Hello everyone,
It was a perfect morning for birding. Gorgeous weather and a lot of birds – we ended up with 64 species!
We were greeted by two Cooper’s Hawks chasing one another over the Columbia Basin. They put on quite a show for us. We were happy to see a Peregrine Falcon circling around overhead, but he/she may have been looking for breakfast in the large flock of Chimney Swifts that was also circling overhead. Some of the swifts were flying down to the water and skimming bugs off the surface, which was very interesting to see.
Another interesting sight was an Osprey being divebombed by a Cooper’s Hawk. The Coops were feisty today! A Red-shouldered Hawk perched in plain view and showed off his/her pretty plumage. The Red-breasted Nuthatches are visiting and we were fortunate to see six of them.
We spotted an Eastern Wood Pewee catch a large cicada and proceed to whack it on a branch to kill it before eating it. The cicada was almost as big as the Pewee’s head but that didn’t stop him/her. Once again, nature in action – rather gruesome but fascinating.
BIRDERS: Cheryl, Mike, Jennie, Roger, Leslie, Sarah, Mark C., Kevin, Traci, Katie, Robert, Simone, Luther, Howard, John, Val, Jeff, Madhu, Jane, Bil, Tracy, Larry, Jan, Pam and welcome to Greg, Quan, Riva (from New York) and Carmela (also from New York).
TIME: 8:00am to 12:50pm
WEATHER: High 60s, sunny, beautiful
Compiler: Cheryl
Canada Goose Number observed: 148
Wood Duck Number observed: 8
Mallard Number observed: 31
Mourning Dove Number observed: 1
Chimney Swift Number observed: 90
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Number observed: 1
Killdeer Number observed: 2
Ring-billed Gull Number observed: 9
American Herring Gull Number observed: 1
Double-crested Cormorant Number observed: 2
Black-crowned Night Heron Number observed: 3
Green Heron Number observed: 1
Great Egret Number observed: 2
Great Blue Heron Number observed: 3
Osprey Number observed: 1
Cooper's Hawk Number observed: 3
Red-shouldered Hawk Number observed: 1
Belted Kingfisher Number observed: 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Number observed: 1
Downy Woodpecker Number observed: 2
Hairy Woodpecker Number observed: 1
Northern Flicker Number observed: 10
Peregrine Falcon Number observed: 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee Number observed: 2
White-eyed Vireo Number observed: 1
Yellow-throated Vireo Number observed: 1
Philadelphia Vireo Number observed: 1
Red-eyed Vireo Number observed: 2
Blue Jay Number observed: 1
American Crow Number observed: 9
Black-capped Chickadee Number observed: 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet Number observed: 1
White-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch Number observed: 6
Brown Creeper Number observed: 3
European Starling Number observed: 125
Gray Catbird Number observed: 5
Brown Thrasher Number observed: 1
Gray-cheeked Thrush Number observed: 1
Swainson's Thrush Number observed: 7
Hermit Thrush Number observed: 1
American Robin Number observed: 5
House Sparrow Number observed: 1
House Finch Number observed: 1
American Goldfinch Number observed: 9
White-throated Sparrow Number observed: 11
Song Sparrow Number observed: 1
Black-and-white Warbler Number observed: 4
Tennessee Warbler Number observed: 3
American Redstart Number observed: 2
Northern Parula Number observed: 1
Magnolia Warbler Number observed: 5
Bay-breasted Warbler Number observed: 3
Blackburnian Warbler Number observed: 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler Number observed: 1
Blackpoll Warbler Number observed: 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler Number observed: 1
Palm Warbler Number observed: 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler Number observed: 5
Black-throated Green Warbler Number observed: 2
Northern Cardinal Number observed: 6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak Number observed: 2
Indigo Bunting Number observed: 1
If you’d like more information about a bird, check out the All About Birds ID guide:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/
Corrections, additions, and comments are welcome.
Good birding everyone,
Jennie
Photo: American goldfinch by Will Stuart