Photo: Great Horned Owl by Mick Thompson
October 18, 2022
Morning fog and afternoon smoke made for difficult birding, but with some clearing in the late morning we ended up with a reasonable species count. Highlight for most of the group was a Great Horned Owl perched in a customary spot at Wylie Slough, and after lunch we also found a rare Northern Waterthrush nearby at the boat launch. Other notable sightings included thousands of Snow Geese overhead, in the water and along Maupin Rd., Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, Wilson’s Snipe and Peregrine Falcon.
63 species (approx. qty.)
Attendees: Phil, Val, Denny, Rex, Judy Lo. Dianna, Doug, Steve, Bruce, Bev, Teri, Reg, Ken, Frank, Melinda, Karen, Pam T., Graham, Norwyn, Lynda, Lianne
CHECKLIST:
WATERFOWL: Snow Goose (7000), Cackling Goose (300), Canada Goose (10), Wood Duck (2), Gadwall (1), American Wigeon (1000), Mallard (300), Northern Shoveler (6), Northern Pintail (300), Green-winged Teal (500), Red-breasted Merganser (1)
LOONS, GREBES: Pied-billed Grebe (1)
PELICANS, HERONS, IBIS: Double-crested Cormorant (50), Great Blue Heron (9)
RAPTORS: Bald Eagle (5), Northern Harrier (6), Cooper’s Hawk (1), Red-tailed Hawk (5), American Kestrel (3), Peregrine Falcon (1)
RAILS, CRANES: Virginia Rail (4)
SHOREBIRDS: Killdeer (12), Greater Yellowlegs (9), Lesser Yellowlegs (2), Pectoral Sandpiper (5), Long-billed Dowitcher (60), Wilson’s Snipe (10)
GULLS, TERNS: Short-billed Gull (6), Ring-billed Gull (500), Glaucous-winged Gull (25)
DOVES, PIGEONS: Rock Pigeon (2), Eurasian Collared-Dove (8)
OWLS: Great Horned Owl (1)
KINGFISHERS: Belted Kingfisher (1)
WOODPECKERS: Downy Woodpecker (2), Northern Flicker (4)
CORVIDS: Steller’s Jay (1), American Crow (15), Common Raven (2)
CHICKADEES, BUSHTIT: Black-capped Chickadee {2)
WRENS: Bewick’s Wren (2), Marsh Wren (8)
THRUSHES: American Robin (23)
MIMIDS, STARLINGS: European Starling (3000)
WAXWINGS, PIPITS: Cedar Waxwing (6), American Pipit (28)
WARBLERS, CHATS: Yellow-rumped Warbler (2), Northern Waterthrush (1)
LONGSPURS, SPARROWS: Spotted Towhee (5), Savannah Sparrow (3), Fox Sparrow (1), Song Sparrow (8), Lincoln’s Sparrow (2) White-crowned Sparrow (12), Golden-crowned Sparrow (1), Dark-eye Junco (4)
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES: Red-winged Blackbird (100), Brewer’s Blackbird (500), Brown-headed Cowbird (1)
FINCHES, WEAVER FINCH: Purple Finch (2), House Finch (14), American Goldfinch (7), House Sparrow (4)