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Friday, June 1, 2018

 

Today is a new month, and I went out to the Snoqualmie River Valley today.  Before I left home I got American Crow and Dark-eyed Junco.  While I was driving out to the valley, I picked up several more species for my June list.  Up on the hill south of Sikes Lake there was a bird on a wire, and I turned around and went back to check it out.  It turned out to be one of those flycatchers that are so difficult to identify.  Fortunately, this one was singing repeatedly, and it was a song I knew.  It was a Willow Flycatcher, doing its "fitz bew" song.  Here is a picture of it.

 

Here it is, singing away.

 

At the house with feeders in Carnation, I added Anna's Hummingbird and Black-headed Grosbeak.  I moved on to the Stillwater Unit and got some more birds, including a Swainson's Thrush that was pretty high up in a tree.  I ran into a local birder by the name of Vicki that I have seen before, and she showed me a Bullock's Oriole nest.  Here is a picture of the nest, and you can just see the tail of the female oriole sticking out from the nest.

Later a male Bullock's Oriole came to the nest with some food.  I don't know if he was bringing it for the female or if there are young orioles in the nest.

 

I saw no sign of the female while he was at the nest, so maybe there are babies.  Here is a picture of a male Bullock's Oriole I got a little later.

 

Still later I saw a first year male Bullock's Oriole.  That is one that hatched last year, and he hasn't yet gotten his full adult plumage.

 

I continued to slowly add species to my list.  I'm not going to list them all, because there were so many common birds.  I saw Cedar Waxwings several times, and I got these next two pictures.  I can't resist taking pictures of Cedar Waxwings because they are so handsome.

 

 

An Osprey flew over, and then an American Bittern flushed and flew off, giving me a great look.  That was one of my three main target species for the day, the only one of the three I saw.  The other two were Sora and Red-eyed Vireo.  It is a bit late for Sora, which only migrates through here, and Red-eyed Vireo is pretty uncommon here in this area.  A Vaux's Swift flew overhead, and that was another excellent one to get.  I got Marsh Wren and Red-breasted Sapsucker, two more good ones.  Here is a picture of a female Hooded Merganser.

 

Later I saw a female Common Merganser and I got a picture of her, too.

 

It was getting on for lunch time by then, so I drove up to Duvall and got a tuna sandwich at Subway.  I ate it by McCormick Park in Duvall, then went on to W. Snoqualmie River Road NE.  I was looking for the Western Kingbird that hangs out by the halal slaughterhouse, but I couldn't find it today.  Maybe it has moved on.

 

There is a multi-trunk tree across the river there with five Great Blue Heron nests in it, and I've been watching it since before the eggs were even laid.  The young herons are getting pretty big now, but they still can't fly, so they just hang out in the nests.  I stopped to take a picture and a parent flew in to one nest with food for the three young herons in the nest.  Apparently the adult swallows the food and then regurgitates it for the youngsters.  Here are some pictures of the feeding action.  First, here is the adult Great Blue Heron when it had just gotten back to the nest.

 

In this next picture, the adult was starting the process of bringing up food for the youngsters.

 

The young ones didn’t wait to be fed; they stood right up and tried to get the food out of the parent's bill.

 

In this next picture you can see all three nestlings.

 

When the parent was done feeding them, it flew off and the three youngsters stood around and clacked at each other.

 

Maybe they were comparing notes on what they had gotten to eat.

 

All day long I kept adding swallow species, and I ended up getting five swallow species.  Here are a couple of pictures of a Barn Swallow.  I like the pictures because they show the "swallow tail" of this species.  Barn Swallow has the longest tail feathers of any of the local swallow species.

 

 

On my way back to the main road, I saw a male Lazuli Bunting on a wire, and then a little later, I saw a Savannah Sparrow on another wire.  Both were good ones for June, especially the Lazuli Bunting.

 

I hadn't thought I would get many species today, but I surprised myself. 

 

On January 1, I got 46 species.  On February 1, I felt under the weather and only birded for a short time and only got 24 species.  On March 1 I again got 46 species.  When April started, I was in California, but I again got 46 species.  Unbelievably, on May 1 I also got 46 species.  On four out of the first five months of the year, I got exactly 46 species on the first day of the month!  That is incredible enough, but today as I headed toward home, I counted my species when I was stopped in traffic, and I had 46 species today!  Amazing.  Then, as I drove down my driveway, I saw a bird at our feeder, and it was a Pine Siskin, species number 47 for me today.

 

I was out for six and a half hours today, and I drove about 70 miles.  I didn't get any new birds for the year, but my 47 species for the day gives me a good start for June.

 

 

Saturday, June 2, 2018

 

I was somewhat constrained today in terms of where I went because there were festivals, bike races, running races, and other things going on all over the area.  I decided to go over to Seattle, to the Union Bay Natural Area, known to birders as the Montlake Fill, or just The Fill.  It is adjacent to the University of Washington and located on the shore of Lake Washington.

 

I was mainly looking for a House Wren that has a nest there.  House Wren is pretty uncommon in King County, and I had never seen one anywhere in Western Washington.  There was also a Gray Catbird seen there this morning, the first time one had ever been seen at that site.

 

I didn't find the catbird, but I found the wren.  There were half a dozen birders at the wren nest site when I got there, but they hadn't seen it.  They moved on, and I played the song of House Wren a couple of times.  That did it.  The House Wren started singing back to me, and eventually I found it in a tree near the nest tree.  I presume this was the male and the female is sitting on eggs in the nest hole.  Here is a distant picture of the singing House Wren.

 

I moved on around the Loop Trail, looking for other birds.  I scared up a Killdeer, which I needed for June, but didn’t find anything else I needed.  I did get this picture of an Osprey, though.

 

I also got this picture of a female Common Yellowthroat, a bird I had counted yesterday.

 

Moving on around the trail, I saw a bird just sitting there up in a tree.  I decided it was a puffed up Pine Siskin, another one I had seen yesterday.

 

Next I went over to the place where I have been seeing California Scrub-Jay, just south of the University of Washington.  I pulled into a parking place and soon spotted a California Scrub-Jay on a street light.  I wrote it down in my little notebook, and when I looked back up it was gone.  I stuck around another five minutes or so, to see if I could get a picture, but I never saw one again.  Timing is everything.

 

After that I drove across the bridge to Kirkland.  I stopped at the Yarrow Bay Wetlands and walked along the path between the condos and the wetlands to where there are some bird feeders.  There were some birds at the feeders, but in the summer the vegetation is high enough that you can't really see much until you are so close that it scares the birds away.  All you can really do is stand there quietly and wait for birds to approach the feeders.  Birds don’t usually fly straight into a feeder.  They approach it slowly, stopping at perches along the way.  I watched various birds approaching the feeders, and I ended up adding Downy Woodpecker to my June list.  I saw both a male and a female, but the only picture I got that was any good was this one of the female Downy Woodpecker.

 

I headed toward home, but I stopped at Juanita Bay Park.  I actually parked on a side street and played Brown Creeper and Golden-crowned Kinglet songs, but neither species responded.  I did see a couple of Bushtits, though, a good one for my June list.  I got some pictures, but they aren't very sharp, unfortunately.

 

 

That was it for today.  I visited four places and added 5 species to my June list.  That gives me 52 species now for June.  House Wren was a first for me in King county, to bring my King county list to 161 species.

 

I looked at my spreadsheet to see how many species I have seen every month this year.  I was surprised to find it was 84 species.  That is, I have seen those 84 species each month this year so far (through May).  A lot of those will drop off after this month, because they are winter birds and I won't find most of those winter birds in June (mostly ducks, with some saltwater birds and some sparrows as well).  I plan to keep track of this number for the rest of the year, to see how many species I can see in each of the 12 months of the year.

 

 

Sunday, June 3, 2018

 

Before I even got up this morning, I heard a Steller's Jay in the yard, for my June list, and later I saw one.

 

It was supposed to rain by noon today, and I headed up north to a new place that I had never been before.  Marysville is about a half hour north of home, and there is a paved trail along Ebey Slough, which eventually gives a view of the Marysville Sewage Treatment ponds.  A report from yesterday listed three ducks species there that I needed for June.  Ducks are really tough in June and July.  Most of the species migrate north to breed by the end of May.  Getting three new duck species would have been great; I might not have seen any of them this month locally.

 

There was a Red-tailed Hawk on a light pole along the freeway, and I needed that one for June.

 

Once in Marysville, I found the trail, which is quite new, and parked in the Ebey Waterfront Park parking lot.  I lugged my scope along with me, as the guy yesterday hadn't had a scope, and he said he wished he had had one with him.  It was a bit of a walk for this old rambler with the marginal Achilles tendon, but I got to where I could see the main pond.  I figure I walked about a mile and a half today, which seems like nothing, but I was pleased to be able to do it with only a little heel pain.

 

There were a lot more ducks there than what the guy yesterday had reported.  I quickly got Northern Shoveler, which was enough to make the drive and walk worthwhile by itself.  Most of the ducks were Mallards, with a few Gadwalls mixed in with them.  I didn't need either of those species, as they are here year round, and they are easy to see.

 

Then I saw a couple of male Blue-winged Teals, and that was an excellent one.  After that, they just kept coming, one after another.  A single American Wigeon put that one on my list.  There were several Greater Scaup and at least one Lesser Scaup.  There was a single female Bufflehead and about a dozen Ruddy Ducks.  To finish it off, I spotted a single male Ring-necked Duck.  As I saw each new species, I could hardly believe it.  I ended up seeing 10 species of ducks, and 8 of them were not only new for June, they were almost all species that I might very well not have seen at all this month locally.  I never would have imagined getting 8 new duck species today.  I really hit the jackpot.

 

It had started to sprinkle as I was looking at the ducks, a couple of hours ahead of the forecasted schedule.  It never got heavy, though, and I made it back to my car with no problem.

 

Since was already up in Marysville, I decided to go over to Tulalip Bay, mainly to try for Belted Kingfisher.  At the harbor I spotted some Caspian Terns on the spit, and a couple of Glaucous-winged Gulls, both for my June list.  Out in the bay there were at least three Pigeon Guillemots, another one for June.  Then I swept my scope across the bay and found a single Common Loon in full breeding plumage.  That was another good one; that bird should have been somewhere in the north, looking for a mate.

 

I drove around to the west side of the bay, looking for my kingfisher.  I heard it first (they give a distinctive rattle call when they fly), and then I spotted my first Belted Kingfisher of June.  There was also a Double-crested Cormorant out in the bay, diving.

 

I had no pictures at that point, but then three Bald Eagle put on a show, interacting with each other.  One of them landed on a dock and I got some pictures of it as it flew around a bit.  Here it is just taking off from a post.

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the Bald Eagle sitting on a dock.

 

 

Check out those talons.

 

It flew over to the beach and then it went into the water, close to shore.  It came back with some kind of food, but I couldn't tell what it was.  Here it is sitting on the beach with its catch, whatever it is.

 

That's it for today.  Against all odds, I added 16 species to my June list, including 8 duck species that were all great ones to get.  It seems strange to say that ducks are great ones to get, but that is seasonality for you.  There are very few ducks around these days, other than about 3 species.  I now have 68 species for June.

 

 

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

 

I didn't do any birding on Monday, due to the weather and the fact I had other things to do.  Today I had a lunch appointment, but I did a little birding first.  My first stop was the Redmond Retention Ponds, and I picked up Spotted Sandpiper and Canada Goose there for my June list.  I moved on to the north end of Lake Sammamish, where I saw a lot of Purple Martins over the water and at the nest boxes.  June bird number 3.

 

Next I went to Marymoor Park and checked out the feeders by the office.  It looked to me like the feeders were empty, and I was about to leave when a Red-breasted Nuthatch flew in.  It turned out that there were a few seeds in the bottom of the feeder still, so that one went onto my June list.  Here are a couple of pictures of the Red-breasted Nuthatch.

 

 

I waited around for five or ten minutes to see if a Chestnut-backed Chickadee would come in, but when none did, I moved on.  I parked at the East Meadow and walked down the path toward the lake.  I found a male Rufous Hummingbird exactly where I had seen one before.  Here is a really poor picture of the male Rufous Hummingbird, which I needed for June.

 

A small flock of Band-tailed Pigeons flew over, and that was another June species for me.  I heard Swainson's Thrushes several times.  I didn't need that one, but I spotted one in a leafless tree, and I got this picture of it just as it took off.

 

 

The light was terrible, and the picture is badly motion-blurred, but I think it is interesting anyway.  I didn't have many pictures today, so I took a picture of a butterfly by the path.

 

On the way back to the car I took this picture of a Savannah Sparrow, another one I already had for June.

 

I still had a little extra time, so I stopped at the feeders again and a Chestnut-backed Chickadee flew in and got a seed.  That was another June bird for me.  I didn't get a picture of the chickadee, but I took this one of a male Dark-eyed Junco.

 

I went to lunch with my friend, Chris, and after lunch we went over to Phantom Lake, as usual.  There was a bird singing away in a tree, and it looked like a Purple Finch to me, a species I needed for June.  It was singing, and Chris said it didn't sound like a Purple Finch to him.  It turned out he was right.  It was a male House Finch, and here is a picture.

 

A Purple Finch wouldn't have that brown patch below and behind the eye.  The streaks on the breast and flanks wouldn't be so distinct on a Purple Finch, either.

 

While we were out on the dock, a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew through, very close.  It went into the bushes and the blackbirds went crazy.  I don't know if the hawk got a bird or was raiding a nest, but the blackbirds didn't like it.  After a few minutes, the hawk flew off, chased by the blackbirds.  Sharp-shinned Hawk was a great June bird.

 

On the way back to the car we heard a Purple Finch singing, and that put it on my June list as a "heard only" species.  We weren't able to find it, even though it kept singing repeatedly.

 

I ended up adding 9 species to my June list, which was surprising to me.  It stands at 77 species now.

 

 

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

 

Today I headed out to the Snoqualmie River Valley, and my first stop was the Fay Road access to the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area.  I walked on the trail a little and I played some bird calls.  I saw a Western Wood-Pewee for my June list, but I couldn't get a picture.  A couple of Cedar Waxwings flew in, and I can't resist taking their picture when I get a chance, so here are a couple of pictures.  First, here is a Cedar Waxwing from the front.

 

Here is the same Cedar Waxwing from the back.

 

There was a pair of Wood Ducks on a little pond, and I got this picture of the male.

 

He is kind of mottled looking because he is transitioning from his breeding plumage to his less colorful winter plumage.

 

Next I moved on to the Stillwater access to the wildlife area.  There were Wood Ducks there, too, and I got this picture of four Wood Duck ducklings on a log.

 

Moving on down the trail, I caught up with a woman who was watching an American Bittern that had caught a large bullfrog.  Here is the bittern with the frog.

 

The bird was trying to get the frog into position to swallow it whole.

 

It didn't make it on that attempt, and the bittern had to start over.

 

Here the bird is picking the frog up, to get ready to try again.

 

Now the bittern has the frog in position.

 

The bittern just kept working at it, getting the frog into its mouth little by little.

 

Down the hatch!

 

It was a struggle to actually swallow it, but the bittern persisted.

 

The frog wasn't completely down into the bird's stomach, but it was well on its way.

 

It was fun watching that drama, and it was great to get pictures of an American Bittern out in the open, not too far away.

 

I moved on down the trail, but I never saw anything else for my June list.  It was a beautiful morning, but there weren't many birds around.  I checked out the Bullock's Oriole nest and saw both male and female Bullock's Orioles, and I saw a Belted Kingfisher a couple of times, but nothing I needed.

 

I went through Carnation and stopped at the house with feeders.  There were about 40 Band-tailed Pigeons in the yard, and I got some pictures.  Here are four Band-tailed Pigeons at the bird bath, getting a drink.

 

Here is a closer shot of two of the Band-tailed Pigeons.

 

Here is a single Band-tailed Pigeon.

 

After that I drove down West River Road looking mainly for Bank Swallows at a place I had been told about.  I stopped a couple of times and played various bird calls, but I saw nothing.  From there I drove up to Tokul Creek, to look for my June dipper.  At first I didn’t see anything, but then I spotted one way upstream.  It was too far away for a picture, but a minute or so later, I saw one much closer.  Here is my June American Dipper.

 

Here it is with its head underwater, foraging for food.

 

It was lunch time by then, but I had brought my lunch along and I ate it there.  After eating, I went up to the Three Forks Natural Area and accessed it through the off-leash dog park there.  I was looking for Red-eyed Vireo, which I had seen there in the last week of May.  I played the song a lot, but today I got no response.  At one point I tried playing the call of Virginia Rail, and I did get a couple of responses to that one, so Virginia Rail went on my June list as a "heard only" bird.

 

That was it for today.  I did a fair bit of walking and I enjoyed the beautiful weather.  I picked up 3 more species for my June list, to bring me to 80 species for June now.  I am really coming to realize how tough it is going to be to add very many more this month, locally.  There are many species that have left for the summer now.  June is going to be slow, and I think that July is likely to be even slower.  I could pick up 15 or 20 more species with an overnight or day trip over the mountains to Ellensburg, but I don’t know if I'll do that or not.  We are planning to leave for our annual Yosemite trip a week from Friday, and that will be a lot of driving, so I'm not sure I want to do more.

 

As of the end of May, I had seen 222 species for the year, and I haven't seen any new ones in June.  Many of those species were seen on my California and Oregon trips.  I have seen 85 of those 222 species in each month of this year.  I call those species "repeaters", and now I plan to emphasize trying to keep seeing each of those species if I can, each month.  So far this month, I have seen 53 of those 85 "repeater" species.  I figure that about 15 or 16 of those species are impossible to see this month, since they have left for the summer now, but my plan is to try to see as many of the rest of the 85 species as I can.  Of course, I'll continue to count my June birds as well.  My goal is to have 70 species still on the repeater list at the end of June.  That means I need 17 more repeaters this month.  I'll make a list of the possibilities, and try to find them.

 

What a life!

 

 

Thursday, June 7, 2018

 

Before I even left the house today, I saw a little bunny on our walkway from the back door.  The bunnies in the yard eat the little plants in our gardens, but they are impossible to eradicate.  We think the coyotes keep the population down, but in the spring there are more of them.  Here's a picture of the little guy today, taken through the window in the back door.

 

Today I went up to Edmonds.  My first stop was at Yost Park.  Very soon after I got out of my car I heard the loud call of a Pileated Woodpecker, one of the June birds I was looking for there today.  I walked along the main path, playing various bird calls and songs.  I didn't get any responses, but when I got to the east end of the main path, I saw a little bird on a tree trunk.  It turned out to be a Bewick's Wren, another one I needed for June - a "repeater", in fact.  Repeaters are birds that I have seen in every month so far this year, and I'm trying to get as many as possible each month.

 

I went down a trail on which I had seen Pacific Wren a few weeks ago, and I played its song.  One showed itself just briefly, and I couldn't get it to show itself again.  Still, a quick look is still a look, so it went onto my June list.  It wasn't a repeater because I had missed that species in April.

 

I walked the trails, continuing to play bird calls.  I never do well in forests, and I was in a forest with high trees.  Eventually I was able to attract a Wilson's Warbler, and I even got a picture of that excellent June bird.

 

After about an hour and a half of walking the trails, playing bird calls, I gave it up and moved on.  I went down to the Edmonds waterfront.  On Sunset Avenue, I set up my scope and looked around.  It sure is different in the summer, compared to the winter.  In the winter, there would be dozens of birds, of a number of different species, but today there was almost nothing.

 

I scanned the water and found a small gull way out there.  It took me a few minutes, because it was so distant, but eventually I was able to tell it was a Bonaparte's Gull in non-breeding plumage.  That surprised me because the Bonaparte's Gulls are mostly gone at this time.  It was even a repeater, since I have seen one in every month so far this year.  I saw another very distant bird, and was able to eventually tell it was a female Surf Scoter, another repeater that is mostly gone now.  I actually ended up seeing 4 Surf Scoters today.  A few hang around in the summer, it seems.

 

Then I saw another distant bird, and it was a cormorant.  I looked closely, and it was a Pelagic Cormorant, another repeater that I hadn't really expected to get this month.

 

With that success under my belt, I went down to Richmond Beach Saltwater Park to look for California Quail.  Out on the pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks, I played the calls of California Quail, and I got several loud responses.  That was another repeater for my June list.

 

I had so few pictures today that I took this picture of a Song Sparrow.

 

That was it for today.   I somehow managed to add 8 more species to my June list, to my great surprise.  This morning I had told myself that if I got 5 today, that would be outstanding.  That gives me 88 species for June.  Five of my species today were repeaters, too, to give me 58 repeaters now.  I said last night that my goal was to have 70 repeaters at the end of June, but after looking at it more closely, I'll be very lucky to get to 65.  Maybe I can add a couple on my Yosemite trip, if I can't get them locally.

 

 

Friday, June 8, 2018

 

Today my plan was to try to get American Coot.  Coots seem to have disappeared in the last few weeks, gone off somewhere to breed, I guess.  I had seen a report of two of them at Juanita Beach Park yesterday, which was interesting because I had seen two of them there a couple of weeks ago, which surprised me at the time.  Today I walked out onto the dock and immediately saw an American Coot, an excellent June bird and a repeater.  The second one was there, too.   I imagine they were the same two birds that were there last month, and maybe they will stick around into July, since they have stayed there this long.  Coots will be thin on the ground in July, too, just as they are this month.

 

I didn't see anything else there, so I went across the bay to Juanita Bay Park (on the south side of the bay) and played the song of Golden-crowned Kinglet.  A couple of little birds responded, and I decided they were recently fledged Golden-crowned Kinglets.  An adult bird also responded soon after that, and flew back and forth, checking me out.  I wasn't able to get a picture, so I moved on up the steps and played Brown Creeper.  I had no luck with that one.

 

Next I went over to the trail leading west from NE 108th St.  I played some calls, and I heard a lot of birds, but I wasn't sure about the ID of the ones calling.  I think some of them were robins and some were Black-headed Grosbeaks, plus ones I couldn’t identify.  At one point I was playing the song of Western Tanager, which I needed, and I thought I might have gotten responses.  I never could get a look at the bird, though, and I wasn’t sure enough of the ID to count it.  I'm really handicapped by not being able to remember and recognize bird songs and calls.

 

After that I stopped at the fire station road and walked down it.  I played Hairy Woodpecker there because I have seen them on that short road.  A couple of Downy Woodpeckers showed up, and then a male Hairy Woodpecker came in to check me out.  I don’t usually get responses from woodpeckers, but this time both Downy Woodpeckers and a Hairy Woodpecker flew in.  Here are three pictures of the male Hairy Woodpecker, which was another repeater.

 

 

 

A flycatcher made an appearance, too.  It was pretty distant and in terrible light, but I got these next two pictures of it.

 

 

At the time I was hoping it was an Olive-sided Flycatcher, which I needed for June, but I decided it was actually only a Western Wood-Pewee, which I didn’t actually need.

 

It was only about 10:45 by then, but it started to sprinkle, so I gave it up and took my car in for an oil change instead of doing more birding.  I added 3 species to my June list today, to bring it to 91 species.  Two of them were repeaters, so now I have seen 60 species in each of the six months so far this year.  The weather for the weekend looks pretty iffy, so I don't know how much birding I'll be able to do.  At this point I'm making preparations for our annual trip to Yosemite, which starts next Friday, but I'll try to work in a little birding when the weather allows it.

 

 

Saturday, June 9, 2018

 

Today the weather forecast looked poor, but it looked a lot better up north.  As a result, I headed up to Skagit county to try for three main target species - Cinnamon Teal, American White Pelican, and Black Oystercatcher.  There were others I could use, too, but those seemed the most likely ones.

 

I was low on gas, and I had 70 cents a gallon off at Fred Meyer.  I also had a theoretical range (according to my car) of 61 miles, and it was only 47 miles to the QFC (another Kroger store where I could also use my 70 cents a gallon off) in Stanwood.  I decided to go for it.  I had a couple of bail out places along the way, but it worked out fine and I pulled into the Stanwood QFC gas station with 15 miles range left.  I put over 19 gallons in my tank, which made me appreciate the 70 cents a gallon off.

 

After that mini-adventure, I stopped at Eide Road, west of Stanwood.  The water there had dried up, though, and I didn't see anything I needed.  I went on up to Wylie Slough and walked out on the dike trail.  At the first pumping station, I saw a male Cinnamon Teal, one of my target species.

 

It was following a male Mallard around, and I got this picture showing the relative size difference between those two species.

 

I walked a little, playing the song of Brown Creeper where I had seen one a couple of years ago, but no response today.  As I drove out of the reserve, I saw a female Wood Duck and some ducklings in a side slough.  Here is the female Wood Duck.

 

Here is one of the Wood Duck ducklings.

 

Here is another Wood Duck duckling.

 

I checked out a creek on my way out, and saw a momma Mallard and 8 ducklings.  Here is a picture of the female Mallard with 7 of the ducklings, coming right at me.

 

Here is a picture that shows the female Mallard and all 8 of the ducklings.

 

Next I moved on to Hayton Reserve.  I walked out onto the dike trail, but there was nothing around, which was to be expected in the summer.  I was hoping to see a Northern Harrier because I have seen them there before.  A man and a woman with binoculars came along and I noticed them looking at something and talking about it, so I looked where they were looking, and there it was - a male Northern Harrier, right on schedule.  That was not only a June bird, it was a repeater, since I had seen that species in each of the first five months of the year.  I got a couple of blurry pictures of the male Northern Harrier in flight, and this was my best effort.

 

Pictures of birds in flight always have some motion blur, but at least you can see the beauty of this very handsome bird.  Female Northern Harriers are reddish-brown, and for some reason, one sees many more females than males.

 

As I drove out of Hayton Reserve, I took a look at the Bald Eagle nest there.  I think there were two eaglets in the nest, but I got a picture of one of them, anyway.

 

The eaglet isn't really what you would call attractive, although the parents are very attractive.  I love the white fuzz on the top of its head.

 

Next I went to the south end of Padilla Bay, in search of the American White Pelicans that have been spending their summers there for the last year or two.  Up until then, American White Pelicans were rare in Skagit county, but now they are usually there.  When they aren't out fishing, they hang out on the spoil islands that were formed from dredging the Swinomish Channel.  Here is a distant picture of a couple of dozen of the American White Pelicans.

 

That was a great bird for June.  I moved on around March Point, and got this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk along the east side of the point.

 

On the west side of the point, I stopped to look at some ducks out on the water, but they turned out to be Canada Geese.  Then I happened to notice a Black Oystercatcher on the opposite shore.  That was another excellent June bird.  I had planned to go to Rosario Beach on Fidalgo Island to try for Black Oystercatcher, but now I didn't have to.  Instead, I went to Washington Park in Anacortes and drove around the loop road in the park.  I stopped three times to look for sea birds.  On the second stop I saw a single Rhinoceros Auklet, which was not only a June bird, it was a repeater as well.  There was also a pair of Marbled Murrelets at that stop, not a repeater because I had missed that species in April, but still a great June bird.  At my third stop, I parked and ate my Subway sandwich on a bench in the sunshine, overlooking the water.  While I was eating I noticed that some gulls and some Pelagic Cormorants were gathering in one spot offshore.  I got out my scope and discovered that more and more birds were joining them.  I saw a pair of Marbled Murrelets, along with the gulls and about a half dozen Pelagic Cormorants, but the really interesting thing was how the numbers of Rhinoceros Auklets kept increasing.  I don’t know where they came from, or how they knew to fly to this spot, but by the time I left, I counted a couple of dozen Rhinoceros Auklets in the feeding frenzy.

 

My Skagit county birding was basically over, so I headed for home.  On the way I stopped at the house on Valentine Road that has a lot of feeders.  There wasn’t food in most of the feeders, and there weren't many birds around, but I did get this picture of a male Rufous Hummingbird.

 

It was still early, so I decided to stop at Fobes Road, on the west edge of the town of Snohomish, east of Everett.  I was looking specifically for Eastern Kingbird.  Eastern Kingbird is uncommon on this side of the Cascades, but they breed in a small area near Fobes Road.  I parked and walked out onto the trail, which runs along the dike for Ebey Slough.  I got this picture of a Tree Swallow, which I already had in June.

 

There were some Cedar Waxwings around, and a few ducks and geese, but I kept looking.  Eventually I saw a distant Eastern Kingbird.  I played the song of Eastern Kingbird, and one flew in fairly close, but I never could get a good picture of it.  I gave it up and started back to my car.  Then I spotted an Eastern Kingbird sitting right out in the open, posing for me.  Here are a couple of frontal shots.

 

 

I deliberately chose the dark background of that second picture, to make it more dramatic.  The bird was kind of puffed up and squatting down, but it straightened up into a more normal posture, and I got this more typical picture of the Eastern Kingbird, with the sky in the background.

 

So, I had the bird that I had gone there to find, and I proceeded back to my car.  On the way I got this picture of a Cedar Waxwing, a species I can't resist taking pictures of.

 

I was very pleased to have gotten 7 more species for my June list today, to bring me to 98 species for June.  Two of those species were repeaters, too, to give me 62 species that I have seen in each one of the six months of this year.

 

Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty wet and pretty windy, so I don't know what I'll do about birding.

 

 

Sunday, June 10, 2018

 

June 10 is my late father's birthday.  Happy birthday, Dad.

 

The weather wasn’t as bad today as I thought it would be.  We had two or three heavy showers, but in between there was sun and clouds.  It was pretty windy, though, which isn't good for birding, generally.

 

One of my repeater species that I needed for June was Cooper's Hawk.  You can't really go looking specifically for Cooper's Hawk, usually; you just have to put yourself out there and get lucky.  They are fairly common around here, so I might or might not see one in my remaining June birding days locally, but I'm going to be gone for 11 days this month on our Yosemite trip, so I might very well not see one.  I was aware of a Cooper's Hawk nest at Magnuson Park, from eBird and Tweeters, so I emailed Scott, the Magnuson Park guru and asked about the location of the nest.  Scott responded with detailed directions to find it, so I went over there this morning.

 

The nest is located a bit of a walk from any of the entrances to the park, and I chose to enter from 65th Ave NE.  I found the general location of the nest easily, but it took some looking to find a vantage point from which I could see the actual nest.  When I finally found it, all I could see was the tail of a bird sticking out of the nest.  It was unquestionably the tail of a Cooper's Hawk, and I was going to settle for that and count the bird for June, but then the bird moved a little.  I stuck around and it sat up and looked in my direction.  Here is a picture of the Cooper's Hawk on the nest.

 

There wasn’t much light, and I was looking toward the sun, but at least you can identify the bird.  In case there was any doubt about the ID, here is another picture that shows the flat crown on the head, indicating it is a Cooper's Hawk rather than its smaller cousin, Sharp-shinned Hawk, which has a rounded crown.

 

Since I was in the woods, I played the song of Brown Creeper, and to my surprise, one flew in.

 

They sure do blend in to their surroundings when they are on a tree trunk or branch, which is the only place I have ever seen one.  That was not only another June bird, it was another repeater.

 

I headed back toward my car, and on the way I played the song of Yellow Warbler.  I didn't really expect anything, but it costs nothing to try, so I played it.  The first response I got was from a male Spotted Towhee, which I didn't need, of course, but it posed for a picture.

 

Spotted Towhees often respond to the songs of other species, as do Bewick's Wrens, which is what responded next.

 

The Bewick's Wren perched on a birdhouse and sang back to me.

 

I didn't need that one, either, but pictures are always good.  Here is one more of the very responsive Bewick's Wren.

 

A little later I got another response, this time from a Black-capped Chickadee.  Usually chickadees don't stay still, but this one stayed in place for a number of pictures and let me apporach pretty close.

 

Here is one where it is looking right at me.

 

I had nothing else there to look for particularly, so I headed for home.  I wanted to go down to downtown Kirkland to Marina Park to look for a couple of gulls I need, but as I got near home a rain squall came over, so I went home.  A little later, when the sun came back out, I went down to Marina Park in downtown Kirkland, but it was a bust.  I should have known better.  The place I wanted to go was adjacent to a number of restaurants, and on a sunny Sunday in June, during the lunch hour, Kirkland was hopping.  I couldn't find a parking place, and I got out of there as quickly as I could.  I'll try again on a weekday morning.

 

So, for the day I added 2 species to my June list, to bring it to a nice round 100 species.  Both species were repeaters, too, so now I have 64 species that I have seen in each of the six months so far this year.  There is very little to look for locally for June now, and at this point, I don’t feel like driving over the mountains, so I probably won't get many more species, if any, before we leave for Yosemite on Friday morning.

 

 

Friday, June 15, 2018

 

No birding for the last few days, and today we set out on our annual journey to Yosemite for a nice week-long family get-together.  We drove for 8 hours today, and I didn’t do any birding, per se, except while I was eating my humble lunch at Brooks Memorial State Park.  While eating lunch I picked up Warbling Vireo and White-breasted Nuthatch for my June list.  In addition to that, twice today I saw American Kestrels along the road, and that one was not only a June bird, it was a repeater.  Later I saw Turkey Vultures twice, too, and that was another June bird.

 

That gives me 104 species for June and 65 repeaters this year.  No pictures today.  I tried for the nuthatch, but there wasn’t much light, and I didn’t get anything any good.  Tomorrow is another mostly-driving day, although there are a couple of stops where I might get something.  On Sunday the real birding will start.

 

 

Saturday, June 16, 2018

 

I woke up early this morning (Christina is always up very early), and we were on the road by 8:00.  That might be a record for me, sad to say.  We only had about six hours of driving to do today, so I got to stop a couple of places to look for birds.  The first birding stop was Veteran’s Memorial Park in Klamath Falls.  I was mainly looking for gulls, and I found both species I needed, Ring-billed Gull and California Gull.  Even better, both were repeaters.  There were also a few dozen grebes out on the lake, and among the common Western Grebes, I found a Clark’s Grebe.  I needed both for June, and the Western was another repeater.  The two species are very similar.  Here is a Clark’s Grebe, the less common one.

 

Note that the bill is yellow-orange and the eye is in the white part of the head.  Here is the closely related Western Grebe, the common one.

 

Note that the bill is yellow-green, rather than yellow-orange, and the eye is surrounded by dark feathers.  “The eye is in the black” is the way I describe it.  For Clark’s Grebe, “the eye is in the white”.  Here is another picture of the Clark’s Grebe, showing the yellow-orange bill color better.

 

I had also seen a Black-billed Magpie flying, just north of Klamath Falls, so I had five June species by then.

 

We continued south and I picked up Western Meadowlark in the next stretch.  That was another repeater – a species I have now seen in each of the six months of this year.

 

We stopped for lunch at our favorite little park, called Willow Creek.  I played White-headed Woodpecker calls there because I have seen them there before, but this year got no response.  We moved on to Eagle Lake, and there were a lot of water birds on the lake and the shore, as I was expecting because of an eBird report from earlier this week.  I found a pullout and stopped and got out my scope and set it up.

 

There were a lot of Eared Grebes out on the water, as well as a few Wilson’s Phalaropes.  I picked out a few Northern Pintails in non-breeding plumage.  That one was a repeater.  Along the shore and in the shallows I saw a good number of Black-necked Stilts, a lot of White-faced Ibis, and a single American Avocet.  I was very happy with that bounty, but then I spotted a Forster’s Tern diving for fish, still another June bird.

 

When we left Eagle Lake, after about 20 minutes there, I had a whopping 13 species for June today, to bring me to 117 for the month so far.  What’s more, 5 of the ones today were repeaters, making it 70 repeaters now.  I did amazingly well today, in my opinion.  I hadn’t even considered stopping at Eagle Lake until last night, when I noticed the eBird report.  I presumably would have noticed all the birds there, and I would have stopped and gotten many of them, but having seen the report, I knew when I had seen just about everything on offer.  I also knew to schedule enough time to be able to stop there.

 

Tomorrow it is only about a 4 hour drive into Yosemite Valley, and I’ll be alone for the drive.  Christina met her sister, Monica, here at the airport this afternoon, and the two of them are going to drive to Yosemite in a rental car, while I take my time and do a little birding along the way.  We plan to stay in Yosemite for six nights.

 

 

Sunday, June 17, 2018

 

It was raining this morning in Reno, but the rain stopped by the time I got south of Gardnerville.  I saw a Great Egret flying across the road on the way into Gardnerville, and that was a good June bird.  On my way into Bridgeport I saw Yellow-headed Blackbirds a couple of times, and that was another good June bird.

 

In Bridgeport, I found a small pond to the north of town, and there was a male Green-winged Teal on it, a species I especially wanted to see.  That was a repeater, and I wasn’t likely to see one at home.

 

There were Wilson’s Phalaropes in that same pond, and although I had seen that species at Eagle Lake yesterday, today I got pictures.  Here is a male Wilson’s Phalarope.

 

Here is a pair of Wilson’s Phalaropes.  The female is the larger, more colorful one in the back.

 

There was a Willet there, too, and that was an excellent June bird.  It was also a repeater, which surprised me.

 

Here is a picture that shows the relative sizes of the Willet and a pair of Wilson’s Phalaropes.

 

I had seen them yesterday at Eagle Lake, but there were a couple of Black-necked Stilts there, posing for pictures.

 

 

Here is a male Cinnamon Teal in transition plumage.  He is molting from his breeding cinnamon color to his non-breeding brown and white colors.

 

Eventually I moved on from that productive little pond.  There were some Cliff Swallows gathering mud for their nests on the bank of a creek, and I got these next two pictures of them.

 

 

I drove up the east side of Bridgeport Reservoir and stopped at a pullout and got out my scope.  Here is a picture of the Sierra Nevada range from there.  The airport landing strip is in the foreground, with the south end of the reservoir beyond that.

 

The sage in the foreground wasn’t really that green, but that’s how it came out.  I scanned the ducks at the end of the lake and picked out a male Redhead in the distance.  That was an excellent June bird.

 

I moved on up the east side of the reservoir to the boat launch area.  I was looking for several species there, but all I found were ones I had seen before this month, until I spotted a Western Kingbird, which was good for my June list.  There were a couple of American White Pelicans close to shore, so I took their pictures.

 

 

I don’t know why that first one has those dark feathers on the top and back of its head.  I’m sure it indicates something, but I don’t know what.

 

There were some California Gulls there.  I had gotten that one yesterday, too, but here is a picture of a California Gull.

 

I’ve seen Black-billed Magpies several times on the trip, but today I actually got a picture of one.

 

There were a couple of Killdeer hanging around the boat launch area, and eventually I noticed three little chicks.  Here is a Killdeer chick.

 

Here is a Killdeer chick at attention, looking around.

 

That’s all I got in the Bridgeport area, and I moved on to the Virginia Lakes Resort, at an elevation of 9770 feet.  I noticed I was having to take deep breaths regularly, to get enough oxygen.  I went there to see what was hanging around their bird feeders.  All I got this year of interest was several Cassin’s Finches, an excellent June bird.  Here is a picture of three male Cassin’s Finches.

 

Here is a single male Cassin’s Finch, perched in the sun.

 

After that I went back down to the main highway and drove over Tioga pass into Yosemite.  It was a very pleasant drive, other than the recreational vehicles and trailers that wouldn’t pull over.  They developed long lines of cars behind them.  I stopped a couple of times briefly, to let the line of cars get ahead of me.  I wasn’t in any particular hurry, but I didn’t like being in a line of cars.  What if I saw a great bird and had to stop quickly?

 

I met Christina in Yosemite Valley and we got moved into our room.  I set up my computer on our patio, but the wi-fi here is even worse than it has been in the past, which was terrible.  It will be interesting to see if I can send out this report.  If not tonight, maybe in the morning.  Our room is on the edge of the lodge grounds, by design, and here is the view from our patio.

 

The foreground is in deep shade, which is why it looks kind of strange.  The partying has begun.  Here are four party girls on the patio next door.

 

For those who don’t know my family, from the left, that is my sister, Kathy; and then my honey, Christina; and then my other sister, Betsy; ending up with Mary Beth, who is Kathy’s daughter, on the right.

 

So, even though I was traveling today and had already gotten a lot of the birds of the area yesterday, I added 7 more species to June today, to bring it to 124 species.  Two of those were repeaters, so now I have seen 72 species in each month of this year.

 

I added 24 species to June on the three day drive down here, which completely surprised me.  I was figuring I would only add maybe 15 or 20 species to June on the whole trip, although I hadn’t actually counted them up.  I did a lot of research at the last minute, which is why I got so many on the trip down.  Now I hope to add 10 to 15 more species here in Yosemite, and maybe a few more on the way home.  We shall see.

 

 

Monday, June 18, 2018

 

This morning I headed out for some Yosemite birding.  My first stop was the meadow at the foot of El Capitan.  I was hoping for woodpeckers, and I got Acorn Woodpecker for my June list, but missed White-headed.  I didn’t need it, but I got this picture of a Western Wood-Pewee there.

 

I moved on to Foresta.  I stopped a couple of places and played the calls of some birds I had seen there last year.  My first real response was from a cute little BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, which was the first one I have seen this year.  Here are a couple of pictures of that little cutie.  In the first one it is singing back to me.

 

In this next one, it is just looking at me, wondering why and how I was making the sound of his song.

 

A little farther down the road I saw a pair of Western Bluebirds, which was a June bird.  Here is a picture of the female Western Bluebird.

 

I heard MOUNTAIN QUAIL calling loudly several times, so that one went onto my lists as a “heard only” bird.  By the barn at the edge of the Big Meadow, I saw a Black Phoebe catching bugs.  It was too far away for pictures, but I got a picture of a Black Phoebe later in the day, which I will show near the end of today’s report.  That was a June bird.

 

I got out and walked on the road near the creek, but I couldn’t get anything to respond to my playback.  I drove up onto the hill, as usual, and near the group camp at the end of the road I saw a male Western Tanager, which was a nice June bird.

 

Back down on the main road, I stopped again and played some bird calls.  I didn’t need it for June, but I managed to call in a male Lazuli Bunting, and I got this picture, which I really like.

 

I was playing the song of Lesser Goldfinch, and three birds flew right in.  I assumed they were Lesser Goldfinches, but they turned out to be the much less common Lawrence’s Goldfinch, a really excellent bird I didn’t expect to see this year here.  Unfortunately, they didn’t stick around for pictures.

 

It was lunch time, and I decided to head back to the lodge because I wanted to walk over toward Lower Yosemite Falls this afternoon.  The temperature today was pretty mild, in the low to mid 70’s. It is supposed to heat up into the mid to high 90’s by the end of the week, and I wanted to do my walking in the cooler temperature.

 

On the path over there I heard a bird singing loudly, and I actually recognized it, surprising myself.  I played it on my phone to be sure, and it was definitely a Cassin’s Vireo.  It kept singing back to me, for quite a while, but I never could lure it down to where I could get a good look at it, let alone get a picture.  I did see it fly back and forth between a couple of trees more than once, though.  That was an excellent June bird.

 

Near that spot on the path I saw a Black Phoebe, my second one of the day, and this time I got a picture.

 

Here is a picture of Upper and Middle Yosemite Falls from the path through the parking lot of the lodge.  I think that relatively small falls near the bottom center of the picture is the Middle Falls, although maybe it is the Lower Falls.

 

I got a picture of a male Black-headed Grosbeak singing.

 

I didn’t need that for June, nor did I need the three Dark-eyed Juncos on the path.  Two of the juncos were recent fledglings, and here is a picture of one of the fledgling Dark-eyed Juncos.

 

I sat for about an hour at the location of John Muir’s cabin, with its great view of Yosemite Falls.  There is a stone seat there, and I have sat there many times over the years, contemplating life.  Here is the view from that location.

 

A few birds flew through while I was there.  I heard and then saw another Cassin’s Vireo, high in a tree.  A Black-throated Gray Warbler came by and I got a couple good looks at it, but no pictures.  That was another excellent June bird.  A couple of male Western Tanagers chased each other around and then foraged in a tree for a few minutes.  Here is one of the male Western Tanagers.

 

After a nice long time there, I headed back to our room.  Along the path I played the song of a bird that I know lives in the valley, although I have never seen one in Yosemite Valley itself.  To my great surprise, one responded and flew in to check me out.  It wouldn’t stay still, but I managed this somewhat obscured picture of my first MACGILLVRAY’S WARBLER of the year.

 

I would have liked to get a better picture, but the bird just wouldn’t stay still long enough.  It was close to our room, and I plan to go back to try again.

 

So, when the day was done, I had added 10 more species to my June list, to bring it to 134 species now.  I am amazed at how many species I am getting for June.  Three of the ones today were new for the year, too, to bring me to 225 species for the year so far.  [12/31/18 - That was an error.  I misread a number in my little notebook, and the actual year total at that point was 275 species, not 225.  That 50 species error endured for the rest of the year, until I found it today.  All the rest of the 2018 totals for the rest of the year are 50 species too low, until 12/31/18.]

 

We’ll see what I can do tomorrow.  I have five main target species for tomorrow.  White-headed Woodpecker, Green-tailed Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Hermit Warbler, and Mountain Chickadee.  We’ll see how many of them I can get.  There are other ones I need, too, of course.

 

 

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

 

Today I stopped again at the El Capitan meadow to try for White-headed Woodpecker, but I didn’t see one.  I moved on to the fire lookout road at Crane Flat.  At the top of the first hill, I parked and played some bird calls.  I got no response to Green-tailed Towhee or Mountain Chickadee, but a couple of birds did fly through, and they turned out to be Townsend’s Solitaires, which was a great June bird that I hadn’t expected at all.  They flew on before I could get a picture, sorry to say.

 

I drove on up the road to the fire lookout, stopping from time to time and playing bird calls.  At one stop I saw a bird, and it turned out to be a HERMIT WARBLER, a great one.  I hadn’t even gotten around to playing the Hermit Warbler song yet, and I had one.  Better yet, I got a couple of pictures.

 

I really like that one.  The way the background worked out was an accident, and I like it.  Here is the other Hermit Warbler picture, which isn’t bad, either.

 

That was the first of my five target species for the day, and probably the most difficult one to get.

 

I kept stopping and playing bird calls.  I had a Fox Sparrow respond at one stop, and that was the second of my five target species for the day.  I didn’t get a picture of that one, but I got a couple of pictures later of a Fox Sparrow that was singing, and I’ll show that in proper sequence.

 

I particularly wanted to get Green-tailed Towhee, and finally I attracted one with playback.  Here is a poor picture in the shade, but it does show the bird, even if it looks a bit strange.  GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, the third of my five target species for the day.

 

Here is a picture of the bird in the sun, showing off the red on the top of its head.

 

Here is one final picture of the Green-tailed Towhee, blending into the green of the leaves.  There aren’t very many green-colored birds.

 

While I was chasing that one, another bird flew in, and I saw it was a flycatcher.  I watched it and decided it was a Gray Flycatcher, which was another unexpected one.  It pumped its tail up and down, which is how I knew it was a Gray Flycatcher, rather than another member of that family.  Here is a very distant picture of the Gray Flycatcher.

 

I parked in the parking lot at the end of the road and walked along the trail to the actual fire lookout.  I played some bird songs, but the only thing I saw was a Fox Sparrow that was singing away.  Here are two pictures of the singing Fox Sparrow.

 

 

We have Fox Sparrows at home in the winter, but there aren’t any around in the summer, so it was good to get that one here.

 

I drove slowly back down the road, stopping several times, but I didn’t see anything new.  Back at the top of the first big hill, I got out and again played some bird calls.  This time I eventually attracted a Mountain Chickadee, which was the fourth of my target species for the day.  It took me a while to find it, but I heard it answering my playback for a couple of minutes before I actually saw it.  I couldn’t get a picture, but I had the bird.

 

So, I had four of my five targets, missing only White-headed Woodpecker.  It wasn’t even lunch time yet, so I went to Tamarack Flat Road, which is up the road toward Tioga Pass from Crane Flat.  I drove slowly down the road, listening and watching for birds.  I stopped from time to time and used playback.  I also stopped two or three times and just sat in the car and watched and listened.  I saw Mountain Chickadee a couple more times, and I heard Fox Sparrows.  At one point a small flock of at least 10 Cassin’s Finches flew through.  I had seen that species at the feeders at Virginia Lakes Resort on Sunday, but it is always nice to see birds away from feeders, in the wild.

 

I turned around at the Tamarack Flat campground and went back up the road.  At one point I saw a bird flying away from me, and I realized it had to be a WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER, my fifth and final target species for the day.  I saw it again as it flew across the road, but the views were very brief.  I put it on my list as a BVD sighting.  Better View Desired.  I had all five of my target species, though, which was great.

 

When I was almost back to the main road, I saw a bird fly up, and I stopped and went back to see what it was.  It turned out to be a Red-breasted Sapsucker, a bird I see at home and one I already had this month.  I did get a couple of pictures, though.

 

 

I still had some time, so I went down into Foresta on my way back to the valley, after getting some gas at Crane Flat (at $5.60 a gallon!).  I drove around, mainly playing the song of Lesser Goldfinch, but I never got a response.  I saw a male Lazuli Bunting, a pair of Western Bluebirds, and a Brewer’s Blackbird, but nothing else.  Oh yes, a Western Wood-Pewee, too, briefly.  I was on my way back to the main road when I saw a bird fly away from me, and I could see it was another White-headed Woodpecker.  I parked my car in the road, as far as I could pull to the side, and got out and chased it.  I got great looks at it, so my BVD thing was achieved.  Of course, having gotten great views, I then wanted a picture.  I worked at that and got a couple of pictures of the female White-headed Woodpecker.

 

 

It’s too bad about the bright background; the bird was in the shade, and the sun was shining on the background.  At least you can see the bird, despite the over-exposed background.

 

I gave it up then, and I headed back into the valley.  I stopped at Bridal Veil Falls, though, to pick up White-throated Swift for my June list.  It took a few minutes, but I saw some swifts flying above the top of the falls.  For some reason, swifts like waterfalls, and they often hang around them, catching bugs.  Here is a picture of Bridal Veil Falls from the road.

 

The swifts were way up there above the top of the falls.

 

It was a successful day; I not only got all five of my target species, I got pictures of four of them, missing only pictures of Mountain Chickadee.  I also got two surprise species – Townsend’s Solitaire and Gray Flycatcher.  I should have included White-throated Swift in my target species, and I got that one, too.  My 8 species today brings June to 142 species.  Three of the eight were new for the year, too, to give me 228 species so far this year.

 

There are other species here that I could use, but they aren’t really ones I can specifically look for, so I may or may not get any more while we are in Yosemite.  I can always go for pictures, though.  There are also a couple of places I haven’t visited for three or four years, and I want to visit those.  I could happen across something I need.

 

 

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

 

This morning my brother, Rick, came out birding with me.  Our first stop was the golf course in Wawona.  We found the parking area for the trail that runs around Wawona Meadow, and got out and looked around.  The trail itself was too deep in the woods to be interesting to me, but where we parked was right on the edge of the forest, adjacent to part of the golf course.  There were birds around there, so we stayed.  We ended up taking a couple of camp chairs out of the car and we sat at one of the tee areas and looked out across the golf course at some trees.  It was a beautiful day, but we never saw a golfer.

 

It turned out to be reasonably birdy.  A couple of sparrows fed on the grass nearby a couple of times, and I was able to see that at least one of them was a Lincoln’s Sparrow, a bird I see at home in the winter, but I haven’t seen one for 2 or 3 months, so that was a good one.  Here are a couple of mediocre pictures of a Lincoln’s Sparrow.

 

 

At the same time, a Yellow-rumped Warbler flew in and fed on the grass for a couple of minutes.  I not only needed that common species for June, it was a repeater.  It wouldn’t sit still for a picture, but I got this poor picture of the Yellow-rumped Warbler as it hopped around.

 

I was quite pleasantly surprised to get two June birds while sitting in the shade, and then I spotted still another one across the way in a tree.  It was a male Yellow Warbler, so that one went onto my June list.  I got some distant pictures that are pretty good, just distant, so the images aren’t very large.

 

 

 

After that we drove up the rough, unpaved road a little distance, to see where it went, but it just kept going, so I fired up my GPS app on my phone.  It turned out that the road kept going for many miles and connected with a whole network of (presumably) unpaved mountain roads.  We turned around at that point.

 

Next we explored the community of Wawona.  That turned out to be much larger than either of us realized, and we drove around some streets watching for birds.  I was especially looking for Chipping Sparrow, but we never saw anything at all.  It was interesting to see this whole community there, though, with a library, a school, a grocery store and lots of vacation rentals and summer homes, along with the homes of year-round residents.

 

We moved on from there and drove up to Glacier Point.  We parked at one of the main lookouts and enjoyed the view.  It was lunch time by then, and we had brought our lunches, so we got out the camp chairs again and ate our lunch with the spectacular view in front of us.  Here is the view, with Half Dome in profile on the left and Vernal and Nevada Falls in the middle and on the right, respectively.

 

Here is a tighter zoom on just Vernal and Nevada Falls.

 

Here is a full zoom shot of the top of Vernal Falls.  You can see the people who have hiked up there today.

 

Here is the top of Nevada Falls, with its bridge over the river.  You can see the people there, too.

 

After that we headed back down the road toward Yosemite Valley.  We stopped at a pullout on the way down the mountain and spotted a bird on a dead snag.  The light was wrong and it was fairly distant, but I got this picture of it.

 

I wasn’t sure what it was.  I thought it looked like a female Mountain Bluebird, but I couldn’t see any blue on it.  I played the Mountain Bluebird song, and the bird immediately flew toward us, obviously very interested in the Mountain Bluebird song.  It landed much closer to us, and I got this picture of it.

 

From that picture, I decided it was a Townsend’s Solitaire, a great bird, but one I had seen just yesterday.  It doesn’t look quite right to me for Townsend’s Solitaire, either, but the white patches at the end of its outer tail feathers seem definitive.  I would have rather had a Mountain Bluebird, since I don’t have that one for June.

 

We resumed our journey back to the valley, but on our way we detoured to Foresta, though, and drove through there.  It was in the low 90’s at that elevation, though, and the heat took all of my energy away, so I only wanted to quit for the day.  On our way out of Foresta, we heard a bird singing loudly, and I actually recognized that it was the song of Lazuli Bunting.  I stopped, backed up, and we saw the bird at the top of a little tree.  I played his song back to him with my phone, and that encouraged him to sing all the more.  Here is the male Lazuli Bunting sitting near the top of a tree.

 

Here he is, singing away for us.

 

Lazuli Buntings are like Cedar Waxwings for me – I think that both species are so handsome that I can’t resist taking their pictures.

 

It was about 90 degrees in the valley when we got back, and it is supposed to get even hotter in the next couple of days.  I hate the heat – it completely takes away all my energy, and I have little enough energy as it is, with temperate temperatures.  The rooms here don’t have air conditioning and have very poor ventilation, so it will be too warm for me to sleep well for the next few nights, too.  It will be in the 50’s outside, but in the low 70’s here in our room.

 

I added 3 more species to my June list today, to bring it to 145 species now.  One of them (Yellow-rumped Warbler) was a repeater, so now I have 73 repeaters – birds I have seen in each month this year so far.  I got no new year-birds today, so I remain at 228 species for the year.  There is very little more I could get here for my lists, and the heat is not going to motivate me to do much birding, so that might be it for Yosemite.  We will see.

 

 

Thursday, June 21, 2018

 

I really didn’t have anything to go looking for particularly today, but it was going to be very hot in the valley, and I thought it might be nice to go to a higher elevation.  Before I even left, though, I saw a MacGillvray’s Warbler along the path from our room to the parking lot.  I had seen that species a couple of days ago, but I don’t see them very often, so I chased it for a picture.  Here are two pictures of the MacGillvray’s Warbler, looking up at it.

 

 

I left about 10, just as it was starting to heat up.  First I went to Foresta, looking for 3 or 4 species that others have reported there or I had seen there in previous years.  At the group campground at the end of Campground Road, I parked and got out.  There was a family of Western Bluebirds around – the two adults and two recently fledged youngsters.  Here is the male Western Bluebird, looking a little scruffy and strongly backlit.

 

Here is the female Western Bluebird.

 

One of the species I was looking for was Wrentit.  I saw a couple of little wren-like birds, but I decided they were House Wrens, not Wrentits.  They were too brown for Wrentit.  I also played the song of Chipping Sparrow because I have seen them there in previous years.  A couple of small birds flew in when I did that, but they turned out to be Bewick’s Wrens, another one I didn’t need.  Here is one of the Bewick’s Wrens, somewhat over-exposed in the bright sun.

 

I also saw a male Western Tanager there, as well as a flycatcher that I think was a Western Wood-Pewee.  I didn’t need any of those species, but at least I was seeing birds and getting a few pictures.

 

I checked out the area near the creek, finding nothing, and then I headed out of Foresta.  I stopped at the pullout on the sharp bend overlook, where I have seen good birds before, and a small dark bird flew into the bottom of a bush.  I had Wrentit on my mind because I had been playing its song in various places today, and the bird looked like a Wrentit to me.  It flew across the road into another bush, and I got another look at it.  I was pretty sure it was a Wrentit, but then it flew to the top of the tree and sang to me.  Perfeck!  It was the Wrentit song, which I easily recognized because I had been playing it all morning.  I took one picture, and I’ll show it as an example of what happens when you are just a fraction of a second late in pushing the shutter button.  Here is the Wrentit diving down from the top of the tree, where it had been posing and singing.

 

Notice how long the tail is on that little bird.  The very long tail is a characteristic of Wrentit.  From memory, this is only about the 6^th or 7^th time I have ever seen a Wrentit, and three of those times have been this year.  I had never even thought of looking for that species in Yosemite until this year, when I noticed it on eBird.  They are reclusive and hard to see.

 

So, I had a June bird, to my pleased surprise, and I headed up to a higher elevation to escape the heat.  I went through Crane Flat and drove slowly down Tamarack Flat Road, which is at an elevation of about 6000 feet.  My car thermometer showed a pleasant temperature of 78 degrees, and there was a gentle breeze.  I stopped a few times and got out, playing various bird songs.  I was mainly looking for pictures, but I kept my eyes and ears open for birds I needed, too.  At one stop I saw a pair of Western Tanagers.  The male posed for me, and I got these pictures.  They are quite “soft”, meaning not sharp, but I kind of like the effect.

 

 

The bird was in the shade, so there wasn’t much light, and hand-holding the camera at full zoom inevitably introduces some motion blur.

 

I stopped at a good-looking place for Green-tailed Towhee and played its song.  I had seen one the other day, but I wanted to try for better pictures.  I got a response, but it turned out to be a similarly sounding Fox Sparrow.  I moved on and tried at another place for Green-tailed Towhee, and this time I attracted one that kept singing back to me and posing.  Here is a Green-tailed Towhee in the sun.

 

 

Another Fox Sparrow showed up, too, and here is its picture.

 

At one point I got a good look at a Yellow Warbler, and a small flock of Cassin’s Finches flew through at another point.  I ate my lunch in the shade, while watching for birds and enjoying the view.

 

Eventually, it was getting to be time to be heading for home, and as I drove slowly along I heard the song of a bird I needed for June, Olive-sided Flycatcher.  It is a very distinctive song, and birders say it sounds like “Quick!  THREE beers!” with the accent on the middle syllable.  I pulled over to the side of the road and got out and played the song repeatedly.  I also scanned the area because Olive-sided Flycatchers like to land on the very top of dead snags, which can make them easier to find.  I never could see it, but it sang again, very clearly, so I counted it as a “heard only” bird for my June list. 

 

Even better than that, as I was walking around looking and listening for the flycatcher, I saw a small bird on the ground.  It turned out to be a Chipping Sparrow, another one I needed for June, and another one I had been looking for all day.  It wouldn’t sit still for a picture, but I chased it around, trying to get off a shot.  It finally settled on a log and I got my chance, but my camera let me down.  It is supposed to focus on the center spot of the picture, but sometimes it doesn’t do that.  Here is a perfect example.

 

The Chipping Sparrow is clearly in the middle of the picture, but the camera focused on the weed in the foreground instead.  Oh well, maybe next time.

 

I headed back up the road toward the highway to Yosemite Valley, and I saw a Red-breasted Sapsucker fly onto a tree trunk.  Here are a couple of pictures that I took from the car, stopped in the middle of the road.

 

 

It was still a pleasant 78 degrees when I left Tamarack Flat Road, but it was in the 90’s when I got down to Yosemite Valley, which is about 4000 feet elevation.  My car thermometer indicated 91 degrees, but my phone said it was 96 degrees in Yosemite Valley at the time.  It was way too hot for me, anyway.  Once the sun goes over the edge of the valley walls, it cools down fast, though, and it was pleasant at our picnic tonight.  Tonight we had 36 people for dinner, which was our peak this week.

 

I added 3 more species to my June list today, to bring it to 148 species.  I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow, but it is supposed to be too damn hot again, so I’ll be looking for a way to beat the heat.

 

 

Saturday, June 23, 2018

 

Yesterday I went over to Foresta again in the morning, but I didn’t see anything interesting or new.  I stopped by the river for a while, then I came back to our room and laid low in the heat of the day, which got up into the 90’s.

 

Today was the first of three driving days to get home.  Christina was driving to the Sacramento airport with her sister, Monica, and I drove alone to pick her up there.  I had a little time to look for some birds.  I stopped at Mather Lake, east of Sacramento, and I picked up Great-tailed Grackle and Mute Swan for my June list.  I also saw this Snowy Egret for my June list.

 

After getting a hot dog and a slice of pizza at Costco in Rancho Cordova, I went to Ancil Hoffman Park in Sacramento.  I picked up the expected Wild Turkeys on the golf course for my June list, and then set out to find a Yellow-billed Magpie.  The park was more crowded than I have ever seen it before, with all the parking places taken.  The park is on the American River, and the temperature was right around 100 degrees, so people were flocking to the river.  At first I couldn’t find any magpies, but then I found them all together under some trees away from the people.  I like them anyway, because I think they are very attractive, but I also got interested today in the variation of the amount of yellow around their bill and eyes.  Here are some pictures of Yellow-billed Magpies with various amounts of yellow around their eyes.

 

 

 

 

Next I went over to the Effie Yeaw Nature Center and walked a little in the stifling heat.  The place is normally bustling with children, especially on a Saturday, but today it was almost deserted.  I guess all the kids went to the beach today.  I didn’t see much at first, although there was a family of Western Bluebirds hanging around.  Here is the male Western Bluebird.

 

At least, think it was an adult male.  It could possibly be a juvenile male, since I can’t see the breast.  I don’t think a juvenile would be so blue, though.  Juvenile Western Bluebirds have streaked breasts, as in this next picture.

 

Here is a side view of a recently fledged Western Bluebird.

 

Here is another picture of a Western Bluebird fledgling on the ground.

 

That one has a lot more blue on it, so maybe it is a male.

 

I had been playing the song of Oak Titmouse because I know they live there, but I hadn’t gotten any response.  Then, a few minutes after I quit playing it, I spotted a couple of Oak Titmice feeding on the ground under some trees.  I think one of them was a recently fledged juvenile.  Here is an adult Oak Titmouse, I think.

 

I think this next picture shows a recently fledged juvenile Oak Titmouse.

 

Here is a picture of an Oak Titmouse going for something on the ground.

 

In the same area, I saw a couple of White-breasted Nuthatches foraging on the ground.  They are almost always in trees, and almost always on the trunk or branches of a tree, but these were on the ground.

 

 

In the same area, there was a Black Phoebe, and I think it was feeding a young one.  I only got one picture of the adult Black Phoebe.

 

Also in that same small area, I saw an adult House Wren.  It flew off before I could get a picture, but there was a recently fledged baby wren hopping around looking for food on the ground.  At the time I thought it was a Bewick’s Wren, but after looking at my pictures, I think it was a fledgling House Wren.

 

 

 

I’m not sure which wren species it was, since I haven’t ever seen fledglings of either House Wren or Bewick’s Wren, and I don’t have my field guide handy.

 

Of all those birds in that small area under the trees, the only one I needed for June was Oak Titmouse, but I had fun trying to get pictures in the poor light.

 

I ended up getting 6 more species for June to bring it to 154 species now.

 

I don’t know about tomorrow because as we approached our motel late this afternoon, the check engine light and the VTM-4 warning light (whatever that is) came on.  At least they are orange, not red.  It was 105 degrees at the time, and I had been driving for hours at high speed, so maybe things were just overheated.  The manual says have it checked by a dealer if that happens.  There is a Honda dealer in Redding, and surprisingly, they open at 10 AM on Sunday.  We plan to be waiting in line when they open tomorrow (Redding is about a half hour up the road, and I hope the car can get there okay), and maybe they can fix things and get us back on the road.  It is supposed to be another triple digit day tomorrow in the Central Valley.  What fun!  Car trouble, and while on the road, hundreds of miles from home, too.  Yippee.

 

 

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

 

On Sunday morning we hit the road and stopped at a Jiffy Lube to get the Check Engine light codes read.  I wasn’t sure what it meant, but it didn’t sound too bad.  We didn't have much choice, so we continued north to Albany, Oregon, our next stop.  I was wrong about the Honda dealer in Redding being open on Sunday; it was only the Sales department that was open, not Service.  On Monday morning we went to the local Honda dealer at 7:30 when they opened, and they were reassuring enough that we headed for home without having them actually look at the car.  As it turned out, the Check Engine light went out in a couple of hours, and since then, everything seems to be working just fine.  I think the extreme heat on Saturday (105 degrees with the car heavily loaded) caused some kind of problem that fixed itself when things cooled down.  Anyway, we got home with no problems, and the car seems fine now.

 

I didn't do any birding at all on Sunday or Monday, while we were travelling.  I went out on Tuesday morning to Canyon Park Wetlands looking for Green Heron, but I found nothing.  Today I went over to Shoreline to look for the nesting Merlins I had been told about.  I found the nest with the good directions I had been given, but there was nothing visible.  Reportedly, the nestlings hadn't yet fledged, but they were visible sometimes.  I hoped to be there when the female brought them some food, but that never happened.  I gave it up after watching for over an hour.  I saw a little movement, but not enough to really identify the birds.  I have it up and went over to Edmonds to see if I could pick up a year bird there.

 

There is a gull that is common on the Edmonds waterfront from late June until November or December, and I hadn't seen it yet this year.  I checked out the breakwater and there were a number of HEERMANN'S GULLS roosting there.  Here is a Heermann's Gull, with its smoky gray body, white head, and red-orange bill.

 

Here is a small group of Heermann's Gulls.

 

After that I went back to the nest site in Shoreline.  This time there was action around the nest.  Two of the young Merlin nestlings were out on a branch and the third one could be seen in the nest.

 

In this next picture, one of the nestlings was stretching its wings.

 

Here is a closer crop, showing two of the young Merlins.

 

Here is an even tighter crop, but the picture is getting pretty poor with so much cropping.

 

I understand that last week they were mostly just balls of white fluff, and now the white downy feathers are falling out, being replaced with dark feathers.  Based on last year, the last of the white downy fluff to go is the feathers on the tops of their heads.  Here are a couple more pictures of the Merlin nestlings.

 

 

The bird in the middle hopped and walked back to the nest and climbed in, and I headed for home and my lunch.

 

I added two more species to my June list today, to bring it to 156 species.  One of them (Heermann's Gull) was new for the year and now I have 229 species for the year.  There are a few species I could still get for June, and I might go looking for them in the next few days.  July starts on Sunday, though, and then my list starts all over again.  It's good to be home, and it's great that the car seems to be okay (knock on wood).

 

 

Saturday, June 30, 2018

 

On Thursday I went over to Shoreline again and met my cousin's wife, Bev.  She wanted to see a Merlin.  There was nothing showing itself when we each got there, but within five minutes we heard a "kee, kee, kee" call and saw an adult Merlin flying to the nest.  I presume it was the female, since they usually do the actual feeding.  The youngsters popped up in the nest then, and they got to share the prey, which looked like a bird.  The light was terrible, and although we both got great looks with my scope, I didn't attempt any pictures.

 

After that, I went to the Edmonds Marsh.  (This was still on Thursday, remember.)  I had seen a report of two Least Sandpipers that had shown up the afternoon before.  I looked from several vantage points and finally saw a single Least Sandpiper, which was a June bird I hadn't expected.  I guess the "fall" migration has started.  Normally I would expect to see Least Sandpipers migrating through in July, but maybe everything will be early this year.  July is the start of the southward migration for shorebirds.  The Least Sandpiper was too far away for a picture, but it increased my June total to 157 species.

 

I didn't go out birding at all yesterday, but today I went to Marymoor Park first.  I saw nothing of interest there, and I went on out to the Snoqualmie River Valley.  At the Fay Road access to the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area, I parked and walked on the trail for a while.  I didn't see much of anything.  There was a flycatcher at one point, but I decided it was a Western Wood-Pewee, the most common flycatcher here.  Here are three pictures of it.

 

 

 

A little later I saw a second flycatcher, but I think it was also a Western Wood-Pewee.  Here is a picture of that second bird.

 

I was playing the song of Red-eyed Vireo most of the time, but I never attracted one or heard one.  I was also keeping an eye on the sky, hoping to see Black Swift, but I didn't get that one either.  I did see a Turkey Vulture, though, my first one locally in June.  It didn't add to my June list because I had seen them on the Yosemite trip, but I keep track of local birds that I see each month, and it brought my local June list to 102 species, by far the lowest of the year.  This is the summer doldrums.  July will be very slow, too, but at least a few migrants will be moving back through here, heading south.  My year total remains at 229 species, and tomorrow is a new month.  My June total, including the species I saw on the Yosemite trip is 156 species.

[Correction - due to an error I made on June 18, my 2018 total is understated here by 50 species.  I actually had 279 for 2018 at the end of June.]