February 2018

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Thursday, February 1, 2018

A new month begins. Since I'm doing what I call Monthly Birding this year, I started a new list today. A fresh start. I'll also keep adding to my year list, and when I see a new species for the first time this year, I'll still use ALL CAPS to designate it.

I didn't feel real great this morning. My bowels have been marginal for weeks, and today they were worse than usual. Enough said. As I wandered around the house taking care of my morning routines, I watched the bird feeder and the yard. My first bird of the month was Dark-eyed Junco. I soon added Rock Pigeon (the common pigeons we all see all the time), Red-winged Blackbird, and a single House Finch. Both chickadees, Black-capped Chickadee and Chestnut-backed Chickadee, made their appearance at the feeder, as did a cute little Bewick's Wren. American Crows eventually showed up, as did an Anna's Hummingbird and a Spotted Towhee. There were some tiny birds in one of the pine trees, and I went out into the yard, despite the light rain, and eventually determined that it was a mixed flock of both Golden-crowned Kinglets and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Those were both excellent species to get in our yard, as I don't see either one in the yard very often. That was 13 species in our yard, in about 20 or 30 minutes. There were at least five more species that I regularly see in the yard that didn't show up today, too. There's plenty of time to see those species this month, though.

I didn't feel like getting far from home, and it was still sprinkling lightly, but I went down to Juanita Beach Park. Not Juanita Bay Park, but the beach park, on the north side of the bay. It was a shorter walk to the place I could see some birds than if I had gone over to Juanita Bay Park.

I soon saw some ducks, including Mallards, Gadwalls, American Wigeons, and Wood Ducks. Using my scope to scan the shore east of the dock, I saw Killdeer and Wilson's Snipe. Wilson's Snipe was the "best" species of the day, and the one I was looking for there. Scanning the bay, I added American Coot, Double-crested Cormorant, Pied-billed Grebe, Lesser Scaup, and a single Common Goldeneye. That made a total of 24 species for the day, and I called it quits and went home. Not much birding, no photos, and nothing very difficult, although I was glad to get the snipe and the two kinglets. The next several days are supposed to be pretty rainy, so I don't know how much birding I'll be able to do.

Friday, February 2, 2018

It wasn't raining this morning when I set out, but it did rain quite a bit later on. I drove over to the Snoqualmie River Valley near Carnation, to see what I could find. By the time I got over there it was drizzling and I spent most of the time doing car birding.

At the pond on W. Snoqualmie Valley Rd NE, I added Trumpeter Swan to my February list, as well as Belted Kingfisher. I saw Bald Eagles several times today as well. At a pond along NE 100th St I saw a pair of Northern Shovelers and some Green-winged Teal. There were American Robins at various places today, too.

At Sikes Lake I added Red-tailed Hawk to my February list and got this picture.

I played some sparrow songs there, and got this picture of my first Fox Sparrow of February.

I saw my first European Starlings along that stretch, too. From Ames Lake-Carnation Rd NE I saw a raptor. I got some pictures and decided it was a Cooper's Hawk, a good February bird.

On 310th Ave NE I saw my first Brewer's Blackbirds for February. It had started to rain pretty good by then, but along NE 60th St I spotted a bird on a fence that I knew was something different. I got some pictures through the open window, with the rain coming in to the passenger side of the car. It was a very early SAY'S PHOEBE, my first of the year. Say's Phoebe is pretty uncommon in Western Washington at any time of year, and they are sometimes seen in March as they migrate through here. Here are a couple of pictures of the Say's Phoebe, which was catching flying insects in the rain.

Next I drove into Carnation and stopped at the house with feeders. There was very little around, but I saw a flock of BUSHTITS at one of the suet feeders. I looked for Bushtits all of January and never found them. Here is a picture of some of them swarming on the suet.

A single Pine Siskin got some seed from one of the seed feeders, and I took this picture.

A Downy Woodpecker was in a tree, so that one went onto my February list, too. There were some Eurasian Collared-Doves in a nearby tree where I have seen them before. I drove down the entrance road to Tolt-MacDonald Park, and on the way back I added Steller's Jay to my list.

From there I headed south and saw Canada Geese, Great Blue Herons, and a couple of Common Ravens. I was headed to Neal Road, where I had seen the Rusty Blackbird a week or two ago. Up until then it had been raining to one degree or another, and all the birds and pictures up until then were obtained from my car. As I drove up Neal Road, the weather cleared up and I actually saw some blue sky. At the north end of Neal Road I finally got out of my car and used my scope to look at the birds in the cottonwood trees across the river. I was there for about half an hour, and it was actually sunny for most of the time. I couldn't find the Rusty Blackbird, but I did see a couple of male Brown-headed Cowbirds, which was a good one for my list.

It was getting late, so I headed for home. While driving back up toward Carnation, I added Golden-crowned Sparrow, Cackling Goose, and Bufflehead to my list. Back at the house with feeders, there still weren't many birds around, and I found out why. A hawk flew in and posed briefly for me. I decided it was another Cooper's Hawk, rather than the more desirable Sharp-shinned Hawk. Here are a couple of pictures of what I think was a very wet juvenile Cooper's Hawk.

I resumed my journey toward home, and at the pond at Chinook Bend I added Ring-necked Duck to my list. Here is a picture of three male Ring-necked Ducks.

There was also a female Hooded Merganser there, and I got this picture.

It was past my lunch time by then, but I kept seeing birds. I added Northern Pintail, White-crowned Sparrow, and Common Merganser after that, as I was leaving the valley.

That was it for today. Almost all my birding was from the car. I only got out 2 or 3 times, and didn't get very far from the car even then. It drizzled or rained most of the time, but I still managed to get 29 more species for my February list, to bring it to 53 species. Two of the species today were new for the year for me, and now my year list stands at 135 species.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

I had planned to go up to Skagit county today for birds, but I didn't feel very good, and I decided not to venture out. The bowel issues that have bothered me off and on for a couple of months weren't good this morning. I stayed in this morning and read, although I did see a Red-breasted Nuthatch at our feeder, for my February list.

This afternoon I felt better, and although it was raining lightly, I went over to Marymoor Park to try for Green Heron and Lincoln's Sparrow. Seeing each one of those is a matter of luck, and all you can do is to keep looking. I didn't find either one, which wasn't surprising to me. As I drove out I saw a number of gulls on one of the soccer fields, though, and I pulled up to take a look. I ended up adding Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, and Ring-billed Gull to my February list, to bring it to 57 species. That was it for Saturday.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

This morning I headed across the lake to West Seattle, to look for Black Turnstone and Surfbird. I parked at the view point and immediately found a mixed group of about 15 birds, roosting while the tide was high. Here is a picture of a Surfbird and a Black Turnstone with their heads tucked under their wings.

The Surfbird is the larger one on the left, with the spots on its underside. Here is a picture of a Surfbird preening, showing its tail and the yellow on its bill.

Here is a Black Turnstone from the rear.

Here is one more of a Surfbird.

Both of those species are uncommon around here, but that stretch of shoreline seems to be pretty reliable for them in the winter. While I was there, I added Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, and Surf Scoter to my February list.

So, having gotten the two "rockpipers", I drove over to the north side of Portage Bay, near the University of Washington, to look for another uncommon species (around here). I didn’t see one on my initial drive through, but I parked and walked a little and eventually saw a California Scrub-Jay. Here are a couple of pictures of it.

From Sakuma Viewpoint I saw a pair of Common Mergansers. I didn't need that one for February, but I got pictures of both the male and the female. First, here is the female Common Merganser, with her wild hairdo.

The male Common Merganser looks completely different.

He must have a different hairdresser.

Those were my three main targets for the day (Black Turnstone, Surfbird, and California Scrub-Jay), but I stopped at Magnuson Park on my way home to see if I could pick up any more good species. I found a couple of California Gulls on the swim raft, and that was a good one. I saw a Western Grebe way out on the lake, and that was another. I walked around the place where I had seen Cedar Waxwings a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't find that one. There was a large raft of scaup out on the lake, though, and I picked up Greater Scaup for my list.

On the pond in the wetlands, there was a pair of Ring-necked Ducks. I didn't need that species, but they were posing for me, and I always like to show the gender differences in birds, so here is a male Ring-necked Duck.

The female Ring-necked Duck looks quite different.

I made one more stop on the way home, to try to find the male Eurasian Wigeon that I had seen at Matthews Beach a couple of times in January. There were a couple of small groups of wigeons around. Here is a female American Wigeon.

Here is a male American Wigeon.

I didn't need American Wigeon, but I needed Eurasian Wigeon, their Asiatic cousin, and the male Eurasian Wigeon was still there.

As I was leaving there were three American Crows foraging around, and I took this picture of one of them.

It was fast approaching my lunch time, so I boogied on home without any more stops. I added 11 more species to my February list, to bring me to 68 species for the month.

Monday, February 5, 2018

I forgot to mention yesterday that I saw a male Barrow's Goldeneye for my February list, over in West Seattle.

This morning I decided to go up to Edmonds for the first time this month, to pick up some saltwater birds. On the way I stopped in Lake Forest Park at the house where I usually see Band-tailed Pigeons. Sure enough, as I pulled up, I spotted several of them in a tree. I pulled over and watched as they flew around a little, and I tried for pictures. As I was sitting there with my window open, taking pictures, a guy pulled up alongside and said "Band-tailed Pigeons, huh?" He turned out to live in the house with the feeder that attracts them to the neighborhood. He was very friendly and we had a nice little chat. Here is one of the Band-tailed Pigeons.

I went on to Edmonds and tried the Edmonds Marsh first. I played Marsh Wren songs, but never saw anything of interest there. I moved on to Sunset Avenue, after a brief stop at Marina Beach, where I saw nothing of interest.

At Sunset, I set up my scope and soon saw some Red-breasted Mergansers for my list. I needed two of the three local cormorant species still, and all three of the species were sitting next to each other on the floating log offshore. I added Pelagic Cormorant and Brant's Cormorant to my list.

There were a number of Brant (a small goose) out there, as well as four Pacific Loons, both good ones for my list. I also added Black Scoter and Pigeon Guillemot to my list before I left. I had some time, so I went on up to Mukilteo, to try for a couple of species up there. At Edgewater park I found three pairs of Marbled Murrelets, which was one of the species I was hoping for. Here is a very distant picture of a Marbled Murrelet.

A bird surfaced fairly close to shore with a fish in its beak, and it turned out to be a Red-throated Loon, another excellent one for my list. Here are a couple of fairly distant pictures of the Red-throated Loon.

There was a single Bonaparte's Gull nearby, too, and that was another species I was hoping to find there. It came in pretty close, and I got this picture.

In the summer its whole head will be black, but this is its winter plumage.

I ended up adding 11 more species to my February list, which was great. Now it stands at 79 species, and it is only the 5th of the month. That sound pretty good, but I was actually at 82 species after January 5th, so I'm just a bit behind last month. January was a real barnburner, though, and I don't expect to match it this month.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Today I had an early lunch appointment, so I couldn't do too much this morning. As I went out to the garage, I saw a bird at the suet feeder, and it turned out to be my first Yellow-rumped Warbler for February. After that, I set out for Juanita Bay Park just after 9:00, and it was mizzling (between a mist and a drizzle). On the way to the park, which is only about 6 or 7 minutes away, it turned into a real drizzle, and I had to run my windshield wipers. Once I got to the park, though, it soon quit altogether.

I first tried for Brown Creeper, up the stairs from the parking lot. I have been able to attract them there before with their songs, but not today. I gave that up and went down to the east boardwalk. I played Marsh Wren and Pacific Wren on the first part of the boardwalk, but never attracted either one that I detected.

Out farther on the boardwalk I tried Virginia Rail calls, and eventually I heard a response. I moved toward the sound, and played some more, and got several more responses. It went onto my list as a "heard only" bird, since I could never catch a glimpse of one of them.

At the end of the boardwalk I saw a couple of Barn Swallows swooping around. This is quite early historically for Barn Swallows, but they have been showing up lots of places this year, perhaps indicating an early spring. Other species have also been showing up quite early. It was a nice one to get for February.

On my way back to the car I once again played Marsh Wren and Pacific Wren songs, and just as I was about to give it up and go back to the car, I saw some motion near the ground, and it turned out to be my first Pacific Wren for February.

I had a little time still, so I went over to Marymoor Park. I tried for Green Heron at the rowing club pond and Lincoln's Sparrow near the compost piles, but came up empty on both of them.

That was all my official birding for today, but after my lunch with my friend, Chris, we went over to Phantom Lake, as usual when it isn't pouring rain. There were two Northern Flickers in a tall tree where we often see them, and they were my first ones for the month. I soon spotted a raptor perched on a tree without leaves, and took a series of pictures of it. It was pretty far away, but based on my pictures, I could see it was an accipiter, a member of a family of small hawks that includes both Sharp-shinned Hawk and Cooper's Hawk around here. Here are four distant pictures of the bird.

I had an opinion as to the identity, but I wanted concurrence if possible, so I sent a couple of the pictures to my birding buddy, Hank, and asked him and his wife to take a look at them. I withheld my own opinion because I didn’t want to prejudice them. They both said Sharp-shinned Hawk, which was also my own opinion, although I can see conflicting pieces of evidence in my pictures. Anyway, I'm going to call it a Sharp-shinned Hawk for my February list, an excellent one to get.

I added 6 more species to my February list, despite my abbreviated day of birding, to bring me to 85 species total now for the month of February. The weather looks a bit iffy tomorrow, but I'm thinking I will go up to Skagit county for some birds I see up there in the winter that aren't down here closer to home. I'll mostly be in the car anyway, so a few showers shouldn’t really be a problem. We'll see what I can get.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Today I planned to go up to Skagit county, which is roughly an hour north of home, up I-5. As I was pulling out of our driveway, though, I saw a small group of Bushtits around our suet feeder. Here is one of them on the suet.

They were feeding in the nearby bushes as well. Here are two more pictures of Bushtits.

There was also a Yellow-rumped Warbler at the suet feeder.

Yellow-rumped Warblers have a bunch of different plumages. There are two different subspecies that look quite different, and both subspecies also have gender and seasonal differences. The one thing that is constant across all the different plumages is the yellow rump. It is the only warbler species with a yellow rump, I think. Here the Yellow-rumped Warbler is showing off its yellow butt.

I didn't need either of those species for my lists, but I like the pictures I got.

I stopped and picked up a sandwich at Subway and then proceeded up to Bow Hill Road, north of Burlington. I stopped along the road near the house where the rare (for this area) Blue Jay has been hanging out, to see if it was still around. I added Mourning Dove to my list, and as I was looking at some Mourning Doves, the owner of the house noticed me and waved me in. I parked and went around to where the feeders are, and the guy told me that he thought he had seen the Blue Jay at the end of last week, but he has been busy and wasn't sure if it was still around. There haven't been any reports on eBird for a couple of weeks, so I figured the bird had moved on. It's hard to tell, though, because it had been around for a couple of months, and maybe most of the people who wanted to see it already had. Once reports stop showing up, people don't bother going to look, so there are even fewer reports. Anyway, I stuck around for about ten minutes, in case it showed up.

I was just about ready to leave when a bird flew through the yard, and it looked to me like it might be the Blue Jay. I hurried around to the front of the house, but I didn't see where it went. Then I saw a bird fly from a tree and go across the road, and I got my binoculars on it. I had heard a jay-type call, but I thought it might be a Steller's Jay. The bird I saw was not a Steller's Jay, though, because it was blue and white, not blue and black. I saw the Blue Jay briefly after it landed across the road, too. I hadn't expected to see it, but I added Blue Jay to my February list.

Next I drove to the little town of Edison and drove around looking for the Merlin that hangs out there every winter. I didn't see it on the first pass through town, but I went around again, going down some different streets, and I found it. Here is a picture of my first Merlin of February.

After that I went to the place on Sunset Road where I had seen a Prairie Falcon last month, but I didn't see it today. I backtracked and headed toward Samish Island, looking for various birds. I saw several Rough-legged Hawks for my list, and at the corner called the East 90, I saw a NORTHERN SHRIKE on a wire, my first one this year. As I got out of the car to try for a picture, an American Kestrel flew in and displaced the shrike. I needed both of those species for my list. I turned around to see if I could re-locate the Northern Shrike, and it was again on the wire. This time I got a picture.

There were dozens of Bald Eagles around, as always in the winter, and at the East 90 corner, an immature Bald Eagle was sitting with its wings spread out like it was drying them out. It had been drizzling off and on all morning, and the bird looked wet.

A stop at the West 90 didn't produce anything, so I went on to Samish Island and stopped at the Day Use site on the north side of the island. I got out my scope and looked out on the water from up on the cliff. There wasn't much out there, but I did manage to add Long-tailed Duck and Common Loon to my list for the month. As I was getting back into my car I spotted a Brown Creeper on some evergreen tree trunks, and that was another one for my list. Here is a kind of blurry picture of a Brown Creeper.

Pictures were difficult today because with the heavy overcast and drizzle there wasn't much light. Brown Creepers sure blend into their environment, don't they?

I backtracked to the West 90 and ate the first half of my lunch there. It was drizzling enough that I couldn't really see much from the car windows as I ate, and I didn't add anything new there. Back on the road again after lunch, I saw a Western Meadowlark flying away from the road, and it was easy to identify it by the white on its tail feathers and its overall size and shape. That was another one I needed for February. I saw Northern Harriers a couple of times, too, and that was another February bird.

I went back to Sunset Road and tried again for Prairie Falcon, but again missed it. There were a lot of flooded fields up there today, and when I tried to head south on Farm-to-Market Road, I rain into a Road Closed sign. I had heard that there were roads closed in the area, and I had seen video last night on the news of a levee break in the area. Anyway, I backtracked to the Edison-Bay View Road and headed toward home. I detoured to Valentine Road as I came up out of the Skagit Flats, to visit the house with feeders. The feeders were all well-stocked and there were tons of birds at them. As I ate the second half of my lunch, I tried for pictures but the only decent ones I got were of woodpeckers. I added Hairy Woodpecker to my February list, and I got this picture of a female Hairy Woodpecker.

There were at least four Downy Woodpeckers coming in to the suet, two males and two females. I got this picture of the two male Downy Woodpeckers at the suet.

One of the things I like about that place is that I can sit in my car on the road and take pictures out of the driver's side window.

I was still looking for two large white birds, and as I came on to Fir Island, I added Tundra Swan to my February list, and I got this picture.

I drove around Fir Island and managed to find a flock of Snow Geese, to get the other large white bird for my list.

My next stop was Wylie Slough. A rare (for this area) flycatcher, Black Phoebe, had been hanging out there for weeks, and I had seen it two or three times last month. There hadn't been any reports for the last several days, though, so I didn't know if I would see it or not. As it turned out, I didn't find it, so maybe it has moved on. Or, maybe it was just taking a break somewhere. It wasn't in its normal place, anyway. I didn't see anything else there, either, but as I was driving back to the main road I saw an interesting looking bird in a distant tree, and I stopped and got out my scope. It turned out to be a lovely Peregrine Falcon, which was an excellent one for my February list.

My final stop of the day was at Eide Road, just wests of Stanwood. The Snow Buntings that had been there for several weeks seem to have moved on. I knew there hadn't been any reports on them for several days, so I wasn't surprised, but I wanted to check, anyway.

That was it for my long day of birding. It was still an hour's drive home, and I got home about 4:30.

It was a very successful day of birding for my lists, even though a couple of rarities seem to have moved on. I added 15 species to my February list, to bring it to an even 100 species. I added one to my year list, to make it 136 now. 100 species after just one week in February is actually pretty good, and it is 4 ahead of January's pace, when I had 96 after the first week. Tomorrow I plan to head south to Federal Way to try to pick up three duck species, and then on Friday I plan to go over to the Olympic Peninsula and stay overnight in Sequim, to try to add more species. The weather supposedly should be better for the next few days. It has been pretty rainy lately.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Finally we had an almost completely dry day. It was still cloudy, but at least it wasn't raining. I went south today, to Federal Way, which is a town north of Tacoma, about 45 minutes south of home. My first stop was at what birders call Weyerhaeuser Pond, which is a small lake in front of the Weyerhaeuser International Headquarters. I was looking for three uncommon ducks I needed, and I got all three of them. Here is a female Canvasback.

The Canvasback is the duck on the right. The one on the left is a male Redhead, which was another one I needed for February. The third species was Ruddy Duck, and I saw one of those as well. Three for three. Excellent, and well worth the drive.

Since I was already way down south, I went over to Dash Point Pier, on Puget Sound. There were two species I was looking for there, but it was quite windy, which was a problem. The wind not only made waves out on the water, which obscured the birds as they bobbed up and down, even worse was that the wind shook my tripod. I have a very sturdy (and heavy) tripod, but at 60X zoom, the image still shook a lot. There wasn’t much around, although after a while I saw a couple of Rhinoceros Auklets, which was one of my target species for my February list. Here is a Rhino Auklet.

I didn't need Surf Scoter, but I took this picture of an immature male Surf Scoter that had caught some kind of food, maybe a mussel.

In the distance I could see a bunch of birds, and I tried to identify them, when my tripod would stay still enough. Most of them were Surf Scoters, but eventually I saw at least two male White-winged Scoters, and that was my second target species for my February list. When I walked back to my car, I tried again from the base of the pier, where there was a lot less wind, and I could easily see several male White-winged Scoters. I should have looked from there in the first place, rather than out on the pier in the wind. Lesson learned.

I had all five of my target species for the day, but I stopped at Dash Point State Park anyway, just to check it out. There was a place from which you could see the water, and there was a raft of birds out there. From the car with binoculars, I could see that most of them were Surf Scoters, but some were also White-winged Scoters. Dash Point Pier is in Pierce county, but the State Park is in King county, and the two scoter species were new for King county for me. Weyerhaeuser Pond is in King county, and Redhead was also new for my King county list. I've seen Redheads in King county before, but I guess I forgot to add them to my county list, so the species went onto my King county list today.

As I drove slowly through Dash Point State Park, it occurred to me that it was perfect habitat for Varied Thrush, which I also needed for February. In the beach parking lot, I saw a bird fly up from the ground into some bushes, and it looked interesting. I parked and played Varied Thrush songs on my phone. There were a couple of Northern Flickers, some Dark-eyed Juncos, a Spotted Towhee, some robins, and one Pine Siskin around, but I didn't need any of those. Then I saw a female Varied Thrush that was obviously interested in my playback. She stayed in the bushes, but I got this peek-a-boo pictrue of her through the branches. Female Varied Thrush.

One of the American Robins posed for me, and I couldn't resist taking this picture.

I left the state park, and on my way home I checked out another south sound location I had never visited, Redondo Pier. I didn't stop there, but it was nice to see another new place for the future.

I got all five of my target species today, with a bonus Varied Thrush as well, for a total of 6 new species for February. I also realized today that I had seen a couple of House Sparrows yesterday up in Skagit county, but I had forgotten to count them for February. With House Sparrow and the 6 species today, I'm now at 107 species. I didn't get to 107 in January until the 12th, so I'm 4 days ahead of January's pace. Of course, direct comparisons are meaningless because it all depends on which places I go and when I go there, but after doing so great in January, it is interesting to be running ahead of the January count. Unfortunately, I can't possibly match January's total of 133 in February because there were so many rarities around in January, and most of them have now moved on. I added three more species to my King county list today, to bring it to 155 species. Tomorrow I plan to head across Puget Sound to the north end of the Olympic Peninsula, and I hope to add another 7 or 8 species to February on that trip. The weather is supposed to be good, anyway. I plan to spend the night in Sequim, on the Olympic Peninsula.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

I called off my trip over to Sequim last week because I came down with a respiratory infection. I was pretty much out of action for about five days. I did go up to Edmonds one day, but I didn't see anything interesting or get any pictures.

Today I finally felt good enough to venture out, although I'm far from 100%. There were reports yesterday of a year bird for me, over at Sikes Lake, near Carnation in the Snoqualmie River Valley. I drove out there this morning, got out of the car, and played the songs of the target bird. In about 30 seconds a SWAMP SPARROW popped up and looked around for about a minute, while I took pictures. Swamp Sparrows are fairly rare in Western Washington, and it was my first one this year and only the second one I have ever seen in Washington. The first one was before I was keeping county lists or a state list, so it was new for my Washington State and King County lists, too. Here are a couple of pictures of the Swamp Sparrow.

That was great, to get a year-bird right off the bat. Next I stopped at the place with feeders in Carnation, hoping to see an American Goldfinch, but there was very little around. I went on to Tokul Creek to try for another February bird, American Dipper. It was still fishing season, but I only saw one fisherman today. I didn't see a dipper upstream, and at first I didn't see one downstream, but then I spotted one in the distance, downstream. Here are couple of distant pictures of the American Dipper today.

I had two of my three target birds for the day, having missed American Goldfinch, and one of the ones I got was a year-bird. I was quite satisfied with that, but then I got a text from my birding buddy, Hank, and he said he had been told that an owl was going to be released at Chinook Bend at 11:30. I had to go right by Chinook Bend on my way home, so I stopped there. A photographer named Greg was there, and he told me the story. A local birder named Vickie had found the owl in the road, apparently injured. She took it to a sanctuary/rehab place up in Arlington, and now, two weeks later, it was ready to be released back into the wild. A volunteer from the sanctuary was driving it down. Vickie, the woman who had found the owl showed up and she was in touch with the guy with the owl. He showed a short time later. Meanwhile, a King county guy had seen us there and stopped to see what was going on.

All five of us walked out along the trail, which included making our way across a beaver dam on a creek. The guy from the sanctuary released the bird, and very fortunately, it flew straight into the tree the guy was aiming the bird at, and it perched there. It stayed right there for the next 25 minutes or so, and we all took a lot of pictures. I wasn't sure if I should "count" the bird or not, since it had been captive and then released. I decided that if it had simply flown away, not to be seen again, I wouldn't have counted that as a sighting, but since it perched and hung around, I would count it. Here are some pictures of my very first NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL (lifer).

The bird is less than 7 inches high, about the size of a large sparrow, only wider.

Here's a picture of the other people who were there.

I finally dragged myself away after about 25 or 30 minutes, and the bird was still there when I left.

So, that made 3 new birds for February, to bring February to 110 species. Two of them were new for the year, to give me 138 species this year now. As I mentioned, the Northern Pygmy Owl was a lifer for me, and that brought my King county list to 157 (including the Swamp Sparrow, which was the first one I have recorded in Washington since I started keeping county lists). Those two species brought my Washington State list to 277 species, my official ABA US list to 570 (not counting Hawaii), and my life list to 1173 species.

I still feel lousy from the respiratory infection but the birds did cheer me up quite a bit.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

My respiratory infection is in Day 8 of symptoms now. Today I was coughing up a lot of phlegm, so maybe things are winding down. I still feel sick, though, and I tire easily.

Despite that, I'm bored with sitting around the house, and I headed up to Tulalip Bay this morning, about 40 minutes north of home on Puget Sound, west and north of Marysville. A rare (for this area) shorebird has been reported up there for a couple of days, and there were also a couple of other species I need for February in the area, so decided to go.

At the marina on the east side of the bay, where the rare shorebird was seen yesterday, I got out my scope and looked around. I spotted a couple of Black-bellied Plovers across the water, and then three Dunlin, another shorebird. I needed both of those for my February list, which was great. I couldn't find the rarity, though, nor the Black Turnstones that it has been hanging out with. After looking thoroughly, I was ready to give up and head for home, but I decided to go around to the west side of the bay and look from the road there. I did that, and although I didn't see anything at first, eventually I spotted some Black Turnstones on a spit at the south end of the bay. I didn't need Black Turnstone, but the rarity was supposedly associating with them.

I lost sight of the Black Turnstones while talking with a local resident who came out to chat, but I found them again in a short while. I moved back down the road to a closer vantage point, and I finally was able to pick out the RUDDY TURNSTONE, foraging on the rocky spit. That was a new 2018 bird for me, and a third species for my February list. I'm very glad that I stuck around and tried from the west side of the bay, because I have seen reports from several other birders who found the Ruddy Turnstone today, and I would have felt badly if I had missed it.

No pictures today; everything was much too far away. I added 3 species to February, to bring it to 113 species. My year list now stands at 139. There were other good birds around, including a number of Red-throated Loons, and I ended up adding 5 species to my Snohomish county list today, to bring it to 149 species.

I was worn out again this afternoon. I hope this infection passes soon.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

I'm ba-a-a-a-ck. I've been staying home because of this respiratory infection I've been fighting off, and finally I felt well enough today to go out birding. I got a late start because I was watching the USA Olympics curling team win a gold medal (delayed recording), but I headed out about 10:00. This was the first time I have actually felt like going birding in a couple of weeks.

I went over to the Snoqualmie River Valley near Carnation today. As I drove across the valley, I saw a Cooper's Hawk and got this picture.

I didn't need that one for my February list, but Cooper's Hawk is a good bird, and I was trying to get some pictures today. I stopped on the south side of Sikes Lake, up on the hill, and tried for sparrows. I took a lot of pictures of sparrows, but when I was transferring my images from my camera to my computer this afternoon, something happened, and I lost most of today's pictures. The only photo that survived from that particular stop was a Black-capped Chickadee.

I lost pictures of White-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos. From there I moved on to the town of Carnation and stopped at the house with feeders. There wasn't anything interesting around, so I moved on. With my late start, I was getting hungry by then, so I stopped at the Carnation Market and got an excellent ham and cheese sandwich. I took my sandwich to the Stillwater Unit and ate it in the car. I walked on the trail there, and it was a real joy to be able to walk without pain. My Achilles tendon isn't quite 100% healed, but there is just a hint of discomfort when I walk now. I took pictures of the trail and of some ducks, but those were among the ones I lost due to the computer problem. I played Marsh Wren songs in the appropriate habitat, and I saw one for my February list. I kept trying for photos, but the bird wouldn't sit still. I got one picture that showed one leg and the tail of the bird, and I was going to show it, but that was one of the lost ones. Still, I managed to get a new February species for my list, which was great.

I headed for home then, but I detoured back through Carnation to check out the feeders again. There were a few birds around, but no goldfinches, which was the species I was looking for there. Some Bushtits came to a suet feeder, and I got this picture, which survived my computer problem.

I took about a dozen pictures of the Bushtits at the suet, but this was the only one that survived. The bird on the left is a female because it has light-colored eyes.

As I was driving away, the birds scattered and a hawk flew in. I managed to get this picture of a Cooper's Hawk, my second of the day.

Again I headed for home, but I went along NE 60th St, and I stopped at a place where I have seen sparrows before. I played the song of Lincoln's Sparrow, although I hadn't ever seen that species in that place. I thought I saw a Lincoln's Sparrow respond, but it moved and I lost sight of it. After that, all I could identify were Fox Sparrows and Song Sparrows, so I decided I must not have been correct about the Lincoln's Sparrow, since they look so much like Song Sparrows. But, when I looked at my pictures, I had this picture, and I think it is indeed a Lincoln's Sparrow.

I hadn't even remembered that I had taken that picture, but there it was - a Lincoln's Sparrow, which was one for my February list.

On my way across the valley there were some Trumpeter Swans in a field, and I got this picture. The darker one in the middle is a juvenile Trumpeter Swan, hatched last year in the far north somewhere. The young birds stay with their parents for almost a full year after hatching.

It was really nice to feel like getting out there again, and I was quite pleased to actually get two species for my February list, to bring it to 115 species. My year total remains at 139. I hope this respiratory infection is almost gone now, and I hope to be able to get out birding every day again now. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

This morning I went over to Marymoor Park to look for Green Heron. First I tried at the rowing club pond and went on down to the slough there, but I didn't see any Green Herons. I went around to the dog park so I could walk along the slough through the dog park. There were a lot of Great Blue Herons around, as usual. Here is one of them.

One reason there are so many Great Blue Herons in that area is that they nest communally there. Here is a picture of a couple of dozen Great Blue Heron nests in the trees along the Sammamish Slough.

You can see the nests in the middle of the picture. Here is a closer view.

I was a bit surprised to find that there were already birds standing at some of the nests, presumably claiming them for the nesting season.

There were birds on the water, as usual. Here is a Pied-billed Grebe.

Here's a female Greater Scaup.

There were also some Common Goldeneyes, and here is a male.

For my last duck picture of the day, here is a male Green-winged Teal.

There were also coots, Mallards, and Gadwalls on the slough. I never found a Green Heron, though, or any other bird for my February list.

There were a lot of dogs and a lot of people using the off-leash dog park this morning. As I left I drove through the two parking lots for the dog park, and I counted 270 cars. Many of the cars had arrived with multiple people and multiple dogs, of course, so there were hundreds of people and dogs using the park. There was constant turnover, of course, but that was a snapshot at about 11:00 AM today.

Rather than go straight home, I swung by the Yarrow Bay Wetlands. There is a public pathway between a condo development and the wetlands, and someone has put well-stocked bird feeders in a couple of places. I was hoping to find an American Goldfinch or a Pileated Woodpecker, but I failed in that. I did get some pictures, though.

Here is an extreme close-up of a Dark-eyed Junco looking right at me.

Here is a nother view of a Dark-eyed Junco, showing its profile.

There were a couple of Northern Flickers around, but they didn't come down for pictures. I did get some shots of a male Downy Woodpecker that showed up but never came to the feeders because I was so close.

There were quite a few chickadees around, and once they got used to me being there, they kept coming in and grabbing seeds from the feeders. Here are a couple of close-ups of Black-capped Chickadees as they made their approach to the feeders and stopped to be sure it was safe.

I kept trying to get a picture at one of the feeders, but they usually grabbed a seed and took off before I could get a shot. I finally managed to get one good picture of a Black-capped Chickadee with a seed.

There were a couple of Spotted Towhees that came in a few times, but they didn't stick around for pictures either. I managed to get one shot of a Spotted Towhee as it was looking the situation over.

There were at least a half dozen Steller's Jays around and a lot of Red-winged Blackbirds. As I was leaving there was a mixed feeding flock of little birds in the trees. I saw one Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a couple of chickadees, and maybe a half dozen Yellow-rumped Warblers in the flock. While I was at the feeders, a small group of Bushtits came to one of the suet blocks, but my pictures of them didn't come out well. I briefly saw a Belted Kingfisher, too.

That was it for my day. It felt good to get out birding, and I was glad to be able to walk a little. I didn’t get anything new for my February list, which isn't surprising. I have 115 species now, and there aren't many more around here for me to get. If I feel up to it, I plan to go over to the Olympic Peninsula tomorrow and maybe stay overnight in Sequim. I could get another 6 or 8 species for my February list, but I'll only go if I feel recovered enough in the morning. My respiratory infection is mostly gone, but it's still hanging on a bit.

Monday, February 26, 2018

I felt fairly good this morning, so I hit the road for the Olympic Peninsula. I caught the 10:30 ferry from Edmonds to Kingston and stopped in Kingston to get a sandwich at Subway. My first birding stop was just across the Hood Canal floating bridge, at Shine Tidelands State Park. There has been a Spotted Sandpiper hanging around the boat ramp there for the last month, and I didn’t have that one this year yet. Unfortunately, the tide was high and I still don’t have it. I’ll try again tomorrow on my way home.

Undaunted, I pressed on to my next stop, the John Wayne Marina, which is near Sequim. As expected, I picked up Northwestern Crow for my February list there. I also got this picture of a male Eurasian Wigeon, an uncommon bird in this country,

My next stop was Dungeness Landing county park, and I ate half my sandwich there. After I ate, I got out my scope and scanned the offshore islands for shorebirds. I found the group of about 15 Marbled Godwits that have been hanging out there for weeks, and the rare (for this area) Willet was with them. Those were two good birds for February. I also added Western Gull to February. Here is a picture of what I believe is a Western Gull.

There were some gulls in the parking lot, and a couple of them looked interesting. I took a lot of pictures and when I looked at them, I wasn’t sure just what this gull was.

It was smaller than the Glacuous-winged Gulls nearby, and the shape of the head was interesting, as was the bill. I thought it might be a bird I don’t have this year, but I wasn’t willing to count it. This evening while I was researching tomorrow’s plans, I came across a couple of pictures of the gull I thought it might have been, and now I’m going to call it an ICELAND GULL. That is not only my first one of this year, it is my first one ever in Washington State. Up until last year, this gull would have been identified as a Thayer’s Gull, but the birding Powers That Be decreed that Thayer’s Gull was only a subspecies of Iceland Gull, so that’s what it is called this year – Iceland Gull. Either way, I hadn’t ever counted one in Washington State, mostly because the identification is very difficult, at least for me. I feel satisfied with my call today, but I could certainly be wrong. If it isn’t an Iceland Gull, though, then I don’t know what it could be.

So, having gotten the birds I was looking for along that shoreline, I drove into Port Angeles, eating the second half of my sandwich as I drove, and out onto Ediz Hook, which is a long arm that protects the harbor at Port Angeles. I didn’t need it, but I got this picture of a male Red-breasted Merganser.

Mergansers have very interesting hair-dos.

I did need Harlequin Duck still for February, and I got this picture of a male Harlequin Duck.

The light was wrong for all my pictures from Ediz Hook, but they are what they are. Harlequin Duck completed for February all the local ducks that I might expect to get.

There were shorebirds, and I got more pictures. The only one I needed for February was Sanderling, and here are three of the little cuties.

Here is a Black-bellied Plover, one of about 8 or 10 that I saw.

I saw just one Black Turnstone, and this was the best picture I could get.

There was just one Dunlin that I saw, and I didn’t get a picture of it.

After that I headed back to Sequim and visited the Audubon Center at the Dungeness River, also known as Railroad Park. I planned to take pictures at their feeders and I wanted to add California Quail to my February list. I saw 2 or 3 quail as soon as I got there, but a couple of people scared them off, and I didn’t see any more until just before I left. I have a folding chair in my car, and I used it today to sit and take pictures of birds at the feeders.

Here are a couple of pictures of a Red-breasted Nuthatch that came in repeatedly.

There were several Spotted Towhees around and I got this picture of one of them.

I only saw one Fox Sparrow, and I got this rather distant picture of it.

A male Hairy Woodpecker flew in to the suet, and I got this picture.

Later his much smaller cousin, a male Downy Woodpecker, fed at the same suet feeder. Note the much smaller bill and the much smaller size of this male Downy Woodpecker.

Yesterday I showed a couple of pictures of Black-capped Chickadees, and today I got this picture of a Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

Three Golden-crowned Sparrows showed up, and I got this picture of one of them.

My patience finally paid off and three California Quail came back and scratched around under the feeders. The problem was that there is wire fencing around that area, and I never was able to get a decent picture of the birds, partly because my camera kept focusing on the wire of the fencing instead of on the birds. Finally one of the males scratched around outside the fencing, and I got this picture of a male California Quail.

Before I left, I walked out onto the bridge over the Dungeness River to look for American Dipper, but I didn’t see one.

That was it for today. I’m spending the night in Sequim tonight, and tomorrow I plan to try for 2 or 3 more species on Marrowstone Island, which is just south and east of Port Townsend. For today, I added 8 species to my February list, to bring it to 123 species. The Iceland Gull was new for the year for me, to bring my year total to 140 species. It also brought Clallam county up to 79 species and Washington State up to 268 species.

My respiratory infection is just about gone. I wasn’t coughing today, which was great, but I still got tired easily and I didn’t really feel 100% yet. I hope for continued improvement tomorrow.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Today I headed for home, and my first stop was Shine Tidelands State Park, just west of the Hood Canal floating bridge. I went out of my way by about ten minutes so I could visit it twice, in hopes of seeing the Spotted Sandpiper that has been seen there in recent weeks. I missed it yesterday, and this way I could try for it again on my way home this afternoon if I missed it again this morning.

I went to the boat ramp, which is where it has been reported. Nothing. I noticed a man and woman with a scope and binoculars looking at something, though, so I drove to where they were and asked what they were looking at. It was my Spotted Sandpiper, but they had just lost sight of it and none of us could find it again. It was the old birding story - "you should have been here five minutes ago, the bird was here then".

I drove slowly along the beach, looking for the bird, but didn't find it. It was good to know it was there this morning, though, since I was planning on stopping there again this afternoon on the way home. As I left I drove to the boat ramp one more time, and there it was, my first SPOTTED SANDPIPER of the year. It was right at the base of the boat ramp, right where I had looked for it before. I was so pleased to find it that I'm showing three pictures of the little cutie tonight. Spotted Sandpiper is pretty rare in the winter in this area.

Next I drove north and crossed to Indian Island. A stop at Indian Island county park got me a single Black Oystercatcher for my February list. There was also a mixed flock of Surfbirds and Black Turnstones roosting on a jetty, waiting for high tide to pass so they could feed again. I didn't need either one of those, but Surfbird was new for Jefferson county for me and both are good birds.

At the isthmus connecting Indian Island and Marrowstone Island, I stopped and found a single GREATER YELLOWLEGS, my first of the year. It was too far away for a picture, but in the little community of Nordland, I saw four more Greater Yellowlegs. Here is a distant picture of three of them.

I stopped at Mystery Bay State Park, but the tide was too high for shorebirds there. I moved on to the campground at Fort Flagler, at the north end of Marrowstone Island, and found a shorebird flock on the grass. In addition to the usual Dunlin, Black-bellied Plovers, and Sanderlings, I saw 3 or 4 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, my first of the year. Here is a picture of a Western Sandpiper with a larger Sanderling for size comparison. The Western Sandpiper is the smaller bird on the left.

Since the Sanderling has its back to the camera, here is another picture of the same two birds, showing the larger Sanderling better.

Here is a picture of part of the shorebird flock.

The biggest number of birds were Dunlin, and here is a picture of a Dunlin.

The largest birds are Black-bellied Plovers, and here is one of them.

I ate half my lunch there and then went to the edge of the park and scanned the water for seabirds. I saw a lot of great birds, including Long-tailed Ducks, Pacific Loons, a Common Loon, Harlequin Ducks, and Marbled Murrelets. The only seabird I needed was Common Murre, though, and I didn't see that one. I hope to get back to Fort Flagler for a day trip in the next week, once my March list begins.

I added 4 more species to my February list today, to bring it to 127 species. I had 133 species in January, which I figured I would not get even close to in February, so getting 127 in February (with one day still to go) is outstanding, especially since I basically missed two full weeks of birding due to being sick.

Three of the species today were new for the year, too, to bring my 2018 total to 143 species. I added 5 more to my Jefferson county list as well, to bring that one up to 65 species.

I doubt I'll add anything more tomorrow, but I'm already planning March. I want to get as many of the winter birds as I can, early in the month, before they start migrating for the summer.