Today I finally broke free for a trip to the mountain. I’ve done well on the lowland birds in Pierce this year, but had yet to break free for a hike. I left home at 5 AM today, and got to Sunrise about 6:45 after several unsuccessful stops on the ride up hoping to hear Read More…
Author: Ed
Checking Water Levels
This morning I got out about 10 AM and spent a few hours checking out the various shorebird spots in Pierce. There were areas too dry (most), some too wet (the Fife Oxbow area) and overall not much success with shorebirding. First at Levy Pond really nothing. Very little mud still water too high. Then Read More…
Chamber’s Bay Beach Access
Yesterday Bruce found a Ruddy turnstone at Chamber’s Bay beach access so this morning I waited until low tide in late AM and headed over. From the bridge area I scanned north, and saw what looked like a pale below dowitcher. I headed straight that way, and in the first larger cove-like area with green Read More…
FOY Pierce Semi-palmated Plover
Today the informal Pierce County birders text chain came through again, as Michael Charest relocated a Semi-palmated plover seen earlier at the Freeman Road mitigation. He texted Bruce and me at 4:46 PM and about 5:30 Bruce and I arrived about the same time and easily saw the bird with the other peeps. 196th Pierce Read More…
Merlin Finally
So far this year a Pierce County Merlin had avoided me until today. I started at the Chamber’s Bay beach access where yesterday Bruce had seen 2 Baird’s sandpipers, but today I had just WESA and LESA for peeps, but did manage a distant Cassin’s aucklet. Best bird for me though was a perched Merlin Read More…
Freeman Road Mitigation Comes Through
This evening, after working at Hartland SDC all day, and after dinner, I broke free to visit the new Freeman Road mitigation site. It has dried up a lot, but there is still a large area of water and mud. Overall less numbers of peeps today, but more Western sandpipers (12) and my first 3 Read More…
Bushwhacking Around Government Meadow
Today Ken, Bruce and I went to try for the woodpeckers seen recently at Government Meadows. Bruce drove and we got to the horse camp 19 miles on FR 70 on the left off Hwy 410. The first 10 miles are paved, then it’s dirt but a pretty good road. Note-to-self to stay straight at Read More…
Freeman Rd Mitigation
This morning I made a trip to the Freeman Rd mitigation that is under construction. I got there about 9:20 and it has not dried up much since my last trip and remains great shorebird habitat. There were even more peeps there today. I counted 105 in one bino’s pass, and later found 6 Western Read More…
Lake Eleanor Hike to Grand Park with Jean
Today Jean and I went to the Lake Eleanor trailhead to hike into Grand Park. It was a beautiful day, we got to the trailhead about 9:50 AM, and we got as far as the lowest meadow of the Grand Park complex, about a 7.5 mile round trip hike. Birding was slow, but the wildflowers Read More…
White-winged Dove with Indigo Bunting for Desert
Thursday, in a somewhat unusual strategy prompted by morning commitments for both myself and Bruce, Ken Brown, Bruce Labar and I headed for Yakima from Bruce’s house at 11:15 AM with the White-winged dove as our target species. It had been seen the prior 2 days at the backyard feeders of Kevin Lucas in Selah, Read More…