Birding in Neighborhoods - South

By Cathi Bower

September Birding in Neighborhoods South meetups were spent at Deer Lagoon–the shifting seasons bring on something interesting everywhere we turn.

We observed a little of everything–at least 40 species during one morning early in the month–about eight different shorebirds, including Rails, a decent showing of ducks, a bunch of Bushtits, a Yellow Warbler still, a Merlin, and even a Bald Eagle, who ought to be up with its pals on the Skagit River.

A couple weeks later, we identified at least 46 species including a speck of a Turkey Vulture riding an updraft over above Double Bluff.  

There was still an Osprey perched on a snag, and eventually, even a lone, late, and silent Caspian Tern flew over.

Waterfowl were mostly American Wigeons, Northern Pintails and Mallards, Green-winged Teal, Canada Geese, and a few Blue-winged Teal and Scaup, with an early female Shoveler and a couple Pied-billed Grebes.  We scanned for any firsts or uncommon showings, such as Coots, a Eurasian Wigeon among the Americans or a Cinnamon Teal that’s been reported lately.  

We heard the smacksmacksmacking of a first Fox Sparrow, not to mention most of the usual wooded path suspects – Robins, chickadees, sparrows, kinglets and some Yellow-rumped Warblers. Surprisingly, the shorebirds initially appeared to be off somewhere else, until the far end of the dike, where the herd of Greater Yellowlegs shared their mud spit with Killdeer, a Lesser Yellowlegs, Western Sandpipers and the Pectoral Sandpiper.

Finally, we added a Cooper’s Hawk circling over the parking area.