Exploring JBLM Today

House Finches Haemorhous mexicanus in a snag on JBLM.

Today I had the morning free and decided to scout around on the prairie areas at Joint Base Lewis McChord in hopes of finding an interesting migrant bird or something different from what is likely in the nearer town spots I more often bird. The first area I scouted was the general around Area 13 on the 13th Division Prairie. My strategy was to drive the roads looking for any bird action, and to stop and look around whenever I found a mixed flock or anything interesting.

A map of Joint-Base Lewis McChord from the JBLM Real Estate Guide website. jblmrealestateguide.philsharphomes.com

Overall the birding was slow, but I did find good numbers of American Robins, California Scrub Jays, Dark-eyed Juncos and enjoyed the large areas of Oak woodlands and prairie. By far the best finding of the day was two female Ring-necked Pheasants that were on a dirt road near Rice-Kandle Road just as I was about to leave. This species is an introduced species to North America and is hunted as a game bird, and JBLM is one of the best places to find them in our area, but they are overall pretty scarce and I’ve not seen one in a few years. These two were not obliging for a photo.

Great blue Heron Ardea herodias

Next I stopped at Johnson Marsh where not much was notable except that the marshy area is filling in with vegetation making it less likely to attract shorebirds than it was years ago. I finished the morning driving around on JBLM roads and didn’t find anything unexpected.

Golden-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia atricapilla

American Robins Turdus migratorious seemed everywhere in large flocks today.

Tomorrow I head to visit family in Maine, so hope to see some east coast birds on that trip.

Good birding. Steem on!