Date: 1/27/26 6:59 pm From: Karen Fardal via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Ungratifying news from Montlake Fill
Hello Tweets, in case you’d like to share any thoughts with UW about the change to paid parking at UBNA/CUH, the time is now since they will likely be putting up signs this week. Maybe too late to stop it but you can still let them know this is tough for a number of reasons. Some I thought of, feel free to use or come up with your own:
- Equity/financial burden for frequent visitors, even $5/day adds up to over $1,750/yr.
- No bus line drops off there
- Currently 3 huge construction projects going on nearby (two are UW housing, Laurel Village and Blakely Village) and construction workers currently take up all the parking along 41st on weekdays by 8am.
- Disability access - UBNA trails are fairly flat and Yesler Swamp is designed to be ADA accessible. Extra walk from closest neighborhood parking could be too far for some disabled visitors.
- Not everyone has or carries a smartphone/credit card when going on a nature walk. Could be disenfranchising to older/unbanked visitors.
- Staff will also have to pay the daily rate. UW doesn’t pay staff that well to my knowledge so this is a huge hit, $1500 per year since the gardeners likely don’t live in Laurelhurst. We love our CUH gardeners, they work hard to care for this huge area as well as the botanic gardens, also the Miller Library and other CUH staff.
- Laurelhurst neighbors are not going to appreciate having everyone park there to avoid paying
- CUH previously negotiated keeping parking free. With the upcoming merger with the Arboretum Foundation, maybe something similar could be arranged or there could be community fundraising to keep this access open for all. Even postponing implementation might allow for a more creative solution.
- Walking there is a vital mental and physical health benefit for a lot of us. Also some of us volunteer and keep the place nice by picking up trash and removing invasive plants.
These are the emails I found to write to, Connie Sidles suggested including the Provost:
<provost...> - Professor Tricia Serio
<ucommute...> - UW Transportation Services
(If you are UW connected, there is a web form but requires a UW email and you must be faculty/staff/student and the comment field doesn’t allow for that many characters - https://www.washington.edu/provost/connect/)
I fully realize there are more dire things going on in the world and we all have many letters to write. Just in case you have time for one more in the very near future, I just wanted to share my thoughts.
Thank you and hope you’re seeing cool birds so far here in 2026,
Date: 1/27/26 6:43 am From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Movie filmed in the Washington state with clearly depicted PNW birdsong
Thanks to everyone who posted about this film. I'll make a point to look it
up, it sounds intriguing.
Louise Rutter
Kirkland
On Mon, Jan 26, 2026 at 2:14 PM PENNY & DAVID KOYAMA via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Tweets,
> This was a beautiful, though sad, movie, mostly filmed in the Metaline
> Falls area in Pend Oreille Co., some in other NE counties and Idaho. I
> think it was Netflix where we watched it, wishing we'd seen it in a
> theater. Beautiful scenery, very touching story. And yes, there was bird
> song!
> Penny Koyama, Bothell
>
> On 01/26/2026 3:50 AM PST Ann Kramer via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> I haven't seen any threads in the past few months about the Oscar
> nominated movie, “Train Dreams”. It is filmed mostly in Washington and is
> filled with extended moments of birdsong from recognizable PNW bird
> species. A distinct Pileated Woodpecker as the movie begins, later, several
> long calls of Swainson's thrush and Varied Thrush after that. I'm sure
> there are more and I intend to watch it again just to see how many more I
> missed. The majority of this film is shot in the PNW forest and
> portrays the turn of the century lumber industry, with unflinching
> honesty. Because this movie is very deliberate, slow and quiet, the bird
> song is clearer than usually is heard in movies. I enjoyed how deeply this
> movie depicts the quietness of being in nature, and the birds were an extra
> treat!
>
> *Ann*
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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: 1/26/26 11:38 pm From: Tim Brennan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Pacific County Birding
Hey Tweets,
A week or so back, I jumped on a good-weather opportunity, and made another trip to Pacific County. I had Leadbetter Point (the point point) as my pie-in-the-sky destination, but was turned back by a little water. Still a great trip, and just as beautiful as expected. I got birds 90-104 for the year, including an owl, and even got a picture of a porcupine.
Date: 1/26/26 9:25 pm From: Thomas Dorrance via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Sign "Pro" on Washington House Bill 2516 (Banning rodenticides) until 9:30am tomorrow
It is worth noting that some fraction of the ubiquitous black boxes feature
conventional snap traps, not rodenticide. The box embarrasses me but it's
actually a pretty good trap. However, over the years at least two song
sparrows have been caught. They seem to favor the same corridors through
the shrubs as the rats.
Tom Dorrance
On Mon, Jan 26, 2026 at 9:02 PM Kevin Lucas via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I watched this video:
>
> https://youtu.be/d2FkVSUOffg?si=YBvVuSERIuw1Hnx_ >
> then made a couple of these "magical mouse box"es, one using 2x4's,
> another using 2x6's. They've worked very well, both along an exterior wall
> and out in the open near a bird feeding area. I put 4 mouse traps in the
> 2x4 box, one rat trap in the 2x6 box. I use a piece of car wash sponge
> twist-tied to the bait paddle, with some peanut butter smeared into the
> sponge. While I can do fine woodworking, I made them crudely, using funky
> scraps of wood and poor quality used & bent hinges.
>
> Birds don't go into mine. Rodents do.
>
> I'd fabricated something similar for a friend before googletubing &
> finding this design. It too worked. Don't fret the details.
>
> Good birding,
> https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/ > Kevin Lucas
> Yakima County, WA
>
>
>
> *Qui tacet consentire videtur*
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 26, 2026 at 8:09 PM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Please what are the weapons against rat infestations? People need to hear
>> what the alternatives currently are.
>>
>> Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef> >> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
>> of Mariya Tikunova via Tweeters <tweeters...>
>> *Sent:* Monday, January 26, 2026 7:41:28 PM
>> *To:* <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
>> *Subject:* [Tweeters] Sign "Pro" on Washington House Bill 2516 (Banning
>> rodenticides) until 9:30am tomorrow
>>
>> HB 2516 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on
>> Agriculture & Natural Resources at 10:30 AM tomorrow (1/27/2026).
>>
>> Someone posted this on another birding channel I follow:
>>
>> 1.
>>
>> *Speak up for birds:* Did you know that people are spreading poison
>> all over the city? Rat poison is near ubiquitous -- just look for the
>> tell-tale black boxes in garages, outside grocery stores, next to your
>> neighbor’s shed, etc. One of these types of poisons is an anticoagulant,
>> which means rats eat it, then wander around outside for a week and slowly
>> die of internal bleeding or get picked off by a predator who thought they
>> were lucky to find a slow-moving treat. These toxins are then ingested by
>> wildlife and pets and who knows where else the poison is going once it
>> enters our environment. It’s cruel and dangerous. And, what’s more, there
>> are real alternatives. Thanks to Seattle legislators Rep. Shaun Scott and
>> Rep. Julia Reed (and others across the state) there is now a bill to begin
>> addressing this problem. HB2516 will put a temporary moratorium on using
>> these rodenticides while more research is conducted about the impacts and
>> alternatives.
>>
>> 2.
>>
>> [image: 👉] *You can sign in "PRO" until 9:30 tomorrow* to show your
>> support for this bill.
>> https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/House?selectedCommittee=31649&selectedMeeting=33749 >>
>>
>>
>> When I signed around 6:50pm there were 434 Pro and 120 Con signatures.
>> Now, 25 minutes later, there are 445 Pro and 127 Con, so 11 Pro and 7
>> Con in 25 minutes. I am hoping people here will want to sign to keep Pros
>> growing.
>>
>> Sorry for the late call to action!
>> - Mariya
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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: 1/26/26 9:13 pm From: Kevin Lucas via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Sign "Pro" on Washington House Bill 2516 (Banning rodenticides) until 9:30am tomorrow
then made a couple of these "magical mouse box"es, one using 2x4's, another
using 2x6's. They've worked very well, both along an exterior wall and out
in the open near a bird feeding area. I put 4 mouse traps in the 2x4 box,
one rat trap in the 2x6 box. I use a piece of car wash sponge twist-tied to
the bait paddle, with some peanut butter smeared into the sponge. While I
can do fine woodworking, I made them crudely, using funky scraps of wood
and poor quality used & bent hinges.
Birds don't go into mine. Rodents do.
I'd fabricated something similar for a friend before googletubing & finding
this design. It too worked. Don't fret the details.
On Mon, Jan 26, 2026 at 8:09 PM Jerry Tangren via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Please what are the weapons against rat infestations? People need to hear
> what the alternatives currently are.
>
> Get Outlook for iOS <https://aka.ms/o0ukef> > ------------------------------
> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
> of Mariya Tikunova via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Sent:* Monday, January 26, 2026 7:41:28 PM
> *To:* <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
> *Subject:* [Tweeters] Sign "Pro" on Washington House Bill 2516 (Banning
> rodenticides) until 9:30am tomorrow
>
> HB 2516 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on
> Agriculture & Natural Resources at 10:30 AM tomorrow (1/27/2026).
>
> Someone posted this on another birding channel I follow:
>
> 1.
>
> *Speak up for birds:* Did you know that people are spreading poison
> all over the city? Rat poison is near ubiquitous -- just look for the
> tell-tale black boxes in garages, outside grocery stores, next to your
> neighbor’s shed, etc. One of these types of poisons is an anticoagulant,
> which means rats eat it, then wander around outside for a week and slowly
> die of internal bleeding or get picked off by a predator who thought they
> were lucky to find a slow-moving treat. These toxins are then ingested by
> wildlife and pets and who knows where else the poison is going once it
> enters our environment. It’s cruel and dangerous. And, what’s more, there
> are real alternatives. Thanks to Seattle legislators Rep. Shaun Scott and
> Rep. Julia Reed (and others across the state) there is now a bill to begin
> addressing this problem. HB2516 will put a temporary moratorium on using
> these rodenticides while more research is conducted about the impacts and
> alternatives.
>
> 2.
>
> [image: 👉] *You can sign in "PRO" until 9:30 tomorrow* to show your
> support for this bill.
> https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/House?selectedCommittee=31649&selectedMeeting=33749 >
>
>
> When I signed around 6:50pm there were 434 Pro and 120 Con signatures.
> Now, 25 minutes later, there are 445 Pro and 127 Con, so 11 Pro and 7 Con
> in 25 minutes. I am hoping people here will want to sign to keep Pros
> growing.
>
> Sorry for the late call to action!
> - Mariya
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/26/26 8:41 pm From: Zora Monster via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Sign "Pro" on Washington House Bill 2516 (Banning rodenticides) until 9:30am tomorrow
Date: 1/26/26 8:19 pm From: Jerry Tangren via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Sign "Pro" on Washington House Bill 2516 (Banning rodenticides) until 9:30am tomorrow
Please what are the weapons against rat infestations? People need to hear what the alternatives currently are.
Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef> ________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Mariya Tikunova via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2026 7:41:28 PM
To: <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Sign "Pro" on Washington House Bill 2516 (Banning rodenticides) until 9:30am tomorrow
HB 2516 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 10:30 AM tomorrow (1/27/2026).
Someone posted this on another birding channel I follow:
1.
Speak up for birds: Did you know that people are spreading poison all over the city? Rat poison is near ubiquitous -- just look for the tell-tale black boxes in garages, outside grocery stores, next to your neighbor’s shed, etc. One of these types of poisons is an anticoagulant, which means rats eat it, then wander around outside for a week and slowly die of internal bleeding or get picked off by a predator who thought they were lucky to find a slow-moving treat. These toxins are then ingested by wildlife and pets and who knows where else the poison is going once it enters our environment. It’s cruel and dangerous. And, what’s more, there are real alternatives. Thanks to Seattle legislators Rep. Shaun Scott and Rep. Julia Reed (and others across the state) there is now a bill to begin addressing this problem. HB2516 will put a temporary moratorium on using these rodenticides while more research is conducted about the impacts and alternatives.
2.
[👉] You can sign in "PRO" until 9:30 tomorrow to show your support for this bill. https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/House?selectedCommittee=31649&selectedMeeting=33749
When I signed around 6:50pm there were 434 Pro and 120 Con signatures. Now, 25 minutes later, there are 445 Pro and 127 Con, so 11 Pro and 7 Con in 25 minutes. I am hoping people here will want to sign to keep Pros growing.
Date: 1/26/26 7:52 pm From: Mariya Tikunova via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Sign "Pro" on Washington House Bill 2516 (Banning rodenticides) until 9:30am tomorrow
HB 2516 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on
Agriculture & Natural Resources at 10:30 AM tomorrow (1/27/2026).
Someone posted this on another birding channel I follow:
1.
>
> *Speak up for birds:* Did you know that people are spreading poison
> all over the city? Rat poison is near ubiquitous -- just look for the
> tell-tale black boxes in garages, outside grocery stores, next to your
> neighbor’s shed, etc. One of these types of poisons is an anticoagulant,
> which means rats eat it, then wander around outside for a week and slowly
> die of internal bleeding or get picked off by a predator who thought they
> were lucky to find a slow-moving treat. These toxins are then ingested by
> wildlife and pets and who knows where else the poison is going once it
> enters our environment. It’s cruel and dangerous. And, what’s more, there
> are real alternatives. Thanks to Seattle legislators Rep. Shaun Scott and
> Rep. Julia Reed (and others across the state) there is now a bill to begin
> addressing this problem. HB2516 will put a temporary moratorium on using
> these rodenticides while more research is conducted about the impacts and
> alternatives.
When I signed around 6:50pm there were 434 Pro and 120 Con signatures. Now,
25 minutes later, there are 445 Pro and 127 Con, so 11 Pro and 7 Con in 25
minutes. I am hoping people here will want to sign to keep Pros growing.
Date: 1/26/26 3:55 pm From: Jerry Tangren via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Movie filmed in the Washington state with clearly depicted PNW birdsong
Varied Thrushes were common through many of the scenes, but they lost me with the whip-poor-will and the blue jays. Sad, but beautiful story otherwise.
Jerry Tangren, East Wenatchee
Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef> ________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Mark Oberle via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2026 3:40:27 PM
To: tweeters post <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Movie filmed in the Washington state with clearly depicted PNW birdsong
Liked the bird wildlife calls in the movie.
I thought I heard an old world Common Cuckoo at one point, but no matter: there were a lot of dream scenes
Date: 1/26/26 3:51 pm From: Mark Oberle via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Movie filmed in the Washington state with clearly depicted PNW birdsong
Liked the bird wildlife calls in the movie. I thought I heard an old world Common Cuckoo at one point, but no matter: there were a lot of dream scenes
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2026 03:50:21 -0800 From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> (http://u.washington.edu)> To: Tweeters <tweeters...> (http://u.washington.edu)> Subject: [Tweeters] Movie filmed in the Washington state with clearly depicted PNW birdsong
I haven't seen any threads in the past few months about the Oscar nominatedmovie, ?Train Dreams?. It is filmed mostly in Washington and is filledwith extended moments of birdsong from recognizable PNW bird species. Adistinct Pileated Woodpecker as the movie begins, later, several long callsof Swainson's thrush and Varied Thrush after that. I'm sure there are moreand I intend to watch it again just to see how many more I missed. Themajority of this film is shot in the PNW forest and portrays the turn ofthe century lumber industry, with unflinching honesty. Because this movieis very deliberate, slow and quiet, the bird song is clearer thanusually is heard in movies. I enjoyed how deeply this movie depicts thequietness of being in nature, and the birds were an extra treat!*Ann* Mark Oberle Manchester, WA <oberle...> www.puertoricobirds.com
Date: 1/26/26 3:43 pm From: Elaine Thomas via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] help me plan an itinerary
Sorry - forgot to add my email so people can reply to me: ethomas at salud dot unm dot edu
My friend from the southwest wants to see water-related birds. We'll do the Westport pelagic cruise on Saturday May 23, after birding that area the day before. Then we have Sunday and Monday to head elsewhere. Where should we go for high yield? Around Port Townsend, Anacortes, or...? She was hoping for puffins but those cruises are only Saturdays as far as I can tell - any other ways to see them? Any tips about Westport area, I know there are many options there? She is older but pretty spry so nothing super-strenuous. Thanks for any advice!
Elaine Thomas, Seattle
Date: 1/26/26 3:22 pm From: Jane Hadley via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Re: Mish-mash
Dear Tweeters - I should have added that Randy Robinson is the volunteer who maintains and updates the Tweeters Archive. (Disclosure: he's my husband.)
Date: 1/26/26 3:19 pm From: Jane Hadley via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Mish-mash
Dear Tweeters - Several topics today. First, it's always great to see Gary Bletsch's name on a Tweeters message. The more we hear from him, the better, even though he has decamped to a far-away place.
Second, the Tweeters Archive has been updated to include all the messages sent in the year 2025. The archive now includes all messages from 1994 through 2025.
You can both search and browse the messages. The archive is paid for and sponsored by the Washington Ornithological Society (WOS).
The University of Washington hosts the Tweeters site, and volunteers Elaine Chuang and Doug Santoni manage the mailing list. However, the UW retains messages for only two years; hence, the need for the archive.
Third, WOS has offered a number of field trips this year. Three of them are filled, but two field trips are still available and more might be added. Keep current on WOS field trips at:
Next, the USA County Checklists program on the WOS website has been updated with some bug fixes. This web page allows you to download a checklist for any county in the US. You can choose between two printable formats.
Finally, Elaine Thomas has asked for recommendations of "high-yield" birding spots in order to plan a birding itinerary for an out-of-town visitor. I would like to recommend WOS's free online bird-finding guide: A Birder's Guide to Washington, Second Edition.
Date: 1/26/26 2:23 pm From: PENNY & DAVID KOYAMA via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Movie filmed in the Washington state with clearly depicted PNW birdsong
Tweets,
This was a beautiful, though sad, movie, mostly filmed in the Metaline Falls area in Pend Oreille Co., some in other NE counties and Idaho. I think it was Netflix where we watched it, wishing we'd seen it in a theater. Beautiful scenery, very touching story. And yes, there was bird song!
Penny Koyama, Bothell
> On 01/26/2026 3:50 AM PST Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> I haven't seen any threads in the past few months about the Oscar nominated movie, “Train Dreams”. It is filmed mostly in Washington and is filled with extended moments of birdsong from recognizable PNW bird species. A distinct Pileated Woodpecker as the movie begins, later, several long calls of Swainson's thrush and Varied Thrush after that. I'm sure there are more and I intend to watch it again just to see how many more I missed. The majority of this film is shot in the PNW forest and portrays the turn of the century lumber industry, with unflinching honesty. Because this movie is very deliberate, slow and quiet, the bird song is clearer than usually is heard in movies. I enjoyed how deeply this movie depicts the quietness of being in nature, and the birds were an extra treat!
>
> Ann
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/26/26 11:08 am From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-22
Tweets - Last Thursday I had to rush to the airport before the survey even completed; Mason added three species after I left. I didn't get a chance to send this email until now.
The day started COLD, at 27 degrees. The fog cleared quickly, however, and even though we didn't get much of any actual sunshine, the morning warmed quickly. There was also little wind, so the cold wasn't too bad. It was birdy at times, quiet at others.
Highlights: Greater White-fronted Goose - Five below the weir Trumpeter Swan - Two flew south Wood Duck - Two in the slough near the lake, First of Year (FOY) Thirteen species of waterfowl in total Horned Grebe - Mason spotted one on the lake. Week 4 is historically the most likely week for them to show up Purple Finch - Some good looks at the southernmost Dog Swim Beach area Western Meadowlark - About 10 at the north end of the grass fields, just south of the gravel lot river otter - At least two in the slough
Misses Thursday included Cackling Goose, American Coot, Short-billed and Ring-billed Gulls, and Cooper's Hawk.
For the day, 55 species. For the year, we're at 66 species.
Our Thursday start time is shifting to 7:30 a.m.
= Michael Hobbs = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm = <BirdMarymoor...>
Date: 1/26/26 9:38 am From: Elaine Thomas via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] help me plan an itinerary?
My friend from the southwest wants to see water-related birds. We'll do the Westport pelagic cruise on Saturday May 23, after birding that area the day before. Then we have Sunday and Monday to head elsewhere. Where should we go for high yield? Around Port Townsend, Anacortes, or...? She was hoping for puffins but those cruises are only Saturdays as far as I can tell - any other ways to see them? Any tips about Westport area, I know there are many options there? She is older but pretty spry so nothing super-strenuous. Thanks for any advice!
Elaine Thomas, Seattle
Date: 1/26/26 5:38 am From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Movie filmed in the Washington state with clearly depicted PNW birdsong
I haven't seen any threads in the past few months about the Oscar nominated
movie, “Train Dreams”. It is filmed mostly in Washington and is filled
with extended moments of birdsong from recognizable PNW bird species. A
distinct Pileated Woodpecker as the movie begins, later, several long calls
of Swainson's thrush and Varied Thrush after that. I'm sure there are more
and I intend to watch it again just to see how many more I missed. The
majority of this film is shot in the PNW forest and portrays the turn of
the century lumber industry, with unflinching honesty. Because this movie
is very deliberate, slow and quiet, the bird song is clearer than
usually is heard in movies. I enjoyed how deeply this movie depicts the
quietness of being in nature, and the birds were an extra treat!
Date: 1/26/26 12:48 am From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] A Win for Red Knots as New York Acts to Protect Horseshoe Crabs - American Bird Conservancy
Date: 1/25/26 10:07 pm From: John Riegsecker via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Horned Grebe Courtship Ceremony
I photographed part of a courtship ceremony of a pair of Horned Grebe today. It seemed early, but Birds of the World says they may begin forming pair bonds in mid winter. Birds of the World has some pretty awful sketches of the Cat Display, so I am not sure if that is what they are doing or not. If anybody knows the correct name for this display would you please let me know.
Date: 1/25/26 9:36 pm From: Charlene via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] falconry in "Hamnet" movie
I thought the exact same thing! Such an odd choice! They really dropped
the ball.
I also liked the accuracy of the dirt fingernails. 😄
My friend and I thought we heard a red-tailed hawk cry twice in the film
though.
On Sun, Jan 25, 2026, 9:19 PM Nancy Crowell via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hi Gary - what a gun bird-geeky film review! Love it!
>
> Nancy
>
> Nancy
> "Images for the imagination."
> www.crowellphotography.com
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
> of Gary Bletsch via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Sent:* Sunday, January 25, 2026 3:25:51 PM
> *To:* Tweeters Tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Subject:* [Tweeters] falconry in "Hamnet" movie
>
> Dear Tweeters,
>
> The movie *Hamnet *will presumably win some Oscars this March. I just sat
> through it. It wasn't bad, although I think I still prefer *Shakespeare
> in Love. *
>
> That said, the beginning of the movie had me scratching my head. The
> leading lady, a falconer of sorts, was flying a Harris's Hawk. "Wait," I
> thought, " Harris's Hawk? I thought this was a movie about Shakespeare!"
>
> I went home and checked. Sure enough, there weren't any Harris's Hawks
> being flown in Europe until well over two centuries after Shakespeare's
> death.
>
> This movie was filmed in Britain. The woodland birds that I heard on the
> soundtrack sounded like British birds to me. That was a pleasant surprise,
> since most movies feature Red-tailed Hawks and California Quails
> vocalizing, no matter on what continent the plots transpires.
>
> There were all sorts of other nice details in this film that the producers
> got right--even down to the prevalence of filthy fingernails!
>
> There are lots of falconers in Britain. Certainly, the Harris's Hawk is
> one of the most popular choices for falconers there, but he production team
> could have found any number of birds that would have been available there
> in Shakespeare's time, so Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Eurasian
> Goshawk, Saker, Peregrine, Eurasian Kestrel, and so forth.
>
> Sheesh, Mr. Spielberg!
>
> Yours truly,
>
> Gary Bletsch
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/25/26 9:32 pm From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Speaking of Birds, “H is for Hawk” movie, now in theaters
First of all, congratulations to the Seahawks! Great game!
Second, it’s always great to hear from Gary. Gary, we all miss your great, past reports from Skagit County and the Skagit delta.
Gary’s comments regarding Birds in the movie reminded me that another movie has just been released, “H is for Hawk”, based on a great, complex book.
The movie trailer has great images/ film of a Goshawk.
One of my favorite species.
I’m looking forward to when it is available to stream.
Have any of you seen it?
Best regards,
Dan
Date: 1/25/26 9:29 pm From: Nancy Crowell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] falconry in "Hamnet" movie
Hi Gary - what a gun bird-geeky film review! Love it!
Nancy
Nancy
"Images for the imagination."
www.crowellphotography.com
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Gary Bletsch via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2026 3:25:51 PM
To: Tweeters Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] falconry in "Hamnet" movie
Dear Tweeters,
The movie Hamnet will presumably win some Oscars this March. I just sat through it. It wasn't bad, although I think I still prefer Shakespeare in Love.
That said, the beginning of the movie had me scratching my head. The leading lady, a falconer of sorts, was flying a Harris's Hawk. "Wait," I thought, " Harris's Hawk? I thought this was a movie about Shakespeare!"
I went home and checked. Sure enough, there weren't any Harris's Hawks being flown in Europe until well over two centuries after Shakespeare's death.
This movie was filmed in Britain. The woodland birds that I heard on the soundtrack sounded like British birds to me. That was a pleasant surprise, since most movies feature Red-tailed Hawks and California Quails vocalizing, no matter on what continent the plots transpires.
There were all sorts of other nice details in this film that the producers got right--even down to the prevalence of filthy fingernails!
There are lots of falconers in Britain. Certainly, the Harris's Hawk is one of the most popular choices for falconers there, but he production team could have found any number of birds that would have been available there in Shakespeare's time, so Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Eurasian Goshawk, Saker, Peregrine, Eurasian Kestrel, and so forth.
Date: 1/25/26 3:36 pm From: Gary Bletsch via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] falconry in "Hamnet" movie
Dear Tweeters,
The movie Hamnet will presumably win some Oscars this March. I just sat through it. It wasn't bad, although I think I still prefer Shakespeare in Love.
That said, the beginning of the movie had me scratching my head. The leading lady, a falconer of sorts, was flying a Harris's Hawk. "Wait," I thought, " Harris's Hawk? I thought this was a movie about Shakespeare!"
I went home and checked. Sure enough, there weren't any Harris's Hawks being flown in Europe until well over two centuries after Shakespeare's death.
This movie was filmed in Britain. The woodland birds that I heard on the soundtrack sounded like British birds to me. That was a pleasant surprise, since most movies feature Red-tailed Hawks and California Quails vocalizing, no matter on what continent the plots transpires.
There were all sorts of other nice details in this film that the producers got right--even down to the prevalence of filthy fingernails!
There are lots of falconers in Britain. Certainly, the Harris's Hawk is one of the most popular choices for falconers there, but he production team could have found any number of birds that would have been available there in Shakespeare's time, so Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Eurasian Goshawk, Saker, Peregrine, Eurasian Kestrel, and so forth.
Sheesh, Mr. Spielberg!
Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch
Date: 1/25/26 2:06 pm From: Matt Bartels via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] 2025 Wrap: Washington County Year List Project
Here’s the report on our 19th year of recruiting compilers from every county to track the sightings in WA. The idea behind the project [at Washington Birder] is to get behind the fun of individual county listing to compile a ‘community’ list — rather than just birds seen by a single individual, we attempt to pull together birds seen by anyone over the course of the year. It provides one perspective on the birds of Washington in 2025 - Today, most of the reporting comes via eBird, but compilers also look beyond eBird sometimes to find reports from birders more broadly.
Some 2025 results:
Overall this year, our totals were just about a little higher than normal - we saw a lot and ended up largely with totals higher than our 19year averages.
397 species were reported statewide. That’s our highest total since 2016, over 2 above our average [394.4], and four higher than our 2024 total.
327 species for Eastern Washington. That’s one higher than last year, but still the 2nd lowest in the last 5 years [19 year average [324.5]
369 species for Western Washington. That’s one below last year, and three+ higher than the overall average [365.6].
Record high county totals were recorded for five counties: Columbia [205], Franklin [223], Garfield [200], San Juan [230] and Snohomish [265],
19 counties reported higher totals than last year, 18 came in lower than last year, and two were tied [Douglas and Pierce],. 30 counties tallied more species than their 19-year average, 8 reported lower than average totals, and 1 [Grant] was exactly in line with its 19-year average..
Species:
92 species were seen in all 39 counties, the same number as were seen in all counties in 2024. 174 were seen in 30 or more counties, 234 in 20 or more counties.
At the other end of the spectrum, 31 species were reported in only one county this year.
The only species missed in 2025 that are not a Washington Bird Records Committee review-list species were Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Short-tailed Albatross and Mottled Petrel.
2026 compiling is underway, and I encourage you to look up the compiler for counties you bird in and send along unusual sightings — most compilers are checking eBird reports already, but eBird still misses a good bit and we appreciate the help making sure we hear about these sightings. You can find a list of the compilers at the above link
Thanks to all the compilers who track each county, and here's to a fun and surprising 2026. If you notice anything not noted on the 2025 list, let us know and make a resolution to report your sightings to the compiler this year .
Date: 1/25/26 12:41 pm From: Laura Busby via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival Registration Open
Hi Tweeters,
Great news! The Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival registration is open. The event is May 1 - 3, 2026 based in Hoquiam, WA.
Featured speakers for 2026 include Robert Steelquist, Friday Keynote; Allison Anholt, Saturday Dinner; Dave Slater, Program Speaker; and John "The Falconer" Prucich, Program Speaker.
Here's a sampling of other activities:
Guided Field Trips
Friday:
*
Beginner Bird Walk at Bottle Beach State Park (WA State Parks) Free, details TBD
*
Southern Estuary, stopping at Tokeland, Westport, and Bottle Beach, Guided by Bruce LaBar & Marcus Roening; Advance Registration Required, $50
Saturday:
*
Ocean Shores, $40, details TBD
*
Free Shuttles between Hoquiam Middle School and Grays Harbor NWR
Sunday:
*
Tokeland, Grayland, and Westport $50 Bruce LaBar, Marcus Roening
*
Ocean Shores $40 Mary O'Neil
*
Free Shuttles between Hoquiam Middle School and Grays Harbor NWR
Join us!
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Sunday, January 25, 2026 12:00 PM
To: <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 257, Issue 24
Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to
<tweeters...>
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2026 20:07:28 +0000 (UTC)
From: "<didianstet...> via Tweeters" <tweeters...>
To: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Snow geese
Message-ID: <660690907.1799028.1769285248153...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
The snow geese had been hanging out at the Big Ditch.? The LaConner Birding Festival is going on this weekend.? That's a good place to ask.
On Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 12:00:58 PM PST, via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to
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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. Seeking a field guide to the birds of Ecuador
? ? ? (Vicki King via Tweeters)
? 2. Re: Where are the Snow Geese in Skagit County?
? ? ? (Jim Betz via Tweeters)
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 15:18:44 -0800
From: Vicki King via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Seeking a field guide to the birds of Ecuador
Message-ID:
??? <CAOqAUC+HJ2Uy6RbZwtcP+0qLg8C-k_jAysqe=RZgegMbj=<GiFw...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
If anyone has this field guide --
*Field book of the Birds of**Ecuador*, 2nd Edition, by Lelis Navarrete and
Miles Mcmullan -- and is willing to sell it, please be in touch offline.
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:46:00 -0800
From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Where are the Snow Geese in Skagit County?
Message-ID: <0501bb9b-4a5f-440c-abc2-58e3987d7776...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
? Thanks to all - I guess I've just been missing them.? I -have-
checked all the
areas in Skagit County that people reported ... just didn't see/hear
them.? I
guess the hunting pressure is more to blame than anything else.
? Today, at the East 90, a duck hunter came back to his car.? He had
his 4-6 year
old daughter with him ... she was all decked out in boots and camo gear and
clearly enjoyed her Dad helping her get out of the gear before getting
into the
car.? Great Dad and cute daughter.
? I did not hear any shots there today - so expect he was carrying all
those
decoys (more than 10) after getting blanked.? Also did not see any birds on
the 'good for hunting list' flying today.? No geese of any kind, no
ducks, and
only a few swans (which are not on the list?).
? I caught a Bald Eagle finishing its lunch on that last pole on the
right as you
get to Samish Island.
Message: 2
Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2026 20:29:38 +0000
From: Nancy Crowell via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: "<didianstet...>" <didianstet...>, via Tweeters
<tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Snow geese
Message-ID:
<IA0PPFD4454CAA94EF3558189A370182C09AE95A...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
I saw a bunch hunkered down in a field on the north end of Fir Island this morning.
Nancy Crowell
La Conner, WA
Nancy
"Images for the imagination."
www.crowellphotography.com<http://www.crowellphotography.com> ________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of <didianstet...> via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2026 12:07:28 PM
To: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Snow geese
The snow geese had been hanging out at the Big Ditch. The LaConner Birding Festival is going on this weekend. That's a good place to ask.
On Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 12:00:58 PM PST, via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 15:18:44 -0800
From: Vicki King via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> To: Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> Subject: [Tweeters] Seeking a field guide to the birds of Ecuador
Message-ID:
<CAOqAUC+HJ2Uy6RbZwtcP+0qLg8C-k_jAysqe=RZgegMbj=<GiFw...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
If anyone has this field guide --
*Field book of the Birds of**Ecuador*, 2nd Edition, by Lelis Navarrete and
Miles Mcmullan -- and is willing to sell it, please be in touch offline.
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:46:00 -0800
From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> To: via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Where are the Snow Geese in Skagit County?
Message-ID: <0501bb9b-4a5f-440c-abc2-58e3987d7776...><mailto:<0501bb9b-4a5f-440c-abc2-58e3987d7776...>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
? Thanks to all - I guess I've just been missing them.? I -have-
checked all the
areas in Skagit County that people reported ... just didn't see/hear
them.? I
guess the hunting pressure is more to blame than anything else.
? Today, at the East 90, a duck hunter came back to his car.? He had
his 4-6 year
old daughter with him ... she was all decked out in boots and camo gear and
clearly enjoyed her Dad helping her get out of the gear before getting
into the
car.? Great Dad and cute daughter.
? I did not hear any shots there today - so expect he was carrying all
those
decoys (more than 10) after getting blanked.? Also did not see any birds on
the 'good for hunting list' flying today.? No geese of any kind, no
ducks, and
only a few swans (which are not on the list?).
? I caught a Bald Eagle finishing its lunch on that last pole on the
right as you
get to Samish Island.
I saw a bunch hunkered down in a field on the north end of Fir Island this morning.
Nancy Crowell
La Conner, WA
Nancy
"Images for the imagination."
www.crowellphotography.com
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of <didianstet...> via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2026 12:07:28 PM
To: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Snow geese
The snow geese had been hanging out at the Big Ditch. The LaConner Birding Festival is going on this weekend. That's a good place to ask.
On Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 12:00:58 PM PST, via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 15:18:44 -0800
From: Vicki King via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> To: Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> Subject: [Tweeters] Seeking a field guide to the birds of Ecuador
Message-ID:
<CAOqAUC+HJ2Uy6RbZwtcP+0qLg8C-k_jAysqe=RZgegMbj=<GiFw...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
If anyone has this field guide --
*Field book of the Birds of**Ecuador*, 2nd Edition, by Lelis Navarrete and
Miles Mcmullan -- and is willing to sell it, please be in touch offline.
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:46:00 -0800
From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> To: via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Where are the Snow Geese in Skagit County?
Message-ID: <0501bb9b-4a5f-440c-abc2-58e3987d7776...><mailto:<0501bb9b-4a5f-440c-abc2-58e3987d7776...>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
? Thanks to all - I guess I've just been missing them.? I -have-
checked all the
areas in Skagit County that people reported ... just didn't see/hear
them.? I
guess the hunting pressure is more to blame than anything else.
? Today, at the East 90, a duck hunter came back to his car.? He had
his 4-6 year
old daughter with him ... she was all decked out in boots and camo gear and
clearly enjoyed her Dad helping her get out of the gear before getting
into the
car.? Great Dad and cute daughter.
? I did not hear any shots there today - so expect he was carrying all
those
decoys (more than 10) after getting blanked.? Also did not see any birds on
the 'good for hunting list' flying today.? No geese of any kind, no
ducks, and
only a few swans (which are not on the list?).
? I caught a Bald Eagle finishing its lunch on that last pole on the
right as you
get to Samish Island.
The snow geese had been hanging out at the Big Ditch. The LaConner Birding Festival is going on this weekend. That's a good place to ask.
On Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 12:00:58 PM PST, via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
Send Tweeters mailing list submissions to
<tweeters...>
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 15:18:44 -0800
From: Vicki King via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Seeking a field guide to the birds of Ecuador
Message-ID:
<CAOqAUC+HJ2Uy6RbZwtcP+0qLg8C-k_jAysqe=RZgegMbj=<GiFw...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
If anyone has this field guide --
*Field book of the Birds of**Ecuador*, 2nd Edition, by Lelis Navarrete and
Miles Mcmullan -- and is willing to sell it, please be in touch offline.
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:46:00 -0800
From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Where are the Snow Geese in Skagit County?
Message-ID: <0501bb9b-4a5f-440c-abc2-58e3987d7776...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
? Thanks to all - I guess I've just been missing them.? I -have-
checked all the
areas in Skagit County that people reported ... just didn't see/hear
them.? I
guess the hunting pressure is more to blame than anything else.
? Today, at the East 90, a duck hunter came back to his car.? He had
his 4-6 year
old daughter with him ... she was all decked out in boots and camo gear and
clearly enjoyed her Dad helping her get out of the gear before getting
into the
car.? Great Dad and cute daughter.
? I did not hear any shots there today - so expect he was carrying all
those
decoys (more than 10) after getting blanked.? Also did not see any birds on
the 'good for hunting list' flying today.? No geese of any kind, no
ducks, and
only a few swans (which are not on the list?).
? I caught a Bald Eagle finishing its lunch on that last pole on the
right as you
get to Samish Island.
Date: 1/23/26 6:56 pm From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Where are the Snow Geese in Skagit County?
Thanks to all - I guess I've just been missing them. I -have-
checked all the
areas in Skagit County that people reported ... just didn't see/hear
them. I
guess the hunting pressure is more to blame than anything else.
Today, at the East 90, a duck hunter came back to his car. He had
his 4-6 year
old daughter with him ... she was all decked out in boots and camo gear and
clearly enjoyed her Dad helping her get out of the gear before getting
into the
car. Great Dad and cute daughter.
I did not hear any shots there today - so expect he was carrying all
those
decoys (more than 10) after getting blanked. Also did not see any birds on
the 'good for hunting list' flying today. No geese of any kind, no
ducks, and
only a few swans (which are not on the list?).
I caught a Bald Eagle finishing its lunch on that last pole on the
right as you
get to Samish Island.
Date: 1/23/26 3:29 pm From: Vicki King via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Seeking a field guide to the birds of Ecuador
If anyone has this field guide -- *Field book of the Birds of**Ecuador*, 2nd Edition, by Lelis Navarrete and Miles Mcmullan -- and is willing to sell it, please be in touch offline.
Date: 1/22/26 8:01 pm From: Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Poulsbo area birding
Many thanks to the Tweets who sent birding suggestions. Unfortunately my appointment ran quite long so it was a mad dash to catch the ferry for me. However, I was quite intrigued by your suggestions, and I will take a day to explore come spring. The ferry trips provided looks at all three cormorants, Surf Scoters, distant grebe sp., f. Red-breasted Merganser, Pigeon Guillemots, and a surprising Black Turnstone wandering about one of the "bumpers" near the Vashon Dock. Carol Stoner West Seattle
Date: 1/22/26 2:42 pm From: Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Say's Phoebe in Roy WA
Tweeters,
I was stunned to see a SAY'S PHOEBE this morning on our back deck and yard. Below is the information I put on eBirdPNW. I have no idea if the eBird powers-that-be will accept this input, but I'm quite positive of the ID.
Here's the eBird info:
Avian Acres - Home, Pierce, Washington, US Jan 22, 2026 9:15 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Checklist Comments: Location: Lat 46.58.33N Long 122.29.37W. At 0915, a bird flew onto the deck at the edge of the French doors next to where I was eating breakfast. (Temperature was 29degF at the time with no wind.) My first thought was that it was a Dark-eyed Junco (of which we have at least 100 on the property). I got up from my chair to look down on the deck and immediately identified the bird as a SAY'S PHOEBE from the gray back and salmon-colored wash behind the gray breast. I am familiar with this species from seeing it often in the spring/summer in eastern Washington at a property in Cle Elum. The phoebe then flew to a boulder in the yard and "squatted" down on the top of it. My wife attempted to use my phone's camera, but as she focused, the bird flew off to the south. It was then that I saw it had a completely black tail, with no outer white tail feathers as would be seen with the local juncos. The bird was visible for about a minute.
Note: I have 50 feeding stations set up on the property. Many feeders are suet or seed cylinders (from Wild Birds Unlimited) in addition to seed and peanut feeders. The other birds in the area (Dark-eyed Juncos; Song, White-throated, White-crowned, and Golden-crowned sparrows; Spotted Towhees; Northern Flickers; Hairy Woodpecker; House Finches; and Steller's and California Scrub-jays) were actively feeding at most of the feeders visible from the house.
1 species
Say's Phoebe 1 First impression of bird was it was a Say's Phoebe. The pale salmon-colored belly and flanks caught my eye immediately. The back was gray, darker than the breast area, which was also gray. Compared with the Dark-eyed Juncos that were in the area, it appeared "chunkier" and bigger - longer. I did not see any white on the bird. When it was on the boulder in the back yard, it "squatted" down and appeared fluffed out, possibly because of the cold. In this position, the legs were not visible. When it flew off, the all-black tail was easily seen - with no white outer tailfeathers such as found on juncos. There were no markings on the chest area, just the pale gray. The pale salmon-coloration extended beyond the belly toward the undertail coverts. I noted that when the bird was on the boulder in a side view.
Date: 1/22/26 10:34 am From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk for Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR 1/21/2026
Hi Tweets,
We started out with about 18 birders on a cold and foggy morning.
Temperatures were in the 30's degrees Fahrenheit, it was chilly and damp.
As the morning progressed, perhaps the warmer birders started showing up
around 10am when skies were slightly brighter and bird activity increased.
There was a High 14'10" tide at 7:49am and a Low 6'2" Tide at 1:45pm so we
decided to skip the Orchard and Access Roads until the afternoon to attempt
to get out on the dike a little earlier. Highlights included great looks
of HUTTON'S VIREO and RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER along the west side of the
Twin Barns Loop Trail, fabulous observations of two AMERICAN BITTERN in the
freshwater marsh on the inside of the Nisqually Estuary Trail or dike
between the Willow Tree and entrance to the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk
Trail, a gorgeous flock of upwards of 2000 DUNLIN with murmurations over
the surge plain and mudflats, shorebird hunting MERLIN, first of year
NORTHERN SHRIKE on the surge plain north of the Twin Barns in the
afternoon, and continuing WHITE-THROATED SPARROW in a large flock of
GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW/SONG SPARROW/WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW/FOX SPARROW in
the riparian bramble south of the Nisqually Estuary Trail dike north of the
Twin Barns. Other notable sightings were BARN OWL at 7:15am from the Twin
Barns Overlook and both lutescens and gray headed variety of ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLER loosely associated with the large flock of sparrows. With the cold
fog, many small birds like GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET,
CHICKADEE and ORANGE CROWNED WARBLER were foraging off the ground instead
of higher up in the trees.
For the day, we observed 64 species. With FOY Northern Shrike, we have now
observed 78 species for the year. See our eBird Report with additional
details pasted below.
Other species seen included Douglas Squirrel, Pacific Tree Frog, Harbor
Seal, Columbian Black-tailed Deer and Eastern Gray Squirrel.
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
Jan 21, 2026 7:38 AM - 4:38 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.142 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Foggy in the morning with partly
cloudy skies in the afternoon. Temperatures in the 30’s to 40’s degrees
Fahrenheit. There was a High 14’10” Tide at 7:49am and a high Low 6’2” Tide
at 1:45pm. Others seen included Douglas Squirrel, Pacific Chorus Frog,
Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Harbor Seal, and Eastern Gray Squirrel.
64 species (+8 other taxa)
Cackling Goose (minima) 800
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 10
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 30
Northern Shoveler 60
Gadwall 20
Eurasian Wigeon 1 Drake. Observed from the McAllister Creek Viewing
Platform south of the confluence with Shannon Slough foraging with upwards
of 1000 American Wigeon.
American Wigeon 1500
Mallard 125
Northern Pintail 300
Green-winged Teal (American) 500
Ring-necked Duck 4 Visitor Center Pond.
Surf Scoter 30
Bufflehead 120
Common Goldeneye 30
Common Merganser 8 Most in Nisqually River.
Red-breasted Merganser 5 McAllister Creek and Nisqually Reach
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 25
Virginia Rail 1 Spotted by Miles in freshwater marsh off the Nisqually
Estuary Trail or dike 75 yards before the entrance to the Nisqually Estuary
Boardwalk Trail.
American Coot (Red-shielded) 50
Wilson's Snipe 4 Foraging in flooded field just west of the west side
parking lot.
Spotted Sandpiper 1 Spotted by Ken along the West Bank of McAllister
Creek.
Greater Yellowlegs 35
Dunlin 2000 Spectacular flock with gorgeous murmuration over surge
plain and mudflats around Leschi and Shannon Slough.
Least Sandpiper 50
Short-billed Gull 75
Ring-billed Gull 35
Glaucous-winged Gull 2
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 10
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 10
Pied-billed Grebe 1 Visitor Center Pond.
Horned Grebe 8 McAllister Creek.
Common Loon 1 Scope views, Nisqually Reach.
Double-crested Cormorant 10
cormorant sp. 2
American Bittern 2 Fresh water marsh along Nisqually Estuary Trail or
dike between Willow Tree and entrance to Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail.
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 15
Northern Harrier 3
Bald Eagle 15
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 3
American Barn Owl (American) 1 Spotted by Jeanette and Marc at 7:15am
from the Twin Barns Observation Platform.
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1 Seen at the Twin Bench Overlook along the
west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail south of the cut-off to the Twin
Barns.
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 3
Northern Flicker 4
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) 1 Spotted by Ken on
the Nisqually Estuary Trail or dike close to the Leschi Slough aqueduct.
American Kestrel (Northern) 1 Spotted by Ellen in the surge plain
north of the Twin Barns.
Merlin 1 Spotted by Anders hunting shorebirds on either side of the
Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail from the McAllister Creek Observation
Platform.
Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 2 Spotted by Laurie and Ken along the west
side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail near the twin bench observation platform
just south of the access road cut through.
Northern Shrike 1 Seen in the afternoon in the surge plain north of
the Twin Barns.
American Crow 60
Black-capped Chickadee 15
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3
Bushtit (Pacific) 20
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10
Golden-crowned Kinglet 10
Brown Creeper 6
Pacific Wren (Pacific) 3
Marsh Wren 14
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 6
European Starling 150
American Robin (migratorius Group) 38
Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 3
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow 40
White-throated Sparrow 2 Seen in large flock of Zonotrichia along the
south side of the Nisqually Estuary Trail between the access road
intersection and the Leschi Slough aqueduct.
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 30
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 6
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Orange-crowned Warbler (Gray-headed) 1 Seen in riparian bramble south
of Nisqually Estuary Trail or dike adjacent to Twin Barns where large flock
of zonotrichia were foraging.
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1 Seen in riparian bramble south of
Nisqually Estuary Trail or dike adjacent to Twin Barns where large flock of
zonotrichia were foraging.
Date: 1/22/26 8:30 am From: GENE BULLOCK via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Reply to Carol Stoner - Poulsbo biridng spots
Hello Carol Stoner, If you have an hour or so to bird between Poulsbocand Bremerton, check out Lions Park in East Bremerton (251 Lebo Blvd). It ovverlooks the Port Washington Narrows. In the morning the sun is at your back, and the Narrows usually abounds in wintering marine birds. Kitsap Audubon schedules annual trips there. Gene Bullock Kitsap Audubon Newsletter Editor for 20 years
> On 01/21/2026 12:00 PM PST 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 > <tweeters-owner...> > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Y-R Warblers (Philomena O'Neill via Tweeters) > 2. LaConner WA Birding Festival (James Ullrich via Tweeters) > 3. Ungratifying news from Montlake Fill > (Constance Sidles via Tweeters) > 4. Where's snow geese? (Martha Jordan via Tweeters) > 5. Re: Where's snow geese? (Nancy Crowell via Tweeters) > 6. Re: Where's snow geese? (Cynthia Simonsen via Tweeters) > 7. Poulsbo Birding spots? (Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters) > 8. Edmonds Roundup - December 2025 (Carol Riddell via Tweeters) > 9. REMINDER: WOS Monthly Meeting, January 26, 2026: (on-line > only) "one week early" (via Tweeters) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:25:57 -0800 > From: Philomena O'Neill via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: Hans-Joachim Feddern <thefedderns...> > Cc: <tweeters...> > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Y-R Warblers > Message-ID: <FF402671-2285-4CCB-AF3A-74F82B2EA893...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260120/b7b8908f/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:34:47 -0800 > From: James Ullrich via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] LaConner WA Birding Festival > Message-ID: <2EE35627-5F79-4E39-BB46-902CE238B981...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > Welcome to one of the early Birdy festivals of 2026. LaConner Washington Birding Festival. Need repairs or just looking through new Swarovski Optiks, we will be there 01/22-24. > Visit www.lovelaconner.com > Jim Ullrich > 360-908-0817 (text or call) > Sent from my iPhone > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:50:22 -0800 > From: Constance Sidles via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] Ungratifying news from Montlake Fill > Message-ID: <96D4EF39-4483-4DB9-8D72-4FA5C54B9F01...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > Hey tweets, I have some unfortunate news to report regarding parking at Montlake Fill. > > Beginning Feb. 1, the UW will charge for parking at all the parking lots at UBNA, including the CUH parking lots and the parking lots by the greenhouses. Parking staff assure me they will be on the lookout for people who haven't paid, who may be subject to tickets and/or towing. Bummer! > > UW Botanic Gardens staff tell me the parking fees will be administered by the UW's Transportation staff; the money will go to the transportation dept., not to the UWBG. > > I assume that parking regulations will apply: namely, that parking fees will be charged every day except free from noon on Saturdays through Sunday - that is, unless an event is scheduled for the parking spaces. In that case, event parking fees will be charged. > > I don't know yet if that means that parking fees will be charged on weekends when the UW is hosting athletic events such as football games or other large gatherings. - Connie, Seattle > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:50:33 -0800 > From: Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: Tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] Where's snow geese? > Message-ID: > <CAPbe3Q6JT+<Of4GBpFAGJMz5Pgn5WJ3zeyvsCfxN2UNoN3cF5DQ...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > They are out there in the Skagit Valley or on the adjacent waters. It > often depends on the tides: low tide will see them on the mud flats and > high water will often push them into the fields. They also move around > depending on the hunting pressure (at least some of the time). And, many > of them could be up in Canada for the day or more--they do travel back and > forth between Skagit and Fraser river deltas. > They are out there, just in lower numbers than in the days 4-5 years ago. > These Wrangel Island geese once used the Skagit-Frasier Delta to > over-winter, almost exclusively. Then dairy farms were pushed to leave for > salmon conservation issues and some re-established in eastern WA. And that > grew into a shift in use by WI snow geese to the point that we now have > likely less than 70,000 snow geese in Skagit and about 160,000 in eastern > WA. > And a reminder to those on both sides of the mountains: Following the > end of regular waterfowl season, there is an extended snow goose hunt on > the following days, but only in certain areas, and only for white geese: > West Side: Feb 7-15, 2026 > East Side: Feb 21-Mar 8, 2026 > This is a brief explanation. If you want to know more, feel free to > contact me off list. > > Martha Jordan > Everett, WA > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260120/7c13e38d/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2026 22:08:46 +0000 > From: Nancy Crowell via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: Martha Jordan <mj.cygnus...>, tweeters > <tweeters...> > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Where's snow geese? > Message-ID: > <IA0PPFD4454CAA99227BC563759E3C19C5AAE89A...> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > If you are here in Skagit looking, I have seen large flocks near the Big Ditch area of Stanwood recently and offshore near Jensen Access on Fir Island. As Martha said, they are here. > > Nancy Crowell > La Conner, WA > > Nancy > "Images for the imagination." > www.crowellphotography.com > ________________________________ > From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...> > Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2026 1:50:33 PM > To: Tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] Where's snow geese? > > They are out there in the Skagit Valley or on the adjacent waters. It often depends on the tides: low tide will see them on the mud flats and high water will often push them into the fields. They also move around depending on the hunting pressure (at least some of the time). And, many of them could be up in Canada for the day or more--they do travel back and forth between Skagit and Fraser river deltas. > They are out there, just in lower numbers than in the days 4-5 years ago. > These Wrangel Island geese once used the Skagit-Frasier Delta to over-winter, almost exclusively. Then dairy farms were pushed to leave for salmon conservation issues and some re-established in eastern WA. And that grew into a shift in use by WI snow geese to the point that we now have likely less than 70,000 snow geese in Skagit and about 160,000 in eastern WA. > And a reminder to those on both sides of the mountains: Following the end of regular waterfowl season, there is an extended snow goose hunt on the following days, but only in certain areas, and only for white geese: > West Side: Feb 7-15, 2026 > East Side: Feb 21-Mar 8, 2026 > This is a brief explanation. If you want to know more, feel free to contact me off list. > > Martha Jordan > Everett, WA > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260120/a2d160b6/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:15:56 -0800 > From: Cynthia Simonsen via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: Martha Jordan <mj.cygnus...> > Cc: Tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Where's snow geese? > Message-ID: > <CALgB3yH+TPfXsfJZsxLOQBSRYr8xRb=+-+<-oj3P1vjezKqkR6A...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > If you want to see the snow geese on Padilla Bay head east on Hwy 20 from > Anacortes. As you head downhill past Reservation Road you have a decent > view of the east side of Padilla Bay. Scan for the large flock that is > regularly in the bay. > Also, as you approach the top of the twin bridges over the Swinomish > Channel, start scanning the east side of Padilla Bay. You can regularly > spot a large flock of snow geese in the water. It?s been very easy these > past few sunny days as they appear as a very bright large white area. I > don?t advise the driver to take on the task of looking for the flock! > > If you?re lucky, in the evening you can catch them flying east to find a > field for the night. > > Happy birding! > > On Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 1:51?PM Martha Jordan via Tweeters < > <tweeters...> wrote: > > > They are out there in the Skagit Valley or on the adjacent waters. It > > often depends on the tides: low tide will see them on the mud flats and > > high water will often push them into the fields. They also move around > > depending on the hunting pressure (at least some of the time). And, many > > of them could be up in Canada for the day or more--they do travel back and > > forth between Skagit and Fraser river deltas. > > They are out there, just in lower numbers than in the days 4-5 years ago. > > These Wrangel Island geese once used the Skagit-Frasier Delta to > > over-winter, almost exclusively. Then dairy farms were pushed to leave for > > salmon conservation issues and some re-established in eastern WA. And that > > grew into a shift in use by WI snow geese to the point that we now have > > likely less than 70,000 snow geese in Skagit and about 160,000 in eastern > > WA. > > And a reminder to those on both sides of the mountains: Following the > > end of regular waterfowl season, there is an extended snow goose hunt on > > the following days, but only in certain areas, and only for white geese: > > West Side: Feb 7-15, 2026 > > East Side: Feb 21-Mar 8, 2026 > > This is a brief explanation. If you want to know more, feel free to > > contact me off list. > > > > Martha Jordan > > Everett, WA > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Tweeters mailing list > > <Tweeters...> > > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260120/fc890f0b/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2026 19:21:51 -0800 > From: Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: <Tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] Poulsbo Birding spots? > Message-ID: > <CAOVv5Lxb0aWhYNKsHazipo+3t=_o7FtxLw-3CnQYs=<Hfsae3HQ...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > I may have an hour or so to look for birds in the area between Poulsbo and > the Southworth Ferry. Any suggestions? Directions helpful! > > Carol Stoner > West Seattle > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260120/ac82e9e8/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 8 > Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2026 22:01:42 -0800 > From: Carol Riddell via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup - December 2025 > Message-ID: <A84DA2B6-7B76-4D90-ADBC-105283098597...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hi Tweets, > > We ended 2025 with 186 species on the Edmonds year list. No new year species were added in December. > > Other birds of interest: I forgot to note two Great Horned Owls were heard calling in the neighborhood about a mile north of the ferry dock about 10:30 p.m., 11-30-25. I also omitted several sightings of Western Meadowlarks. There were six separate sightings of probably the same bird at Edmonds marsh throughout November. Then there were December sightings on three separate dates of two meadowlarks traveling together. The male Lesser Goldfinch that has been coming to the same feeders intermittently since 2024 made an appearance in mid-December after having been absent for about two months. > > Declined for lack of any documentation: a 12-3-25 eBird report of 10 Ruddy Ducks (code 3) on the waterfront. > > Some unexpected misses for 2025: Eurasian Wigeon (code 3), Hudsonian Whimbrel (code 3), Northern Shrike (code 3), Cliff Swallow (code 3), Bullock?s Oriole (code 3). > > As always, I appreciate it when birders get in touch with me to share sightings, photos, or audio. It helps us build our collective year list. If you would like a copy of our 2026 city checklist, please request it from checklistedmonds at gmail dot com. (It reflects a species total of 283.) If eBirders will use the details field in their checklists to add critical field mark for unusual Edmonds birds (code 3 or rarer), it will help us build the city year list. Photographs or recordings are also helpful. The 2025 checklist is posted in the bird information box at the Visitor Station at the base of the public pier and is up to date through December. > > Good birding, > > Carol Riddell > Edmonds, WA > cariddellwa at gmail dot com > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260120/10baf1a9/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 9 > Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2026 09:04:49 -0800 > From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: Tweeters <Tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] REMINDER: WOS Monthly Meeting, January 26, 2026: > (on-line only) "one week early" > Message-ID: <20260121170449.1351444.qmail...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > The Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) is pleased to announce our next Monthly Meeting: on Monday, January 26, 2026 (please note this is one week earlier due to a scheduling conflict), Chris Templeton Ph.D. will present, "Sound the Alarm: How Chickadees Communicate Sophisticated Information about Predators." Chickadees! We think of them as common, but their vocalization are anything but! Chickadees have one of the most sophisticated means of communicating about predators of all animals. And other songbird species use this information to learn about threats in their environment. Our speaker, Chris Templeton, will introduce us to avian bio-acoustics, describe how birds produce their impressive vocalizations and discuss the different types of information they communicate. Chris will highlight some of the bio-acoustics work his research group is conducting, aiming to unravel the types of information encoded in subtle variations of Chickadee alarm calls. > > Chris has spent more than 20 years as an ornithologist. He has studied a wide variety of different bird species across the world, focusing on the evolution and ecology of avian behavior. He has a PhD in Biology from the University of Washington, and is a member of the Department of Biology faculty at Western Washington University. > > This meeting will be conducted virtually, via Zoom (no in-person attendance). Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm, and the meeting commences at 7:30 pm. Please go to the WOS Monthly Meetings page: https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link. > > When joining the meeting, we ask that you mute your device and make certain that your camera is turned off. > > This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend. Thanks to the generosity of our presenters, recordings of past programs are available at the following link to the WOS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonornithologicalso7839/videos > > If you are not yet a member of WOS, we hope you will consider becoming one at https://wos.org > > Please join us! > > Elaine Chuang > WOS Program Support > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > <Tweeters...> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 257, Issue 20 > ***************************************** _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/21/26 2:17 pm From: Eric Crockett via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Okanogan Birding
On Friday 1/16, myself and two friends departed for Okanogan County. On the
way, we birded a bit along the Columbia River, where we picked up a few
ducks, many coots, and a surprise Townsend’s solitaire at the Starr Boat
Launch. We ended the day at Washburn Island, where we added Brewer’s
blackbird, American tree sparrow, and trumpeter swan. At dusk we set out
for Twisp to do some owling along NF-44. We didn’t get any owls, but it was
a moonless, cloudless night and the stargazing was worth the drive.
On Saturday, we started before dawn at Scotch Creek Wildlife Area. There
was no snow on the ground, and therefore no Sharp-Tailed Grouse (STGR) in
the trees, nor much of anything else. Driving up US 97, there were many
apples left in the orchards, but no birds talking advantage of them. At
Fancher Flats, we found a gorgeous Golden Eagle and a (single, heard-only)
chukar. We dipped on STGR again on Siwash Creek Rd, but ran into a small
group of cooperative Clark’s Nutcrackers. We had lunch at the Nealy Rd
feeders, but we didn’t observe any feeders (or birds). On the east end of
Mary Ann Creek Rd, we found a mixed flock of red crossbills and pine
siskins enjoying a dust bath in some dry dirt. Mary Ann Creek Rd and Molson
turned up very few birds. Back to Siwash Creek for another STGR run:
nothing. We ended the day with owling on Davies Rd, which yielded another
group of birders and a great horned owl duet.
On Sunday, we started in Winthrop. The town had several groups of turkeys
and a dipper in the river, but not much else in the cemetery and Pearrygin
SP. We did (finally!) find a northern shrike near Sun Mountain Lodge.
Next up was Cameron Lake Rd, which unfortunately was not birdy at all. As
usual, we got a wide variety of ducks on the south end overlooking the
Columbia River. Our final stop was Bridgeport SP where we got saw-whet owl.
Driving home through the Waterville Plateau, we noted a short-eared owl.
Species with high counts include red-tailed hawk (20), rough-legged hawk
(7), turkey (87), kestrel (20+), and red crossbill (heard at most stops).
I’ve done this trip several times now (in February), all of which have
produced birds that made the trip worthwhile. That wasn't the case this
time. There were *long* stretches with no birds at all, and we missed
essentially all of our targets, including redpoll, Bohemian waxwing,
mountain chickadee, yellow-billed loon, great gray owl, snowy owl, northern
pygmy owl, long-eared owl, sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse, gray
partridge, pheasant, white-winged crossbill, pine grosbeak, white-headed
woodpecker, goshawk, gyrfalcon, snow bunting, and gray-crowned rosy-finch.
I’ll grant that some of those are a bit fanciful, but getting at least a
few is why I bird in Okanogan! This time, the highlights were the company,
the stargazing, and the views of a socked-in Havillah and Eden Valley from
high up on Davies Rd at sunset.
Date: 1/21/26 9:15 am From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] REMINDER: WOS Monthly Meeting, January 26, 2026: (on-line only) "one week early"
The Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) is pleased to announce our next Monthly Meeting: on Monday, January 26, 2026 (please note this is one week earlier due to a scheduling conflict), Chris Templeton Ph.D. will present, "Sound the Alarm: How Chickadees Communicate Sophisticated Information about Predators." Chickadees! We think of them as common, but their vocalization are anything but! Chickadees have one of the most sophisticated means of communicating about predators of all animals. And other songbird species use this information to learn about threats in their environment. Our speaker, Chris Templeton, will introduce us to avian bio-acoustics, describe how birds produce their impressive vocalizations and discuss the different types of information they communicate. Chris will highlight some of the bio-acoustics work his research group is conducting, aiming to unravel the types of information encoded in subtle variations of Chickadee alarm calls.
Chris has spent more than 20 years as an ornithologist. He has studied a wide variety of different bird species across the world, focusing on the evolution and ecology of avian behavior. He has a PhD in Biology from the University of Washington, and is a member of the Department of Biology faculty at Western Washington University.
This meeting will be conducted virtually, via Zoom (no in-person attendance). Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm, and the meeting commences at 7:30 pm. Please go to the WOS Monthly Meetings page: https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.
When joining the meeting, we ask that you mute your device and make certain that your camera is turned off.
This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend. Thanks to the generosity of our presenters, recordings of past programs are available at the following link to the WOS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonornithologicalso7839/videos
If you are not yet a member of WOS, we hope you will consider becoming one at https://wos.org
Date: 1/20/26 10:12 pm From: Carol Riddell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup - December 2025
Hi Tweets,
We ended 2025 with 186 species on the Edmonds year list. No new year species were added in December.
Other birds of interest: I forgot to note two Great Horned Owls were heard calling in the neighborhood about a mile north of the ferry dock about 10:30 p.m., 11-30-25. I also omitted several sightings of Western Meadowlarks. There were six separate sightings of probably the same bird at Edmonds marsh throughout November. Then there were December sightings on three separate dates of two meadowlarks traveling together. The male Lesser Goldfinch that has been coming to the same feeders intermittently since 2024 made an appearance in mid-December after having been absent for about two months.
Declined for lack of any documentation: a 12-3-25 eBird report of 10 Ruddy Ducks (code 3) on the waterfront.
As always, I appreciate it when birders get in touch with me to share sightings, photos, or audio. It helps us build our collective year list. If you would like a copy of our 2026 city checklist, please request it from checklistedmonds at gmail dot com. (It reflects a species total of 283.) If eBirders will use the details field in their checklists to add critical field mark for unusual Edmonds birds (code 3 or rarer), it will help us build the city year list. Photographs or recordings are also helpful. The 2025 checklist is posted in the bird information box at the Visitor Station at the base of the public pier and is up to date through December.
If you want to see the snow geese on Padilla Bay head east on Hwy 20 from
Anacortes. As you head downhill past Reservation Road you have a decent
view of the east side of Padilla Bay. Scan for the large flock that is
regularly in the bay.
Also, as you approach the top of the twin bridges over the Swinomish
Channel, start scanning the east side of Padilla Bay. You can regularly
spot a large flock of snow geese in the water. It’s been very easy these
past few sunny days as they appear as a very bright large white area. I
don’t advise the driver to take on the task of looking for the flock!
If you’re lucky, in the evening you can catch them flying east to find a
field for the night.
Happy birding!
On Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 1:51 PM Martha Jordan via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> They are out there in the Skagit Valley or on the adjacent waters. It
> often depends on the tides: low tide will see them on the mud flats and
> high water will often push them into the fields. They also move around
> depending on the hunting pressure (at least some of the time). And, many
> of them could be up in Canada for the day or more--they do travel back and
> forth between Skagit and Fraser river deltas.
> They are out there, just in lower numbers than in the days 4-5 years ago.
> These Wrangel Island geese once used the Skagit-Frasier Delta to
> over-winter, almost exclusively. Then dairy farms were pushed to leave for
> salmon conservation issues and some re-established in eastern WA. And that
> grew into a shift in use by WI snow geese to the point that we now have
> likely less than 70,000 snow geese in Skagit and about 160,000 in eastern
> WA.
> And a reminder to those on both sides of the mountains: Following the
> end of regular waterfowl season, there is an extended snow goose hunt on
> the following days, but only in certain areas, and only for white geese:
> West Side: Feb 7-15, 2026
> East Side: Feb 21-Mar 8, 2026
> This is a brief explanation. If you want to know more, feel free to
> contact me off list.
>
> Martha Jordan
> Everett, WA
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
If you are here in Skagit looking, I have seen large flocks near the Big Ditch area of Stanwood recently and offshore near Jensen Access on Fir Island. As Martha said, they are here.
Nancy Crowell
La Conner, WA
Nancy
"Images for the imagination."
www.crowellphotography.com
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2026 1:50:33 PM
To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Where's snow geese?
They are out there in the Skagit Valley or on the adjacent waters. It often depends on the tides: low tide will see them on the mud flats and high water will often push them into the fields. They also move around depending on the hunting pressure (at least some of the time). And, many of them could be up in Canada for the day or more--they do travel back and forth between Skagit and Fraser river deltas.
They are out there, just in lower numbers than in the days 4-5 years ago.
These Wrangel Island geese once used the Skagit-Frasier Delta to over-winter, almost exclusively. Then dairy farms were pushed to leave for salmon conservation issues and some re-established in eastern WA. And that grew into a shift in use by WI snow geese to the point that we now have likely less than 70,000 snow geese in Skagit and about 160,000 in eastern WA.
And a reminder to those on both sides of the mountains: Following the end of regular waterfowl season, there is an extended snow goose hunt on the following days, but only in certain areas, and only for white geese:
West Side: Feb 7-15, 2026
East Side: Feb 21-Mar 8, 2026
This is a brief explanation. If you want to know more, feel free to contact me off list.
Date: 1/20/26 2:02 pm From: Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Where's snow geese?
They are out there in the Skagit Valley or on the adjacent waters. It often depends on the tides: low tide will see them on the mud flats and high water will often push them into the fields. They also move around depending on the hunting pressure (at least some of the time). And, many of them could be up in Canada for the day or more--they do travel back and forth between Skagit and Fraser river deltas. They are out there, just in lower numbers than in the days 4-5 years ago. These Wrangel Island geese once used the Skagit-Frasier Delta to over-winter, almost exclusively. Then dairy farms were pushed to leave for salmon conservation issues and some re-established in eastern WA. And that grew into a shift in use by WI snow geese to the point that we now have likely less than 70,000 snow geese in Skagit and about 160,000 in eastern WA. And a reminder to those on both sides of the mountains: Following the end of regular waterfowl season, there is an extended snow goose hunt on the following days, but only in certain areas, and only for white geese: West Side: Feb 7-15, 2026 East Side: Feb 21-Mar 8, 2026 This is a brief explanation. If you want to know more, feel free to contact me off list.
Date: 1/20/26 2:00 pm From: Constance Sidles via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Ungratifying news from Montlake Fill
Hey tweets, I have some unfortunate news to report regarding parking at Montlake Fill.
Beginning Feb. 1, the UW will charge for parking at all the parking lots at UBNA, including the CUH parking lots and the parking lots by the greenhouses. Parking staff assure me they will be on the lookout for people who haven't paid, who may be subject to tickets and/or towing. Bummer!
UW Botanic Gardens staff tell me the parking fees will be administered by the UW's Transportation staff; the money will go to the transportation dept., not to the UWBG.
I assume that parking regulations will apply: namely, that parking fees will be charged every day except free from noon on Saturdays through Sunday - that is, unless an event is scheduled for the parking spaces. In that case, event parking fees will be charged.
I don't know yet if that means that parking fees will be charged on weekends when the UW is hosting athletic events such as football games or other large gatherings. - Connie, Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/20/26 1:44 pm From: James Ullrich via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] LaConner WA Birding Festival
Welcome to one of the early Birdy festivals of 2026. LaConner Washington Birding Festival. Need repairs or just looking through new Swarovski Optiks, we will be there 01/22-24. Visit www.lovelaconner.com Jim Ullrich 360-908-0817 (text or call) Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/20/26 8:33 am From: Joyce Meyer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Snow Geese
Hello Tweets:
Returning Sunday from the Birch Bay area Mike West and I found thousands of snow geese as we came into Stanwood from the north. They were grouped in several fields. Joyce Meyermeyer2jataol.comGig Harbor
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Date: 1/19/26 10:25 pm From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Re No Snow Geese
Since the hunting season is still on until the end of the month, the geese are likely roosting on the open water during the day and come on land after dark to feed.
Good Birding!
Hans
*Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA <thefedderns...>
On Mon, Jan 19, 2026 at 4:37 PM Jim Betz via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> We went looking for Snow Geese in Skagit County yesterday. Zip Zero
> in the Samish Flats,
> Skagit Flats, Butler Flats and Fir Island.
>
> Where are they?
> - Jim in Skagit
>
> P.S. LOTS of Trumpeters - at least 50% more than last year. Large
> groups everywhere.
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
I see small flocks of Harlequin Ducks almost every time I walk down to Lowman Beach (Gw’alali) near my house. Typically recently there are also Common Goldeneyes bobbing about, along with a few Buffleheads. And there’s parking. 😊
From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Date: Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 8:56 PM
To: Tom Benedict <benedict.t...>
Cc: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Shilshole Black Turnstone
Hi Tom!
I guess I was using the new name for Constellation Park. I do not like the way it is now restricted so that you cannot park there any more! What a waste of money!
Yes, we did have a pair of Harlequins there, loosely associating with a female Common Merganser. Also a flock of 30+ Brant was close in. There were several more about a mile south, across from the park with the Indian name and there is a porta potty. I had my FOY pair of Harlequins on New Years Day at Saltwater SP.
> On Jan 18, 2026, at 00:28, Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
>
> What made it ironic, is that we had looked for Black Turnstones in West Seattle a few days ago. Starting to look from Salty's Restaurant to Duwamish Head and on to Alki Beach without success. Only when we got to the west side at Alki Beach Park, we found half a dozen for my FOY bird!
Did you happen to go further south around the point to Constellation Park? I’m wondering if the Harlequin Ducks have arrived there yet. The kelp beds there make a very liable spot for HARD.
Date: 1/19/26 11:30 am From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Gull Watching Locations
On Jan 19, 2026 at 10:43:05, Lee Jaszlics via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> - Point No Point: Lots of great gulls on the beach here! Bonaparte’s,
> Heermann’s, Short-billed, Glaucous-winged, Olympic, California, occasional
> Western & Thayer's. This is my top recommendation for species diversity and
> close range photos
>
Agreed, and it’s finally open again! Also nearby is Norwegian Point County
Park, and if you stop by the Hansville store, buy a snack sit in their
parking lot, you can bird from your car and look over the gulls (mostly
GWGU) hanging out on the buildings there. Getting views along the water
here from a couple of stops can generate a few extra birds for the list.
Another spot that I have decided it under appreciated it Port Gamble (head
downhill through the gates to the kayak place, ignore the access sign since
as far as anyone can tell it’s no longer valid). Was out there last week
and in the puddles there were a lot of bathing gulls, including GWGU, but
also short-bill, ring-billed and a California. This also has been a good
place this winter for Black Scoter, and fairly reliable for Black Turnstone
and Black Oystercatcher. (This is also the place with the continuing
Harris’ Sparrow to boot)
- Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge had really excellent gulls at close
> range when I was out there in October, but I don't get out there often
> enough to tell you how consistent it is
>
I’ll also recommend Dungeness Landing Park, which is effectively looking at
DNWR from the other side. There’s an area in scope view that’s a fairly
reliable gull hangout, and you can bird from the parking lot. Always GWGU
there, but other recents include short-bill, California and western. Also
looks like some trumpeters are being seen there. (And always fun when the
eagles come an d strafe the gulls)
Chuq
---------------------------------------
Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
Silverdale, Washington
Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
Date: 1/19/26 10:54 am From: Lee Jaszlics via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Gull Watching Locations
Some of my gull spots
- Point No Point: Lots of great gulls on the beach here! Bonaparte’s,
Heermann’s, Short-billed, Glaucous-winged, Olympic, California, occasional
Western & Thayer's. This is my top recommendation for species diversity and
close range photos
- Ballard Locks: Lots of GWGUs/Olympics at close range, Heermann's,
Short-billed, California
- Carkeek Park: Olympic/Glaucous-winged, Short-billed and California: a
great place for photos especially during salmon season
- Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge: Tons of Ring-billeds,
Olympic/GWGUs, Short-billed
- Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge had really excellent gulls at close
range when I was out there in October, but I don't get out there often
enough to tell you how consistent it is
On Sun, Jan 18, 2026 at 10:51 AM Denning Gillespie via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Does anyone have any favorite locations for viewing large amounts of gulls
> at relatively close range? I've been really fascinated by studying their
> various molt patterns and want to get some more close-up photographs
> to study. My current favorite locations are the Marine Park in Everett and
> the Cedar River Mouth. Definitely willing to travel farther for some really
> good gull-watching.
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/19/26 10:25 am From: Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Min-winter Swan Surveys and Whoopers
The WDFW mid-winter swan surveys were completed last week. The results will be out in the first part of February or sooner. Lots of swans in the Skagit and Snohomish county areas. AND it was a two Whooper Swan week! The King County report that we had seen the day before it got reported in King County via eBird, and a different whooper in Snohomish County seen on Wed. I have personally seen both swans and have looked at some of the photos taken by various people. These two sightings are not of the same Whooper. There was another sighting of a Whooper in Whatcom County earlier in the season. And the report of the Whooper in Olympia. The question is: are there only two Whoopers or are there three. Meanwhile we do know there are many Trumpeter and Tundra Swans throughout the region this year. The flood waters have caused a redistribution of landscape use. And remember, if you see any sick or dead swans please call the WDFW Swan Hotline number: 360-466-0515 And on a final note: the injured Tundra Swan in Union Bay/Montlake area appears to be recovering and is now with a group of Trumpeter Swans in the same area.
Date: 1/19/26 10:22 am From: Jamie Acker via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] WOODPECKER A Year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers
This latest book by Paul Bannick is the result of tens of thousands of hours of field observations spanning the North American continent. The numerous photos are of National Geographic quality and make this book coffee table worthy. But it is the personal field observations documented by the photos that make this book stand out and complement the Cornell "Birds of the World" life histories accounts.
Where the Birds of the World life histories leave off, Pauls book picks up by relating the relationships between the woodpecker species as well as their individual specialized adaptations, habitat and environmental needs through his observations in the field.
This well written book follows 41 species of North American woodpeckers through a year with beautifully captured photographs. It is also a plea to view woodpeckers as habitat and environmental canaries that should not go unacknowledged.
Highly recommended, not just for the photos which are gorgeous, but for the abundant information contained in the writing.
-Jamie
<owler637...>
Bainbridge Island, WA
Date: 1/19/26 12:32 am From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Y-R Warblers
Hi Caro;!
We had our first Yellow-rumped Warbler last Wednesday 1/14 at Jack Block
Park and several more behind the restaurant at the West Seattle passenger
ferry dock.
Hans
On Sun, Jan 18, 2026 at 11:38 AM Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> This sunny weather brought out some insects. I saw my first honeybee and
> spotted a Yellow-rump Warbler fly catching Saturday afternoon.
>
> Carol Stoner
> West Seattle
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
--
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
<thefedderns...>
Date: 1/18/26 9:54 pm From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Shilshole Black Turnstone
Yeah, I was wondering why you did not have any at Seahurst Park which
is normally a reliable spot for Harlequins - and loons! No loons around
Alki while we were there. Another good spot is north of the Des Moines
pier. We also had a single male Harlequin off the Redondo Beach Drive
boardwalk about a week ago.
My wife and I went looking for a scrub jay today at the South Tacoma Game
Range. I was barely out of the car and there it was! I had also hoped for a
Killdeer there but no luck! Have you seen any this year? - I keep a yearly
list a the jay was #80 .
Hans
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
<thefedderns...>
On Sun, Jan 18, 2026 at 9:07 PM Tom Benedict <benedict.t...> wrote:
> Thanks for the location clarification. Me Kwa Mooks is also a great spot
> for sea and bay ducks and rocky shorebirds. Great to hear that the Brant
> are back. I’ve seen Brant at Constellation Park for more than 60 years! The
> north end of Seahurst Park beach is also a reliable spot for Harlequins,
> but I didn’t see any when I visited a week ago. I’ll keep my eyes peeled.
>
> Tom Benedict
> Seahurst, WA
>
>
> On Jan 18, 2026, at 20:56, Hans-Joachim Feddern <thefedderns...>
> wrote:
>
> Hi Tom!
> I guess I was using the new name for Constellation Park. I do not like the
> way it is now restricted so that you cannot park there any more! What a
> waste of money!
> Yes, we did have a pair of Harlequins there, loosely associating with a
> female Common Merganser. Also a flock of 30+ Brant was close in. There were
> several more about a mile south, across from the park with the Indian name
> and there is a porta potty. I had my FOY pair of Harlequins on New Years
> Day at Saltwater SP.
>
> Good Birding!
>
> Hans
>
>
> *Hans Feddern*
> Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
> <thefedderns...>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 18, 2026 at 8:32 PM Tom Benedict <benedict.t...>
> wrote:
>
>>
>> > On Jan 18, 2026, at 00:28, Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>> >
>> > What made it ironic, is that we had looked for Black Turnstones in West
>> Seattle a few days ago. Starting to look from Salty's Restaurant to
>> Duwamish Head and on to Alki Beach without success. Only when we got to the
>> west side at Alki Beach Park, we found half a dozen for my FOY bird!
>>
>> Did you happen to go further south around the point to Constellation
>> Park? I’m wondering if the Harlequin Ducks have arrived there yet. The kelp
>> beds there make a very reliable spot for HARD.
>>
>> Tom Benedict
>> Seahurst, WA
>>
>
>
Date: 1/18/26 9:18 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Shilshole Black Turnstone
Thanks for the location clarification. Me Kwa Mooks is also a great spot for sea and bay ducks and rocky shorebirds. Great to hear that the Brant are back. I’ve seen Brant at Constellation Park for more than 60 years! The north end of Seahurst Park beach is also a reliable spot for Harlequins, but I didn’t see any when I visited a week ago. I’ll keep my eyes peeled.
Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA
> On Jan 18, 2026, at 20:56, Hans-Joachim Feddern <thefedderns...> wrote:
>
> Hi Tom!
> I guess I was using the new name for Constellation Park. I do not like the way it is now restricted so that you cannot park there any more! What a waste of money!
> Yes, we did have a pair of Harlequins there, loosely associating with a female Common Merganser. Also a flock of 30+ Brant was close in. There were several more about a mile south, across from the park with the Indian name and there is a porta potty. I had my FOY pair of Harlequins on New Years Day at Saltwater SP.
>
> Good Birding!
>
> Hans
>
>
> Hans Feddern
> Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
> <thefedderns...> <mailto:<thefedderns...> >
>
> On Sun, Jan 18, 2026 at 8:32 PM Tom Benedict <benedict.t...> <mailto:<benedict.t...>> wrote:
>>
>> > On Jan 18, 2026, at 00:28, Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> <mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
>> >
>> > What made it ironic, is that we had looked for Black Turnstones in West Seattle a few days ago. Starting to look from Salty's Restaurant to Duwamish Head and on to Alki Beach without success. Only when we got to the west side at Alki Beach Park, we found half a dozen for my FOY bird!
>>
>> Did you happen to go further south around the point to Constellation Park? I’m wondering if the Harlequin Ducks have arrived there yet. The kelp beds there make a very reliable spot for HARD.
>>
>> Tom Benedict
>> Seahurst, WA
Date: 1/18/26 9:06 pm From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Shilshole Black Turnstone
Hi Tom!
I guess I was using the new name for Constellation Park. I do not like the
way it is now restricted so that you cannot park there any more! What a
waste of money!
Yes, we did have a pair of Harlequins there, loosely associating with a
female Common Merganser. Also a flock of 30+ Brant was close in. There were
several more about a mile south, across from the park with the Indian name
and there is a porta potty. I had my FOY pair of Harlequins on New Years
Day at Saltwater SP.
Good Birding!
Hans
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
<thefedderns...>
On Sun, Jan 18, 2026 at 8:32 PM Tom Benedict <benedict.t...> wrote:
>
> > On Jan 18, 2026, at 00:28, Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
> >
> > What made it ironic, is that we had looked for Black Turnstones in West
> Seattle a few days ago. Starting to look from Salty's Restaurant to
> Duwamish Head and on to Alki Beach without success. Only when we got to the
> west side at Alki Beach Park, we found half a dozen for my FOY bird!
>
> Did you happen to go further south around the point to Constellation Park?
> I’m wondering if the Harlequin Ducks have arrived there yet. The kelp beds
> there make a very liable spot for HARD.
>
> Tom Benedict
> Seahurst, WA
>
>
>
Date: 1/18/26 8:42 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Shilshole Black Turnstone
> On Jan 18, 2026, at 00:28, Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> What made it ironic, is that we had looked for Black Turnstones in West Seattle a few days ago. Starting to look from Salty's Restaurant to Duwamish Head and on to Alki Beach without success. Only when we got to the west side at Alki Beach Park, we found half a dozen for my FOY bird!
Did you happen to go further south around the point to Constellation Park? I’m wondering if the Harlequin Ducks have arrived there yet. The kelp beds there make a very liable spot for HARD.
Date: 1/18/26 8:03 pm From: KEN DERANLEAU via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Vanguard Tripod For Spotting Scopes Or Cameras
Hello Tweeters-- I have a very nice, barely used Vanguard tripod for sale. It belonged to my late mother, and I have no use for it. It includes the owner's manual and a nice carrying case.
I'll (basically) give it away for $40.00. If interested, please contact me directly on 206 321 9136. Afternoons or evenings, please.
Date: 1/18/26 12:02 pm From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Nikon spotting scope for sale
Hello, tweets.
Anyone looking for a good large spotting scope? We have decided our Nikon Fieldscope 82mm ED with 20-60x eyepiece is too heavy for our use (3.5-4 pounds) and would like to sell it. It is in fine shape and has a case and the original box.
If you are interested, please contact me off tweeters.
Date: 1/18/26 11:00 am From: Denning Gillespie via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Gull Watching Locations
Does anyone have any favorite locations for viewing large amounts of gulls at relatively close range? I've been really fascinated by studying their various molt patterns and want to get some more close-up photographs to study. My current favorite locations are the Marine Park in Everett and the Cedar River Mouth. Definitely willing to travel farther for some really good gull-watching.
Date: 1/18/26 12:39 am From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Shilshole Black Turnstone
We took advantage of the bright sunshine - and cold wind - today and joined the maddening crowds for a walk at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle. To my disappointment, the only ducks on the Beaver Ponds at the north end of the park were a pair of Mallards on one pond and a single female Mallard on the other. On the open sound there were no sea ducks or grebes to be senn, only a lot of white caps! I finally managed to find one Rhinoceros Auklet. We continued south along the Shilshole marina and started to see a few Common Goldeneyes with good close up views. Further on in between the boats on the open water we also found some Common Mergansers and a few Horned Grebes and several Barrow's, Goldeneyes. At the south end of the marina jetty Double- Crested Cormorants, Common Mergansers and several Red-breasted Mergansers had found some smelt and went into a feeding frenzy. At the end of the jetty, a group of noisy sea lions were lazing around on top of the rocks. To my surprise a single Black Turnstone showed up on the inside of the jetty. Most likely a few more were on the other, sunny side. What made it ironic, is that we had looked for Black Turnstones in West Seattle a few days ago. Starting to look from Salty's Restaurant to Duwamish Head and on to Alki Beach without success. Only when we got to the west side at Alki Beach Park, we found half a dozen for my FOY bird! Also seen at Shilshole was a Bald Eagle on top of the navigational marker at the end of the jetty, keeping an eye on the rowdy sea lions.
Good Birding!
Hans
-- *Hans Feddern* Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA <thefedderns...>
Date: 1/16/26 12:46 pm From: Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) monthly bird walk - 1-15-2026
Tweeters,
An overcast and mild (46-49degF) day with a bit of a breeze at times, which made it cool when we first met during the JBLM Eagle's Pride GC birdwalk. Birding started light for most of the way for the baker's dozen of us until the very end, when we scored a diverse mixed flock consisting of both chickadees, Hairy Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and others, including a well-viewed HUTTON'S VIREO, for which we have an excellent photo (thanks, Bruce!). Otherwise, a nice flock of American Wigeon (25) at the 9th hole pond, and a dozen Bufflehead at Hodge Lake. Rounding out the waterfowl were a couple of Mallards, a flyover of 44 Cackling geese, and a gorgeous male Hooded Merganser (the latter at the maintenance pond).
American Robins (2) were way down in numbers, and no Varied Thrushes, the latter being what seems typical thus far this winter throughout the Puget lowlands.
The JBLM Eagle's Pride GC birders meet the third Thursday of each month at 9:00AM from November to February. (Meeting time is 8:00AM March-October.) The starting point is the Driving Range building, Eagle's Pride Golf Course, I-5 Exit 116, Mounts Road Exit. (Turn left immediately after entering the parking lot to take the road leading to the driving range building.) Upcoming walks include the following:
* February 19
* March 19
* April 16
Everyone is welcome!
From the eBirdPNW report:
29 species
Cackling Goose 44
American Wigeon 25 All at the 9th hole pond.
Mallard 2
Bufflehead 15 3 at the 9th hole pond and 12 at Hodge Lake.
Hooded Merganser 1 At the maintenance pond.
Mourning Dove 5
Anna's Hummingbird 4
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 3
Hutton's Vireo 1 In a mixed flock in the Douglas-firs across the road from the maintenance pond.
Steller's Jay 1
California Scrub-Jay 1 Sounding off repeatedly from the top of a willow at the maintenance pond.
Date: 1/16/26 12:35 pm From: Jeff Borsecnik via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Exploring the Great Bear Rainforest (RW Hamlyn via Tweeters)
Fabulous, Ray. Thanks.
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2026 12:00 PM
To: <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 257, Issue 15
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. New Hilty on Colombia birds (rw via Tweeters)
2. Thrushes (Karl Neice via Tweeters)
3. Kent Valley Red Fox Sparrow (Marv via Tweeters)
4. Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-15
(Michael Hobbs via Tweeters)
5. Exploring the Great Bear Rainforest (RW Hamlyn via Tweeters)
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2026 13:56:40 -0800
From: Karl Neice via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Thrushes
Message-ID: <FABE5DDA-BC51-401C-B24B-FB000B2EDA56...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Only seen one large group of foraging robins this season in Greenwood, and no varieds.
Karl Neice
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2026 14:13:04 -0800
From: Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Kent Valley Red Fox Sparrow
Message-ID:
<CALOxLtG7DyiUu+<nGY2MSdBBaJ_c3fQc_pAFG-36ZArnnehXovA...>
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Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2026 16:10:44 -0800
From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-15
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Tweets - I was warm (49-52 degrees) with a high overcast and no
precipitation after some pre-dawn mist. No fog, and only a little wind.
Except for waterfowl, it wasn't terribly birdy, but we did get sufficient
cameo appearances to make our species total okay.
Highlights:
Trumpeter Swan - Five flew right over our heads calling!
Eight species of duck - Green-winged Teal was our obvious miss
Anna's Hummingbird - One displaying, a couple of others singing, and
by the end we'd seen ~10
Virginia Rail - Matt heard them "singing" - Kiddick-kiddick - pre-dawn
Killdeer - One heard calling pre-dawn was, I believe, our first since
early November
Red-breasted Sapsucker - One incessantly calling (and finally seen)
near the concert venue restrooms. Our first since September!
Northern Shrike - Adult in the south end of the East Meadow
Bewick's Wren - Much singing, few sightings
House Finch - Maybe only two, but one was singing complete songs
Song Sparrow - Much singing
Lincoln's Sparrow - Two together in the SE part of the East Meadow
Red-winged Blackbird - Only a couple, but they produced perhaps their
full repertoire of sounds
Sparrow numbers were low, with maybe just 1-2 FOX SPARROW, 1 WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROW and 5-6 GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS.
Misses today included Green-winged Teal, Ring-billed Gull (though the flock
of 125-150 gulls was never observed on the ground), Hairy Woodpecker,
Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Purple Finch.
Date: 1/15/26 4:28 pm From: RW Hamlyn via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Exploring the Great Bear Rainforest
Inspired by an August 2011 National Geographic article on the Spirit Bear, by wife Dory and I visited last September what is now called the Great Bear Rainforest. This is a area set aside to preserve old growth forests through a collaborative agreement. This rainforest runs along the west coast of British Columbia, and is the largest tract of unspoiled temperate rainforest on earth. We put together a video of highlights of this area including some of the birds and mammals, which is probably of interest to you in the Tweeters community. This is an inspiring natural area! Exploring the Great Bear Rainforest: https://youtu.be/fXl0DOGJGyY
Date: 1/15/26 4:20 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-15
Tweets - I was warm (49-52 degrees) with a high overcast and no precipitation after some pre-dawn mist. No fog, and only a little wind. Except for waterfowl, it wasn't terribly birdy, but we did get sufficient cameo appearances to make our species total okay.
Highlights: Trumpeter Swan - Five flew right over our heads calling! Eight species of duck - Green-winged Teal was our obvious miss Anna's Hummingbird - One displaying, a couple of others singing, and by the end we'd seen ~10 Virginia Rail - Matt heard them "singing" - Kiddick-kiddick - pre-dawn Killdeer - One heard calling pre-dawn was, I believe, our first since early November Red-breasted Sapsucker - One incessantly calling (and finally seen) near the concert venue restrooms. Our first since September! Northern Shrike - Adult in the south end of the East Meadow Bewick's Wren - Much singing, few sightings House Finch - Maybe only two, but one was singing complete songs Song Sparrow - Much singing Lincoln's Sparrow - Two together in the SE part of the East Meadow Red-winged Blackbird - Only a couple, but they produced perhaps their full repertoire of sounds
Sparrow numbers were low, with maybe just 1-2 FOX SPARROW, 1 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and 5-6 GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS.
Misses today included Green-winged Teal, Ring-billed Gull (though the flock of 125-150 gulls was never observed on the ground), Hairy Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Purple Finch.
For the day, 52 species.
= Michael Hobbs = <BirdMarymoor...> = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
Date: 1/15/26 2:24 pm From: Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Kent Valley Red Fox Sparrow
Yesterday (1.14.26) there was a RED FOX SPARROW at the edge of the Green River, along Frager Rd, just south of the barn & S 204th St: https://flic.kr/p/2rRRCDw
This is but a few feet from where I saw a RED FOX SPARROW on November 4 of last year.
Date: 1/15/26 2:07 pm From: Karl Neice via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Thrushes
Only seen one large group of foraging robins this season in Greenwood, and no varieds. Karl Neice _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/15/26 9:35 am From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk for Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR on 7/14/2026
Hi Tweets,
Approximately 25 of us had a really nice winter day of birding with warm
temperatures in the 40's to 50's degrees Fahrenheit, mostly cloudy skies,
and a high Low 9'1" Tide at 9:36am and a High 12'3" Tide at 1:22pm.
Highlights included a BARN OWL flying into the Twin Barns with a vole at
7:25 am as seen from the Twin Barns Observation Platform; HUTTON'S VIREO
observed along the Access Road just west of the entrance to the Education
Center Parking Lot and the boardwalk adjacent to the Twin Barns Picnic
Area; ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER observed in the same areas; 6 TRUMPETER SWANS
flying south over the Refuge; continuing WHITE-THROATED SPARROW with a
large flock of GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW and one WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW at the
Twin Barns Observation Platform and along the Nisqually Estuary Dike Trail
adjacent to the aqueduct for Leschi Slough; LINCOLN SPARROW along the
Nisqually Estuary Dike Trail; EURASIAN WIGEON in McAllister Creek along the
Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail; both RED-THROATED LOON and COMMON LOON
observed from the closure gate at the end of the Nisqually Estuary
Boardwalk Trail, a few WESTERN SANDPIPERS mixed in with a flock of 2000
DUNLIN foraging and murmuring over the mudflats on either side of Leschi
Slough, AMERICAN BITTERN seen in the freshwater marsh across from the
Observation Tower at the start of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail;
and a male AMERICAN KESTREL eating a Little Brown Bat in the afternoon at
the Visitor Center Pond Overlook.
For the day we observed 74 species, see our eBird Report listed below with
further details and uploaded photos.
Other observations included Eastern Gray Squirrel, Columbian Black-tailed
Deer, Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Harbor Seal, Muskrat and upwards of
four Little Brown Bats around the Visitor Center Ponds in the afternoon.
Hunting continues along the west bank of McAllister Creek and on Nisqually
Reach. The end of the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail is scheduled to
reopen on Monday February 2nd.
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
Jan 14, 2026 6:48 AM - 4:50 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.076 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Cloudy, temperatures in the 40’s to 50’s degrees
Fahrenheit. A Low 9’1” Tide at 9:36am and a High 12’3” Tide at 1:22pm.
Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Eastern Cotton-tailed
Rabbit, five Harbor Seal, four Little Brown Bats, and two Muskrats.
74 species (+6 other taxa)
Cackling Goose 600
Cackling Goose (minima) 600
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 20
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 40
Trumpeter Swan 6 Fly over.
Northern Shoveler 100
Gadwall 20
Eurasian Wigeon 1 McAllister Creek.
American Wigeon 1000
Eurasian x American Wigeon (hybrid) 1
Mallard 200
Northern Pintail 300
Green-winged Teal (American) 550
Ring-necked Duck 4
Surf Scoter 40
Bufflehead 75
Common Goldeneye 38
Hooded Merganser 1
Common Merganser 7
Red-breasted Merganser 8
Anna's Hummingbird 1
Virginia Rail 1
American Coot (Red-shielded) 50
Killdeer 2
Wilson's Snipe 2
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 30
Dunlin 1750 Probably more.
Least Sandpiper 20
Western Sandpiper 3 Upwards of three mixed in nearly 2000 Dunlin. Peep
sized sandpiper with white throat.
Short-billed Gull 50
Ring-billed Gull 30
Glaucous-winged Gull 2
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 4
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 20
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Horned Grebe 4
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 3
Brandt's Cormorant 5
Double-crested Cormorant 15
American Bittern 1 Freshwater marsh near start of Nisqually Estuary
Boardwalk Trail.
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 20
Northern Harrier 3
Bald Eagle 18
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Barn Owl (American) 1 Carrying prey into Twin Barns at 7.25
pm.
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-breasted Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 6
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 5
American Kestrel (Northern) 1 Eating a little Brown Bat.
Merlin 1
Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 2
American Crow 200
Common Raven 3
Black-capped Chickadee 15
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 20
Bushtit (Pacific) 30
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 12
Golden-crowned Kinglet 20
Brown Creeper 12
Pacific Wren (Pacific) 5
Marsh Wren 8
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 4
European Starling 400
Varied Thrush 3
American Robin (migratorius Group) 15
Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 4
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow 45
White-throated Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 15
Lincoln's Sparrow 2
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 8
Western Meadowlark 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 20
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Orange-crowned Warbler (Gray-headed) 1
Date: 1/14/26 11:16 pm From: Alan Roedell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Tokul Creek Juvenile American Dipper
Wow! Fine pictures. I can practically hear its call. Thanks
On Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 8:29 PM Hank Heiberg via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Today we made our monthly search for American Dippers at the confluence
> of Tokul Creek and the Snoqualmie River. Waters were running high probably
> due to snow melt. The weather was gorgeous with blue skies, no wind and
> temperatures in the 50’s.
>
> Slightly downstream from the bridge across Tokul Creek we came across a
> juvenile American Dipper. It started out on a rock about 10 feet from us
> and ended up practically at our feet. Here is a link to an album
> containing photos from this encounter.
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljcouple/albums/72177720331461396/ >
> Hank & Karen Heiberg
> Issaquah, WA
> hankdotheiberggmail
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/14/26 9:48 pm From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening now
Hi Larry. Amazing.for so many to be wintering so far north
By doing rather random stop/start on the video I got some screen captures.
Looking at them briefly, I saw about 60 in the approximate highest density
frame.. Given the total numbers I'd estimate 200. With the correct
software. Digitizing every frame, It would not be hard to get a very
accurate count. But, I don't have that software. Maybe some Tweeter
does? Bob OBrien Portlan
On Wed, Jan 14, 2026 at 8:58 PM Larry Schwitters via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> We've been keeping track of the largest over wintering flock of Vaux’s
> Swifts ever documented north of the MX border. Where? McNear Brick and
> Block North San Francisco Bay. How many?
> You tell me. Seriously. Here’s the 14 second long video. Your name and
> number will not be shared.
>
> https://youtu.be/tR9ttvkHbSg >
> Larry Schwitters
> Issaquah
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/14/26 9:05 pm From: Larry Schwitters via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Vaux's Happening now
We've been keeping track of the largest over wintering flock of Vaux’s Swifts ever documented north of the MX border. Where? McNear Brick and Block North San Francisco Bay. How many?
You tell me. Seriously. Here’s the 14 second long video. Your name and number will not be shared.
Date: 1/14/26 8:40 pm From: Hank Heiberg via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Tokul Creek Juvenile American Dipper
Today we made our monthly search for American Dippers at the confluence of Tokul Creek and the Snoqualmie River. Waters were running high probably due to snow melt. The weather was gorgeous with blue skies, no wind and temperatures in the 50’s.
Slightly downstream from the bridge across Tokul Creek we came across a juvenile American Dipper. It started out on a rock about 10 feet from us and ended up practically at our feet. Here is a link to an album containing photos from this encounter.
Date: 1/14/26 3:58 pm From: Dee Dee via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Unusually-plumaged Bewick’s Wren yardbird
Around 10:30 this morning I noticed a Bewick’s Wren in the apple tree branches near the feeders and took a quick look with the binoculars because, though regulars, they are a favorite of mine. I was surprised to notice that this bird had exceptionally dark, almost but not quite black flanks/lower belly, in a broad, continuous band from side to side…which was unusual enough, but I was especially intrigued by the a bluish cast to the dark color. In fact the thought that first came to mind was that this bird had sat itself in a shallow pan of dark ink/dye in someone’s yard! Watching it a moment more I realized I should quit speculating and get the camera, so I did. The wren was by then on one of the feeders so although the photos were only of one side of the bird, I was pleased to see that the camera had successfully captured the hint of blue I had noticed. I have submitted an eBird checklist with a couple of the photos. I also then looked in Macaulay Library and found that within the last week someone reported a rather similarly-marked Bewick’s Wren in Discovery Park and had a very nice photo of that bird, which has a slightly bigger dark area. So I now will be looking even closer at my yardbirds. If it’s melanism, it’s a switch from all the leucistic birds that have been in my garden over the years. Anybody else seen Bewicks Wrens like this?
Date: 1/14/26 1:03 pm From: <sethleopold...> via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] How Birds Fly author Peter Cavanagh
Dear Friends
One more voice on Peter Cavanagh’s wonderful book, and an interview from an unusual vantage point you might enjoy. Once a quarter, the surgical journal that I edit interviews someone who is not a surgeon who has skills that we think doctors (and surgeons in particular) should learn more about. I thought that Peter’s skill at patient observation would really help doctors to think differently about how they sit and talk with their patients. You might like it: https://journals.lww.com/clinorthop/fulltext/2025/08000/a_conversation_with___peter_cavanagh_phd,_former.1.aspx.
Enjoy the week’s unseasonably nice weather. The birds around here certainly seem doing be doing so!
Warmest regards,
Seth
—
Seth S. Leopold, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
Professor
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
My working hours may not be your working hours. Please do not feel obligated to reply outside of your normal work schedule.
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 12:02 PM
To: <tweeters...> <tweeters...>
Subject: Tweeters Digest, Vol 257, Issue 13
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. How Birds Fly author Peter Cavanagh (Edward Pullen via Tweeters)
2. Union Bay Watch } The Monty Mystery (Hubbell via Tweeters)
3. JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk - Thursday,
January 15 - 9:00AM Start (Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters)
4. Red heads at Deer Lagoon (via Tweeters)
5. Re: Union Bay Watch } The Monty Mystery (Ronda Stark via Tweeters)
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2026 14:01:59 -0800
From: Edward Pullen via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] How Birds Fly author Peter Cavanagh
Message-ID:
<CAA29tR4XJrTEJ9HWLdgQMja2aRO-GPqX2Z0mBy6ZxqMm=<CB3sg...>
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I read Dennis's excellent review of the book How Birds Fly by Peter
Cavanagh, and remembered how much fun I had talking with him on the
podcast. If interested here is a link.
Message: 2
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2026 12:23:55 -1000
From: Hubbell via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } The Monty Mystery
Message-ID: <103A67AC-A4D5-4187-99CE-A3FD3220DC04...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Tweeters,
If you have been following my last two posts you know there have been some changes happening among the Bald Eagles near Montlake Cut. Here is my latest update along with a couple quests for 2026.
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2026 01:37:06 +0000
From: Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk -
Thursday, January 15 - 9:00AM Start
Message-ID:
<SN6PR02MB4688EF0AB6D7A1A48411FB8DFC8FA...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hi Tweeters,
The next Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) birdwalk is scheduled for Thursday, January 15, at 9:00AM.
The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders do the tour d'course the third Thursday of every month. We meet at 9:00AM<outlook-data-detector://2> through February 2026. (Change to 8:00AM in March.)
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 45degF-49degF start to finish (RealFeel 40-46) with some fog. As always, dress for success!
Message: 4
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2026 18:41:22 -0800
From: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] Red heads at Deer Lagoon
Message-ID: <6644E255-65CB-4139-BD89-72708B8BBB04...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
For several days there have been 2 females and a conspicuous male redhead at Deer Lagoon (DL), S Whidbey island. They have been hanging out with lesser scaups and ring-necked ducks on the freshwater (right hand) side of the bifurcated dike routes. The other std ducks are there as well? gadwalls, buffleheads, shovelers, pintails, mallards, green wing teals.
On the outer bar with driftwood at the mouth of DL are lots of Dunlin, some sanderlings, Brant, and 100s of surf scoters.
David Armstrong
Sent from my iPhone
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2026 20:40:28 -0800
From: Ronda Stark via Tweeters <tweeters...>
To: Hubbell <ldhubbell...>
Cc: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } The Monty Mystery
Message-ID:
<CAFNywYWXm_G5nmw=<Od_2t_mUBVEW0oTBu59XcBJrGx8GUDJpNA...>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Hi Larry,
A photographer, Lisa Lawrence, has posted on Facebook with apparently a
photo of an eagle with 4 white talons all on the same claw ( I will never
join Facebook so I did not see the actual photo, but I could read the
comments). She posits that even one white talon is evidence of leucism,
although other researchers have suggested that an injury could cause either
a temporary or permanent white talon.
best,
Ronda
On Tue, Jan 13, 2026 at 2:24?PM Hubbell via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
Date: 1/13/26 8:50 pm From: Ronda Stark via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } The Monty Mystery
Hi Larry,
A photographer, Lisa Lawrence, has posted on Facebook with apparently a
photo of an eagle with 4 white talons all on the same claw ( I will never
join Facebook so I did not see the actual photo, but I could read the
comments). She posits that even one white talon is evidence of leucism,
although other researchers have suggested that an injury could cause either
a temporary or permanent white talon.
best,
Ronda
On Tue, Jan 13, 2026 at 2:24 PM Hubbell via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Tweeters,
>
> If you have been following my last two posts you know there have been some
> changes happening among the Bald Eagles near Montlake Cut. Here is my
> latest update along with a couple quests for 2026.
>
> https://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-monty-mystery.html >
> Have a great day on Union Bay…where nature lives in the city and Black
> Birders are welcome!
>
> Larry Hubbell
> <ldhubbell...>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/13/26 6:52 pm From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Red heads at Deer Lagoon
For several days there have been 2 females and a conspicuous male redhead at Deer Lagoon (DL), S Whidbey island. They have been hanging out with lesser scaups and ring-necked ducks on the freshwater (right hand) side of the bifurcated dike routes. The other std ducks are there as well… gadwalls, buffleheads, shovelers, pintails, mallards, green wing teals.
On the outer bar with driftwood at the mouth of DL are lots of Dunlin, some sanderlings, Brant, and 100s of surf scoters.
David Armstrong
Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/13/26 5:48 pm From: Denis DeSilvis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] JBLM Eagles Pride Golf Course Monthly Birdwalk - Thursday, January 15 - 9:00AM Start
Hi Tweeters,
The next Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) Eagle's Pride Golf Course (GC) birdwalk is scheduled for Thursday, January 15, at 9:00AM.
The JBLM Eagles Pride GC birders do the tour d'course the third Thursday of every month. We meet at 9:00AM<outlook-data-detector://2> through February 2026. (Change to 8:00AM in March.)
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 45degF-49degF start to finish (RealFeel 40-46) with some fog. As always, dress for success!
Date: 1/13/26 2:34 pm From: Hubbell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } The Monty Mystery
Tweeters,
If you have been following my last two posts you know there have been some changes happening among the Bald Eagles near Montlake Cut. Here is my latest update along with a couple quests for 2026.
Date: 1/13/26 2:13 pm From: Edward Pullen via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] How Birds Fly author Peter Cavanagh
I read Dennis's excellent review of the book How Birds Fly by Peter Cavanagh, and remembered how much fun I had talking with him on the podcast. If interested here is a link.
Date: 1/13/26 4:03 am From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Kite-flying season triggers surge in manja-related bird rescues in Bengaluru
Tweeters,
Bad news and Great news.
Dan Reiff, PhD
Dangers of Manja use for kite flying and…
“Imping”… a specialised feather-implantation technique.“.
Except:
“Colonel Dr Nawaz Sherif, Chief Veterinarian of PFA, said, "Our wildlife hospital has been able to successfully release a large number of manja-affected birds, primarily through Imping, a specialised feather-implantation technique. With imping, a recovery that once took months or even a year can now take just a few days, sometimes less than 24 hours. Over the past few years, more than 1,000 birds have regained their ability to fly and have been released back into the wild."
Date: 1/12/26 6:48 pm From: Alan Roedell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: Busting the 5 biggest myths about renewable energy
Thanks Dan, good information. We've had an electric Chevrolet for eight
years.
It's economical and fast! It is the future.
Alan Roedell, Seattle
On Mon, Jan 12, 2026, 5:34 PM Dan Reiff via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Twitter,
> Interesting clarifications.
> DR
>
> *Busting the 5 biggest myths about renewable energy*
> From the scale of danger posed by wind turbines to the actual price of
> installing home solar panels, here are the facts you should know.
>
> Read in National Geographic: https://apple.news/AJI61aF7rQz-XmUBq3O55iA >
>
> Shared from Apple News <https://www.apple.com/news> >
> Sent from my iPhone
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/12/26 5:42 pm From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: Busting the 5 biggest myths about renewable energy
Date: 1/12/26 5:30 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Kaeli Swift presentation at Skagit Audubon Tuesday @ 7:00 PM on Corvid Research
Skagit Audubon will present "Something to Crow About", an in depth look at Crows. Dr. Kaeli Swift, is a self described "terrestrial avian ecologist and science communicator" who has extensively researched Corvid behaviors including ritual funeral behaviors. The Skagit Audubon Zoom meeting is tomorrow night, January 13th, at 7:00 PM. You may register for this Zoom only event through the following link:
Date: 1/12/26 4:23 pm From: Michael Price via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Red-throated Loons (plus Pacific Loons)
Hi tweets
Back when Vancouver BC's Burrard Inlet had lots of seabirds, on any winter-residency day between October and April, the Red-throated Loons would form a U-shaped wolf-pack of up to 20 loons around the mouth of False Creek.
I remember seeing similar aggregations of sometimes up to several thousand Pacific Loons which would gather each winter-residency period at the eastern entrance to Active Pass between Mayne and Galiano Islands, easily visible from the Tsawwassen-to-Schwartz Bay Ferry between Vancouver BC and Victoria. Not a bad place to look for Arctic Loons, I'd think, though best done from a boat rather than a ferry booming through at 15 knots. If you're tempted, here's a discussion of currents in the Pass from westcoastpaddle.com: https://share.google/dkwzS3ITe2YQv4oZf
best wishes, m
Michael Price Vancouver BC Canada <loblollyboy...>
Date: 1/12/26 2:53 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] how birds fly
Hi Dennis,
Thank you so much for that comprehensive and well deserved review of *How
Birds Fly*, by Peter Cavanagh. I saw Peter's name on Tweeters several
months ago regarding a presentation at a library, and contacted him for a
presentation at Skagit Audubon. He generously consented to a Zoom call and
he consented to do a presentation with us for our June 9th member meeting
(which is open to nonmembers as well). I subsequently ordered his book and
was astonished at the detail, both in his photography and the science and
detail he offers about flying. As an intermediate photographer myself, who
has made many trips to Bosque del Apache, he has one of the most
beautifully detailed portraits of a flying Sandhill Crane I've ever seen.
All of his images are superb and I find myself in awe, page after page,
with both the images and the content.
The details of how birds use thermals, the aerodynamics of upstroke, how
they chase prey, formation flying, the aerodynamics of the tail, in flight
maneuvers, and focus on specific bird flight characteristics of specific
species are covered in digestible detail. Peter, by the way, among other
things, is himself a pilot. One could easily get mired in all this
aerodynamic detail but he is able to present it in understandable language
for almost anyone and perfectly accompanied images.
After reading some of the book, I excitedly and briefly presented it at one
of our large membership meetings. Your review is confirmation that my
excitement is warranted, and I am grateful to read it!
By the way, as I said earlier, Peter will be a presenter on How Birds Fly
at our June membership meeting at Skagit Audubon, which will be both in
person and on Zoom. I will post a reminder on Tweeters.
Ann Kramer, Program Chair, SAS
On Mon, Jan 12, 2026 at 11:46 AM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I've just finished looking through a new book, *How Birds Fly*, by Peter
> Cavanagh. Peter is one of us, a resident of Lopez Island. This 336-page
> large format book is without question the best book on birds I have seen in
> a long time, surely one of the best books ever. I wanted to share my
> enthusiasm, so I have written this as a sort of review of the book.
>
> It seems to me that the author has explored all the angles you could
> possibly think of for understanding this wonderful adaptation. Humans have
> long been fascinated with flight, and he spends a lot of time comparing
> birds and airplanes, which is great for all of us who thrill to see any
> flying object. Let's face it; our great interest in birds surely stems in
> part from our envy of their ability to fly!
>
> I can't get over how thorough this book is. We all know about drag and
> lift, right? Read this book to learn so much more about what make flight
> possible. It even treats flightless birds in detail, explaining why and how
> some winged wonders evolved to stay out of the air. Learn about feather
> structure, flocking, migration, and so much more involved in the aerial
> world of birds.
>
> Each of the 13 chapters ends with a page "FROM THE LAB." Each one deals
> with an aspect of research on bird flight, each a superb example of the
> scientific method. "Can aerodynamic forces be measured?" "How do pigeons
> turn in slow flight?" "Are swifts designed for gliding or flapping?" "What
> is the altitude profile of a migration flight?"
>
> He even has a section on researchers who have studied bird flight,
> something rarely included in general books. Also, he includes the latest
> word about the many ways we have tried to copy bird flight. And the photos
> with which the book is so lavishly illustrated are by the author, from
> hummingbirds to albatrosses and all over the world. I especially like
> learning where each photo was taken. Peter Cavanagh is a superb
> photographer and writer.
>
> The profusion of photos, their educational captions, and the many, many
> diagrams will allow you to delve into bird flight widely, with an even
> deeper knowledge from reading the text. Of course, this should be combined
> with doing a lot of birding. Learn about flight, and then go out and
> understand better what you are seeing!
>
> Dennis Paulson
>
> Seattle
>
> dennispaulson at comcast dot net
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/12/26 1:06 pm From: BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrushes and a Pileated at Woodland Park
Since the focus on varied thrushes I thought I'd mention we saw 2-3 of them in a mixed group (including a Pileated!) on Saturday (on the lower section of the southern loop road) on Saturday and heard their lovely eerie calls at the NE quadrant of the 55th Street underpass (at least a couple) on Sunday, all at Woodland Park in Seattle.
They do ebb and flow over the years but Woodland Park is usually a decent place to see them during the depth of winter.
Brad Liljequist
Phinney Ridge, Seattle, WA, USA, Earth
Date: 1/12/26 12:09 pm From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush
I guess I’ll add to this mystery. We have them in our yard every winter—in Dec 2022 we had 18 as a high count—but none this winter so far. And nary a robin visited our big cotoneaster this fall/winter, perhaps a first ever for that.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
dennispaulson at comcast dot net
Date: 1/12/26 11:56 am From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] how birds fly
I've just finished looking through a new book, How Birds Fly, by Peter Cavanagh. Peter is one of us, a resident of Lopez Island. This 336-page large format book is without question the best book on birds I have seen in a long time, surely one of the best books ever. I wanted to share my enthusiasm, so I have written this as a sort of review of the book.
It seems to me that the author has explored all the angles you could possibly think of for understanding this wonderful adaptation. Humans have long been fascinated with flight, and he spends a lot of time comparing birds and airplanes, which is great for all of us who thrill to see any flying object. Let's face it; our great interest in birds surely stems in part from our envy of their ability to fly!
I can't get over how thorough this book is. We all know about drag and lift, right? Read this book to learn so much more about what make flight possible. It even treats flightless birds in detail, explaining why and how some winged wonders evolved to stay out of the air. Learn about feather structure, flocking, migration, and so much more involved in the aerial world of birds.
Each of the 13 chapters ends with a page "FROM THE LAB." Each one deals with an aspect of research on bird flight, each a superb example of the scientific method. "Can aerodynamic forces be measured?" "How do pigeons turn in slow flight?" "Are swifts designed for gliding or flapping?" "What is the altitude profile of a migration flight?"
He even has a section on researchers who have studied bird flight, something rarely included in general books. Also, he includes the latest word about the many ways we have tried to copy bird flight. And the photos with which the book is so lavishly illustrated are by the author, from hummingbirds to albatrosses and all over the world. I especially like learning where each photo was taken. Peter Cavanagh is a superb photographer and writer.
The profusion of photos, their educational captions, and the many, many diagrams will allow you to delve into bird flight widely, with an even deeper knowledge from reading the text. Of course, this should be combined with doing a lot of birding. Learn about flight, and then go out and understand better what you are seeing!
Date: 1/12/26 6:40 am From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush
Haven't had any in my yard this winter yet. Some years I can have a dozen.
Louise Rutter
Kirkland
On Mon, Jan 12, 2026 at 12:03 AM Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I still have only seen one here in Federsl Way this winter.
>
> Hans
>
> *Hans Feddern*
> Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
> <thefedderns...>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 7:30 PM Stef Neis via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> We have had a pair here for a few weeks now. Winter 2022 we had a dozen
>> who were enjoying the remaining apples on our trees until a Cooper’s hawk
>> cleaned them out. Since then we only get a pair.
>> Stef Neis
>> Whidbey Island
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On Jan 11, 2026, at 6:54 PM, Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> Thought I’d share a quick update: here at 500’ above Silverdale I’m now
>> reliably seeing Varied Thrush. There seem to be three individuals hanging
>> about. Typical for a winter here is 4-5 (high is 7), and the group arrived
>> a couple of weeks later than typical but they’re now here. Also, it’s not
>> at all unusual for an individual or two to show up first and scope out the
>> place before the others arrive, so this seems to now be a typical year
>> shifted by a couple of weeks.
>>
>> 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 >>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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: 1/12/26 12:14 am From: Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush
I still have only seen one here in Federsl Way this winter.
Hans
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
<thefedderns...>
On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 7:30 PM Stef Neis via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> We have had a pair here for a few weeks now. Winter 2022 we had a dozen
> who were enjoying the remaining apples on our trees until a Cooper’s hawk
> cleaned them out. Since then we only get a pair.
> Stef Neis
> Whidbey Island
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jan 11, 2026, at 6:54 PM, Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
>
> Thought I’d share a quick update: here at 500’ above Silverdale I’m now
> reliably seeing Varied Thrush. There seem to be three individuals hanging
> about. Typical for a winter here is 4-5 (high is 7), and the group arrived
> a couple of weeks later than typical but they’re now here. Also, it’s not
> at all unusual for an individual or two to show up first and scope out the
> place before the others arrive, so this seems to now be a typical year
> shifted by a couple of weeks.
>
> 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 >
> _______________________________________________
> 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: 1/11/26 7:03 pm From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush
Thought I’d share a quick update: here at 500’ above Silverdale I’m now
reliably seeing Varied Thrush. There seem to be three individuals hanging
about. Typical for a winter here is 4-5 (high is 7), and the group arrived
a couple of weeks later than typical but they’re now here. Also, it’s not
at all unusual for an individual or two to show up first and scope out the
place before the others arrive, so this seems to now be a typical year
shifted by a couple of weeks.
chuq
---------------------------------------
Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
Silverdale, Washington
Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
Date: 1/11/26 4:25 pm From: Ed Dominguez via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Red-throated Loons
Wow, fantastic! Wish I had seen them!
Ed
On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 11:09 AM Neil Zimmerman via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I have been leading Birds Connect Seattle field trips to Deception Pass SP
> for years. Yesterday, I and my friend Roniq led a trip to the park. Off of
> West Beach, we saw 5-600 RTLOs. Smelt use the pass during the winter in
> large numbers and loons with other birds gather to feed. We were there
> right after high tide and there was a constant stream of birds. They fly up
> against the current and feed in the water as they ride the current back to
> the west then they fly back and do it again. When they aren’t feeding, the
> surface of the water to the west is covered by the loons. Every year I am
> amazed by the huge number of RTLOs. I have read that places back east have
> numbers that can reach over a hundred thousand. There may be other places
> in WA where this happens. I am sure if there is, someone on Tweeters knows
> about.
> Definitely a spectacle to see.
> Neil Zimmerman,
> Brier, WA
>
> Sent from my iPad
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/11/26 4:23 pm From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Red-throated Loons
Like Neil, I have watched this many times, and I have seen nothing like it anywhere else. Small numbers of Red-throated Loons are all over the coastal waters of Washington, but nothing like this. And it is surprising that other loons, which presumably eat these same fish, are a minimal part of this phenomenon.
Point Wilson has always been a good place to see seabirds flying upcurrent and drifting downcurrent, feeding as they go, then repeating the process. Even grebes do this there, and we don’t often think of grebes flying around much.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
> On Jan 11, 2026, at 11:08 AM, Neil Zimmerman via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> I have been leading Birds Connect Seattle field trips to Deception Pass SP for years. Yesterday, I and my friend Roniq led a trip to the park. Off of West Beach, we saw 5-600 RTLOs. Smelt use the pass during the winter in large numbers and loons with other birds gather to feed. We were there right after high tide and there was a constant stream of birds. They fly up against the current and feed in the water as they ride the current back to the west then they fly back and do it again. When they aren’t feeding, the surface of the water to the west is covered by the loons. Every year I am amazed by the huge number of RTLOs. I have read that places back east have numbers that can reach over a hundred thousand. There may be other places in WA where this happens. I am sure if there is, someone on Tweeters knows about.
> Definitely a spectacle to see.
> Neil Zimmerman,
> Brier, WA
>
> Sent from my iPad
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/11/26 11:19 am From: Neil Zimmerman via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Red-throated Loons
I have been leading Birds Connect Seattle field trips to Deception Pass SP for years. Yesterday, I and my friend Roniq led a trip to the park. Off of West Beach, we saw 5-600 RTLOs. Smelt use the pass during the winter in large numbers and loons with other birds gather to feed. We were there right after high tide and there was a constant stream of birds. They fly up against the current and feed in the water as they ride the current back to the west then they fly back and do it again. When they aren’t feeding, the surface of the water to the west is covered by the loons. Every year I am amazed by the huge number of RTLOs. I have read that places back east have numbers that can reach over a hundred thousand. There may be other places in WA where this happens. I am sure if there is, someone on Tweeters knows about.
Definitely a spectacle to see.
Neil Zimmerman,
Brier, WA
Date: 1/11/26 10:23 am From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] WOS Monthly Meeting, January 26, 2026 (on-line only) ... for February
The Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) is pleased to announce our next Monthly Meeting: on Monday, January 26, 2026 (please note this is one week earlier due to a scheduling conflict), Chris Templeton Ph.D. will present, "Sound the Alarm: How Chickadees Communicate Sophisticated Information about Predators." Chickadees! We think of them as common, but their vocalization are anything but! Chickadees have one of the most sophisticated means of communicating about predators of all animals. And other songbird species use this information to learn about threats in their environment. Our speaker, Chris Templeton will introduce us to avian bio-acoustics, describe how birds produce their impressive vocalizations and discuss the different types of information they communicate. Chris will highlight some of the bio-acoustics work his research group is conducting, aiming to unravel the types of information encoded in subtle variations of Chickadee alarm calls.
Chris has spent more than 20 years as an ornithologist. He has studied a wide variety of different bird species across the world, focusing on the evolution and ecology of avian behavior. He has a PhD in Biology from the University of Washington, and is a member of the Department of Biology faculty at Western Washington University.
This meeting will be conducted virtually, via Zoom (no in-person attendance). Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm, and the meeting commences at 7:30 pm. Please go to the WOS Monthly Meetings page: https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.
When joining the meeting, we ask that you mute your device and make certain that your camera is turned off.
This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend. Thanks to the generosity of our presenters, recordings of past programs are available at the following link to the WOS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonornithologicalso7839/videos
If you are not yet a member of WOS, we hope you will consider becoming one at https://wos.org
Date: 1/10/26 3:56 pm From: Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Tundra Swan at Union Bay
The injured Tundra Swan is still at the Union Bay Natural Area, Montlake Fill area. It is moving around from place to place which makes it a challenge to keep track of it. If you know where the swan was sited today, please let me know. If you see it tomorrow or after, please let me know ASAP. I am working to assess if this swan can be captured. It does have an injury to its neck/head area which has compromised the bird's ability to preen and perhaps fly. That said, this swan most likely can fly enough to escape capture. However, it may be getting weaker (or not) and we need to keep monitoring it.but is not doing so which causes concern. If you have photos or video of the swan over the past few days and into the future please send them to me via text at: 206-713-3684 I am working closely with WDFW regarding this situation. Thank you. Martha Jordan
Date: 1/8/26 4:02 pm From: Matt Bartels via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-08
Tweets -
It was a clear, crisp day at Marymoor Park today. 4 of us filled in for a traveling Michael.
We enjoyed the clear weather, but the day was peppered with long stretches where the birds seemed to disappear. Nevertheless, several good highlights for the relatively new year:
Trumpeter Swans - 14 flew overhead
Barn Owl - 2 before dawn in the East Meadow/Model Airplane Field
Northern Shrike - 1 in the east meadow
Varied Thrush - we speculated the snow in the mountains would bring us one today, and sure enough one obliged
Western Meadowlark - our wintering flock of ~14 made another appearance
Notable misses today included: Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Anna’s Hummingbird, Rock Pigeon, Killdeer, Bushtit, Purple Finch and American Goldfinch.
For the day, we came up with 48 species, about 7 of which look like new Marymoor walk year birds, bringing the year total to about 59.
Date: 1/8/26 12:46 pm From: Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] South Africa advice - thank you
Many thanks to all the Tweeters who responded to my query about birding and safety in South Africa, both publicly and privately. I am so grateful you took the time to help educate me as my husband and I contemplate this Big Trip.
Pretty much everyone who addressed the safety issue said they had had no problems, that staying alert and taking sensible precautions (like not showing around a huge fancy camera and staying away from more sensitive areas) make it likely well have an excellent experience. I was really glad to hear this, and feel very encouraged about going ahead and making the trip.
I also got a bunch of recommendations for excellent guides, so now I have a very useful list to refer to. Im happy to share the list with those interested - just email me (info below).
With much appreciation for this generous group,
Trileigh
Date: 1/8/26 5:37 am From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 1/7/2026
Dear Tweets,
Happy New Year! Approximately 20 of us enjoyed a wet and wild one at the
Refuge yesterday with cloudy skies, intermittent rain, breezy to windy
conditions and temperatures in the 40's degrees Fahrenheit. There was a
High 15'4" Tide at 8:57am, so a nice tidal push and we did our routine walk
despite a few trail closures from fallen trees. The intrepid birding crew
of the Wednesday Walk joked about how this was the nicest weather they had
seen since my trip to Tanzania, I left the second week of December and
returned last Monday, and I was very impressed that they kept it going
through some stormy conditions.
Highlights included Michael reporting two BARN OWLS returning to the Twin
Barns around 7:18am in the morning. This is wonderful news after the
diagnosis of Avian Influenza in two Barn Owls that recently died in the
Twin Barns over the last 2-3 weeks. I suspect we had several owls
roosting/breeding in the Twin Barns with the departure of our breeding
Great Horned Owls which we have not seen in over a year. Other notable
sightings included reliable looks of RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in the Pear
Trees by the Technician or Land Trust Building adjacent to the maintenance
yard, breeding plumage waterfowl with observed copulation in NORTHERN
PINTAIL and MALLARD, two WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS hanging out with a large
flock GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS in the picnic area adjacent to the Twin
Barns, good looks of VIRGINIA RAIL walking the bramble line south of the
Nisqually Estuary Trail or dike just before the Leschi Slough aqueduct runs
under the dike, Ken spotted our wintering Yellow-shafted NORTHERN FLICKER
in the surge plaine, as well Matt spotted both LINCOLN SPARROW in the surge
plain and two WESTERN MEADOWLARKS flushed by NORTHERN HARRIER from the
marsh plain along Leschi Slough were it runs parallel to the dike. A
single WESTERN SANDPIPER was observed foraging with a flock of
approximately 100 DUNLIN.
For the day we had 62 species with numerous fun sightings despite the wild
weather. And according to the Wednesday Walk team, it was the best weather
they had seen in a month. See our eBird report pasted below. I'll share
more information about our 2025 round up soon.
Until we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook on Wednesday
next week, happy birding...
Shep
--
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Jan 7, 2026 7:35 AM - 3:17 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.06 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Cloudy skies with intermittent
rain, temperatures in the 40’s degrees Fahrenheit. A High 15’4” Tide at
8:57am. Others seen include Douglas Squirrel, Columbian Black-tailed Deer,
and California Sea Lion.
62 species (+5 other taxa)
Cackling Goose 500
Cackling Goose (minima) 200
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 4
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 50
Northern Shoveler 150
Gadwall 30
Eurasian Wigeon 1
American Wigeon 1500
Mallard 200
Northern Pintail 800
Green-winged Teal (American) 500
Ring-necked Duck 6
Surf Scoter 30
Bufflehead 75
Common Goldeneye 30
Hooded Merganser 3
Common Merganser (North American) 2
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 5
Anna's Hummingbird 1
Virginia Rail 1
American Coot (Red-shielded) 34
Greater Yellowlegs 24
Dunlin 500
Least Sandpiper 50
Western Sandpiper 1 Seen at 100-500 feet with spotting scope foraging
with Dunlin for 5 minutes. Peep sized shorebird with white throat and dark
legs.
Short-billed Gull 75
Ring-billed Gull 25
Glaucous-winged Gull 2
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 10
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 30
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Horned Grebe 3
Brandt's Cormorant 15
Double-crested Cormorant 25
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) 20
Northern Harrier 2
Bald Eagle 20
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Barn Owl 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-breasted Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 Observed for 5 minutes. Red nape,
brown face, and yellow shafts. Previously reported.
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 6
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) 0
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Crow 175
Black-capped Chickadee 10
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
Brown Creeper 5
Pacific Wren (Pacific) 3
Marsh Wren 4
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 2
European Starling 150
American Robin 40
Purple Finch (Western) 6
Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 3
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow 50
White-throated Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 20
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 5
Western Meadowlark 2
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 30
Date: 1/7/26 3:54 pm From: pan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Sikes Lake, King County, rarities
Tweets,
The Kumlien's Iceland Gull continues today in a small flooded pasture pond on the north side of 100th north of Sikes Lake (west of Carnation, King County), arriving a few minutes before 1 p. m. today. The Glaucous Gull was in that pond much of the morning, starting sometime around/after nine, and sometimes coming right up to the shoulder under the fence. Nearby, I got to see the Rough-legged Hawk drop to catch a rodent, then carry it to a tree to eat. The Ross's Goose continues with a flock of hundreds of Cackling Geese in the fields north of Carnation Farms, though distant. This flock arrived sometime after 8:30 a. m.
New, I found a female Common Yellowthroat in brambles on the south side of 100th just west of the first curve in the road as approached from the west, loosely associating with a flock of mixed sparrows and one Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
Also around, a bittern on the edge of the lake, passing swans, kestrels, harriers, Brewer's Blackbirds, and such. I did not see owls, but I didn't stay for evening.
Happy new year.
7 January, 2026,
Alan Grenon
Seattle
panmail AT mailfence PERIOD com
Date: 1/7/26 12:56 pm From: Philomena via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Pacific County Birding - first trip of the year
Fun to read of your trip and bird sightings Tim, thanks for sharing.
Philomena
Sent from my iPad
> On Jan 7, 2026, at 12:33 PM, Tim Brennan via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> Hey Tweets!
>
> Looking at the weather, it looked like Jan 4-5-6 was going to be giving me rain-beautiful-awful out on the coast, so I made a ran for it. Interesting to see that I can get to Pacific County in about 1:45 (from Renton to the Lewis/Pacific line on Hwy 6), but to get to the far reaches of Leadbetter Spit is nearly 3 and a half hours! This year was supposed to feel closer... and it does... but it's interesting to see that chasing a bird in Leadbetter or McNary could be about the same amount of time.
>
> 89 species for the trip! I was able to get American Dipper on Elk Heights Road at a little pulloff. Continuing in towards Raymond on Sunday afternoon, American Kestrel and Eurasian Collared-Doves were found along Highway 6. I went up to the Willapa River Airport and found three Snow Geese mixed in with the hordes of Cackling and Canada Geese.
>
> Early to bed, early to rise - I used the wee dark hours to do some owling on my way from Raymond to Grayland. An early stop on a backroad got me a Northern Saw-whet Owl, probably a feat that is possible up many many similar backroads if a person enjoys looking for owls. I made 5-6 stops along the way from the airport to the cranberry bogs outside of Grayland, picking up 4 Great Horned Owls at three stops.
>
> Grayland Beach State Park was beautiful - the whole day was. I got a little twilight shorebirding done, with a nice long look at a Snowy Plover, and a nice mix of other shorebirds (Least, Western, Dunlin) feeding on some flooded sand. Down on the shore itself, I caught a Horned Lark. Back in the park, there were typical passerines, and close to a dozen Varied Thrushes.
>
> Tokeland was full of shorebirds behind the Tradewinds Hotel - Black-bellied Plover, Least and Western Sandpipers. I also got my only Northern Pintails of the day here. After a year of birding in Columbia County, it's nice to have the ducks back... and I really don't mean to complain, but... all of them are Buffleheads. Not ALL of them, of course, but... Pacific County almost felt like a marginally better Columbia County, plus 3 billion Buffleheads. Other duck species were tough to come by!
>
> At the Tokeland Marina, I got a flyover of three shorebirds - two Willets and a Marbled Godwit. An Eared Grebe feeding in very close was a nice surprise. Plenty of Common Loons, and a couple Red-throated Loons were out in the water.
>
> The Cedar River was a great stop. I picked up Trumpeter Swans here, and there was a lot of shorebird activity, with high numbers of Long-billed Dowitchers and Greater Yellowlegs visible from the trail, and a lot of distant peeps. I also had a Black Phoebe here. Exciting for the moment, as my checklist has it as a code 5 bird, although I am sure that will change.
>
> Potter Slough was a nice walk, and added Lincoln's Sparrow, Marsh Wrens, Northern Harrier, Western Meadowlarks, and Virginia Rail. Nearby Carruthers Slough had a nice flock of American Wigeon, including at least one Eurasian.
>
> Bay Center gave me a couple more ducks I'd been missing - a single Hooded Merganser, and a single Common Goldeneye. A Merlin also made a pass at some shorebirds, making for some excitement.
>
> Tuesday was awful! 😄 I birded through some rain in Chinook Valley to add a few more birds: Sharp-shinned Hawk, Common Merganser, and Wilson's Snipe. At Cape Disappointment, I had steady rain, and steady winds with gusts in the 20s. Here I added Pelagic Cormorant and Pigeon Guillemot. I poked around on my way up to Long Beach, hoping to look at some feeders, but the weather was just pretty miserable! So I headed back after a bowl of chowder.
>
> The blog at pacificcountybirding.blogspot.com will get updated in the next few days.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Tim Brennan
> Renton
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/7/26 12:43 pm From: Tim Brennan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Pacific County Birding - first trip of the year
Hey Tweets!
Looking at the weather, it looked like Jan 4-5-6 was going to be giving me rain-beautiful-awful out on the coast, so I made a ran for it. Interesting to see that I can get to Pacific County in about 1:45 (from Renton to the Lewis/Pacific line on Hwy 6), but to get to the far reaches of Leadbetter Spit is nearly 3 and a half hours! This year was supposed to feel closer... and it does... but it's interesting to see that chasing a bird in Leadbetter or McNary could be about the same amount of time.
89 species for the trip! I was able to get American Dipper on Elk Heights Road at a little pulloff. Continuing in towards Raymond on Sunday afternoon, American Kestrel and Eurasian Collared-Doves were found along Highway 6. I went up to the Willapa River Airport and found three Snow Geese mixed in with the hordes of Cackling and Canada Geese.
Early to bed, early to rise - I used the wee dark hours to do some owling on my way from Raymond to Grayland. An early stop on a backroad got me a Northern Saw-whet Owl, probably a feat that is possible up many many similar backroads if a person enjoys looking for owls. I made 5-6 stops along the way from the airport to the cranberry bogs outside of Grayland, picking up 4 Great Horned Owls at three stops.
Grayland Beach State Park was beautiful - the whole day was. I got a little twilight shorebirding done, with a nice long look at a Snowy Plover, and a nice mix of other shorebirds (Least, Western, Dunlin) feeding on some flooded sand. Down on the shore itself, I caught a Horned Lark. Back in the park, there were typical passerines, and close to a dozen Varied Thrushes.
Tokeland was full of shorebirds behind the Tradewinds Hotel - Black-bellied Plover, Least and Western Sandpipers. I also got my only Northern Pintails of the day here. After a year of birding in Columbia County, it's nice to have the ducks back... and I really don't mean to complain, but... all of them are Buffleheads. Not ALL of them, of course, but... Pacific County almost felt like a marginally better Columbia County, plus 3 billion Buffleheads. Other duck species were tough to come by!
At the Tokeland Marina, I got a flyover of three shorebirds - two Willets and a Marbled Godwit. An Eared Grebe feeding in very close was a nice surprise. Plenty of Common Loons, and a couple Red-throated Loons were out in the water.
The Cedar River was a great stop. I picked up Trumpeter Swans here, and there was a lot of shorebird activity, with high numbers of Long-billed Dowitchers and Greater Yellowlegs visible from the trail, and a lot of distant peeps. I also had a Black Phoebe here. Exciting for the moment, as my checklist has it as a code 5 bird, although I am sure that will change.
Potter Slough was a nice walk, and added Lincoln's Sparrow, Marsh Wrens, Northern Harrier, Western Meadowlarks, and Virginia Rail. Nearby Carruthers Slough had a nice flock of American Wigeon, including at least one Eurasian.
Bay Center gave me a couple more ducks I'd been missing - a single Hooded Merganser, and a single Common Goldeneye. A Merlin also made a pass at some shorebirds, making for some excitement.
Tuesday was awful! 😄 I birded through some rain in Chinook Valley to add a few more birds: Sharp-shinned Hawk, Common Merganser, and Wilson's Snipe. At Cape Disappointment, I had steady rain, and steady winds with gusts in the 20s. Here I added Pelagic Cormorant and Pigeon Guillemot. I poked around on my way up to Long Beach, hoping to look at some feeders, but the weather was just pretty miserable! So I headed back after a bowl of chowder.
The blog at pacificcountybirding.blogspot.com will get updated in the next few days.
Date: 1/6/26 2:23 pm From: Julie M Crudele via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] South Africa
Trileigh,
When I was in South Africa I met a guide (Richard Anderson, South African) who was trying out the camp we were staying in. We by happenstance traveled together for a few days, and I found him to be a great guy and an avid birder. He has a company, Anderson Expedition, that has a naturalist and birder on staff. You could check them out and see what they have to offer. If/When I go back to subsaharan Africa they will be who I use. https://www.andersonexpeditions.com<https://www.andersonexpeditions.com/guide/fraser-gear/>
I haven't been to South Africa since 2015, but at the time felt perfectly safe in Sodwana Bay, Cape Town and wine country by ourselves (I was with my mom, so we were two women traveling) and in game reserves with guides. Obviously, a lot can change in 10 years, but I think most reputable tour companies will be honest about the safety situation and make suggestions accordingly. Most countries (and cities) aren't a monolith, and a lot of the risk historically for South Africa has been in townships. Some tourists choose to go to them; we did not for both personal safety and ethical reasons.
I hope you have a fabulous time. I still think of some of the birds I saw there and that was before I considered myself a "birder."
Julie
________________________________
> On 01/03/2026 12:00 PM PST via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
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> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. FOY (Bea Harrison via Tweeters)
> 2. This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club (Marcus Roening via Tweeters)
> 3. space available for Oaxaca birding trip (David Cook via Tweeters)
> 4. OT: South Africa birding (Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters)
> 5. Re: This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club
> (Diane Yorgason-Quinn via Tweeters)
> 6. Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-02
> (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2026 12:16:12 -0800
> From: Bea Harrison via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: <tweeters...>
> Subject: [Tweeters] FOY
> Message-ID: <48E7BA88-2427-4045-9533-F5A55A125FB5...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Spotted towhee. First one at our feeder in a while. Eastern WA.
> Bea Harrison
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2026 18:51:42 -0800
> From: Marcus Roening via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Subject: [Tweeters] This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club
> Message-ID: <C84E3B4F-AA68-4E71-9EF5-03969AFB5E83...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Hi Tweets,
>
> Congratulations to our newest 2025 member of the 253 Club, here in Pierce
> County - Area Code 253. By achieving this lofty mile stone, new members are entitled to a beverage of their choice from yours truly!
>
> Ryan Shaw #253 - finding a Short-tailed Shearwater off of Dune during the massive influx of these wonderful tubenoses into Puget Sound waters. Massive extra credit for achieving this goal while living in Texas!
>
> Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park, continues to be the spot to see pelagic birds from land. With a sweeping view to Des Moines to the Northeast, Commencement Bay to the East and Dalco Passage to the Northwest, it is the #1 eBird Hotspot in Pierce County with 229 species seen. Accessed near Point Ruston, this park was created in 2019. Amazingly, this year tallied all 3 Shearwaters: Short-tailed, Sooty and Manx and a shocking trifecta of Storm-Petrels: Fork-tailed, Leach?s & Wilson?s (the latter under WBRC review).
>
> Unfortunately, the 5 Mile Drive that went around the tip of Point Defiance has
> been closed to cars due to severe erosion of the bluffs, but it is still a wonderful place to bike and walk - now without cars.
>
> New Pierce County Big Year Record ? 246 species by Craig Miller
>
> Special Kudos to Craig, for surpassing Will Brook?s Pierce County record of 243 species, with a final Tundra Swan on Lake Tapps in the last week of the year. I can attest to his many hours out in the field and up in the mountains. The most amazing sighting that I personally witnessed with him was of a White-tailed Ptarmigan off of Panorama Point on Mount Rainier. While it is possible to see ptarmigan right off the trail, it is a rare occurrence, often requiring as many as 6 dedicated trips. Craig had carried his scope all the way up the snow field in June with us and found the bird a 1000 feet below us off of Pebble Creek! Certainly not identifiable with binoculars and an amazing find.
>
> For completeness, here are the prior 253 members as divined by a combination of eBird and WA Birder records. And for those below who?d like to share, let me know your 253th bird and any story you?d like to share.
>
> Patrick Sullivan <2007
> Charlie Wright 2011
> Bruce LaBar 2014
> Marcus Roening 2016 - Cassin?s Auklet
> Ed Pullen 2017
> Mike Charest 2017
> Heather Ballash 2021 - Barred Owl
> Tom Mansfield 2021
> Wayne Sladek 2021
> Peter Wimberger 2021
> Heather Voboril 2022
> Will Brooks 2022
> Bryan Hansen 2023 ? Black-legged Kittiwake
> Scott Saunders 2023 ? Tufted Puffin
> Craig Miller 2023 ? Nazca Booby
> Michael Hobbs 2024 ? Marbled Godwit
> Ryan Shaw 2025 ? Short-tailed Shearwater
>
> Good birding to all in the New Year,
>
> Marcus Roening Tacoma WA, The 253 - Pierce County
>
> Marcus Roening
> Tacoma WA
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2026 18:52:20 -0800
> From: David Cook via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: tweeters <tweeters...>
> Subject: [Tweeters] space available for Oaxaca birding trip
> Message-ID:
> <CAPM-fG8KrgiegUHk_PZsgLzDByREnqsB46C2Cj_PEUtwbrhrgw...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> I am organizing a birding trip to Oaxaca, Mexico in March 2026 and we could
> add 1 or 2 more people to our trip. We will be going to locations north,
> south and east of Oaxaca city, but not touring the entire state of Oaxaca.
> It is likely to last 8-10 days.
> If you are interested in possibly joining us, please contact me at my
> personal email, <41cdcook...> and I can provide you with more details.
>
> Dave Cook
> Seattle
> -------------- next part --------------
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2026 03:24:24 +0000
> From: Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Subject: [Tweeters] OT: South Africa birding
> Message-ID:
> <MW4PR04MB734506A07D856F99FBE4D0AFC4B8A...>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>
> Hello Tweets,
>
> A friend has invited us to accompany him to South Africa in September. He?s not a birder, but would be willing for us to take some birding days while there. I believe he?s thinking he'll plan things himself rather than hire a tour guide/company. So, a couple of questions for those who?ve been there in recent years:
>
> The State Department has some pretty unnerving risk alerts for SA, which make me wonder whether it?s actually a good destination in current times, or whether it?d be better to wait until it seems safer. If you?ve been there, either on your own or with a tour company, I?d be interested to hear how safe you felt.
>
> In terms of birding, are there companies or guides you would recommend for outings?
>
> Any other thoughts welcome.
>
> Thanks much,
> Trileigh
>
>
>
> Trileigh Tucker
>
> Gw?alali Valley, West Seattle
>
> NaturalPresenceArts.com<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://naturalpresencearts.com/__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!h4Nl4KlPYyud_Edn7hTSOLi6K-a3Dri1bU3yEF0x_cj3F6GSh-YsTfhpgMkd9ERn6A4paQMKTTw0mT0LA6BQNeTmxXlLWJ8$ >
>
> tri@seattleu <dot> edu
>
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2026 03:51:51 +0000
> From: Diane Yorgason-Quinn via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: Tweeters <tweeters...>, Marcus Roening
> <marcus...>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club
> Message-ID:
> <DS5PPF8C62CDFB056B301FEAFAC763E3CD7C0B8A...>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>
> Wow! Nice list and good news!
>
> Now Dune-rs will have to reach 229!
>
> I hope you'll share this at our celebration meeting on Jan 21 at 5:30 to 7 (darn library's restricted hours)! It's only fitting that the originator of the 253 list and one of the early champions should be there. Maybe with a mug for the drink.
>
> Now about Craig, I still don't know him. Could you talk him into coming?
>
> Diane
> ________________________________
> From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Marcus Roening via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Sent: Friday, January 2, 2026 6:51 PM
> To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Subject: [Tweeters] This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club
>
>
> Hi Tweets,
>
> Congratulations to our newest 2025 member of the 253 Club, here in Pierce
> County - Area Code 253. By achieving this lofty mile stone, new members are entitled to a beverage of their choice from yours truly!
>
> Ryan Shaw #253 - finding a Short-tailed Shearwater off of Dune during the massive influx of these wonderful tubenoses into Puget Sound waters. Massive extra credit for achieving this goal while living in Texas!
>
> Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park, continues to be the spot to see pelagic birds from land. With a sweeping view to Des Moines to the Northeast, Commencement Bay to the East and Dalco Passage to the Northwest, it is the #1 eBird Hotspot in Pierce County with 229 species seen. Accessed near Point Ruston, this park was created in 2019. Amazingly, this year tallied all 3 Shearwaters: Short-tailed, Sooty and Manx and a shocking trifecta of Storm-Petrels: Fork-tailed, Leach?s & Wilson?s (the latter under WBRC review).
>
>
>
> Unfortunately, the 5 Mile Drive that went around the tip of Point Defiance has
> been closed to cars due to severe erosion of the bluffs, but it is still a wonderful place to bike and walk - now without cars.
>
>
>
> New Pierce County Big Year Record ? 246 species by Craig Miller
>
>
>
> Special Kudos to Craig, for surpassing Will Brook?s Pierce County record of 243 species, with a final Tundra Swan on Lake Tapps in the last week of the year. I can attest to his many hours out in the field and up in the mountains. The most amazing sighting that I personally witnessed with him was of a White-tailed Ptarmigan off of Panorama Point on Mount Rainier. While it is possible to see ptarmigan right off the trail, it is a rare occurrence, often requiring as many as 6 dedicated trips. Craig had carried his scope all the way up the snow field in June with us and found the bird a 1000 feet below us off of Pebble Creek! Certainly not identifiable with binoculars and an amazing find.
>
> For completeness, here are the prior 253 members as divined by a combination of eBird and WA Birder records. And for those below who?d like to share, let me know your 253th bird and any story you?d like to share.
>
> Patrick Sullivan <2007
> Charlie Wright 2011
> Bruce LaBar 2014
> Marcus Roening 2016 - Cassin?s Auklet
> Ed Pullen 2017
> Mike Charest 2017
> Heather Ballash 2021 - Barred Owl
>
> Tom Mansfield 2021
> Wayne Sladek 2021
> Peter Wimberger 2021
> Heather Voboril 2022
> Will Brooks 2022
>
> Bryan Hansen 2023 ? Black-legged Kittiwake
>
> Scott Saunders 2023 ? Tufted Puffin
>
> Craig Miller 2023 ? Nazca Booby
>
> Michael Hobbs 2024 ? Marbled Godwit
>
> Ryan Shaw 2025 ? Short-tailed Shearwater
>
> Good birding to all in the New Year,
>
> Marcus Roening Tacoma WA, The 253 - Pierce County
>
>
>
> Marcus Roening
> Tacoma WA
> -------------- next part --------------
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2026 21:58:21 -0800
> From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-02
> Message-ID:
> <CAPO=BqsqCUZkTHW=Aq_r9AJWQRC-rkiM27AadKsLRd+<zKoFPUQ...>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Tweets - We started the new year with a remarkably nice day. There was
> early morning fog and chill, but the fog lifted. Temps in the 40's and no
> wind. Water levels are dropping and the birding is picking up; several
> species were singing today.
>
> Highlights:
> Greater White-fronted Goose - Five just below the weir
> Three species of goose, after a few weeks of one species or no geese
> at all
> Anna's Hummingbird - Male back in his spot near the windmill
> Wilson's Snipe - Three giving good looks below the weir
> Horned Grebe - Two, closer than usual to the Viewing Platform
> Downy Woodpecker - Quite a few sightings, good looks
> Merlin - One flew west just north of the Viewing Mound
> White-throated Sparrow - Two? Four?
>
> We had two WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS immediately south of the Dog Meadow.
> Then 2+ hours later, and 100 yards away across the river, I had two again
> behind the Rowing Club boathouse. Same birds found twice or four??? Hard
> to decide.
>
> I don't have my cheat sheet with me, so no official list of "Misses"
> (Species seen on 50% or more years during this week, but not today), but I
> can unreliably report Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser,
> Killdeer,.Bushtit, Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch as the probable list.
>
> Despite that list of Misses, we did have 52 species to start our 2026 list.
>
> = Michael Hobbs
> = <BirdMarymoor...>
> = https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.marymoor.org/birding.htm__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!h4Nl4KlPYyud_Edn7hTSOLi6K-a3Dri1bU3yEF0x_cj3F6GSh-YsTfhpgMkd9ERn6A4paQMKTTw0mT0LA6BQNeTm8nIPdfI$ > -------------- next part --------------
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>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
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> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
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>
> End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 257, Issue 3
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Date: 1/6/26 11:48 am From: DEENA HEG via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Yellow-shafted flicker (Joan Miller via Tweeters)
I have had what I'm pretty sure is an intergrade flicker coming to my suet feeder for the last several years: red nape crescent, red malar, brown face, and very yellow shafts. And this year, a family member showed up with orange shafts.
Date: 1/6/26 11:10 am From: J Christian Kessler via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] a festival in Jackson Wyoming
for anyone so inclined, here's an announcement of a birding festival all
the way over to western Wyoming
Jackson Hole Birding Festival <
<jacksonholebirdingfestival...>
Chris Kessler
--
“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass … it’s about learning how
to dance in the rain.”
Deborah Tuck
It is easiest if you use the online forms to send in reports, but other options are provided as well if needed.
The annual list report is a great chance to look at the community and appreciate all the many accomplishments out there.
I believe for 2025 several very high state year lists and I’m sure we have many personal listing personal highs as well - it would be excellent receive that info for the overall report. Regardless of how high or low your totals are, this is a chance to join in the community summary of accomplishments.
You don’t have to enter details for every category listed, just send in info for those important to you.
For 2025, we’ve once again added an option to report lists for your 5MR “5 mile radius” list, for those who track that as an extended yard list. we recommend using the eBird status decisions on local countability of introduced/exotic species.If you are on eBird, almost all the totaling is done for you. Most notably, most western WA counties no longer ‘count’ Ring-necked Pheasant in county life list totals.
Enjoy the new year, and send in the [reports of the] old!
Date: 1/5/26 9:38 pm From: Richard James via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Purple Martins
On 2026-01-05 12:00 p.m., via Tweeters wrote:
> Message: 8 > Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0800 > From: Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] To California, Brazil, and Back ? GPS tracking of > Vesper Sparrow and Purple Martin. Thursday Jan 8, 7 pm via Zoom > Oregon Vesper Sparrow and Western Purple Martin, two imperiled subspecies > unique to the western U.S.
Kathleen,
For the record, there are well-documented colonies of Western Purple Martin in BC, so not unique to western USA.
"In 2014, a total of 1,060 pairs nested at 74 marine and 6 freshwater sites, an increase of 110 pairs and 12 sites from 2013; the breeding range now extends to Barkley Sound and the Broughton Archipelago in the Coast and Mountains Ecoprovince (Western Purple Martin Foundation 2014)."
Date: 1/5/26 6:52 pm From: Steve Hampton via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Yellow-shafted flicker
Intergrade flickers are quite common here (Port Townsend) in winter--
probably 25% of all birds. I also see them regularly (though maybe 5-10% of
total) in summer as part of the breeding population, feeding young, etc.
Usually those are red-shafted in most features but have a red nape mark.
I've only seen pure Yellow-shafted once or twice in the last 5 years, in
winter.
On Mon, Jan 5, 2026 at 6:37 PM Michael Price via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hey tweets,
>
> In the early 90s I was part of a breeding-bird inventory in north-central
> BC, near Manson Creek just W of Williston Lake. It's an area where due to
> openings in the boreal forest caused by *very* extensive clear-cutting,
> eastern avifauna were able to penetrate more and more widely into the
> region*, and one result was that we saw a *lot* of intergrading between
> Red- and Yellow-shafted Flickers, between Oregon and Slate-colored Juncos (
> *cismontanus* was the norm), and Red-breasted X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
> hybrids.
>
> *that clear-cutting of the boreal forest and consequent westward
> colonisation resulted in a lot of eastern sparrows extremely rare in the
> 1970s have now become not only regular but increasingly common as wintering
> birds along the mid-Pacific flyway: Swamp Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow,
> White-throated Sparrow are now regular wintering species and in good
> numbers when once upon a time their single—even first-time—occurrence would
> have resulted in dropped tools and unfinished meals.
>
> best, m
>
> Michael Price
> Vancouver BC Canada
> <loblollyboy...>
>
> Every answer deepens the mystery.
> -- E.O. Wilson
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/5/26 6:47 pm From: Michael Price via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Yellow-shafted flicker
Hey tweets,
In the early 90s I was part of a breeding-bird inventory in north-central
BC, near Manson Creek just W of Williston Lake. It's an area where due to
openings in the boreal forest caused by *very* extensive clear-cutting,
eastern avifauna were able to penetrate more and more widely into the
region*, and one result was that we saw a *lot* of intergrading between
Red- and Yellow-shafted Flickers, between Oregon and Slate-colored Juncos (
*cismontanus* was the norm), and Red-breasted X Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
hybrids.
*that clear-cutting of the boreal forest and consequent westward
colonisation resulted in a lot of eastern sparrows extremely rare in the
1970s have now become not only regular but increasingly common as wintering
birds along the mid-Pacific flyway: Swamp Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow,
White-throated Sparrow are now regular wintering species and in good
numbers when once upon a time their single—even first-time—occurrence would
have resulted in dropped tools and unfinished meals.
best, m
Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
<loblollyboy...>
Date: 1/5/26 1:52 pm From: Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Tundra Swan injured
This is an update note on the Tundra Swan in the Union Bay area.
This post is to let those with an interest in the injured Tundra Swan in the Union Bay/Montlake Fill area know that it is being monitored daily. Yes, it is a Tundra Swan and not associated with the small flock of Trumpeter Swans in the same general area. It is injured and is moving to different locations around the Union Bay area. At this time, it is capable of flying, thus making it not possible to capture. It also can feed and do some preening. If any capture attempt was to be made at this time it highly likely will result in further injury or death for this swan. Please do not attempt to go near or try to touch the swan. At this time both Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife and NWSCA are monitoring the situation and are available to respond should the swan's situation change. If you have photos or video of the swan to help us update us on its health, please send them to: mj.cygnus at gmail.com
Date: 1/5/26 11:38 am From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Yellow-shafted flicker
I have seen one.
Jan
Jan Stewart
922 E Spruce Street
Sequim, WA 98382-3518
<jstewart...>
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> On Behalf Of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters Sent: Monday, January 5, 2026 11:16 AM To: Joan Miller <jemskink...> Cc: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Yellow-shafted flicker
Joan,
Yellow-shafted flickers breed to the north of us in Alaska and northern Canada, and small numbers travel down to Washington every winter. We seem to have more hybrids than pure yellow-shafted, but the latter are to be watched for.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
dennispaulson at comcast dot net
On Jan 5, 2026, at 10:50 AM, Joan Miller via Tweeters <tweeters...> <mailto:<tweeters...> > wrote:
Hello all,
I have a yellow-shafted flicker coming to my suet. It clearly has yellow shafts, black malar and red on nape. I thought to call it an intergrade, but the internet says this is yellow-shafted.
Just mentioning in case anyone has seen these around. I don't think it's that rare here. But I also have our "regular" red-shafteds!
Date: 1/5/26 11:27 am From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Yellow-shafted flicker
Joan,
Yellow-shafted flickers breed to the north of us in Alaska and northern Canada, and small numbers travel down to Washington every winter. We seem to have more hybrids than pure yellow-shafted, but the latter are to be watched for.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
dennispaulson at comcast dot net
> On Jan 5, 2026, at 10:50 AM, Joan Miller via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> I have a yellow-shafted flicker coming to my suet. It clearly has yellow shafts, black malar and red on nape. I thought to call it an intergrade, but the internet says this is yellow-shafted.
>
> Just mentioning in case anyone has seen these around. I don't think it's that rare here. But I also have our "regular" red-shafteds!
>
> Joan Miller
> West Seattle
> jemskink at gmail dot com
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/5/26 11:02 am From: Joan Miller via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Yellow-shafted flicker
Hello all,
I have a yellow-shafted flicker coming to my suet. It clearly has yellow shafts, black malar and red on nape. I thought to call it an intergrade, but the internet says this is yellow-shafted.
Just mentioning in case anyone has seen these around. I don't think it's that rare here. But I also have our "regular" red-shafteds!
Joan Miller West Seattle jemskink at gmail dot com
Date: 1/5/26 8:12 am From: Kathleen Snyder via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] To California, Brazil, and Back – GPS tracking of Vesper Sparrow and Purple Martin. Thursday Jan 8, 7 pm via Zoom
Dr Sarah Rockwell of Klamath Bird Observatory is using lightweight archival GPS tags to track the migratory routes and overwintering locations of both Oregon Vesper Sparrow and Western Purple Martin, two imperiled subspecies unique to the western U.S. The birds have returned with fascinating information, revealing new discoveries about their incredible journeys.
There are two ways to enjoy this program. You can come to Temple Beth Hatfiloh (201 8th Ave. SE, Olympia) to watch the program on the large screen as well as to enjoy the company of others *OR* you can register below to watch from home via Zoom. Social time at the Temple starts at 6:30. This is a free program from South Sound Bird Alliance (formerly Black Hills Audubon).
Date: 1/4/26 3:49 pm From: Martha Jordan via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Swan -Union Bay
Hi all, Yes, I am aware of the Tundra Swan who has moved to Carp Pond from Canoe Island. Yes, it is a Tundra Swan. It is very likely it is sick. That said, it is still too lively to attempt a capture in this tricky, muddy location. Please report your sightings directly to me: text to 206-713-3684 or call me. At this point in time WDFW and I will be monitoring the situation. If you observe the bird over the next day or so, please let me know the location, and what it is doing: sitting, standing, feeding, head tucked, shaking head, bill gaping or any other behavior. If you find it dead, DO NOT TOUCH. WDFW has protocols for picking up dead waterfowl. I am permitted to pick it up and have the gear to do so. Please call me immediately and let me know. Avian influenza is still out in the wild population and this is a precaution. Thank you all for your assistance.
Date: 1/4/26 1:41 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Ross's goose
Note to self: Read carefully! LOL
On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 1:29 PM Nancy Crowell <nkcrowell...> wrote:
> 😆. I was wondering!
>
> Nancy
> "Images for the imagination."
> www.crowellphotography.com
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf
> of Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...>
> *Sent:* Sunday, January 4, 2026 1:27:56 PM
> *To:* Hans-Joachim Feddern <thefedderns...>
> *Cc:* Louise <louiserutter1000...>; TWEETERS tweeters <
> <tweeters...>
> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] Ross's goose
>
> Eeeeeek!!
> Snow Geese. So sorry!
> On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 1:27 PM Hans-Joachim Feddern <thefedderns...>
> wrote:
>
> 5000 Ross’s geese?
>
> *Hans Feddern*
> Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
> <thefedderns...>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 12:35 PM Ann Kramer via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Hi Louse,
>
> Further north, at Port Susan Bay off Boe road in Stanwood, we saw a flock
> of over 5000.
>
> On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 10:58 AM Louise via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> I was planning a Carnation trip this afternoon for hte Roos's goose, but
> I'm not seeing any ebird reports of it yet today. I'm guessing that means
> people are looking but haven't found the flock?
>
> Louise Rutter
> Kirkland
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
>
Nancy
"Images for the imagination."
www.crowellphotography.com
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Sunday, January 4, 2026 1:27:56 PM
To: Hans-Joachim Feddern <thefedderns...>
Cc: Louise <louiserutter1000...>; TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Ross's goose
Eeeeeek!!
Snow Geese. So sorry!
On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 1:27 PM Hans-Joachim Feddern <thefedderns...><mailto:<thefedderns...>> wrote:
5000 Ross’s geese?
On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 12:35 PM Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
Hi Louse,
Further north, at Port Susan Bay off Boe road in Stanwood, we saw a flock of over 5000.
On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 10:58 AM Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
I was planning a Carnation trip this afternoon for hte Roos's goose, but I'm not seeing any ebird reports of it yet today. I'm guessing that means people are looking but haven't found the flock?
Date: 1/4/26 1:38 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Ross's goose
Eeeeeek!!
Snow Geese. So sorry!
On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 1:27 PM Hans-Joachim Feddern <thefedderns...>
wrote:
> 5000 Ross’s geese?
>
> *Hans Feddern*
> Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
> <thefedderns...>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 12:35 PM Ann Kramer via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Hi Louse,
>>
>> Further north, at Port Susan Bay off Boe road in Stanwood, we saw a flock
>> of over 5000.
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 10:58 AM Louise via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>>> I was planning a Carnation trip this afternoon for hte Roos's goose, but
>>> I'm not seeing any ebird reports of it yet today. I'm guessing that means
>>> people are looking but haven't found the flock?
>>>
>>> Louise Rutter
>>> Kirkland
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Tweeters mailing list
>>> <Tweeters...>
>>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...>
>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >>
>
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
<thefedderns...>
On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 12:35 PM Ann Kramer via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Hi Louse,
>
> Further north, at Port Susan Bay off Boe road in Stanwood, we saw a flock
> of over 5000.
>
> On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 10:58 AM Louise via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> I was planning a Carnation trip this afternoon for hte Roos's goose, but
>> I'm not seeing any ebird reports of it yet today. I'm guessing that means
>> people are looking but haven't found the flock?
>>
>> Louise Rutter
>> Kirkland
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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: 1/4/26 12:46 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Ross's goose
Hi Louse,
Further north, at Port Susan Bay off Boe road in Stanwood, we saw a flock
of over 5000.
On Sun, Jan 4, 2026 at 10:58 AM Louise via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I was planning a Carnation trip this afternoon for hte Roos's goose, but
> I'm not seeing any ebird reports of it yet today. I'm guessing that means
> people are looking but haven't found the flock?
>
> Louise Rutter
> Kirkland
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 1/4/26 12:39 pm From: Teri Martine via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] South Africa birding
Trileigh, I highly recommend The African Birdwatching Company. Their website lists tours all over southern Africa but the owner/guide, Martin Taylor, lives right by Kruger -- I expect he may be available for shorter excursions or tours, and sometimes uses private lodges right outside Kruger. Teri Martine Seattle _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/4/26 11:09 am From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Ross's goose
I was planning a Carnation trip this afternoon for hte Roos's goose, but I'm not seeing any ebird reports of it yet today. I'm guessing that means people are looking but haven't found the flock?
Date: 1/4/26 8:57 am From: Dana Greeley via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] OT: South Africa birding
Saw your post below and here's my 2 cents. I was last in S Africa in April of 2018. I flew into Durban, rented a car and drove from Durban up to St. Lucia and back. I birded 3 days with Themba and highly recommend him as an incredibly knowledgeable guide! Here's a link to contact him if you like: https://www.stluciabirding.com/
Before that trip I flew into Cape Town, years earlier, March of 2009. I stayed in the cape town area and though I hiked down table mountain, I didn't go on any guided birding trips.
Both times I had no problems with crime or theft. Both times I was solo for much of the trip. I think the usual advice about not flashing your expensive binoculars and cameras when in the urban grittier places is well advised. AND, though I know of a guy who was robbed in Cape Town, I personally had no problems.
I was more scared of meeting big game or a snake when hiking in the parks by myself. Lots of hippos at night in St. Lucia!
-Dana Seattle/ La Conner djgreel1 at gmail dot com -------------- Message: 4 Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2026 03:24:24 +0000 Subject: [Tweeters] OT: South Africa birding
Hello Tweets,
A friend has invited us to accompany him to South Africa in September. He?s not a birder, but would be willing for us to take some birding days while there. I believe he?s thinking he'll plan things himself rather than hire a tour guide/company. So, a couple of questions for those who?ve been there in recent years:
The State Department has some pretty unnerving risk alerts for SA, which make me wonder whether it?s actually a good destination in current times, or whether it?d be better to wait until it seems safer. If you?ve been there, either on your own or with a tour company, I?d be interested to hear how safe you felt.
In terms of birding, are there companies or guides you would recommend for outings?
Date: 1/4/26 8:30 am From: Tom Mansfield via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] This Year’s Inductee to the 253 Club
Hi Marcus – My 253rd in Pierce was the Emperor Goose that paid a November 2021 visit to Puyallup. It was a full circle moment for me. The first time I went birding by myself was at Marymoor in 2006, a “test run” before I joined Michael Hobbs’ weekly walks. I had no identification skills. Armed with bins and a field guide in my pocket, I was slowly walking the loop when I came upon a friendly couple with bins who asked if I were a birder. Hmmm…I didn’t think of myself that way but I responded I was learning. With that, Ellen and Andy Stepniewski walked me around giving me many lifers – starting with Common Yellowthroat. That was the beginning of an long friendship. When health issues arose and I had to step away from birding pre-pandemic I sort of lost track of Ellen and Andy. But as I drove W. Pioneer that November day, I spotted a couple on the shoulder intently scoping a field. I pulled over and lo and behold, it was Ellen and Andy, over from Yakima. I joined them scoping and within minutes I had the goose and got them on it. Full circle! Tom Mansfield (still birding on rare occasions) in Seattle.
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> On Behalf Of Marcus Roening via Tweeters
Sent: Friday, January 2, 2026 6:52 PM
To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] This Year’s Inductee to the 253 Club
Hi Tweets,
Congratulations to our newest 2025 member of the 253 Club, here in Pierce
County - Area Code 253. By achieving this lofty mile stone, new members are entitled to a beverage of their choice from yours truly!
Ryan Shaw #253 - finding a Short-tailed Shearwater off of Dune during the massive influx of these wonderful tubenoses into Puget Sound waters. Massive extra credit for achieving this goal while living in Texas!
Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park, continues to be the spot to see pelagic birds from land. With a sweeping view to Des Moines to the Northeast, Commencement Bay to the East and Dalco Passage to the Northwest, it is the #1 eBird Hotspot in Pierce County with 229 species seen. Accessed near Point Ruston, this park was created in 2019. Amazingly, this year tallied all 3 Shearwaters: Short-tailed, Sooty and Manx and a shocking trifecta of Storm-Petrels: Fork-tailed, Leach’s & Wilson’s (the latter under WBRC review).
Unfortunately, the 5 Mile Drive that went around the tip of Point Defiance has
been closed to cars due to severe erosion of the bluffs, but it is still a wonderful place to bike and walk - now without cars.
New Pierce County Big Year Record – 246 species by Craig Miller
Special Kudos to Craig, for surpassing Will Brook’s Pierce County record of 243 species, with a final Tundra Swan on Lake Tapps in the last week of the year. I can attest to his many hours out in the field and up in the mountains. The most amazing sighting that I personally witnessed with him was of a White-tailed Ptarmigan off of Panorama Point on Mount Rainier. While it is possible to see ptarmigan right off the trail, it is a rare occurrence, often requiring as many as 6 dedicated trips. Craig had carried his scope all the way up the snow field in June with us and found the bird a 1000 feet below us off of Pebble Creek! Certainly not identifiable with binoculars and an amazing find.
For completeness, here are the prior 253 members as divined by a combination of eBird and WA Birder records. And for those below who’d like to share, let me know your 253th bird and any story you’d like to share.
Patrick Sullivan <2007
Charlie Wright 2011
Bruce LaBar 2014
Marcus Roening 2016 - Cassin’s Auklet
Ed Pullen 2017
Mike Charest 2017
Heather Ballash 2021 - Barred Owl
Tom Mansfield 2021
Wayne Sladek 2021
Peter Wimberger 2021
Heather Voboril 2022
Will Brooks 2022
Bryan Hansen 2023 – Black-legged Kittiwake
Scott Saunders 2023 – Tufted Puffin
Craig Miller 2023 – Nazca Booby
Michael Hobbs 2024 – Marbled Godwit
Ryan Shaw 2025 – Short-tailed Shearwater
Date: 1/3/26 8:53 pm From: Peter Cavanagh via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] South Africa birding
Trileigh:
I have travelled twice with Lawson's Birding, Wildlife and Custom Safaris— once to Krueger National Park and once to Namibia.. Both trips were excellent:
Lawson's Birding, Wildlife and Custom Safaris
P O Box 16849
Nelspruit
1200
South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)13 741 2458
<mavourneen...><mailto:<mavourneen...>
Date: 1/3/26 5:05 pm From: DEENA HEG via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] South Africa
Trileigh, my husband and I went to South Africa last August with friends who live in Cape Town part of the year. We spent 6 days in Kruger National Park with tour guide Khalanga Safaris. They were great and their owner does birding tours in Kruger. The park has fabulous birds. We then spent a week in Cape Town staying with our friends in their flat. Also fabulous birds on the Cape Peninsula and in the botanical garden there. I would not do this without either a tour guide or people like our friends who are familiar with what areas are safe and what areas to avoid. We loved South Africa and would go back again. The birds are amazing.
> On 01/03/2026 12:00 PM PST 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 > <tweeters-owner...> > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Tweeters digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. FOY (Bea Harrison via Tweeters) > 2. This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club (Marcus Roening via Tweeters) > 3. space available for Oaxaca birding trip (David Cook via Tweeters) > 4. OT: South Africa birding (Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters) > 5. Re: This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club > (Diane Yorgason-Quinn via Tweeters) > 6. Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-02 > (Michael Hobbs via Tweeters) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2026 12:16:12 -0800 > From: Bea Harrison via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] FOY > Message-ID: <48E7BA88-2427-4045-9533-F5A55A125FB5...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > Spotted towhee. First one at our feeder in a while. Eastern WA. > Bea Harrison > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2026 18:51:42 -0800 > From: Marcus Roening via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: Tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club > Message-ID: <C84E3B4F-AA68-4E71-9EF5-03969AFB5E83...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hi Tweets, > > Congratulations to our newest 2025 member of the 253 Club, here in Pierce > County - Area Code 253. By achieving this lofty mile stone, new members are entitled to a beverage of their choice from yours truly! > > Ryan Shaw #253 - finding a Short-tailed Shearwater off of Dune during the massive influx of these wonderful tubenoses into Puget Sound waters. Massive extra credit for achieving this goal while living in Texas! > > Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park, continues to be the spot to see pelagic birds from land. With a sweeping view to Des Moines to the Northeast, Commencement Bay to the East and Dalco Passage to the Northwest, it is the #1 eBird Hotspot in Pierce County with 229 species seen. Accessed near Point Ruston, this park was created in 2019. Amazingly, this year tallied all 3 Shearwaters: Short-tailed, Sooty and Manx and a shocking trifecta of Storm-Petrels: Fork-tailed, Leach?s & Wilson?s (the latter under WBRC review). > > Unfortunately, the 5 Mile Drive that went around the tip of Point Defiance has > been closed to cars due to severe erosion of the bluffs, but it is still a wonderful place to bike and walk - now without cars. > > New Pierce County Big Year Record ? 246 species by Craig Miller > > Special Kudos to Craig, for surpassing Will Brook?s Pierce County record of 243 species, with a final Tundra Swan on Lake Tapps in the last week of the year. I can attest to his many hours out in the field and up in the mountains. The most amazing sighting that I personally witnessed with him was of a White-tailed Ptarmigan off of Panorama Point on Mount Rainier. While it is possible to see ptarmigan right off the trail, it is a rare occurrence, often requiring as many as 6 dedicated trips. Craig had carried his scope all the way up the snow field in June with us and found the bird a 1000 feet below us off of Pebble Creek! Certainly not identifiable with binoculars and an amazing find. > > For completeness, here are the prior 253 members as divined by a combination of eBird and WA Birder records. And for those below who?d like to share, let me know your 253th bird and any story you?d like to share. > > Patrick Sullivan <2007 > Charlie Wright 2011 > Bruce LaBar 2014 > Marcus Roening 2016 - Cassin?s Auklet > Ed Pullen 2017 > Mike Charest 2017 > Heather Ballash 2021 - Barred Owl > Tom Mansfield 2021 > Wayne Sladek 2021 > Peter Wimberger 2021 > Heather Voboril 2022 > Will Brooks 2022 > Bryan Hansen 2023 ? Black-legged Kittiwake > Scott Saunders 2023 ? Tufted Puffin > Craig Miller 2023 ? Nazca Booby > Michael Hobbs 2024 ? Marbled Godwit > Ryan Shaw 2025 ? Short-tailed Shearwater > > Good birding to all in the New Year, > > Marcus Roening Tacoma WA, The 253 - Pierce County > > Marcus Roening > Tacoma WA > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260102/b8a12b6a/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2026 18:52:20 -0800 > From: David Cook via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] space available for Oaxaca birding trip > Message-ID: > <CAPM-fG8KrgiegUHk_PZsgLzDByREnqsB46C2Cj_PEUtwbrhrgw...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > I am organizing a birding trip to Oaxaca, Mexico in March 2026 and we could > add 1 or 2 more people to our trip. We will be going to locations north, > south and east of Oaxaca city, but not touring the entire state of Oaxaca. > It is likely to last 8-10 days. > If you are interested in possibly joining us, please contact me at my > personal email, <41cdcook...> and I can provide you with more details. > > Dave Cook > Seattle > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260102/7cec8fa3/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2026 03:24:24 +0000 > From: Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: via Tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] OT: South Africa birding > Message-ID: > <MW4PR04MB734506A07D856F99FBE4D0AFC4B8A...> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > Hello Tweets, > > A friend has invited us to accompany him to South Africa in September. He?s not a birder, but would be willing for us to take some birding days while there. I believe he?s thinking he'll plan things himself rather than hire a tour guide/company. So, a couple of questions for those who?ve been there in recent years: > > The State Department has some pretty unnerving risk alerts for SA, which make me wonder whether it?s actually a good destination in current times, or whether it?d be better to wait until it seems safer. If you?ve been there, either on your own or with a tour company, I?d be interested to hear how safe you felt. > > In terms of birding, are there companies or guides you would recommend for outings? > > Any other thoughts welcome. > > Thanks much, > Trileigh > > > > Trileigh Tucker > > Gw?alali Valley, West Seattle > > NaturalPresenceArts.com<http://naturalpresencearts.com/> > > tri@seattleu <dot> edu > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260103/18cbf8d7/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2026 03:51:51 +0000 > From: Diane Yorgason-Quinn via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: Tweeters <tweeters...>, Marcus Roening > <marcus...> > Subject: Re: [Tweeters] This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club > Message-ID: > <DS5PPF8C62CDFB056B301FEAFAC763E3CD7C0B8A...> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > Wow! Nice list and good news! > > Now Dune-rs will have to reach 229! > > I hope you'll share this at our celebration meeting on Jan 21 at 5:30 to 7 (darn library's restricted hours)! It's only fitting that the originator of the 253 list and one of the early champions should be there. Maybe with a mug for the drink. > > Now about Craig, I still don't know him. Could you talk him into coming? > > Diane > ________________________________ > From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Marcus Roening via Tweeters <tweeters...> > Sent: Friday, January 2, 2026 6:51 PM > To: Tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] This Year?s Inductee to the 253 Club > > > Hi Tweets, > > Congratulations to our newest 2025 member of the 253 Club, here in Pierce > County - Area Code 253. By achieving this lofty mile stone, new members are entitled to a beverage of their choice from yours truly! > > Ryan Shaw #253 - finding a Short-tailed Shearwater off of Dune during the massive influx of these wonderful tubenoses into Puget Sound waters. Massive extra credit for achieving this goal while living in Texas! > > Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park, continues to be the spot to see pelagic birds from land. With a sweeping view to Des Moines to the Northeast, Commencement Bay to the East and Dalco Passage to the Northwest, it is the #1 eBird Hotspot in Pierce County with 229 species seen. Accessed near Point Ruston, this park was created in 2019. Amazingly, this year tallied all 3 Shearwaters: Short-tailed, Sooty and Manx and a shocking trifecta of Storm-Petrels: Fork-tailed, Leach?s & Wilson?s (the latter under WBRC review). > > > > Unfortunately, the 5 Mile Drive that went around the tip of Point Defiance has > been closed to cars due to severe erosion of the bluffs, but it is still a wonderful place to bike and walk - now without cars. > > > > New Pierce County Big Year Record ? 246 species by Craig Miller > > > > Special Kudos to Craig, for surpassing Will Brook?s Pierce County record of 243 species, with a final Tundra Swan on Lake Tapps in the last week of the year. I can attest to his many hours out in the field and up in the mountains. The most amazing sighting that I personally witnessed with him was of a White-tailed Ptarmigan off of Panorama Point on Mount Rainier. While it is possible to see ptarmigan right off the trail, it is a rare occurrence, often requiring as many as 6 dedicated trips. Craig had carried his scope all the way up the snow field in June with us and found the bird a 1000 feet below us off of Pebble Creek! Certainly not identifiable with binoculars and an amazing find. > > For completeness, here are the prior 253 members as divined by a combination of eBird and WA Birder records. And for those below who?d like to share, let me know your 253th bird and any story you?d like to share. > > Patrick Sullivan <2007 > Charlie Wright 2011 > Bruce LaBar 2014 > Marcus Roening 2016 - Cassin?s Auklet > Ed Pullen 2017 > Mike Charest 2017 > Heather Ballash 2021 - Barred Owl > > Tom Mansfield 2021 > Wayne Sladek 2021 > Peter Wimberger 2021 > Heather Voboril 2022 > Will Brooks 2022 > > Bryan Hansen 2023 ? Black-legged Kittiwake > > Scott Saunders 2023 ? Tufted Puffin > > Craig Miller 2023 ? Nazca Booby > > Michael Hobbs 2024 ? Marbled Godwit > > Ryan Shaw 2025 ? Short-tailed Shearwater > > Good birding to all in the New Year, > > Marcus Roening Tacoma WA, The 253 - Pierce County > > > > Marcus Roening > Tacoma WA > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260103/03c0a12a/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2026 21:58:21 -0800 > From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> > To: Tweeters <tweeters...> > Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-02 > Message-ID: > <CAPO=BqsqCUZkTHW=Aq_r9AJWQRC-rkiM27AadKsLRd+<zKoFPUQ...> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Tweets - We started the new year with a remarkably nice day. There was > early morning fog and chill, but the fog lifted. Temps in the 40's and no > wind. Water levels are dropping and the birding is picking up; several > species were singing today. > > Highlights: > Greater White-fronted Goose - Five just below the weir > Three species of goose, after a few weeks of one species or no geese > at all > Anna's Hummingbird - Male back in his spot near the windmill > Wilson's Snipe - Three giving good looks below the weir > Horned Grebe - Two, closer than usual to the Viewing Platform > Downy Woodpecker - Quite a few sightings, good looks > Merlin - One flew west just north of the Viewing Mound > White-throated Sparrow - Two? Four? > > We had two WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS immediately south of the Dog Meadow. > Then 2+ hours later, and 100 yards away across the river, I had two again > behind the Rowing Club boathouse. Same birds found twice or four??? Hard > to decide. > > I don't have my cheat sheet with me, so no official list of "Misses" > (Species seen on 50% or more years during this week, but not today), but I > can unreliably report Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, > Killdeer,.Bushtit, Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch as the probable list. > > Despite that list of Misses, we did have 52 species to start our 2026 list. > > = Michael Hobbs > = <BirdMarymoor...> > = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20260102/c38aed85/attachment-0001.html> > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tweeters mailing list > <Tweeters...> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tweeters Digest, Vol 257, Issue 3 > **************************************** _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
A group of us birding at Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland on December 29 enjoyed observing a Wilson’s snipe bobbing away. We were interested in learning more about bobbing as an evolutionary adaptation. The head appears to stay level while the body bobs. One of our group found references in Birds of the World postulating enhanced visual and depth perception, improved balance, avoidance of predation, and stimulating movement of prey in the mud. Can anyone offer further explanation regarding the above possibilities? Or offer other explanations? Thanks.
Date: 1/2/26 10:09 pm From: Michael Hobbs via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Marymoor Park (Redmond, King Co.) 2026-01-02
Tweets - We started the new year with a remarkably nice day. There was early morning fog and chill, but the fog lifted. Temps in the 40's and no wind. Water levels are dropping and the birding is picking up; several species were singing today.
Highlights: Greater White-fronted Goose - Five just below the weir Three species of goose, after a few weeks of one species or no geese at all Anna's Hummingbird - Male back in his spot near the windmill Wilson's Snipe - Three giving good looks below the weir Horned Grebe - Two, closer than usual to the Viewing Platform Downy Woodpecker - Quite a few sightings, good looks Merlin - One flew west just north of the Viewing Mound White-throated Sparrow - Two? Four?
We had two WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS immediately south of the Dog Meadow. Then 2+ hours later, and 100 yards away across the river, I had two again behind the Rowing Club boathouse. Same birds found twice or four??? Hard to decide.
I don't have my cheat sheet with me, so no official list of "Misses" (Species seen on 50% or more years during this week, but not today), but I can unreliably report Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Killdeer,.Bushtit, Pine Siskin, and American Goldfinch as the probable list.
Despite that list of Misses, we did have 52 species to start our 2026 list.
= Michael Hobbs = <BirdMarymoor...> = www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
Date: 1/2/26 8:02 pm From: Diane Yorgason-Quinn via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] This Year’s Inductee to the 253 Club
Wow! Nice list and good news!
Now Dune-rs will have to reach 229!
I hope you'll share this at our celebration meeting on Jan 21 at 5:30 to 7 (darn library's restricted hours)! It's only fitting that the originator of the 253 list and one of the early champions should be there. Maybe with a mug for the drink.
Now about Craig, I still don't know him. Could you talk him into coming?
Diane
________________________________
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Marcus Roening via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Friday, January 2, 2026 6:51 PM
To: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] This Years Inductee to the 253 Club
Hi Tweets,
Congratulations to our newest 2025 member of the 253 Club, here in Pierce
County - Area Code 253. By achieving this lofty mile stone, new members are entitled to a beverage of their choice from yours truly!
Ryan Shaw #253 - finding a Short-tailed Shearwater off of Dune during the massive influx of these wonderful tubenoses into Puget Sound waters. Massive extra credit for achieving this goal while living in Texas!
Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park, continues to be the spot to see pelagic birds from land. With a sweeping view to Des Moines to the Northeast, Commencement Bay to the East and Dalco Passage to the Northwest, it is the #1 eBird Hotspot in Pierce County with 229 species seen. Accessed near Point Ruston, this park was created in 2019. Amazingly, this year tallied all 3 Shearwaters: Short-tailed, Sooty and Manx and a shocking trifecta of Storm-Petrels: Fork-tailed, Leachs & Wilsons (the latter under WBRC review).
Unfortunately, the 5 Mile Drive that went around the tip of Point Defiance has
been closed to cars due to severe erosion of the bluffs, but it is still a wonderful place to bike and walk - now without cars.
New Pierce County Big Year Record 246 species by Craig Miller
Special Kudos to Craig, for surpassing Will Brooks Pierce County record of 243 species, with a final Tundra Swan on Lake Tapps in the last week of the year. I can attest to his many hours out in the field and up in the mountains. The most amazing sighting that I personally witnessed with him was of a White-tailed Ptarmigan off of Panorama Point on Mount Rainier. While it is possible to see ptarmigan right off the trail, it is a rare occurrence, often requiring as many as 6 dedicated trips. Craig had carried his scope all the way up the snow field in June with us and found the bird a 1000 feet below us off of Pebble Creek! Certainly not identifiable with binoculars and an amazing find.
For completeness, here are the prior 253 members as divined by a combination of eBird and WA Birder records. And for those below whod like to share, let me know your 253th bird and any story youd like to share.
Patrick Sullivan <2007
Charlie Wright 2011
Bruce LaBar 2014
Marcus Roening 2016 - Cassins Auklet
Ed Pullen 2017
Mike Charest 2017
Heather Ballash 2021 - Barred Owl
Tom Mansfield 2021
Wayne Sladek 2021
Peter Wimberger 2021
Heather Voboril 2022
Will Brooks 2022
Date: 1/2/26 7:34 pm From: Trileigh Tucker via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] OT: South Africa birding
Hello Tweets,
A friend has invited us to accompany him to South Africa in September. Hes not a birder, but would be willing for us to take some birding days while there. I believe hes thinking he'll plan things himself rather than hire a tour guide/company. So, a couple of questions for those whove been there in recent years:
The State Department has some pretty unnerving risk alerts for SA, which make me wonder whether its actually a good destination in current times, or whether itd be better to wait until it seems safer. If youve been there, either on your own or with a tour company, Id be interested to hear how safe you felt.
In terms of birding, are there companies or guides you would recommend for outings?
Date: 1/2/26 7:02 pm From: David Cook via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] space available for Oaxaca birding trip
I am organizing a birding trip to Oaxaca, Mexico in March 2026 and we could add 1 or 2 more people to our trip. We will be going to locations north, south and east of Oaxaca city, but not touring the entire state of Oaxaca. It is likely to last 8-10 days. If you are interested in possibly joining us, please contact me at my personal email, <41cdcook...> and I can provide you with more details.
Date: 1/2/26 7:02 pm From: Marcus Roening via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] This Year’s Inductee to the 253 Club
Hi Tweets,
Congratulations to our newest 2025 member of the 253 Club, here in Pierce
County - Area Code 253. By achieving this lofty mile stone, new members are entitled to a beverage of their choice from yours truly!
Ryan Shaw #253 - finding a Short-tailed Shearwater off of Dune during the massive influx of these wonderful tubenoses into Puget Sound waters. Massive extra credit for achieving this goal while living in Texas!
Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park, continues to be the spot to see pelagic birds from land. With a sweeping view to Des Moines to the Northeast, Commencement Bay to the East and Dalco Passage to the Northwest, it is the #1 eBird Hotspot in Pierce County with 229 species seen. Accessed near Point Ruston, this park was created in 2019. Amazingly, this year tallied all 3 Shearwaters: Short-tailed, Sooty and Manx and a shocking trifecta of Storm-Petrels: Fork-tailed, Leach’s & Wilson’s (the latter under WBRC review).
Unfortunately, the 5 Mile Drive that went around the tip of Point Defiance has
been closed to cars due to severe erosion of the bluffs, but it is still a wonderful place to bike and walk - now without cars.
New Pierce County Big Year Record – 246 species by Craig Miller
Special Kudos to Craig, for surpassing Will Brook’s Pierce County record of 243 species, with a final Tundra Swan on Lake Tapps in the last week of the year. I can attest to his many hours out in the field and up in the mountains. The most amazing sighting that I personally witnessed with him was of a White-tailed Ptarmigan off of Panorama Point on Mount Rainier. While it is possible to see ptarmigan right off the trail, it is a rare occurrence, often requiring as many as 6 dedicated trips. Craig had carried his scope all the way up the snow field in June with us and found the bird a 1000 feet below us off of Pebble Creek! Certainly not identifiable with binoculars and an amazing find.
For completeness, here are the prior 253 members as divined by a combination of eBird and WA Birder records. And for those below who’d like to share, let me know your 253th bird and any story you’d like to share.
Patrick Sullivan <2007
Charlie Wright 2011
Bruce LaBar 2014
Marcus Roening 2016 - Cassin’s Auklet
Ed Pullen 2017
Mike Charest 2017
Heather Ballash 2021 - Barred Owl
Tom Mansfield 2021
Wayne Sladek 2021
Peter Wimberger 2021
Heather Voboril 2022
Will Brooks 2022
Bryan Hansen 2023 – Black-legged Kittiwake
Scott Saunders 2023 – Tufted Puffin
Craig Miller 2023 – Nazca Booby
Michael Hobbs 2024 – Marbled Godwit
Ryan Shaw 2025 – Short-tailed Shearwater
Date: 1/2/26 11:53 am From: Zora Monster via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Northern Flickers
The one with the black malars is an intergrade if it has red-shafted feathers.
Zora Dermer
Seattle
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jan 2, 2026, at 10:00 AM, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> We haven't had many Flickers so far this year. Now that the colder weather has brought the 25+ Robin flocks to the yard, we had two male red-shafted flickers visit the suet feeder today. One had red malars and the other had black malars. Very striking.
>
> 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: 1/2/26 10:11 am From: Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Northern Flickers
We haven't had many Flickers so far this year. Now that the colder weather has brought the 25+ Robin flocks to the yard, we had two male red-shafted flickers visit the suet feeder today. One had red malars and the other had black malars. Very striking.
Date: 1/1/26 6:40 pm From: Dave Hayden via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] First Bird of the year
tMy first bird of the year was a Bald Eagle, followed by Rock Doves. But my 3rd bird was the TAIGA FLYCATCHER.
Got to Sunset Beach park in Vancouver BC at 9:00 am, walked to the west side of the Aquatic Center, and there were the birders looking at the bird.
Date: 1/1/26 6:34 pm From: Bruce LaBar via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Westport Seabirds 2026 schedule
The schedule is now posted for this year. If interested please google Westport Seabirds for all the information. Bruce LaBar _______________________________________________ Tweeters mailing list <Tweeters...> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/1/26 5:25 pm From: Kenneth Brown via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Nisqually Wednesday in December
The last Wednesday, the last day of 2025, started out cold and crisp. The weather report earlier indicated fog for the first hours but it must have lifted before expected, as the pale blue sky was clear. The covered path to the deck at the Visitors Center was a bit slick with frost and the entrance pond it spans had a a thin skin of ice. The good weather or the calendar may have inspired birders, 30 or so attended the start. A few Mallards and Bufflehead occupied the pond, a Muskrat went about its business, its tail making a snake-like wake. A Marsh Wren and a couple Song Sparrows worked in the reeds just off the deck, a half dozen Ruby-crowned Kinglets flitted in the nearest bushes.
Consulting a Tide Chart, we deviated from our default route to get out to the dike sooner. A quick check of the south half of the fields west of the maintenance road produced a few Red-winged Blackbirds, Mallards, American Wigeon, Northern Shovelers. Northern Pintail, Canada and Cackling Geese, and an occasional American Coot. From the boardwalk west of the pond we saw a pair of Pied-billed Grebes, a few Ring-necked Ducks, and Marsh Wrens in the swamp grass. The blackberry and Willow thicket on the other side of the walkway held Bewick's Wren, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Song and Fox sparrows. The north half of the boardwalk still closed, we moved back on the maintenance road. An adult Tundra Swan stood out against the line of willow on the far side of the field. The field's north half populated with the same species of waterfowl.as the south.
The sky had turned gray and clouded over by the time we reached the dike. Bald Eagles were scattered along the distant trees that line the banks of the Nisqually River. Green-winged Teal and American Wigeon were the dominant ducks on the surge plain, fewer Pintail, Shovelers and Greater Yellowlegs among them. A Northern Harrier hunted the grass closer in, a female American Kestrel perched in the top of a small Spruce tree. A large flock of Dunlin flashed in a brief murmuration. American Robins and Northern Flickers perched up in the small bare Alders, including a female Yellow-shafted Flicker. At the base of the willows on the south side, Golden-crowned Sparrows, a White-crowned and a Lincoln's Sparrow scratched and skittered in the leaf litter. The clouds seemed to descend on us in the space of few minutes and visibility dropped rapidly. We made out the form of a Cygnet (immature Swan), it's white body and gray neck and head barely contrasting with the fog that enveloped it and us.
The fog lightened periodically as we walked the boardwalk along McAllister Creek. We were able to see a few Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoters, Bufflehead and Wigeon on the water. Gulls, mostly Ring-billed, roosted on the exposed mud. A few Greater Yellowlegs patrolled the shore while Great Blue Herons stood guard. A bit south of the north end, a small flock of Least Sandpipers swooped under the boardwalk and landed along side, giving us a close up opportunity for appreciation. It was still too foggy from the gated terminus to see the channel markers, out on the reach, even the piling in front of Luhr Beach, but we did see a few Double-crested Cormorants, and a couple Horned Grebes closer to us in the creek proper. The fog thickened again as re returned to the dike. At the foot of the boardwalk we argued about whether that raptor perched out in the thick fog was a Red-tailed hawk or a Northern Harrier, then it flew to the dike and was harassed by another bird, it was both raptors.
Walking the north part of the loop trail boardwalk we encountered a mixed flock of Brown Creeper, Chestnut-backed and Black-capped Chickadees, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, then were treated to both a Downy and Hairy Woodpecker. At the Nisqually River overlook, the water was still murky, though less muddy than last week. It was once again high, this time because it was near peak high tide, not so much from runoff. No birds and no Sea Lion either. The east side of the loop trail and the riparian side spur were quiet. The play area and the orchard were similarly devoid of bird sightings but in the area around The Land Trust building the ground was hopping with Spotted Towhees, Robins, Golden-crowned and Song Sparrows and a Dark-eyed Junco. A flock of Purple Finches flew into the tops of the bare fruit trees, joined by Chickadees and Kinglets. On our way back to the Visitors Center for the final tally, we scanned the fields again for something new, to no avail. End of walk, end of 2025.
See the checklist below..
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Dec 31, 2025 7:55 AM - 3:20 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.38 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. The walk began on a clear and calm, 28º F morning with skim ice on the puddles and marshes. The fog settled in from the northwest by 10:00 a.m., significantly lowering the visibility, and the fog remained until the walk ended at 3:30, the temperature having risen to 39º F. We had a +8.79-foot low tide at 8:29 a.m., flooding to a +14.46-foot high water at 1.29 p.m. Mammals seen included eastern grey squirrel, Columbian black-tailed deer, a long-tailed weasel, and harbor seals in McAllister Creek. Of all things, we had Himalayan blackberries in flower near the Environmental Education Center.
60 species (+5 other taxa)
Cackling Goose (minima) 555
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 15
Canada Goose 28
Tundra Swan (Whistling) 2 Adult in flooded field west of the Visitors' Center, and an immature bird landed in the estuary restoration area north of the north dike.
Northern Shoveler 70
American Wigeon 650
Mallard 85
Northern Pintail 235
Green-winged Teal 435
Ring-necked Duck 5 Visitors' Center pond
Surf Scoter 26
White-winged Scoter 1 McAllister Creek
Bufflehead 48
Common Goldeneye 20
Hooded Merganser 2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1 Entrance Gate
Mourning Dove 1
Virginia Rail 2 Vocalizing from cattail marsh
American Coot 16
Wilson's Snipe 1 Foraging on the saltwater side of the north dike.
Greater Yellowlegs 9
Dunlin 1000 One large flock
Least Sandpiper 11
Ring-billed Gull 18
Western Gull 1 Dark grey mantle, black primaries, no smudging on all white head
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 3
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 14
Pied-billed Grebe 1 Visitors' Center Pond
Horned Grebe 2 McAllister Creek
Double-crested Cormorant 12
Great Blue Heron 8
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 12
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 3
Belted Kingfisher 3
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2
Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1
Northern Flicker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 * Continuing female, red nape, buffy face, yellow flight feathers
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 3
American Kestrel 1 female
Peregrine Falcon 1
California Scrub-Jay 1 Entrance Gate
American Crow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 21
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 14
Bushtit 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 19
Golden-crowned Kinglet 15
Brown Creeper 5
Pacific Wren 2
Marsh Wren 13
Bewick's Wren 6
European Starling 16
American Robin 15
Purple Finch (Western) 23
Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 5
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1 At Land Trust office
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow 44
White-throated Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 24
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 9
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Date: 1/1/26 3:32 pm From: Dee Dee via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Four-eagle morning to start 2026
My FOY this morning was, not-surprisingly to me, an immature White-crowned Sparrow yardbird. Shortly thereafter, however, breakfast was graced with seeing not the usual one, but two eagles perched very near one another on a couple of the fir tree branches near the Puget Sound shoreline, where one is often seen hanging out…sometimes for hours.
While those two were still on their branches, two more eagles appeared, flying rapidly from north to south and pretty much paralleling the shoreline. A quick look with the glasses reviewed an immature with an adult not far behind. They passed just slightly inland of the trees where the other two eagles were perched and continued south at the same rapid pace. While it is not totally unusual at certain times of year to see two eagles at the same time in this neighborhood, it has not been so usual to see four at the same time in one binoculars view, so I found it a treat.
Date: 1/1/26 1:36 pm From: Stef Neis via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] FOY
I’m going to claim a varied thrush for my FOY bird. He was feeding amongst a group of juncos and obviously drew my eye directly to him! My last of 2025 was a pair of flickers at the suet feeder. And, just like everyone else, lots of juncos, towhees and chickadees about at all times now.
Stef Neis
Whidbey Island
Sent from my iPad
> On Jan 1, 2026, at 1:11 PM, Tom and Carol Stoner via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Robin, then Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Anna's Hummingbird, and a Cooper's Hawk appeared as I was eating my breakfast. :)
> 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: 1/1/26 12:25 pm From: Jeff Harrell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] First Bird
red-breasted nuthatch on the sunflower feeder, and then later a
ruby-crowned kinglet on one of our hidden away suets I’ve never seen them
on before :)
On Thu, Jan 1, 2026 at 11:54 AM Sue Welsh via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> FOY. Flock of juncos
>
> On Thu, Jan 1, 2026 at 11:25 AM Louise via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> I envy you your Townsend's warblers, Dennis. I always had them regularly
>> at my suet feeder over the winter, but the last two winters, and this one
>> as well so far, they've been missing for some reason.
>>
>> Louise Rutter
>> Kirkland
>>
>> On Thu, Jan 1, 2026 at 10:40 AM Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson...>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> My first bird of the year was a Dark-eyed Junco, completely expected as
>>> they are overrunning the yard this winter, far more than we have ever had
>>> before—probably around 20 birds.
>>>
>>> But the next bird was a real surprise, a Golden-crowned Sparrow. We had
>>> two of them in the yard daily from 9/20-10/9, then not a sighting of them
>>> until this morning. There were two adults, while the October birds were an
>>> adult and an immature. It’s hard to imagine these birds are the same birds,
>>> as we would surely have seen them if they had been around during that gap
>>> period. We look forward to seeing if they hang around.
>>>
>>> We also have another welcome visitor to the yard, an Orange-crowned
>>> Warbler that appeared on 12/30, the first wintering one we’ve had since
>>> 2014. The bird is very visible daily, and I can envision its thinking “wow,
>>> why didn’t I know about this feast before?” Our warblers (we also have
>>> Yellow-rumped and Townsend’s) visit our suet and bark butter, and what has
>>> long been surprising to me, they eat bird seed, perhaps only sunflower
>>> chips. Haven’t seen the Orange-crowned do that yet.
>>>
>>> Dennis Paulson
>>> Seattle
>>> dennispaulson at comcast net
>>>
>>> > On Jan 1, 2026, at 9:09 AM, Louise via Tweeters <
>>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > My first bird of the year was house finch, a male, and very pretty he
>>> was! An unusual one for me - I don't get them at my feeder a lot. They tend
>>> to show up daily for about a week, the disappear for several months,
>>> >
>>> > Louise Rutter
>>> > Kirkland
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > 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: 1/1/26 12:05 pm From: Sue Welsh via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] First Bird
FOY. Flock of juncos
On Thu, Jan 1, 2026 at 11:25 AM Louise via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I envy you your Townsend's warblers, Dennis. I always had them regularly
> at my suet feeder over the winter, but the last two winters, and this one
> as well so far, they've been missing for some reason.
>
> Louise Rutter
> Kirkland
>
> On Thu, Jan 1, 2026 at 10:40 AM Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson...>
> wrote:
>
>> My first bird of the year was a Dark-eyed Junco, completely expected as
>> they are overrunning the yard this winter, far more than we have ever had
>> before—probably around 20 birds.
>>
>> But the next bird was a real surprise, a Golden-crowned Sparrow. We had
>> two of them in the yard daily from 9/20-10/9, then not a sighting of them
>> until this morning. There were two adults, while the October birds were an
>> adult and an immature. It’s hard to imagine these birds are the same birds,
>> as we would surely have seen them if they had been around during that gap
>> period. We look forward to seeing if they hang around.
>>
>> We also have another welcome visitor to the yard, an Orange-crowned
>> Warbler that appeared on 12/30, the first wintering one we’ve had since
>> 2014. The bird is very visible daily, and I can envision its thinking “wow,
>> why didn’t I know about this feast before?” Our warblers (we also have
>> Yellow-rumped and Townsend’s) visit our suet and bark butter, and what has
>> long been surprising to me, they eat bird seed, perhaps only sunflower
>> chips. Haven’t seen the Orange-crowned do that yet.
>>
>> Dennis Paulson
>> Seattle
>> dennispaulson at comcast net
>>
>> > On Jan 1, 2026, at 9:09 AM, Louise via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>> >
>> > My first bird of the year was house finch, a male, and very pretty he
>> was! An unusual one for me - I don't get them at my feeder a lot. They tend
>> to show up daily for about a week, the disappear for several months,
>> >
>> > Louise Rutter
>> > Kirkland
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > 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: 1/1/26 11:36 am From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] First Bird
I envy you your Townsend's warblers, Dennis. I always had them regularly at
my suet feeder over the winter, but the last two winters, and this one as
well so far, they've been missing for some reason.
Louise Rutter
Kirkland
On Thu, Jan 1, 2026 at 10:40 AM Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson...>
wrote:
> My first bird of the year was a Dark-eyed Junco, completely expected as
> they are overrunning the yard this winter, far more than we have ever had
> before—probably around 20 birds.
>
> But the next bird was a real surprise, a Golden-crowned Sparrow. We had
> two of them in the yard daily from 9/20-10/9, then not a sighting of them
> until this morning. There were two adults, while the October birds were an
> adult and an immature. It’s hard to imagine these birds are the same birds,
> as we would surely have seen them if they had been around during that gap
> period. We look forward to seeing if they hang around.
>
> We also have another welcome visitor to the yard, an Orange-crowned
> Warbler that appeared on 12/30, the first wintering one we’ve had since
> 2014. The bird is very visible daily, and I can envision its thinking “wow,
> why didn’t I know about this feast before?” Our warblers (we also have
> Yellow-rumped and Townsend’s) visit our suet and bark butter, and what has
> long been surprising to me, they eat bird seed, perhaps only sunflower
> chips. Haven’t seen the Orange-crowned do that yet.
>
> Dennis Paulson
> Seattle
> dennispaulson at comcast net
>
> > On Jan 1, 2026, at 9:09 AM, Louise via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
> >
> > My first bird of the year was house finch, a male, and very pretty he
> was! An unusual one for me - I don't get them at my feeder a lot. They tend
> to show up daily for about a week, the disappear for several months,
> >
> > Louise Rutter
> > Kirkland
> > _______________________________________________
> > Tweeters mailing list
> > <Tweeters...>
> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
>
Date: 1/1/26 10:50 am From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] First Bird
My first bird of the year was a Dark-eyed Junco, completely expected as they are overrunning the yard this winter, far more than we have ever had before—probably around 20 birds.
But the next bird was a real surprise, a Golden-crowned Sparrow. We had two of them in the yard daily from 9/20-10/9, then not a sighting of them until this morning. There were two adults, while the October birds were an adult and an immature. It’s hard to imagine these birds are the same birds, as we would surely have seen them if they had been around during that gap period. We look forward to seeing if they hang around.
We also have another welcome visitor to the yard, an Orange-crowned Warbler that appeared on 12/30, the first wintering one we’ve had since 2014. The bird is very visible daily, and I can envision its thinking “wow, why didn’t I know about this feast before?” Our warblers (we also have Yellow-rumped and Townsend’s) visit our suet and bark butter, and what has long been surprising to me, they eat bird seed, perhaps only sunflower chips. Haven’t seen the Orange-crowned do that yet.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
dennispaulson at comcast net
> On Jan 1, 2026, at 9:09 AM, Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> My first bird of the year was house finch, a male, and very pretty he was! An unusual one for me - I don't get them at my feeder a lot. They tend to show up daily for about a week, the disappear for several months,
>
> Louise Rutter
> Kirkland
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 1/1/26 10:07 am From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] First Bird
>
> My first bird of the year was house finch, a male, and very pretty he was!
> An unusual one for me - I don't get them at my feeder a lot. They tend to
> show up daily for about a week, the disappear for several months,
>
First bird this year was a Fox Sparrow, who popped out as I put out the
feeders this morning before the rest of the crew arrived. That included the
Juncos, Spotted Towhees, Black-capped and Chestnut chickadees, Red-Breasted
Nuthatches, Anna’s Hummingbirds and Stellar’s Jays.
Chuq
---------------------------------------
Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
Silverdale, Washington
Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
Date: 1/1/26 9:36 am From: Teresa Michelsen via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] First Bird
My first bird in Lake Kokanee was an Oregon Junco, as in so many years past :)
Good morning all from Hoodsport!
Teresa Michelsen
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> On Behalf Of Louise via Tweeters
Sent: Thursday, January 1, 2026 9:09 AM
To: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] First Bird
My first bird of the year was house finch, a male, and very pretty he was! An unusual one for me - I don't get them at my feeder a lot. They tend to show up daily for about a week, the disappear for several months,
Date: 1/1/26 9:19 am From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] First Bird
My first bird of the year was house finch, a male, and very pretty he was! An unusual one for me - I don't get them at my feeder a lot. They tend to show up daily for about a week, the disappear for several months,
Date: 1/1/26 9:16 am From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Annual Christmas owl surveys and song
It’s because there is no L in Horned and Barred and Screech and Saw-whet and Pygmy, and Boreal and Long-eared are too scarce.
May everyone’s new year be full of peace and joy and lots of birds!
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
dennispaulson at comcast dot net
> On Dec 31, 2025, at 6:30 PM, Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Hello Tweeters community,
> Each year, I begin doing owl surveys beginning Christmas day- always a little early in the seasons to find them.
> Well after dark, my wife calls me to check to ask if I have found them.
> Standing in the forest in the darkness, I answer by sadly singing the beginning of my adaptation of a Christmas song:
>
> “ NoooOwl, NoooOwl… NoooOwl, NoooOwl….”
>
> Best regards,
> Dan
>
> Sent from my iPhone
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 12/31/25 6:41 pm From: Dan Reiff via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Annual Christmas owl surveys and song
Hello Tweeters community,
Each year, I begin doing owl surveys beginning Christmas day- always a little early in the seasons to find them.
Well after dark, my wife calls me to check to ask if I have found them.
Standing in the forest in the darkness, I answer by sadly singing the beginning of my adaptation of a Christmas song:
Date: 12/31/25 6:04 pm From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Taiga flycatcher in Vancouver
Sorry, but as usual I just couldn't resist.
===============================================
*Every Bird Has a Story..*
Well, not everyone does, but this one does. For me, anyhow. Taiga
Flycatcher, ( a great NA rarity now in Vancouver BC); formerly called
Red-throated Flycatcher. Now split.
Long ago, I had a business meeting in Hokkaido, Japan. . My wife was
invited..
After the meeting we went to stay at a B&B run by a Japanese Birder.
We arrived in the afternoon for dinner. Next morning I got up just at
first light and walked along the nearby roads looking for birds. No
camera, light was far too dim. Misty, light rain. A ;small thrush flew
across the road and landed. Looked and behaved just like a Hermit Thrush,
but the spots, instead, were rings, like bubbles sorta. Pretty
distinctive. Easy to ID from my Japan field guide Cool. I knew nothing
of its detailed status but it seemed to be somewhat rare.and this was
migration time. Headed North?
Upon returning to the B&B for breakfast I told the 'Keeper' of the B&B of
my sighting, showed the picture in the Field Guide. His English wasn't
great, hut be could understand the picture. He seemed skeptical. Not a
great surprise. So then we asked about further, nearby birding and the host
told us about a nearby small park that would have migrants. We went. We
soon discovered a small flycatcher with a red throat. Easy to ID from the
book. Red-throated Flycatcher, now Taiga. The light was good, the bird
was tame and I got some photos.
We returned to the B&B and I showed him the Field Guide picture of what we
saw, the flycatcher.. Skepticism reigned supreme. No surprises there
either.
Returning to the US I scanned the slides and emailed him a photo. No
response via email. No surprise there either.
5-10 years later I was looking at bird books in the famous Powell's
Bookstore, a very large Bird Book Selection. There was a new book by Mark
Brazil. An Anglo with a lot of experience in Japanese birding. This was a
review of all birds recorded for Japan. In English.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I thought . I wonder...................................?
I opened the book to Red-breasted Flycatcher. Yep, I got that right.
There was my record with the correct date, attributed to ..... you know
who. And, of course, no mention of me. No surprise there either.
I bought Brazil's book at Powell's and I have the scanned photo. I'm
satisfied.
Bob OBrien Portland
On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 12:18 PM Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Tweets, I was lucky enough to be visiting friends on BC coast when I heard
> of the mega-rarity in Vancouver: a taiga flycatcher. These birds winter in
> southern Asia and summer in Siberia, and this is apparently only the 2nd
> North American record ever. I was passing through Vancouver, and yes I did
> re-route to the Aquatic Center to find it. I stood with a couple dozen
> hopefuls for an hour or so hoping it would show itself. About 4:10 with
> the light starting to dim, I got a tip from a photographer I'd chatted
> with. (Big thank you to whoever that was!) So another birder and I walked
> a couple blocks to where we'd just been told the bird had been, and after a
> bit, there it was. I had the pleasure of being the one to find it and then
> helping some others get looks at it, for about 10 minutes, as it moved
> steadily down a long fence, flycatching and showing its tail, before it
> flew off. Perfect. Victory is even better when it's snatched from the
> jaws of defeat.
>
> Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser (Whitney's driver)
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 12/31/25 3:48 pm From: Matt Bartels via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Seattle CBC results [14 Dec 2025]
2025 Seattle Christmas Bird Count
14 December 2025
130 species tallied (count day + count week)
Count day: 119 species
Count week: 11 additional species
Individual birds: 54, 086 [52, 332 in-field, 1,754 at feeders]
Observers: 322 [281 in field + 46 feeder watchers]
Overview
The 2025 Seattle CBC was held on December 14, 2025, organized once again by Birds Connect Seattle. We had warm weather and a nice break from the atmospheric rivers of rain that came soon after. Our species total of 130 was a bit above the 10-year average of 127. Our overall count of 54,086 birds likewise was our second highest number of birds recorded of the past decade of counts, and over 1,000 more than we found in 2024. With 322 observers including 46 at feeders and 281 in the field, we had over 300 participants for only the third time in our 100+ years of Seattle CBCs.
Highlights
The highlight birds of this year’s count included a Seattle CBC first Summer Tanager near Discovery Park, a Short-tailed Shearwater in the Puget Sound (only the third time we’ve had them on the CBC), and our first Green Heron on the count in a decade. Count-week-only highlights included American Bittern, Lesser Goldfinch and Red Crossbill.
Notable misses
We always miss a few, and this year was no exception. Notable misses included: Snow Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose (missed once in the last decade of CBCs), Tundra Swan, Spotted Sandpipe (first time missed in 25 years!), Marbled Murrelet, Great Horned Owl (first miss in a decade), Evening Grosbeak and Western Tanager.
Record high counts
For the modern period (1972-present), high counts were recorded for six species. We set record highs for: Short-tailed Shearwater [1], Pelagic Cormorant [153], Cooper’s Hawk [44], Pileated Woodpecker [26], Pacific Wren [331] and Summer Tanager [1].
Trends
Looking at trends over time, here’s how a few groups fared.
[numbers in brackets indicate the total number seen and the percentage as a ratio of the 10-year average on the count. Species with a record-high count are noted with an *. For example, a note of “[100, 50%]” would indicate that 100 individuals were seen, and that this is just 50% of the norm for the past 10 years (the average # seen from 2014-2024 has been 200).
Ducks & geese
Goose & swan numbers were mixed. On the one hand, we totally missed Snow Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese and Tundra Swans this year. But numbers for the geese and swans that were found came in with above-average numbers: Brant [99, 107%], Cackling Geese [389, 160%], Canada Geese [1782, 148%] and Trumpeter Swans [34, 204%].
Dabbling ducks, in general came in below their 10-year average once again this year. The only dabblers above average were Mallard [2094, 144%] and Northern Pintail [221, 302%]. Species with lower-than-average numbers included Wood Duck [36, 57%], Northern Shoveler [50, 37%], Gadwall [456, 82%], Eurasian Wigeon [5, 54%], American Wigeon [2026, 86%] and Green-winged Teal [37, 35%].
Diving ducks showed totals close to average overall, with a few a bit higher and a few a bit lower. Coming in higher than average: Ring-necked Duck [624, 121%], Greater Scaup [130, 118%] and White-winged Scoter [6, 125%]. Noticeably below-average numbers were reported for Canvasback [67, 46%], Lesser Scaup [78, 42%], Black Scoter [Count Week only], Bufflehead [531, 82%] and Red-breasted Merganser [265, 82%].
Grebes, hummingbirds and coots
For the third year running, Western Grebes [655, 167%] were found in strong numbers. In contrast all other grebes came in below their usual numbers. Most notably Pied-billed Grebe [150, 75%] and Horned Grebe [218, 78%] were well below average and we found Eared Grebe only as a count week bird. Anna’s Hummingbird [823, 148%] were out in force in the good weather, and American Coot [7081, 94%] did about average for the count.
Shorebirds, alcids & gulls
Killdeer [84, 200%] numbers were high, while Surfbird [23, 48%], Sanderling [3, 3%], and Wilson’s Snipe [5, 52%] numbers were below average. As an added bonus, we found Long-billed Dowitcher as a count-week bird, the first time that species has made the Seattle CBC since 1980. Our alcid numbers were decent this year, except for missing murrelets. After only 14 last year, we saw 119 Common Murre [119, 380%] this year. Pigeon Guillemot [47 100%] were right on their average, and Rhinoceros Auklet [62, 152%] were a little high. Bonaparte’s Gulls were out in force [94, 463%], our highest count in over 30 years. We had a late Heerman’s Gull for only our sixth time in the last 40 years. Other gulls were mostly a bit low – notably, both American Herring Gull and Western Gull were only picked up as count week birds and we had only one Iceland Gull [1, 38%].
Loons & cormorants
Loons were found in decent numbers this year, with both Red-throated Loon [33, 210%] and Common Loon [12, 154%] appearing at their best total of the past ten years. The cormorant story was split, much like last year: One species came in very low: Brandt’s Cormorant [57, 34%]. One came in right on average: Double-crested Cormorant [815, 99%]. And one came in at record high levels: Pelagic Cormorant [153*, 221%]
Raptors and owls
With the exception of Cooper’s Hawk [44*, 177%], and Merlin [16, 150%], raptors numbers were a bit low this year: Bald Eagle [99, 89%], Sharp-shinned Hawk [6, 81%], Red-tailed Hawk [26, 68%], and Peregrine Falcon [1, 12%]. Owl numbers were low this year, with only Barred Owl [11, 122%] coming in above average. Besides that, we found just one American Barn Owl [1, 31%], one Northern Saw-whet Owl [1, 37%] and no Great Horned Owls.
Woodpeckers
With the exception of Red-breasted Sapsucker [1, 11%, our lowest # since 1999], woodpeckers were present and found in above-average numbers, including Downy Woodpecker [106. 127%], Hairy Woodpecker [16, 184%], Northern Flicker [453, 126%] and Pileated Woodpecker [26*, 157%].
Chickadees, wrens & kinglets
Our totals for some of the ‘little’ species remained close to their normal totals. Those doing well above average included: Chestnut-backed Chickadee [559, 133%], Brown Creeper [160, 147%] and Pacific Wren [331*, 171%].
Thrush & waxwing
As discussed on Tweeters and elsewhere, the slow arrival of snow and freezing temperatures up high seems to have allowed the Varied Thrush [21, 17%] to remain largely absent down here this year and we tallied our lowest total in over 30 years as a result. Hermit Thrush [15, 98%] and American Robin [3592, 135%] were doing fine, and it was great once again to have a Townsend’s Solitaire on the count, a species we see at about half of our CBCs. After setting a record last year in the count, Cedar Waxwing [67, 33%] were scarce this year.
Finches
A few finch species were largely absent this year, while others seemed present in normal numbers. We missed Evening Grosbeak completely and only added Red Crossbill as a count-week bird. We’ve only had this few Pine Siskin [49, 4%] three times in the last 40 years of the survey. On the other side, House Finch [784, 100%] and American Goldfinch [504, 103%] were right at their normal numbers. A count week Lesser Goldfinch was an added bonus, only our third time we’ve found that species on the Seattle CBC.
Sparrows
The good weather made sparrow-finding easier this year, and many species tallied above-average numbers including Dark-eyed Junco [2438, 126%], White-crowned Sparrow [120, 138%], White-throated Sparrow [9, 159%] and Song Sparrow [1077, 121%]. Only Fox Sparrow [82, 72%] and Lincoln’s Sparrow [4, 39%] came in well below average.
Warblers
Orange-crowned Warblers [7, 119%] and Yellow-rumped Warblers [341, 112%] were a little above average, and Townsend’s Warblers [16, 86%] came in a little low this year. A count week Wilson’s Warbler rounded out our warbler tally for the year.
All in all, it was once again a fun day seeing what can be found when over 300 participants come together in a small circle for a day of birding. Thanks to all the participants who contributed to this year’s count.
We’ll have a full list of the results posted on the Birds Connect Seattle website in the new year
Date: 12/31/25 1:59 pm From: Chuq Von Rospach via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Harris’ Sparrow, Port Gamble
I haven’t seen this mentioned here so I thought I’d pass it along. There’s
a continuing Harris’ Sparrow being seen in Port Gamble. The eBird hotspot
is here: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L296606
The bird seems to be sticking to a fairly small area; if you drive through
town and down towards the kayak place on the water, when you hit the flat
to the right is a jumble of boulders. Beyond that is the hill area back up
towards the town, and the bird is hanging out in that area with White- and
Golden-crowned sparrows.
It’s fairly reliable, when I went down there it came out after about ten
minutes, but also rather furtive. You’ll see an orange traffic cone in the
scrub, it seems to be in and around that area most of the time. It’s an
easy ID once you see it among the sparrows as well (even for me). It looks
like it’ll be sticking for a bit, since I think it’s been seen for almost a
week.
(And if you’re looking for refreshment, strongly recommend Butcher and
Baker, back on the main road across from the main town area, for
coffee/pastry and interesting foods while you’re there)
Also take some time looking around the water near the Kayak place and along
the shore, there have been Black Scoters there along with the more common
and fun birds you might expect. Also, perhaps, Long-Tailed Duck since I had
two a couple of weeks ago
Chuq
---------------------------------------
Chuq Von Rospach (http://www.chuq.me)
Silverdale, Washington
Birder, Nature and Wildlife Photographer
Date: 12/31/25 1:30 pm From: BRAD Liljequist via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Flock of 34 Harlequins at mouth of Sequim Bay last night
Hi all,
I did a bit of a walkabout (ok, well, driveabout) on the Olympic Peninsula Monday Tuesday and had a lovely time (thanks for Steve and Bob for tips). Great to see the building estuary at the mouth of the Elwha.
A favorite, underrated spot is the Port Williams County Park and the walk down Gibson Spit. A highlight: At dusk yesterday I was treated to seeing a flock of 34 Harlequins in the tidal rip that forms between Gibson and Travis Spits. It seemed like the various smaller groups convened there at the end of the day and then one larger group (~20) departed for I'm guessing an offshore overnight float. Lovely to see and wonderful to think about how it was likely constituted by various pairs that nest up the nooks and crannies of the Olympics...
Date: 12/31/25 8:29 am From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] REMINDER: WOS Monthly Meeting, January 5, 2026 (on-line only) ... also please note: Jan 26
The Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) is pleased to announce our next Monthly Meeting: on Monday, January 5, 2026, Phil Mitchell will present, "Learning to be a Better Birder in the Age of AI.” Today, with a suite of AI-powered apps such as Merlin and iNaturalist, we are quickly able to identify birds, plants and other animals. Online or in-person courses may enhance our knowledge about sparrows, shorebirds and hawks. But what does it take to actually learn and retain the knowledge that enriches our birding? This talk will be an intro to the science of learning as it applies to becoming a better birder, along with a survey of the related birding apps.
Phil Mitchell has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology and is a Seattle resident and avid naturalist. He combines academic research on how best to learn, with his 20+ years’ experience as a software developer to create learning apps. He is the founder and learning expert for the app “Larkwire.” Introduced in 2012, Larkwire helps birders learn sounds, visual ID and bird topography.
This meeting will be conducted virtually, via Zoom (no in-person attendance). Sign-in will begin at 7:15 pm, and the meeting commences at 7:30 pm. Please go to the WOS Monthly Meetings page: https://wos.org/monthly-meetings/ for instructions on participation and to get the Zoom link.
When joining the meeting, we ask that you mute your device and make certain that your camera is turned off.
This meeting is open to all as WOS invites everyone in the wider birding community to attend. Thanks to the generosity of our presenters, recordings of past programs are available at the following link to the WOS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonornithologicalso7839/videos
If you are not yet a member of WOS, we hope you will consider becoming one at https://wos.org
Please join us!
SPECIAL NOTE: Due to a date conflict, the February 2026 Monthly Meeting will take place one week earlier, on January 26. Please mark your calendars.
Date: 12/30/25 9:41 pm From: Carol Riddell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Personal Health Information
Hi Tweets,
I know the question was asked with curiosity and concern, and it was answered from a place of very good intent. But I think we all need to keep in mind that health information is personal to the individual and oftentimes very private. We also need to keep in mind that Tweeters is not a closed list serv. Anything posted on it can be viewed by anyone in the world with an internet connection. And there are increasing numbers of bots that harvest personal information from the internet to be used for nefarious purposes including identity theft. Many of us are aging and at some point we will all age out of the birding hobby. When questions are asked about the status of another birder, it is probably best to provide your email address in the post (anyone at email dot com) and ask for an offline reply. I think we also need to all keep in mind that we should not share health information without the consent of the individual or a member of that person’s family.
I wish we didn’t need to be so guarded, but the internet is rife with criminals and Tweeters can have personal information harvested by bad actors or bots. This is particularly so when an individual has a somewhat unique name that can be linked to a particular location. With a name, address, and information that an individual may not be in control of their physical abilities or mental capacities, bad things can happen.
Date: 12/30/25 8:01 pm From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Torpor in Hummers
Thanks for adding some expertise to my speculation Kenneth. I shudda done a little research before posting. Seems that hummingbirds don’t have any special nigh vision powers, but they may be helped by their extra cones and color vision thanks to their expanded UV range.
Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA
> On Dec 30, 2025, at 19:29, Kenneth Brown <kenbrownpls...> wrote:
>
> Many birds can see in the ultraviolet spectrum, I don't think they see infrared light.
>> On 12/30/2025 9:00 AM PST Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>>
>> I think that hummingbird vision, maybe all bird vision, extends further into the infrared range than human, so even though we see “dark” they see “light”.
>>
>> Tom Benedict
>> Seahurst, WA
>>
>>> On Dec 29, 2025, at 22:42, Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>>> I had similar experiences to you, Bob. I would bring in my feeders at night when it was cold enough to freeze them, then put them out at the first hint of light, and I had hummers leap onto the feeder while it was still in my hand, before I could even hang it.
>>>
>>> Someone here on tweeters (I forget who) told me that in winter, the hummers will even wake from torpor and feed in the dark, so bringing the feeders in at night can be detrimental to them. So I bought one of the feeder heaters (one of the little lamp bulb versions that puts out just enough heat to stop it from freezing) and I always leave them out. This is the type I have - it just clips onto the bottom of the feeder. I only need it for about one week a year on our area, but it was cheap enough.
>>>
>>> Louise
>>>
>>> On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> <mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
>>> Over decades of birding I've experienced 'torpor' or 'not' twice. This seems an appropriate time to discuss them for possible feedback.
>>>
>>> 1. I had a hummer feeder on my front porch. When I went to refill the feeder I accidentally dropped and broke it. No backup. So I got an olive jar about 2"x 4"deep, filled it with 'the, 'juice' and fashioned a way to attach it. That worked fine. The male Rufous just landed on the edge and sipped away. I sorta forgot about it, but one day, when I returned home, I happened to glance at the jar and noticed an apparently dead male Rufous, bill down in the jar, now empty of juice.. I guess it had to dip further and further down, until it actually fell in. Oh, no. No idea how long it had been in there, but I knew about torpor, so I cupped it in my hand for warmth and went into the house. In 5-10 minutes I felt a 'stirring' 5 or so minutes later, I released it back outside, apparently none the worse for wear.. Great.
>>>
>>> But, conversely. Years ago, we had 3 or 4 nights here, SE of Portland, with a low of 6 degrees F. I had a bona fide feeder back on the porch that I took in during the night so it did not freeze. I got up each morning when it was just barely light to replace the feeder in case any hummers were surviving, which seemed unlikely. When I did this the first morning, a female Anna's immediately flew up from low weeds on the ground 15 feet away, and started partaking. This repeated the following two nights after which it warmed up.
>>> Now, this hummer was undoubtedly in Torpor (or not?) during the night, aided likely by some amount of ground heat to prevent freezing, even in Torpor. So,
>>> 2. How did the hummer know to spend the night on the ground?
>>> 3. How is it that the hummer was 'awake' at barely first light, as though waiting for me to replace the feeder. I don't think they can come out of torpor immediately, can they?
>>> And at 6 degrees I wasn't loitering on my porch, I put the feeder up and the hummer arrived immediately.
>>>
>>> Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Bob OBrien Portland
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> <Tweeters...>
>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
Date: 12/30/25 7:40 pm From: Kenneth Brown via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Torpor in Hummers
Many birds can see in the ultraviolet spectrum, I don't think they see infrared light.
> On 12/30/2025 9:00 AM PST Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>
> I think that hummingbird vision, maybe all bird vision, extends further into the infrared range than human, so even though we see “dark” they see “light”.
>
> Tom Benedict
> Seahurst, WA
>
>
> > On Dec 29, 2025, at 22:42, Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
> > I had similar experiences to you, Bob. I would bring in my feeders at night when it was cold enough to freeze them, then put them out at the first hint of light, and I had hummers leap onto the feeder while it was still in my hand, before I could even hang it.
> >
> > Someone here on tweeters (I forget who) told me that in winter, the hummers will even wake from torpor and feed in the dark, so bringing the feeders in at night can be detrimental to them. So I bought one of the feeder heaters (one of the little lamp bulb versions that puts out just enough heat to stop it from freezing) and I always leave them out. This is the type I have - it just clips onto the bottom of the feeder. I only need it for about one week a year on our area, but it was cheap enough.
> >
> > Louise
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> mailto:<tweeters...> wrote:
> >
> > > Over decades of birding I've experienced 'torpor' or 'not' twice. This seems an appropriate time to discuss them for possible feedback.
> > >
> > > 1. I had a hummer feeder on my front porch. When I went to refill the feeder I accidentally dropped and broke it. No backup. So I got an olive jar about 2"x 4"deep, filled it with 'the, 'juice' and fashioned a way to attach it. That worked fine. The male Rufous just landed on the edge and sipped away. I sorta forgot about it, but one day, when I returned home, I happened to glance at the jar and noticed an apparently dead male Rufous, bill down in the jar, now empty of juice.. I guess it had to dip further and further down, until it actually fell in. Oh, no. No idea how long it had been in there, but I knew about torpor, so I cupped it in my hand for warmth and went into the house. In 5-10 minutes I felt a 'stirring' 5 or so minutes later, I released it back outside, apparently none the worse for wear.. Great.
> > >
> > > But, conversely. Years ago, we had 3 or 4 nights here, SE of Portland, with a low of 6 degrees F. I had a bona fide feeder back on the porch that I took in during the night so it did not freeze. I got up each morning when it was just barely light to replace the feeder in case any hummers were surviving, which seemed unlikely. When I did this the first morning, a female Anna's immediately flew up from low weeds on the ground 15 feet away, and started partaking. This repeated the following two nights after which it warmed up.
> > > Now, this hummer was undoubtedly in Torpor (or not?) during the night, aided likely by some amount of ground heat to prevent freezing, even in Torpor. So,
> > > 2. How did the hummer know to spend the night on the ground?
> > > 3. How is it that the hummer was 'awake' at barely first light, as though waiting for me to replace the feeder. I don't think they can come out of torpor immediately, can they?
> > > And at 6 degrees I wasn't loitering on my porch, I put the feeder up and the hummer arrived immediately.
> > >
> > > Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Bob OBrien Portland
> > >
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 12/30/25 12:29 pm From: Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Taiga flycatcher in Vancouver
Tweets, I was lucky enough to be visiting friends on BC coast when I heard of the mega-rarity in Vancouver: a taiga flycatcher. These birds winter in southern Asia and summer in Siberia, and this is apparently only the 2nd North American record ever. I was passing through Vancouver, and yes I did re-route to the Aquatic Center to find it. I stood with a couple dozen hopefuls for an hour or so hoping it would show itself. About 4:10 with the light starting to dim, I got a tip from a photographer I'd chatted with. (Big thank you to whoever that was!) So another birder and I walked a couple blocks to where we'd just been told the bird had been, and after a bit, there it was. I had the pleasure of being the one to find it and then helping some others get looks at it, for about 10 minutes, as it moved steadily down a long fence, flycatching and showing its tail, before it flew off. Perfect. Victory is even better when it's snatched from the jaws of defeat.
Date: 12/30/25 9:11 am From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Torpor in Hummers
I think that hummingbird vision, maybe all bird vision, extends further into the infrared range than human, so even though we see “dark” they see “light”.
Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA
> On Dec 29, 2025, at 22:42, Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> I had similar experiences to you, Bob. I would bring in my feeders at night when it was cold enough to freeze them, then put them out at the first hint of light, and I had hummers leap onto the feeder while it was still in my hand, before I could even hang it.
>
> Someone here on tweeters (I forget who) told me that in winter, the hummers will even wake from torpor and feed in the dark, so bringing the feeders in at night can be detrimental to them. So I bought one of the feeder heaters (one of the little lamp bulb versions that puts out just enough heat to stop it from freezing) and I always leave them out. This is the type I have - it just clips onto the bottom of the feeder. I only need it for about one week a year on our area, but it was cheap enough.
>
> Louise
>
> On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> <mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
>> Over decades of birding I've experienced 'torpor' or 'not' twice. This seems an appropriate time to discuss them for possible feedback.
>>
>> 1. I had a hummer feeder on my front porch. When I went to refill the feeder I accidentally dropped and broke it. No backup. So I got an olive jar about 2"x 4"deep, filled it with 'the, 'juice' and fashioned a way to attach it. That worked fine. The male Rufous just landed on the edge and sipped away. I sorta forgot about it, but one day, when I returned home, I happened to glance at the jar and noticed an apparently dead male Rufous, bill down in the jar, now empty of juice.. I guess it had to dip further and further down, until it actually fell in. Oh, no. No idea how long it had been in there, but I knew about torpor, so I cupped it in my hand for warmth and went into the house. In 5-10 minutes I felt a 'stirring' 5 or so minutes later, I released it back outside, apparently none the worse for wear.. Great.
>>
>> But, conversely. Years ago, we had 3 or 4 nights here, SE of Portland, with a low of 6 degrees F. I had a bona fide feeder back on the porch that I took in during the night so it did not freeze. I got up each morning when it was just barely light to replace the feeder in case any hummers were surviving, which seemed unlikely. When I did this the first morning, a female Anna's immediately flew up from low weeds on the ground 15 feet away, and started partaking. This repeated the following two nights after which it warmed up.
>> Now, this hummer was undoubtedly in Torpor (or not?) during the night, aided likely by some amount of ground heat to prevent freezing, even in Torpor. So,
>> 2. How did the hummer know to spend the night on the ground?
>> 3. How is it that the hummer was 'awake' at barely first light, as though waiting for me to replace the feeder. I don't think they can come out of torpor immediately, can they?
>> And at 6 degrees I wasn't loitering on my porch, I put the feeder up and the hummer arrived immediately.
>>
>> Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Bob OBrien Portland
>
Date: 12/30/25 7:24 am From: Joan Durgin via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] RFI Wilson Cady
He has significant health issues starting with a brain injury last year from a fall, he doesn’t read or write but he has a very caring wife taking care of him at home.
He did attend the Vancouver Audubon chapter 50th anniversary celebration early Dec and spoke about memories of him and several others efforts in starting the Vancouver Audubon Chapter all while trying to conserve property east of Washougal that is now the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This group did a bird survey for 365 days in a row on this property that was planned for development.
Joan Durgin
Camas, WA
> On Dec 29, 2025, at 10:34 PM, Vincent Lucas via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Tweets:
>
> Does anyone know what’s going on with Wilson Cady? He hasn’t posted anything on Facebook nor have I seen any of his posts on Tweeters in quite a while. Thanks.
>
> Vincent Lucas
> Port Angeles, WA
>
> Sent from Gmail Mobile ʚϊɞ ʚϊɞ ʚϊɞ
> _______________________________________________
> 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: 12/30/25 6:13 am From: Steve Hampton via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Torpor in Hummers
One study showed Anna's go into torpor for only about 3-5 hrs per night, so
not the whole night. It takes them about 30 minutes to go in and out.
See Figure 2 at Spence and Tingley 2021.
Body size and environment influence both intraspecific and interspecific
variation in daily torpor use across hummingbirds
<https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.13782>For those new to the topic, or just waking up (!), when hummingbirds are in
torpor, their heart rate drops nearly 90%, from about 450 beats per minute
down to 50; their body temperature falls from 107°F to as low at 48°F; and
they seem to barely breathe. A hummingbird in torpor sits fluffed with its
eyes closed, looking nearly lifeless.
On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 11:33 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Wow, I had never heard of anyone else who had such an experience.THANKS.
> This was long ago and I do now have heated feeders.
> Maybe going out of torpor at or before dawn is normal, even when it is not
> so cold and even if there are not feeders available. In the wild, that
> is. And I have had these feeders at night in the cold with the porch light
> on. I wondered whether they would feed at night but didn't see it. But, I
> could easily have missed it.
> Bob
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 10:42 PM Louise via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> I had similar experiences to you, Bob. I would bring in my feeders at
>> night when it was cold enough to freeze them, then put them out at the
>> first hint of light, and I had hummers leap onto the feeder while it was
>> still in my hand, before I could even hang it.
>>
>> Someone here on tweeters (I forget who) told me that in winter, the
>> hummers will even wake from torpor and feed in the dark, so bringing the
>> feeders in at night can be detrimental to them. So I bought one of the
>> feeder heaters (one of the little lamp bulb versions that puts out just
>> enough heat to stop it from freezing) and I always leave them out. This is
>> the type I have - it just clips onto the bottom of the feeder. I only need
>> it for about one week a year on our area, but it was cheap enough.
>>
>> Louise
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <
>> <tweeters...> wrote:
>>
>>> Over decades of birding I've experienced 'torpor' or 'not' twice. This
>>> seems an appropriate time to discuss them for possible feedback.
>>>
>>> 1. I had a hummer feeder on my front porch. When I went to refill the
>>> feeder I accidentally dropped and broke it. No backup. So I got an olive
>>> jar about 2"x 4"deep, filled it with 'the, 'juice' and fashioned a way to
>>> attach it. That worked fine. The male Rufous just landed on the edge and
>>> sipped away. I sorta forgot about it, but one day, when I returned home, I
>>> happened to glance at the jar and noticed an apparently dead male Rufous,
>>> bill down in the jar, now empty of juice.. I guess it had to dip further
>>> and further down, until it actually fell in. Oh, no. No idea how long it
>>> had been in there, but I knew about torpor, so I cupped it in my hand for
>>> warmth and went into the house. In 5-10 minutes I felt a 'stirring' 5 or
>>> so minutes later, I released it back outside, apparently none the worse for
>>> wear.. Great.
>>>
>>> But, conversely. Years ago, we had 3 or 4 nights here, SE of Portland,
>>> with a low of 6 degrees F. I had a bona fide feeder back on the porch that
>>> I took in during the night so it did not freeze. I got up each morning
>>> when it was just barely light to replace the feeder in case any hummers
>>> were surviving, which seemed unlikely. When I did this the first morning,
>>> a female Anna's immediately flew up from low weeds on the ground 15 feet
>>> away, and started partaking. This repeated the following two nights after
>>> which it warmed up.
>>> Now, this hummer was undoubtedly in Torpor (or not?) during the night,
>>> aided likely by some amount of ground heat to prevent freezing, even in
>>> Torpor. So,
>>> 2. How did the hummer know to spend the night on the ground?
>>> 3. How is it that the hummer was 'awake' at barely first light, as
>>> though waiting for me to replace the feeder. I don't think they can come
>>> out of torpor immediately, can they?
>>> And at 6 degrees I wasn't loitering on my porch, I put the feeder up and
>>> the hummer arrived immediately.
>>>
>>> Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Bob OBrien Portland
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> 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: 12/29/25 11:43 pm From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Torpor in Hummers
Wow, I had never heard of anyone else who had such an experience.THANKS.
This was long ago and I do now have heated feeders.
Maybe going out of torpor at or before dawn is normal, even when it is not
so cold and even if there are not feeders available. In the wild, that
is. And I have had these feeders at night in the cold with the porch light
on. I wondered whether they would feed at night but didn't see it. But, I
could easily have missed it.
Bob
On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 10:42 PM Louise via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> I had similar experiences to you, Bob. I would bring in my feeders at
> night when it was cold enough to freeze them, then put them out at the
> first hint of light, and I had hummers leap onto the feeder while it was
> still in my hand, before I could even hang it.
>
> Someone here on tweeters (I forget who) told me that in winter, the
> hummers will even wake from torpor and feed in the dark, so bringing the
> feeders in at night can be detrimental to them. So I bought one of the
> feeder heaters (one of the little lamp bulb versions that puts out just
> enough heat to stop it from freezing) and I always leave them out. This is
> the type I have - it just clips onto the bottom of the feeder. I only need
> it for about one week a year on our area, but it was cheap enough.
>
> Louise
>
> On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
>> Over decades of birding I've experienced 'torpor' or 'not' twice. This
>> seems an appropriate time to discuss them for possible feedback.
>>
>> 1. I had a hummer feeder on my front porch. When I went to refill the
>> feeder I accidentally dropped and broke it. No backup. So I got an olive
>> jar about 2"x 4"deep, filled it with 'the, 'juice' and fashioned a way to
>> attach it. That worked fine. The male Rufous just landed on the edge and
>> sipped away. I sorta forgot about it, but one day, when I returned home, I
>> happened to glance at the jar and noticed an apparently dead male Rufous,
>> bill down in the jar, now empty of juice.. I guess it had to dip further
>> and further down, until it actually fell in. Oh, no. No idea how long it
>> had been in there, but I knew about torpor, so I cupped it in my hand for
>> warmth and went into the house. In 5-10 minutes I felt a 'stirring' 5 or
>> so minutes later, I released it back outside, apparently none the worse for
>> wear.. Great.
>>
>> But, conversely. Years ago, we had 3 or 4 nights here, SE of Portland,
>> with a low of 6 degrees F. I had a bona fide feeder back on the porch that
>> I took in during the night so it did not freeze. I got up each morning
>> when it was just barely light to replace the feeder in case any hummers
>> were surviving, which seemed unlikely. When I did this the first morning,
>> a female Anna's immediately flew up from low weeds on the ground 15 feet
>> away, and started partaking. This repeated the following two nights after
>> which it warmed up.
>> Now, this hummer was undoubtedly in Torpor (or not?) during the night,
>> aided likely by some amount of ground heat to prevent freezing, even in
>> Torpor. So,
>> 2. How did the hummer know to spend the night on the ground?
>> 3. How is it that the hummer was 'awake' at barely first light, as
>> though waiting for me to replace the feeder. I don't think they can come
>> out of torpor immediately, can they?
>> And at 6 degrees I wasn't loitering on my porch, I put the feeder up and
>> the hummer arrived immediately.
>>
>> Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Bob OBrien Portland
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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: 12/29/25 10:53 pm From: Louise via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Torpor in Hummers
I had similar experiences to you, Bob. I would bring in my feeders at night
when it was cold enough to freeze them, then put them out at the first hint
of light, and I had hummers leap onto the feeder while it was still in my
hand, before I could even hang it.
Someone here on tweeters (I forget who) told me that in winter, the hummers
will even wake from torpor and feed in the dark, so bringing the feeders in
at night can be detrimental to them. So I bought one of the feeder heaters
(one of the little lamp bulb versions that puts out just enough heat to
stop it from freezing) and I always leave them out. This is the type I have
- it just clips onto the bottom of the feeder. I only need it for about one
week a year on our area, but it was cheap enough.
Louise
On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 4:08 PM Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Over decades of birding I've experienced 'torpor' or 'not' twice. This
> seems an appropriate time to discuss them for possible feedback.
>
> 1. I had a hummer feeder on my front porch. When I went to refill the
> feeder I accidentally dropped and broke it. No backup. So I got an olive
> jar about 2"x 4"deep, filled it with 'the, 'juice' and fashioned a way to
> attach it. That worked fine. The male Rufous just landed on the edge and
> sipped away. I sorta forgot about it, but one day, when I returned home, I
> happened to glance at the jar and noticed an apparently dead male Rufous,
> bill down in the jar, now empty of juice.. I guess it had to dip further
> and further down, until it actually fell in. Oh, no. No idea how long it
> had been in there, but I knew about torpor, so I cupped it in my hand for
> warmth and went into the house. In 5-10 minutes I felt a 'stirring' 5 or
> so minutes later, I released it back outside, apparently none the worse for
> wear.. Great.
>
> But, conversely. Years ago, we had 3 or 4 nights here, SE of Portland,
> with a low of 6 degrees F. I had a bona fide feeder back on the porch that
> I took in during the night so it did not freeze. I got up each morning
> when it was just barely light to replace the feeder in case any hummers
> were surviving, which seemed unlikely. When I did this the first morning,
> a female Anna's immediately flew up from low weeds on the ground 15 feet
> away, and started partaking. This repeated the following two nights after
> which it warmed up.
> Now, this hummer was undoubtedly in Torpor (or not?) during the night,
> aided likely by some amount of ground heat to prevent freezing, even in
> Torpor. So,
> 2. How did the hummer know to spend the night on the ground?
> 3. How is it that the hummer was 'awake' at barely first light, as though
> waiting for me to replace the feeder. I don't think they can come out of
> torpor immediately, can they?
> And at 6 degrees I wasn't loitering on my porch, I put the feeder up and
> the hummer arrived immediately.
>
> Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Bob OBrien Portland
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...>
> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters >
Date: 12/29/25 10:45 pm From: Vincent Lucas via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] RFI Wilson Cady
Tweets:
Does anyone know what’s going on with Wilson Cady? He hasn’t posted
anything on Facebook nor have I seen any of his posts on Tweeters in quite
a while. Thanks.
Date: 12/29/25 8:46 pm From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Samish Flats Eagles Galore
Hi,
It seemed like every other tree in the Samish Flats had a Bald Eagle
in it today!
Many times you could see more than one. Here's a link to just one photo I
took today - taken on the approach to Samish Island. I saw at least,
and perhaps as
many as 30 different Bald Eagles today. A few pairs but mostly alone.
No activity in
any of the nests that I saw.
The East 90 had about 20 photogs ... but no SEOWs and only one
Harrier in the
two hours I was there. I saw -one- SEOW out near where the eagle pic was
taken. LOTS of ducks this year - in the ditches and puddles and
temporary lakes.
Also lots of Trumpeters - even in Pond Sterling (pun intended).
Date: 12/29/25 4:41 pm From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Torpor in Hummers
And a corollary: At 6 degrees night time low for several days it didn't
even get into the 20's during the day, although I don't recall the exact
details as this was decades ago..
On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 4:07 PM Robert O'Brien <baro...> wrote:
> Over decades of birding I've experienced 'torpor' or 'not' twice. This
> seems an appropriate time to discuss them for possible feedback.
>
> 1. I had a hummer feeder on my front porch. When I went to refill the
> feeder I accidentally dropped and broke it. No backup. So I got an olive
> jar about 2"x 4"deep, filled it with 'the, 'juice' and fashioned a way to
> attach it. That worked fine. The male Rufous just landed on the edge and
> sipped away. I sorta forgot about it, but one day, when I returned home, I
> happened to glance at the jar and noticed an apparently dead male Rufous,
> bill down in the jar, now empty of juice.. I guess it had to dip further
> and further down, until it actually fell in. Oh, no. No idea how long it
> had been in there, but I knew about torpor, so I cupped it in my hand for
> warmth and went into the house. In 5-10 minutes I felt a 'stirring' 5 or
> so minutes later, I released it back outside, apparently none the worse for
> wear.. Great.
>
> But, conversely. Years ago, we had 3 or 4 nights here, SE of Portland,
> with a low of 6 degrees F. I had a bona fide feeder back on the porch that
> I took in during the night so it did not freeze. I got up each morning
> when it was just barely light to replace the feeder in case any hummers
> were surviving, which seemed unlikely. When I did this the first morning,
> a female Anna's immediately flew up from low weeds on the ground 15 feet
> away, and started partaking. This repeated the following two nights after
> which it warmed up.
> Now, this hummer was undoubtedly in Torpor (or not?) during the night,
> aided likely by some amount of ground heat to prevent freezing, even in
> Torpor. So,
> 2. How did the hummer know to spend the night on the ground?
> 3. How is it that the hummer was 'awake' at barely first light, as though
> waiting for me to replace the feeder. I don't think they can come out of
> torpor immediately, can they?
> And at 6 degrees I wasn't loitering on my porch, I put the feeder up and
> the hummer arrived immediately.
>
> Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Bob OBrien Portland
>
Date: 12/29/25 4:18 pm From: Robert O'Brien via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Torpor in Hummers
Over decades of birding I've experienced 'torpor' or 'not' twice. This seems an appropriate time to discuss them for possible feedback.
1. I had a hummer feeder on my front porch. When I went to refill the feeder I accidentally dropped and broke it. No backup. So I got an olive jar about 2"x 4"deep, filled it with 'the, 'juice' and fashioned a way to attach it. That worked fine. The male Rufous just landed on the edge and sipped away. I sorta forgot about it, but one day, when I returned home, I happened to glance at the jar and noticed an apparently dead male Rufous, bill down in the jar, now empty of juice.. I guess it had to dip further and further down, until it actually fell in. Oh, no. No idea how long it had been in there, but I knew about torpor, so I cupped it in my hand for warmth and went into the house. In 5-10 minutes I felt a 'stirring' 5 or so minutes later, I released it back outside, apparently none the worse for wear.. Great.
But, conversely. Years ago, we had 3 or 4 nights here, SE of Portland, with a low of 6 degrees F. I had a bona fide feeder back on the porch that I took in during the night so it did not freeze. I got up each morning when it was just barely light to replace the feeder in case any hummers were surviving, which seemed unlikely. When I did this the first morning, a female Anna's immediately flew up from low weeds on the ground 15 feet away, and started partaking. This repeated the following two nights after which it warmed up. Now, this hummer was undoubtedly in Torpor (or not?) during the night, aided likely by some amount of ground heat to prevent freezing, even in Torpor. So, 2. How did the hummer know to spend the night on the ground? 3. How is it that the hummer was 'awake' at barely first light, as though waiting for me to replace the feeder. I don't think they can come out of torpor immediately, can they? And at 6 degrees I wasn't loitering on my porch, I put the feeder up and the hummer arrived immediately.
Date: 12/29/25 3:45 pm From: Ann Kramer via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Peaceful coexistence among Annas
Jon and Diane,
I agree with Dennis. I learned this at a workshop years ago in California,
that they will be seen in temporary "truce" at the first drink in the
morning and then just before dusk, for the reasons Dennis pointed out. It
is interesting that it also occurs in the crack of morning, but I suspect
that is because they are refueling after a night without nectar in torpor.
I found this information on AI.
Hummingbirds *don't* usually call a truce; they are intensely territorial,
but in early mornings and late evenings, their behavior shifts because they
need to focus on intense feeding (loading up on calories for the night/day)
and conserve energy, sometimes leading to a temporary "standoff" or less
aggressive sharing if they're too tired or realizing another feeder is
nearby, though guarding usually continues until they must rest. It's about
survival—maximizing energy intake when light is low and resting to avoid
depleting vital reserves, making them prioritize feeding over constant
fighting, though a tough defender might still chase rivals.
*Why the Change in Behavior?*
- *Temporary Lulls:* You might see multiple birds at a feeder for a few
minutes, but often, a dominant bird will start chasing others away again as
they finish feeding.
- *Increased Numbers:* With more hummingbirds around, they sometimes
form loose aggregations, but this doesn't negate their innate
territoriality, according to this Reddit thread
<https://www.reddit.com/r/hummingbirds/comments/13coq89/when_hummingbirds_call_a_truce/> .
-
Essentially, it's less a polite truce and more a strategic shift in focus
to essential energy acquisition before rest or the start of a busy day,
notes this YouTube video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7X8G_ejvM4>
On Mon, Dec 29, 2025 at 2:44 PM Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <
<tweeters...> wrote:
> Jon and Diane,
>
> I suspect it is because there is no further point in defending a food
> source when it is almost dark, and you won’t be feeding there again on this
> day. Flowers make new nectar during the night, so probably that’s why they
> are so programmed to relax aggression at that time. And hummingbird feeders
> almost always have nectar in them the next morning.
>
> We have seen this many times at our feeders toward the end of the day.
>
> Dennis Paulson
> Seattle
>
> On Dec 29, 2025, at 2:39 PM, Cooper PhD, Jonathan A via Tweeters <
> <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Hi Tweeters - Our hummingbird feeder is normally the scene of hot
> disputes, with a competitive male wasting no time to chase off other
> visitors. The other evening, in the half light, we were surprised to see
> not one but three, then four, Annas perched around the rim, one at each of
> the drinking holes. They took it in turns for one to drink while the other
> three watched, bills up. This went on for several minutes until it got too
> dark for us to see. Why such peaceful co-existence?
> Jon Cooper and Diane Doles
> Madrona
> <jcooper...>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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: 12/29/25 2:55 pm From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Peaceful coexistence among Annas
Jon and Diane,
I suspect it is because there is no further point in defending a food source when it is almost dark, and you won’t be feeding there again on this day. Flowers make new nectar during the night, so probably that’s why they are so programmed to relax aggression at that time. And hummingbird feeders almost always have nectar in them the next morning.
We have seen this many times at our feeders toward the end of the day.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
> On Dec 29, 2025, at 2:39 PM, Cooper PhD, Jonathan A via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
>
> Hi Tweeters - Our hummingbird feeder is normally the scene of hot disputes, with a competitive male wasting no time to chase off other visitors. The other evening, in the half light, we were surprised to see not one but three, then four, Annas perched around the rim, one at each of the drinking holes. They took it in turns for one to drink while the other three watched, bills up. This went on for several minutes until it got too dark for us to see. Why such peaceful co-existence?
> Jon Cooper and Diane Doles
> Madrona
> <jcooper...> <mailto:<jcooper...> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> <Tweeters...> <mailto:<Tweeters...> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters>
Date: 12/29/25 2:49 pm From: Cooper PhD, Jonathan A via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Peaceful coexistence among Annas
Hi Tweeters - Our hummingbird feeder is normally the scene of hot disputes, with a competitive male wasting no time to chase off other visitors. The other evening, in the half light, we were surprised to see not one but three, then four, Annas perched around the rim, one at each of the drinking holes. They took it in turns for one to drink while the other three watched, bills up. This went on for several minutes until it got too dark for us to see. Why such peaceful co-existence?
Jon Cooper and Diane Doles
Madrona
<jcooper...>
Date: 12/29/25 1:07 pm From: Judith A. Howard via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Varied Thrush on South Whidbeey
Noting Carol’s summary of recent varied thrush sightings, this morning I was delighted to see the first of the year for us in the Clinton area on Whidbey Island. Last year I never saw any, but in earlier years we would usually have at least ten, often more. It was a thrill to see one back. Hopefully more are on the way.
Joseph and I are staying in an airbnb in Magnolia, Seattle until we leave for England. This morning, Joseph spotted a woodpecker from the window, so I dug out my binoculars, stepped outside the door, and pished for about five seconds. Immediately, TWELVE species of birds popped up! I have never had such a successful response to pishing.
By the way, the bird-and-word quiz now has 147 birds. Have fun!
Date: 12/28/25 6:08 pm From: Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: YBLO @ Semiahmoo
Good news from Stephen Chase to follow up my post on Yellow-billed Loons.
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Stephen Chase <schase...>
> Subject: YBLO @ Semiahmoo
> Date: December 28, 2025 at 10:59:17 AM PST
> To: <dennispaulson...>
>
> Hi Dennis,
>
> I'm no longer subscribed to Tweeters, but I lurk on the Archives every now and then. I saw your post regarding the YBLO(s?) at Semiahmoo.
>
> My son Josiah and I covered the Drayton Harbor of Semiahmoo Spit for the White Rock CBC, and around 10:00 had excellent views of the YBLO. We saw one again around 10:40 about 100 yards to the northwest. Like you, I wondered if it may have been a different bird, as it had a noticeably denser-patterned back than the initial sighting. I'm now quite convinced there are two wintering YBLOs in the channel between Semiahmoo Bay and Drayton Harbor. There were a number of birders and photographers on both sides of the channel, so if some photos get published to eBird, they might serve well to settle the question.
>
> Anyways, I can confirm that one YBLO was successfully located, photographed, and added to the database for the White Rock CBC.
>
> Feel free to share this publicly on Tweeters if you feel it useful.
>
> Thanks,
> Stephen Chase
Date: 12/28/25 3:07 pm From: Dee Dee via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] FOS Yellow-rump & a Lesser Goldfinch yet again
This morning (Sunday 28 Dec) was a great “out the kitchen window” bird morning for me. Finally had a FOS Yellow-rumped Warbler briefly at the suet feeder just after 9am (a few less-than-stellar photos but good enough for ID purposes). I have missed the bright warblers so far this late Fall-into-Winter season and was happy to see one.
About 10 minutes before noon, glimpsed a male Lesser Goldfinch on seed feeder. It was quickly spooked away with all the various other birds but—Yay!—returned shortly for another typically short visit, but at least I was able to get better pics.
They will be posted to eBird when I get time.
Happy end-of-year birding…and I always look forward to seeing the FOY posts as the New Year begins.
Dee W
Edmonds
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Date: 12/28/25 1:09 pm From: Carol Riddell via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Fall Varied Thrushes in Edmonds
Hi Tweets,
I saw my first Varied Thrush of fall at Edmonds marsh, 10-4-25. I then saw two in Southwest County Park, 11-3-25. One thrush was reported in Yost Park, 11-12-25. There have been six reports in Pine Ridge Park between 11-15 and 12-20-25. Personally, I have yet to see or hear any in that park this fall/early winter. There was a report of one thrush in Hickman Park, 11-30-25. I don’t see any yard reports on an Edmonds eBird species map yet.
