Birding 4-29-2018

A screen shot of my eBird Pierce County Life list at the end of the day today. Pierce Lifer #253 came and went quickly.

Pierce County has had the perfect wave for birders this weekend. Migration + Weather + Good Birders --> Great Bird Sightings. In the last 2 days I have seen 1 ABA lifer, 1 Washington State lifer, 3 Pierce County lifers, 5 Washington State and 6 Pierce County first-of-the-year species. It really has been pretty phenomenal.

If you saw yesterday's post, you noted that I saw my 252nd species in Pierce County, American White Pelican, and was hoping for my 253rd for our area code, 253- Well today exceeded all expectations .

First stop after church was another try for the Black-headed Gull, which would be not just a Pierce County first for me, but an ABA (American Birding Association area) lifer. I got to the spot overlooking the mouth of the Nisqually River from the Pierce County side, but the only black-headed gulls, presumably Bonaparte's Gulls, were well over a mile away and not identifiable to species. After a bit of a wait, I decided to walk and bird the Sequalitchew Creek Trail nearby, and return for another try in a while. On my walk out I met several local birders coming in, and they agreed to call if the gull showed. Shortly after I started down the trail I got the call and dashed back. The Black-headed Gull was on the sand on the Pierce side of the river, identifiable by its slightly larger size (16" vs 13.5" length), the less extensive hood where the back of the head is still white, the dark slightly larger bill, and the dark primaries from below in flight. I got a look good enough to confirm the ID, but really distant and no chance at a photo. This put me at the 253 for Pierce County.

From here I headed with Bruce, Marcus and Heather to the Tacoma Tide Flats where along Taylor Rd a Western Kingbird had been found yesterday by Will. We looked for over an hour, but no luck, and I left to go home for lunch and some rest. I had just finished eating when Bruce called that they had located the WEKI, and I decided to try again. I got there after they had left, and despite being in the exact location it had been seen, it was nowhere to be found by me, and so I expanded the area, searched every possible perch I could find, and was about to give up, when driving out I located the bird perched on a wire right where I had started. By then my camera battery was dead, and I managed a digiscope phone photo that is dark.

A miserably dark photo of the Western Kingbird I saw today.

While I was there a Lark Sparrow was located in Sumner at at location frequented because Lesser Goldfinch, a tough species to find in our county, breeds there annually. I arrived right on the tail of Charlie and Linnae, top WA birders, and just before 2 other strong birders showed up. I believe this was the first time a Lark Sparrow has been sighted in Pierce County. After a bit of looking Linnae noted a sparrow flock across the road from where it was originally located, and we all headed out along the edge of the field to find the bird. Charlie located it on the chain-link fence, and from there it moved to nearby trees, and gave us all excellent looks. My goal of 253 Pierce life list species lasted only about 5 hours until Lark Sparrow was #254.

Other birds of note that I did not get to chase today are a Lewis's Woodpecker found by Will B. in Ashford, another Western Kingbird near Ashford also, and 4 Whimbrel located at McNeil Street Trail after I left there today.

Migration is rocking. I suspect frequent rain squalls may be keeping some migrants down for the last couple of days, and the BHGU has brought lots of top birders to our area and that leads to more sharp eyes, hence more good bird sightings. This is known as the Patagonia Roadside Picnic Area Effect, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia_picnic_table_effect , a phenomenon in birding where once a highly desirable bird species is located, the many expert birders who go there looking for that species are likely to locate other unusual species, bringing yet more birders, and leading to a cluster of great birds. The Patagonia Roadside Picnic Area for many years was the only place in the ABA area where a Rose-throated Becard could reliably be found in an accessible place. This led to birders finding that another tough to find species Thick-billed Flycatcher along with several other rare or uncommon birds being located at that same area.

This very tired birder is set to relax tonight and sleep well. Tomorrow? Who knows what will be out there.

Good birding. Steem on!