January 13 - Palm Sunday

So, it's not the Christians' Palm Sunday, which is the Sunday before Easter - that won't happen until April 14th this year.  But, the Palm was significant for me this afternoon.

A beautiful day to see Capitol Lake

I went over to Capitol Lake and found the Palm Warbler that had been seen along the South Capitol Lake trail for the past couple of days.  It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon along the lake, and there were still four Trumpeter Swans out in the middle pool

and the local pair of Bald Eagles were in their favorite tree.

I walked the trail

Paved and On The Level

and looped around the ponds to the west of the main trail, because there were several frisky dogs at the “T” where the warbler had been reported.  I did see the usual ducks

Hooded Merganser hen hanging with a pair of Mallards

and songbirds.

Golden-crowned Kinglets were up close and personal today

As I looped back toward the car, I saw a small bird foraging on the ground, twitching its tail obsessively - which is what the Palm Warbler does!

I watched the bird feed on and near the ground for about 20 minutes, getting good views of the bright yellow undertail coverts

"Yellow-butted Wagtail"

The lightly streaked white breast and belly, and the pale eye stripe, indicates that this bird is from the "Western" subspecies, which nests west of Hudson's Bay

The Palm Warbler breeds in the northern Boreal forest, and most of them winter in the southeastern U.S., across the Caribbean, and into Central America from the Yucatan south to at least Panama; a few winter on the Left Coast of the U.S.

By Cephas - Birds of North America Online America–blank-map-01.svg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13490944

The species is not a terribly rare species in the winter in western Washington, and there have been around a dozen birds found in the State this winter, but it has been four years since I last saw one in Thurston County.

Seeing this species brings my year list to 110

South Capitol Lake Trail eBird Checklist is Here