January Part 1 2019

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Tuesday, January 1, 2019

A new year of birding starts. This year I'm going to again do Monthly Birding, which means keeping a list for each month in the year, like I did in 2018. I'll also keep track of how many birds I see in 2019, of course, as usual. In addition, for 2019, I plan to keep two other spreadsheets/lists. One of them will keep track of the birds I see this year in each of the three counties I bird in usually - King, Snohomish, and Skagit counties. That is, three separate lists, one for each county. That's already a lot of keep track of, but I'm going to try to do still another thing - a thing I read about online called 5 Mile Radius Birding, or 5MR. The idea is to keep track of the birds I see and hear within five miles of home, for the whole year. There's a Facebook group and the woman who has organized it will send out monthly emails to let people know how everyone who is participating is doing. That's a heck of a lot of lists and I'm not sure if I'll really keep them all going for the whole year, but I'm going to give it a try. Now for the actual birding and pictures from today.

I started the year with a trip up to Skagit county, which I also did last year. Last year I started at the north end of Skagit county and worked my way south, and today I actually started in northern Snohomish county and worked up into the southern part of Skagit county.

Before I left home, I saw DARK-EYED JUNCO, AMERICAN CROW, STELLER'S JAY, and HOUSE SPARROW at our feeder. On the drive north I added FERAL PIGEON, BALD EAGLE, and RED-TAILED HAWK, from the car. My first actual birding stop was in the town of Stanwood, where I looked for a couple of rare (for this area) flycatchers that have been reported there recently. I never found either flycatcher, but I added EUROPEAN STARLING and MALLARD to my list. At a house that had some seeds in a dish, I saw a MOURNING DOVE and a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE at the seeds, and I got this picture of the two of them. The Mourning Dove is the darker one in front.

On the first day of the year, all birds are new for the year, and I designate new year-birds with ALL CAPS. The ones I saw up until this point were all common ones except the Mourning Dove, which was a good one, especially for Snohomish county, which is where Stanwood is.

I gave up on the flycatchers for the time being and drove across the channel to Eide Road. I stopped there and looked for another rarity (Palm Warbler) that has been seen there, including today, but I never saw it. I picked up NORTHERN HARRIER, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, and COMMON RAVEN there, but no pictures. A DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT flew over, and then a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL. On the way out, I saw some AMERICAN ROBINS in some small trees. I stopped again where the Palm Warbler had been seen, and added AMERICAN GOLDFINCH and SPOTTED TOWHEE to my lists. There were some GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS there, too.

I went back to the flycatcher spot and got EUROPEAN STARLING, SONG SPARROW and NORTHERN SHOVELER. I got some gas at QFC and headed north, picking up BREWER'S BLACKBIRD along the way. At the birding spot called the Big Ditch, there was a flock of a couple of hundred SNOW GEESE. Here's a picture of a couple of the Snow Geese.

There was a dark morph Snow Goose in with the normal white ones, and I got this picture.

On the other side of the road were some swans. Most were TRUMPETER SWANS, but there were a few TUNDRA SWANS mixed in with them. There was also a GREAT BLUE HERON nearby.

After that I went farther north, into Skagit county. It was time for me to turn the page from my Snohomish county list to my Skagit county list. Approaching Wylie Slough, there's a dairy, and there were the usual blackbirds and starlings hanging around. I was hoping to find a Brown-headed Cowbird, but all I added there was RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. In a field nearby there were a lot of KILLDEER.

At Wylie Slough I parked along the entry road and walked a little. I soon saw several YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS catching bugs over the water of the slough. Here's a picture of a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

I added BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE there, and also GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW. Here are a couple of pictures of a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

I also saw a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, which was a good bird. Here's a picture of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet in which you can see faint traces of its red crown, which is usually kept under wraps.

There were other birders there, looking for the two rarities that have been reported there. No one saw the Northern Waterthrush while I was there, but one guy spotted the BLACK PHOEBE and we all got good, although distant, views of it. I probably could have gotten other birds there if I had walked more, but I was running behind schedule and I didn't want to take the time.

I moved on to Hayton Reserve. There was a very large flock of hundreds of AMERICAN WIGEONS there. I got out my scope and looked through them until I found a couple of male EURASIAN WIGEONS, a species that should be in Asia now. Each year, a few get mixed in with American Wigeons on their breeding grounds in the far north and migrate down the North American coast, rather than down the Asian coast. There were also four WOOD DUCKS there. The tide was in, and I looked through the ducks in the large bay that fills up at high tide. Most were American Wigeons, but I saw a handful of NORTHERN PINTAILS, one BUFFLEHEAD, and some GREEN-WINGED TEAL.

It was after 1:00 by then, so I ate the first half of my Subway sandwich as I drove to my next destination, which was the house on Valentine Road that has feeders. There was quite a bit of bird action there today, although most of the feeders were empty. As I drove up, there was a DOWNY WOODPECKER on the big suet feeder.

On the other side of the feeder was a female NORTHERN FLICKER. Here are a couple of pictures that illustrate the size difference between Downy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker.

Both Black-capped Chickadees and CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES were coming to the suet, too, when the woodpeckers weren't there. Here's a Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

That picture is a bit blurry, but it shows the colors so well that I'm using it anyway. Here's a sharper picture of a Chestnut-backed Chickadee in an unusual pose.

For comparison, here's a Black-capped Chickadee, the more common chickadee species around here.

There was also a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH coming to the suet.

I didn't get pictures of them, but I also saw HOUSE FINCHES and an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD while I was there. I ate the second half of my sandwich, and took pictures, and by the time that was over, it was time to turn back toward home.

On the way home I took the Rawlins Road/Maupin Road loop. I was glad I did because I saw a NORTHERN SHRIKE, an excellent bird. I stopped at Hayton Reserve again. I saw dozens of Bald Eagles today, but none were in position for a good picture until this second year Bald Eagle posed for me.

It takes Bald Eagles four years to reach full maturity, at which time they have their white heads and white tails. Each year before that they have a different plumage. This one is what they call a second year bird, which I think means it was hatched in 2017.

So, that was my first day of birding for 2019. I got 46 species today, which is exactly the same number of species I got last year on January 1. My 3-county count is King - 4, Snohomish - 25, and Skagit - 37. Putting them all into my spreadsheets today took a lot of time, but it should go faster when there are fewer of them, as the year progresses. The 2019 birding year is underway!

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Today I had a doctor's appointment in the late morning, so I had less than two hours to do some birding. I went down to the Fire Station Road at Juanita Bay Park, hoping to find the White-throated Sparrow that I saw there last month. I played the song, but all I could attract was one shy Song Sparrow, which I already had this month. It was one for my King county list, though, and also for my 5 Mile Radius (5MR) list.

I saw a flock of small birds high in a tree, and I tried to identify them. They flew in a flock to another tree, and I was able to discern that they were mostly PINE SISKINS, a small member of the finch family and a species I don't see real often. Mixed in with them were some American Goldfinches. Here's a distant picture of some of the Pine Siskins, in terrible light.

Here's a shot of one of the Pine Siskins and an American Goldfinch below it.

Here's a shot of three Pine Siskins, with a partially hidden goldfinch in it for good measure.

One more Pine Siskin picture, with two partially obscured American Goldfinches as well.

That's all I got there, so I drove up to Kenmore to Log Boom Park, which is also within a 5 mile radius of home. I was looking for ducks, and I found some. I added AMERICAN COOT to my year list, as well as GADWALL. Here is a male Gadwall.

I had seen a ton of American Wigeons yesterday, but today I added that species to my King county and 5MR (5 Mile Radius, remember?) lists. Here's a female American Wigeon.

There were three PIED-BILLED GREBES way out on the lake. I also picked up both COMMON MERGANSER and HOODED MERGANSER. Here is a female Common Merganser.

Here's a female Hooded Merganser.

Fairly far out on the lake there were two or three dozen CANVASBACKS, my main target there today. They are uncommon around here, but every winter there is a group of them that spend the winter offshore at the north end of Lake Washington. Here is a distant picture of some Canvasbacks, with their distinctive head and bill shape.

Out there with the Canvasbacks, there were some GREATER SCAUP, and way across the end of the lake there were some RING-NECKED DUCKS. I added Bufflehead and Double-crested Cormorant to my 5MR and King county lists, too. I also got this picture of my first RING-BILLED GULL of the year.

That was it for my birding, but back here at home, I added Spotted Towhee, House Finch, and Chestnut-backed Chickadee to my King county and 5MR lists.

For the day, I added 10 species to my year list, to bring it to 56 species. That's exactly what I had after January 2 last year, but I'll fall behind last year tomorrow because it is supposed to rain all day here, and I have a lunch appointment besides. I added 19 species to my King county and 5MR lists, to bring each of them to 23 species now. Keeping all these lists is a lot of effort, and I don’t know how long I'll keep doing it.

Friday, January 4, 2019

Before I left home this morning, I added Feral Pigeon, Northern Flicker, and European Starling to my King county and 5 Mile Radius lists. My first birding stop was the rowing club pond at Marymoor Park. I played the calls of Green Heron, but today I got no response and didn't see a Green Heron. There was a pair of Hooded Mergansers on the pond, though, and I took this picture of the male Hooded Merganser.

Here's the female Hooded Merganser.

In the winter, water always seems to look brown, but it is clear. It appears brown in pictures because it's a reflection of the brown background in the winter. I added Black-capped Chickadee to my King county list there, too.

I drove into the main part of Marymoor Park and picked up CACKLING GOOSE and CANADA GOOSE for my year list. They also went on my King county list and my Five Mile Radius (5MR) list because the extreme northwest corner of Marymoor Park is just barely less than five miles from my house. The geese were probably not in the 5 mile radius, but you can count birds that you see when you are within 5 miles of home, even if the birds are outside of the 5 mile radius. I was definitely within the 5 mile radius circle, so both goose species went on my 5MR list. I didn't take pictures at that time, but later in the day I saw a large group of Cackling Geese with a few Canada Geese on the edge of the flock. Here's a picture that shows both species.

The three large geese in the back are Canada Geese, and the smaller ones in the foreground are Cackling Geese. When you see the two species together, it's easy to tell them apart, because of the size difference.

I drove on through Marymoor Park and saw the Northern Shrike that has been hanging out there. It was outside of my 5MR circle, but it went on my King county list for this year. As I drove out of the park, a Bald Eagle was sitting up in the sun, and I couldn't resist taking a picture.

You can see that the wind was ruffling its feathers. That was my first Bald Eagle in King county this year.

I drove out to the Snoqualmie Valley and went up W. Snoqualmie River Road SE and W. River Road. I added a few birds to my King county list, but got nothing new for the year. It was remarkably un-birdy today. I didn't see much, wherever I went. After an unproductive stop at the house in Carnation with feeders, I drove over to Sikes Lake, but I couldn’t call up any sparrows and the kingfisher didn't show itself. I went up to Duvall and walked down the trail to the place I have seen Wilson's Snipe in the past, but nothing was there today. I drove up W. Snoqualmie River Rd NE, but again I didn't get anything new for my year. I added three ducks to my King county list, as well as Killdeer, Northern Harrier, and Eurasian Collared-Dove, but I missed Rough-legged Hawk and Brown-headed Cowbird, which would have been year-birds.

On my way home I stopped at Cottage Lake, in Woodinville, and I did manage to see some RUDDY DUCKS way across the lake, so at least I got something for my year list. I also added Red-winged Blackbird to my King county list.

Back at home, I took this picture of a Chestnut-backed Chickadee at our feeder.

All in all, it was a pretty unproductive day for birds. I managed to add only 3 species to my year list, to bring it to 59 species now. I added 5 species to my 5MR list, to bring that one to 29. My King county list increased by 20 to 43 species. It was overcast and gloomy today, and I had rain in the Duvall area, but tomorrow looks to be dry, so maybe I can do better then.

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Today I went over to Puget Sound to look for saltwater birds. I stopped in Lake Forest Park and picked up BAND-TAILED PIGEON at the house with feeders where they hang out. Here are a couple of pictures of Band-tailed Pigeons.

I looked it up later, and that house is inside my 5 mile radius circle by about 30 feet, so Band-tailed Pigeon went on my 5MR list as well as my King county list and year list.

After that I drove over to Richmond Beach, which is in King county. My main target was California Quail, but the park is on Puget Sound, so saltwater birds can be seen there, too. I didn't find any quail today, but there were more seabirds than I think I have ever seen there before. There was a group of about 6 BLACK SCOTERS, the first time I have ever seen Black Scoter in King county. I also picked up my first RED-NECKED GREBE of the year, and I hadn't ever recorded that one in King county, either. I also picked up HORNED GREBE, COMMON GOLDENEYE, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, and SURF SCOTER for my year list (as well as for my 2019 King county list, of course). On the path to the parking lot there were some sparrows feeding on the ground, and I got this picture of a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

There were also two or three Song Sparrows singing away, and I took this picture of one of them singing.

Next I moved on Kayu Kayu Ac Park, which is also in King county. There wasn't much out on the water there, but I did spot a bird way out there, and it turned out to be my first ever RED-THROATED LOON in King county, as well as my first of the year. There were also two or three cormorants out there, and one of them was a BRANDT'S CORMORANT, another first for me in King county since t least 2012.

I drove up into Snohomish county then, stopping at the park in Woodway where I have gotten a couple of little birds in the past. I played both songs, and I lured out a PACIFIC WREN, but not a Brown Creeper.

Next I visited the Edmonds Marsh, hoping for Marsh Wren or other things, but I got nothing there. Marsh Wrens are quite responsive to playback in the spring and summer, but in the winter they seem to ignore it usually.

I went up to Sunset Avenue and looked around. There were a lot of BRANT, a small goose, out on the water, and I saw a group of about 6 PACIFIC LOONS out there, too. On one of the ferry terminal pilings there were some cormorants, and I added PELAGIC CORMORANT to my year list. Here's a picture of the Edmonds ferry with the Olympic Mountains in the background.

There were three or four PIGEON GUILLEMOTS out there, as well as a single COMMON LOON. I also added MEW GULL there.

My final stop of the morning was Ocean Avenue, a little north of the ferry terminal. I got some pictures there, at least. Here's a pair of Surf Scoters, with the male on the left.

Here are a couple of male Common Goldeneyes.

Here's a Horned Grebe with a male Common Goldeneye.

My final picture of the day is a pair of Black Scoters. The male is the black one.

Before I left there, I spotted a group of WESTERN GREBES, way out in the middle of the sound.

It turned out to be a quite productive day, but I had expected that since it was my fist time this year on saltwater. I added 17 species to my year list, to bring it to 76. I got 10 more for my 2019 King county list, to bring that one to 53 now. Four of those were new for me in King county since 2012, when I started keeping county records, and now I have 184 species in King county since 2012. I added 18 species to my Snohomish county list, to give me 48 now in that county in 2019. Finally, I added one species, Band-tailed Pigeon, to my 5 Mile Radius (5MR) list, and they were just barely within the five miles, by maybe 50 feet at the most. I don't know how much longer I'm going to continue to keep so many lists, but I do like lists and spreadsheets, so maybe I'll continue them all for the whole year.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

I started my birding today at Houghton Beach Park, which is on Lake Washington, just south of downtown Kirkland. It was pretty windy and there were waves on the lake, but I got out my scope and took a look. There wasn't much out there, but I did add Common Goldeneye to my 5 Mile Radius (5MR) list. I kept looking and eventually I saw 2 or 3 Horned Grebes as well, again for the 5MR list. Then I noticed that there were dozens of Western Grebes way out on the lake, and that was still another 5MR bird for me, and a first for King county this year as well.

That was it for that spot, so I moved on up to Juanita Bay Park, north of downtown Kirkland. I tried the Fire station Road first and managed to call out a Pacific Wren, which was a 5MR bird as well as a first for King county this year. I moved across the street to the parking lot for the main part of the park and I played some bird calls. I couldn't whistle up a Brown Creeper, but I did attract a small flock of GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, one for my year, 5MR, and King county lists. Eventually two or three of them came right down close to me, but they flitted around so much that the best picture I could get was this one that focused on the needles in front of the bird, unfortunately.

I was going to call it quits then because my cold is still hanging on in my chest, and I wanted to get in out of the cold. After stopping at home briefly, I went out again, though, up to the North Creek area, on the Snohomish-King county line. My main reason for going up there was to look for the flock of geese that has been there, because there has been a Snow Goose hanging with them, and that would be a great one for my 5MR list. I didn't see the flock of geese, though.

Since I was in the neighborhood anyway, I parked at the school district building and walked out on the trail. It looked like a good spot for it, so I played the song and attracted two FOX SPARROWS, my first of the year. They were about ten feet north of the Snohomish county line, as I figured it, so they went on my Snohomish list. It was within my 5MR circle, too. Here is one of today's Fox Sparrows.

There is a pond there just across the county line in Snohomish county, and I saw some ducks there for my Snohomish county list for 2019. Here is a picture of a female Ring-necked Duck.

I also added Green-winged Teal and Hooded Merganser to my Snohomish county list. I walked east on the path and spotted a BELTED KINGFISHER perched on a dead branch. It was a juvenile female bird, and it was in Snohomish county by maybe 20 or 30 feet. I was still within my 5MR circle, too, of course. Here is the juvenile female Belted Kingfisher.

The reddish-brown band across its belly indicates it is a female. Here is another picture.

I hadn't noticed at the time, but when I processed my pictures I noticed that there is brown mixed in with the blue on the breast band, and that indicates the bird is a juvenile, hatched in 2018.

On my way back to my car, I walked a short distance in the parking lot on the King county side of the line, and picked up my first ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD of the year. I also got my first Golden-crowned Sparrows inside my 5MR.

I headed for home, but I stopped at a pond on NE 195th St, which was in King county and also within my 5MR. There were some ducks there, and I got out to take this picture of my first Northern Shovelers within my 5MR. The male is the closer, more colorful one.

There was a Great Blue Heron at that pond, too, and that was another 5MR bird for my list, and a King county first for 2019 as well. Here are two views of the Great Blue Heron.

I didn't need it for any lists, but I got this picture of a female Bufflehead.

That was it for my actual birding, but I added two more species to my 5MR list in our yard this afternoon - Black-capped Chickadee and American Robin.

Here's my scorecard for today. I added 3 to my year list, and now I have 79 species this year. I got 14 more for my 5MR list, and now that one stands at 44. King county increased by 5 to 58, and Snohomish county went up by 5 to 53. It continues to be pretty complicated to keep track of all these lists, and today it was especially so when I was birding right on the county line between King and Snohomish counties, and within my 5MR circle as well.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Today I went over to Seattle. My first stop was my go-to place for scrub-jay, near the University of Washington. I walked up and down the street, playing scrub-jay calls, and finally I had a very brief view of one at the top of a tree and watched it fly off. It wasn't a very satisfactory view, but I'm convinced it was a CALIFORNIA SCRUB-JAY, and it went on my year list and King county list. While I was walking up and down the street, I saw a little flock of BUSHTITS, so that one also went on my lists. I was a mile or two outside of my 5 mile radius circle, unfortunately. Bushtits are extremely difficult to get pictures of, but I managed to get this picture of a male Bushtit.

Female Bushtits have light colored eyes, and males have dark eyes. In order to get that picture, I had to use a manual exposure setting because of the bright background, and then I had to process the heck out of it so you could see the details on the bird. Bushtits are constantly on the move, which also makes it hard to get pictures of them. I got lucky with this shot.

I headed toward home, but I stopped at Magnuson Park in northeast Seattle. I was looking for gulls, among other things, and I added CALIFORNIA GULL to my year list and Mew Gull to my King county list. Magnuson Park is inside my 5 mile radius circle, too, so they went onto my 5MR list as well.

I looked out on the lake and spotted two groups of ducks. Both groups were scaup, and I was able to identify some LESSER SCAUP, a good year bird to get. A Red-breasted Merganser had been reported there, and I would have liked to have seen that one because they are normally a saltwater bird, and it would be great to get it for my 5MR list. I didn't see the Red-breasted Merganser, but there were Common Mergansers. I didn't need that one, but here are a couple of pictures. First, here is a female Common Merganser.

Here's a male Common Merganser.

There were a number of Common Goldeneyes out there, too, and here's a picture of a male Common Goldeneye.

I walked around for a while, looking for the Cedar Waxwings that have been reported there recently, but I didn't find any. I did find a dozen or so Golden-crowned Sparrows. It was another one I didn't need, but here are some pictures of Golden-crowned Sparrows.

While driving past the entrance pond, I took this picture of some Ring-necked Ducks from my car.

Over by the off-leash dog park, I saw a bird perched near the top of a small tree, so I pulled over to take a look. It was hard to tell with the bright backlight, but it was an immature WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, my first of the year for that species. Here's a heavily processed picture of the immature White-crowned Sparrow.

As I mentioned, Magnuson Park is within my 5 mile radius, so all those birds went onto my 5MR list.

I stopped one more time on my way home, at Matthews Beach. I was looking for a particular individual duck, and I found it. In with the flock of American Wigeons was this male Eurasian Wigeon, an uncommon bird here.

This is an American Wigeon, a common species here, for comparison.

They aren't difficult to tell apart. I had seen that same bird in December, and I was glad to see it was still hanging out with the other wigeons there. I saw a couple of male Eurasian Wigeons up in Skagit county on New Year's Day, but it was good to get one for my 5MR and King county lists. Here's a picture showing the Eurasian Wigeon and a couple of his American Wigeon cousins.

The ducks in the background are female American Wigeons.

That was it for my morning birding, but after lunch I decided to go out again. I only went down to Juanita Beach Park, which is only a couple of miles away. I was hoping to see Wilson's Snipe, but I dipped on that one. I did pick up Wood Duck for my King county and 5MR lists, though. The Trumpeter Swans weren't around today, sorry to say. As I was walking back to the car, I saw a couple of tiny birds. They turned out to be Golden-crowned Kinglets, a species I had seen across the bay at Juanita Bay Park just yesterday. I decided to play their song, hoping to entice them in for a picture. It turned out that they were part of a small mixed species feeding flock, and I picked up my first BEWICK'S WREN and my first RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET of the year, and of course added them to my 5MR list, too. It took a while, but eventually I did get a picture of one of the Golden-crowned Kinglets, too.

I love the spindly little legs and delicate feet of songbirds.

Back here at home I added Red-winged Blackbird to my 5MR list, to finish off the day.

It was a pretty productive day, as it turned out. I added 6 species to my year list, to bring it to 85. 11 species went onto my King county list, and now I have 69 species here in my home county. I also added 9 more species to my 5MR list, and now I've seen 53 species within 5 miles of home (as the crow flies).

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

The weather didn’t look very promising today, but I headed out to the Snoqualmie Valley anyway. I stopped at Sikes Lake and managed to call up a LINCOLN'S SPARROW by playing its song on my phone. It lurked back in the blackberry brambles, and the only two pictures I got were focused in back and in front of the bird. I tried for Swamp Sparrow there, too, but didn't see one.

On my way into Carnation, I stopped at one point to check out some geese across the road, and I saw a couple of coyotes trotting across the field, beyond the geese. Here's a distant picture of one of the coyotes.

I drove through Carnation, and at the house with feeders, I did see three Mourning Doves in a tree. That was a King county bird. (I spent the whole day in King county today.) I drove down the west side of the Snoqualmie River, south of Carnation, and I found my first AMERICAN KESTREL of the year. It was sitting on a wire, and I didn't bother getting out of the car to try for a picture. First of all, kestrels usually fly off when I get out of my car; second, it would have been a lousy shot with the bright sky behind it; and third, it was raining (as it did all day), and trying to take a picture of a bird above me would have just gotten raindrops on the lens, which would have made any pictures blurry anyway. Birding in the rain has its issues.

I looked for Greater White-fronted Geese along that road, where I had seen a family of four of them last month, but they weren't around today. I went on through Fall City and up to Tokul Creek, to look for a dipper. I was very lucky with dippers last year, getting one in each month of the year, and I think they were all on Tokul Creek, probably all the same bird or two, since I think there are two of them there. When I got to the bridge over the creek, there were several cars there, indicating that there were fishermen in the area. One was fishing just downstream of the bridge, and my hopes for a dipper slipped. I looked upstream, though, and darned if I didn't spot an AMERICAN DIPPER. Here is a distant picture of the dipper, through the rain.

I was happy with that, but the bird was working its way downstream, toward me, so I stuck around and took more pictures as it approached. Here is a less distant picture of the American Dipper.

It kept on coming downstream, and here is another picture, closer still.

Here's one that I would call fairly close.

It kept going underwater and sometimes would just put its head under and forage around.

I like this next picture because it shows the bird's short, stubby tail well.

Here's a front view of the American Dipper.

Here it is emerging from one of its underwater swims.

Eventually it got so close that taking pictures was difficult, since it rarely stayed still, and by the time I could get focused, it had moved on. Here is one final picture of the American Dipper, almost underneath me, as I stood on the bridge. This was on the downstream side of the bridge.

By that time, it was getting close to lunch time, so I headed for home. I saw one of the coyotes again, and took another picture of it beyond the geese.

I stopped again at Sikes Lake, but couldn't get the Swamp Sparrow to pop up, so I drove on home for lunch.

I added 3 more species to my year list, and now I have 88 species in 2019. I had 4 more for my King county list, and now that one stands at 73 species. The weather was nasty today - cold (mid-40's), wet, and windy. It's supposed to improve tomorrow, and then be pretty good for the next 4 or 5 days after that. We'll see what I can get for my lists.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Today I stuck close to home and started at Juanita Bay Park. There was a break in the rain for a couple of hours, and I took advantage of it. As I set out, there was a group of about a dozen birders also starting a tour. I hung back until I saw that they were going out on the east boardwalk, so I headed to the west boardwalk first. I'd rather not be near other birders because I like to use playback, and some birders don’t like it, and it interferes with other birders identifying birds by sound.

At the first observation deck on the west boardwalk, I spotted a WILSON'S SNIPE (as a reminder, I use all caps when a bird is the first one of its species I've seen this year) across the little inlet. It had its head tucked under its wing, but I could tell what it was. Later a second one joined it, but it also had its head tucked in. Still later, when I was on the east boardwalk, I could look across the inlet and see that there were then three of them. One had its bill out, so I took this picture. Can you see all three of them? Wilson's Snipe.

There were some Wood Ducks fairly nearby, and I can't resist taking pictures of colorful male Wood Ducks.

I saw a very distant bird out on the water, but it soon dove and never showed up again. I decided it was a Common Loon, an excellent bird for my 5MR list. I met the group of birders as I left the west boardwalk, and just then I spotted a male Downy Woodpecker, another one for my 5MR list. I pointed it out to the other birders, and left them while they were watching it.

I walked over to the east boardwalk, and I played some bird calls - Marsh Wren, Fox Sparrow, and Virginia Rail - but I never saw or heard any of them. I did spot a Bald Eagle in a tree, so that one went on my 5MR list. When I got to the end of the east boardwalk, I was pleased and surprised to see that a group of five Trumpeter Swans had flown in while I was walking from one boardwalk to the other. That was a good 5MR bird for me. There was a family of three and another pair of Trumpeter Swans. Here is the family of three Trumpeter Swans. The darker one is a juvenile, hatched last summer on their breeding grounds in the far north.

The swans swam into the little inlet, right between the two boardwalks. I took this picture of the birding group looking at the swans.

There was a Great Blue Heron standing nearby, so I took the obligatory picture of it.

Note the breeding plumes on the neck, the back, and the head. It is almost breeding season for Great Blue Herons.

I didn't get anything else for my lists at the park, but on the way home I detoured to St. Edwards State Park. I saw Varied Thrush there once or twice, a couple of years ago, so I keep checking back, although I haven't seen them there since then. My secondary reason for going there was to try for another species that I hadn't ever seen there, but the habitat looked perfect for it. I walked a little in the woods and played the song, and was eventually rewarded with a brief look at a BROWN CREEPER. It was high on the trunk of a tree, and it soon flew off, but I had seen it well, so it went on my various lists (year, King county, and 5MR).

As I drove in our driveway, I stopped the car and tried for pictures of birds at our feeder. The only halfway decent one was of this Spotted Towhee.

My timing was good, because it started to rain again just as I got home. I got 2 more for my year list today, to give me 90 species now for the year. Three more species went onto my 2019 King county list, which now stands at 76 species. It was gratifying to add 6 more species to my 5 Mile Radius list, giving me 59 species now that I've seen within 5 miles of home this year. Tomorrow we are supposed to get some showers in the morning, but after that it's supposed to be dry for the next six days in a row. I'm hoping to take advantage of the weather break and go on some day trips to build up my year list.

Friday, January 11, 2019

We finally had good weather today, and I had hoped to go up to Skagit county for a full day of birding, but I slept poorly last night and I didn't feel up to a full day out there. Instead, I started my morning of birding at Richmond Beach, hoping for California Quail. No quail today, but I did get a Fox Sparrow for my King county list. Here's a picture.

I moved on up the coast a mile or so to Kayu Kayu Ac Park. I managed to see a female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE there, my first Barrow's Goldeneye of the year. I was in King county, but the bird was just across the county line in Snohomish county, I figure, so it went on my Snohomish county list for 2019. The sun was shining on the Olympic Mountains, across Puget Sound, so I took a couple of pictures.

Next I drove through Woodway to Edmonds. I stopped at the water treatment plant there and found my way to a little yard area where yesterday a rarity had been seen (Harris's Sparrow). There were lots of birds around, but I didn't find the Harris's Sparrow. Here are a couple of pictures of female House Finches.

I like this picture I got of a male Northern Flicker.

There were a lot of robins around. I usually ignore them because they are so common, but today I took this picture of an American Robin.

There were several Song Sparrows, lots of Dark-eyed Juncos, and at least one Golden-crowned Sparrow there, too. I didn't need any of those for any lists, but there were also a couple of White-crowned Sparrows, and I needed that one for my 2019 Snohomish county list. Here is an immature White-crowned Sparrow.

I gave that up and went over to the Edmonds fishing pier. There wasn’t much out there today, and the tide was high, which made it unlikely I would find the Black Turnstone or the Surfbird that have been hanging out there. I did see about a hundred DUNLIN roosting on the breakwater, though. Here are some of them, with their heads tucked under their wings.

That was a year-bird for me, so it went on my year list, my January list, and my 2019 Snohomish county list. Here's a picture that shows one of the Dunlin with its head out (on the left).

Here's a Double-crested Cormorant.

I got another year bird from the pier, too, BONAPRTE'S GULL. Here is the Bonaparte's Gull.

I next went up to Sunset Avenue and used my scope. I saw a small group of Pacific Loons, which is a good bird, but I already had it this year. The only thing I saw that I needed was a single male HARLEQUIN DUCK, my first of the year. The sun was still shining on the Olympics, and I took this picture of a ferry and the mountains.

I headed for home, but I stopped briefly at Edmonds Marsh to try for Marsh Wren, but I couldn’t attract one. I did see a couple of Bewick's Wrens, though, a good one for my 2019 Snohomish county list. Here's one of the little Bewick's Wrens.

It was a long morning and I was a little late for my lunch, but at least I was home. I had a little nap this afternoon, and I'm glad I didn't go way up north to Skagit county today. Maybe tomorrow.

I added 4 more species to my year list, to give me 94 species for 2019 now. The Fox Sparrow at Richmond Beach brought my 2019 King county list to 77 species. I also had 6 new Snohomish county species today, giving me 59 species in Snohomish county so far this year.

Saturday, January 12, 2019

It was another beautiful winter day today, and I went up to Skagit county. On my way to my first stop at Wylie Slough, I added Common Raven to my 2019 Skagit county list. Wylie Slough was disappointing for three reasons. They have cut down all the reeds in the main slough, and that destroyed much of the habitat for Marsh Wren and Virginia Rail, two of the species I was looking for. Second, the tide was as high as I have ever seen it, which meant that shorebirds weren't around. Third, because it was a beautiful sunny weekend day, there were too many people around, so I couldn’t play bird calls like I would have liked to.

Still, I walked out onto the dike, to see if there were any birds around. There weren't very many, as it turned out. I did pick up a couple of ducks for my 2019 Skagit county list, though, Gadwall and Hooded Merganser. They were both also new for my Washington county list, which means I hadn't recorded either of those species in Skagit county since 2012 when I started keeping county records. Here's a picture of two female Hooded Mergansers.

I moved on and on the way back to the main road, I saw some birds in a field. There were some Killdeer, some starlings, and some little shorebirds that turned out to be my first LEAST SANDPIPERS of the year. Least Sandpiper is uncommon in the winter around here, so that was excellent. Here are a couple of pictures of Least Sandpipers. There were at least three of them there, and probably more.

Here's a European Starling in winter plumage.

There were some Ringed-billed Gulls in a field, so that one went on my 2019 Skagit county list. My next stop was Hayton Reserve. The tide was very high there, too, of course, but there were hundreds of Dunlin roosting on every floating log and rock in the bay. That was one for my 2019 Skagit list, too. There was one group of Dunlin near shore, and I took some pictures. Here's a picture of two of them with the light coming from behind the birds. That makes the shot difficult, but interesting, I think.

I went on down the path to get a better angle for the light, and I took this picture of Dunlin with their reflections in the water.

I like the way the two on the left are peeking out at me, while keeping their bills under their wings. Here's a shot of the path along the bay, with some of the many people who were out today, and with Mount Baker in the background.

In the little inlet west of the parking lot, I saw a male Common Goldeneye, which was another 2019 Skagit county bird for my list. In the large slough along the entrance road there was an American Coot, another bird for my 2019 Skagit county list. The coot was a first for my Washington county list as well. I wasn’t getting the year-birds I had hoped for, but at least I was getting new Skagit county birds, which was one of my goals for the day.

On my way back to the main road, I saw some sparrows, and I got this picture of a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

Next I drove to what birders call the North Fork access, at the end of Rawlins Road. I had three targets there. Again there were too many people around for me to play calls, at first, so I walked out on the dike a short distance. I saw a photographer taking pictures of something, and I looked where he was looking and saw a bird on a dead branch. I approached and discovered it was a SHORT-EARED OWL, one of my target species. It was pretty far away, but here are the best shots I could get.

No one was around at that point, so I played the calls of my other two target species. When I looked again, the owl had flown. I started back toward my car and spotted another bird, a little farther away. It turned out to be a Short Owl as well, and I think it was a different bird than the first one. It seemed much whiter around the face. Here's a distant shot of what I think was a second Short-eared Owl.

That one took off as I watched, and I got a good binocular look at it as it flew away. I went back to playing calls, and got several responses from a VIRGINIA RAIL, the second of my target species there. I never got any response from the third one, Marsh Wren, so I'll have to keep on trying for that one. They don’t respond much in the winter, unfortunately, and they don’t show themselves much either.

As I drove back up Rawlins Road to the main road, I took this picture of Mount Baker.

A little farther up Rawlins Road there were gulls in a field, and a couple of them were close. I stopped to take a look, and one of them was the expected Ring-billed Gull, shown here.

Note the distinctive black ring on its bill. The other one was about the same size, but it turned out to be a Mew Gull, shown here.

No ring on the bill, and the bill is shorter and more delicate. That was the first time I had recorded Mew Gull in Skagit county since I started keeping my county lists in 2012.

I drove to the house on Valentine Road with feeders and parked. I ate my Subway sandwich in my car and watched the suet feeder, which was the only feeder with any food in it. I was hoping for a Hairy Woodpecker, or even a Pileated Woodpecker, but I didn't see either of those. I did get some pictures, though. Here are pictures of two different Red-breasted Nuthatches.

Here are two pictures of the same Black-capped Chickadee.

A male Downy Woodpecker flew in and I took this picture of him and a Black-capped Chickadee.

Here's the male Downy Woodpecker on his own.

A Song Sparrow even came to the suet once something I don't recall seeing before.

I added Bewick's Wren to my 2019 Skagit county list there, too, but it was too far away for pictures.

It was only about 1:00 when I finished my lunch, and I decided to drive around Fir Island a bit, looking for various birds. Then I checked out Wylie Slough again, to see if the tide had gone down or the people had all left. No luck with either one of those, though. On my way back to the main road I saw one of the Least Sandpipers again, and I took this picture of it.

It was a difficult picture because it was totally backlit, and the afternoon winter light gave it a reddish tinge, but I like how it turned out.

I stopped at the dairy on the way out, too, and tried for Brown-headed Cowbird among all the blackbirds, but I couldn't find one. There were Red-winged Blackbirds, Brewer's Blackbirds, and European Starlings, but no cowbirds that I could find. That's a tough species here in the winter, but I found some last winter at that dairy, so I look every time I go by.

I had some extra time, so I drove up into the hills to the east of the freeway, to a place I hadn't ever been to before, Big Lake. The lake is pretty much surrounded with homes, and there are only a few places where you can get peek-a-boo views of it, but there is a public boat launch about halfway up the lake on the west side. I went there, and I could see a large part of the lake, but there wasn’t a single bird on the lake, as far as I could see. I didn't bother going around the north end of the lake, in the hopes of some peek-a-boo views, and I turned back south. I did see some ducks through the trees at one point, though, at the south end of the lake, in an area without houses. I pulled my car off the road, more or less, and got out and took a look. There were 8 or 10 Lesser Scaup, which was a good Skagit county bird, for both my 2019 Skagit list and also my Washington county list (since 2012). There were also several Common Mergansers, both male and female, and that was another 2019 Skagit bird. There were a couple of Pied-billed Grebes, too, and I needed that one for my 2019 Skagit list as well.

I headed for home then, but I stopped off at Lake McMurray, which was right on the way. I managed to see a small group of Canada Geese and a larger group of Cackling Geese on the lake. Both were good ones for my 2019 Skagit list.

In summary, I had a very nice seven hour birding day (including an hour of driving each way) on a lovely sunny winter day, and I got some birds for my lists. I added 3 species to my January and 2019 lists (they are the same at this point, of course), and that gives me 97 species so far this month/year. 17 species went onto my 2019 Skagit county list, to give me 54 species in Skagit county now this year. 5 of those were new for my Washington county list spreadsheet as well, and now I have 138 species in Skagit county since 2012 when I started keeping county lists. Whew, this is a lot of lists to keep track of. I realize that very few people who read this care about my lists, but these reports are at least as much for my own records and later reference and enjoyment as they are for other people, and the rest of you have the pictures to look at.

What a life!

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Today I did the Richmond Beach/Edmonds thing again, looking for the birds I missed on Friday. At Richmond Beach Saltwater Park, I again didn’t hear or see any California Quail. At Kayu Kayu Ac park, there were some Brant (a small goose) out in the bay, and I decided they were on the King county side of the line, so that one went onto my 2019 King county list. It was also a King county first for me since at least 2012, so it went into my Washington State county list, too. In addition, there were 4 or 5 male Barrow's Goldeneyes that were on the King county side of the line, so that one also went on my 2019 King county list.

I drove up into Snohomish county to Edmonds and stopped first at a place I had never heard of before yesterday, the Edmonds Civic Field. It's in the middle of town, but I had never had a reason to discover it. Yesterday a woman posted to Tweeters that there was a goose there that I needed, so I checked it out. It was just a football field with a track around it, a large grassy area, and some outdoor basketball courts. There was a flock of Canada Geese there, so I took a look. To my surprise, there it was, in with the dozen or so Canada Geese, my first GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE of the year. At first it was sitting down, but I approached and all the geese pretty much ignored me. I had to get real close to get it to move. Here it is, just sitting there.

After looking at me for a few seconds, it put its head under its wing and ignored me, although I notice in the picture that it kept an eye on me.

I had to get to about 15 feet away before the geese moved a little, and the Greater White-fronted Goose stood up and moved a bit.

I guess the geese were very used to people. The woman who posted about them said they had been right there every time she had been there in the last couple of months, although that was only a few times. Here is one of the Canada Geese in the group.

The geese didn't act like they expected me to feed them, like you see in parks sometimes; they just seemed to be used to having people around. I was very happy to get the Greater White-fronted Goose, since I had been looking for the species in many places, and they aren't very common around here.

So, I had a year bird, and next I went over to Sunset Avenue and looked around with my scope. It was my day for geese, I guess, because I had added Brant to my King county list and then I got this picture of some Brant at Edmonds.

There were some good birds around. I saw 4 or 5 Pacific Loons and a Red-throated Loon, and a fair number of other birds, but nothing I needed for any list. Next I went out onto the Edmonds fishing pier. I got this picture of a male Common Goldeneye that I like, mainly because it shows the green sheen on its head. Usually when you see them, the head just looks black, but with the light behind me, the green really showed itself. Male Common Goldeneye.

There were several Red-necked Grebes around, as usual, and I got this picture of one of them.

As you can see, the light was excellent today. Here is a male Surf Scoter, but it was in the shade of the pier.

The tide was very high again, and the Dunlin were roosting at the end of the north breakwater again.

I didn't need any of those species, and with the high tide, I didn’t expect to find either of the two uncommon-to-rare "rockpiper" species that feed on the breakwater rocks sometimes; however, I managed to spot a SURFBIRD roosting quite close by. Unfortunately, the bird was directly in line with the sun, so it was difficult to even see it, let alone get a decent picture. I had actually missed seeing it the first couple of times I had scanned the breakwater, because the sun was right behind it, shining right in my eyes. I moved down the pier to get as good an angle as I could, but the bird had its head tucked under its wing, just snoozing until the tide went down so it could feed again. I took several pictures, despite the difficult conditions, and in one of them the bird actually had its head out briefly. It took a lot of processing, and it's still a terrible picture, but at least I documented that I saw a Surfbird, which is a near-rarity in Snohomish county.

It was getting on for noon, but I was all the way up in Edmonds, so I decided to take an extra 15 or 20 minutes and stop at the Edmonds Marsh. I played the wren song I have playing everywhere this month, and finally I got a response today from a cute little MARSH WREN. The bird flew in and I got good looks at it, but it stayed in the reeds and I couldn't get a picture. It was a great one to get, though, after I had tried for it just about every day this month, all over the place. While I was trying to get a picture of the Marsh Wren, a flock of Bushtits showed up, and that one went on both my 2019 Snohomish county list and my Washington State county list (since 2012).

So, I didn't get a large number of species for my lists today, but the quality was high. I added 3 more to my 2019/January list, to bring it to a nice round 100 species. I added 2 more species to my 2019 King county list, to give me 79 species in King county this year. I also got 4 more species for my 2019 Snohomish county list, to bring me to 63. In addition, I added one to both King county and Snohomish county on my Washington State county list. Now I have 185 species in King county and 160 species in Snohomish county, since 2012 when I started keeping track of birds by county. List, lists, lists. I love 'em.

Monday, January 14, 2019

My original plan for today was to go across Puget Sound to Fort Flagler on an all day birding trip. My friend, Chris, suggested lunch today, though, and I postponed Fort Flagler as a result. This morning I went over to Marymoor Park and went to the rowing club pond, hoping for Green Heron. The pond was frozen over, though, and I found nothing there. I drove through the park, mainly looking for Western Meadowlarks, but again found nothing I needed. Next I drove over Novelty Hill Road to the Snoqualmie Valley to try for the rare Swamp Sparrow that has been seen at Sikes Lake. I saw it in December, and a buddy of mine saw it over the weekend, so I had hopes. When I got there, though, there were two birders already there. They hadn't seen it or heard it. I would have played the song, which is how I attracted it last month, but I don't do that when other birders are around, so I gave it up and headed to Chris's house to pick him up for lunch.

On the way I drove past a field where I saw some geese last month, several times. There has been one Snow Goose hanging out with some Canada and Cackling Geese there. I missed them the last couple of times I went by there, but today they were there again. I added Snow Goose to my 5MR list, which was excellent because they are very uncommon around here. After lunch I got some pictures of the Snow Goose, but I didn't try for any in the morning.

After lunch, Chris and I went to Wallace Swamp Creek Park in north Kenmore. We walked and it was remarkably birdy. One of the first birds we saw was a HERMIT THRUSH. That was a really super bird for my lists, since it was within 5 miles of home and is uncommon, in my experience. I never did see one in 2018, for example, so I wasn't really expecting to see one this year either. Here is the Hermit Thrush.

The bird kept hopping around, and just as I would press the shutter, it would move on. Here's a shot of it hopping right toward me, just as I took the picture.

Here is the Hermit Thrush with its bill open, presumably calling, although I didn't hear it.

At one point I was playing Purple Finch songs, and a Fox Sparrow responded with some chip calls. I got a couple of pictures of the Fox Sparrow, although it mostly stayed back in the brush.

We saw Bewick's Wrens in three different places. Here's a picture of the first one.

I wasn't able to get any pictures of the second one, but here are three distant shots of the third Bewick's Wren of the day.

I like that shot because it shows the bands on its tail, although the tail is blurry because the bird was moving it.

We saw both Golden-crowned Kinglet and Ruby-crowned Kinglet at one point, but I wasn’t able to get any pictures. There were a number of Black-capped Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Song Sparrows - and one Spotted Towhee. Lots of robins, of course, as always. We also saw a male Downy Woodpecker. As I said, it was very birdy. On the way back to the car we saw a bird fly right toward us, and it appeared to land on the other side of a tree trunk right in front of us. I said I thought it looked like a woodpecker based on how it flew, but it didn't really look like a woodpecker. It turned out to be a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, which is a member of the woodpecker family. I got this picture of the bird, backlit in the sun, showing its bright red upper parts.

Sapsuckers feed on bugs in the winter, but most of the year they also drill holes in trees and then come back after the holes fill with sap, and they sip the sap. In the picture above, you can see the sap wells - the little holes in lines around the tree trunk. The sapsucker will return to that same tree for days or weeks, until the hole don't produce sap any more. I hadn't noticed the holes when we were there, but I saw them in the picture.

I dropped Chris off at his house, and drove past the field with the geese again. The birds were far across the field, and I could only see them through a chain link fence, but I took some distant pictures, anyway. Here is the Snow Goose with a couple of Cackling Geese and one much larger Canada Goose (on the right).

You can see the blurry streaks of the chain link fence in the pictures. Here are two more pictures of the Snow Goose.

I made one more stop on my way home, at a pond just north of NE 195th St. I stopped because a couple of years ago I saw Green Heron there several times. They have cleared most of the trees and brush from around the pond now, though, and I don't think that it is suitable habitat for Green Heron now. There are ducks on the pond, though, and I took some pictures. The light was great today, and it was coming from behind me, and the iridescence on the heads of the ducks was showing up well. Here are a couple of pictures of a male Northern Shoveler.

Even better was this male Bufflehead. Normally the head of a male Bufflehead just looks black and white, but in this light you can see all kinds of iridescent colors.

That was it for today. My actual birding in the morning was uneventful, but the after lunch walk was great. I added 2 species to my 2019/January list, to bring it to 102 species now. I got 3 more species for my 5 Mile Radius list, to give me 62 species so far within 5 miles of home. I added 3 more to my 2019 King county list, to give me 82 in King county this year, and I added 1 more to my Snohomish county list (Cackling Goose), to give me 65 species in Snohomish county this year so far.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

I didn't feel like an all day trip today, so I didn't go over to Fort Flagler, as I had intended. Instead I drove north, up to Tulalip Bay. I was in search of a couple of "rockpipers" that have been reported there, one of which is rare for this area. Rockpiper is a slang term that birders use to describe shorebirds that generally feed on rocky shores, looking for shellfish and bugs, I suppose. The tide was high and at high tide, the ones at Tulalip Bay were reported to be on the log boom around the marina, on the west side.

I looked where I had seen them before, but at first all I saw were gulls, cormorants, and three roosting Dunlin. Eventually I did see three BLACK TURNSTONES, which was one of the rockpipers I was looking for, but the easy one, not the rare one. While I was looking around the bay, another birder showed up, looking for the same rarity - the one I hadn't found. He didn't see it either, but he looked on his phone at a map and the eBird notes from the sighting yesterday, and he said the log boom we were looking at was south, not west, and that there was another one up the shore a bit. He moved up there, and I followed. It turns out that the marina isn't really aligned on compass headings, it is sort of diagonal. The log boom I had first looked is actually southwest of the marina. The second one, much shorter, was northwest. I wasn't even aware of that one, and that's where the rarity was. There were another six or seven Black Turnstones on that log boom, and the rare (for this area) RUDDY TURNSTONE. Better yet, they were much closer than the ones I had seen on the other log boom, and there was a dock I could walk out on to get even closer. Here's a picture of the rare Ruddy Turnstone.

Here is a Black Turnstone for comparison.

Here's a shot of both species, with the Black Turnstone closer to me.

There are several subtle differences in the two species, but one is that the "bib" on the breast has a single lobe on Black Turnstone, and there are two lobes on the breast of Ruddy Turnstone. Here's a Black Turnstone, with its single lobe breast marking.

Here's the Ruddy Turnstone, with its double lobe breast marking, with a space between the two lobes.

Here's another picture of the Ruddy Turnstone.

Here's another picture of one of the Black Turnstones.

You can see in those pictures that the Ruddy Turnstone has more reddish-brown in its plumage than the Black Turnstone.

When I processed my pictures this afternoon, I noticed something interesting. I was taking a picture of the Ruddy Turnstone, and a gull photo-bombed my shot.

The gull was closer to me, so it appears even larger than it was, compared to the turnstone, but when I looked at the gull closely, I decided it was a HERRING GULL, a great species to get, since they aren't very common around here. Here's a cropped shot of the gull's head.

I wish I had a picture that showed the whole bird, especially the leg color, but based on the light-colored eye and the bill (size, shape, and colors), I believe it was a Herring Gull. I'm going to count it, since I saw it, and now I think I know what it was.

When I got enough pictures of the turnstones, I headed toward home, but I had some time, so I detoured over to Mukilteo to look for another species I needed. At Edgewater Beach Park, I looked around, and on my second or third scan, I saw a pair of MARBLED MURRELETS far out on the water. That's the species I was looking for there, so that was gratifying. There were also some American Wigeons offshore, and I needed that one for my 2019 Snohomish county list. While I was marking up my spreadsheet back here at home, I noticed that I had overlooked 3 species I saw in Edmonds on Saturday - Dark-eyed Junco, Black-capped Chickadee, and Northern Flicker - so I added those to my 2019 Snohomish county list. Keeping track of all these lists is complicated, and I can't remember all the common species that I have seen, and which county I have seen them in. I had simply overlooked these three species.

With those 3 species from Saturday and today's 5 additional species, I now I have 73 species in 2019 in Snohomish county. Herring Gull was new for my Washington county spreadsheet for Snohomish county, too. That's the one that keeps track of all the species I have seen in each county since I started keeping county lists in 2012. Now I have 161 species in Snohomish county since 2012. 4 of the species today were new for 2019, so now my January/2019 list has 106 species on it.

We are supposed to have one more dry day before the rains return, and I don’t know where I'll go looking for birds tomorrow.