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Sunday, December 10, 2017

 

I haven't been out birding much recently, for two reasons.  First, I needed a break after going out birding every day for over 10 months, and  second, I've been resting my Achilles tendon by not driving or walking very much.  My heel has responded to the rest, though, and it hurts very little at this point.  We'll see if that lasts.  Today I went out, though, because there was a report yesterday of White-winged Scoters in Richmond Beach, and I needed that one for Sunday, to complete the species.

 

On my way to Richmond Beach, I stopped at the house in Lake Forest Park where I see Band-tailed Pigeons, just to see if they are still around there.  At first I didn't see any, but then I noticed at least eleven of them at the top of a fir tree.  Here are a couple of pictures of Band-tailed Pigeons.

 

 

I moved on to Kayu Kayu Ac Park in Richmond Beach and looked around with my scope.  There were birds around, and I saw a pair of Black Scoters, but no White-winged Scoters.  There were also a couple of dozen Barrow's Goldeneyes in the distance, and one pair up closer.  Here is a pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes.

 

Next I went up to Sunset Avenue in Edmonds, north of the ferry terminal.  There were quite a few birds there, too, but no White-winged Scoters that I could find.  There is a permanent floating log offshore there, and various species rest on it.  Here's a picture with a gull, a cormorant, and a pair of Harlequin Ducks on the log.

 

From there I moved on to Ocean Avenue, which is up the coast a short distance.  On the way there, I got this picture of a female Northern Flicker at the top of a tree.

 

I didn't see much at Ocean Avenue, and no White-winged Scoters.  There was a male Red-breasted Merganser feeding close to shore, though, and here's a picture.

 

Finally, here is a picture of a male Common Goldeneye.

 

That was it for my birding today.  I didn't get anything for my lists.  My total for the year is 332 species, and I've seen 156 of those on all seven days of the week.

 

 

Friday, December 15, 2017

 

I didn't do any actual birding today, but after having lunch with my friend, Chris, we went to Phantom Lake in Bellevue.  There were some ducks on the lake, as usual in the winter.  Here is a picture of a male Bufflehead.

 

Here is the drabber female Bufflehead.

 

There were some Ring-necked Ducks also.  Here is a picture of three male Ring-necked Ducks and one female.

 

There were also a couple of Pied-billed Grebes out there.  Here is a Pied-billed Grebe.

 

That was it for today.  I'm really looking forward to 2018, when I plan to do a new scheme, which I call Monthly Birding.  I'll explain it later.  I have been resting my Achilles tendon, wearing my boot most of the time, but gradually using it less and less.  My heel hurts less that it did before I started using the boot, but it remains to be seen if that is permanent or not.  I have ordered an ankle-foot orthosis (afo), and I hope that might be a long-term solution for me.  It is like a brace, and it will hold my foot in a position that will put less stress on the Achilles tendon.  We'll see if it does any good or not, but I figure it's worth trying.

 

I'm still at 322 species for 2017, and I have completed 156 of those (that is, I have recorded them on all seven days of the week).

 

 

Saturday, December 16, 2017

 

This morning I headed up to Edmonds to look for a Saturday bird that would complete that species for me.  I went to the Edmonds Marsh first, and I played the calls of Marsh Wren.  After 5 or 10 minutes, one approached me down low, and I finally got a good look at it after a couple more minutes of peek-a-boo.  Marsh Wrens seem pretty shy out of breeding season.  In the spring the males sit on reeds and call repeatedly and they will respond to playback readily.  Anyway, I managed to complete Marsh Wren today.  I wasn't able to get a picture.

 

I went over to the Edmonds fishing pier to look for the Ancient Murrelet that has been seen there recently.  I parked and strapped on my boot, then walked out onto the pier.  There were a lot of birds around, and I got some pictures.  Here is a Horned Grebe in winter plumage.

 

A female Red-breasted Merganser was feeding near the pier, and I got this picture.

 

This female Belted Kingfisher was sitting at the top of the mast of a sailboat in the marina.

 

There were lots of Red-necked Grebes around, as usual.  Here is one of them.

 

A couple of Red-necked Grebes were interacting, making interesting calls and stretching out their necks.  I assume it was some kind of mating ritual.

 

There were some Rhinoceros Auklets around, too, mostly pretty far out.  Here is one that was reasonably close.

 

Out at the end of the pier there were several birders, mostly looking for the Ancient Murrelet, which no one ever found, while I was there.  Pigeon Guillemots were too far away for pictures, but a Pacific Loon was hanging around pretty close to the end of the pier.

 

I've read about the dark chin-strap that Pacific Loons usually have in winter plumage, but I don't recall seeing it before I saw it on this bird.

 

There was a cute little, light-colored Harbor Seal on the breakwater, and I got this picture of it.

 

There were also a number of Mew Gulls out on the water.  None came very close, but here is a rather distant picture of a Mew Gull.

 

I gave it up after that and went up to Sunset Avenue, but I didn't see anything of interest from there.  I moved on to Ocean Avenue and there were a few birds around.  Here is a pair of Black Scoters, with the male on the right.

 

Here is a male Common Goldeneye.

 

Sea birds are interesting when they dive for food.  They kind of lunge forward and upward and go in head first.  Here is a male Common Goldeneye starting his dive.

 

That was it for today.  I headed for home, and when I got there, there were a couple of House Sparrows around our back porch.  I got this picture of a male House Sparrow, a juvenile, I think.

 

So, I got one more Saturday bird today, to bring my Saturday total to 240 species.  That completed Marsh Wren for me, and now I have completed 157 species this year.  My yearly total stands at 332 species.

 

 

Saturday, December 30, 2017

 

I didn't get anything new for my lists today, nor did I even go out birding, but I did take some pictures around our yard.  I thought I would make one more final report for the year, to wrap it up, and show today's pictures.

 

Anna's Hummingbirds were coming to our sugar water feeder regularly, so I set up in the kitchen and took pictures through the window.  The window no doubt reduces the sharpness of the pictures, and there wasn't really much light, but here's what I got.

 

There were at least two different female-type Anna's Hummingbirds.  I say "female-type" because I'm not sure what immature Anna's Hummingbirds look like.  I'll just refer to these two individuals as female, although I'm not certain of their age.  I think this first one is an older female, because she has a red patch on her throat.

 

 

 

I think this next picture is the same bird, a little later.

 

Likewise this one.

 

Here is a different female, without the red patch on her throat.  I think that probably indicates a younger bird, perhaps hatched this year.

 

 

Check out those delicate little feet.

 

 

The male Anna's Hummingbird has a complete hood of red, and it shows up as either red or black depending on the lighting.

 

 

 

Here is a full front view, with the light hitting the bird just right to really show off his gorget.

 

I'm pleased with the pictures, despite the poor lighting and the window.

 

A female Northern Flicker came to the suet feeder and I got this picture of her from outside the back door.

 

Later she was on the ground under the suet feeder.

 

A Yellow-rumped Warbler also landed on the suet feeder at one point, and I got a couple of pictures.

 

 

There was lots of activity at the seed feeder, too, but the only pictures I took were of this Pine Siskin.

 

 

The feeder is tilted, not the camera.  I guess I could level out the picture, but I didn't bother.

 

My final report card of the year for my Day Of The Week birding game is as follows:

 

Friday  247 species  (that is, I saw 247 different species on Fridays in 2017)

Saturday  240 species

Sunday  228

Monday  225

Tuesday  224

Wednesday  242

Thursday  248

 

I saw a total of 332 species in 2017, and I saw 157 of those on all seven days of the week.  The other fun thing was that I got a new bird for each day's list on each day for the first 322 days of the year, until November 18.  Not only did I go out birding every single day for 322 days in a row, but on each of those days I found a new bird for that day's list.  That really surprised me.  I had hoped to make it through August, but wasn't real confident I could do that, so getting into mid-November was amazing, I thought.

 

Now I'm ready for 2018.  I plan to do something new in 2018, which is to keep monthly lists.  I'm calling it Monthly Birding.  I'll try to see (or hear) as many species as possible each month, and I also plan to see how many species I can see in every month.  That last thing is harder than it sounds, because so many species migrate and aren't around here all year long.  Watch for my reports to start up again on January 1.