Yardbirds

Two pine siskin have been feeding regularly at the feeder full of
black oil sunflower and millet. They will sit togather one on each
side, balancing the feeder and have lunch.

One of five local squirrels attacked that feeder yesterday and snipped
the string holding it in the tree. The string was replaced promptly
with a metal coat hanger. *Gotcha*

Three red-winged black birds sang at the canal in and above the thorny
brush. There are about 15 Juncos that feed regularly here, along with
a pair of red-breasted nuthatches, and the occassional downy
woodpecker.

Watched *something* (Merlin?) dive from a moderate altitude above the
treetop several times. Pointed wing tips. Medium sized bird, about
the size of a large Raven or Crow. This bird dives straight down
really fast. Just before the dive he will flutter in place in
mid-air. Watched him/her dive three or four times. Really neat to
watch.

Oftentimes the crows here will alert us here of soaring Eagles.

There were over 190 ducks and at least 10 Canadian Geese on American
Lake - Lakewood, Pierce County, Saturday. Didn't see any Eagles
Saturday.

Over 100 meat-eaters

For those of you who enjoy watching very large flocks of meat eating
birds.....this would've been a treat for you. Over 100 vultures? or
Eagles? flew Southwest of North Yelm at 5:30 PM today.
They formed two circles and flew at a high altitude enjoying the air
currents, just before it starting raining at 5:40PM.

[I am oftentimes directionally challenged - Northwest
NOT Southwest.]

Noted not likely to be vultures (was told by tweet vulture exp. would be unusual)
Eagles do not flock, either.
No outstretched necks or trailing legs noted w/re: Sandhill Cranes

Very large bird much like an Eagle/Ospry/Vulture.
Flap, flap, glide, soar.
Wingtips with fingerlike projection of feathers like Eagles/Ospry/Vultures.

Cormorants are not woodpeckers

Cliff (Ledge) Nesting Species

Northern Fulmar, Northern Gannet, Brandt’s Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Red-faced Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Herring Gull, Thayer’s Gull, Iceland Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Red-legged Kittiwake, Common Murre, Thick-billed Murre, Razorbill, - "Breeding Season Survey Techniques for Seabirds and Colonial Waterbirds throughout North America, Steinkamp, M., B. Peterjohn, V. Byrd, H. Carter, and R. Lowe", p. 18 of 81.

The Nisqually River does have a cliff like area that possibly may house Cormorants. Pelagic Cormorants, according to Petersons' maps are primary residents of the Coastal areas of Washington.

Double Crested Cormorants are noted to be common in the Puget Sound area throughout the year and nest colonially on rocky islands, sea cliffs, or in the trees at lakes.

See also:

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3536609

Changes in....nesting 2002

http://www.birdresearchnw.org/Project-Info/Project-Background/Double-Crested-Cormorants/Columbia-River-Estuary-Corms/default.aspx

Columbia River Estuary 

http://yelmbackyard.blogspot.com/2009/07/woodpeckers.html 

Woodpeckers 

http://yelmbackyard.blogspot.com/2009/11/possibilities-or-not-of-juv-ivory.html 

Fun! 

Sunning predators

Unidentified bird with a black head, clinging to a tree drumming for
sap or bugs, drumming pattern of 5 or 6 stopping momentarily looking
around, back to drumming with 5 or 6 beats, black wings with a solid
white bar down its wing edges, long pointy beak, black tail - wasn't
able to see underside tail area or breast. Very small bird, but not
as small as a brown tree creeper. The only drummer this week!

A black capped chickadee does frequent a side yard feeder, while the
Junco's prefer to ground feed and flit among the evergreen branches.
Some hover. The Towhee's enjoy the bath when the ice is replaced with
water and will feed at a plate placed in the bath of millet seed.
Once it appeared that the Towhee's AND the Junco's were at the bath
togather. These Towhee's have more brown across their breast than the
illustrations in Peterson's. Usually the Towhee's will come after the
Junco's. There is one small bird, smaller than a Warbler, that has
three yellow stripes across its crown sided by black stripes who is
friendly. He hopped right up to a branch within a foot or less of me
as I replaced the bath water. There were so many birds enjoying this
bath I couldn't count them all this week! Most were a flock of
Junco's.

There were several predatory birds flying around yesterday afternoon
in the sun at an altitude of 1,500 ft. and 500 ft. and less. One Bald
Eagle flying with two other Bald Eagles. They circled for several
minutes high over the tree tops. There was a commotion of Crows that
distracted my viewing and harrassing what appeared to be the light
grey Merlin who frequented two or three weeks ago. The Merlin appears
to be in the same general location as he was the first time I spotted
him. He must be nesting nearby. It's flight pattern, much different
from that of a hawk and its wings taking a more angular shape. The
crow was able to get within two feet or less of the Merlin and was
flying in a straight line towards him when the Merlin changed
direction. It (The Merlin) darted sharply up and swiftly turned as
the Crow attempted to chase the Merlin away just above the tree tops.
After this commotion the juvenille Bald Eagle flew North just above
the tree tops and one Bald Eagle flew East. The Bald Eagles appear to
be circling over the nearby man-made lake. Looking hungry perhaps and
sunning. There were no clouds yesterday afternoon.

Repost TWET

Possibilities or Not ? of a Juv. Ivory Billed Woodpecker

Unfortunately, these birds will remain unidentified.

Posted today on TWET

Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:25:14 -0800

This drawing of a Ivory billed woodpecker...
http://www.birdlife.org/images/sized/200/ivory-billed_woodpecker.jpg.jpg


is the same overall shape of my unidentified woodpeckers that flew in this
summer in July.  The colors are off and I cannot gauge a size comparison to
my birds from the drawing. It would be exciting to see one or two - but I
cannot determine.

Previous post on un-identified woodpeckers:
A pair of unknown woodpeckers taking a drink
*Tue Jul 28 15:56:25 PDT 2009*
https://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/htdig/tweeters/2009-July/072131.html

Not a pair of Kingfishers.
Not a pair of Green Herons.

The overall shape=matches, shape and size of beak or bill=matches, head
crest=matches, neck size and shape=matches, and tail feathers size and
shape=matches.

*The colors are totally wrong.*

I'm going to keep exploring until I can find a match.  This one is the
closest I've come so far and it is just too incredible, but exciting to see
a close match. Learning all the while..... :)

Cornell has listed these "Cool Facts"

Cool Facts

• The Cuban form of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was considered a separate species at one time. It closely resembled the bird from the United States, but it had a slightly smaller bill and the white neck stripes extended farther onto the face. It suffered the same fate as the mainland form, disappearing as the mature forests were destroyed. The last confirmed sighting was made in 1986. Some may still persist in southeastern Cuba, but it may be extinct.
• The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is very similar to the larger and very closely related Imperial Woodpecker of Mexico. The Imperial Woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in the world, lacked the white neck stripes and had a longer, thinner crest. It was a bird of mature pine forests, and also is likely extinct.
• Bills of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker were used as decorations by native Americans and a thriving trade in them existed across much of North America. The presence of Ivory-billed Woodpecker skulls in excavations of archaeological sites outside of the known range of the woodpecker show the extent of the trade and not an ancient range for the species.
• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology was involved in an attempt to relocate the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Louisiana in 2002. Go here for details of that search and more information on Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. No ivory-bills were found, and a potential double-knock was determined to be gunshots. Read a report of the expedition published in BirdScope The story of the successful hunt for the species in Arkansas in 2004 and 2005 can be found here.

Measurements

Both Sexes

Length

18.1–20.1 in 46–51 cm

Wingspan

29.9–31.5 in 76–80 cm

Weight

15.9–20.1 oz 450–570 g

Other Names

• Le pic noir a bec blanc (French)
• El carpintero real (Spanish) 

Still reading further at Cornell I have found that the juvenille Ivory billed Woodpecker:

Immature Description

Juvenile similar to adult, but has shorter crest, browner plumage, and brown eyes. [THAT FITS !]

Cornell even indicates that the Pileated closely matches the description of the Ivory Billed. I am dumbfounded at the possibility. And will certainly have to investigate further....knowing that the Ivory billed is out of range, of course.

Previous post  - Are there variations in Pileated woodpecker? Tue Jul 28 18:49:16 PDT 2009

Cornell also states that the historical range of the Ivory billed woodpecker DOES NOT include Washington.

• Approximate boundary of the early historical range of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the United States and Cuba. Adapted from Tanner 1942 and Jackson 2004. Source: The Birds of North America Online.

If your sighting is not within one of these states, you probably saw a Pileated Woodpecker. For more information about the Pileated Woodpecker, please visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Online Bird Guide

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois     
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas

I have a question about the historical range of a bird that was once labeled as "extinct" and "endangered"? I'm missing much information here on what the Ivory billed woodpeckers historical range entails, how this birds historical range was determined, and what methods or thought processes are formed in maintaining this "historical range" from 1942 and 2004 or throughout (1942 to 2004?) for an extinct or rarely sighted bird?. The USFW and Cornell website does not have enough information for me. The idea that there was an Ivory billed woodpecker seen in Arkansas has been viewed as "sketchy", "incredulous", etc.

What I witnessed did not fit a color description of an adult Pileated Woodpecker or a juvenile. The dark red/orange breast coloring (all the way up the neck front), does not fit a Pileated Woodpecker's description juvenile or adult. Their neck was longer, their crest not as pointed, their crest were grey/black,  and the birds were LARGER than that of a Pileated. Unfortunately, these birds will remain unidentified.

USFW descriptions

 See also Cormorants! Double Crested and Pelagic!

And "Cormarants are not woodpeckers". 

Bird Books

The New York Times Book of Birds, Edited by Nicolas Wade, The Lyons
Press, c. 2001- Originally published title: The Science Times Book of
Birds.

Birding Washington, by Rob and Natalie McNair-Huff, A FalconGuide, The
Globe Pequot Press, c. 2005.

Backyard Birds of Washington, How to Identify and Attract the Top 25
Birds, by Bill Fenimore, Gibbs Smith, c. 2009.

A Birder’s Guide to Washington, by Hall Opperman with contributions
from WOS, American Birding Association, c. 2003.

Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, National
Geographic, Ed. by Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer, c. 2008.

Birds of Washington State, by Brian Bell, Lone Pine Publishing, c. 2006.

The Photographic Guide to Birds of the World, Ed. Dr. Andrew Gosler,
Mallard Press, c. 1991.

Sibley Field Guide to the Birds of western North America, by David
Allen Sibley, Alfred A. Knopf, c. 2003.

Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, by Ted Floyd,
Scott & Nix - Harper Collins Publishers, c. 2008.

Western Birds, by Roger Tory Peterson, The Peterson Field Guide
Series, Houghton Mifflin, Co., c. 1990.

Birds of the Puget Sound, by Bob Morse Tom Aversa Hall Opperman, R. W.
Morse Co., c. 2003.

August 6th sighting

I am still trying to identify a very small grey bird with large white splotches on its back. It had a very slim tail and a long beak, too. I sent a request to Tweeters today in hopes that this visitor could be identified. I’m sure that I’ve seen a photograph of this one before, but I cannot place it - especially since the graphics card went out on this puter this week.

Elusive tweet

I have been trying to photograph a particular bird that has been singing outside my window in the morning. He lights high in the pine tree and is so very small he is difficult to catch.

Pweet twit cheap. Peeroweet.