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Sunday, December 1, 2019
A new month begins. I headed north to Skagit county today. It was overcast and cold, with the threat of showers, but I wanted to get off to a big start in December. I got Feral Pigeon and American Crow on the freeway on my way north. Then I got Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, European Starling, and Snow Goose on my way to my first stop, Which was Wylie Slough. At Wylie Slough I added Great Blue Heron from the entrance road, and then at the end of the road on the east, I got out and got a lot of little birds. I saw Dark-eyed Juncos, Pine Siskins, Spotted Towhees, House Finches, Red-winged Blackbirds, Black-capped Chickadees, a Song Sparrow, a couple of Golden-crowned Sparrows, and several Eurasian Collared-Doves. Lots of birds, but almost all were easy, common ones. The Pine Siskins were the best find there.
The tide was very high, and there were roosting Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Dowitchers on some logs. I also got Gadwall and Red-tailed Hawk there. When I drove to the west parking lot, I spotted a female Northern Harrier perched, and took this picture of her.
Northern Harriers have a flat disc-like face, almost like an owl. I was looking for Black Phoebe, which I had dipped on in November 5 or 6 times, but didn't find one in the morning. I did see a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and an American Goldfinch near the parking lot, though. As I drove out, there were some American Robins in a tree, and one Varied Thrush briefly showed itself. Varied Thrush was a species that I never did find in November, so it was great to see one today. Later I actually saw another one, too.
As I drove back to the main road, there was a flock of blackbirds, and I added Brewer's Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird. The cowbird was an excellent find, as they are pretty scarce around here in the winter. It was the same place where I found Brown-headed Cowbird in November - near a dairy. There was a Cooper's Hawk in a tree at the same dairy, and some Trumpeter Swans in the field next to it. The Snow Goose flock was still in the fields adjacent to Wylie Slough, and I took this picture of an adult Snow Goose and a juvenile (the one with the dark feathers on its back).
At Hayton Reserve, there was a Peregrine Falcon in a tree, so I took a distant picture.
I mentioned that it was overcast and cold. The overcast made the light level so low that pictures were difficult all day long. As for the cold, it was 37 when I started out, and I can tell you that when the wind is blowing and it is 37 degrees, it is very darned cold. I spent most of my time in the car today, and I shivered when I was out of it.
The tide was high at Hayton Reserve, but I braved the cold and wind and took my scope up on the dike. From there I was able to add Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Bufflehead, and American Wigeon - those are all ducks. I also saw a couple of Double-crested Cormorants and many hundreds of Dunlin, which are little shorebirds. The Dunlin were flying around in swirling clouds in the distance.
I drove along Maupin Road and then Rawlins Road, to the North Access to the Skagit Wildlife Area. I saw a Bald Eagle in a field with some prey.
It's prey looked like a Snow Goose, and it was picked almost clean, with only the wings left, really. Here is another shot of the eagle.
Note the dark feathers on the eagle's head and tail. Bald Eagles take four years to reach maturity, which is when they get their white heads and tails. This one must be just starting its fourth year, still getting its white feathers.
I saw an American Kestrel along Rawlins Road, but it flew off before I could get a picture. I didn't get anything at the North Access except that I got very cold while I was out of the car. I stopped at the house on the corner of Valentine Road, but there wasn't any seed in the feeders, so there weren't many birds around. I did manage to add Red-breasted Nuthatch and Anna's Hummingbird there, though. I moved up the road to the house called Rancho Valentine, which has a large suet feeder (guarded by two plastic flamingos). Here is a male Hairy Woodpecker at the suet feeder.
Note the stout bill and compare it to the much smaller bill on this little male Downy Woodpecker.
I added Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Steller's Jay, House Sparrow, and Fox Sparrow there, too, in addition to those two woodpeckers. I ate my Subway tuna sandwich as I sat there and watched the birds. Next I drove up to the Samish Flats. The next bird I added to my December list was Rough-legged Hawk, and I got this close picture.
There were several Common Ravens at the East 90, so that one went on my list, too. A brief stop at the West 90 didn't get me anything, although a Peregrine Falcon flew over, giving me a nice look at it. I drove on to Samish Island and went to the overlook. It was quite windy there, and still only about 40 degrees, so I was very cold as I looked through my scope at the water, which had waves that made finding birds more difficult. I saw a little group of Surf Scoters, and there was a single male White-winged Scoter in with them. That was my first White-winged Scoter in Skagit county this year. I also got Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon, and Common Goldeneye there. I was glad to get back in the car and turn the heater up to warm up again.
I drove back to Fir Island, and on the way I saw a Pied-billed Grebe in a drainage ditch, while I was stopped at a long traffic light. Back at Hayton Reserve, the Peregrine Falcon (or maybe another one) was perched near an eagle in a tree, so I took its picture.
There was also a Red-tailed Hawk nearby.
On the way back to the highway, there was a single female Hooded Merganser in another slough or ditch, and she had her crested fully raised.
On the road to Wylie Slough I took more pictures of swans, and this time I hit the jackpot. I didn't realize it until I processed my pictures tonight, but I got Tundra Swan there. I had been taking pictures of distant swans all day long, and I finally found a Tundra Swan. The picture came out terribly for some reason. My camera has been doing this lately, but only sometimes. Here is a really blurry picture of a Tundra Swan.
The way you can identify it as a Tundra Swan (as opposed to a Trumpeter Swan, which is much more common in that area) is the yellow "dash" on its bill, in front of the eye.
There were some Mourning Doves in some trees near the entrance to Wylie Slough. I didn't have much time, but as I was leaving the reserve, I saw a Black Phoebe finally. I had looked 5 or 6 times in November, and I hadn't managed to catch up with one. Here are a couple of pictures of today's Black Phoebe. With the overcast and the fading daylight, the pictures aren't very sharp, but here's the elusive Black Phoebe.
After that I headed for home, but on the way to the freeway, I took this picture of a huge flock of Snow Geese.
Notice the ice on the puddles in the field. Here is a closer shot of some of the Snow Geese.
It was a long day, but I got a great start for December with 59 species today. In October I got 63 species on my first trip up to Skagit county, and in November I got 53. In the winter, Skagit county is a good way to start my month. 37 species of the 59 today were repeaters. White-winged Scoter brings my Skagit county list to 155 species this year.
Whew, it was a long day.
Monday, December 2, 2019
It was cold again today, but unlike yesterday, it was partly sunny and there wasn't much wind. My first stop was the house in Lake Forest Park where I usually see Band-tailed Pigeons. Not today, though. Next I drove to Richmond Beach, to Kayu Kayu Ac Park, overlooking Puget Sound. There were several Red-breasted Mergansers, a species I got yesterday, but there was also a female Common Merganser for my list. I also got Harlequin Duck, Red-necked Grebe, and Horned Grebe for my list. I was hoping for Barrow's Goldeneye, but I didn't see any.
When I left there, I stopped at the short dead-end street where I have seen and heard California Quail a couple of times. I sat in the car, looking and listening for about ten minutes, but no quail presented themselves. I stopped next at the little park in Woodway where I often can call up Pacific Wren and/or Brown Creeper. Today I managed to attract a Pacific Wren, and I got one blurry picture in the low light. Pacific Wren.
No Brown Creeper today, though. I moved on to Sunset Avenue to look for seabirds. I picked up Brandt's Cormorant and Pelagic Cormorant, to complete the local cormorant trifecta for December. There were a lot of Mew Gulls around, too, so that one went on my list. I was hoping to see Heermann's Gull, because they have mostly left now for the winter, not to return until next summer, but I didn't see any. Next I added Rhinoceros Auklet, and here is a picture I got later of one.
There were also a couple of Pigeon Guillemots out there, and here is a picture I got later in the morning of a Pigeon Guillemot in winter plumage.
I couldn't find any Black Scoters or loons, and I moved on up to Ocean Avenue. I didn't get anything there today, so I drove back to the Edmonds fishing pier.
Out on the pier, I added Common Murre to my list. Here is a Common Murre in winter plumage.
There were several Red-necked Grebes out there, too, and here is one of them.
Here are three pictures that show Red-necked Grebes and the two Common Murres that were out there today.
The tide was very high, but I scanned the breakwater, and I spotted a Surfbird. It was fairly far away, and the sun was totally in the wrong place, but here is a grainy picture of today's Surfbird.
Surfbird was an excellent one for my December list, and with that, I headed back to the car. On the way I got this picture of a Horned Grebe with a fish, getting ready to swallow it.
It was a good half-day of birding, and it wasn't nearly as cold as yesterday. I added 12 species to my December list, and now I have 71 this month. Only 3 of the 12 were repeaters, bringing me to 40 repeaters now this month.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Today I had an early lunch appointment up in Everett, but I decided to go up ahead of time and try for some birds.
My favorite spot to get California Scrub-Jay, which is pretty uncommon around here, is over in Seattle, near the University of Washington medical center. I hate driving in the city, parking is difficult except on weekends, and I usually have to walk around for a while before I see a scrub-jay (and sometimes I don't see one). When I saw a post on Tweeters about a California Scrub-Jay family living in Marysville (five minutes north of Everett), I decided to check it out. I found the address, and before I could even get out of the car, a California Scrub-Jay flew into a tree in front of me, and then to a wire. I got out and took this picture in the poor light.
I guess I have a new California Scrub-Jay spot now. It was the first time I had seen California Scrub-Jay in Snohomish county - ever.
Next I drove to the Everett sewage ponds to get some ducks. I easily added Ruddy Duck, Northern Shoveler, and Canada Goose to my December list. I scanned around the main pond and managed to identify what I think were both Lesser Scaup and Greater Scaup, which was great, since they are difficult to tell apart and they aren't in many places. There were hundreds of Dunlin, a small shorebird, around, but I had seen that one up in Skagit county on Sunday. There were also dozens of Black-bellied Plovers sitting among the Dunlin on the concrete edge of the pond, and I needed that one. There were also a few American Coots out there, so that one also went on my list.
I had most of the ducks I was hoping for there, but I parked at a gate in the hopes of getting a few pictures of ducks. As I got out of my car, I flushed an American Bittern, a great bird. It only flew for about 20 feet, and it landed out in the open and stood still, like bitterns do. I took pictures until I had way more than I needed, and it just stood there. It blended in well with the brown grasses, and by standing still, it would escape notice if you weren't looking for it. Here is the American bittern, blending in.
It's right in the middle of the picture. Here is a closer shot.
Here is a close-up of the American Bittern's neck and head.
Like the scrub-jay, this was the first time I had ever seen an American Bittern in Snohomish county. When I got tired of shooting pictures of the bittern, which continued to just stand stationary, I went up to the gate and took some duck pictures. First, here is a male Northern Shoveler.
Here he is from the back.
And, finally, here is a male Northern Shoveler from the front.
Here is a male Northern Pintail.
Here is a different male Northern Pintail with a longer tail. They develop the long tail in the breeding season.
I still had some time, so I drove over to the Everett waterfront. I stopped to look for the rare Great Egret I have seen there several times in the last year or two, but I didn't see it today. At the gull roost on the parking lot for the 10th St boat launch, I scanned gulls for ones I needed for December. I added Ring-billed Gull, and here's a picture of one.
Here is another one I needed, California Gull.
I had gotten Mew Gull at Edmonds yesterday, but here is a shot of a Mew Gull, anyway.
Another gull I still needed was Glaucous-winged Gull, and I got a picture of one of those, too.
I was sitting there in my car, figuring out how to kill about 20 minutes before I had to leave for my lunch appointment, and I was sort of half-heartedly scanning the gulls, looking for a large one that had yellow eyes. I didn't expect to find one, but then a large, yellow-eyed gull with pink legs flew in and stood right next to my car, about ten feet away! It was a Herring Gull, a species I had only gotten once before this year, and that was way back in January. Here is the Herring Gull, which just stood there and posed for me in profile for at least five minutes.
Here is a close up of the head of the Herring Gull, showing the yellow eye and orange orbital ring around the eye.
After that, I went to lunch. After lunch I stopped at Mukilteo on the way home, hoping to find either Marbled Murrelet or Barrow's Goldeneye. At Edgewater Beach Park, I saw some Common Goldeneyes and a couple of Rhinoceros Auklets, but I already had those two species. I decided to check out Lighthouse Park, and I got this picture of a juvenile male goldeneye.
I didn't know which species of goldeneye it was, but after consulting my field guide, I decided it was a Common Goldeneye, based on the sloping forehead. The white patch on the face was also indicative of Common Goldeneye, rather than Barrow's Goldeneye, which was the species I needed. I still had time, so I went to the north side of the ferry terminal to Mukilteo Community Beach Park. There I finally caught up with Barrow's Goldeneye. Here is a male Barrow's Goldeneye.
Note how steep the forehead is, and the shape of the white spot on the face. Here is the female Barrow's Goldeneye, with her characteristic mostly-orange bill.
The female Common Goldeneyes I had seen earlier had all-brown bills. Here is the pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes together.
So, considering I spent less than two hours on birding, in addition to driving time, which I would have had to do anyway to go to lunch, I did pretty well today. The California Scrub-Jay and American Bittern brought my lifetime Snohomish county list to 176 species, and my 2019 Snohomish county list to 141. I got 14 new species for my December list, and now I have 85 species this month. 9 of those 14 were repeaters, and now I have 49 repeaters - species that I have seen in each of the 12 months this year.
It's only the third of the month, and I'm off to a flying start. I've been lucky with weather so far this month, but I'm sure we will have plenty of rainy days still this month.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
I don't have much to report today, and only one uninspiring picture. I first went down to Juanita Beach Park, which is on the north side of Juanita Bay, only a couple of miles from home. I was mainly looking for the male Eurasian Wigeon that has been hanging out there in recent weeks, but I never found it. I scanned through many dozens of American Wigeons, but I never saw the single male Eurasian Wigeon, which I had seen there at least twice before this fall. I did pick up the expected Wood Duck and also a single Ring-necked Duck for my list. Here is my only picture of the day, a pair of American Wigeons. The male is on the left.
The male Eurasian Wigeon has a red head, so it is pretty easy to spot if it is around, but I couldn't find it today.
Next I went around the end of Juanita Bay to Juanita Bay Park. I walked around the parking lot, playing Golden-crowned Kinglet and Brown Creeper songs on my phone. I eventually attracted a Brown Creeper, but never saw a kinglet. Still, anything for my list is good, and, like all the other species I got today, was a repeater that I needed to get eventually.
After that I stopped at the fire station road, on the east side of the main road, next to the fire station (hence the name that birders call it). Since I still had Golden-crowned Kinglet up on my phone, I played that one, and one actually flew in and I added that one to my December list. I walked up and down the short unpaved "road" and eventually got a Virginia Rail to respond, so another one went on my list.
That was it for my birding today. One reason I don't have more pictures is that it was very heavily overcast, and there just wasn’t enough light to get my camera to focus when I did have a chance for a picture. At home, I looked at our bird feeder a few times, and once a Bewick's Wren was in a bush next to the feeder, and that was still another repeater for today.
I ended up with 6 species today, and all 6 of them were repeaters. I now have 91 species in December, and I've seen (or heard) 55 repeaters now. That's 55 species that I have seen (or heard) in each and every month this year. Last year I got 61 species every month, and there are 10 more that I could potentially get this month, if I am very lucky, so I am expecting to beat last year, but there is work left to do.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Marymoor Park was my birding destination today. I drove through the park slowly, looking for the usual suspects. I saw Killdeer in the big parking lot where they usually hang out, so that repeater went on my list. I spotted the male Ring-necked Pheasant across the road from that parking lot, and I got out of the car for this picture.
It didn't move off, so I walked across the road for this closer picture.
Later in the morning I saw him again, and got this close-up of his face and neck.
Pheasants are uncommon around here, but this one has been hanging out around Marymoor Park for most of this year. I only see him once every 4 or 5 visits, though, so it was good to get that species today.
I drove back through the park, and this time I saw a flock of Cackling Geese, another one I needed still for November. My pictures didn't come out for some reason. My camera seems to have issues sometimes, and I haven't been able to figure out what the problem is. The particular model I have came out in 2014, and there is a newer model that came out late last year. I'm thinking of springing for the 500 bucks to get the new model, in the hopes it might be better in some ways.
Next I parked in the west dog park parking lot and walked along the slough. There was a group of at least 9 Wilson's Snipe along the edge of the slough, so that one went on my list. Here are some Wilson's Snipe pictures.
They really blend in to their environment, and if they stand still, they are difficult to spot.
There was a little flock of sparrows feeding in and under a hawthorn tree. Most of them were Golden-crowned Sparrows, a species I already had this month. Here is a Golden-crowned Sparrow eating hawthorn berries.
Two or three weeks ago, there were Cedar Waxwings eating the berries in that tree, and the waxwings swallowed the berries whole. Today the Golden-crowned Sparrows were pecking off chunks and eating the berries in pieces. You can see a couple of partially eaten berries in that picture. Here is a Song Sparrow that was in the same tree.
Under the tree, a bird was scratching around in the leaf litter, and I suspected it was a Fox Sparrow from how it was acting, and indeed it was. Here is the Fox Sparrow in the dead leaves.
I didn't need any of those sparrows, but it turned out there were a couple of White-crowned Sparrows, too, and I did need that species, which was a repeater.
Great Blue Herons have started to hang out in the rookery, sitting at old nests. I imagine they are laying claim to nests, and will guard them until it is time to lay eggs. Here is the Great Blue Heron rookery along the slough in the off-leash dog park.
Here are some Great Blue Herons in the trees, near nests.
I had run into the Thursday morning bird walk people earlier, and one of them told me that a Green Heron had been at the beaver lodge along the slough, across from dog beach number 3. It was still there when I got there, so I got that good one for my December list. I never found a Green Heron in November, but today I got this picture of one.
Having seen Green Heron, I turned back toward my car. Here are the Great Blue Heron nests from the other side from what I showed before.
I saw some Ruby-crowned Kinglets, but I already had that one, and I couldn't get any pictures. There were Green-winged Teal in the slough, and I got this picture of a male Green-winged Teal.
That was it for today. I added 6 more species to December, and now I have 97 species this month. Two of them were repeaters, and now I have 57 species that I have seen in each month this year.
Saturday, December 7, 2019
It was heavily overcast and drizzling lightly this morning, but I drove over to the Snoqualmie River Valley, mainly in search of two species - Lincoln's Sparrow and American Dipper. As I drove across the valley, I stopped a few places where I thought Lincoln's Sparrow might be likely, and I played the song on my phone, while sitting in my car, out of the rain. At one spot, several sparrows flew up into a little tree, but the light was so poor that I couldn't really identify them. I took some pictures, though, and was able to identify a couple of Song Sparrows, a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow, and this Lincoln's Sparrow.
So, I had one of my target species right off the bat. I drove on across the valley, but I didn't see anything of interest. I did scan the hundreds of distant Cackling and Canada Geese, hoping to spot a Greater White-fronted Goose, but I never found one. I also scanned a few dozen American Wigeons in search of a Eurasian Wigeon, but had no success at that, either.
At the house in Carnation with feeders, I saw a Varied Thrush, which is an excellent bird, but I already had that one this month, and it flew off before I could get a picture. Here are some American Goldfinches eating bird seed at the edge of the road.
There were some Eurasian Collared-Doves around, too.
The rain had let up temporarily, and I moved on to the Tolt River, just south of Carnation, in search of a dipper. I walked up and down the parking lot, looking, but I didn't see any dippers in the river. I decided to fall back on my old favorite site for dippers, and I drove up to the bridge over Tokul Creek. I had no luck there, either, so I went back and stopped once more at the Tolt River bridge. There still weren't any dippers in sight, but as I was getting ready to leave, darned if one didn't fly in and land at the edge of the river, right in front of me. I took pictures, gradually moving closer and closer. American Dipper.
That's the classic dipper pose, with its short stubby tail sticking up. Here it is, looking under the water for food.
I kept getting closer, and this was my last shot before it flew off.
I had another December bird, and it was a repeater as well. I stopped again at the feeder house, but there wasn't much around. I had been hoping to see Band-tailed Pigeon, but they weren't there either time I stopped by. An American Kestrel was on a wire just north of Sikes Lake, where I used to see one last year, but it flew off before I could get a picture. Driving across the valley, I was struck by how the low clouds were sitting on the trees on the west side of the valley, and I took this picture.
Here is a closer shot of that farm with the blue buildings.
As I approached the west side of the valley, there was a smallish raptor in a tree, so I took some pictures, although the light was terrible.
I wasn't sure if it was a large Sharp-shinned Hawk or a small Cooper's Hawk, but after examining my pictures and looking at other pictures online of both species, I have decided to call it a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk, which is an excellent December species to get. The bottom of the tail looks more like that of a Cooper's Hawk, with rounded corners, but the shape of the head (rounded), the location of the eye (not too close to the bill), the shapes of the streaks on the breast (not tear shaped), and the small size of the leg and foot - all of those things are why I'm calling it a Sharpie.
Oddly, as I was taking those pictures, another smallish raptor flew into the same tree, and I got this picture of it.
That one was definitely a juvenile Cooper's Hawk. It was strange to have both species in the same tree at the same time. I don't recall ever seeing both of those closely related species in the same place before.
It wasn't a very birdy outing but considering the weather and how many species I already had this month, I'm pleased to have gotten 3 more for my December list. That brings December to an even 100 species. American Dipper was a repeater, and now I have 58 repeaters this month.
Sunday, December 8, 2019
My first stop this morning was Log Boom Park in Kenmore. I was looking for Canvasback, a duck that is uncommon, but is usually there in the winter. I found a large group of them, maybe 3 dozen, mixed in with other ducks. Here are a couple of male Canvasbacks.
I think the one in front is a first year male, because of the darkish feathers on the back and the color of the neck and head. Here is a picture of three Canvasbacks.
Actually, I guess you can see four of them there. The one in front on the right is an adult male, the one on the left in front is a first year male, and the other two are females. Here is a closer shot of a female, although it is fuzzy due to the low light.
In addition to the low light of the overcast morning, I was standing at the end of a dock without anything to lean on, and hand-holding my camera at full zoom always introduces some blur. Here is a group of ducks, mostly Canvasbacks.
I thought the view of the lake was interesting with the morning clouds, so I took this picture of Lake Washington, looking south from the end of the dock at Logboom Park.
So, I got Canvasback, right where it was supposed to be. Next I stopped at the house in Lake Forest Park and got Band-tailed Pigeon, a repeater. They are usually there, but I missed them last time.
I drove on to Magnuson Park in north Seattle. I expected to get Cedar Waxwing because there were recent reports of them eating the hawthorn berries there. I walked all around the field with the hawthorns, but there not only weren't any Cedar Waxwings, there weren't even any robins, which I also expected to see there. I don’t know where all the robins and waxwings were this morning, but there were dozens of them reported there a couple of days ago. Cedar Waxwings migrate south in the winter, but a few stay over the winter. Magnuson Park is a reliable place to find them, until the hawthorn berries are gone. There were tons of berries still there, so I will just have to go back again for the Cedar Waxwing. Cedar Waxwing is a repeater, and I can't afford to miss it this month.
As I was finishing my little walk there, I spotted a bird at the top of a distant tree. I couldn't identify it with my binoculars, and my scope was in the car, but I had my trusty camera. I took some very distant pictures, and when I enlarged them, I could see it was a Merlin, an excellent December bird. Here is a very distant picture of a Merlin.
At the south end of Magnuson Park, I took my scope to the edge of the lake and was able to find the flock of Western Grebes that usually hang out there in the winter. That was another December bird, my fourth of the day.
I walked a little in a couple of places, but I couldn't find either Bushtit or Yellow-rumped Warbler. There were some ducks on the pond at the entrance to the park, so I took a few pictures of birds I already had this month. Here is a male American Wigeon.
Here is a female American Wigeon.
Here's a male Bufflehead.
Finally, here is a male Northern Shoveler, with his goofy bill.
That was it for me today. I added 4 more species to my December list, to give me 104 species now. Band-tailed Pigeon was a repeater, and now I have 59 repeaters this month.
Monday, December 9, 2019
I had an early lunch appointment up in Everett, but I went up to Tulalip Bay beforehand. I was hoping to see the rare Ruddy Turnstone that I saw there last month, but the tide was too high. The turnstones were far across the bay, and even with my scope, I couldn't find it. I did identify Black Turnstone, though, so at least I got that one for my list.
I stopped at Gardner Bay, on the Everett waterfront in the hopes I would see the Great Egret that is there once in a while, but I didn't see it. I did see a large group of many dozens of American Wigeons, though, and I scanned through them with my scope and found at least two male Eurasian Wigeons, and that was a good December bird. I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, so that was it for Monday.
I added 2 more species to my December list, giving me 106 for December.
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Today I went over to Puget Sound to look for seabirds and anything else I could find. At Richmond Beach Saltwater Park, I missed on California Quail, but I spotted four Black Scoters out on the windswept water. That was an excellent December bird.
I stopped at my California Quail spot in Woodway, but didn't see or hear any today.
My next stop was Edmonds Marsh. I played Marsh Wren, but as usual in the winter, I didn't attract any. I saw some small birds in a flock at the top of some trees, and I thought I had Bushtit, a repeater I would love to get, but they turned out to be Pine Siskins. There were over 200 of them, I think, spread out over a number of trees. They kept moving around, and I managed one picture of a Pine Siskin before they flew off.
I already had that one this month, but it was the first time I have ever seen Pine Siskin in Snohomish county, so that was nice. A county lifer.
I moved on to Sunset Avenue, but it started to rain about then, and the wind was making birding tough, anyway. I was hoping for loons, but I didn't see any. Mount Baker was in the sun, off to the north, and I thought it made a nice picture. It seemed a lot more dramatic in person, but here is a picture of Mount Baker in the sun, while I was under heavy cloud cover.
I didn't get anything at Ocean Avenue, either, and the rain had started to fall in earnest by then.
Black Scoter brought my December total to 107 species. Pine Siskin gives me 177 species in Snohomish county since I started keeping county lists in 2012. With the Pine Siskin, I now have 142 species in Snohomish county this year. That compares to 158 species in King county this year and 155 species in Skagit county this year. I have seen 110 species in all 3 counties so far this year.
It is getting pretty difficult to add species to December now, and matching last year's December total of 117 is going to be tough. I need the weather to give me an opening to go over to Whidbey Island this month, but the next ten days don't look good for that. Maybe on Saturday.
Friday, December 13, 2019
I went over to Puget Sound again today, looking mostly for sea birds. I stopped first at Richmond Beach Saltwater Park, hoping for California Quail, but I didn't see anything I needed. I did get some pictures of a Golden-crowned Sparrow that was still pretty much in breeding plumage, at this late date. It's crown was quite yellow and black still.
It was eating grass and the green leaves of weeds.
I would have thought it would be looking for insects or seeds, but it was definitely eating greenery.
I drove into Woodway and stopped at my California Quail spot. As I pulled in, a California Quail scurried across about 20 feet of grass, and I got a good look at it. That was an excellent repeater to get. California Quail are uncommon around here, and now I have seen that species in each month this year.
I went on in to Edmonds and stopped at the Edmonds Marsh. I played Marsh Wren songs but got no response. Like the last time I was there, earlier this week, I saw a flock of Pine Siskins. This time they stuck around longer, and I got some pictures. The light was poor and they didn't stay still for long, so the pictures are not great, but here are some shots of Pine Siskins.
As I walked back to my car, I saw a Black-capped Chickadee foraging on some cattails. Here are some pictures.
After that I tried Sunset Avenue and Ocean Avenue for seabirds, but there was very little out there today, and I didn't get anything I needed. I'm going to have to go up to the north end of Whidbey Island to get some of the seabirds I still need this month. At this point, the weather looks pretty good for the next 3 or 4 days, so I'll see what I can do.
I got the repeater, California Quail, today, and now I have 108 species in December and 60 of them are repeaters. Last year I had 117 species in December, and I need to do well up in Skagit county and north Whidbey Island to get close to that. Last year I had 61 repeaters for the year, and now I am only one short of matching that. I have 5 more possibilities, ones I have seen in each of the first 11 months this year, but not yet in December, so I expect to at least match last year's repeater total, and I ought to be able to beat it.
Saturday, December 14, 2019
I wanted to go up to Skagit county and the north end of Whidbey Island today, but the weather forecast was a bit iffy. I decided to go anyway - the forecast called for less than a 30% chance of rain, hour by hour, all day long, and the type of birding I planned to do wasn't real dependent on the weather, since I would be in my car most of the time.
My first stop was Hayton Reserve, up in Skagit county, but it was a brief visit. I didn't see anything or take any pictures. Next I stopped at the house on the corner of Valentine Road that has bird feeders. I was hoping for Purple Finch there, but the only finches I saw were House Finches. A brief stop up the road at the house with the big suet feeder didn't get me anything, either. I moved on Rosario Beach, where I hoped to spot a Black Oystercatcher, my primary target for today. I didn't find one, but I did see one Black Turnstone on a rock with some cormorants, and it was the first time I have ever seen Black Turnstone in Skagit county. A county lifer. Meanwhile I was getting intermittent drizzle and sprinkling, with some dry periods in between.
Next I drove around to Deception Pass State Park, at the north tip of Whidbey Island. Again I was hoping for Black Oystercatcher, and when I pulled up I saw birds on the rock where I have seen oystercatchers in the past, but they turned out to be gulls. Oddly, I saw a single Black Turnstone on the rock with the gulls, and it was the first time I had seen Black Turnstone in Island county - another county lifer, and the same species as the last one. Very odd. I did add one to my December list there, though. There were dozens of Red-throated Loons offshore, but they were too distant for pictures. At least I had one for my list.
I moved on to Ala Spit, which was a new location for me. Black Oystercatcher had been recently reported there, but I didn't find one, or anything else I needed. I had tried three places for Black Oystercatcher, but I had come up empty.
I drove to West Beach county park, and I added my secondary target for the day, Long-tailed Duck. I was scanning the water when a pair of them flew through my scope view, and I followed them and was able to get good looks at them.
My next stop was Hastie Lake beach access. I saw Harlequin Ducks, Pigeon Guillemots, Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, cormorants, a Common Loon, and 3 or 4 more Long-tailed Ducks there, but not anything I needed. I only needed two seabirds that I was likely to see, and I didn't see either of them.
My last stop along the west coast of Whidbey Island was Libbey Beach, and I did manage to see a Pacific Loon there, and that was one of the two seabirds I still needed. The only seabird on my list that I missed today was Marbled Murrelet, and I could possibly get that one at Edmonds or Mukilteo, closer to home.
I started eating my Subway tuna sandwich as I drove to my next stop, which was Penn Cove, on the east side of Whidbey Island. I had never birded there before, but a Willet has been reported there several times in the last several weeks, and that is a rarity for this area. I didn't see the Willet, but to my pleased surprise, I did see 13 Black Oystercatchers. That was the species that had been my prime target for the day - the one I had missed at the places I expected to see them.
With that, I headed back toward home. I had gotten 4 of the 5 target species on my list for north Whidbey Island, and I was quite pleased with that. It had drizzled and sprinkled from time to time, but it didn't really interfere with my birding.
I stopped at Valentine Road to try for Purple Finch again, since I had to go right by there, anyway. This time I took some pictures, although with the rain and the heavy clouds, not to mention the lateness of the day, the light was terrible. Here is a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.
Here is a Chestnut-backed Chickadee, attacking a seed that it had grabbed from the feeder.
There were a number of House Finches coming to the feeder, but I spotted one male Purple Finch in the distance. Here is a blurry photo of the male Purple Finch, a repeater I was very happy to get.
You can see the streaks of rain in the picture. Note two things about him. First, there aren't dark streaks on the belly and flanks, and second, there isn't a brown patch behind and below the eye. Male House Finches have both of those marks. Here are some male House Finches, with the brown patch behind and below the eye and streaks on the flanks and belly.
Here is a female House Finch.
I took some pictures at the house up the road with the large suet feeder, but the low light, the wire fence, and the branches in the way didn't help any. Here is a male Downy Woodpecker.
Here is a Brown Creeper.
Again I headed toward home, but I stopped still again - this time at Hayton Reserve, for the second time today. I really just drove through the parking lot because I was running out of time, but on the way back to the road, I saw a small group of Greater White-fronted Geese, another one I needed still for December. I took about a dozen pictures of them, but something was going on with my camera, and none of them came out. I think it might be time for a new camera.
I stopped once more on the way home, which made me late. I drove up and down Thomle Road, south of Stanwood, but I saw nothing at all there. Then I stopped at the end of Boe Road, where I had seen Western Meadowlark and Short-eared Owl last month, but I didn't see anything today in the rain and fading daylight. I did realize, though, that I hadn't entered Western Meadowlark into my county lists last month, so I have done so tonight, retroactively.
I hit three separate slowdowns on the freeways on the way home, which cost me half an hour total, and I got home at about 5:00, That made an eight hour day and over 200 miles of driving.
Here are my numbers for the day. I added 6 species to December, to give me 114 species now. Last year I had 117, so I'm getting close. I got 2 more repeaters, and now I have 62. That beats last year's total of 61.
Black Turnstone brought my 2019 Skagit county list to 156, and my lifetime Skagit county list to 169. The Black Turnstone on Whidbey Island brought my lifetime Island county list to 103 species. My retroactive Western Meadowlark, from November 7, gives me 143 species in Snohomish county this year and 178 lifetime.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
It rained overnight, but it was stopping as I headed over to Magnuson Park in north Seattle. The sun actually came out as I got there and started to look for my target species of the day, Cedar Waxwing. I walked to the grove of hawthorns, and Cedar Waxwings were there, eating berries and resting. Many were preening, after the rain. Cedar Waxwings are usually high in trees, but the hawthorn trees weren’t very big, so I had nice close looks at lots of Cedar Waxwings. I took a lot of pictures of Cedar Waxwings.
Juvenile Cedar Waxwings have streaky breasts, and during their first winter they gradually get their adult plumage. This next one is in between juvenile and adult plumage.
Mostly the waxwings were resting and preening, but some were eating berries.
It was unusual to see Cedar Waxwings so close, so I just kept taking pictures. Here are a couple more first-winter birds.
That last one looks like it was still wet from the rain.
There were American Robins feeding on the berries, too.
As you can see, there were lots of hawthorn berries - dozens of trees of them, spread out over several acres. The waxwings and robins will be feeding on the berries for weeks still. Most Cedar Waxwings in this area migrate south in the winter, but some over-winter here, and this field of hawthorn trees is one of their winter feeding spots.
I finally dragged myself away from them and walked a little at the other end of the park, hoping for a couple of unlikely species. I didn't see anything I needed, but I did get this picture of Ruby-crowned Kinglet, looking right at me.
I love its cute little orange feet.
After that I headed for home, but I stopped on the way out of the park at what is called the north shore. I had read that a Red-necked Grebe had been hanging out there recently, and I needed that species for my 5 Mile Radius list. Red-necked Grebes are mostly saltwater birds, but this one has been on freshwater Lake Washington for a week or two, it seems. I not only found it, there were two of them I guess a friend (or mate?) had found the lone freshwater Red-necked Grebe. In addition to that one for my 5MR list, I realized today that I had neglected to count a Townsend's Warbler I saw at Magnuson Park for my 5MR list, back in October, so I added that one today, too. With those two additions, I now have seen 110 species within 5 miles of home this year. I'm unlikely to get any more, but that is a pretty good total, considering the area covered. My original spreadsheet prediction for the year was 99 species, so I beat that.
Cedar Waxwing was a repeater, and now I have 115 species in December, and 63 of them are repeaters, birds I have seen in each of the 12 months of 2019. I need two more species to match last year's December total in Washington (not counting the species I saw in Hawaii last year). It is getting tough to get more, but there are still 3 or 4 reasonable possibilities, and a lot of long shots.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Yesterday I went over to Marymoor Park to look for Northern Shrike and Western Meadowlark. It was supposed to be only a 15% chance of precipitation at that time, but I had drizzle and sprinkles the whole time I was there. I didn't see anything I needed and didn't get any pictures.
Today I went up to Edmonds, and finally I had a dry day. It was fairly windy, though, and I never found anything I needed. I tried Sunset Avenue, Ocean Avenue, and the Edmonds Marsh, but I didn't get anything. I walked out on the pier, mainly for the walk and to see if I could get any pictures. Seabirds are always tough because they aren't usually close, but I gave it a shot. Here is a group of 3 Horned Grebes. All the seabirds were in their winter plumage, of course.
One Horned Grebe was near the pier, and I got this close picture of it.
I saw several Rhinoceros Auklets, and one was close enough for pictures.
Here is a Pigeon Guillemot.
All of these seabirds find food by diving, and they were all actively looking for food. Here is the Pigeon Guillemot diving.
Here are a couple of Red-necked Grebes.
There was a pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes in the marina itself, inside the breakwater, and I took some pictures. Here is the male Barrow's Goldeneye.
Here is the female Barrow's Goldeneye.
They were diving, and they both caught crabs at the same time.
The female either got hers down or it escaped, but the male had to subdue his crab.
Here is the pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes, and the male is about to swallow his crab.
Here is one more picture of the pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes.
So, I had an outing, and I got some pictures, but I didn't get anything for any of my lists. There just isn't much left to get this month, but I'll keep trying, when the weather cooperates.
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
We had another overcast, dry day today, so I went down to Juanita Bay Park to see what I could find. First I walked the fire station road, but I didn't see anything there or get any pictures. I went over to the main part of the park and walked out onto the causeway. I played Marsh Wren songs and watched for Bushtits, but I got nothing. Next, I walked out on the east boardwalk. I saw a little flock of birds feeding in the trees, but almost all of them were juncos. I saw one Golden-crowned Kinglet with them, though. I didn't need that one, but I got a picture of the Golden-crowned Kinglet.
Out at the end of the boardwalk, I noticed that the lake was about as low as it gets. They lower it in the winter; the level is controlled at the Ballard Locks, and they can set it wherever they want. I got this picture of a Spotted Towhee along the boardwalk.
I almost headed for home at that point, but I decided that the exercise would be good for me, so I walked to the west side of the park and sat on a bench for a while. I was watching a clump of dead trees where I have seen woodpeckers before, and Pileated Woodpeckers have been reported at Juanita Bay Park several times recently, so I was hoping. As it turned out, a Pileated Woodpecker did fly in - not to one of the "woodpecker trees", but to a tree a bit farther away. I needed that one, and I got these two partially obscured pictures of today's Pileated Woodpecker.
It flew off before I could get a clear shot at it, but I had my December bird. That brings me to 116 species for December, which is one short of last year's December total. I'll keep trying to chip away at it, when the weather cooperates. I might be able to go over to Marymoor Park tomorrow morning to try again for Northern Shrike and Western Meadowlark, but we'll see what the weather looks like in the morning. We are supposed to have 2 or 3 very rainy days coming up, but the storms might not start in earnest until midday tomorrow.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
This morning I went over to Marymoor Park to look for Western Meadowlark and Northern Shrike. I drove through the park, but didn't see either species. I saw the Thursday morning bird walk people at the East Meadow, and I waited for them at the viewing mound. I asked about Northern Shrike, which they had just seen, as it turned out, and several of them located it for me, along the east side of the East Meadow. I don't think I would have seen it by myself, so their help was much appreciated.
Northern Shrike was my only species today, and now I have matched last December's total of 117 species.
Monday, December 23, 2019
Today I went up north. My first stop (after getting a sandwich at Subway and getting gas for the car) was at Wylie Slough. I looked for a couple of species there, especially Marsh Wren, but I didn't get anything or any pictures. I went back to the freeway and drove on up to the Fairhaven district in southern Bellingham. At the boat launch near Padden Lagoon, I saw a Black Oystercatcher. I already had gotten that one this month, but it's a good bird, and I took these two pictures of it.
Across the street from there, I saw dozens of crows. It's a long story that I have told before, but since these crows were near the water, were small, and were in Whatcom county, I am calling them Northwestern Crows, a separate species from American Crow. I heard them calling, too, and their calls were higher pitched than the ones I hear from crows at home. I needed Northwestern Crow for my December list, and I got this picture of one of them.
So, having gotten the species I needed there, I headed back south without ever even getting out of my car, and I drove down Chuckanut Drive to Skagit county. I stopped as Chuckanut Drive was leaving the coast and looked out at Samish Bay, where there were thousands of ducks in huge rafts. Most of them were Northern Pintails and American Wigeons, but there were Mallards and a few Buffleheads as well. I also saw a couple of small groups of Snow Geese, but not the goose I was hoping for, Brant. I don't think I have ever seen so many ducks in one place before; I guess they were taking refuge from the hunters in the Samish Flats, to the south.
I drove through the town of Edison and at the East 90 I spotted a Rough-legged Hawk in a small tree. Here is a distant picture of the Rough-legged Hawk.
At that same stop, I saw a couple of Western Meadowlarks for my December list, but they were too far away for pictures.
I was looking for Short-eared Owls there, and I sat in my car and ate half my sandwich while I watched. I saw Northern Harriers, but no owls. Here is a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow that showed up nearby.
As I drove off from there, I stopped again and got this rather distant picture of a Red-tailed Hawk.
I moved on to the West 90, but I didn't see any owls there, either. I drove to Samish Island and stopped at the overlook to look for Brant or Marbled Murrelet, two species I needed. No murrelets, but I did see two Brant in the distance, so I had a third species for my December list.
I backtracked and tried the West 90 again for owls, and then at the East 90 I saw a female Northern Harrier in a field, so I took this rather distant picture.
Around the corner from there, the same Rough-legged Hawk was in a small tree, and I took more pictures. I couldn't decide which of these next two pictures was better, so here are two pictures of the Rough-legged Hawk.
The Rough-legged Hawk took off then, and I got this picture of it flying away.
Just down the road from there I saw a Merlin sitting in a tree near the road, so I took pictures. Here is the Merlin, which must have been a female, since it was pretty big for a Merlin. In most raptor species, the females are larger than the males.
Merlin is a great species to see, and I have seen a number of them in the last two months. Here is a closer crop that shows the face of the Merlin.
It was getting late, so I headed toward home, but I stopped at the North Fork Access to the Skagit Wildlife Area and tried again for Marsh Wren and Short-eared Owl. No luck. As I got back to the main road, I saw a raptor perched in the distance, and it looked interesting. It was too far away to identify with my binoculars, and I was too lazy to get out my scope, so I took some pictures. When I got home and processed my pictures, I decided that it was a juvenile Gyrfalcon, almost certainly the same one I saw near there back on November 20. Gyrfalcon is a rarity and I hadn't expected to see it, but I have seen a couple of reports in the last few weeks that indicated it was still around, so it wasn't a total surprise. I can't check for sightings on eBird because eBird doesn't even report Gyrfalcon sightings by location because the species is so endangered, but there have been a couple of posts on Tweeters, the local birding mailing list. Here is the extremely distant juvenile Gyrfalcon.
Here's a picture I took on November 20 of what I think was the same bird.
There isn't any other species that would be that color, and also none that would have a streaked breast like that, as well as the markings on the face. It was too light colored for a Peregrine Falcon.
After that I stopped at Hayton Reserve and tried for Marsh Wren and Short-eared Owl there, too, but I didn't find either species there, either. I ended up driving about 190 miles today, but I got 4 more species for my December list, and now I have 121 species for December. That beats 2018, when I had 117 species in December.
I don't know if I'll go out birding any more this month or not. I'd like to get Marsh Wren and Bushtit, since they are both repeaters, but I haven't had any luck so far, and I don't know where else I can look for them. We'll see how the weather is, and if I feel like getting out again.
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
This morning I went on a Christmas twitch. I had read about a quite uncommon bird (for this area) that was seen at a park in Mill Creek, which is only about 20 minutes north of where I live. The directions seemed clear, and the bird had already stuck around for two days, so I decided to gamble and see if it made it three in a row.
I found McCollum Park, which I had never even heard of before, and soon I found the reported Townsend's Solitaire, in the very tree full of berries that it had been reported in. I wasn't able to get a picture of it eating the berries because it was always in the middle of the tree, but in between snacks, it perched in a bare tree nearby. Here are three pictures of the quite uncommon Townsend's Solitaire.
That was only the second time I had seen Townsend's Solitaire this year, and the first time I had ever seen one in Snohomish county.
Since I was already in the neighborhood, I stopped by the Buffalo Ponds in Mill Creek, but I didn't find anything I needed there. I did get this picture of a female Bufflehead, though.
Since it was on my way home, I also stopped at the pond on Tambark Creek that is just south of Tambark Creek Park. Last winter a pair of Cinnamon Teal had wintered there, but I didn't see any today. I got this picture of a Great Blue Heron, with its feathers ruffled up against the cold.
That was it for my Christmas morning birding. The Townsend's Solitaire brought me to 122 species in December, 144 species in Snohomish county in 2019, and 179 species total in Snohomish county since I started keeping county lists in 2012. Maybe that will be it for this year, but we will see.
Monday, December 30, 2019
I had only gone out looking for birds a couple of times since Christmas Day, partly because of weather, partly because there was so little to go looking for, and partly to rest my left knee and allow it time to heal a bit. Today was no exception, but today the birds came to me. I was out in the garage and I noticed some little birds in one of the pine trees in our yard. I got my binoculars, and they were Bushtits, one of my two remaining repeaters for this month. In a couple of minutes they came to the suet feeder that is hanging near the garage. It was very dark and gloomy today, so there was very little light for pictures, but I gave it a shot. Here are the results - not much contrast and quite blurry. These are Bushtits, at our suet feeder in our yard.
That one in front with the light-colored eye is a female.
That one, with a dark-colored eye, is a male Bushtit. They are tiny birds, but have a long tail.
That one is another male Bushtit.
So, the pictures are poor, but I got my repeater just by staying home and checking our yard frequently. I doubt I'll go birding tomorrow or get anything else new in our yard, so here is my year-end summary.
For December, I got to 123 species. That compares to 120 last year in Washington in December (not counting the ones I saw in Hawaii last December). I'm ending the year with 64 repeaters, compared to 61 species seen in each month last year.
I got 110 species within 5 miles of home, which is almost all the possible ones. I got 295 species in 2019. Last year I got 315, but that includes 25 species that I got only in Hawaii, and I didn't go to Hawaii this year. Without Hawaii, I would have had 290 last year, and I exceeded that this year. Other than Hawaii, my travel in 2019 was almost the same as my travel in 2018.
In my 3-county birding, I got 158 species in King county (my home county), 144 species in Snohomish county (the next county to the north), and 156 species in Skagit county (the next county north of of Snohomish). All of those numbers were more than I had expected.
It was an excellent year of birding. I enjoyed keeping all my lists, and I will probably keep all the same lists in 2020, except I probably won't do the 5MR list again. That's the list of birds seen within 5 miles of home.
The weather forecast is poor for the first week of 2020 - lots of rain and wind - so there won't be much to report at first, but it will clear up eventually, and I'll be off to the races again.