[cdestroyer]

A lot of construction work in the area raising a building out of the flood plain so most of the bushes/trees are gone, so now my migratory birds have no place to sit. A few of the usual returnees and this new guy.

American pipit

[cdestroyer]

caught a returnee piging out on sunflower seeds in my feeder. evening grossbeak

[olderthanIusedtobe]

I've always struggled w/ identification of hairy vs. downy woodpecker, although I suspect I usually see the downy. Today I'm fairly sure I saw a hairy at Boeing Creek Park. It seemed significantly larger. Watched it hop from tree to tree for several minutes. It was staying low to the ground, it was tapping on some root wads right about ground level as well as on tree trunks.

[cdestroyer]

farmers almanac gives glacial condition for this winter. I have several different species of birds feeding in the trough in the backyard. evening grosbeaks have returned, immature robins and red wings and adults, and house sparrows molting.

[Anne Elk]

I first saw two of these in my yard about 15 years ago. I had no idea what it was. The bird book I had at the time ID'd it as a scrub jay and said the limit of its northern range was the Columbia River, so I figured it was another instance of species moving northward with climate change. But the Wikipedia entry for Aphelocoma says that there are several species of this jay, and that the California scrub jay ranges as far as British Columbia. Their call is as raucous as the Stellar's Jay, and although I've seen photos from California online of them taking nuts directly from a homeowner's hand, it would take a lot to overcome their natural skittishness; moreso than other birds visiting my yard.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

My parents (who live near the Columbia River) have at least as many scrub jays as Stellers. I've yet to see a scrub jay in Pugetopolis myself, although I see plenty of pictures of such on a birder group on Face Book.

[Anne Elk]

The next time I visit the bird supply store in Mt Lake Terrace I'll have to ask what they know about their prevalence here. I've seen scrub jays on my street more than stellars.

[fh]

Saw a scrub jay in a friend's backyard feeder in Enumclaw a few years back.

[Chief Joseph]

Funny, was sitting in the living room when I heard a noise from the dining room, sounded like a big rodent or something, looked around and under things, opened the door and looked, nothing. I was like, this is weird but I still don't believe in ghosts. Sat back down and there it goes again. Went outside to look and it was a Pileated Wood Pecker, lol.

[Hesman]

About 10 years I went on a birding field trip that covered several spots in and around the Tacoma Tide Flats. Saw one Scrub Jay and everyone got rather excited because it was, at the time, unusual to see it that far north. A few years ago I was in the Lyle, Washington area in the Columbia Gorge and remember seeing Scrub Jays all over the place. In 2021 I stopped at Fort Simcoe State Park to do some birding, particularly to look for Lewis’s Woodpeckers. While watching several woodpeckers, I saw one Scrub Jay.

[Hesman]

Over the last two months I have been seeing quite a few Varied Thrushes in my yard. There were a few times when leaving for work, I would see 6 to 10 of them.

[Pyrites]

If anyone likes I can show you where to see scrub jays in Dupont. I’d say greater than 80% chance of seeing them within 200’ of one spot.

[Anne Elk]

[Downhill]

I did a little looking around the site and this thread was the closest I found to be a "birding" source. I am not a birder but always very curious to identify and then learn about the birds I see. I seem to lack almost even meager skills at identifying unknown (to me) species, so I am looking for help from the experts here. Would this be the appropriate thread to post "what bird is this?" inquiries? I've gotten pretty good with the hawks, eagles, falcons, turkeys, partridges, vultures, jays, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, and about half-dozen songbirds that reside or migrate through my home in the mountains outside of Leavenworth. But this winter I am doing some boat-sitting a few days a week in Kirkland and I see some very interesting waterfowl and shorebirds that I can't identify. I'm currently lacking a decent camera with a telephoto lens, but I will try to get a decent pic or 2. Is this the right place to post questions, or is there a more appropriate thread?

[Hesman]