Lazuli Buntings at Ramstead Park

[Stephen Chase]

Today's early morning birding brought me to Ramstead Park in Everson looking for Lazuli Buntings. This park is on the site of the old Evergreen Golf Course (look for the Pepsi sign) accessible from Main Street just east of the downtown stretch. The golf course has been converted into a mostly undeveloped city park complete with a 0.8 mile mulched loop trail. Remnants of the golf course still remain, especially the rolling terrain. When I first visited the park after it opened in late 2019, I wondered if it would be good for House Wren and Lazuli Bunting; since then I've found both species there both in 2020 and now this year as well. The habitat is perfect for both: small thickets of deciduous trees surrounded by large fields of mostly unmown grass. No surprise that Savannah Sparrows are here in abundance as well. The Lazulis steal the show, though!

Lazuli Bunting is not an easy bird to find in Whatcom County. First of all, they're one of the last to migrate in. There are some reliable locations to find them but they're virtually all on private property and a poor roadside view is usually the best you can get. West of the Cascades they tend to like abandoned gravel pits. In Aldergrove, B.C., just across the border, two abandoned pits have been restored into wildlife areas: Jackman Wetlands and Aldergrove Bowl Regional Park. Lazuli Buntings can be reliably found at both sites in the summer. But I don't know of any publicly accessible abandoned gravel pits in Whatcom County, although a few are near enough to roads for the aforementioned poor roadside views. That's why a park like Ramstead Park is to me a gem (pun on the bird's mineral eponym fully intended). It's easily accessible, a great short walk, and best of all, Lazuli Buntings can be found in pretty good numbers there. I found one this morning, and a little later in the day Killian White found three, possibly four. Last spring Eric Ellingsen found up to five. The male I found this morning was admittedly a little ratty-looking, but don't be fooled: these birds are stunning, and now so much easier to find as well!

In Everson,

Stephen Chase

[Tina England Colwell]

Thank you for sharing the tips on finding these "Gems". 

Great photos!

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