidbey Island
Sent from my iPad
On Jun 27, 2026, at 10:24 PM, Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
Jeff,
The County Line Ponds are a well known hot spot for birders. I always make a point of stopping there when birding in Eastern Washington. They are a good spot for avocets, stilts, Wilson’s Phalarope, other shorebirds and ducks and thousands of Cackling geese and hundreds of Sandhill Cranes! Congrats on your lifers !
On Sat, Jun 27, 2026 at 1:57 PM Jeff Borsecnik via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
I don't imagine it's unusual, but we saw a good bunch of American avocets (and chicks) and a few Wilson's ? phalaropes —both lifers for us—and black-necked stilts near the Columbia NWR, at some random little ponds ("county line ponds") along HWY 26 just west of Othello this past weekend. Very cool birds! Bunches of pelicans over the refuge. ... For the record, Othello has an oddly great coffee shop/coffee for a small farm town. I guess they get enough tourists to make it go.
(We were over there to go rafting in Hell's Canyon, which was great.)
Date: 6/29/26 4:51 pm From: Karen Fardal via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1
Thanks Elaine for spreading the word. I contacted the UW interim transportation director last week to ask about the kiosks since there is no sign of them yet. He said they would be installed before July 1 so I guess they will be going in today or tomorrow. They weren’t there yet as of this morning, Monday.
It will be interesting to see if anyone pays and/or if this becomes another commuter lot to campus. It’s a disappointing turn of events for anyone enjoying a longer ramble than 2 hrs minus waiting for a turn at the kiosk, not to mention the staff is totally out of luck. Hope it doesn’t suppress attendance at this wonderful community resource so many of us enjoy.
Karen Fardal
> On Jun 29, 2026, at 11:33 AM, Elaine Chuang via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Dear Tweets who enjoy The Montlake Fill / Union Bay Natural Area, and who drive there… this is to let you know that on July 1, the new policy commences for parking (Lot E-16) adjacent to the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc. Connie and allies were able to achieve a 2-hour free parking accommodation, plus free parking on Saturday afternoons and all day Sundays (not true of all UW lots). Thank you to Connie and others who engaged!
>
> Currently, there is only a sandwich-board notice indicating that payment will be required starting July 1. It's a dopey ‘ransom-note’ sign which gives no information, and is no doubt temporary (but July 1 is less than 2 days away).
>
> According to the June 23 update, https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2026/06/23/updates-to-parking-at-the-center-for-urban-horticulture/ … "the first two hours of parking are free, and beyond that the fee will be $5 per day. All visitors—even for free parking—will need to register their vehicle using the onsite kiosk or PayByPhone app. Parking will be enforced Monday - Friday 6AM - 9PM, Saturday 7AM - Noon (free outside those hours)."
>
> Elaine Chuang
> Seattle
> elc at uw dot edu
>
>
> Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 12:11:40 -0700
> From: Constance Sidles via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: tweeters <tweeters...>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Latest on parking fees at Montlake Fill
>
> Hey tweets, I just heard of a partial reversal of parking fees at the Montlake Fill parking lot. Here is an email from Mark Huppert, interim director of the UW's transportation services:
> “I have reviewed [the comments] on the proposed changes to the parking fee at UW's Parking Lot E16 by the Center for Urban Horticulture and Union Bay Natural Area.
> During the 30-day comment period which closed last week, 118 of the 120 public comments we received on our campus parking rate proposal were in opposition to the $5/day fee at E16. There were some excellent suggestions from community members of how UW can meet the needs of the community while also balancing our need for financial sustainability and compliance under our transportation management plan. As a result, we will be advancing a revised proposal to the Board of Regents that provides 2-hours of free parking for E16 to allow continued community and volunteer access to the Urban Bay Natural Area, Center for Urban Horticulture, Miller Library, and UW Farm. Beyond the 2-hour limit, parking will be $5/day. All vehicles will be required to register their license plate at a new kiosk to be placed on site at E16 or by using the Pay-By-Phone application. We hope that this hybrid registration approach satisfies the technology fears of the many retirees who provided public commen!
> as well as your concerns about neighborhood parking.
> Thank you for your sharing your concerns and being an active contributor in the public process."
>
_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/29/26 11:43 am From: Elaine Chuang via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] UW Parking Fee for E-16 (UBNA, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc) starts July 1
Dear Tweets who enjoy The Montlake Fill / Union Bay Natural Area, and who drive there… this is to let you know that on July 1, the new policy commences for parking (Lot E-16) adjacent to the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, Montlake Fill, Yesler Swamp, etc. Connie and allies were able to achieve a 2-hour free parking accommodation, plus free parking on Saturday afternoons and all day Sundays (not true of all UW lots). Thank you to Connie and others who engaged!
Currently, there is only a sandwich-board notice indicating that payment will be required starting July 1. It's a dopey ‘ransom-note’ sign which gives no information, and is no doubt temporary (but July 1 is less than 2 days away).
According to the June 23 update, https://botanicgardens.uw.edu/about/blog/2026/06/23/updates-to-parking-at-the-center-for-urban-horticulture/ … "the first two hours of parking are free, and beyond that the fee will be $5 per day. All visitors—even for free parking—will need to register their vehicle using the onsite kiosk or PayByPhone app. Parking will be enforced Monday - Friday 6AM - 9PM, Saturday 7AM - Noon (free outside those hours)."
Elaine Chuang
Seattle
elc at uw dot edu
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2026 12:11:40 -0700
From: Constance Sidles via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Latest on parking fees at Montlake Fill
Hey tweets, I just heard of a partial reversal of parking fees at the Montlake Fill parking lot. Here is an email from Mark Huppert, interim director of the UW's transportation services:
“I have reviewed [the comments] on the proposed changes to the parking fee at UW's Parking Lot E16 by the Center for Urban Horticulture and Union Bay Natural Area.
During the 30-day comment period which closed last week, 118 of the 120 public comments we received on our campus parking rate proposal were in opposition to the $5/day fee at E16. There were some excellent suggestions from community members of how UW can meet the needs of the community while also balancing our need for financial sustainability and compliance under our transportation management plan. As a result, we will be advancing a revised proposal to the Board of Regents that provides 2-hours of free parking for E16 to allow continued community and volunteer access to the Urban Bay Natural Area, Center for Urban Horticulture, Miller Library, and UW Farm. Beyond the 2-hour limit, parking will be $5/day. All vehicles will be required to register their license plate at a new kiosk to be placed on site at E16 or by using the Pay-By-Phone application. We hope that this hybrid registration approach satisfies the technology fears of the many retirees who provided public commen!
as well as your concerns about neighborhood parking.
Thank you for your sharing your concerns and being an active contributor in the public process."
Date: 6/29/26 11:16 am From: Brian Zinke via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Teachers wanted: 5-minute survey to help build placed-based curriculum for local students using bird data
Hi Tweets,
I'm reaching out on behalf of a University of Washington student completing
her Environmental Studies capstone project internship with Pilchuck Audubon
Society. She's developing a place-based curriculum built around our Vaux's
Swift community science dataset — and she needs your input. Vaux's Swifts
are migratory birds that pass through Washington each spring and fall with
a special tie to a large roost in Monroe, among several others in the state.
We're looking for teachers from all grade levels to complete a short survey
(under 20 questions) that covers:
- Your familiarity with place-based learning and concepts like
ecological citizenship
- Your comfort level with incorporating local wildlife data into
classroom instruction
- Whether you've worked with Pilchuck Audubon Society in the past
The survey will use a Likert scale format and should take about 5 minutes
to complete. At the end, you'll also have the option to express interest in
piloting the lesson plan with your students and/or participating in a
longer follow-up interview with the intern.
Your perspective — whatever your grade level or experience with outdoor or
environmental education — is genuinely valuable to this project.
*If you're interested, please respond to this email indicating so.* I will
share your name and email address with the intern who will follow up with
regards to the survey.
Also — please feel free to share this opportunity with anyone you know who
might be interested in participating!
Jeff,
The County Line Ponds are a well known hot spot for birders. I always make
a point of stopping there when birding in Eastern Washington. They are a
good spot for avocets, stilts, Wilson’s Phalarope, other shorebirds and
ducks and thousands of Cackling geese and hundreds of Sandhill Cranes!
Congrats on your lifers !
Good Birding !
Hans
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
<thefedderns...>
On Sat, Jun 27, 2026 at 1:57 PM Jeff Borsecnik via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I don't imagine it's unusual, but we saw a good bunch of American avocets
> (and chicks) and a few Wilson's ? phalaropes —both lifers for us—and
> black-necked stilts near the Columbia NWR, at some random little ponds
> ("county line ponds") along HWY 26 just west of Othello this past weekend.
> Very cool birds! Bunches of pelicans over the refuge. ... For the record,
> Othello has an oddly great coffee shop/coffee for a small farm town. I
> guess they get enough tourists to make it go.
>
> (We were over there to go rafting in Hell's Canyon, which was great.)
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 6/27/26 9:16 pm From: Karen Fardal via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] RFI: ruff and bar-tailed godwit in Stanwood
Hello, I think you already figured this out, the Ruff stuck around today, but the godwit wasn’t seen at least when I was there. For anyone heading over, the Google Maps directions are faulty, make sure to take Marine Drive to Boe Rd.
Some ways to find out quickly about rarities include signing up for county Rare Bird Alerts and joining the Washington Discord server, the latter of which has separate channels for the most heavily birded counties in the state and their rarities, and other forums for various types of discussions and questions. You can set it up to give you notifications for certain things or just leave them all off and check in when you have time. It’s currently kind of quiet but the more people who join and participate, the better! Here is a join link that should work for a while, if you have questions about how to use it there is a Tech Support channel. https://discord.gg/GxhVPGngy
Hope you got to see the fun bird or will soon!
Karen Fardal
Seattle
.
> On Jun 26, 2026, at 12:00 PM, Emily Birchman via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> Hello Tweeters!
>
> I saw the Ebird Rare-bird alert for Snohomish county this morning regarding the ruff and the bar-tailed godwit seen yesterday off of Boe Road. I am wondering if anyone has any intel from today - are they still being seen? I have time to drive up there but it's an hour away so would love to know if there's even a remote chance of seeing them first. How do people find out about these kinds of sightings same-day?
>
> thank you!
> sincerely,
> Emily Birchman, Kenmore WA
>
>
Date: 6/27/26 2:07 pm From: Jeff Borsecnik via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] avocets
I don't imagine it's unusual, but we saw a good bunch of American avocets (and chicks) and a few Wilson's ? phalaropes both lifers for usand black-necked stilts near the Columbia NWR, at some random little ponds ("county line ponds") along HWY 26 just west of Othello this past weekend. Very cool birds! Bunches of pelicans over the refuge. ... For the record, Othello has an oddly great coffee shop/coffee for a small farm town. I guess they get enough tourists to make it go.
(We were over there to go rafting in Hell's Canyon, which was great.)
Monday we returned from a 5 day trip with our daughter to visit our grandson in Coeur d’Alene. Even though birding was definitely secondary, we had some very good birding experiences.
Here are the birding highlights.
On the first day we saw a Common Nighthawk on a fence rail near the entry to the Wild Horse Renewable Energy Center.
Date: 6/26/26 12:17 pm From: Emily Birchman via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] RFI: ruff and bar-tailed godwit in Stanwood
Apologies for not noticing this first - I see the ruff was also sighted this morning! I was thinking it would take longer for a sighting to be confirmed.
Sorry for the extra email! sincerely, Emily Birchman, Kenmore WA
On Fri, 26 Jun 2026 at 12:00, Emily Birchman <stollea...> wrote:
> Hello Tweeters! > > I saw the Ebird Rare-bird alert for Snohomish county this morning > regarding the ruff and the bar-tailed godwit seen yesterday off of Boe > Road. I am wondering if anyone has any intel from today - are they still > being seen? I have time to drive up there but it's an hour away so would > love to know if there's even a remote chance of seeing them first. How do > people find out about these kinds of sightings same-day? > > thank you! > sincerely, > Emily Birchman, Kenmore WA > > >
Date: 6/26/26 12:10 pm From: Emily Birchman via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] RFI: ruff and bar-tailed godwit in Stanwood
Hello Tweeters!
I saw the Ebird Rare-bird alert for Snohomish county this morning regarding the ruff and the bar-tailed godwit seen yesterday off of Boe Road. I am wondering if anyone has any intel from today - are they still being seen? I have time to drive up there but it's an hour away so would love to know if there's even a remote chance of seeing them first. How do people find out about these kinds of sightings same-day?
Date: 6/25/26 7:49 pm From: Nelson Briefer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Photo of a Broad- winged hawk on May 2026.
the photo of a Broad- winged hawk. This is not a photo of a Broad- winged
hawk. The photo suggests an accipiter, and not a Cooper’s hawk. I will not
go into the proportions and the structure of the bird in the photo. Nelson
Briefer.
Date: 6/25/26 5:47 pm From: Michael Paradis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/24/2026
On Thu, Jun 25, 2026 at 5:20 PM Dan Reiff <dan.owl.reiff...> wrote:
> Wow! Very neat and highly unusual, Michael.
> Thanks for posting the photo.
> Dan Reiff
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 25, 2026, at 9:10 AM, Michael Paradis via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> Shep -
>
> I have a set of photos I took of a robin eating a (relatively small, but
> large prey for a robin I thought) garter snake on the dike trail a few
> weeks back.
>
> Here is a link to one of them if interested:
> https://zorthcloud.com/apps/memories/s/7Rti5xNsZM6zDLC >
> --
>
> Happy birding,
> Michael
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
>
Date: 6/25/26 5:31 pm From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/24/2026
Wow! Very neat and highly unusual, Michael.
Thanks for posting the photo.
Dan Reiff
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jun 25, 2026, at 9:10 AM, Michael Paradis via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> Shep -
>
> I have a set of photos I took of a robin eating a (relatively small, but large prey for a robin I thought) garter snake on the dike trail a few weeks back.
>
> Here is a link to one of them if interested: https://zorthcloud.com/apps/memories/s/7Rti5xNsZM6zDLC >
> --
>
> Happy birding,
> Michael
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/25/26 4:08 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-06-25
Tweets - It was pleasantly cool today, with a thin overcast but a breeze that was annoying at times. We didn't have any surprising species of birds, but we did have a few interesting sightings:
Highlights: Common Merganser - One or more females flying around seemingly aimlessly. One female in the slough with one duckling Green Heron - One below the weir. With recent sightings about every other week, we figure it's likely there's a nest in or near the park Great Blue Heron - Fewer and fewer on nests, more and more juveniles along the slough, many birds flying every which way in/out of the park Cooper's Hawk - A couple of glimpses Downy Woodpecker - Many, including at least one juvenile Swainson's Thrush - Startlingly, we had ACTUAL VIEWS of at least FIVE birds, as well as hearing many more Black-headed Grosbeak - Newly fledged young seen; males still around singing
A good day for non-bird sightings, including MUSKRAT, two RIVER OTTERS, a small mammal that might have been a TOWNSEND'S VOLE, and a GARTER SNAKE at the Rowing Club. We have had very, very few snakes at Marymoor in the last few years.
Misses today included Hooded Merganser, Band-tailed Pigeon (never missed before during Week 26), Pied-billed Grebe, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Cliff Swallow, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
For the day, just 53 species.
= Michael Hobbs = <BirdMarymoor...> = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
Date: 6/25/26 12:37 pm From: Carol Riddell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup - May 2026
Hi Tweeters,
We ended May with 170 species for our Edmonds year list. The new species in taxonomic order are:
California Quail (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (songs heard and described), 5-3-26. (Subsequent May marsh sightings; ID photo.)
Mourning Dove (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (ID photo), 5-5-26.
Common Nighthawk (code 4), 1 at Edmonds marsh (calls described), 5-30-26.
Black Oystercatcher (code 4), 1 at the waterfront (field marks described), 5-30-26.
Long-billed Dowitcher (code 3), 1 at the Edmonds side of Lake Ballinger, 5-8-26.
Spotted Sandpiper (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (ID photo), 5-7-26.
Semipalmated Sandpiper (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (critical field marks described), 5-10-26.
Parasitic Jaeger (code 3), 1 at the waterfront (ID photos), 5-4-26.
Sabine’s Gull (code 4), flock of 50 at the waterfront (critical field marks described; eBird confirmed), 5-15-26.
Manx Shearwater (code 5), 2 at the waterfront (critical field marks described), 5-14–26. (Two subsequent May waterfront sightings of this species.)
Brown Pelican (code 4), 2-6 at the waterfront (ID photos; field mark descriptions), 5-16-26.
Broad-winged Hawk (code 5), 1 seen from a north Edmonds residence (ID photo), 5-10-26.
Olive-sided Flycatcher (code 3), 1 at Southwest County Park (field marks described), 5-18-26. (Subsequent May sightings at other locations.)
Western Wood-Pewee (code 2), 1 at Yost Park, 5-9-26.
Willow Flycatcher (code 2), 1 at Southwest County Park, 5-24-26.
Hammond’s Flycatcher (code 2), 2 at Yost Park, 5-3-26.
Cassin’s Vireo (code 3), 1 in Southwest County Park (recordings), 5-12-26. (Subsequent May reports in the park of this bird.)
California Scrub-Jay (code 4), 1 on Edmonds Interurban Trail (ID photos), 5-5-26.
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (code 3), 2 at Edmonds marsh (critical field marks described), 5-16-26.
Cliff Swallow (code 3), 1 at Edmonds marsh (critical field marks described), 5-16-26.
Northern House Wren (code 4), 1 at Edmonds marsh (critical field marks described), 5-5-26.
Bullock’s Oriole (code 3), 2 in Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood (recording), 5-13-26.
Nashville Warbler (code 4), 1 in Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood (ID photo), 5-3-26.
MacGillivray’s Warbler (code 4), 1 in Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood (recording), 5-13-26.
Black-headed Grosbeak (code 2), 1 in a north Edmonds neighborhood, 5-1-26.
Lazuli Bunting (code 5), 1 in Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood (recording), 5-13-26
Other birds of interest: A Turkey Vulture (code 3) was seen at Marina Beach, 5-14-26. This is the second Edmonds sighting this year. The Bullock’s Oriole, MacGillivray’s Warbler, and Lazuli Bunting were part of an overnight fallout of migrants in the Edmonds Lake Ballinger neighborhood. Bullock’s Oriole was, at one time, reported annually in Edmonds. Its presence during migration has become much more sporadic at this location.
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.
Declined for lack of any documentation: Black Swift (code 4); Sora (code 4); Semipalmated Plover (code 3).
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 May sightings on it, is in the bird information box at the Olympic Beach Visitor Station at the base of the public pier.
Good birding,
Carol Riddell
Edmonds, WA
cariddellwa at gmail dot com
Abundance codes: (1) Common, (2) Uncommon, (3) Harder to find, usually seen annually, (4) Rare, 5+ records, (5) Fewer than 5 records
_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/25/26 12:18 pm From: Michael Paradis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/24/2026
Shep -
I have a set of photos I took of a robin eating a (relatively small, but large prey for a robin I thought) garter snake on the dike trail a few weeks back.
Date: 6/25/26 9:04 am From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/24/2026
Hi Tweets,
Approximately 30 of us enjoyed a beautiful warm spring day at the Refuge
with sunny skies and temperatures ranging from the 60's to 80's degrees
Fahrenheit. There was a Low 0''6" Tide at 9:04am and a High 10'7" Tide at
4:23pm so we walked our regular route. Highlights included occupied nests
of BARN SWALLOW, CEDAR WAXWING, BUSHTIT, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, DOWNY
WOODPECKER, YELLOW WARBLER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, CLIFF
SWALLOW and BALD EAGLE. We also observed recently fledged CHESTNUT-BACKED
CHICKADEE, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, WOOD DUCK, MALLARD, HOODED MERGANSER, BARN
SWALLOW, and COMMON MERGANSER. The bird of the day may have been an adult
GREEN HERON that flew over and around the Twin Barns Overlook while we took
a snack break.
For the day we observed 69 species with nothing new for the year. Please
see our eBird Report pasted below for additional details and
embedded photos.
One of our birders observed an AMERICAN ROBIN trying to eat a Western Brook
Lamprey from the Nisqually River Observation Platform along the riverbank.
We were surprised to hear of this species attempting to eat such large prey.
Until next week 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
Jun 24, 2026 6:06 AM - 3:54 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.457 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday walk. Sunny with temperatures in the 60’s
to 80’s. A Low 0’6” Tide at 9:04am and a High 10’7” Tide at 4:23pm. Mammals
seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Townsend’s
Chipmunk, Muskrat, and Harbor Seal. Others seen Western Brook Lamprey,
Pacific Chorus Frog, and American Bullfrog. Others seen Paddled-tailed
Darner, Red-veined Meadow Hawk, 8 Spotted Skimmer, and Western
Swallow-tailed Butterfly.
69 species (+2 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 24
Wood Duck 15 Visitor Center Pond.
Cinnamon Teal (Northern) 1 Freshwater Marsh
Mallard 8 Visitor Center Pond.
Hooded Merganser 3 Visitor Center Pond.
Common Merganser (North American) 3 Nisqually River Overlook.
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 9
Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 10
Anna's Hummingbird 2
Rufous Hummingbird 8 Several nests west side of Twin Barns Loop Trail
between access road cut through and Twin Barns Cut-off.
Virginia Rail 2 Heard only. Freshwater marsh inside of Nisqually
Estuary Trail dike.
Killdeer 2
Wilson's Snipe 1 Seen flying over flooded field south of Twin Barns.
Rhinoceros Auklet 2 Scope views flying north between Nisqually Reach
and Anderson Island.
Ring-billed Gull 150
California Gull 225
Glaucous-winged Gull 2
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 10
Caspian Tern 42
Brandt's Cormorant 5 Nisqually River Channel Marker
Double-crested Cormorant 120
Green Heron 1 Spotted by Jon and seen by all from Twin Barns Overlook
flying from slough adjacent to Twin Barns into the flooded field south of
Twin Barns Overlook.
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 75
Turkey Vulture (Northern) 1 Soaring over McAllister Hill
Osprey (American) 1 Early morning hunting Shannon Slough seen between
6:15-6:30am.
Bald Eagle 16 Two brown young in nest on west bank of McAllister Creek
north of McAllister Creek Viewing Platform.
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2
Belted Kingfisher 5
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 6 Nest tree outside of west side Twin Barns
Loop Trail south of twin bench overlook south of Twin Barns cut-off.
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 4
Merlin 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher 1 Heard by Brittany and seen by Barb in area
around Twin Barns.
Western Wood-Pewee 6 Nest in Willow Tree on inside of west side of
Twin Barns Loop Trail south of Twin Barns cut-off.
Willow Flycatcher 4
Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 4
Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 2
Western Warbling Vireo 3
Steller's Jay (Coastal) 1 Heard only west bank of McAllister Creek.
American Crow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 10
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 7
Bank Swallow 3
Tree Swallow 30
Violet-green Swallow 1
Purple Martin 15
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 4
Barn Swallow (American) 98 Visitor Center Pond Overlook.
Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 400 McAllister/Medicine Creek
Overlook.
Bushtit (Pacific) 6 Nest in Douglas Fir along entrance road across
from orchard and just to the right of the green gate across from the
Maintenance Building entrance road.
Brown Creeper 3
Marsh Wren 20
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 8
European Starling 100
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 40
American Robin (migratorius Group) 25
Cedar Waxwing 40 Nest in cottonwood tree to the left of the green gate
across the entrance road from the Maintenance Yard entrance road.
Purple Finch (Western) 6
American Goldfinch 18 Nest above Twin Barns Picnic Area.
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 3
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 31
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 10
Bullock's Oriole 1 Heard and seen along the north section of the Twin
Barns Loop Trail at 7am.
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 60
Brown-headed Cowbird 25 One chick being fed by Song Sparrow.
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1
Common Yellowthroat 12
Northern Yellow Warbler 40 On nest on the outside of the west side
Twin Barns Loop Trail just south of the twin bench overlook south of the
Twin Barns cut-off.
Western Tanager 1 Heard only west bank of McAllister Creek.
Black-headed Grosbeak 3 Heard only.
Date: 6/24/26 4:41 pm From: Malcolm Mano via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] American Three-toed Woodpecker - yes!
To me, there is nothing luckier than finding one single American Three-toed Woodpecker, but you really hit the jackpot! Congratulations on the super cool finding and I was glad you got photos and video!!
Good Birding,
Ruth Mano
Everett
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2026 12:00 PM
To: <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 262, Issue 24
Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to
<tweeters...>
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:19:40 -0700
From: Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Three toed woodpeckers yes
Message-ID: <3D18206C-7209-46EE-B669-284FFC220D9B...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Hi Tweets.
Hi Tweets,
What?s luckier than finding a three-toed woodpecker? That?s right ? finding a pair, next to each other on a tree. Score! I found a pair Tuesday on the Crest trail near White Pass. Interestingly the female foraged ceaselessly while the male sat still. A couple times she offered him food.
I succeeded at getting lousy photos and video with my phone.
Date: 6/24/26 9:27 am From: Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Three toed woodpeckers yes
Hi Tweets.
Hi Tweets,
What’s luckier than finding a three-toed woodpecker? That’s right — finding a pair, next to each other on a tree. Score! I found a pair Tuesday on the Crest trail near White Pass. Interestingly the female foraged ceaselessly while the male sat still. A couple times she offered him food.
I succeeded at getting lousy photos and video with my phone.
Date: 6/22/26 10:35 pm From: Madrone Ruggiero via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Small Sit at Deception Pass State Park West Beach July 18, 2026 1615-1815
Hi all,On July 18th from 4:15PM to 6:15PM I will be leading an accessible birding outing at West Beach in Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island. This event is open to all and is focused on observing bird behavior, learning to identify birds, and just enjoying listening to and watching birds. Beginners and those with children are encouraged to attend. Loaner optics will be available. There is no walking for this event, just park next to the viewing area and sit or stand and observe the birds for as long as you want. Attendees can come and go as they please at any time during the two hour sit.Address is 41229 State Route 20 Oak Harbor, WA 98277. We will be at the picnic table at the North end of the parking lot that overlooks the channel between the islands. A discover pass is needed to park.For full details please visit the field trip event page at West Beach at Deception Pass State Park Small Sit — Whidbey Audubon Society
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West Beach at Deception Pass State Park Small Sit — Whidbey Audubon Society
Join us for a small sit and spend your evening observing marine birds of the nearshore foraging in the channel b...
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Thank you and hope to see you there or at another WAS event in the future,Madrone Ruggiero
Date: 6/22/26 9:09 pm From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wiley Slough
Hi all,
I went to Wiley today and spent from before 7am to after 10am. I got
all the way to
where the 'dike trail' turns into single track.
I saw lots of robins (perhaps twice to three times as many as
typical), heard lots of marsh
wrens (normal, and even saw a couple - also typical), and saw and heard
lots of Red-winged
Blackbirds. One Bald Eagle, a fair number of crows, normal amounts of
sparrows (although
not very many White-crowned). And one Great-Horned Owl (Yeah!).
What I did not see were any gulls, any Great Blue Herons, no Osprey,
very few ducks
(about a dozen mallards is all), no shorebirds (other than one Killdeer,
but zero Yellowlegs,
zero sandpipers/peeps of any kind), and no Kingfishers.
My overall bird count was pretty normal, the number of species was
low (very low?).
The tide was low (slack water) when I got there and stayed low the
entire 3 hours
(no 'flow' in the water runs between the cattails).
- Jim in Skagit
_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/22/26 12:38 pm From: Mary Reese via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Pet hair for nesting material
I've been using cat fur for many years. The birds seem to preferSoft longhair white fur. When brushing a longhair cat, you get tons of it. You just have to make sure that your cat's fur is not full of poison from parasite meds (flea, tick, worm, etc.). As indoor cats, mine never needed the meds, so the fur is non-toxic for for the baby birds.
I have noticed that the birds who enjoy this soft, fluffy fur the most are the hummingbirds, so I put the fur dispenser close to their feeder. I've seen chickadees and house finches use it, too. Make sure your dispenser (suet feeders work great) is under a shelter of some sort. If it gets rained on, it will become a big, hard fur ball.
Isn't that ironic that the baby birds are all snuggled up in the fur of their predator?
Mary ReesePortland OR
Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer
On Mon, Jun 22, 2026 at 12:01 PM, via Tweeters<tweeters...> wrote: Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to
<tweeters...>
You can reach the person managing the list at
<tweeters-owner...>
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. TUVU Reports (Jim Betz via Tweeters)
2. Re: Pet hair for nest material (Peter Relson via Tweeters)
3. Re: Greater Yellowlegs (Michael Price via Tweeters)
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026 13:27:26 -0700
From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] TUVU Reports
Message-ID: <b140d7d6-b276-4e70-a204-6ffd64f83942...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
? While birding yesterday we saw turkey vultures here in Skagit County:
? 1) Three TUVU (3) soaring/circling at Rosario Beach.
? ? ? ?Rosario, in general, was "pretty dead" - no Kingfisher, no
Alcids, a few Oystercatchers, no Harlequin or
? ? ? ?Wood Ducks, no Canada Geese, a larger than normal amount of
White-crowned Sparrows and a
? ? ? ?normal amount of Tree Swallows.? Heard, but did not see, a
Flicker.? Several crows but no Ravens.
? ? ? ?Almost no gulls of any kind and only one flight of cormorants
(but 20 in that one flight!),
? 2) Four TUVU on the ground near the road between the West 90 and
where you go onto Samish Island.
? ? ? This was one by itself and 3 more 'close' to each other - all
were down on the ground and in
? ? ? what I'd call "recently cut hay/grasses".
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? - Jim in Skagit
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026 23:02:46 +0000 (UTC)
From: Peter Relson via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: "<tweeters...>" <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Pet hair for nest material
Message-ID: <1006276813.708228.1782082966225...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Message: 3
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026 17:50:35 -0700
From: Michael Price via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs
Message-ID:
<CAEyW8grEfffXozPUON=<4d6LTV6BheE-Xzi9HOhiLOFbakbu44Q...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Hi tweets
Those Greater Yellowlegs are for sure the first southbound shorebirds of
the summer. I spent nearly fifteen years monitoring shorebirds at the Iona
Island settling ponds mostly as well as Boundary Bay from the northbound
rush in April, through the May/June hiatus to the bitter end in November.
Getting to know what birds loitered in the five or six weeks between
migrations made the first southbound arrivals conspicuous. Usually the
first southbound birds to arrive were the Yellowlegs, sometimes as early as
June 18. Then the arrivals of adult Western, SemiSandpiper, Least in week
4 June. The first shorebird juveniles start showing up in Weeks 4-5 July,
three to four weeks after the arrival of the adults. Everybody's pretty
much gone by November.
Of course, there's waaayyy more to it but there's a very quick overview.
best wishes, m
Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
<loblollyboy...>
Date: 6/21/26 6:01 pm From: Michael Price via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs
Hi tweets
Those Greater Yellowlegs are for sure the first southbound shorebirds of the summer. I spent nearly fifteen years monitoring shorebirds at the Iona Island settling ponds mostly as well as Boundary Bay from the northbound rush in April, through the May/June hiatus to the bitter end in November. Getting to know what birds loitered in the five or six weeks between migrations made the first southbound arrivals conspicuous. Usually the first southbound birds to arrive were the Yellowlegs, sometimes as early as June 18. Then the arrivals of adult Western, SemiSandpiper, Least in week 4 June. The first shorebird juveniles start showing up in Weeks 4-5 July, three to four weeks after the arrival of the adults. Everybody's pretty much gone by November.
Of course, there's waaayyy more to it but there's a very quick overview.
best wishes, m
Michael Price Vancouver BC Canada <loblollyboy...>
Date: 6/21/26 4:12 pm From: Peter Relson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Pet hair for nest material
>so I guess guinea pig hair isn't >the most popular nest material.
Husky fur/hair, on the other hand, is a big hit with our tufted titmice.
Peter RelsonUlster Park, NY
_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/21/26 1:33 pm From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] TUVU Reports
While birding yesterday we saw turkey vultures here in Skagit County:
1) Three TUVU (3) soaring/circling at Rosario Beach.
Rosario, in general, was "pretty dead" - no Kingfisher, no
Alcids, a few Oystercatchers, no Harlequin or
Wood Ducks, no Canada Geese, a larger than normal amount of
White-crowned Sparrows and a
normal amount of Tree Swallows. Heard, but did not see, a
Flicker. Several crows but no Ravens.
Almost no gulls of any kind and only one flight of cormorants
(but 20 in that one flight!),
2) Four TUVU on the ground near the road between the West 90 and
where you go onto Samish Island.
This was one by itself and 3 more 'close' to each other - all
were down on the ground and in
what I'd call "recently cut hay/grasses".
- Jim in Skagit
_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/21/26 10:33 am From: Mike Wagenbach via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Pet hair for nest material
We have two guinea pigs, one short-haired and one long-haired, who shed a lot of hair and live on and in polarfleece cage liners and "muffs" (little tunnels) instead of disposable bedding. These are laundered every week, and after removing them from the washer there are little balls of felted hair left behind. The "long" hair is about three inches or so and the shorter about one inch. The balls seem to contain both long and short hair.
I stuck a handful of these in an unused suet cage and hung it outside a couple of months ago next to the bird feeders. It looks like some bits have been pulled out, but we haven't "sold out" of this product, so I guess guinea pig hair isn't the most popular nest material.
Dennis, this is what I have for Liam, as of 2022: <liamhutcheson2020...> from my Galaxy -------- Original message --------From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Date: 6/20/26 15:51 (GMT-08:00) To: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] contacting Liam Hutcheson Hello tweets,Does anyone have an email address for Liam Hutcheson? I’m trying to get in touch with him on a dragonfly matter!Dennis PaulsonSeattle_______________________________________________Tweeters mailing <listTweeters...>://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters_______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/20/26 12:34 pm From: Elaine Chuang via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: RE-POST TUVU report for May 2026
Below is a re-post of Diann MacRae's May 2026 Turkey Vulture report, which was scrubbed by the UW-IT’s “HTML machine." Thank you, Diann.
- Elaine Chuang
Seattle
elc at uw dot edu
From: Tweeters ... behalf of Diann MacRae via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 5:04 PM
To: <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] May 2026 turkey vulture report
Hi, Tweets - a little late but lots of turkey vultures back and enjoying their summer vacations . . . hopefully nesting, too. This report is mostly Washington with a few from British Columbia.
MAY
02 -- One at Chase Lake Elem.School, King County.
05 -- One consuming a deer carcass on the side of the Issaquah-Hobart Road S.E./Hyw 18, clear and 60 F, 20:00, King County.
06 -- One just south of Blewett Pass on Hwy. 97 at 11:21, Chelan County.
07 -- Two turkey vultures soaring over I-90 east of North Bend, King County.
08 -- One turkey vullture at the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR, cool and breezy, 50/60 F, Thurston County: four at the Campbell River Airport, B.C,
09 -- Two just west of Cle Elum over I-90 at 09:37, Kittitas County; three turkey vultures over Wenas Road at 14:38, Yakima/Kittitas Counties; seven at East Sooke Park, Aylard Farm, B.C.
14 -- Three over Dry Falls Lake in Sun Lakes State Park at 16:42, Grant County.
15 -- 18 turkey vultures over Rufus Woods Lake at the Seaton's Grove Boat Launch at 14:16.
16 -- Eight kettling above the Palouse to Cascades Trail.
20 -- Four over Perch Lake in Sun Lakes State Park at 17:42.
21 -- Four seen at the west bank hillside of McAllister Creek at the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR, cloudy/sunny in 50-60s F; one seen at the Rowing Club, Marymoor Park, King County, FOY; one over JBLM Eagle's Pride Golf Course,
26 -- Five at Powell River, Wildwood Bluffs, B.C.
27 -- One seen at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR, 50-70s F.
28 -- Two turkey vultures sitting at the top of a tree in Fall City, King County; one flying over Delanty Lake Road near Discovery Bay, ca. 11:00, Jefferson County.
Thanks for the great reports. Maybe soon there will be some young ones to be seen (black heads, not red).
Cheers, Diann
Date: 6/19/26 6:52 pm From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Request for Information regarding birds, locations and guide recommendations for all of Kauai and Princeville, Hawaii
Hello Tweeters, Friends will be at Kauai and Princeville, Hawaii in June-next week-and asked for information regarding birds, locations and guide recommendations for all of Kauai and Princeville, Hawaii. Please respond directly to me and I will forward to them. Thank you for your help. Dan Reiff Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/19/26 6:41 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird
Hi Tom,
I understand; things change as our senses age and change.
It’s pretty easy to get an organic nest fill even on Amazon. I got some
with fluffy cotton like as well as more straw like pieces. But I’m sure you
made a lot of birds happy over the years.
We found that the chili pepper suet, also available on Amazon, works as a
deterrent for squirrels and rodents.
And thistle (nyger) and safflower are repellent to rodents. As a gardener,
I also use blood meal in areas to deter the squirrels and chipmunks.
Probably works on rodents as well
It’s good to simplify as we get older. Sometimes, I also just think it’s
fine to not worry about identifying birds and I close my eyes and just
listen to the beautiful orchestration of distinct birdsong around me.
I hope you can find a way to continue to enjoy what has clearly brought you
a lot of pleasure in the past, in a way that works for you.
And I want to thank you, from the birds, for all you’ve offered them over
the years. After all these years I still haven’t received a thank you
note!!!!
Ann
On Fri, Jun 19, 2026 at 6:13 PM Tom Benedict via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Thanks for the link Nancy. I guess I’ll take down the lint cage.
>
> On a related note, I must admit that the longer I live the less I enjoy
> birdwatching. There was a time, not long ago, that I carried binoculars
> with me on every trip. In my youth, 60+ years ago my father and I birded
> with Hazel Wolf and Zella Schultz. Heck, I was even a Merit Badge
> counselor for the Boy Scout Bird Study merit badge when my sons were
> scouts. But the past 4-5 years it seems different. Maybe it’s that the
> hobby has grown so much and seemingly everyone is doing it now. Maybe it’s
> cognitive decline, but I seem less and less capable of identifying birds
> anymore. Sparrows, Finches and Juncos all look alike and I don’t even try
> with gulls anymore. I’ve stopped putting out bird seed in the feeders
> because of rats and squirrels. Stopped suet too for similar reason. Plus
> baiting is really not ethical. Or maybe I’m just losing interest in being
> interested things. Now I find out that the dryer lint I’ve been putting out
> for the past 60 years is likely harmful.
>
> The times they are achangin’..
>
> Tom Benedict
> Seahurst, WA
>
> On Jun 16, 2026, at 22:36, Nancy Crowell <nkcrowell...> wrote:
>
> Hi Tom,
> My understanding is that dryer lint is not recommended for bird nesting
> material and is potentially harmful. I am including a link to a helpful
> article about appropriate nesting materials from Cornell:
> https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/providing-nest-material-for-birds-dos-donts/ >
> Nancy
> La Conner
>
> Nancy
> "Images for the imagination."
> www.crowellphotography.com
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
> of Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, 16 June 2026 20:54:14
> *To:* Tom and Carol Stoner <tcstonefam...>;
> <Tweeters...> <Tweeters...>
> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird
>
> We hang dryer lint in a wire cage and I’ve seen Anna’s plucking link twice
> in the past week. I would have thought that nesting season was over by now,
> but maybe not?
>
> Tom Benedict
> Seahurst, WA
>
> > On Jun 16, 2026, at 20:14, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
> >
> > This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff
> that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a
> mouth full.
> >
> > Carol Stoner
> > West Seattle
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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: 6/19/26 6:21 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird
Thanks for the link Nancy. I guess I’ll take down the lint cage.
On a related note, I must admit that the longer I live the less I enjoy birdwatching. There was a time, not long ago, that I carried binoculars with me on every trip. In my youth, 60+ years ago my father and I birded with Hazel Wolf and Zella Schultz. Heck, I was even a Merit Badge counselor for the Boy Scout Bird Study merit badge when my sons were scouts. But the past 4-5 years it seems different. Maybe it’s that the hobby has grown so much and seemingly everyone is doing it now. Maybe it’s cognitive decline, but I seem less and less capable of identifying birds anymore. Sparrows, Finches and Juncos all look alike and I don’t even try with gulls anymore. I’ve stopped putting out bird seed in the feeders because of rats and squirrels. Stopped suet too for similar reason. Plus baiting is really not ethical. Or maybe I’m just losing interest in being interested things. Now I find out that the dryer lint I’ve been putting out for the past 60 years is likely harmful.
The times they are achangin’..
Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA
> On Jun 16, 2026, at 22:36, Nancy Crowell <nkcrowell...> wrote:
>
> Hi Tom,
> My understanding is that dryer lint is not recommended for bird nesting material and is potentially harmful. I am including a link to a helpful article about appropriate nesting materials from Cornell: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/providing-nest-material-for-birds-dos-donts/ >
> Nancy
> La Conner
>
> Nancy
> "Images for the imagination."
> www.crowellphotography.com
> From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 2026 20:54:14
> To: Tom and Carol Stoner <tcstonefam...>; <Tweeters...> <Tweeters...>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird
>
> We hang dryer lint in a wire cage and I’ve seen Anna’s plucking link twice in the past week. I would have thought that nesting season was over by now, but maybe not?
>
> Tom Benedict
> Seahurst, WA
>
> > On Jun 16, 2026, at 20:14, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
> >
> > This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a mouth full.
> >
> > Carol Stoner
> > West Seattle
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/19/26 6:18 pm From: Kim Thorburn via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs
Yesterday I counted at least 12 greater yellowlegs on Florence Lake at the WDFW Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County. They were busily foraging and actually less vocal than I expect with that many. This arrival does seem a bit earlier than what's in the literature. I didn't see many GRYE during spring migration and counted just one during the IMWSS in April. I saw them frequently in northern Chile in February. Shorebirds are SO amazing.
It was not GRYE that I was looking for but rather, Wilson's phalarope. It's so dry I began to feel like I was on a fool's errand traipsing around the shrubsteppe covered with cheatgrass, compliments of the 2020 Whitney fire. Four prairie-breeding shorebirds are in the state's 2025 wildlife action plan update: no surprise, American avocet and long-billed curlew are species of greatest conservation need and lesser yellowlegs and Wilson's phalarope are species of greatest information need. (The latter is also petitioned for federal listing.) I'm on a mission to convince the shorebird conservation world that the Columbia plateau should receive much more attention for shorebird conservation efforts-both Pacific flyway migration and prairie-breeding shorebirds. (All those giant saline lakes of the Great Basin get all the attention.)
I decided to start with WIPH to learn something about breeding on the plateau. With all the vernal ponds bone dry, saline lakes getting there, and even large wetlands greatly shrunk, I thought the best I could hope for would be finding suitable habitat. I lucked out and actually found breeding behavior. A male was foraging in the pond. However, a female suddenly exploded under my nose, did a little broken wing, and then mobbed me before joining the male. While the females don't brood, they do false brood to decoy. I suspect she might have been covering for a brooding male while he was out getting some calories. I opted to not look for the nest for fear of stepping on in in the dense vegetation.
Fun day.
Kim
Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH
Spokane, WA
(509) 465-3025 home
(509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 10:57 AM
To: Marv <marvbreece...>
Cc: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs
They breed farther south than many of our migratory shorebirds, so they presumably are on their breeding grounds relatively early, and they may well be the first fall migrants.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
On Jun 19, 2026, at 10:15 AM, Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
Yesterday there were 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. They were noisy & seemed restless. After a short visit they picked up and flew south.
Date: 6/19/26 6:00 pm From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Picking Up Binoculars Could Change Your Brain For The Better
Date: 6/19/26 12:37 pm From: Kenneth Brown via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Eagle's Pride walk
The weather was as good as it gets here in June, warm, but not too warm, clear sunny skies and only a slight breeze. A couple of the birders found a Bullock's Oriole nest very near where we started out. We were able to observe the parents carry food into the nest, and some saw a couple of the young emerge from the nest and fledge.
We briefly saw Wood Ducks on the first pond before they swam out of sight behind the vegetation along the shore. Those were the only ducks we saw all day. Though it was a dry day, humidity recovery left the tall grass outside the fairway and along the powerline wet, soaking fabric shoes and lower pant legs. A few walkers, new to this site, felt unprepared and left early, vowing to be prepared next time.
Along the way we got clear looks at McGillivray's Warbler, Orange -crowned Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, and Northern Yellow Warbler. Flycatchers were abundant as were Western Tanagers. A pair of Pied-billed Grebe's were the sole occupants of Hodge's Lake , though it's surface was skimmed by Barn, Tree, and Violet-Green Swallows, along with Cedar Waxwings.
Strangely missing were American Crows and Common Raven. Where did the Corvids go? Having no answer to that question, see the following checklist for more details.
Eagle's Pride GC, Pierce, Washington, US
Jun 18, 2026 7:58 AM - 12:40 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.648 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Monthly walk. Sunny, north breeze at 3-5:knots, and 57-79° F.
56 species
Wood Duck 7
Band-tailed Pigeon 3
Mourning Dove 4
Vaux's Swift 1
Anna's Hummingbird 2
Rufous Hummingbird 5
Glaucous-winged Gull 1
Pied-billed Grebe 2 Hodges Lake
Bald Eagle 3 Second cycle and adults
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 3
Olive-sided Flycatcher 2
Western Wood-Pewee 14
Willow Flycatcher 11
Hammond's Flycatcher 1
Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 8
Hutton's Vireo 2
Western Warbling Vireo 3
Steller's Jay (Coastal) 4
Black-capped Chickadee 8
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 23
Tree Swallow 12
Violet-green Swallow 16
Purple Martin 2
Barn Swallow 20
Bushtit (Pacific) 18
Golden-crowned Kinglet 14
Red-breasted Nuthatch 12
Brown Creeper 6
Northern House Wren (Northern) 4
Pacific Wren (Pacific) 2
Bewick's Wren 2
European Starling 4
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 16
American Robin 34
Cedar Waxwing 25
House Finch 4
Purple Finch (Western) 18
American Goldfinch 6
Chipping Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 10
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 15
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 13
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 11
Bullock's Oriole 6 Male & female were feeding 2 young in the nest when we arrived. The chicks fledged while we were watching!
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 12
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 10
MacGillivray's Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Northern Yellow Warbler 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 2
Wilson's Warbler 5
Western Tanager 11
Black-headed Grosbeak 6
Date: 6/19/26 12:27 pm From: Jane Hadley via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Yet another tool - a correction
I mistakenly said in my Tweeters post yesterday about the new https://currentcounty.com/ tool that if you clicked on a certain button you would be taken to eBird's King County page.
The correct information is that if you click on the button you will be taken to the eBird page for that county that you are in.
Date: 6/19/26 11:05 am From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs
They breed farther south than many of our migratory shorebirds, so they presumably are on their breeding grounds relatively early, and they may well be the first fall migrants.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
> On Jun 19, 2026, at 10:15 AM, Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Yesterday there were 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. They were noisy & seemed restless. After a short visit they picked up and flew south.
>
> Harbingers?
>
>
> --
> Marv Breece
> Tukwila, WA
> <marvbreece...> <mailto:<marvbreece...> >
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/19/26 10:24 am From: Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs
Yesterday there were 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. They were noisy & seemed restless. After a short visit they picked up and flew south.
Harbingers?
-- Marv Breece Tukwila, WA *<marvbreece...> <marvbreece...>*
Date: 6/18/26 8:04 pm From: Madrone Ruggiero via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Accessible field trip/Small Sit tomorrow June 19th at Keystone on Whidbey Island 0800-1000
Hi all,Tomorrow June 19th from 0800-1000 I will be leading an accessible birding outing at the Keystone Dive Park/Boat launch (next to the Keystone Ferry) on Whidbey Island. This event is open to all and is focused on observing bird behavior, learning to identify birds, and just enjoying listening to and watching birds. Beginners and those with children are encouraged to attend. Loaner optics will be available. There is no walking for this event, just park next to the viewing area and sit or stand and observe the birds for as long as you want. Attendees can come and go as they please at any time during the two hour sit. Address is Keystone Dive Park and Boat Launch 1390 State Route 20 Coupeville, WA 98239 We will be at the picnic tables near the water. No discover pass needed, it is a state parks free day for the Juneteenth holiday. For full details please visit the field trip event page at Keystone Dive Park/Boat Launch Small Sit — Whidbey Audubon Society
Thank you and hope to see you there or at another WAS event in the future,Madrone Ruggiero
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Keystone Dive Park/Boat Launch Small Sit — Whidbey Audubon Society
Celebrate Juneteenth and the upcoming summer solstice by joining us for a small sit to watch and listen to our s...
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Date: 6/18/26 12:40 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-06-18
Tweets - Gorgeous day to be out, with comfortable temps, sunshine, and just a hint of a breeze. This time of year, we aren't expecting surprises, as almost all the birds we find are nesting in the park. That was mostly true today, but there were a couple of surprises.
Highlights: Canada Goose - Just four, and not seen until the Rowing Club Virginia Rail - One or two responded. June responses are unusual Spotted Sandpiper - One called as it flew, unseen, down the slough Gulls - Four with black wingtips. Possibly California? Cooper's Hawk - One from the Viewing Mound Red-tailed Hawk - Twice seen, both times massively mobbed by crows Pileated Woodpecker - One across the slough from below the weir Merlin - One flew over the concert venue a little before 6:00 a.m. Swainson's Thrush - Actually SAW two, heard many more Orange-crowned Warbler - One singing, unseen, at the Rowing Club
At the Rowing Club, Mason and I heard a large number of twittering birds. We were hoping to add BUSHTIT and CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE to our day list (which we did, though Bushtits remained invisible). But there were BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, BEWICK'S WRENS, DOWNY WOODPECKERS, SONG-SPARROWS, and AMERICAN GOLDFINCH as well. We figured they must be mobbing a predator. Finally, Mason spotted a WESTERN SCREECH-OWL a good 20 yards into the shrubbery.
WESTERN SCREECH-OWL was heard once, back in January, but otherwise have not been noticed in the park this year. This bird appeared to be an adult. Based on timings of past breeding within the park, the presence of an adult mid-June does not necessarily indicate breeding within the park this year; young should have fledged already, if only recently. This sighting does make it seem more probable that they nested a least near the park this year, though.
Baby birds were everywhere, complete with difficult-to-identify baby sounds. MALLARD and WOOD DUCK ducklings were numerous. Other babies included GREAT BLUE HERON (many juvies fishing), AMERICAN CROW, BLACK-CAPPED and CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, PURPLE MARTIN, HOUSE FINCH, DARK-EYED JUNCO, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. This is also a season where many birds are best described as Breeding-plumage Male vs. Female/Juvenile. For instance, the hummingbirds we saw were not breeding males, but age was otherwise indeterminate in the brief looks we got. Same goes for COMMON YELLOWTHROATS.
Anyway, for the day, 61 species, but nothing new for the year.
= Michael Hobbs = <BirdMarymoor...> = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
Date: 6/18/26 12:15 pm From: Jane Hadley via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Yet another tool
Hello Tweetsters - Scott Ray has come up with another tool that might be of interest to anybody who is wondering what county they're in at any particular moment.
It's called "Current County" and is free and simple to use. All you need to do is click on the link or go to the address https://currentcounty.com/ in your browser and you will instantly be shown the county you are in.
It will also give you the latitude and longitude of your location and the time and date.
The app also will allow you to copy the lat/long coordinates so that you can paste them elsewhere, such as into an email or text message.
And you can click on a button and be shown a map of the county. Finally, you can click on another button and be taken to eBird's King County page.
Date: 6/18/26 10:36 am From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 6/17/2026.
Dear Tweets,
Approximately 28 of us enjoyed a nice spring day at the Refuge; skies were
mostly cloudy in the morning and cleared to sunny in the afternoon.
Temperatures ranged from the 50's to 70's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a
Low -3'10" Tide at 2pm, so we did our routine walk. Highlights included
three First Of Year sightings. Miles and Susan spotted a LAZULI BUNTING in
the large field west of the west end parking lot. Many of us saw the bird
fly towards the parking lot but were unable to relocate it. Jon and Lisa
got us on a singing RED-EYED VIREO: one on the access road south of the
west end parking lot closer to the green gate across from the Education
Center parking lot and the other adjacent to the Twin Barns. Peter spotted
a RED CROSSBILL type IV in the top of Douglas Fir along the same access
road. Other fun sightings included a YELLOW WARBLER feeding a fledgling, a
SONG SPARROW on a nest, and Nate located a DOWNY WOODPECKER nest cavity
with young... all along the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail between
the access road cut-through and the turn off to the Twin Barns. The colony
of CLIFF SWALLOWS at McAllister Creek/Medicine Creek Viewing Platform on
the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk trail is a real spectacle with over 60 mud
huts.
For the day we observed 72 species. With the FOY Lazuli Bunting, Red-eyed
Vireo and Red Crossbill, we now have seen 151 species this year. See our
eBird Report below.
Janel and I birded Luhr Beach at 6:30am during the high tide. This
location is the north west border of the Nisqually Reach. We observed 2
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN at the mouth of the Nisqually River that we did not
see on our regular walk. Bruce LaBar reported these same birds on the
Pierce County Rare Bird WhatsApp Group as the crossed the County Line.
From Luhr Beach we observed MARBLED MURRELET, COMMON MURRE, RHINOCEROUS
AUKLET and PIGEON GUILLEMOT. The Beach itself is great for PURPLE MARTIN
in the morning.
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
Jun 17, 2026 7:37 AM - 4:14 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.032 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. A Low -3’10” Tide at 2:00pm.
Partly cloudy morning with clearing skies in afternoon. Temperatures in the
50’s to 70’s degrees Fahrenheit. Others seen included Townsend’s Chipmunk,
Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Muskrat, Eastern
Ground Squirrel, Harbor Seal, American Bullfrog, Red-legged Frog, Pacific
Chorus Frog, Western Swallow-tailed Butterfly, Paddle-tailed Darner,
Pacific Forktail, Red-veined Meadowhawk and numerous Boxelder Bugs.
72 species (+5 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 25
Wood Duck 2
Blue-winged Teal 1 Freshwater Marsh
Blue-winged/Cinnamon Teal 2
Gadwall 1
Mallard 14
Hooded Merganser 4
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 7
Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 26
Mourning Dove 9
Anna's Hummingbird 1 Land Trust Building area.
Rufous Hummingbird 10
Virginia Rail 2
Sora 2
Killdeer 6
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Ring-billed Gull 45
California Gull 90
Glaucous-winged Gull 4
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 5
gull sp. 100
Caspian Tern 22
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 50
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 30
Osprey (American) 1
Bald Eagle 51 Counted individually. Two occupied nests along West
Bank of McAllister Creek.
hawk sp. 1
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-breasted Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 3 Nest tree outside of west side Twin Barns
Loop Trail north of Access Road cut-through.
Northern Flicker 2
Western Wood-Pewee 4
Willow Flycatcher 6
Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 2
Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 1
Western Warbling Vireo 4
Red-eyed Vireo 2 Heard only. Access Road south of west side parking
lot. And picnic area Twin Barns.
Steller's Jay 1
American Crow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 20
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5
Bank Swallow 6 Counted individually. Some in groups of 2-3 birds.
Tree Swallow 52
Violet-green Swallow 1
Purple Martin 6 Luhr Beach
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 7
Barn Swallow (American) 40
Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 160
Bushtit (Pacific) 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2 Heard only, West Bank of McAllistet Creek.
Brown Creeper 20 Numerous small families feeding young.
Marsh Wren 16
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 10
European Starling 60
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 42
American Robin (migratorius Group) 30
Cedar Waxwing 18
Purple Finch (Western) 5
Red Crossbill (Douglas-fir or type 4) 1
American Goldfinch 21
Chipping Sparrow 1 Nisqually Estuary Trail or dike.
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 4
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 32
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 6
Bullock's Oriole 2 Twin Barns área.
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 51
Brown-headed Cowbird 16
Common Yellowthroat 8
Northern Yellow Warbler 40
Wilson's Warbler 2
Western Tanager 1 Heard only, West Bank of McAllister Creek.
Black-headed Grosbeak 5
Lazuli Bunting 1 Spotted flying out of field west of west side parking
lot into trees along access road.
Date: 6/17/26 2:49 pm From: Jay via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Leucistic Canada Goose??
This Canada Goose was seen with a large group from the ASB (Aerated Stabilization Basin) Trail in Bellingham this morning. Is this goose leucistic? I looked up images of leucistic Canada geese and it matches. If it is, how do I report it on eBird? I could not find a way.
Date: 6/17/26 12:01 pm From: Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Info needed on swans
Hello fellow birders. I am in need of some information on how to connect with other birders across North America, more specifically the Canada/US States area where both Trumpeter and Tundra swans live, migrate or breed. I am working on collecting as much information and photos as possible regarding swans (Trumpeter and Tundra) that have kinked or swoop neck deformities. It appears we are seeing more of them in our area each winter, and I have found 3 other sightings from Idaho to Alberta. So, are there other chat lists, people, etc. that I could contact for finding more information or potential sightings? Thanks. Reply off line at mj.cygnus at gmail.com
Thanks. Martha Jordan NW Swan Conservation Association nwswan dot org
Nancy
"Images for the imagination."
www.crowellphotography.com
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 2026 20:54:14
To: Tom and Carol Stoner <tcstonefam...>; <Tweeters...> <Tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird
We hang dryer lint in a wire cage and Ive seen Annas plucking link twice in the past week. I would have thought that nesting season was over by now, but maybe not?
Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA
> On Jun 16, 2026, at 20:14, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a mouth full.
>
> Carol Stoner
> West Seattle
Date: 6/16/26 9:02 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird
We hang dryer lint in a wire cage and I’ve seen Anna’s plucking link twice in the past week. I would have thought that nesting season was over by now, but maybe not?
Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA
> On Jun 16, 2026, at 20:14, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a mouth full.
>
> Carol Stoner
> West Seattle
Date: 6/16/26 8:23 pm From: Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird
This morning I spotted a female Anna's collecting the fluffy white stuff that carries the seeds of plants in the aster family. She had quite a mouth full.
Date: 6/16/26 7:19 pm From: JUDITH R TAYLOR via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] preventing bird window strikes
Tweeters,
Re: recent thread about preventing window strikes by birds.
The American Bird Conservancy has a lot of info on the subject and they recently gave a zoom seminar about this. If I remember correctly it was sometime in the past 8-10 months. A variety of solutions were presented and it may be worthwhile to see if the session was archived and available on their website.
Date: 6/16/26 6:21 pm From: Ron Post via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Green Lake last two days
Been watching a huge osprey here in late afternoons...also saw what could have been a shorebird skimming the surface about an hour ago. Maybe I was fooled by one of the leftover swallows... Ron Post <ronpost4...>
Nice!
Several times at JBLM Eagle's Pride Golf Course we've seen Red-tailed Hawks (RTHA) on the grass grabbing earthworms. Once, in early Spring, two RTHAs were getting earthworms as we all watched.
Lots of protein with relatively little energy expenditure!
May all your birds be identified,
Denis DeSilvis
avnacrs 4 birds at outlook dot com
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Tuesday, 16 June 2026 13:08:13
To: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack
Hi,
Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was
just exiting the
roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird
streaked across
the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before
the open
fields. There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an
RTH come
out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few
seconds,
no more than 10 or 20. As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized
bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black
bird ... but
not large enough to be crow-sized. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw
it go up
towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually
seeing it land.
The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents
(voles
probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to
Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming).
I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often. And Bald
Eagles
on a pole consuming a duck. And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse.
But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch".
I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the
shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time).
Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more
common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement".
Several times I've seen this with larger hawks. Twice with Northern Harrier and once with a Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA).
The first incident with a Northern Harrier happened along SR-17 and the intersection of Trout Lodge Road. I saw a huge commotion on the ground. Dust was flying everywhere. Quickly I saw that a Northern Harrier had something on the ground. Immediately I was worried since it was very close to a known Burrowing Owl den. The fight continued for 10-15 seconds then stopped. As the wind blew the dust away the Northern Harrier was standing upright on the ground. As I slowly rolled the vehicle forward to get a look at what she (it was a female harrier) lifted off. She had a sizable rattlesnake in her talons. One talon gripped the snake firmly in the middle and the other gripped the snake firmly behind the head. It was incredible to watch. Alas no photos were forthcoming as I was so intent on the battle I forgot to grab the camera.
The other was a harrier (male) that swooped across the road and landed on something. In this case the visibility was better since it was winter and there was snow on the ground. Feathers were flying everywhere but I still couldn't see what the harrier was trying to catch.Then a wing flopped up and I could see it was a mallard drake. Apparently the duck had been wounded by a hunter but was still alive. Never one to pass up an easy meal the harrier had pounce on the waddling duck. I snapped a few photos as the harrier began to dissect his meal. I watched for a good 15 minutes while the harrier consumed the breast of the mallard. I was only about 90 feet away and several cars passed by as I watched but he continued to eat, paying me and the other cars no mind.
The RTHA was not as exciting as it was far off. I was in the Grand Coulee near Blue Lake looking at loons when a small flock of Rock Pigeons flew over to the cliff and landed. As I turned back I caught something out of the corner of my eye. It was a RTHA in full stoop. The hawk flew directly at the pigeons. For some reason the thought he might be after the pigeons didn't cross my mind. I got the hawk in the binoculars and watch as the hawk raced toward the cliff. About the time I thought he was going to crash into the cliff the pigeons spied the hawk and flushed. It was a brilliant maneuver on the hawks part as the pigeons escape routes were all one dimensional. The could go up, down, or sideways but that was all. A sheer cliff to their back had put them into a bad place. As the flushed helter-skelter the hawk put on the brakes and plucked one of the pigeons out of the air and lightly sat down on the shelf where moments before 9 pigeons had sat. I never saw that again but I am certain that wasn't the first time that hawk had used that maneuver to catch a meal.
Doug
On Tue, 16 Jun 2026 13:08:13 -0700, Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
Hi,
Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was
just exiting the
roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird
streaked across
the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before
the open
fields. There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an
RTH come
out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few
seconds,
no more than 10 or 20. As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized
bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black
bird ... but
not large enough to be crow-sized. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw
it go up
towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually
seeing it land.
The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents
(voles
probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to
Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming).
I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often. And Bald
Eagles
on a pole consuming a duck. And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse.
But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch".
I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the
shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time).
Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more
common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement".
Date: 6/16/26 1:50 pm From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack
Nice sighting, Jim! The only time I've seen a red-tail with prey, one was
eating a garter snake on a pole by a hiking trail near North Bend. Those
guys truly do have a broad diet.
Louise Rutter
Kirkland
On Tue, Jun 16, 2026 at 1:08 PM Jim Betz via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was
> just exiting the
> roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird
> streaked across
> the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before
> the open
> fields. There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an
> RTH come
> out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few
> seconds,
> no more than 10 or 20. As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized
> bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black
> bird ... but
> not large enough to be crow-sized. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw
> it go up
> towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually
> seeing it land.
> The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents
> (voles
> probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to
> Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming).
> I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often. And Bald
> Eagles
> on a pole consuming a duck. And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse.
> But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch".
> I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the
> shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time).
>
> Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more
> common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement".
>
> - Jim in Skagit
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 6/16/26 1:44 pm From: Jeff Harrell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack
Love these stories. Several years ago my wife and I were leaving Lake Merced park in San Francisco (very urban park, but lots of great birds). We were pulling out of our parking space in the lot adjacent to the park and a large flock of pigeons that had been on the ground all took to the sky at once. They flew right over our car and a red tail swooped down maybe 15' above and in front of our car and snatched a pigeon out of the air. It kept going as if it was the easiest thing on earth. I will never for get the agility and audacity!
Date: 6/16/26 1:28 pm From: Shelf Life Community Story Project via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack
Cool story, Jim.
I’ll never forget the time I saw a short-tailed weasel, in broad daylight, on the UW Bothell campus, take down a mole right in front of me. Then it stood over the carcass and stared me down until I gave it some space.
But maybe the most astonishing kill I witnessed was in Rosario Strait last year, just off Washington Park. A Bald Eagle caught a Glaucous Winged Gull mid flight, close to the water, held the gull underwater until it was dead, and then took off, with the gull in its talons, from the position of sitting on the water. I’ve seen adult Bald Eagles struggle to take off from the water with much smaller prey, ultimately having to swim to shore. But this one lifted off like one of those military helicopters and flew that poor enormous gull back to its hungry nestlings.
> On Jun 16, 2026, at 1:08 PM, Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was just exiting the
> roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird streaked across
> the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before the open
> fields. There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an RTH come
> out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few seconds,
> no more than 10 or 20. As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized
> bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black bird ... but
> not large enough to be crow-sized. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw it go up
> towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually
> seeing it land.
> The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents (voles
> probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to
> Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming).
> I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often. And Bald Eagles
> on a pole consuming a duck. And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse.
> But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch".
> I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the
> shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time).
>
> Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more
> common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement".
>
> - Jim in Skagit
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/16/26 1:22 pm From: Kersti Muul via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] territorial Rufous hummers
I have had multiple similar experiences with *Anna's on Anna's *aggression - both male and female, fledgling on adult, adult on fledgling and nestling, as well as adult *Rufous on Anna's *aggression.
-Anna's males attacking Anna's nestlings and grounded fledglings.
-Rufous females attacking adult Anna's in Anna's nesting territory.
-Anna's juvenile male attacking his own mother, taking her to the ground, pinning her to ground via toe claw in her eye and repeatedly stabbing her in the chest, resulting in puncture wound.
-Adult Anna's female went in for antibiotics after retrieved from cat mouth, gone from her territory for 3 hours. Came back and another female had already attempted to claim. She attacked other female immediately after her release, knocking her to the ground. She weakly flew back up and perched on a branch. The interloper began a vicious aerial assault beating her with her beak for several minutes. She ultimately hung upside down and went into torpor - the assault continued. I thought she was a goner. Next morning she was outside the bedroom window alive and well. The same cat got the interloper and was not so lucky. Irony.
*Hummingbirds spend a lot of time on the ground when fighting, and cats/predators notice - a prime opportunity to catch the otherwise evasive birds. FYI*
Date: 6/16/26 1:16 pm From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Red-tailed Hawk Attack
Hi,
Yesterday, when I was leaving I-5 for 11 (Chuckanut Drive) and was
just exiting the
roundabout on the West side of the freeway - a dark-colored bird
streaked across
the road in front of me and into the back side of the last bush before
the open
fields. There was one furious shaking of that bush and then I saw an
RTH come
out of the bush and cross back in front of me - this all took just a few
seconds,
no more than 10 or 20. As it recrossed the road I could see a medium-sized
bird in its talons ... probably a robin, Twohee, or some kind of black
bird ... but
not large enough to be crow-sized. Looking in my rear view mirror I saw
it go up
towards the top of a pole but had to look away for traffic before actually
seeing it land.
The only other times I've seen RTH with prey have been a few rodents
(voles
probably) in the vicinity of the East 90 and once on the ground close to
Maupin Road on Fir Island with a Green-winged Teal (consuming).
I've seen Great Blue Herons with/taking prey quite often. And Bald
Eagles
on a pole consuming a duck. And the occasional Kestrel with a vole/mouse.
But, as I said, it is usually after the actual "catch".
I once saw and photographed an Osprey making repeated drops into the
shallow water at Ship ... but it always came up empty (that day/that time).
Wonderful to see the actual kill happening rather than the much more
common "sitting on a pole or wire looking around for movement".
Date: 6/15/26 6:52 pm From: Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk - Thursday, June 18 - 8:00AM Start
Hi Tweeters,
The next Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) birdwalk is scheduled for Thursday, June 18 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 60degF-72degF start to finish (RealFeel 61-80) with a 0% chance of rain and mostly sunny during the walk. Looks like a fine day for birding. As always, dress for success!
Date: 6/15/26 2:38 pm From: Diane Eileen via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Acopian parachute cord, and white chalk to prevent bird strikes
We moved into a mid-century home on Whidbey Island that had lots of glass and LOTS OF BIRD STRIKES. We put parachute cord around the house and white chalk lines on garage and shed windows. As far as we know, we have had only one bird strike in the last 15 months and I think it was due to a tussle between two male gold finches. Quite miraculous. Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/15/26 12:27 pm From: Michael Paradis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Extreme Terrorial Behavior in Rufous Hummingbird Female
Yesterday I was out at Nisqually hoping to see the 2nd Rufous hummingbird
chick fledge from the hanging nest that is very visible (it did :) ), but
almost immediately after a rival female flew down and pretty violently
started attacking the chick trying to knock it to the ground. Fortunately
the chick held on and the mother bird flew in to the rescue after a tense
minute or two and two attacks.
I know Rufous can be extremely territorial (and have certainly been buzzed
by them before) but had not seen behavior quite so extreme and was
wondering if anyone else had seen something like this before. (I did get it
on video, but have not encoded it from the raw clip yet. I told the
visitor's center I would forward it over once I do)
p.s. Unrelatedly, one of the freshwater marsh-residing bitterns that has
been taunting me with calls and never sightings for over a month finally
allowed itself to be seen by me, so I can strike them from my Grudge Bird
list
On Mon, Jun 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM via Tweeters <tweeters...>
wrote:
> Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to
> <tweeters...>
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> <tweeters-request...>
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
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>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..."
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Wilson's Phalarope at M St Marsh in Auburn (Marv via Tweeters)
> 2. Panama query (David Cook via Tweeters)
> 3. how to prevent birds from flying into windows.
> (Dennis Paulson via Tweeters)
> 4. Re: Some new birding tools (Tom Benedict via Tweeters)
> 5. Re: how to prevent birds from flying into windows.
> (Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters)
> 6. Re: Some new birding tools (Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters)
> 7. Re: how to prevent birds from flying into windows.
> (Philomena O'Neill via Tweeters)
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:02:16 -0700
> Subject: [Tweeters] Wilson's Phalarope at M St Marsh in Auburn
> This morning I observed copulation of Wilson's Phalarope at the M Street
> Marsh in Auburn. See videos:
> https://flic.kr/ps/376fhN >
> --
> Marv Breece
> Tukwila, WA
> *<marvbreece...> <marvbreece...>*
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: David Cook via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: tweeters <tweeters...>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 13:01:58 -0700
> Subject: [Tweeters] Panama query
> to Blythe Horman,
> I can share information regarding Panama if you contact me at
> <41cdcook...>
> Dave Cook
> Seattle
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:08:06 -0700
> Subject: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows.
> This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing
> more about it.
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 >
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 14:48:13 -0700
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools
> <rant on>
>
> I’m only speaking for myself, but as a “non-Twitcher” I don’t see this as
> good news. It's inevitable that this kind of decision support tool has
> become available, but I really don’t think we should be encouraging more
> chasing. We don’t need more ways to incent more people to chase birds all
> over the countryside. The photos that people post are almost always better
> than the image I would get to see in person with bionic or scope, so I’m
> more than satisfied staying home and enjoying the experience vicariously.
>
> But I’m not a WOS member, so maybe I should just get over it.
>
> <rant off>
>
> Yes, I am a stick-in-the-mud. ;)
>
> Tom Benedict
> Seahurst, WA
>
> On Jun 9, 2026, at 12:19, Jane Hadley via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Dear Tweetsters - I wanted to alert you to a couple new additions to the
> WOS website (wos.org) that might be of interest.
>
> First former WOS board member and officer Scott Ray has created a free web
> app that should be of interest to those who chase rarities.
>
> Here's how Scott describes it:
>
> "Birders who chase rarities all know the question: If I drive there today,
>> will the bird still be there? ....
>> Chase Report is a free, mobile-friendly, web-based rare bird dashboard
>> that uses current eBird notable sightings and organizes them into a
>> practical “chaseability” view. It requires no account, login, or
>> installation. Open the site in a browser and you can immediately see which
>> rare birds appear most likely to still be present, which are uncertain, and
>> which are probably gone."
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson...>
> Cc: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
> Bcc:
> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 23:49:26 +0200
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows.
> On Jun 14, 2026 at 14:08:06, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing
>> more about it.
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 >>
>>
> It’s a decent technique. Here’s the most recent from Cornell Lab:
>
>
> https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/09/protect-birds-windows-change-human-behavior >
> Research has indicated a matrix of dots works quite well (an example of
> one product that implements this is Feather Friendly:
> https://featherfriendly.com/) — and yes, you can add dots manually if you
> want with something like white-out but I’m not sure how weatherproof that
> is.
>
> Paracord has also been shown to be effective:
> https://www.birdsavers.com/using-paracord/ >
> One thing that research has shown that is NOT effective are those
> bird-shadow appliqués. There was a study with the last year or two with
> swallows in a flight chamber that showed no difference in strikes between
> windows treated and untreated windows.
>
> Chuq
>
> ---------------------------------------
>
> Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
> Silverdale, Washington
> Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
>
> 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
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: Tom Benedict <benedict.t...>
> Cc: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
> Bcc:
> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 23:54:45 +0200
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools
> On Jun 14, 2026 at 14:48:13, Tom Benedict via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> <rant on>
>>
>> I’m only speaking for myself, but as a “non-Twitcher” I don’t see this as
>> good news. It's inevitable that this kind of decision support tool has
>> become available, but I really don’t think we should be encouraging more
>> chasing.
>>
>
> Here’s my rant: none of us should be gatekeeping. Whatever allows someone
> to enjoy birding is okay, and there is no right or wrong way to bird. I’m
> not a big chaser, but I’ve been doing a bit more of it in the last couple
> of years, and I know a number of birders for which the chase is their
> primary interest. More power to them, even though that’s not really what
> tickles my toes.
>
> I’m glad this tool exists for them. Will I ever use it? Probably not. But
> I think it’s important to remind all of us (including/especially me) that
> nobody gets to tell anyone else how to do birding “right”. If it makes you
> happy, do it.
>
> </rant>
>
> Chuq
>
> ---------------------------------------
>
> Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
> Silverdale, Washington
> Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
>
> 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
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "Philomena O'Neill via Tweeters" <tweeters...>
> To: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson...>
> Cc: tweeters TWEETERS <tweeters...>
> Bcc:
> Date: Sun, 14 Jun 2026 16:36:36 -0700
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows.
> We used this on our kitchen windows where we had a few strikes after
> putting up our feeders. Since applying the stripes there have been none. It
> seems to hold up in rain but if you wash the windows you will have to apply
> it again.
>
> Philomena
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 14, 2026, at 2:08 PM, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing
> more about it.
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 >
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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: 6/14/26 4:45 pm From: Philomena O'Neill via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows.
We used this on our kitchen windows where we had a few strikes after putting up our feeders. Since applying the stripes there have been none. It seems to hold up in rain but if you wash the windows you will have to apply it again.
Date: 6/14/26 3:04 pm From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools
On Jun 14, 2026 at 14:48:13, Tom Benedict via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> <rant on>
>
> I’m only speaking for myself, but as a “non-Twitcher” I don’t see this as
> good news. It's inevitable that this kind of decision support tool has
> become available, but I really don’t think we should be encouraging more
> chasing.
>
Here’s my rant: none of us should be gatekeeping. Whatever allows someone
to enjoy birding is okay, and there is no right or wrong way to bird. I’m
not a big chaser, but I’ve been doing a bit more of it in the last couple
of years, and I know a number of birders for which the chase is their
primary interest. More power to them, even though that’s not really what
tickles my toes.
I’m glad this tool exists for them. Will I ever use it? Probably not. But I
think it’s important to remind all of us (including/especially me) that
nobody gets to tell anyone else how to do birding “right”. If it makes you
happy, do it.
</rant>
Chuq
---------------------------------------
Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
Silverdale, Washington
Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
Date: 6/14/26 2:57 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools
<rant on>
I’m only speaking for myself, but as a “non-Twitcher” I don’t see this as good news. It's inevitable that this kind of decision support tool has become available, but I really don’t think we should be encouraging more chasing. We don’t need more ways to incent more people to chase birds all over the countryside. The photos that people post are almost always better than the image I would get to see in person with bionic or scope, so I’m more than satisfied staying home and enjoying the experience vicariously.
But I’m not a WOS member, so maybe I should just get over it.
<rant off>
Yes, I am a stick-in-the-mud. ;)
Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA
> On Jun 9, 2026, at 12:19, Jane Hadley via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Dear Tweetsters - I wanted to alert you to a couple new additions to the WOS website (wos.org <http://wos.org/>) that might be of interest.
>
> First former WOS board member and officer Scott Ray has created a free web app that should be of interest to those who chase rarities.
>
> Here's how Scott describes it:
>
>> "Birders who chase rarities all know the question: If I drive there today, will the bird still be there? ....
>> Chase Report is a free, mobile-friendly, web-based rare bird dashboard that uses current eBird notable sightings and organizes them into a practical “chaseability” view. It requires no account, login, or installation. Open the site in a browser and you can immediately see which rare birds appear most likely to still be present, which are uncertain, and which are probably gone."
>
Date: 6/14/26 2:56 pm From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] how to prevent birds from flying into windows.
On Jun 14, 2026 at 14:08:06, Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> This was sent by a friend, and it seems reasonable, but I know nothing
> more about it.
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9xQkUtQ98 >
>
It’s a decent technique. Here’s the most recent from Cornell Lab:
Research has indicated a matrix of dots works quite well (an example of one
product that implements this is Feather Friendly:
https://featherfriendly.com/) — and yes, you can add dots manually if you
want with something like white-out but I’m not sure how weatherproof that
is.
One thing that research has shown that is NOT effective are those
bird-shadow appliqués. There was a study with the last year or two with
swallows in a flight chamber that showed no difference in strikes between
windows treated and untreated windows.
Chuq
---------------------------------------
Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
Silverdale, Washington
Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
On Sat, Jun 13, 2026 at 1:20 PM Blythe Horman via Tweeters
<tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm a female, middle-aged lifelong birder considering a visit to Panama this fall or winter, and I'm also seriously thinking about relocating to a region there that prioritises conservation over extraction. I'd love recommendations on towns or areas you’d recommend visiting, especially places accessible by train or public transport from Panama City. And if anyone from the listserv happens to be heading down that way and wants to meet up, I'm very open to that.
>
> Looking forward to hearing what you know about the birds, the places, and the culture/community there. (I speak passable Spanish.)
>
> Thank you,
>
> Blythe Horman
>
> Lynnwood, WA
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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: 6/13/26 1:29 pm From: Blythe Horman via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Panama Query: on and off topic
Hi everyone,
I'm a female, middle-aged lifelong birder considering a visit to Panama
this fall or winter, and I'm also seriously thinking about relocating to a
region there that prioritises conservation over extraction. I'd love
recommendations on towns or areas you’d recommend visiting, especially
places accessible by train or public transport from Panama City. And if
anyone from the listserv happens to be heading down that way and wants to
meet up, I'm very open to that.
Looking forward to hearing what you know about the birds, the places, and
the culture/community there. (I speak passable Spanish.)
Date: 6/13/26 11:03 am From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: California’s endangered condors have a surprising new foe
Date: 6/13/26 11:02 am From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Tick Season-Good review article: MARTHA STEWART: Found a Tick on Your Body? Here's Exactly What to Do Next
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: *****SPAM***** Re: [inland-NW-birders] Moscow - UI Arboretum Summer Tanager, 6/11
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:34:49 -0700
From: Charles Swift via Inland-nw-birders <inland-nw-birders...>
To: <inland-nw-birders...>
Correction: June 11, 2014 would have been 12 years ago!
On Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 12:31 PM Charles Swift wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Visiting birders found a Summer Tanager at the UI Arboretum yesterday AM,
> and it was subsequently relocated and seen by a number of local birders. It
> was a first-year male based on its splotchy plumage, but it was still quite
> striking and greatly enjoyed by all. More information, photos, etc. on the
> Latah County eBird page here - https://ebird.org/region/US-ID-057. This
> is only 1 of 2 spring records so far this year in the Pacific Northwest
> (there are several winter records west of the Cascades where they are
> somewhat casual winter visitors). Somewhat surprisingly this is the 2nd
> record for Moscow; the prior record was also on June 11 in 2014 (almost
> exactly 11 years ago!). It has not been reported so far this morning but
> I'm not sure if anybody has looked. It was mostly in the lower (southern)
> third of the UI Arboretum yesterday which is easily accessed from the lower
> parking lot along Palouse River Drive. It would most easily be detected by
> short burry song phrases (which Merlin was able to identify) as it was
> frequently hidden by foliage in Cottonwood and Willow trees.
>
> thanks, Charles.
>
> --
> Charles Swift
> Moscow, Idaho
> 46°43′54″ N, 116°59′50″ W
> <chaetura...>
>
>
>
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, Idaho
46°43′54″ N, 116°59′50″ W
<chaetura...>
_______________________________________________
Inland-nw-birders mailing list
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Date: 6/11/26 4:39 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-06-11
Tweets - It was picturesque at the park today, with all of the trees in leafy glory, blue skies, temps mostly in the 50's, and no wind. We're into the time during the summer when we pretty much KNOW what species we're going to see, and the interest comes from noting and identifying babies. There were few surprises today.
Highlights: Hooded Merganser - One at the Rowing Club was our first since late April and just our second since early March Rufous Hummingbird - Seemed unusually numerous, with ~5 adult males and 1-2 females/juveniles Pied-billed Grebe - One, again, from the Lake Platform. They used to breed in the park, but not in the last decade+, so a summer bird is unusual Yellow-rumped Warbler - One, again, from around the Mansion. They have bred in the park occasionally, but we've had them less than half the time in early June Brown-headed Cowbird - Baby being raised by a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT; our first BHCO baby of the year
Babies (or likely babies) were noted for CANADA GOOSE, WOOD DUCK, MALLARD, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, GREAT BLUE HERON, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, TREE SWALLOW, BUSHTIT, EUROPEAN STARLING, AMERICAN ROBIN, HOUSE FINCH, DARK-EYED JUNCO, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD.
Misses today included just Rock Pigeon and Green Heron.
Like last week, nothing new for the year, and again we finished with 58 species noted.
The “new app for chasing birds” (the chase report) is on that list, and can be found at https://wa.chasereport.com/
Hope this helps.
Doug Santoni
Seattle, WA
Dougsantoni at gmail dot com
> On Jun 11, 2026, at 12:59 PM, Roger Moyer via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Can someone repose the url for the new app on WOS site. I've tried amd failed to find it again.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Roger Moyer
> Chehalis
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/11/26 7:06 am From: Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] M Street Marsh 6.10.26
Yesterday (6.10.26) there were a few ducks at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. There were 3 pairs of GREEN-WINGED TEAL, but I saw no ducklings. Typically, they do not nest at M St. There was a single male LESSER SCAUP. Several CINNAMON TEAL, one pair with 7 ducklings. I did not see a Blue-winged Teal, but they may have been out of sight during my visit.
Date: 6/10/26 9:20 pm From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk for Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR 6/10/2026
Dear Tweets,
Approximately 35 of us had a really nice Spring Day at the Refuge with
mostly cloudy skies, temperatures in the 50's to 60's degrees Fahrenheit,
and a High 9'8" Tide at 2:58pm. Highlights included many nesting birds
including CEDAR WAXWING, BUSHTIT, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, MARSH WREN, YELLOW
WARBLER, SONG SPARROW, RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, AMERICAN
ROBIN, MALLARD, and BALD EAGLE. Some of the group had great looks of
HUTTON'S VIREO nesting along the entrance road across from the Orchard. We
are observing second clutches of RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD in the same nest as
previous clutches. Two immature GREEN HERON flying over the flooded field
adjacent to the Twin Barns and the freshwater marsh. An AMERICAN BITTERN
booming and flying over the freshwater marsh. Great upclose views of both
BLUE-WINGED TEAL and CINNAMON TEAL along the Nisqually Estuary Trail or
Dike. Fly over of three late BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. Two occupied BALD
EAGLE nests with chicks were observed along the west bank of McAllister
Creek. And an unexpected adult breeding plumage SHORT-BILLED GULL roosting
with other gulls along the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. Many of us
enjoyed watching a River Otter eating a Starry Flounder on a tributary off
Shannon Slough.
For the day we observed 75 species with nothing new for the year. Thus far
we have observed 148 species this year.
Please see our eBird Report pasted below with additional details, and
includes many awesome photographs from all the excellent photographers on
the walk.
Until next week when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond
Overlook... be well and happy birding,
Shep
--
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Jun 10, 2026 7:03 AM - 4:48 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.364 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Partly cloudy with temperatures in
the 50’s to 60’s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low 1’6” Tide at 8:36am and a High
9’8” Tide at 2:58pm. Others seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian
Black-tailed Deer with fawn, Muskrat, River Otter eating Starry Flounder,
Harbor Seal, Western Swallow-tailed Butterfly, Nevada Bumblebee, Pacific
Forktail Damselfly, American Bullfrog.
75 species (+2 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 100
Wood Duck 3
Blue-winged Teal 5 Freshwater marsh.
Cinnamon Teal 6 Freshwater marsh
Gadwall 3
Mallard 35
Common Merganser 3 Nisqually Reach
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 5
Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern) 12
Mourning Dove 3
Vaux's Swift 2
Anna's Hummingbird 4
Rufous Hummingbird 8 Occupied nests, second clutch, inside of west
side Twin Barns Loop Trail just north of twin bench overlook south of Twin
Barns cut-off, and inside of loop trail over borrow ditch on east side of
Twin Barns Loop Trail just north of Beaver Deceiver.
Virginia Rail 3 Access Road between west side parking lot and Twin
Barns.
Sora 1 Heard only in freshwater marsh.
Black-bellied Plover 3 Fly over Nisqually Estuary Trail or Dike and
freshwater marsh, flying south. Three large plovers with black axillaries.
Distinctive plaintiff call.
Rhinoceros Auklet 5
Short-billed Gull 1 Photos. Observed roosting on mudflats from
Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. Spotted by Matt, seen by many, breeding
plumage adult with small yellow bill. Smaller then area RBGU.
Ring-billed Gull 60
California Gull 100
Glaucous-winged Gull 4
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 1
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 15
Caspian Tern 30
Pied-billed Grebe 3 Freshwater Marsh.
Brandt's Cormorant 6
Double-crested Cormorant 100
American Bittern 1 Flushed and flew across freshwater marsh. Heard
booming.
Green Heron 2 Flying over flooded field adjacent to Twin Barns and
around Freshwater Marsh. Two immature birds.
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 50
Osprey (American) 2
Bald Eagle 20 Two nests with young being fed. One on the west side of
McAllister Creek south of the McAllister Creek Viewing Platform 50-75 feet
above a white refuge sign adjacent to a large berm with a bush. The second
is also on the west side of McAllister Creek north of the McAllister Creek
Viewing Platform and 50 feet above a row of pilings adjacent to a slough.
The nest in the Cottonwood on the West Bank of Nisqually River has fledged.
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 1
Belted Kingfisher 6 West Bank of McAllister Creek south of Puget Sound
Observation Platform.
Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Nest snag on outside of west side Twin Barns
Loop Trail just north of the twin bench overlook south of the Twin Barns
cut-off.
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2 Heard and seen around Orchard and Visitor Center
Pond.
Northern Flicker 6
Western Wood-Pewee 8
Willow Flycatcher 3
Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 2
Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 2 Entrance road adjacent to Orchard.
Western Warbling Vireo 5
Steller's Jay 1
American Crow 6
Black-capped Chickadee 16 Nest cavity in dog leg snag off large Maple
Tree between the Twin Barns Porta Potties and the boards to the Twin Barns
Observation Deck, on the left hand side of the trail.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5
Bank Swallow 1
Tree Swallow 40
Violet-green Swallow 4
Purple Martin 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 9
Barn Swallow (American) 30 Visitor Center.
Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group) 30 McAllister Creek Viewing Platform.
Bushtit (Pacific) 4 Doug Fir along entrance road across from Maintence
Building entrance road and just right of green gate.
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Brown Creeper 4
Marsh Wren 20 Multiple nests in Visitor Center Pond and freshwater
marsh.
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 4
European Starling 30
Swainson's Thrush 31
American Robin (migratorius Group) 25
Cedar Waxwing 20
Purple Finch (Western) 4
American Goldfinch 24
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 6
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 30
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 3
Bullock's Oriole 2
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 50
Brown-headed Cowbird 15
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1
Common Yellowthroat 15
Northern Yellow Warbler 40
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 2
Black-headed Grosbeak 6
Date: 6/10/26 8:30 pm From: Jim Danzenbaker via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] June 7, 2026 Westport Seabirds trip report
Hi Tweeters,
On Sunday, 25 of us met on the deck of the *Blitz* captained by Todd Sawin. If this doesn't sound like a typical introduction to a Westport Seabirds trip, Todd and the *Blitz* are the new faces of Westport Seabirds. A cloudy sky, occasional gusts, and a few sprinkles had us wondering about things to come but the double rainbow gave us hope for a great trip. This day was scheduled perfectly during a 24-hour window of worthy weather with a clearing sky and lack of significant wind. We bounced over the swells at the bar between the jetties and the seas eventually relaxed to a 4-foot multidirectional swell with no sheep on the pond (white caps).
Soon, Sooty Shearwaters (2,067), Common Murres (154) and Rhinoceros Auklets (51) were sighted, although not in overwhelming numbers, so our keen-eyed pelagic enthusiasts could concentrate on the defining features of each species. The everpresent gulls occasionally flew by, but no worries as to their exact species since they were recorded as "big guys," which is probably a better name than "gull soup". Pink-footed Shearwaters (450) were added to the mix as we continued westward towards the edge of the Continental Shelf and the hoped for fishing fleet with attendant tubenoses. A great surprise and to the delight of many was a flyover South Polar Skua (1), which gave a brief but soul satisfying view. I've always loved yelling "Skua"! This species breeds in Antarctica and spends the austral winter (our summer) terrorizing shearwaters and gulls in the waters off Alaska. A June sighting of SP Skua is noteworthy although our list of June trips over the years is light compared to other months.
As we neared the shelf edge, we wound our way through many smaller halibut fishing boats and saw quite a few diminutive Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels (98) and Northern Fulmars (27) all hoping for little tidbits that might find their way back to the sea around the boats. A few hoped for Black-footed Albatrosses (10) made their appearance at the appropriate time so were able to compare small, medium, and large tubernoses in one view. We continued onwards to the deeper water beyond the shelf edge.
The great thing about laying a slick is that sometimes it really works well and we were lucky today. Almost as soon as we set the table, the storm-petrels responded including one cooperative Leach's Storm-Petrel (1) which fed alongside the ~50 Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels which gave a perfect comparison of flight style and behavior. However, even mentioning several times to look for unusual looking birds like pterodromas didn't entice any of these hoped for species to the slick. Maybe later?
On our way back east and close to the edge of the shelf, Captain Todd found a factory ship that was dragging a few lines. In its wake were quite a few Sooty and squeaking Pink-footed Shearwaters and the only Short-tailed Shearwaters (9). True to form, it seems that Short-tailed Shearwaters always prefer hanging out around these larger fishing boats. A bit later, I found that yelling "Skua" wasn't nearly as satisfying as yelling "HAWAIIAN PETREL"! Indeed, it flew down the side of the boat and continued flying away at the stern as I yelled although it didn't return. A handful of us saw it but it didn't allow for photos so only written descriptions can support this 3rd or 4th Washington State record. It certainly was a shot of adrenalin!
The birds weren't the only things that highlighted our day. We spotted a total of 17 Humpback Whales (several breaching) and one small pod of about 10 Pacific White-sided Dolphins and a few Dall's Porpoises (3). A Northern Fur Seal rounded out the pelagic mammal sightings although both of the expected sea lion species and Harbor Porpoises (2) were added on the way in. One Ocean Sunfish (*mola mola)* (1) flapped lazily on the surface and a few Blue Sharks (6) were seen*. *Mola molas, though not the most energetic creatures on the planet, always garner many photo snaps and gasps of wonder.
Closer to shore, Pacific Loons (2) and a Red-throated Loon (1) flew over heading north and a sizable flock of 30+ Surf Scoters was near the tip of the pelican and cormorant capped south jetty. Pigeon Guillemots (11) were common as we motored through the final leg of our day at sea.
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 delivered by Olivia! Also, a big thanks to our guides Shep Thorpe, Cindy McCormack, 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: 6/10/26 3:45 pm From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: ‘The Book of Birds’ illustrates a world of wonder
Date: 6/9/26 4:00 pm From: Judith A. Howard via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] woodpecker numbers
We have had a markedly larger number of both hairy and downy woodpeckers at our feeders this past month or so, both adults and young ones.
Even more of the pileateds than usual (of course, their numbers are fewer than the others). Has anyone else been noticing this? We are on South Whidbey, just a few miles north of the ferry dock.
Date: 6/9/26 3:23 pm From: Bob Boekelheide via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Shorebirds on the Coast
Hi Blair,
Like Dennis says, early June is the slowest time for migrant shorebirds on the coast, because they’re all nesting somewhere else. Particularly so in Dungeness Bay, where the June swoon is in full swing right now. It’s slow out there! There are still Black-bellied Plovers here, almost none of which have black bellies, showing their youth. In the past ten days there have been occasional Marbled Godwits, Whimbrels, Semipalmated Plovers, Greater Yellowlegs, dowitchers, and one distant peep, but they are very elusive, depending on tides.
We really look forward to the last few days in June, when the first “fall” migrants start to arrive, like Dennis says. For example, the last few days in June and the first week in July is a particularly good time to see adult Semipalmated Sandpipers amongst the peeps in Dungeness Bay.
Clallam County now has 50 shorebird species on the county list, but only four of those shorebird species regularly nest in the county. Can you name the four?
Almost all of our wintering and migrant shorebirds have departed for the north by mid May, but there are a few late migrants after that. A small number of nonbreeding birds of some species do hang around during summer.
The first arriving southbound migrants are usually in the last week of June, adults of the sex that isn’t involved in parental care. In species in which both sexes participate, they are mostly absent until mid July. Once the juveniles fledge, parental care ends, and the juveniles start appearing in southbound migration in August. So yeah, this is a dead time of year for migrant shorebirds. Time to head for southeast Oregon to enjoy the breeding ones!
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
> On Jun 8, 2026, at 12:06 PM, B B via Tweeters <tweeters...> <mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
>
> I am planning a trip to the Washington Coast tomorrow. I looked up observations in the past week on Birder's Dashboard and was surprised to see very few reports in general and few if any reports for a number of species. I was particularly surprised to find no reports of Willet at Tokeland and no reports of Marbled Godwits at Westport and frankly very few reports in general.
>
> I checked my Ebird reports and was surprised to find that I have birded the coast most months of the year but not June. I would love any insights as to whether the absence of reports for the past week is due mostly to not much birding there in the past week or to just not many birds as the shorebirds have migrated out (which of course would be a good reason for no birding there).
>
> Any feedback to my email or on tweeters would be appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Blair Bernson
Date: 6/9/26 2:57 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] What’s at Steak: “Sandhill Crane Is the 'Ribeye of the Sky' - Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine”
On a recent trip to Ridgefield a few days ago, I heard, and then the next
day saw, 2 adult Sandhill Cranes with their colt. I was able to get some
images.
I knew I heard them because the sound of Sandhill Cranes is etched deeper
into my brain than my husband's middle name. I had first seen them at the
Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival in California 15 years ago, then at the Platte
River in Nebraska, Whitewater Draw in Arizona, and 4 different trips to
Bosque del Apache and San Bernardo in New Mexico. They soon became my
favorite bird. Yes, they are beautiful birds but I was just enchanted as I
observed their behaviors and communications. The mating dance of bowing
and jumping, the sparring fights often lifting them in the air, the way
they signal to one another by leaning forward before they take their
morning flight. Although I believe all birds are sentient beings, it
seemed much more evident in Sandhill Cranes. Their joy, mating rituals,
parental attentiveness made their bonds and emotions evident.
And I often took note of how difficult they were to get close to due to
their extreme wariness, having been hunted in every state along the flyway
except Nebraska. I accept hunting, and the cycle of conservation
limitations allowing a flock to grow and then be opened again to hunting
until conservation again becomes necessary for many species.
I remember the first workshop I attended in Lodi. The presenter, Paul
Tebbel mentioned how little meat there actually was on a Sandhill Crane,
after an audience member asked about whether they were hunted.
The argument against treating Sandhill Cranes as we do other bird species
who are hunted is how small their clutches are, with 2 being the norm and a
survival rate of 1 chick commonly. Duck broods are in the 10's and 20's.
Although they get several seasons to breed, it becomes more difficult when
one of the mates is lost to hunting.
Ann
On Tue, Jun 9, 2026 at 7:23 AM Louise via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Thanks for the story, Dan. I'm not a hunter either, but I'm aware of the
> work that Ducks Unlimited do to preserve habitat, with the aim of ensuring
> hunting is available and sustainable. There could certainly be an argument
> for treating sandhill cranes the same as other edible bird species. As
> always it depends on whether hunters will abide by the rules and stick to
> the limits (and whether the government is setting and evaluating those
> limits in a scientific manner), which isn't the case in every instance.
>
> Louise Rutter
> Kirkland
>
> On Mon, Jun 8, 2026 at 11:44 PM Dan Reiff via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Hello tweeters,
>> I’m not a hunter.
>> Today, I read an article in Canadian geographic that included “fat polar
>> bears and ribeyes in the sky”.
>> It discussed recent conversations regarding opening a limited hunting
>> season for this bird species.
>> Totally unexpected read.
>>
>> I have Apple news Plus, which is by paid subscription. So, I did not send
>> the link because you would not be able to open it.
>> I found this older article that covers some of the same ground, but from
>> a hunter’s perspective.
>> The last lines were interesting.
>> Dan Reiff
>>
>>
>>
>> https://tpwmagazine.com/hunting/ribeye-of-the-sky/ >>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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: 6/9/26 2:46 pm From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: Scientists say they’ve solved the mystery of how pigeons sense Earth’s magnetic field
Date: 6/9/26 12:25 pm From: Jane Hadley via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Some new birding tools
Dear Tweetsters - I wanted to alert you to a couple new additions to the
WOS website (wos.org) that might be of interest.
First former WOS board member and officer Scott Ray has created a free web
app that should be of interest to those who chase rarities.
Here's how Scott describes it:
"Birders who chase rarities all know the question: If I drive there today,
> will the bird still be there? ....
> Chase Report is a free, mobile-friendly, web-based rare bird dashboard
> that uses current eBird notable sightings and organizes them into a
> practical “chaseability” view. It requires no account, login, or
> installation. Open the site in a browser and you can immediately see which
> rare birds appear most likely to still be present, which are uncertain, and
> which are probably gone."
Second, the maps page (also on the list of birding resources) has a new
addition: directions and maps for getting to C-Post Road, which was
mentioned recently on Tweeters, for its American Redstarts and Red-eyed
Vireos.
Finally, I wanted to remind you of the valuable collection of YouTube
videos of WOS monthly meeting presentations that Elaine Chuang has created
for WOS. Now that we're in the summer hiatus (Monthly Meetings don't resume
until October), you will have a chance to catch up on meeting presentations
you might have missed. The collection of videos is available here:
Date: 6/9/26 7:31 am From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] What’s at Steak: “Sandhill Crane Is the 'Ribeye of the Sky' - Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine”
Thanks for the story, Dan. I'm not a hunter either, but I'm aware of the
work that Ducks Unlimited do to preserve habitat, with the aim of ensuring
hunting is available and sustainable. There could certainly be an argument
for treating sandhill cranes the same as other edible bird species. As
always it depends on whether hunters will abide by the rules and stick to
the limits (and whether the government is setting and evaluating those
limits in a scientific manner), which isn't the case in every instance.
Louise Rutter
Kirkland
On Mon, Jun 8, 2026 at 11:44 PM Dan Reiff via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hello tweeters,
> I’m not a hunter.
> Today, I read an article in Canadian geographic that included “fat polar
> bears and ribeyes in the sky”.
> It discussed recent conversations regarding opening a limited hunting
> season for this bird species.
> Totally unexpected read.
>
> I have Apple news Plus, which is by paid subscription. So, I did not send
> the link because you would not be able to open it.
> I found this older article that covers some of the same ground, but from a
> hunter’s perspective.
> The last lines were interesting.
> Dan Reiff
>
>
>
> https://tpwmagazine.com/hunting/ribeye-of-the-sky/ >
> Sent from my iPhone
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 6/9/26 7:29 am From: Randy Hill via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] What’s at Steak: “Sandhill Crane Is the 'Ribeye of the Sky' - Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine”
The Central Flyway population is much larger than ours on the west coast
states, and when I worked in North Dakota during the late 80s there were
maybe a dozen states with a fall hunt season. I remember a flock of 35K
east of Bismarck that had a big white one mixed in.
BTW, a second Sandhill Crane colt seen this week from the River S route,
north of the contact station. Last I heard, one of two colts in the hunt
area west of the auto tour route is with parents.
Randy Hill
Ridgefield
On Mon, Jun 8, 2026, 11:44 PM Dan Reiff via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hello tweeters,
> I’m not a hunter.
> Today, I read an article in Canadian geographic that included “fat polar
> bears and ribeyes in the sky”.
> It discussed recent conversations regarding opening a limited hunting
> season for this bird species.
> Totally unexpected read.
>
> I have Apple news Plus, which is by paid subscription. So, I did not send
> the link because you would not be able to open it.
> I found this older article that covers some of the same ground, but from a
> hunter’s perspective.
> The last lines were interesting.
> Dan Reiff
>
>
>
> https://tpwmagazine.com/hunting/ribeye-of-the-sky/ >
> Sent from my iPhone
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 6/8/26 11:55 pm From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] What’s at Steak: “Sandhill Crane Is the 'Ribeye of the Sky' - Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine”
Hello tweeters,
I’m not a hunter.
Today, I read an article in Canadian geographic that included “fat polar bears and ribeyes in the sky”.
It discussed recent conversations regarding opening a limited hunting season for this bird species.
Totally unexpected read.
I have Apple news Plus, which is by paid subscription. So, I did not send the link because you would not be able to open it.
I found this older article that covers some of the same ground, but from a hunter’s perspective.
The last lines were interesting.
Dan Reiff
Date: 6/8/26 1:10 pm From: Joe Buchanan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Buffleheads
Odette -
In 2025 I noticed a single Bufflehead at Kennedy Creek Estuary (Mason County) in late May. This was by far my latest spring observation at the site in over 4 decades. I suspect there will be other similar records in eBird. The occurrence of these late season records is interesting. Thanks for sharing your observations.
Date: 6/8/26 12:34 pm From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Shorebirds on the Coast
Hi Blair,
Almost all of our wintering and migrant shorebirds have departed for the north by mid May, but there are a few late migrants after that. A small number of nonbreeding birds of some species do hang around during summer.
The first arriving southbound migrants are usually in the last week of June, adults of the sex that isn’t involved in parental care. In species in which both sexes participate, they are mostly absent until mid July. Once the juveniles fledge, parental care ends, and the juveniles start appearing in southbound migration in August. So yeah, this is a dead time of year for migrant shorebirds. Time to head for southeast Oregon to enjoy the breeding ones!
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
> On Jun 8, 2026, at 12:06 PM, B B via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> I am planning a trip to the Washington Coast tomorrow. I looked up observations in the past week on Birder's Dashboard and was surprised to see very few reports in general and few if any reports for a number of species. I was particularly surprised to find no reports of Willet at Tokeland and no reports of Marbled Godwits at Westport and frankly very few reports in general.
>
> I checked my Ebird reports and was surprised to find that I have birded the coast most months of the year but not June. I would love any insights as to whether the absence of reports for the past week is due mostly to not much birding there in the past week or to just not many birds as the shorebirds have migrated out (which of course would be a good reason for no birding there).
>
> Any feedback to my email or on tweeters would be appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Blair Bernson
> birder4184 at yahoo dot com
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Date: 6/8/26 12:20 pm From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Shorebirds on the Coast
On Jun 8, 2026 at 12:06:23, B B via Tweeters <tweeters...>
wrote:
> I am planning a trip to the Washington Coast tomorrow. I looked up
> observations in the past week on Birder's Dashboard and was surprised to
> see very few reports in general and few if any reports for a number of
> species. I was particularly surprised to find no reports of Willet at
> Tokeland and no reports of Marbled Godwits at Westport and frankly very few
> reports in general.
>
I spent a couple of days out and around Grays Harbor three weeks ago.
Overall, it was pretty quiet (although my knee prevented me from really
birding Grays Harbor NWR well). At that point Tokeland was super quiet, and
I’d seen a report or two leading up indicating the same. Best birding for
me was out in Ocean Shores, where there was a lot of shorebird activity at
North Jetty (hundreds and hundreds of sanderlings) and at the beach access
at the head of Ocean Shores, for gulls with the contiung (at that time)
Glaucous Gull. Westport Marina and Hoquiam STP were the other decent
birding spots then.
Chuq
---------------------------------------
Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
Silverdale, Washington
Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
Date: 6/8/26 12:20 pm From: Odette James via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Buffleheads
I noticed that over the last few days single female Buffleheads have been reported in a few places locally. There was one at the Cedar River delta last Friday afternoon. Kind of a surprise this time of the year. Odette James, The Lakeshore Retirement Community - the perfect location for a birder to age in place _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 6/8/26 12:14 pm From: B B via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Shorebirds on the Coast
I am planning a trip to the Washington Coast tomorrow. I looked up observations in the past week on Birder's Dashboard and was surprised to see very few reports in general and few if any reports for a number of species. I was particularly surprised to find no reports of Willet at Tokeland and no reports of Marbled Godwits at Westport and frankly very few reports in general.
I checked my Ebird reports and was surprised to find that I have birded the coast most months of the year but not June. I would love any insights as to whether the absence of reports for the past week is due mostly to not much birding there in the past week or to just not many birds as the shorebirds have migrated out (which of course would be a good reason for no birding there).
Any feedback to my email or on tweeters would be appreciated. Thanks.
Blair Bernsonbirder4184 at yahoo dot com
Date: 6/7/26 10:04 am From: Larry Schwitters via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening
5000 Vaux’s Swifts spent last night in the historic Monroe Wagner roost. A fifteen minute exit began at 8:32 this morning. If its cool and damp they will probably be back tonight.
Date: 6/7/26 9:22 am From: B B via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Birding in Amsterdam
When I wrote up my C-Post Road birding trip for my blog site (blairbirding.com) I found that I had failed to finish and post a blog about our trip to Amsterdam last year. Quickly finished it and posted it. Great visit - especially for art, food and culture but a few birds as well somewhat expanding my pathetic Europe life list.
Date: 6/6/26 5:18 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Join Skagit Audubon this Tuesday with Peter Cavanagh
June Greetings!
We are at the end of season program for Skagit Audubon before our 2 month
break. We have a spectacular program lined up for our send off. Peter
Cavanagh is our speaker. His celebrated book will be on sale at the event.
It is a treasure of flight information and spectacular images!
*HOW BIRDS FLY: The Science and Art of Avian Flight*, with Peter Cavanagh
- Tuesday, June 9, 2026 @ 7:00 pm. Doors open at 6:00 pm.
- It’s a potluck!!!!! Open to all.
- IN PERSON ONLY @ Padilla Bay Interpretive Center,
- 10441 Bayview-Edison Rd. Mt Vernon, WA.
*Program description*: Peter will present images and videos of flying birds
to illustrate aspects of flight mechanics that are described in his recent
book HOW BIRDS FLY, exploring the complexities of avian flight in a manner
that is accessible to all who are interested in birds, regardless of their
science backgrounds. He will review the evolution of flight and key aspects
of avian anatomy that make flight possible including how birds take off and
land, and how they maneuver and migrate. Peter aims to leave his audience
informed and entertained.
Peter Cavanagh is a Pacific Northwest wildlife photographer and author of
several avian books. His latest book, HOW BIRDS FLY: The Science and Art of
Avian Flight was applauded by a renowned PNW ornithologist as “….without
question the best book on birds I have seen in a long time, surely one of
the best (bird) books ever”.
We are open to the public. Please join us!!!
Kind Regards,
*Ann*
*Ann Kramer*
Program Committee Chair
Skagit Audubon Society
*p <annk...><rograms...>
<rograms...>*
A flock of geese leave their lake and take wing, turning to poems in the
sky. ~Dr. SunWolf
Date: 6/6/26 7:49 am From: bill shelmerdine via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Vortex Viper HD 8 x 42 Binoculars for Sale
Brand new warranty replacement for an earlier model. According to Vortex, the all-inclusive unconditional warranty is transferable. These are top-rated binoculars for the mid-price range according to multiple sources. They are very nice binoculars, but as duplicates I have no need for them.
Asking $400. Factory MSRP is $719.99 though an internet search indicates available from multiple sources at around $500. If interested contact me directly at: <georn1...>
Good birding and have a great day,
Bill Shelmerdine
Olympia WA
Date: 6/5/26 1:19 pm From: B B via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Hudsonian Godwit and C-Post Road Birding
This blog post relates an excellent day of birding in Snohomish County yesterday that included a Hudsonian Godwit at Eide Road and some special species at C-Post Road, including numerous American Redstarts and Red Eyed Vireos. https://blairbirding.com/2026/06/05/a-post-about-c-post-road-that-is/
Date: 6/5/26 10:18 am From: Ven. Dhammadinna via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Stillwater Wildlife Unit, Carnation, Fall City?
Does anyone have recommendations for good birding trails, areas to explore in the Stillwater Wildlife Unit? The Carnation Marsh? Tolt MacDonald Park? The Snoqualmie Valley Trail? Thanks Dhammadinna
Date: 6/5/26 9:48 am From: Faye McAdams Hands via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] feathers, feathers, feathers
OMG!
I think I just died and went to Heaven!
Thank you Dennis.
Happy Birding,
Faye
<zest4parus...>
Faye McAdams Hands
Life is Simple -- Eat, Sleep, Bird.
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Friday, June 5, 2026 8:44 AM
To: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] feathers, feathers, feathers
