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Monday, October 1, 2018
The new month has started, but the weather didn't cooperate. I started my day with a visit to the sod farm in Woodinville where I had seen four species of geese on Saturday. I had no luck today - there wasn’t a goose in sight. I got American Crow (r) for my first October bird. [The (r) indicates that the species was a repeater - one I have seen in each month so far this year.]
I moved on to the Redmond Retention Ponds. A local birder who always sees huge numbers of species had reported 36 species there yesterday, in only 24 minutes. I would have been happy with one-third of that, or even less. He reported six species of ducks on the main pond, but I only saw two - Green-winged Teal (r) and Mallard (r). He also saw 30 other species, but it started to rain while I was there, so I didn't walk around and try for non-duck species.
Next I drove through the Evans Creek Natural Area, and I added American Robin (r), Red-winged Blackbird (r), Great Blue Heron (r), and Red-tailed Hawk (r). Here's a shot of the Red-tailed Hawk in the poor light and light rain.
It was still raining lightly when I got to Marymoor Park, so I drove around to see what I could see from the car. I added Canada Goose (r) and Killdeer (r) in the big parking lot on the east side of the park. Here is a Killdeer that is sitting in a puddle. Maybe it was taking a bath in the rain, but it just sat there while I watched it.
You can see the rain streaks in the picture. I also spotted two Western Meadowlarks in that parking lot, but I couldn't get any pictures. That was an excellent one that I hadn't seen in September, despite looking for them a number of times.
In the parking lot next to the East Meadow, there was a wet Cooper's Hawk (r) just sitting on a fence. I was able to get very close and take pictures from my car. Here's the Cooper's Hawk; they have a long tail, and you can just see the tip of it below the fence rail.
Here's a closer look at the Cooper's Hawk.
I backed my car into a parking spot and got even closer pictures.
In that last picture, you can see how wet the feathers are on the top of its head.
I left it sitting there and moved on to the office area, to watch the feeders for a few minutes. I picked up Black-capped Chickadee (r) and Dark-eyed Junco (r) there. On my way out of the park I saw a Northern Flicker (r).
I had an early lunch appointment in Bellevue, and after lunch the rain had let up, so Chris and I walked out to the dock at Phantom Lake. A couple of Steller's Jays (r) flew around and called, and there were 3 or 4 Pied-billed Grebes (r) out on the lake. I played the call, and got a response from a Virginia Rail (r). Chris actually saw one fly into some reeds, but I missed that, so it went on my list as a "heard only" bird. There was also a female Wood Duck (r) on the lake, so that was one more for my list. There were also some finches in a distant tree, but I couldn't tell if they were House Finches or Purple Finches, so I didn't count them.
After taking him back to work, I went back to Marymoor Park, but I didn’t see anything there for my list. I drove out into the Snoqualmie River Valley and saw American Wigeons (r) and American Coots (r) on a pond out there. At the other end of that long pond I added Ring-necked Duck. I got nothing new around Sikes Lake, but at the pond at Chinook Bend I saw a female Gadwall (r). I stopped at the overlook of the Snoqualmie River, but there was nothing on the river. I did see some Dark-eyed Juncos, and one Yellow-rumped Warbler, though. There were European Starlings (r) along the road. It was raining lightly, so all this birding was from the car.
At the feeder house in Carnation, it was really dead quiet. I did manage to see one or two American Goldfinches, but they were mostly hiding in the trees. There was a Red-tailed Hawk at the top of a nearby tree, and I got this picture of it.
Red-tailed Hawks aren't quick enough to catch other birds, but maybe the birds didn't know that, so they were hiding. I did see one Eurasian Collared-Dove (r) and a couple of Anna's Hummingbirds (r), but mostly it was real quiet. I drove around a few blocks and I found what was probably keeping the birds in hiding. There was a Sharp-shinned Hawk near the top of a tree a short block away from the feeder house.
That was a great one to get; I never did see a Sharp-shinned Hawk in September. Sharpies do catch other birds, so that's probably why they were hiding while I was there. It flew off and I went back to my parking place across the street from the feeder house. The birds slowly started to come back, and I got this picture of a Eurasian Collared-Dove.
You can see the rain in that picture.
I had planned to go to the Stillwater Unit and do some walking, but the rain ended that idea. As I drove back across the valley toward home, I saw a small raptor in a tree, in terrible light. I pulled over and tried for pictures, hoping to be able to identify it from the pictures. I thought it might be another Sharp-shinned Hawk. As it turned out, though, my pictures showed it was a Merlin, another really excellent species to get for October. Here's a picture of the Merlin in the rain and terrible light, looking up at it.
Merlin was such a great bird that it deserves two pictures, so here's another one.
So, I ended up doing most of my birding today from the car, because of the rain. It never rained hard, but it was wet most of the day, which kept me in the car for the most part. I got 30 species today, of which 23 were repeaters. I think it is remarkable that I never saw a Western Meadowlark, a Sharp-shinned Hawk, or a Merlin in the entire month of September, but then on the first of October I saw all three of those species, and I was handicapped by the rain, too.
Tomorrow is supposed to be drier, but today was supposed to be much drier than it turned out to be, too, so who knows? It feels like fall is here.
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
This morning I drove by the Woodinville sod farm again, looking for the geese. Like yesterday, there were no geese to be seen, only many dozens of crows. I drove around to the southern fields, and the geese weren't there either. I gave up on the geese and went on to Marymoor Park. I parked at the west parking lot for the dog park and walked along the slough to the weir. Along the way I added White-crowned Sparrow (r) to my October list. The Common Merganser (r) family was at the weir - the female and the three youngsters I have been watching for the last couple of months. I headed back toward my car and saw a Turkey Vulture soaring overhead. That was a good October bird because Turkey Vultures are already starting to migrate south for the winter. They aren't commonly seen at Marymoor, so this one might have been migrating through.
I walked around the blackberry vines playing Lincoln's Sparrow songs, but I didn’t attract anything but a House Finch (r). I tried playing Golden-crowned Kinglet songs because I had seen two of them there last week, but nothing today. I played Fox Sparrow songs where I had seen one a few days ago, and I heard one chipping back to me from the depths of the brambles. I played more songs and eventually a Fox Sparrow came out enough for me to get these three pictures of it.
In that same area, I saw a Song Sparrow (r) fly across the path, and I got a good look at it when it flew to the next bush. Next I went over to the viewing mound, north of the East Meadow. I was looking for Lincoln's Sparrow, but I didn't find one. I did see a couple of White-crowned Sparrows, which I had seen yesterday, and one Golden-crowned Sparrow, which I needed for October.
I went home for lunch, but after lunch I drove back to the sod farm; but again, there were no geese there at all. I guess I was lucky on Saturday when I saw four goose species pretty close to the road.
Yesterday was rainy and today was quite windy. Tomorrow is finally supposed to be a decent day, and I plan to go up to Skagit county and see what I can find up there for my October list. Summer birds are leaving or have already left, and winter birds are showing up. This Monthly Birding thing I have been doing this year has been great for learning more about the seasonality of our local birds.
I got 7 more species for October today, to give me 37 now. Four of them were repeaters, and now I have seen (or heard) 27 of the 62 possible repeaters for this month.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
I drove up to Skagit county today, about an hour north of home. I'm getting pretty familiar with the stretch of freeway between home and there. I picked up a sandwich at Subway along the way and headed for Wylie Slough for my first stop. I added Brewer's Blackbird (r) along the road as soon as I got off the freeway. Then on the road into Wylie Slough, there was an American Kestrel (r) on a wire. I had two repeaters before I even got to my first destination. At Wylie Slough I spotted a distant bird on a snag, and I had Peregrine falcon for the month. Here is a very distant picture of a Peregrine Falcon.
The tide was out, but it's getting pretty late in the year for shorebirds. Most of them have already headed off south for the winter. A group of two dozen dowitchers, flew in, though, and I got this picture.
I thought they were all Long-billed Dowitchers, which is the more common of the two dowitcher species at this time of year, but in this next picture, I think one of them is actually a Short-billed Dowitcher.
The one in the front on the left appears to have shorter legs, has a little shorter bill, has less of a sway back at the rump, and the white line above the eye turns downward fairly sharply in front of the eye. All of those things are indicative of Short-billed Dowitcher.
As it turned out, I saw three dowitchers later that I thought were also Short-billed Dowitchers. Here are some pictures of them, and they show similar characteristics, I think.
That one's bill seems slightly downturned, which is a characteristic of Long-billed Dowitcher, but the other signs indicate Short-billed. This next picture shows the one that is most like a Short-billed Dowitcher, I think.
At any rate, I was happy to put both dowitcher species on my October list.
Back at Wylie Slough, a Spotted Towhee (r) went on to my list. I was hoping to see or hear Marsh Wren or Common Yellowthroat, but I didn't see or hear either of those. The Common Yellowthroats might all be gone now for the winter, but I was hoping one might still be around. I looked for the rare (for here) Black Phoebe that I keep missing there, and I missed it again today.
I walked out onto the dike trail and there was a tree with a lot of bird action. There was a small flock of juvenile Cedar Waxwings, which went onto my list. Juvenile Cedar Waxwings aren't nearly as sleek and smooth as the adults and they have some streaking on their breasts. Here's a picture of one.
Here's one that is kind of puffed up.
There were a lot of Yellow-rumped Warblers around, and although I didn't need that species for October, I got this picture of one.
I also saw a Purple Finch in that tree and got this picture of it.
Up until today I would have confidently said it was a female Purple Finch, but I learned from my field guide that juveniles look just like the adult females, so this one might be a juvenile male. That same situation occurs with other species - the juveniles of both sexes look like adult females. Birders identify the birds as "female type" in those situations.
I saw a Savannah Sparrow in a nearby tree, another one for my October list. There were a few Barn Swallows (r) around, and I was pleased to see at least one Violet-green Swallow as well. Swallows have mostly left for the winter now, and Barn Swallows are almost all that are left now. A few stick around all winter, and since I have seen Barn Swallow in each month so far this year, I'll be looking for them in November and December, too.
From the bird blind I added Northern Shoveler and Northern Pintail to my list. I took this next picture because I thought it might be a female Cinnamon Teal, but I decided that it is a female Northern Pintail.
Here is a male Northern Pintail in non-breeding plumage. Note the long tail feathers, which are the first sign of the upcoming molt to breeding plumage.
Later in the day I saw a few Northern Pintails that had already molted into breeding plumage. Here's a picture of one of them.
The bird is facing partly away from the camera, so it appears foreshortened, but the colors of the neck and head show how much of a change occurs. Most of the ducks are now changing into breeding plumage for next spring's nesting season. I think it is interesting that they only stay in non-breeding plumage for 3 or 4 months of the year. I wonder what the point of it is.
I already had Gadwall this month, but I took this picture of a couple of male Gadwalls.
The only other shorebird I saw at Wylie Slough was Greater Yellowlegs. I was hoping for Lesser Yellowlegs, but maybe they are all gone now. I left Wylie Slough and stopped at the dairy on the road out, where I added Brown-headed Cowbird (r) to my October list.
At Hayton Reserve, the tide was in, but the only shorebirds I saw were dowitchers and Greater Yellowlegs. I did add Ring-billed Gull (r) and California Gull (r) anyway. From the dike at Hayton, I took this picture of Mount Baker in the distance.
I had been looking for Northern Harrier, and on the way out of Hayton Reserve, I saw one sitting in a field. Here is a female Northern Harrier (r).
I drove around the loop that included Maupin Road and Rawlins Road, looking mainly for American Pipits, but I never saw any. I also missed seeing any geese. That's where I saw the three Short-billed Dowitchers I showed pictures of earlier in this report. They were in a drainage ditch along the road, a very strange place for them. It was probably only a brief stop on their migration.
I drove off Fir Island and went to the house on Valentine Road that has a big suet feeder, hoping for woodpeckers. I ate my sandwich in my car while I watched the feeder. The only woodpecker I got was Downy Woodpecker (r).
After I ate, I retraced my steps and headed toward home. I went around the Rawlins Road / Maupin Road loop the opposite direction, and this time I saw a large flock of Snow Geese in a field of stubble. Snow Geese are just starting to come back now, and this was a larger flock than I have seen reported yet this year. Even better, there were a lot of Cackling Geese on the edges of the flock, so I added two geese to my list today. They were too far away for pictures.
I stopped briefly at Wylie Slough again, and I saw a Belted Kingfisher (r), but I wasn't able to get a picture. On my way to the freeway I took another picture of Mount Baker. I like the church in the foreground.
On my way home, I got off the freeway and visited the Everett Sewage Treatment ponds. I had seen a lot of great birds there over the weekend. There were still tons of ducks, but the only new species for me today was Ruddy Duck (r). I was pleased to see some Bonaparte's Gulls (r) there, and here is a picture of some of them.
I also added Mew Gull. There was a Bald Eagle (r) in the same tree where I took pictures of eagles the last couple of times I was there.
On my way back to the freeway, I spotted a largish bird in a dead tree, so I pulled over. It turned out to be my second Peregrine Falcon of the day, and I got these pictures.
So, I started my day with a very distant picture of a Peregrine Falcon, and I ended it with some closer pictures. I like the feather details in these closer pictures.
I headed for home again, but first I made a quick stop at the Everett waterfront. I was hoping that maybe an Osprey or two was still hanging around, but I guess they have all headed south. No Caspian Terns either. I did add Double-crested Cormorant (r) to my list, at least.
It was a long day of birding, by my standards. I was out there for about seven and a half hours, although two hours of that was simply driving to and from Skagit county. I added 27 species to my October list, to bring it to 64 species now. 14 of those today were repeaters, and now I have 41 repeaters for the first 10 months of the year.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
I don't have many pictures today, but I got a fair number of birds for my list. Before I even left home I saw a cute little Bewick's Wren (r) in our yard. My first birding stop was Richmond Beach Saltwater Park. I was hoping to see or hear California Quail, but today I failed in that. There were four Common Mergansers swimming along the shore, and although I didn't need that one, I got a couple of pictures.
I think that's a juvenile bird, because of the white patch under the eye. This next one doesn't seem to have that white patch, so I assume it is an adult.
I also saw a group of about a dozen Western Grebes (r) way out there, much too far away for pictures. On my way back to my car I saw a small flock of Bushtits, so that one went on my October list.
My next stop was at Kayu Kayu Ac Park. I added Horned Grebe there. I went on to the small park I recently discovered in the town of Woodway, which is just south of Edmonds. I managed to call up both a Pacific Wren and a Brown Creeper (r) there, by playing their respective songs. Unfortunately, it was much too dark in the deep woods for my camera to focus, and when it did focus, the shutter speed was so slow that the pictures are completely blurry. Today wasn't a good day for pictures.
I moved on to the Edmonds Marsh. I played Marsh Wren and Common Yellowthroat songs, but I couldn't get any responses. I did see a Bewick's Wren, a couple of American Goldfinches, and three Song Sparrows, but I didn't need any of those and I got no pictures.
Moving on to Sunset Avenue, I got out my scope and looked around. On the pilings by the ferry terminal, I spotted Pelagic Cormorants (r) and one Brandt's Cormorant, both of which I needed for October. There was a flock of Surf Scoters (r) around the ferry terminal, too. There were a few Red-necked Grebes around, so that one went on my list. I saw three Pigeon Guillemots (r) way out there, too. All of those were too far away for pictures.
I spotted one Black Scoter, which was an excellent one, my first one for several months. There was a single Heermann's Gull, too, another one I needed for October. Then I spotted five Pacific Loons way out there. One was still in breeding plumage, and the others were in the midst of their molt to winter plumage. There was a pair of Harlequin Ducks, too.
Next I went on to Ocean Avenue, but there wasn't much there. I saw some more Horned Grebes and three more Pacific Loons, but the highlight was a bird flying south - a male White-winged Scoter. I had a good look at him with my scope, but no pictures of anything.
Finally, I stopped at Marina Park as I went back through Edmonds and picked up Glaucous-winged Gull (r). That was my sixth gull species for October, and probably the last gull species I'll see in October.
I ended up adding 17 species to my October list, to bring it to 81 species. It was disappointing to not get California Quail, but Black Scoter and White-winged Scoter were great consolation prizes. I'll have to go back to Richmond Beach to try again for quail. 7 of the species today were repeaters, and now I have 48 repeaters for October.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
I headed north today. My first stop was the Marysville sewage ponds. I walked along Ebey Slough on the paved path, to where I could see the ponds. I kept playing Common Yellowthroat and Marsh Wren songs, but never got any responses except from a couple of Song Sparrows. There weren't very many ducks on the ponds, and I didn't see anything I needed.
Next I drove to the Everett sewage ponds. Most of the ducks were way far out, in the northern half of the main pond. I did manage to see a couple of Eared Grebes, though, fairly close. They are uncommon around here, so that was great. I kept looking at the ducks that were in the southwest corner of the main pond, and I saw some scaup. I had excellent looks at them, and I decided that there was at least one male Lesser Scaup and at least one Greater Scaup. That was great, to get both scaup species, and now I don't have look at every scaup I see, to try to determine the species. The two species are very similar, and it takes a good look or a picture to identify them..
I drove over to the Everett waterfront, where the tide was out. I had been hoping to see either an Osprey or a Caspian Tern, but they seem to have all gone south for the winter now. I did see two Bald Eagles there, which is interesting. I looked and looked to find a Bald Eagle in September, and now I seem to see them everywhere I go. I don't know where the eagles go in September, but they sure weren't around here.
I made one more stop, at Mukilteo. There was nothing at all out on the water there, except gulls.
So, no pictures today, and I got 3 more species for my October list. I have 84 species in October now.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Before I get into today's report, I have a picture to show from yesterday. I didn't bother processing it yesterday because it was the only one I had from that day. This is a Greater Yellowlegs on Ebey Slough, in Marysville.
This morning, Sunday, I went over to Seattle to my California Scrub-Jay spot. It was sprinkling lightly, but that wasn't a problem. I walked a little and I played scrub-jay calls, and I soon saw at least three California Scrub-Jays, which was a repeater. My only photo ops were with the birds high in trees, against the bright cloudy sky, and I didn't even try.
I had my main target for the day, but since I was over in Seattle anyway, and the rain was holding off, pretty much, I stopped at the Montlake Fill (Union Bay Natural Area) on my way home. I walked around and the rain didn't get any worse, so I only had to keep the lenses of my binoculars and camera dry. There was nothing on what I think is called the lagoon, other than way too many lily pads, but just beyond there, I found a guy with binoculars and a scope. I asked him if anything good was around, and he kindly pointed out a Green Heron across a little bay. That was a great October bird, and I got this picture.
He told me that there were some Hooded Mergansers on the Main Pond, so I went there next. Approaching the pond, I saw a juvenile Cooper's Hawk in a tree without leaves. Here are a couple of pictures of the juvenile Cooper's Hawk.
There were indeed some Hooded Mergansers on the Main Pond, so that repeater went onto my list. Here is a picture of a pair of Hooded Mergansers. The male is the more colorful one, and this was the first one I have seen in breeding plumage this fall.
There were a lot of cattails and reeds around the shore of the lake, so I played the song of Marsh Wren. It took a while, but eventually, a Marsh Wren flew in and actually sang back to me when I would stop playing. It insisted on keeping back in the reeds, though, so I struggled to get pictures. Here is one that shows the Marsh Wren, but it is out of focus because my camera focused on the reeds in front of the bird.
Here's a picture of the Marsh Wren that is in focus, but it is back in the reeds. I call it a peek-a-boo picture.
Marsh Wren was a repeater, and one of the more difficult ones, so I was happy to get it.
There were a couple of Wood Ducks out on the lake. The light was poor and coming from the wrong direction, but I got these pictures of Wood Ducks, a species I already had for October. First, here is the more colorful male Wood Duck, in breeding plumage.
Here is the female Wood Duck. She isn't as brightly colored, but I think she is very attractive anyway.
Here is the pair of Wood Ducks.
Back at the parking lot, there were a lot of Yellow-rumped Warblers foraging in the trees. They didn't stay still for long, but I got a couple of pictures of one of them. Here is a close-up of a Yellow-rumped Warbler with a seed or fruit or something, from the tree it is in.
Here's a picture of the Yellow-rumped Warbler after it had either eaten or dropped the seed.
I didn't need Yellow-rumped Warbler for October, but I always welcome pictures.
I stopped once more on the way home, at Magnuson Park. On the way into the park I stopped at a place where I had seen Golden-crowned Kinglets before, and I played their song. It took a couple of minutes, but as I was leaving, a couple of Golden-crowned Kinglets came in and posed for me. It was too dark for pictures, but I was happy to get great looks at that October bird. They are here year round, but I hadn't found one in April, so it wasn't a repeater. I drove through the park, and I played Lincoln Sparrow songs where I have seen them before, but not today.
It was raining harder by the time I headed for home, but I had done very well, considering the weather and the time I had been out there. I added 5 more species to my October list, and 3 of them were repeaters. That gives me 89 species for October now, and 51 of them are ones I have seen in every month this year so far. We have two more days of wet weather ahead, and then it is supposed to be dry for a number of days. Birding in the rain isn't ideal.
Monday, October 8, 2018
This morning I had several tasks I had to do around here, and it was raining, anyway. I didn't bird this morning at all, and I headed down to Bellevue for an early lunch date. It pretty much rained lightly all day today, but right after Chris and I finished lunch, there was a brief break in the rain, so we went over to Phantom Lake. There were a number of Yellow-rumped Warblers around, and we saw a nice little flock of Bushtits, but I didn't need either of those nice birds. In with one batch of Yellow-rumped Warblers was a single Ruby-crowned Kinglet, though, and I did need that one. I played its song, and it displayed its red crown and flitted around in the tree in front of us. I was only able to get one picture, and it is kind of blurry. It also doesn't show the red crown, but you usually can't see the red patch on the top of its head, so that wasn't unusual. Here is a somewhat "soft" photo of my first Ruby-crowned Kinglet for October.
Later, down at the lake, there was a small flock of at least 4 or 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, but they mostly wouldn't sit still long enough for me to find them in the viewfinder and get a picture. Here is one more picture of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I like their orange feet.
Since I was already about 40% of the way there, I dropped Chris off at work and drove up to Tokul Creek to look for a dipper. I looked downstream from the bridge and didn't see one. I looked upstream and at first didn't see one, and then I spotted one fairly close, the second or third time I scanned the creek. They really blend in to the dark rocks and water of the creek. It was raining lightly, but I got some pictures of the American Dipper, which was a repeater.
Here it is in the water. I couldn't tell if it was swimming or walking on the bottom of the creek.
It kept getting closer, and I kept snapping pictures, although there was so little light that it was difficult to focus the camera on the dipper.
Here is the American Dipper almost right underneath me, while I stood on the bridge.
So, with that success under my belt, I headed for home. I stopped at Tolt-MacDonald Park and drove through, hoping for Varied Thrush, but it is too early in the season, I think, and I don’t usually find one there, anyway. I stopped at the house in Carnation that has feeders, hoping for Mourning Dove and Band-tailed Pigeon, but neither of those repeater species was around today. I got this picture of American Goldfinches at one of the feeders. The goldfinches have lost just about all of their yellow color now and won't get it back until the spring.
I looked for other birds as I drove across the valley, and I spotted a large bird in a dead tree in the distance. I figured it was a Red-tailed Hawk, but it turned out to be a Common Raven, which was a repeater that I was happy to get. I identified it from a very distant picture I took that shows the bird in silhouette only.
The shape of the bill and the tail are characteristic of ravens. The size precluded crow, anyway, but size is always tricky to judge.
I stopped once more at the Redmond Retention Ponds, hoping for Wilson's Snipe or American Pipit, both of which I have seen there recently, but I got nothing there today. There also weren't any geese at the sod farm as I came across the Sammamish Valley. I was hoping to see Greater White-fronted Geese, as I had a couple of weeks ago.
So, I missed some things today, but that isn't surprising. None of the ones I missed are easy. I got 3 species for October, which gives me 92 species now. Two of those were repeaters, and now I have 53 repeaters this month. There are nine more species of repeaters that I still need to find. None are really difficult (obviously - since I have seen each of them in every month this year so far), but some of them are tricky, and I'll have to work at it to get them all. It's supposed to rain a bit overnight, but by tomorrow morning when I can get out there, it should be okay. I'll see if I can get a couple of those remaining repeaters tomorrow. After tomorrow it's supposed to be quite nice for at least a week, so I should be able add to my October list nicely, if I'm lucky.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Originally I was planning to go over to Richmond Beach and Edmonds today, but it was supposed to be quite windy, and wind isn't helpful when looking out at the water. I decided to head over to the Snoqualmie River Valley instead, to try for some of the ones I need out there.
I went by Marymoor Park on the way, mainly hoping that they had put seed in the feeders at the office, so I could look for Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Red-breasted Nuthatch. They hadn't, though, so I didn't get either of those. I drove around, mainly looking for American Pipits, but al l found in the big parking lot were Killdeer and Western Meadowlarks. Western Meadowlark is a great bird, but I saw them last week at the same place. Today I did get a couple of pictures of Western Meadowlarks, though.
I moved on and my next stop was the Redmond Retention Ponds. I walked around, but I didn’t find anything interesting. Out in the Snoqualmie River Valley I spotted a couple of Bald Eagles near the top of a dead tree. Everywhere I go this month, I see eagles, after almost not finding one last month. One of the eagles flew off, right by me, but I wasn't able to focus my camera quickly enough for a picture of it in flight. Here is the one that stayed in the tree. Note how it is being blown by the wind.
At the pond at Chinook Bend, there were four otters swimming around. One had caught something and was chewing it and swallowing it. It got out of the water and joined another one on a snag.
The one on the left was working at whatever it had caught, and it took it several minutes to chew it up and swallow it.
I stopped a couple more places, but couldn't scare up anything good. At the house in Carnation with feeders, I did manage to add Band-tailed Pigeon, a repeater, to my October list. I had been hoping for Mourning Dove as well, but all I could get was Band-tailed Pigeon and Eurasian Collared-Dove. Here is a picture of a Band-tailed Pigeon.
Here is a Eurasian Collared-Dove on a wire.
There were tons of American Goldfinches at the seed feeders, as usual. One of them flew down and took a drink from a puddle. It was kind of puffed up and pretty wet looking, and it had some black around its face, which was strange. Here is the strange looking American Goldfinch getting a drink of water.
A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew through and scattered all the birds. It didn't catch one, but they all flew off after that. I went over to the Carnation Market and got a nice sandwich, and brought it back and ate it where I could watch the area for Mourning Doves. Other than the usual suspects, all I saw while I ate were a couple of Northern Flickers. Here is a female Northern Flicker at the top of a pole.
After I finished my sandwich, I went up to the Stillwater Unit of the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area and I walked out on the dike trail. It was remarkably quiet, with nothing I needed at all. I took this picture of a female Hooded Merganser.
And this next one of a Pied-billed Grebe.
After that I headed for home, with a few stops as I crossed the valley again. At one point there was an American Kestrel on a wire. As I approached, it flew off and then I saw that it had caught something. It looked like it had caught a large dragonfly. It landed on a roof across the road and ate its catch. Here is a picture of the male American Kestrel, and you can see a wing of the dragonfly by its foot.
American Kestrel is a great bird for that valley, but I had already seen one up in Skagit county last week.
I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds again on the way home, and I took this picture of a male Mallard.
When I got home I put on a coat and sat out on the front porch for a while, and I was able to add House Sparrow, a repeater, to my October list.
So, I added 2 more species today, to bring me to 94 for the month now. Both of them were repeaters, to now I have 55 repeaters this month.
I have just 7 more repeaters left to get now, and I'll be concentrating on them. I'm afraid that Mourning Dove is going to be my nemesis repeater this month, because they aren't very common around here. I'm rather surprised that I managed to see a Mourning Dove in each month so far this year. The only reliable place for them in this area that I know of is that house in Carnation with the feeders, and they are only there a small percentage of the time. They are more common up in Skagit county, so maybe I'll see one up there. I hope to drive through part of Skagit county tomorrow, after taking the ferry to Whidbey Island and then driving up the island and off at the north end. I'll be watching for Mourning Dove tomorrow, both on Whidbey Island and in Skagit county.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
I caught the 9:30 ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island this morning. It had been foggy and the fog was just lifting as we boarded the ferry. The light was interesting, and I took this picture of the lighthouse at Mukilteo, just south of the ferry terminal.
At the Clinton (Whidbey Island) ferry terminal, I got this picture of a Belted Kingfisher on one of the ferry landing pilings.
My first stop on Whidbey Island was Deer Lagoon. I was hoping to get American White Pelican there. They had been hanging out there all summer, but most of them have left already. There had been reports of one that was still hanging around, though, so I had my fingers crossed. Sure enough, there was one still there. Here is a distant picture of the lone American White Pelican, an excellent October bird for me - one I hadn't expected to get.
I was also hoping to see a late-staying Osprey or Caspian Tern, but I missed those two species. I probably won't get either one for October. I heard California Quail a couple of times, so I was planning to count that repeater as a "heard only" species for October. As I headed back toward my car I saw a parade of California Quail coming down the path toward me, and then scurrying off across the path as they saw me. There must have been at least 20 of them, and they just kept coming, in small groups. I just stood there and took pictures. Here are two female California Quail.
Here are two males.
Here's a mixed group, scurrying across the path.
One more group picture of California Quail.
That was a great species to get. It will save me repeated trips back to Richmond Beach Saltwater Park to get the species there, this month.
A female Northern Flicker posed for me at the top of a tree.
There were tons of ducks at Deer Lagoon, but I didn't see anything new for my October list. Buffleheads and the two golden-eye species aren't back yet from their breeding grounds, but I'm hoping they will show up by the end of the month. Likewise the uncommon Eurasian Wigeon.
Next I moved on to Crockett Lake, near the Port Townsend ferry terminal. I stopped at the parking lot south of the lake and spotted a group of loons offshore. I set up my scope and found that all three local loon species were represented. I already had Pacific Loon this month, but I added the repeater, Common Loon, and Red-throated Loon to my list. As it's name implies, Common Loon is pretty common, so I expected to get it sometime this month, but Red-throated Loon is uncommon, so it was great to get a good look at one today. They were too far out for pictures, unfortunately.
I drove slowly along Crockett Lake, stopping frequently to look for shorebirds along the shore. I spotted some in two or three places, and stopped to get out my scope. I added Black-bellied Plover, Least Sandpiper, and Dunlin there. Again they were too distant for pictures.
I moved on to what I call the West Coast of Whidbey Island, along West Beach Road. I stopped at the Hastie Lake access parking lot, but the fog was still hanging in there. It was clearing as I left, but I didn't see anything I needed. There were Harlequin Ducks, Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, Surf Scoters, and a couple of Common Loons, but I had all of those already.
At the overlook called West Beach county park, it was more of the same - nothing new. There is a lake there, called Bos Lake in eBird reports, and I slowly drove along the lake. Again, there were some ducks, but nothing I needed. At the north end of Bos Lake I saw a guy with a scope near the road. I stopped (of course), and walked up to him and asked what he was seeing. He pointed out a couple of Semipalmated Plovers to me, and I was very pleased to get that one. I thought they had already all gone south for the winter. It was an excellent, unexpected October bird for me. There were also some Long-billed Dowitchers, quite close, and among them was a single Dunlin. I had seen Dunlin at Crockett Lake earlier, but I got this picture at Bos Lake.
Dunlin actually winter in our area, so I expect to see them in each of the next couple of months, if I'm lucky.
I asked Carlos, the birder who had helped me there, about the next place I wanted to visit, Dugualla Bay. He told me where to stop and where to look for the birds I wanted to see there. I moved on and did stop there, but I didn't see anything new there. In the place where I was hoping to see Canvasbacks, there were a couple of guys in a boat, and they were putting out duck decoys. I guess hunting season has started.
By that time it was 1:00, so I unwrapped my Subway tuna sandwich and ate the first half as I drove off of Whidbey Island over the Deception Pass bridge. My next birding stop was Channel Drive, along the Swinomish Channel. I was hoping for Mourning Dove there, since I have seen them there in the past. Today all I saw were three Eurasian Collared-Doves, though. Five or six years ago they would have been Mourning Doves, but Eurasian Collared-Doves have moved in all across the country and they are gradually replacing the native Mourning Doves in many places. They compete for nesting places and prevail over the smaller Mourning Doves.
I drove to the house on Valentine Road with the large suet feeder, and I ate the second half of my sandwich in the car, while I watched the suet feeder. I did see one Downy Woodpecker, but no Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, or Red-breasted Nuthatch - all of which I have seen there recently.
At Hayton Reserve, I didn’t take the time to go up on the dike to look for shorebirds, since there were unlikely to be any I needed, anyway. I did get this picture of a Savannah Sparrow in the parking lot, although I didn't need it for my list.
My last stop of the day was at Wylie Slough. I was hoping to see the Black Phoebe that has eluded me the last several times I have been there. It is a rarity for this area, but this one has been hanging out there for many months. I saw it earlier in the year, but I never found it in September or in my visit there last week. Today I found it, near the east end of the slough it favors. I was sitting my car and I noticed a bird fly out over the water and back. I got out and chased it down, and I got these next two pictures of the rare Black Phoebe, an excellent October bird.
Phoebes are flycatchers, and this one likes to sit low and fly out over the water and back.
So, it was quite satisfying to finally see the Black Phoebe again, but on the way back to my car I saw an even better bird. There was a Golden-crowned Sparrow and a Spotted Towhee, and I was trying for pictures when I saw another bird. My first quick look indicated that it might be an uncommon sparrow that I hadn't even seen this year yet. I chased it down and sure enough, it was my first WHITE-THROATED SPARROW of the year. They winter in this area, and they are pretty uncommon. I played its song, and it cooperated and perched out in the open looking at me, like it was deliberately posing for pictures. Here are some pictures of the White-throated Sparrow.
That was a great way to end my day, and I boogied over to the freeway and got home shortly after 4:00. I was out for about seven and a half hours, and I put about 160 miles on my car. The weather was great and I enjoyed the birding and the great views. I added a whopping 10 species to my October list, to bring it to 104 species now. Two of those were repeaters, and now I have 57 repeaters this month. That leaves just five more repeaters to look for now.
I also added 11 species to my Island county list, to bring it to 82 species, and 1 to my Skagit county list, to bring it to 124. The White-throated Sparrow was new for the year for me, and now I have 240 species in 2018.
The good weather is supposed to continue for at least the next 8 or 9 days, so I'll have to get out there and try to get the rest of my repeaters, along with other birds I need for October.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
On Thursday I went out to the Snoqualmie River Valley, mainly to look for Mourning Dove. I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds to look for Wilson's Snipe and American Pipit, but I didn't fine either one. I made some more stops in the valley, looking for Lincoln's Sparrow, but I missed on that one, too. There were no Mourning Doves at the house in Carnation with the feeders, so I drove around the town of Carnation looking for them. I never found a Mourning Dove, but I did see 19 Eurasian Collared-Doves in 3 or 4 groups. Mourning Dove is going to be tough, and it is a repeater. So, I got nothing and took no pictures. Not a great birding day in terms of results.
Friday, October 12, 2018
Today was better than yesterday for results. I started at Juanita Bay Park and tried to find Wilson's Snipe, but I failed. The lake (Lake Washington) has been very low for the last few weeks, but they must be raising it now because it was about a foot higher today than recently. I saw a female Purple Finch foraging in a tree, and I got this picture of it. I already had it for October, but it's a good species and I was happy to get a picture.
On the east boardwalk, I played the call of Hairy Woodpecker, and I got a couple of responses, I think - one for sure. I counted it for October as a "heard only" species, and it was a repeater. There were also a couple of Downy Woodpeckers in the same area, and I got this picture of a male Downy Woodpecker.
At the end of the east boardwalk, I had a good view of a Bald Eagle on the Osprey nesting platform. As I mentioned the other day, I'm suddenly seeing eagles everywhere.
I was looking for Chestnut-backed Chickadee all day today, another repeater I'm trying to find. I kept seeing Black-capped Chickadees, but I never found a Chestnut-backed one. Here is one of the Black-capped Chickadees I saw today.
I stopped at the fire station road, but I saw nothing of interest there. I went to Marymoor Park, to the office area, hoping that they might have filled the feeders there. No such luck, so I parked and wandered around playing bird calls. I managed to see a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches, which was a repeater I had really wanted to see there. I missed seeing Chestnut-backed Chickadee there, as everywhere else today.
I drove through the parking lot that has had American Pipits, but I didn't find any today. I also tried playing Lincoln's Sparrow songs at the viewing mound, but had no luck with that one either. I headed for home, but I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds on the way. Nothing there either. I even stopped at 60 Acres soccer fields to try to find the Mourning Doves someone reported there last week, but had no luck with that either. I kept missing the birds I was looking for, but I did get two repeaters today, so I'm not complaining. There just isn't that much left to get this month.
Back at home, I ate my lunch and read on the front porch, keeping an eye out for Chestnut-backed Chickadees. I saw Black-capped Chickadee several times, but never a Chestnut-backed one. I did take some pictures, though, since I was just sitting there watching much of the time. Here's a European Starling that came to the bird bath for a bath.
It splashed around a lot, getting thoroughly wet.
At one point I thought there might be a bird at the top of a tree a couple of houses away, so I took a picture to see. It was a starling, and I only show it because it came out quite good for being so distant. With the naked eye, I wasn't even sure if there was a bird there or not. It helped that I was sitting and could brace myself on the arms of my chair. Here's the very distant European Starling.
My camera is a great tool for making identifications sometimes.
Here's a shot of a male Spotted Towhee that came to the bird bath for a drink.
Our bird feeder has a wooden perch for the birds to sit on while they eat seeds, and it's designed so if a large bird (or a squirrel) puts enough weight on it, it pivots down and the seeds are blocked off. It works quite well to keep squirrels from emptying the feeder. You can adjust the amount of weight it takes for the perch to pivot down, and I have it set so the larger birds, like starlings or jays, make it pivot. Some of the starlings have figured out how to get seeds anyway, though. Here is one starling showing its technique, bracing itself so it doesn't put too much weight on the wooden perch.
Steller's Jays have their own strategy. They perch in the bush next to the feeder, spot a peanut in the mix, and then dive in and grab the peanut before the door can close on them. They then take the peanut to a perch nearby and eat it. One came by today and got 2 or 3 peanuts that way, and then it went to the bird bath. Here is the Steller's Jay at the bird bath, in the sun.
I was out there on the porch for over three hours this afternoon, but I never saw a Chestnut-backed Chickadee. I guess I'll have to keep on trying.
My two repeaters today brought me to 106 species for the month, and 59 of them are repeaters. I have three repeaters left now - Mourning Dove, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Rhinoceros Auklet. There are other birds I can get for the month, and some duck species that are just now starting to return, so I have things to look for.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
No pictures today, sorry to say. I went up to Edmonds this morning, to see if I could get some sea birds. On the way I stopped at the Willow Creek Fish Hatchery in Edmonds to look for Chestnut-backed Chickadee. I played their song and walked around, but I didn't see any birds at all there.
I moved on to the Edmonds Pier. It was windier than the forecast had indicated, and there was very little around. I saw some distant Western Grebes, but I didn't need that one. I soon gave that up and moved on to Sunset Avenue, on the north side of the ferry terminal. There were a few birds around. I saw Surf Scoters, cormorants, Pigeon Guillemot, a Harlequin Duck, Horned Grebes, and Red-necked Grebes, but I didn't need any of those species. Then I spotted a lone Rhinoceros Auklet, which was one of my three remaining repeaters this month. Score! I kept looking and saw a single Common Murre, an excellent bird for October.
I didn't see anything else there, but I went up to Ocean Avenue and tried there. Not much there, either, only Horned Grebes and Red-necked Grebes. I headed to Kayu Kayu Ac Park in Richmond Beach, and I stopped on the way at the little park in Woodway where I have seen Pacific Wren and Brown Creeper a couple of times. It was great-looking habitat for Chestnut-backed Chickadee, so I walked a bit and played the songs of the chickadee. No luck.
I didn't see anything interesting at Kayu Kayu Ac Park either, so I gave it up and drove home. I looked a few times at home for Chestnut-backed Chickadee at our feeder, but the closest I got was Black-capped Chickadee. The weather is supposed to be great for the next week, and maybe I can find time to sit on the front porch and watch our feeder for a Chestnut-backed Chickadee.
I added two more species to October, and now I have 108 species. The Rhinoceros Auklet today brings my repeater total to 60. Now I only need two more repeaters - Chestnut-backed Chickadee and the species I said last week was likely to be my nemesis this month, Mourning Dove. I've got over half the month left to find those two species, and I should be able to see some other species, too.
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Yesterday I went down to Juanita Beach Park to look for Wilson's Snipe, but I didn't find any. The water level in Lake Washington is back up to its normal high level, and there isn't much beach for the snipe now. I also stopped at the fire station road in the east part of Juanita Bay Park, but I didn't get anything there either.
Today I had a lunch appointment in Bellevue, but I went to Lake Sammamish State Park first. I had seen a number of reports of Chestnut-backed Chickadee there, and I wanted to try for it. I parked and played the chickadee song when I was near conifer trees, since Chestnut-backed Chickadees favor them. I attracted a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Bewick's Wren, but no chickadees. I walked on a little farther to escape a mob of urchins that were on some kind of outing. When they had moved on, I went back to the place where I had had some success and played the chickadee song some more. Eventually two Chestnut-backed Chickadees flew in to check me out, obviously responding to the playback I was using. They wouldn't sit still and pose for me, but they did stick around, and I finally got a couple of pictures of my repeater Chestnut-backed Chickadee.
I then tried playing Ruby-crowned Kinglet, since one had responded to the chickadee song earlier, and 3 or 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglets ended up flying in and flitting around in the bushes. They were even flightier than the chickadees, but I did get one picture of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, which I didn't need for my October list.
That was it for today. It was a beautiful sunny day and the temperature got up to about 70 degrees eventually. It was nice to be out there looking for birds. The Chestnut-backed Chickadees brought my October list to 109 species, and my repeater list to 61. I only have one more repeater left now, Mourning Dove. I said a week or two ago that I suspected that Mourning Dove was going to be my nemesis bird for my repeater list this month, and it has turned out that way. The only place I see them at all regularly is out in the town of Carnation, although it is a small percentage of the times I look for them. I guess I'll be going out there a number of times in the next couple of weeks. At least there are other birds that I need that I can look for in that area.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
This morning I had a medical appointment up in Everett at 10:30, so I went to the Everett waterfront first, to look for the rare (for this area) Great Egret that has been hanging out there, off and on, for several months. My first stop was at the north view point, and while I didn't see the egret, I did see a Peregrine Falcon. I didn't need it for October, but Peregrine Falcon is an excellent bird, and I got a couple of rather distant pictures of it.
Most of my pictures today are too distant to be any good, but they do show the various species I saw. I tried the south view point and found nothing there. At the public boat launch area, I happened to see a gull that had a very dark back. I took a couple of pictures and later decided it was a Western Gull, an excellent October bird for me.
As I was leaving the public boat launch area, I looked around one more time with binoculars, and I saw the Great Egret to the north, in the distance. Here is a very distant picture of the rare Great Egret.
I went back to the south and north view points, but the bird wasn't visible from them. It was literally standing in the last place I looked. I was ready to give it up and leave.
After my appointment, I went up to Tulalip Bay to try for the two species of turnstones that have been reported there for the last 2 or 3 days. The tide was high, which wasn't favorable. I found some Black-bellied Plovers on the spit, but I didn't need that species. Here's a distant picture of some Black-bellied Plovers and some gulls.
Just like with the Great Egret, I was ready to give it up and leave. I had actually put away my scope and I looked around one more time with binoculars, just as I had with the egret. Darned if the rare (for around here) Ruddy Turnstone didn't come over the sand bar from the other side and walk around a little! It didn't stay long, but I got this distant picture of the Ruddy Turnstone with some Black-bellied Plovers.
The turnstone is the short little bird in the middle of the picture. It looks a lot like a Black Turnstone, but the legs are orange, which you can barely see in the picture. It went back over the sand bar, out of sight, but I had another October bird. There were supposedly Black Turnstones around, too, but I didn't see any. What I did see, though, was a single female Bufflehead out in the bay with some Surf Scoters. That was an October bird. By the end of the month there should be Buffleheads in many places, but now I have it on my list.
I went around to the east side of the bay, intending to use my scope to see if I could find a Black Turnstone across the water on the spit, which is on the west side of the bay. Before I could even do that, though, I scanned the log boom in the little marina, and there were a couple of Black Turnstones on the log boom with gulls. I walked out to the end of the fishing dock and got this picture of a Black Turnstone.
Here is a picture that shows a Black Turnstone between a Bonaparte's Gull (on the left) and a Mew Gull (on the right).
Here's the Black Turnstone flying off to the next log.
They have a pretty color pattern, I think. Here's another shot of the Black Turnstone and a different Bonaparte's Gull, which is snoozing.
Finally, here is one more picture of the Black Turnstone.
When I got home, a Merlin flew low across the driveway right in front of me, and I had an excellent look at it. I didn't need it for October, but I don't see Merlins very often, so it was great to see one in our yard.
My pictures are a lot less than inspiring today, but I did manage to get 5 more species for October, which surprised me a lot. Now I have 114 species on my October list. There are others I might get still, but what I really want to do is to get my last repeater for the month, Mourning Dove. I'll have to go out to the town of Carnation a few times, I guess, hoping to find them at the house with feeders. Mourning Dove is uncommon around here, and I don't see them very many places or very often.
Thursday, October 18, 2018
My main target species today was Mourning Dove, my last remaining repeater this month. I had other birds to look for, too, though. My first stop was at Marymoor, mainly to try for American Pipit. I got nothing. I stopped next at the Redmond Retention Ponds and got nothing there, either. It was remarkably quiet today - almost no birds anywhere I went.
I drove across the Snoqualmie River Valley, stopping a couple of places to try for birds I have seen there before, but again got nothing. In Carnation, there was nothing going on at the house with feeders, either. I drove around Carnation and even got out and walked along the Valley Trail there for a while. I got this picture of a Spotted Towhee there.
I ended up seeing about 7 or 8 Eurasian Collared Doves around town, but no Mourning Doves. I got a sandwich at the Carnation Market and went to the Stillwater Unit of the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area. Again it was almost completely dead. I don't think I saw a single bird in about 20 minutes there, and I only heard a couple. I ate my sandwich at the Fay Road access to the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area, and then moved on.
In the town of Duvall, I walked out onto the Valley Trail to the pond where I have seen snipe before. The water level was very low, but I did manage to see one Wilson's Snipe, one for my October list. Here are a couple of pictures of the Wilson's Snipe.
I drove along W. Snoqualmie River Rd NE, looking for Mourning Doves or anything else I needed. I stopped at a couple of places where I have seen Lincoln's Sparrow in the past and played their song, but I got no response today. Naturally, after I had looked so long in September to find a Bald Eagle, there was one there today, sitting out in the open. I have seen eagles everywhere this month, even on an un-birdy day like today. Here is the Bald Eagle from today.
Check out those talons.
I drove about 60 miles today and I was out there for about five and a half hours, and it was strangely quiet in terms of birds. I did manage to pick up one for my October list, though - Wilson's Snipe. That gives me 115 species for October.
Saturday, October 20, 2018
I'm writing this on Sunday afternoon because I didn't feel like doing it last night. On Saturday I drove out to the Snoqualmie Valley in search of Mourning Doves and anything else I could find. I stopped a couple of places and played Lincoln's Sparrow songs, but never got a response. I saw another birder acquaintance at Sikes Lake and she said she had seen three American Bitterns there one day last week, but there weren't any around yesterday.
In Carnation, I stopped at the house with feeders and watched for a while. There were some Eurasian Collared-Doves around, but no Mourning Doves. I did take a few pictures, and although none of them is very inspiring, here they are. First, here are a couple of shots of a Steller's Jay.
I find the feet of birds interesting, and I always like getting pictures that show their feet.
Here are a couple of shots of a Dark-eyed Junco.
A hawk flew through at one point, and all the birds scattered. They came back after a while, and I got this picture of some American Goldfinches at one of the feeders.
I drove around the town of Carnation, looking for Mourning Doves, but never saw any. I drove through Tolt-MacDonald Park hoping to maybe see a Varied Thrush, but had no luck at that, either. Eventually I gave it up and went home. My total for October stayed at 115 species, and I still only had 61 of the 62 possible repeaters (number 62 is Mourning Dove, and I was about ready to give up on getting it). My 2018 total is still 240 species.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
It was foggy again this morning, and I was just going to stay home, but I decided to go out to the Snoqualmie Valley one more time to try for my last repeater, Mourning Dove. At Sikes Lake, I took this picture from the bridge, of a single American Coot and the fog, which was burning off fast.
I walked back and forth across the bridge, hoping to see an American Bittern, but I didn't see one. I also played Lincoln's Sparrow songs at both ends of the bridge. I attracted Dark-eyed Juncos, a Spotted Towhee, and a Song Sparrow at the south end of the bridge. On the north end, I first attracted this Song Sparrow.
Here is another view of the Song Sparrow.
The Song Sparrow was calling back to me, but then I noticed a slightly smaller bird nearby, and it was also reacting to the playback. It turned out to be a Lincoln's Sparrow, the very species I was looking for there. Here are three pictures of the Lincoln's Sparrow. Note the similarity to the Song Sparrow.
In that last picture, the bird was just about to drop down out of sight, not to be seen again. The easiest difference to spot between the two species is the color behind the streaks on the upper breast and flanks of the Lincoln's Sparrow.
Lincoln's Sparrow was an October list bird, so at least I had something to show for driving out to the valley again today. I continued on across the valley, but I didn't see anything else good or take any more pictures until I got to the house with feeders in Carnation. There were some Eurasian Collared-Doves around, and eventually some came in to eat seed right across the street from where I was sitting in my car. I love it when I can take pictures of birds from the comfort and stability of my car, out the open window. Here are a couple of Eurasian Collared-Doves.
There was one odd dove. I guess it was a Eurasian Collared-Dove, but it was larger and was kind of a blotchy, lighter color. Here are a couple of pictures of the odd dove, with normal Eurasian Collared-Doves for comparison.
At one point a hawk flew through and scattered all the birds, just as had happened yesterday. Today I saw where the hawk landed, though, and I was able to get out of the car and get some pictures of it in a tree. The bright background and the poor lighting in the tree makes them mediocre, but they are sufficient to identify it as a Sharp-shinned Hawk, I think. It was large for a Sharp-shinned Hawk, which indicates that it was probably a female, since females are larger than males. The shape of the head is the best indicator that it was a large Sharp-shinned Hawk, rather than a small (male) Cooper's Hawk. Here are the pictures.
I drove around town looking for Mourning Doves, but had no luck. I went down to Tolt-MacDonald Park and drove around there, too, hoping to see a Varied Thrush. As I pulled out from the parking area by the Tolt River bridge, I saw three birds near the top of a bare tree in the distance. I had seen robins in that same tree yesterday, and I figured this was more robins, but when you are birding, you have to check every bird because you never know. In this case, I hit the jackpot - they looked like doves, so I pulled over, got out my scope, and confirmed that they were indeed Mourning Doves, my final repeater for this month. It is the final one because I only had 62 species that I had seen in each of the first nine months of the year, and now I have seen all 62 of those species in October. Here is a distant picture of the three lovely Mourning Doves.
Mourning Doves are a little more brown-colored than Eurasian Collared-Doves, but the best way to tell them apart is the spots on the backs of Mourning Doves. Here is a closer picture, although it is still poor because of the lighting.
So, I had my Mourning Dove, which I have been looking for all month. My nemesis bird for the month, in the bag. I headed for home, but I stopped at the pond at Chinook Bend to take this picture of a Great Blue Heron. I like the colors and the texture of the water.
I stopped at Sikes Lake again, too, and went out on the bridge. I got Bufflehead last week, but I mentioned that soon they would be everywhere. There were four of them at Sikes Lake, and I got these pictures of them. Here are two male Buffleheads, with their heads tucked under their wings, snoozing.
Here are the two females, also with their heads tucked in and snoozing.
A flock of Canada Geese flew over, and I managed to get this picture of four of them in the air.
At about that time, I saw a fairly large bird fly across the lake in the medium distance. I got my binoculars on it, and it was an American Bittern, an excellent bird for my October list. I was too slow to get a picture of it in the air, and it went into the reeds on the other side.
By that time the fog had just about all burned off, and the sun was starting to shine a bit. It was a lovely fall day, and I took this picture of the fall colors and the horse farm on the north side of Sikes Lake.
It turned out to be an excellent day of birding. I added 3 species to my October list, to give me 118 species now. Mourning Dove gives me 62 species that I have seen in all ten months of this year so far (repeaters). I still have 240 species for the year.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
I didn't do any birding on Monday or Tuesday, but yesterday I saw a male Northern Flicker feeding at our suet feeder, as I drove out of the driveway. Here are a couple of pictures.
It has been foggy in the mornings for a week or so, but today was finally clear, so I went up to Edmonds, to the waterfront. I stopped at Kayu Kayu Ac Park in Richmond Beach on the way, to see what might be hanging around there. There were some birds out on the water, including about a dozen Red-breasted Mergansers scattered around. That was an October bird; I have been waiting for them to return, and now they are back. They were all too far away for pictures.
I went up to Edmonds and went out on the fishing pier. I saw a Common Murre that was close enough to get this picture.
That's an excellent bird, but I already had it this month. There were Rhinoceros Auklets around, too, too far away for pictures. That was another one I didn't need. I also didn't need Horned Grebe, and there were several of those around, too. Here is a Horned Grebe in winter plumage.
There were a couple of Horned Grebes inside the breakwater, in the marina itself. Here are some pictures of Horned Grebes with different lighting.
The legs of grebes are located far back on their body. That makes them great swimmers, but they can't really walk on land. I think I have only ever seen a grebe on land once. It was a Western Grebe, and I think it might have been injured. It was on the beach down at Cannon Beach, Oregon, and it couldn't really walk. It would get up on its legs and stagger along for a few feet, and flop down again on its belly. Eventually it got to the water and swam away, but it sure was awkward on the sand.
I stopped up on Sunset Avenue, but I didn't see anything new I needed. There were several Pacific Loons around, but I have all three of the local loon species this month. There were a few more birds at Ocean Avenue. Here is a distant Red-breasted Merganser, the species I had seen earlier down in Richmond Beach for my October list.
There was a pair of Buffleheads fairly close to shore.
A group of about five Harlequin Ducks flew in, too.
After that I stopped at Yost Park and played calls of Pileated Woodpecker, which I have seen there several times, but got no responses today. I spent about 20 minutes there, walking around, and I don't think I saw a single bird.
Red-breasted Merganser brought my October total to 119 species. There is very little else to look for now, and the weather is going to be iffy for the next several days, so I may not even go out birding. We will see.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
The weather was showery today, but I drove up to Mukilteo to look for a couple of species. I was pleased to find a group of two or three dozen Barrow's Goldeneyes near the commercial pier north of the ferry terminal. That was a great October bird, one whose return I have been awaiting. Now I have 120 species for October.
Monday, October 29, 2018
I had a lot of things to take care of this morning, so I didn't go out birding. At one point I heard our local crows making a big fuss, though, and I figured there was a hawk around. I went outside and flushed a large hawk from the top of our garage. It dropped something and flew off, landing in a nearby fir tree. Here is the Red-tailed Hawk in the fir tree. Too bad about the bright cloudy sky behind it.
Here is what the hawk dropped on the garage roof as it flew off.
I'm not sure if that is the backbone or the tail of an animal, but it was pretty good-sized. Here is a picture from another angle, showing the attached leg bones, I guess.
I don’t know what that white fluffy stuff on the left, at the end of the bones, is. Fur? The bones seem too large for something that the hawk could catch, so I wonder if it was already dead - maybe road kill. Obviously, whatever it was, it had been chewed over good. It's hard to tell size from the picture, but it was at least a foot long in both directions - the backbone or tail and what look like leg bones to me. I guess there was still enough meat left on it to be interesting, because when I went back out there about 15 minutes later, it was gone. It seemed too large for a crow to fly off with it, so maybe the hawk came back, or maybe a crow can carry more than I would expect.
I wandered around the yard a bit, to see if the hawk would return, and I saw a couple of Black-capped Chickadees foraging in the apple trees. Here are some chickadee pictures.
I went to lunch with my friend, Chris, and after lunch we went down to Juanita Bay Park and walked out on the east boardwalk. There were not many birds around today, but I did take some duck pictures. Here is a male Northern Shoveler, with his goofy bill.
He looks kind of mottled because he is in the midst of molting from his non-breeding plumage to his breeding plumage. Another male Northern Shoveler showed up, and he was not quite as far along in his molt. Here are the two of them.
Their heads will be a pretty iridescent green color when they get finished molting.
Here is a male Green-winged Teal. He is pretty much in breeding plumage now.
Most of the ducks are already molting into their breeding plumage, and they are mostly paired up already, even though they don’t actually breed until next spring.
Here is a shot of Juanita Bay Park's little bay, with some fall colors.
I didn't add any more species to my October list today, so I remain at 120 for the month. I probably won't do any more birding this month.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
I thought I was done with October, but here is one more October report. It wasn't raining this morning, although it was very heavily overcast. I decided to go over to Log Boom Park in Kenmore to look for Canvasbacks (a duck species). There hadn't been any reports yet this year, but they usually show up there in the winter, and in 2016 and 2017 the first ones arrived in late October, so I thought I would go look.
The Double-crested Cormorants have returned for the winter, and though I didn't need that one, here is a picture of over 40 of them, just hanging out.
Here is a closer shot of a Double-crested Cormorant.
There were some ducks out in the deep water, and I took a look. It was a mixed group, and they were actively diving for food. There were Greater Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, and Buffleheads, but there was also at least one duck I thought was a male Canvasback, which was the one I was looking for. All the ducks were diving continually, so it was hard to get a long look, but I looked through my scope when they surfaced. I ended up deciding that what I had seen must have been a male Redhead. I needed that one, too, and it is actually less common than Canvasback, so that was fine. Here is a distant picture of a male Redhead.
Here is a shot of two male Redheads.
I thought that was pretty good, so I went home. When I looked at my pictures, though, I saw that there was at least one male Canvasback there, too. Here is a picture of a male Canvasback. Note the similarity to the male Redheads.
The colors are very similar, but the shape of the head (especially the steepness of the forehead) is different, and the bills are different colors, too. I took that picture earlier than the others, and that's when I thought I was looking at a Canvasback. I guess I was right. It was great to get both of those species for my October list. I am ending the month with 122 species in October. My year total is 240 species. I have 62 repeaters, species I have seen in each month so far this year. Tomorrow a new month begins, and I'm looking forward to starting all over again.
[Correction - due to an error I made on June 18, my 2018 total is understated here by 50 species. I actually had 290 for 2018 at the end of October.]