The atmospheric river had already dropped over 3 inches of rain on southwestern Snohomish County over a span of 48 hours. Streamed directly from the tropics over a thousand miles away like a water cannon aimed directly at the Pacific Northwest. There would be a brief lull on day three and I intended to take full advantage of it. For the last several days, eBird had been reporting a Tropical Kingbird at the Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant. A nice paved trail skirts the plant and follows the riverbank of the Snohomish River. The Tropical Kingbird is an extreme rarity here, way out of range from the tropics. The pairing of a tropical stream of moisture and a bird from the tropics struck me as more than coincidental.
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Let’s begin by looking at the map that shows the walk I made, mostly on the Langus Waterfront Trail that follows along the bank of the Snohomish River and Union Slough. This diary includes links for further exploration.
Lets look at a few small birds foraging in the underbrush.
Let’s get right to the twitch. When I arrived and began walking the trail, I ran into a guy on his way out, an obvious birder and bird photographer. He had a camera, tripod, and a lens as big as a bazooka. The lens was camo-colored like all the cool kids have. He gave me a wealth of location information on where and how to look for the Tropical Kingbird. It was pretty simple, by the building with the red doors, perched on a rail. When I arrived at the scene, I was the sole birder, all by myself.
The next two photos, I maxed zoomed, then cropped big time, and then waved my magic post-processing wand.
To learn more about the Tropical Kingbird, click here: All About Birds — Tropical Kingbird
After my successful twitch, I moved on to look for more birds, wildlife, and just to exist in nature’s vibe. It never gets old, does it ever?
I didn’t see as many waterfowl as I saw just a week earlier, before the advent of the big rain. The waterfowl like to congregate on and around the wastewater ponds.
Thanks for joining me. I don’t usually go off on twitches. I don’t like crowds in nature. I’m not really comfortable in a mass of cannon-wielding bird photographers. Is anyone a serious twitcher? I know some of you are. 😉 Do you have a great personal twitch story?
It’s a Bucket, so comment on your latest observations or anything in your natural world.
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