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Sunday, April 1, 2018

 

A new month.  A clean slate for me.  Every bird is new for my April list.  My first one today was a Lesser Goldfinch in the tree with the feeders in Kathy’s backyard.  I also got Allen’s Hummingbird and Mourning Dove before I left this morning.  I was headed to a small neighborhood park in La Jolla where a rarity has been seen for the last couple of weeks.  On the way I stopped at the supermarket to get some water, and I picked up American Crow and Cassin’s Kingbird in the parking lot.

 

At the park, I soon added House Finch, Anna’s Hummingbird, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.  Here’s a picture of a male “Audubon’s” Yellow-rumped Warbler in summer breeding plumage.

 

I sat on a bench watching for the rare Hepatic Tanager that has been reported there, and saw a single Cedar Waxwing and a single American Robin.  A Northern Mockingbird was singing away, and a pair of Western Bluebirds were around, too.  Here is a male Western Bluebird.

 

Here is the less colorful female Western Bluebird.  She seems to have something wrong with her chin – maybe a tumor?

 

There were four other birders there, looking for the same Hepatic Tanager I was looking for, but none of us ever found it.  I did see my first HOODED ORIOLE of the year, a male.

 

I saw a California Towhee, a Black Phoebe, a couple of Dark-eyed Juncos, and a Red-tailed Hawk circling overhead.  My list was growing.  A pale looking (to me) Song Sparrow made an appearance, and I took this picture.

 

Finally, I added Ruby-crowned Kinglet to my April list, before I gave it up and headed back to Kathy’s house.  Kathy’s daughter, Mary Beth, came over and we had a lovely Easter brunch.  Kathy’s backyard has some birds, and I added Red-winged Blackbird, White-crowned Sparrow, and American Goldfinch there.  Here’s a picture of Kathy’s backyard, looking very spring like.

 

After brunch, Kathy, Mary Beth, and I went on a little birding outing.  What fun!  We went over to Lake Hodges, which is about a half hour from here.  As we drove around the edge of the lake we saw a number of Snowy Egrets and Great Egrets in dead trees.  At our destination, the boat ramp area, there were Great-tailed Grackles and European Starlings around.  In the water were American Coots and Mallards.  There were also grebes, and I picked up both Western Grebe and my first CLARK’S GREBE of the year.  Here is a picture of a Western Grebe.

 

I thought I had a picture of the very similar looking Clark’s Grebe, but I guess I didn’t get one.

 

An Osprey flew by, so it went onto my April list.  A couple of Double-crested Cormorants flew over, too. 

 

Next we walked out onto one of the trails through the bush.  There were Common Ravens calling all the time and Turkey Vultures circling overhead.  I got this picture of a California Scrub-Jay as we started our walk.

 

We heard California Quail calling a number of times, and eventually we all saw a pair of them scurry across the trail.  Mary Beth spotted a raptor in a tree, and I got this picture of a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk.

 

There was a California Towhee posing for me in a tree, so I took this picture of it.

 

We came across a small group of Bushtits and there were a few Northern Rough-winged Swallows overhead from time to time.  The habitat looked good for it, so I played California Gnatcatcher songs, and a couple of them responded.  Here are two pictures of a California Gnatcatcher.

 

 

They have obviously had a decent rainy season here this year, because everything was very green.

 

The habitat looked good for another California specialty, so I played the song and a CALIFORNIA THRASHER flew in to check us out.  It wouldn’t stop for a picture, but it ended up sitting on top of a tree in the near distance, singing back to us.  Here’s a somewhat distant picture of a California Thrasher, my first of the year.

 

On our way back to the car I played the song of still another bird that I thought might be in the area, and a couple of Wrentits flew in to check us out.  They didn’t sit still enough for a picture.

 

Our walk was over, but our birding wasn’t.  We moved on to car birding, as we slowly drove out of the park.  Here is what I think was a Cassin’s Kingbird sitting on a wire.

 

There was a Northern Mockingbird sitting on a sign, and it was chased away by another one.  Here is a picture of a rather skinny-looking Northern Mockingbird.

 

There was also an American Kestrel on a wire, and I took this picture.

 

At one parking area we saw another California Towhee and this Acorn Woodpecker.

 

We stopped at the Del Dios access and saw a Pied-billed Grebe in the water and some Forster’s Terns flying by.

 

That was it for my big day of Easter birding.  I started the month out with a bang, getting 46 species for my April list.  I added 3 new year-birds, too, to bring my year list to 215 species.  Tomorrow I plan to add on to my April list by going back to many of the same places I visited yesterday, which was March, remember – now I have to try to see those same birds for my April list.  Oh, what fun we birders have!

 

 

Monday, April 2, 2018

 

Today my plan was to basically repeat the birding I did on Saturday.  That was March, and this is April, so I needed all those same birds for my new monthly list.  My old friend, Chris, whom I have known since we were in high school, came down from Orange county this morning, and joined me in my quest.

 

Our first stop was the south pond on Dairy Mart Road, only a mile or so from Mexico.  There were several Black-crowned Night-Herons around today.  Here are two pictures of one of them.

 

 

I added several duck species to my April list, including Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Ruddy Duck, and Cinnamon Teal.  Here are two male Cinnamon Teal preening, one of them showing the pretty blue patch on his wing.

 

I saw a couple of Common Gallinules, and here is a picture of one.

 

We didn’t see the female Long-tailed Duck that I had seen on Saturday, and we missed other species I had been hoping for, too.

 

We moved on to the Bird and Butterfly Garden.  I clearly heard a Common Yellowthroat singing, but I couldn’t lure it out to see it, so it went onto my list as “heard only”.  I had an excellent view of my first PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER of the year, but it flew off just before I could get a picture.  I couldn’t locate it again.  There were half a dozen or more Common Ground-Doves there, an excellent April bird to get, since I won’t see them anywhere else I plan to go this year.

 

We heard some strange bird calls, and when we investigated, we found three BLACK-THROATED MAGPIE-JAYS, a great bird I had hoped to see there.  It isn’t on the American Birding Association (ABA) US list because the population in the Tijuana River Valley (which is the only population of this Mexican bird in the US) is thought to have descended from aviary escapees from Baja California, where some people keep them as pets.  They have been documented in the area since 1992, though, and they are clearly reproducing, so maybe eventually the ABA will recognize the species.  The policy on escapee species is that there has to be a self-sustaining population for at least ten years, although it isn’t clear to me how they determine if a population is self-sustaining.  Here are some pictures of this spectacular bird.

 

How about that tail?  As I have often reported, I’m a sucker for blue-colored birds, so I like these guys a lot.

 

Here’s a close-up showing the head better.

 

That was the Bird of the Day for me today, and we watched three of them flying from tree to tree.  One of them had what looked like nesting material in its bill, so they are probably nesting nearby.

 

After that fun, we went to the skate park in Imperial Beach and saw several Yellow-crowned Night-Herons in their nest tree.  That is another one I won’t see anywhere else this year.  We then went next door to that to the Tijuana Estuary NWR and I again called up a Ridgway’s Rail, in the same place I had seen two of them on Saturday.  That was still another species I won’t see anywhere else.  I got a picture of the one today swimming across the slough.

 

Here it is looking at us from the reeds.

 

There were also a couple of Killdeer at that spot.

 

It was time for lunch, so we stopped at the In ‘N’ Out Burger in Chula Vista as we headed back to San Diego.  I added Feral Pigeon (the common pigeons seen everywhere) to my April list there.  Back up in the Mission Bay area we drove around Fiesta Island looking for Horned Larks.  As on Saturday, I dipped on that one.  I did see some Lesser Scaup, though, for my list.  I also picked up Western Gull, Ring-billed Gull, and California Gull, and Brant (a small goose) there.

 

We went over to the San Diego River to check the tide, which I knew was going out.  There were a lot more shorebirds there than I had expected.  I added Blue-winged Teal and Green-winged Teal, and then started adding shorebirds.

 

There was a fairly large group of dowitchers, and I added both Long-billed Dowitcher and my first SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS of the year.  There was a Least Sandpiper in with them, too, which was good because it was the only one I saw today.  Here is a picture of a Long-billed Curlew with a small crab in the end of its bill.

 

Here is a Whimbrel, its smaller cousin that has a shorter curved bill.

 

In addition to its smaller size and shorter bill, the Whimbrel has stripes on its head, making identification easier if you get a good look.

 

I also added Marbled Godwit and Willet there, two more shorebirds.  There were a number of American Avocets there, too.  Here are two of them.

 

I got two more ducks, American Wigeon and Northern Pintail, there, too.  There were several Little Blue Herons feeding in the shallows, and that is a San Diego specialty that I always like to see.  There was one more shorebird there, too, Greater Yellowlegs.  In addition to the ducks and shorebirds, I started seeing terns there, too.  I added Caspian Tern and Elegant Tern to my list there.  I even added a sparrow there, a Savannah Sparrow.  It was a very productive stop, or series of stops, since we were driving along the river, stopping from time to time.  I got a couple of pictures of Ruddy Ducks there that illustrate the marked difference between males and females during breeding season.  Here is a female Ruddy Duck.

 

She is quite plain, and you might ask where the name “Ruddy Duck” comes from.  The answer to that question is shown in this picture of a male Ruddy Duck in breeding plumage.

 

The bright blue bill is really striking.  The female has a stiff little tail like that, too, but the female in the picture above happened to have it down at the time I took the picture.

 

So, I thought I had most of the shorebirds in the area, but I still needed a couple of other birds that I thought might be farther down the river.  We had to cross the river and go downstream a bit, and we parked on the river bank at Robb Field.  There were a couple of American White Pelicans there, which was good, but I missed Brown Pelican.  I hope to get Brown Pelican tomorrow.  I also got Royal Tern there, which I had been hoping for.  Then I had a bonanza of small shorebirds in a large flock that kept taking off and swooping around, only to land somewhere else for a while.  The vast majority were Western Sandpipers, but there were a few Sanderlings, some Dunlin, and a couple of Semipalmated Plovers as well.  There were even 5 or 6 Black-bellied Plovers nearby, to complete my shorebird count of the day.

 

It was getting late, and Chris hoped to beat most of the traffic as he went home to Orange county, so we headed back north toward my sister’s house, where he had left his car.  We drove by Crown Point where I had seen the flock of Black Skimmers on Saturday, and they were in the same place today, so that one went onto my list.  We did pretty well with the traffic and we were back at my sister’s house by about 4, and Chris headed home.  While I was unwinding from my day and checking my list against my spreadsheet, I realized I hadn’t yet seen a Great Blue Heron in April.  I mentioned that to Kathy, and she said there were nests in a big tree just a few blocks away, so drove over there and added Great Blue Heron to my April list.

 

It turned out to be a very productive day.  I thought it was good that I had gotten 46 species yesterday, but today I got 45 more, which was harder because those first 46 weren’t available to me today.  A quick scan of yesterday’s birds shows that I had at least 64 species today, counting the ones I saw yesterday first.  Anyway, that brings me to 91 species after two days this month.  Tomorrow will be much lower, of course, but I hope to get a few more tomorrow before I leave San Diego on Wednesday.  Three of my 45 species today were new for the year for me, to bring me to 218 species for the year to date.

 

 

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

 

Today was a relaxed, laid back day for me.  I still went out birding, and I was out there for over 7 hours, but I was relaxed about it.  It was a beautiful sunny spring day, and I enjoyed the weather and the time outdoors.

 

Before I even left Kathy’s house, I walked a little in the neighborhood, and I got this picture of a White-crowned Sparrow.

 

At the top of the same bush was a Song Sparrow that was singing a very nice little song.

 

I didn’t need either of those species, of course, but it was a nice start to my relaxed day.  In Kathy’s backyard, I added Bewick’s Wren and Orange-crowned Warbler to my April list, and then I headed out birding.

 

My first actual birding stop was the overlook at San Dieguito Lagoon.  I didn’t get anything for my lists there, and no pictures.  Next, I drove up San Dieguito Dr. to a location where a Grace’s Warbler has been reported for a couple of weeks.  That is a rarity in this area.  I parked and looked around.  I saw an Orange-crowned Warbler and then a Hooded Oriole that perched on a wire for a photo.

 

I didn’t need either of those, but I then saw my first BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK of the year.  Here is a poor picture of a male Black-headed Grosbeak.

 

I didn’t really expect the Grace’s Warbler to respond to its song, but I played it anyway.  Interestingly, the Orange-crowned Warbler did respond, and it flew in and flitted around, clearly reacting to my playback.  I took some pictures, and here are three of them.  I like this first one because it actually shows the orange crown on the bird, which you don’t normally see.

 

In this next picture, it appears that the bird has black around the base of its bill, which is unusual, in my experience.

 

This third picture makes the bill seem really large, much larger than I would have expected for a warbler.  I don’t have any explanation for that.

 

I don’t have any doubt about the identification, but the pictures seem unusual.

 

The Grace’s Warbler never showed itself, so I moved on.  My next stop was La Jolla Shores Park.  It was packed with people, and no birds, but my main point in stopping there was to check it out, and it was also a convenient place to find a rest room.

 

I picked up a Subway sandwich and went on in to La Jolla itself.  Traffic!  People!  It was a regular circus.  I had several birds I wanted to see there, but there was nowhere at all to put my car.  I drove along the coast, south of the main tourist area, and I finally found a parking place, down the coast a bit.  I got out and set up my scope.  My first discovery was a Spotted Sandpiper, a good one for my April list.  Here is a picture.

 

I added Brown Pelican to my April list, as well as House Sparrow.  Then I spotted a bird flying south, well out to sea.  I decided it was a BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER, a great one for my year list.  There were Brandt’s Cormorants flying by from time to time and sitting in the water, another April bird.  Then I saw a small group of gulls far out on the water, and I decided they were Bonaparte’s Gulls, an excellent April bird.  Here is the view from my overlook in La Jolla.

 

It was getting on time to eat my lunch, so I found my way to Villa La Jolla Park, where I had birded on Sunday morning.  On my way, I made a wrong turn and discovered another nice park, but I eventually came to Villa La Jolla Park.  I took my sandwich, some chips, and a Diet Coke to a bench, and on my way I saw a kingbird in a tree.  Here is a picture.

 

There are two kingbird species that are common here at this time of year, and I looked at my various pictures and decided that this one was my first WESTERN KINGBIRD of the year.  My main reason for thinking so is the tail.  It looks black to me, not dark brown, and there are wide white edges to the tail feathers, not narrow ones.  The two kingbird species are very similar, but I’m going with Western Kingbird for this one.

 

I ate my lunch there and watched various birds, looking for the rarity, Hepatic Tanager, which has been reported there.  I didn’t see it, and I didn’t see anything else for my lists.  I did see a small flock of Cedar Waxwings, but they were too far up in a tree for pictures.  It was a very pleasant place to eat my lunch, though, and I enjoyed it.

 

Next I drove to a park I hadn’t visited before, San Dieguito Park.  It was a very nice park, but I didn’t feel like walking much.  Instead of getting out and doing some real birding, I drove around and looked.  I stopped from time to time and played the songs of birds I thought might be there.  At one stop, while I was playing the song of Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Golden-crowned Sparrow flew in and looked at me, and that was one for April.  Here is a picture of that guy.

 

At one stop I saw a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, a great bird, but one I had seen yesterday.  I played House Wren in several places, and eventually I got a response.  Here is a House Wren, an April bird I was particularly looking for there, singing back to me.  I like this picture because it shows the pattern on the underside of the tail so well.

 

Here is a view of the House Wren from the side.

 

Finally, here is the House Wren singing again.

 

One reason I like wrens is that they are very responsive to playback and once you get them going, they sing and sing.

 

There were lots of California Towhees around the park.  I must have seen a dozen of them today.  Here is one California Towhee.

 

When I left the park I decided to drive by one more place on my way back to Kathy’s house.  I drove up and down El Secreto, a street in Rancho Santa Fe, looking for Scaly-breasted Munia, an introduced species that had been reported there frequently.  I didn’t find any of them, but I did get this picture of a male Western Bluebird on a wire.

 

His head doesn’t look very blue, but maybe that is just a trick of the light.  I also got this picture of a California Scrub-Jay, and it looks quite blue.

 

That was it for my laid back birding day.  To my surprise, I ended up adding 13 more species to April, making my April total 104 species now.  Many of them were common ones, but I added 3 to my year list, too, to bring it to 221 species.  My stay in north San Diego county is now ending, and tomorrow I plan to head north, toward home.  It will take me at least a week to get there, though, because I have plans along the way.  Some of those plans, but not all of them, involve birds, so there should be more reports as I make my way north.

 

 

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

 

This morning I started back north, heading toward home.  My first overnight stop along the way was to be in Orange county, where I am visiting an old friend from our high school and college days.  I had time to do some birding, though, and my first stop was Huntington Beach’s Central Park, where I quickly found an EGYPTIAN GOOSE, an introduced species that has been breeding in Orange county long enough to be on the official ABA list now.  Here is my first Egyptian Goose for several years.

 

I looked around for another introduced species that has been reported there, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, but I didn’t find any.  I moved on to Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, which is located across the highway from the ocean, in some large lagoons.  There were tons of terns around, but I had seen all the local tern species that are here now, when I was down in San Diego.  Here is a picture of a Forster’s Tern, anyway.

 

I searched the nesting area, but the Least Terns and the Snowy Plovers aren’t back from migration yet.  I did find some HORNED LARKS, though, which I have seen in that same area before.  Here is a female Horned Lark.

 

There were a couple of males, too.  Here are two pictures of a male Horned Lark, which has stronger markings.

 

 

I looked around for an uncommon bird, Reddish Egret, and a rarity, Tricolored Heron, both of which have been seen there recently, but I couldn’t find either one.  I also tried to find a Red Knot, but couldn’t find that one either.  I did pick up some ducks I hadn’t seen yet this month – Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, and Greater Scaup.  I also found a couple of Eared Grebes, a good one for April, since we don’t get them at home.

 

Then while I was scanning around with my scope I found a couple of Peregrine Falcons in the distance.  One of them was eating something, surrounded by white feathers, and the other one was standing nearby, maybe waiting its turn.  Peregrine Falcon is a great bird, and I hadn’t expected to find one at the beach.

 

As I was leaving, I saw another raptor.  I got some pictures and I figured out it was a Merlin, another great April bird, and another one I hadn’t expected at the beach.  I got pictures of that one.  Here is today’s Merlin.

 

It looks a little different from the ones we see at home, and I now know they have a different subspecies down here.

 

Next I drove to the Audubon Sea and Sage Preserve in Irvine.  There wasn’t much I still needed for April, but I walked around to see what pictures I could get.  Here is a picture of a Black-necked Stilt.

 

As I walked around, I heard a Sora call, and that was a good April bird.  I also heard Marsh Wren a couple of times, so that one went onto my April list, too.  Then I heard a woodpecker drumming, and I tracked it down.  It turned out to be a Nuttal’s Woodpecker, another good April bird.  Oddly, a few minutes later I saw a small woodpecker in the same tree, and while trying to get a picture, I realized that that this one was a Downy Woodpecker, another April species.  Here is a picture of the Downy Woodpecker.

 

Nuttal’s Woodpecker and Downy Woodpecker look very much alike, but Downy Woodpecker has that white patch on its back.  Nuttal’s doesn’t.  After seeing the Downy, I started wondering if I had really correctly identified the Nuttal’s, but then the Nuttal’s showed up again, and I confirmed there was no white patch on its back.  I even have a very out of focus picture showing that.

 

I made my way back to my car, and while going through the garden I saw four little brown birds fly up from the ground, and I got a good look at one of them, and it was a SCALY-BREASTED MUNIA, formerly called Nutmeg Mannikin and known familiarly as Spice Finch.  It is another introduced species that has thrived in the wild in a few areas.

 

I didn’t get a picture of the Munia,  but I got this picture I like of a Black Phoebe.

 

That was it for my birding today.  Surprisingly, I added another 14 species to my April list, to bring it to 118 species now.  Three of them were new for the year, to give me 224 species this year.

 

Tomorrow is a travel day, back up to Sacramento, and I might not do any birding at all.

 

 

Saturday, April 7, 2018

 

On Thursday I drove up to Sacramento with my old friend, Chris.  I didn’t do any birding, but I picked up Brewer’s Blackbird for April.  That brought me to 119 species for April.

 

On Friday it rained all day, and we stayed in and played cards all day.  I’m at a three-way reunion with two old high school buddies.  We try to get together each year.  I didn’t get any birds, but after sitting in a terrible chair all day, playing cards, I had excruciating pain in my lower back.  I barely made it to bed, stopping the card playing a little early, and this morning was only a little better.

 

Today, Saturday, my back gradually got better as the day went on, and in the morning we went out to see if I could drive and walk.  We went to a couple of birding places, and I added some species to my lists.  I had left my camera back at Fred’s house, because I hadn’t expected to do any actual birding.  We stopped at Ancil Hoffmann park and I got Wild Turkey, Yellow-billed Magpie, White-breasted Nuthatch, Oak Titmouse, and Northern Flicker to my April list.  We also saw a couple of LARK SPARROWS for both my April and year lists.  We stopped at Sailor Bar, but I didn’t get anything new there.  All morning I was wishing I had brought along my camera, because I kept getting photo ops.

 

Our next stop was the Nimbus Fish hatchery, and I added White-throated Swift to my April list there.  We drove through the Upper and Lower Sunrise areas, but I didn’t get anything else.

 

So, that was it.  No pictures, sorry about that, but I added 7 species to my April list today and 1 of them was new for the year.  That brings me to 126 for April and 225 for the year.  Best of all, 6 of those 7 species are ones I wouldn’t see at home.

 

We played some more cards this afternoon, and I sat in a much better chair.  I also got up and stretched from time to time.  I’m very pleased to report that my back is much better.  We’ll see how it is tomorrow, but I’m encouraged.  During the night last night, I was wondering if it would be good enough for me to be able to drive the 14 hours to home, but after today, I’m optimistic.  Tomorrow more card playing is planned, and maybe I can get out and see a bird or two as well.

 

 

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

 

I'm ba-a-a-ck.  On Sunday I didn't feel well, and I didn't do any birding.  On Monday and Tuesday, I drove home from Sacramento with my friend, Chris.  We did make one brief stop to look for a couple of birds, but I didn't get anything new for my lists.

 

Today I finally got back on the birding trail.  It was supposed to rain, but it ended up holding off all morning.  I went out to the Snoqualmie River Valley to see what local birds I could find for my April list.  My first one was a Northern Harrier near Sikes Lake.  I saw Canada Geese several places, too, but I never saw any Cackling Geese, which I was hoping for.

 

There was a single Ring-necked Duck on the pond at Chinook Bend.  Later I got this picture of a small group of Ring-necked Ducks.

 

The ones with dark heads are males, and the brown one is a female Ring-necked Duck.

 

I tried playing the songs of Fox Sparrow and Lincoln's Sparrow in a couple of places, but I never got any response.  They are both winter visitors, and it may be too late to see them again this spring.  I'll keep trying, though.

 

At one of the stops, along NE 60th St, just north of Carnation, I saw a Turkey Vulture feeding on some dead animal.

 

At the Stillwater Unit, I got this picture of a Great Blue Heron.

 

I didn't need either one of those last two birds for any list, but it was nice to be getting some pictures again.

 

At Stillwater, I soon saw a female Hooded Merganser, which I did need for April, and here is a picture.

 

I walked down the trail and found some other birders.  With the info they gave me, I saw this male Hairy Woodpecker looking out of a nest hole in a dead snag.

 

Here is another view of him.

 

That was a good one for April.  The nest hole looks freshly made, and it is in the same tree where I watched a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers raise their family last year.

 

I saw a pair of another good April bird, Red-breasted Sapsucker.  Here is a distant picture of one of them, through some branches.

 

Still another good April bird presented itself, and I got this picture of a Belted Kingfisher.

 

Here is another picture of an unneeded bird, an American Robin.

 

I added Tree Swallow to my April list next.

 

I was listening for another species, and eventually I heard an American Bittern call a few times.  That was an excellent April bird.  After chatting with the other birders a little more, I headed back toward my car.  I was distracted by a female Downy Woodpecker, which I didn't need, but she posed for pictures.

 

 

I was delayed long enough by taking pictures of the Downy Woodpecker that when the other birders spotted an American Bittern, I was still close enough for them to call me back.  I hustled back and got this picture of an American Bittern, a different bird than I had heard earlier, based on its location.

 

Again I headed toward my car, and this time I saw a pair of Wood Ducks, which I needed for April.  Here is the very colorful male Wood Duck.

 

The female Wood Duck is much less colorful, but she is arguably more attractive than the male, in my opinion.

 

Next I drove north to the town of Duvall, and stopped at McCormick Park.  I walked down the trail to the first pond, looking for Wilson's Snipe for my April list.  I flushed two of them and got a look at them as they flew off.  I also got my first Black-capped Chickadee of April there.

 

That was it for my birding today.  Back here at home I saw a Pine Siskin at our feeder, though, so that one went onto my April list, too.

 

I ended up getting 13 more species for April today, to bring that list to 139 species.  Today was my first day of April birding in this area, so there are lots of local birds I still need for April.  I did a spreadsheet, and I'm projecting another 30 or 35 species for April.  That would get me to about 170 to 175 for the month, well short of my March total of 198.  I have a lot more birding to do locally in April still.

 

 

Thursday, April 12, 2018

 

The weather forecast for today was showers, but it wasn't raining when I got up.  I went over to Marymoor Park and tried for some April birds.  I couldn't find any meadowlarks or Cackling Geese, so I parked and walked down the trail toward the lake, from the East Meadow parking lot.  I was looking for three species, and I only found one of them  Here is a distant picture of my April Purple Finch, which was singing constantly, after I played its song a few times.

 

I couldn't attract a Pacific Wren, and the Rufous Hummingbird that others had seen along that path eluded me.  I went over to the feeders at the office, and I took some pictures as I watched for a couple of April species.  I didn't need Black-capped Chickadee, but here is a picture anyway.

 

I did need the other local chickadee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and I saw that one, too.

 

I also needed Steller's Jay still, and I picked that one up, too.

 

I had a lunch appointment in Bellevue, so I left soon after that.  After lunch, I went back to the Marymoor Park area, to check out a pond that I had been told often had Green Herons on it.  I found the pond, but not the birds.  I'll go back again.  Since I was close to Marymoor and I had time, I went back to the park.  First I checked the pond by the rowing club, but I didn't get anything I needed there.  I did get this picture of three male Mallards, though.

 

When I first saw them, they were all sitting perfectly still, and I thought they might be decoys at first, but then they moved.  On my way back to the car, I got this picture of a male Spotted Towhee, which I didn't need for any lists.

 

I went back to the main part of the park and drove around looking for several species, but didn't find them.  Back at the feeders by the office, I did pick up Red-breasted Nuthatch for my April list.

 

There were several Dark-eyed Juncos that kept coming to the feeder, too, and here is a picture of a male Dark-eyed Junco, which I didn’t need for any list.

 

I drove over to the west parking lot for the dog park, and I walked along the slough.  I was looking specifically for either Lincoln's Sparrow or Fox Sparrow.  There were Violet-green Swallows flying over the slough, so that one went on my April list.

 

I found some Golden-crowned Sparrows feeding in the grass, and although I didn't need them, I took some pictures.  Here is a Golden-crowned Sparrow in its summer plumage, which is indicated by the black borders on both sides of the golden patch on its head.

 

Here is another Golden-crowned Sparrow that is still mostly in winter plumage, with much less yellow color on its head and without the black borders.

 

Eventually I did see a Fox Sparrow, which was a great one for my April list.  Fox Sparrows are winter visitors here, and they are already leaving, so I wasn't sure I would find one this month.  Here is the Fox Sparrow.

 

A Song Sparrow flew in, too, and sat briefly for a picture.

 

As I was walking back to my car, I took this picture of a male Green-winged Teal on the Sammamish Slough.

 

I like the intricate pattern on the bird's sides.

 

I didn't get anything rare today, but I got 6 more species for my April list, to bring April to 145 species.  Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be rainy and quite windy, and I don't know where I'm going to go to look for birds.  Wind and rain are not ideal for birding.

 

 

Friday, April 13, 2018

 

Friday the thirteenth.  Would it be unlucky for me?  Based on the poor weather forecast, I developed a plan that kept me in my car for most of the morning.  My first stop was at the NE 90th St pond in Redmond, to look for the Green Herons that are supposedly there some of the time.  Like yesterday, I missed them today.

 

Next I went to Marymoor Park and drove slowly by the garden area, looking for the Say's Phoebe that was reported there the last two days.  No luck there either.  I drove around looking for other possible birds, but again had nothing.  Friday the thirteenth was having its way with me.

 

I headed east, driving through Fall City and up to Tokul Creek, where it flows into the Snoqualmie River.  As I approached, I spotted some ducks on the river, and I finally got my first April bird of the day, some Common Mergansers.

 

The ones with all the white on them are males, and the one with the red head is a female Common Merganser.

 

I parked and went out on the bridge, looking for American Dipper, despite the light drizzle.  At first I didn't see one, looking both upstream and downstream.  Before I left I looked again upstream, and I saw one fly across the creek.  Here is Tokul Creek from the bridge, looking upstream.

 

Note the dark log on the right side, in the middle of the picture.  I figured it was about 70 yards from the bridge, so my pictures aren't great.  The log could be a rock in this picture, but it's a log, sticking up out of the water at an angle.  There were two American Dippers flying repeatedly to that log, carrying something in their bills.  Here is a picture of one of them on the broken off end of that log.

 

Here is one of the dippers on the left side of the creek, with some material in its bill.

 

Here are both dippers on the end of the log, and one of them has material in its bill.

 

I watched them for 20 or 30 minutes, and they just kept bringing in material, which looked like moss or grass to me.

 

They seemed to be packing the moss (if that's what it was) into one corner of the end of the log.

 

 

Here is a particularly large bunch of moss.

 

 

When I left they were still working on whatever they were doing.  I imagine it was a nest.  Dippers usually nest under bridges, but they do build nests out in the open like this, too.  It is only about a foot above the water, but it should be safe from predators out at the end of that protruding log.  I guess it will work, if God is willing and the creek don't rise.  I wish it was closer to home because it would be fun to monitor it's progress.  I'll have to find the time to get back up there in the next couple of weeks, to check it out.  American Dipper nests are mounds of grass and moss, with a hole for access.  I guess that log has a nice shelf on the end, on which to build the nest, but it isn't far above the water.

 

After that fun, I headed back down to the Carnation area.  I drove by a couple of places, playing bird songs out of my window in places, and I ended up at the house in Carnation with feeders.  I sat in my car across the street and watched.  A Mourning Dove came in for a drink of water from a puddle.

 

I didn't need that one, but a couple of Eurasian Collared-Doves came around, too, and I did need that one for April.

 

Finally, to top things off, there were a number of Band-tailed Pigeons in some nearby trees, and that was another one for April.  Here is a Band-tailed Pigeon.

 

Here are a couple more Band-tailed Pigeons.

 

I ended up adding 4 species to my April list, which was pretty good for a windy, drizzly day.  It's always satisfying to see American Dipper, and watching them working on a nest was great.  That brings me to 149 species for April.  My prediction spreadsheet is forecasting about 175 species total for April now.

 

 

Saturday, April 14, 2018

 

Today was forecasted to be another rainy day, but it looked like it would only be drizzling in the morning.  Based on that, I went up to Edmonds to try to get the easy ones there.  When I got there it was drizzling lightly, so I sat in my car on Sunset Avenue and looked out over the water.  I used my camera as a scope and was able to identify Pigeon Guillemot and Harlequin Duck fairly quickly.  I also soon saw a number of Surf Scoters and Horned Grebes.  All the birds were mostly into their breeding (summer) plumages.

 

I moved my car up a little and looked some more.  I was pleased to be able to identify a pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes with my camera, and then a female Black Scoter.  I needed all these birds I'm mentioning, for April.  The drizzle let up long enough for me to get out my scope, which helped.  There were a number of Red-necked Grebes around, and I saw two Common Loons in their breeding plumage.  Some Mew Gulls were sitting on a log, and eventually I saw a pair of Rhinoceros Auklets as well.  One of the gulls on the beach was clearly a Glaucous-winged Gull.

 

Eventually I moved on to Ocean Avenue, but there wasn't much there except Brant, a small goose that I had seen in California for April.  I did see a pair of Common Goldeneyes, though, another April bird for me.

 

After that I stopped at Marina Park, and I saw a single Pelagic Cormorant in breeding plumage.  I had thought I had missed that one, as they have mostly left now for their breeding grounds.  It was the only one I saw today.

 

On my way home, I stopped at the little patch of woods near Kenmore Elementary School and played the song of Pacific Wren.  I missed on that one, though.  Pacific Wrens are pretty easy around here in the winter, but in the spring they move up into the mountains to nest, and I may have missed them down here in the lowlands now.

 

Many species are heading north now for breeding season, and being in California for the first 10 days of the month cost me some local birds for April.  The terrible weather for the last four days has only added to that problem, as many birds are leaving at just this time.  There are three or four species up in Skagit county that are easy in the winter, but now they are probably gone.

 

I managed to add 13 species to my April list today, though, which is more than I had expected.  I only missed a few difficult ones.  That brings me to 162 species for the month.  My projection is still 175 for the month, but I'm starting to think that some of my estimates are too high, as those species have mostly left for the season.

 

Sorry, there are no pictures today.  The birds were all way out on the water, too far away for decent pictures.

 

 

Sunday, April 15, 2018

 

It finally wasn't a rainy day, but it looked threatening all day, and it was windy and cold.  I started off my birding adventures today by going up to Canyon Park Wetlands, which is only about 12 or 15 minutes north of home.  A rare (for Western Washington) sparrow had been reported there for the last two days, and since it was so close, it seemed like a good idea to chase it.

 

At the wetlands, there were some dog walkers, which wasn't going to help find the sparrow, which reportedly liked to feed on the gravel path.  I walked the length of the wetlands and back.  At the far end I saw a male Hooded Merganser, and I got a couple of pictures of this striking bird.

 

 

There were a couple of photographers there, and one of them knew about the sparrow and was also looking for it.  I call them photographers, rather than birders, because they each had cameras with lenses as long as my arm (probably costing 5 to 10 grand each), and no binoculars.  Birders kind of disdain photographers and accuse them of all kinds of bad behavior, like approaching birds too closely or trespassing.

 

After talking to the photographers for a couple of minutes, I headed toward my car and got this picture of a Golden-crowned Sparrow in a little tree.

 

I continued back toward my car and was met by an actual birder, who told me he had just seen the rare sparrow.  I went on to where he had seen it (very close to where my car was parked), and he went to tell the two photographers.  The photographers stayed where they were, and the other birder came back.  The two of us slowly walked around, looking for the rare sparrow.  We saw a couple of sparrows on the ground, but they were only a Golden-crowned Sparrow and this White-crowned Sparrow.

 

We kept looking, and eventually the other birder spotted the sparrow in a tree across some water.  Before I could get on it, it flew back to the area where he had seen it originally.  We hustled over there and found it again.  Here is a picture of the rare BREWER'S SPARROW, my first one of the year and the first one I have ever seen in Western Washington.

 

I took a number of pictures, but the bird kept looking away at the last instant.  Here is the only other one that is halfway decent.

 

We both waved to the two photographers and motioned them over, but they ignored us and stayed where they were.  I don't know why; I know they saw us gesturing.

 

So, with that rarity under my belt, I headed off to find other birds.  My next stop was the pond on NE 90th St in Redmond, where I had been told that Green Heron could be found sometimes.  I parked (possibly illegally, although there was no sign saying so, and I was out of traffic and not blocking the sidewalk or trail) and walked down the trail for a view of the pond.  I didn’t see any Green Herons, but on my way back to the car, I spotted one, crouched down low and facing me, so it wasn't obvious.  It might have been there all along and I missed it on my way past, but maybe it had just flown in.  I turned on my camera to try for pictures, but it flew off across the pond and out of sight.  I went back along the trail and managed to find it again, sitting in a tree across the pond.  As I got ready to try for a picture, it again flew, and this time it went off into the distance.  So, no pictures, but I added Green Heron to my April list.  That was the third time I had been to that pond in the last several days, looking for Green Heron, so it was satisfying to get it, although I would have liked to get a picture.

 

Next, I went over to Marymoor Park, since it was so close.  I drove around, but I didn’t see any of the birds I needed from the car.  I parked and walked down the birding trail along the east side of the dog park.  I took this rather distant picture of a Savannah Sparrow there.

 

I played the songs of Pacific Wren, but never got a response.  I was also looking for a hummingbird species that reportedly had been seen along that trail.  I talked to a couple who were birding, and they told me they had just seen one.  I hung out there, looking for it, and when they came back, we talked a little.  They went back toward the parking lot, and I stayed there watching for the hummer.  They stopped down the trail a short distance and waved at me, and gestured for me to come.  I hurried to where they were, and they told me they had just seen my target species at the top of a tree, but it had flown down.  The three of us stood there and watched for it, and I spotted it first and we all got good looks at a rather distant male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, my second year-bird of the day.  It was far enough away, and the lighting was poor enough that I wasn't sure of the identification with my binoculars, but I took some pictures, and they confirmed the identity.  Here is a distant picture of a male Rufous Hummingbird.

 

Rufous Hummingbirds only come here in the spring and summer, and our year-round resident hummingbirds are Anna's Hummingbirds.  Here is a male Anna's Hummingbird I saw a little later, for comparison.

 

The Anna's Hummingbird turned its head and showed off its colorful gorget.

 

There were a couple of sparrows and a couple of Spotted Towhees feeding along the path, and I got this picture of a male Spotted Towhee.

 

I take a lot of pictures of Spotted Towhees because they pose often and I find them very attractive.

 

So, I added just 3 more species to my April list today, to bring it to 165 species.  It's getting pretty hard to add more the April list, as it grows.  My prediction spreadsheet is now projecting 176 species for April, but I'm thinking about making a trip over the mountains, which could add 5 or more species to that.  This lousy weather is supposed to end by Wednesday, and there will still be about 12 days left then to add to April.  Two of my three birds today were new for the year, to bring me to 227 species for the year.  The Brewer's Sparrow raised my Snohomish county list to 151 species.

 

I don't know what I'll do tomorrow.  It is supposed to be another rainy day.

 

 

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

 

As forecasted, Monday was a rainy day, and I didn't do any birding at all.  Today I went down to Juanita Bay Park and looked for some fairly common species that I hadn't seen yet this month.  I played the songs of Brown Creeper and Golden-crowned Kinglet around the parking lot, where I have seen both species before, but today I had no responses at all and saw nothing.

 

On the east boardwalk, I played Pacific Wren where one had been a couple of months ago, but I think the Pacific Wrens have mostly moved up into the mountains for breeding season, and I didn’t get any response today except from a Song Sparrow.  Farther out on the boardwalk, I played the calls of Virginia Rail and I got no responses.  Out at the end of the boardwalk I didn't see any Bald Eagles, which is another species I haven't yet gotten this month.  I got this picture of a couple of Canada Geese, though, which I didn’t need for any list, of course.

 

There was a group of nine Pied-billed Grebes in the little bay, and I got this picture.

 

You don't usually see that many in one little group like that.  Of course, I didn't need that one for April.

 

Back along the boardwalk, I took some pictures of a male Red-winged Blackbird that was calling repeatedly.

 

Here is a shot showing his back, which isn't pure black when you get a close look.

 

Here he is calling again.

 

At one point I thought I might have heard a Virginia Rail calling in response to my playing its call, but I wasn't sure enough to count it.

 

That was it for the day for me.  A friend was coming over for the day, and I had to get home.  Nothing for my lists today, and only a few pictures of common birds.  The weather is finally supposed to dry up tomorrow, for several days, and I'm trying to decide where to go looking for birds.  I'm tempted to go across the mountains and maybe even stay overnight on the East side.  We will see how I feel in the morning about that.

 

 

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

 

I didn't feel like going off on a trip today, so I went down to Juanita Bay Park again to look for the same birds I couldn't find yesterday.  Again I played the songs of Brown Creeper and Golden-crowned Kinglet around the parking lot, and again got no responses, except that at one point today I did get a Bewick's Wren to respond by singing loudly and prominently.

 

I tried again today on the east boardwalk for Virginia Rail, and again got no response.  Out at the end of the boardwalk, I did manage to see my first Bald Eagle of April, so at least I had something for my list.  The eagle flew across in front of me and landed on a partially submerged log.  It waded out into the water and I took this picture.

 

The eagle then proceeded to take a bath.  It was interesting to watch such a big bird bathing.

 

 

 

 

Here is the wet and clean Bald Eagle still sitting in the water.

 

Next I decided to go up to Tokul Creek, where I had seen the American Dippers building a nest last week, to see how they were progressing.  The location they had chosen seemed pretty precarious to me, and I wondered if the nest was completed.  Sorry to say, when I got there, there was no sign of either the nest or the dippers.  The creek was quite a bit higher, and it was clear that the place they had chosen was too close to the water.  Here is a picture of them building their nest, taken last Friday.

 

Here is what it looked like today, with the water higher.

 

As I said, there was no sign of the dippers today, and the creek was as high as I have ever seen it.  I walked up and down the road, playing Pacific Wren and Golden-crowned Kinglet songs, but had no responses and saw nothing.

 

Meanwhile I had gotten text messages from my birding buddy, Hank, and he told me that he had seen a Say's Phoebe and a couple of Lincoln's Sparrows at Marymoor.  I still needed both of those species for April, so I drove in to Marymoor.

 

I followed his directions and soon found the Say's Phoebe in the community garden, which is referred to as the pea patch.  Here is the Say's Phoebe, my second April bird of the day.

 

Here is another shot of it.  I like the pose in this one.

 

Here is another one that I like because of the surrounding greenery.

 

Finally, here is a picture of the Say's Phoebe from the front.

 

Tree Swallows have claimed the nest boxes around the gardens.  Here is a Tree Swallow.

 

Here is a Tree Swallow looking out of one of the nest boxes.

 

Here is one more Tree Swallow picture.

 

I never saw any Lincoln's Sparrows, although I did see a Savannah Sparrow that I had to look at very closely to be sure it wasn't a Lincoln's Sparrow.

 

I ended up adding 2 species to my April list today, to bring it to 167 total.

 

 

Thursday, April 19, 2018

 

Today I headed over to Seattle, to the Union Bay Natural Area, known to birders as the Montlake Fill, or simply the Fill.  It's a wonderful natural area adjacent to the University of Washington campus, on Lake Washington.  Birders have enjoyed it for years, but now it is being "improved" by some government agency.  For the last couple of years it has been a real mess, as they have torn it up to save it.  It is still years away from coming into its own with the new plan.  There are large bare areas, covered in wood chips, with small plants every 6 or 8 feet.  I guess we just have to wait for the small plants to grow up, but they haven't grown noticeably in the last year or two.  There are still some trees and some ponds, and people walk through the area on their way to class, or to walk their dogs.  Birders still frequent it, but it could be so much more.  To give the government agency that is improving it credit, it's true that there were a lot of invasive, non-native plants there before, so it is probably a good thing that it is being improved, but it sure is slow.  My main complaint now is that the paths don't go where they ought to go, for seeing birds on the ponds.  They also eliminated some good shorebird habitat, which was used during migration in the past.

 

Anyway, stepping down off my birder's-perspective soapbox, it is still a nice place to walk or to bird.  It was a beautiful sunny morning, and I enjoyed walking around.  I played the songs of two or three species that I was hoping to see, but I got no responses until I thought I heard a call back from a Virginia Rail.  It wasn't the usual call, but I was pretty sure that's what it was.

 

Soon after that, I heard a Common Yellowthroat singing.  I had seen that species in California this month, but I wanted a picture.  I played its song and it flitted around singing back to me.  It never stayed still, though, and I never got a decent picture of it.  While I was trying to get that picture, I suddenly noticed a Virginia Rail step out into the open.  I imagine it was looking for the bird that had called to it (which was me, with my phone).  Here is the Virginia Rail, looking for another one in the area.

 

Virginia Rails are normally very reclusive, and it's difficult to actually see them.  Here is another picture.

 

A guy with a camera came along about then, and I told him about the Virginia Rail.  He tried for pictures, too, and I got one more.

 

So, that was an excellent April bird, and the pictures were a great bonus.  I walked on and got these two pictures of a female Red-winged Blackbird.

 

 

I noticed an Osprey nest platform, and I had read that the pair of Ospreys that have nested there for several years had just come back this week.  As I was thinking about that, I spotted an Osprey flying toward me, being chased by some crows.  I snapped this picture, which came out great, I think.

 

The Osprey didn't really pay much attention to the crows, and after landing for a couple of minutes on the nest platform, it flew off and perched in a nearby tree.

 

The crows didn't let up on it, though.  There were 5 or 6 of them, and they took turns strafing the Osprey.  Here are some pictures of the crows harassing the Osprey, which didn't seem very bothered by them, although it reacted.

 

 

 

Eventually the crows stopped flying at the osprey, and they just sat nearby and glared at it.

 

I think the crows will just have to get used to the Ospreys, as they will no doubt use that nest platform again this year, to raise a brood.

 

I enjoyed that little drama, but I moved on.  There were Northern Shovelers on a couple of the ponds, and I got this picture of a male Northern Shoveler.

 

Here is a less colorful female Northern Shoveler.  They both have that large, wide bill that gives the species its name.

 

I continued to play the songs of Golden-crowned Kinglet and Lincoln's Sparrow, but I never saw either species.  I did see the pair of Cinnamon Teal that have been reported there recently.  Cinnamon Teal is fairly uncommon around here, so it was nice to see them, although I had alrady counted that species for April in California.  Here is a pair of Cinnamon Teal, snoozing in the sun.

 

After that I headed toward home, but I stopped at Magnuson Park since it was on my way.  I stopped a couple of likely places in the park and played the same songs, but again I got no response.  I'm kind of surprised that I haven't been able to call up any Golden-crowned Kinglets, but not as surprised about Lincoln's Sparrows, as they are pretty uncommon.

 

I had one more thing I was looking for today, and that was two swallow species I still needed, Barn Swallow and Cliff Swallow.  I had seen a few swallows at the Fill, but I wasn't able to identify them, and they flew off.  At Magnuson, I went to the athletic fields where I have seen swallows before, but not today.  Then I went to where Cliff Swallows nested last year, and I finally found a dozen or so Cliff Swallows flying around.  That was an April bird.

 

After that I gave it up and went home.  I added 2 more species to my April list today, to bring me to 169 species for April.  I don't expect to get more than maybe 4 or 5 more species this month, and maybe not even that many.  The winter birds seem to all have left, and many of the summer ones are still several weeks away from returning.  I could add another 5 to 10 species with a trip over the mountains, and the weather forecast looks favorable for that, so maybe I'll do that.  I don't feel nearly as much like travelling overnight as I used to, and I just got back from 18 days in California.  Maybe I'll do it in a long day trip, although I would most likely get more birds if I stayed overnight.  We will see.

 

 

Friday, April 20, 2018

 

Today my plan was to go out to the Snoqualmie River Valley, but as I was getting ready to leave I noticed that a Loggerhead Shrike had been seen at Marymoor Park a day or two ago, so I detoured by there on my way.  At the model airplane field, where the shrike had been seen, a guy was mowing the field with a riding mower, which might have discouraged the shrike.  Anyway, I didn't see the shrike, but before I left I pulled up to the end of the parking lot, intending to play the song of Western Meadowlark because I knew they liked to hang out in the meadow there.  Before I could even play the song, though, a couple of Western Meadowlarks flushed and flew across the field to the other side.  Score!  This is getting pretty late for Western Meadowlark in Western Washington, so I was pleased and surprised to get it for my April list.

 

I drove through the Evan Creek natural Area on my way out to the valley, and at one point I noticed a small bird.  It turned out to be a female Downy Woodpecker.

 

I got that picture, and then she flew to an even closer dead tree and I got this one.

 

As it happened, that was a hole in the tree, although it looks natural, not woodpecker-made.  The bird climbed into the hole, though.

 

Next I heard woodpecker pecking sounds for quite a while.  Eventually, the Downy Woodpecker stuck her head out with her bill of wood chips and dumped them.

 

I guess she was excavating a nest hole.  I made a mental note of the spot and I plan to go back to see how the nesting progresses.

 

While I was listening to the woodpecker pecking away in the hole, waiting for her come to out, I saw an Orange-crowned Warbler and got a couple of pictures.

 

 

I think the colors in the second picture are truer.  I didn't need the woodpecker or the warbler for my April list, but at this time of the month, I'm looking for pictures as much as for birds I need, since there are so few I still need for April.

 

Out in the Snoqualmie River Valley, I got this picture of a Violet-green Swallow.

 

There was nothing going on at Sikes Lake, but up on the hill on the south side of the lake, I stopped to try for Lincoln's Sparrow.  I never saw one, but I did see this male Purple Finch, which eventually posed for me on a wire.

 

That was another one I didn't need, but I don’t see Purple Finches very often, so I liked getting the picture.  While I was chasing the finch, I saw a couple of Barn Swallows flying around, and I did need that one for April.  They never perched, but later in the day I got this picture of another Barn Swallow, up near Duvall.

 

I also got this picture of a European Starling near Sikes Lake.

 

I stopped at Chinook Bend and tried for Lincoln's Sparrow and Golden-crowned Kinglet, but I had no luck there.

 

I moved on to the Stillwater Unit of the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area.  I walked down the trail and played Brown Creeper songs.  One flew in right away, so that one went on my April list.  It wouldn't stick around for pictures, though, sorry to say.

 

I heard an American Bittern calling a few times.  They only call in the spring, and now is the season, I guess.  I actually saw it a little later and got this picture.

 

American Bittern is a great bird, but I had seen one last week, so it was no help for my list today.

 

There was a single Pied-billed Grebe in the pond to the west, and I got this picture.

 

At the bridge I checked out the Hairy Woodpecker nest hole that someone had shown me last week.  There was a woodpecker in the hole and it stuck its head out a few times, but I couldn't tell if it was a male or a female.  I assume there are eggs in the nest.

 

The Hairy Woodpeckers are in the same dead tree that they were in last year, but they made a new nest hole, as woodpeckers do.  A pair of Tree Swallows was checking out last year's nest hole, presumably with the idea of using it this year.  Here is the female Tree Swallow at the old woodpecker nest hole.

 

She kept looking into the hole, as if assessing it.

 

Meanwhile the male Tree Swallow sat on a nearby branch stub and looked over the neighborhood.

 

The hole is pretty close to the busy trail, but the woodpeckers managed to raise a brood last year and came they back again, so maybe the Tree Swallows will settle into the hole this year.

 

On my way back to my car, I got this picture of a male Common Yellowthroat.

 

After that I drove up to Duvall and went up W. Snoqualmie River Road NE.  I was watching for several uncommon species, but my main goal was Brown-headed Cowbird around the dairy at the north end of the road.  Sure enough, I was able to find a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds there, so that one went on my April list, my fourth species of the day.

 

I didn't see anything else of particular interest along that road, so I went on up to the old Monroe Prison Farm pond.  I thought it had been destroyed by the farmer there, but there was water in it, and a few birds around.  There was a Greater Yellowlegs, a bird I saw in California this month, but one I was happy to see locally.

 

I have never known what they are looking for when they probe into the mud under the water, but this one came up with a juicy looking worm, so I guess that's one thing they are looking for.

 

It didn't waste any time slurping the worm down.

 

That was it for my birding today.  It was a lovely spring day, sunny with temperatures up into the mid-60's by early afternoon.  I added 4 species to my April list, which was outstanding.  This morning I had told myself that if I got 2 more April species today that would be very good and 3 would be great.  4 exceeded my expectations.  That gives me 173 species for April now.

 

 

Sunday, April 22, 2018

 

I decided to travel over the mountains to the “east side”, and I’m spending tonight in Ellensburg.  The idea was that by going into new territory, I could get some new year-birds, which would also be new for April, of course.

 

My first stop was at Bullfrog Pond, just west of the town of Cle Elum.  I didn’t see much there, and nothing for my lists.  No pictures either.

 

Next I moved on to Cle Elum High School, where I had read about an owl nest.  It was supposed to be in a totem pole, and I found the totem pole easily, right in front of the main entrance to the school.  I didn’t see any nest at first, but then I noticed a big old GREAT HORNED OWL sitting on a branch out in the open.

 

I went around the other side, which didn’t seem to disturb the owl at all, and took this picture of it from the front.

 

The nest was at the top of the totem pole, behind the top figure, and there was at least one owlet in the nest.  It looks to me like there is a second one in front of the one with its eyes open, but I can’t tell for sure.

 

The nest is right in front of the school, with walkways on two sides and a parking lot on a third side.  I find it surprising that the owls nest there with all the foot traffic and noise there must be there.  They used the same nest last year, too, evidently.

 

After that fun I moved on to Denny Avenue in Cle Elum.  I found the short connector trail to the Coal Mine Trail, and I walked a little.  I played various bird songs, but couldn’t attract anything.  I saw a fairly good sized bird fly across the valley, and I was able to locate it in a tree on the other side.  Here’s a distant picture.

 

I’m not completely sure if it’s a Sharp-shinned Hawk (which I need for April) or a Cooper’s Hawk (which I don’t need), but I have decided to go with Sharp-shinned Hawk, after consulting a couple of other birders.  None of us is certain, but I’m going with our unanimous opinion.

 

As I was walking back to my car I found a house with some bird feeders, and I watched for a while.  I saw a White-breasted Nuthatch a couple of times, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch as well.  I didn’t need either of those species, but I did need a third nuthatch species.  The owner of the house said the one I needed had been there earlier this morning, and also a White-headed Woodpecker, which would have been a year-bird for me.  I’ll have to remember that house for my next time in Cle Elum.

 

Next I stopped at the Railroad Ponds in Cle Elum.  The only thing I got there for my lists was PYGMY NUTHATCH, the nuthatch species I had missed at the house with feeders.  I found a nest hole in a dead snag and watched it until I got this picture of a Pygmy Nuthatch.

 

You can see the hole just below the bird.  There were two nuthatches, and they went in and out of the hole a couple of times. 

 

All day I kept seeing Yellow-rumped Warblers, sometimes in flocks, feeding in the trees.  On my way back to the main road, I got this picture of a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

 

I drove through Cle Elum and then along the Red Bridge Road, east of Cle Elum.  On Ballard Hill Road I got this picture of a Western Meadowlark, a species I had briefly seen at Marymoor last week.

 

I drove through the Swauk Cemetery, but didn’t see anything there.  Along Swauk Prairie Road there were bluebirds.  Female bluebirds are a bit difficult to tell apart, but I think this is a female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD.

 

Compare that picture with this next one, which I think is a female Western Bluebird.

 

Mountain bluebirds don’t have that reddish-brown color on their breasts.

 

At the east end of Swauk Prairie road, where it winds back down to the main highway, I have a place I stop to get a particular species.  I stopped today and played its song.  True to past form, a couple of MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES flew in and sang back to me.  I was only able to get one poor picture, but you can sort of see the Mountain Chickadee in it.

 

After that I drove down Bettas Road.  There weren’t as many bluebirds along that stretch as usual, but I took the picture above of the female Western Bluebird near the north end of Bettas Road.  At the south end of Bettas Road, where it climbs up onto the ridge, I stopped at another spot where I have gotten a particular species in the past.  I played the song and after a while a VESPER SPARROW flew in and sang back to me.  Here is the Vesper Sparrow posing for me as I sat in my car.

 

Here it is singing back to me.

 

Across the road from there was a bluebird nest box, and I got pictures of both the male and female Mountain Bluebirds that were using the box.  Here is the beautiful male Mountain Bluebird.

 

Here he is from the front.

 

Here is the female Mountain Bluebird.

 

As I drove down the hill toward the main highway, there was a little flock of foraging Yellow-rumped Warblers flying along with me.  Here is one of them posing on a wire.

 

It even turned around and showed me its bright yellow rump.

 

Some birders call Yellow-rumped Warblers “butterbutts” as an affectionate term.

 

I drove back to the freeway and on the way I spotted my first BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE of the year, the first of two I saw today.  Maybe I can get a picture tomorrow.  That was the only new April species I didn’t get a picture of today.

 

I drove through the little town of Kittitas and out Parke-Creek Road.  I had been doing great with finding my target species today, until then.  I couldn’t find a Yellow-headed Blackbird there.  I was quite surprised everywhere at how much it is still winter here.  Most of the deciduous trees haven’t leafed out yet, and grasses are only just starting to grow.  Maybe that’s normal for the third week in April here, but it surprised me.  The reed beds where the Yellow-headed Blackbirds live are all still completely brown, with no new growth showing yet.

 

At the Old Vantage Highway, I turned east and my next stop was the Wild Horse Wind Farm.  I have a spot there where I can usually find 2 or 3 sage-loving species.  I played the song of one of them, and eventually I saw two SAGEBRUSH SPARROWS.  Here is a Sagebrush Sparrow (formerly called Sage Sparrow) singing back to me.

 

I also got a SAGE THRASHER to respond to its song, and I got this distant picture in terrible light of the Sage Thrasher.

 

I’ve seen Brewer’s Sparrow at that same place before, but since I had seen a rare (for the west side of the mountains) Brewer’s Sparrow at Canyon Park Wetlands near home last week, I didn’t bother trying to find one today.

 

I continued on down to the Columbia River, and at the end of Recreation Road I played the song of another species I wanted.  A couple of ROCK WRENS ended up coming in to check me out and eventually to sing back to me.  Here is a Rock Wren.

 

I drove up to the river overlook, but there was a whole busload of urchins rampaging around, walking right out in the road, so I turned around and got out of there without looking for the Say’s Phoebes that nest there every year.  I had seen Say’s Phoebe at Marymoor last week, so I could afford to skip them today.

 

On my way back to the highway I spotted a female California Quail, and I got this picture from my car.

 

I was patient, and eventually I got this picture of the male California Quail that was keeping her company.

 

That was it for my birding today.  I headed for my humble motel room, arriving right at 5:00.  I’m only about an hour and forty minutes from home, so I could have driven home tonight, but I wanted to stay over both because I didn’t want to drive that much today and because I wanted to be able to look for birds tomorrow morning over here.  As it turned out, I did so well with all my target species that there isn’t much to look for tomorrow, but I’ll chase some unlikely ones, and maybe I’ll get lucky.  The numbers will be a lot lower than today, though, that’s for sure.  I won’t take as many pictures either, partly because I forgot to bring my spare camera battery or the charger.  It will be interesting to see how long the battery lasts tomorrow.

 

For the day today, I got 10 more species for April, to bring me to 183 species now.  There aren’t many at all left around home for me to get, but maybe I can find a couple of species over here tomorrow.  I need to do some research tonight or in the morning.  9 of those species today were new for the year, to bring me to 236 species on the year now.  We’ll see if can get any more tomorrow.  In another two or three weeks, a lot more spring migrants will have returned to this area, but I knew it was early when I planned the trip.

 

 

Monday, April 23, 2018

 

After yesterday's highly successful day, I didn't have much to look for today in the Ellensburg area.  I started by going south of town and driving around some little roads that had ponds and fields.  I didn't find anything for my April list, but I did find some ducks for my Kittitas county list.

 

After I had done that, my original plan was to go down the Yakima River canyon and look for Prairie Falcon and Golden Eagle.  Both would be very difficult to find, though, and I decided to cancel that plan, and instead I went back to Parke Creek Road, which is east of Ellensburg.  I decided to spend more time looking for the blackbird I missed there yesterday.

 

Before I got to where the blackbirds hang out, I saw Black-billed Magpies several times, and I finally got a picture of one.

 

At the blackbird site, I drove slowly along the road, and today I managed to see my first YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD of the year, but it was deep in a bush.  Here is the view I was presented with.

 

I had the bird, but I wanted a better picture.  I played some songs and calls of Yellow-headed Blackbird, but the bird didn't come out.  Finally I played a call that was described as a female call, and for whatever reason, the male blackbird flew out and went across the road.  It joined another one in a distant tree, and I got a better picture, although it was distant.

 

One of the birds flew down to a paddock, though, and I got the next two pictures.  Neither one is great, and I couldn't decide which one to show, so here they both are.  Male Yellow-headed Blackbird.

 

 

So, that mission was a success, and I decided to head back toward home, with stops along the way.  I picked up a sandwich at Subway and drove Highway 10 to Cle Elum.  It was a pleasant drive, and I did get a couple more Kittitas county birds, including a single Wild Turkey, but nothing for April.  I stopped at the Railroad Ponds in Cle Elum, but again I got nothing for April, although I did add Bufflehead to my Kittitas county list.  I had gotten a number of new Kittitas county birds yesterday, too.

 

For my last stop before heading home, I drove to a fishing access point on the Yakima River, called King Horn Slough on eBird.  I was hoping to be able to call up Pacific Wren or Golden-crowned Kinglet, since they have both been reported there recently.  I was playing the songs from the car as I drove in, stopping from time to time on the entry road, and when I got to the main parking area, I was getting ready to get out of the car.  Just then a Pileated Woodpecker flew into a tree out in front of me, and I got out of the car, after gathering up my binoculars, my hat, and my camera.  Another one flew in and joined the first one, but before I could locate them for a picture, they both flew off, one at a time.  It was a great one to get for April, but I'm sorry I couldn't get a picture.

 

I ate my Subway sandwich there, and after walking around trying for Pacific Wren and Golden-crowned Kinglet for a while, I gave it up and started back to the road to go home.  I played Pacific Wren songs at likely looking places on the entrance road, and at one point I spotted a small gray bird.  It wasn't a Pacific Wren, but I didn’t know what it was.  I got out of the car and it stuck around.  It turned out to be a flycatcher of the empidonax family, a group of birds that are notoriously difficult to identify.  There were 3 or 4 possibilities, and I knew I had no chance of an identification without some good pictures.  I chased the bird up and down the road, snapping pictures, and when I reviewed them with my field guides in hand, I decided it was a DUSKY FLYCATCHER.

 

Next I'm going to show more pictures than anyone is interested in, and make some comments that are strictly for my future education.  First the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

I eliminated Willow Flycatcher on the basis that they don't show up until late May.  Both Gray Flycatcher and Hammond's Flycatcher were eliminated because in both species, the throat is the same color as the rest of their head.  This bird clearly had a whiter throat, and that more or less left only Dusky flycatcher.  Pacific-slope and Cordilleran Flycatchers were eliminated because they are greenish.  The bill is another reason this bird is not a Gray Flycatcher, which has a long bill, or a Hammond's, which has a dark lower bill.  The two-tone orange lower bill, transitioning to a darker color gradually, is unique to Dusky flycatcher, too.  There are also things about the wings, but that gets very technical.  The bill and the throat are enough to convince me that this was a Dusky Flycatcher.  It is still early for any of those species, and I hadn't expected to see any of them.  They should all be showing up in the next 2 or 3 weeks, except Willow Flycatcher, which is later.

 

So, I was on my way home when I found a surprise year-bird, at the last possible minute.  I had an easy drive home and beat the traffic, arriving home at about 2:45.  I added 3 more species to my April list today, to bring it to 186 species.  Two of those were new for the year, so now I have 238 species for the year.  On the two day trip I added 19 species to my Kittitas county list, to bring that list to 112 species now.  It was a great trip for numbers, the weather was great, I got some pictures, and I got home safely.  What more can one ask?

 

 

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

 

Yesterday I more or less took the day off.  I only made a quick trip over to the Ste. Michelle Winery to look for Cackling Goose, but I only saw a couple of Canada Geese.  Today I went up to Edmonds to try for a few species that had been reported up there.  My first stop was Yost Memorial Park.  My main target was a warbler that has just shown up this week, the first ones coming back from their winter migration.

 

I walked along the path up on the hillside, watching and listening.  I played some bird songs, but I got no responses.  I saw a pair of chickadees that seemed to be preparing a nest hole, an Orange-crowned Warbler, and 2 or 3 Yellow-rumped Warblers.  I took this picture of a male Spotted Towhee that was posing for me.

 

I talked with another birder who was also looking for the same warbler I was looking for, but he hadn't seen one either.  He left and I played some more bird songs.  After a while longer I noticed another birder a short distance away.  I approached him, and he was also looking for the warbler.  He said he had seen one in a particular tree, and he had placed his phone on the ground under the tree, playing calls of the species.

 

We both kept looking at the tree and after a couple of minutes the guy went over to his phone to try another call.  While he was working with his phone, I noticed a bird flitting around right next to him.  I told him, and he backed off.  The bird that was flitting around the phone on the ground was indeed a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, my main target species.  The bird hung around, but I had a hard time finding it in my viewfinder.  It went up into a small tree, and I got this picture of it, partially hidden behind some leaves.

 

I kept trying, and I got this frontal view of the Black-throated Gray Warbler.

 

The bird wouldn't sit still for long, but eventually I got this picture that I like very much of the Black-throated Gray Warbler singing.

 

I only see Black-throated Gray Warblers once or twice a year, if that often, so it was very satisfying to get one today, with pictures, no less.

 

I walked around a little more, playing the song of another species I have seen at that park, and eventually I saw a Hutton's Vireo, another species I don't see very often at all.  I had seen one in March, so it wasn't a year-bird, but it was still an excellent one to get for April.

 

Next I went down to Edmonds Marsh, looking for the American Pipits that had been reported there yesterday.  I never found any pipits, but I got these next two pictures of Least Sandpipers.

 

 

After that I went over to Sunset Avenue and scoped the water, hoping for a Pacific Loon.  There wasn't much out there, but I did see a Common Loon in breeding plumage, a pair of Harlequin Ducks, and a pair of Rhinoceros Auklets.  I didn’t need any of those for April, but next week, any one of them would be an excellent May bird.  Likewise the many Brant along the shore and the Least Sandpipers at the marsh.  I hope some of them hang around for another week.

 

As I was leaving, I heard a bird singing, and it turned out to be a White-crowned Sparrow, posing for me.

 

So, I managed to add 2 more species to my April list, to bring it to 188.  One of them was new for the year, so now I have 239 species for the year.  There isn't much more I can get this month, but I have one or two possibilities, so we'll see.

 

 

Thursday, April 26, 2018

 

Today's report is short and sweet.  There is little left for me to get for April, but one species has started to return, and I went over to the north end of Lake Sammamish to see if they had returned yet to their nest boxes.  They had.  Here is a picture that shows 10 PURPLE MARTINS by my count.

 

I have a place where I can pull off the road and see these nest boxes, and it is my "go to" spot for Purple Martin during the nesting season.  Since they had just returned this week, I didn't know if they would already be hanging around the nest boxes, but it turned out that they were.

 

After that I poked around Marymoor Park for a while and stopped near Phantom Lake in Bellevue on my way to meeting my buddy, Chris, for lunch.  That was it for today.  I added one more species to my April list, to make it 189 now.  Purple Martin was also a year-bird, and now I have 240 species for the year.  Like I said - short and sweet.

 

 

Friday, April 27, 2018

 

This morning I went down to my local park, Juanita Bay Park.  I was looking for one returning migrant in particular that has been reported in several places in the last couple of days, including at Juanita Bay Park this morning.  I walked around, playing bird songs and watching.  Out on the causeway I saw a little flock of birds feeding in a tree, so I took a look.  Most of them were Yellow-rumped Warblers, but sometimes warblers are in mixed flocks, so I looked at each one.  One of them turned out to be a male Wilson's Warbler, the very species I was looking for.  That was an excellent April bird - one that I hadn't expected to get because it is still pretty early for them to be back.  It was my first one of the year locally, but I had seen one down in San Diego in March, so it wasn't a year-bird.

 

I walked around some more, enjoying the fact that my Achilles tendon is pretty much healed now.  I only get a few twinges from it now and then.  It took a full two and a half years for it to heal, from when I first felt the pain.  Resting it, by wearing the boot, seems to be what turned the corner for me in the healing process.  I wish I had tried that sooner.

 

Anyway, back to the birding, I didn't get anything else for my lists today, but I saw a few interesting birds.  There were two pairs of Cinnamon Teal there, close enough for pictures.  Cinnamon Teal are fairly uncommon around here.  Here is a picture of a pair of Cinnamon Teal.  I'll leave it to the reader to work out which one is the male.

 

There was a Pied-billed Grebe hanging out with them.

 

There was also a male Northern Shoveler, which must be getting ready to head north soon.

 

Most of the ducks are paired up at this time of year, and I wonder why this one was alone.  Here is a front view, showing his unusual bill better.

 

As I was heading back to my car, resting on a bench for a minute, an American Crow flew in and posed for me.

 

 

I managed to add one more species to my April list today, to bring it to 190.  My year list stayed at 240 species.  There might not be any more reports until May starts next week; it's just getting too difficult to add more species for April.  On the other hand, maybe I'll get lucky, or maybe I'll just get some good pictures to share, so we'll see.

 

 

Saturday, April 28, 2018

 

Well, I got lucky today, so here is another report.  It was raining lightly when I got up, but it was fading away to a drizzle when I got to Marymoor Park.  I drove around the parking lot where American Pipits have been seen this week, but I couldn't find any.  I parked in the west parking lot for the off-leash dog park and watched the skies.  There were dozens of swallows flying around, and I kept watching them, looking for a swift species that has just returned from migration.  I saw 2 or 3 birds that I thought were swifts, but finally I got a good look at a VAUX'S SWIFT, the one I was looking for.  Swifts look a lot like swallows, so it takes some judgment, but I feel confident in my identification.

 

The drizzle had pretty much stopped, so I went over to the rowing club on the other side of the slough.  I walked down to the slough, playing the songs of Golden-crowned Kinglet and Warbling Vireo, another migrant that has just come back.  I didn't see or hear either of those species, but there was a bird calling repeatedly as I approached the slough.  It sounded familiar, so I tried what I thought it was on my phone, to check, and I decided it was indeed a SWAINSON'S THRUSH, another early returning migrant.  There aren't any reports on eBird yet this year for the county, but I've seen a couple of posts on Tweeters from people who have seen them this year.  The bird kept calling, but I couldn't lure it out of the deep brush for a view.  I'm no good on bird calls, but this one kept it up, and I was playing the same call on my phone, for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, so I feel pretty confident of the ID, although it is one to two weeks earlier than has been reported on eBird the last 3 years at Marymoor.  Lots of migrants seem to be early this year, though.

 

After that, I went over to the mansion area and walked around.  There were a lot of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the trees, and I got this picture of one of them.

 

I saw nothing else of interest in that area.  Since it had been a couple of hours since I had driven around the grass and gravel parking lot looking for American Pipits, I went back there and drove around again.  No luck the second time either.  I did get this picture of an Osprey at the nest platform by the bicycle race track.

 

Back at home I got this picture of a male Spotted Towhee.

 

To my surprise, I added two more species to my April list today, to bring it to 192 species.  Both of them were new for the year, too, and now I have 242 species for the year.  It felt good to get out and walk around a little today, despite the rain and drizzle.  I even went down to Juanita Bay Park after lunch and tried there, but got nothing.  There are just two more days in April left, and then I get to start all over for May.

 

 

Sunday, April 29, 2018

 

Today I went over to Marymoor Park.  First I drove around the large gravel and grass parking lot near the climbing rock, looking for American Pipits, but I didn't find any. 

 

As I drove into the parking lot, I saw a couple of Savannah Sparrows in the grass.  Here is one of them.

 

If you look closely, you can barely see some dandelion seed in its beak.  It was pecking away at the dandelions that had gone to seed.  Here it is, reaching for another bite of seed (the white fluff that dandelions produce when they are finished flowering).

 

Driving into the lot, I noticed three orange pylons, though, and as I suspected, they marked a Killdeer nest.  Here is a Killdeer sitting on its nest, which is only a scrape in the ground, right out in the open.

 

Here is a shot that shows the three pylons and the bird in the middle bottom of the picture.

 

It sure seems like a precarious place for a nest, with people walking their dogs off-leash (illegally) and lots of car, bike, and pedestrian traffic in the area.  I would think that various predators would find the nest, too.  Once the eggs hatch, then the chicks have to run around out in the open until they are able to fly.  I'll be interested to watch the nest from afar and see if the parents have success.  Maybe I can get pictures of the Killdeer chicks, which are very cute.

 

Next I went over to the west parking area for the dog park and walked along the slough through the dog park.  There weren't many birds at all, but there were many dozens of people and their dogs.  I played the songs of Golden-crowned Kinglet and Warbling Vireo many places, but never got any response, except at one point a couple of Black-capped Chickadees responded to the Golden-crowned Kinglet song.  Here is a Black-capped Chickadee.

 

Here is a Black-capped Chickadee singing its little chickadee song back to me.

 

I walked quite a bit, and I sat from time to time on benches, but I didn't see much.  I did get this partially obscured picture of a male Northern Flicker toward the end of my walk.

 

After that, I drove over to the office area and walked around some more.  I thought I heard a Warbling Vireo singing, and I tried to track it down.  I was never able to see it, and the song sounded too much like that of Purple Finch for me count it as a Warbling Vireo.  It could have been either one of those species, according to my tin ear.

 

As I was getting back to my car, I saw some White-crowned Sparrows, and one of them flew into a puddle and took a bath.  I love to watch birds bathing, and I got a whole series of pictures of the White-crowned Sparrow bathing.

 

 

It rested for a few seconds, and here is a picture of a very wet White-crowned Sparrow.

 

It continued its bath.

 

It didn't hesitate to put its head under the water, too.

 

It just kept splashing away.

 

Here it is when it was just about done.

 

I was about done for the day, but I drove through the parking lot one more time, looking for American Pipits, unsuccessfully.  The Killdeer on the nest had moved, or maybe it was the mate.  This time I saw the other one in the area, foraging for food, apparently.  Here is another close-up of the Killdeer on its nest.

 

Here is the nest area with its pylons, from a different angle than before.

 

The Killdeer is jus to the right of the middle pylon, at the edge of the gravel.

 

So, I didn't get anything new today.  I'm still at 192 species for April and 242 for the year.  I'm looking forward to Tuesday, when May starts.  I have a list of 44 species that will be leaving the area in May - many of them are probably already gone, but I'll be looking for those species first, trying to get as many as possible before they fly off to their breeding grounds for the summer.  There will also be many species returning, to breed here, but not as many as are leaving, I think.