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Sunday, June 2, 2019

 

Yesterday I drove home from Burns, OR, after our four days of birding around Malheur NWR.  I had been hoping to see our local Swainson's Hawk before I left, for my June list, but I couldn't find it.  I did see White-faced Ibis, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Western Meadowlark, anyway, so my June list had started.  Along the way I picked up American Kestrel, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, American Robin, and Brewer's Blackbird.  Best of all, there was a Chukar on the side of the road at one point - an excellent June bird for my list.  I had 10 June species when I got home.

 

Today I didn't feel like doing any real birding, and I certainly didn't feel like driving anywhere.  I added American Crow and Dark-eyed Junco to my June list here at home.  Later in the morning, I did make the five minute journey down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park, mainly to check on the Bushtit nest I had seen when it was under construction, before I left for Oregon.

 

I didn't see any action around the nest, but I didn't look for very long.  A Red-breasted Sapsucker flew through a couple of times, and then I saw a male Black-headed Grosbeak, so at least I was getting some June birds.  I saw a little group of Bushtits.  In the winter, Bushtits hang out in flocks, but at this time of year, they are usually alone or in a pair.  There were at least four of them, so maybe these were the young ones from the nest, already fledged, although it doesn't seem like it has been long enough for that.  Here is one of the Bushtits from today.

 

At the end of the road, in a marshy area, I picked up Black-capped Chickadee and Marsh Wren for my June list.  As I walked back toward my car, I saw a Northern Flicker in the distance, at the top of a tree.  A Cedar Waxwing flew in briefly, and I got this quick picture of it.

 

There were 4 or 5 birds that I had a difficult time with at first, and then I decided that they were recently fledged Song Sparrows, still hanging around together.  A couple of House Finches finished off my brief birding outing.

 

Back at home, the weather was great, and I sat on the front porch and watched the bird feeder and birdbath, while I ate my lunch and read my book and the week's worth of newspapers I had missed.  A couple of European Starlings were feeding in the grass.  Then a Chestnut-backed Chickadee came to the feeder repeatedly, and I tried for some distant pictures.  Here are a couple of pictures of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

 

 

Those are actually two different pictures, taken several minutes apart, but I couldn't decide which one is better, so I'm showing them both.

 

At a time when there were no birds to shoot, I took this picture of a bumblebee on a flower.

 

American Crows came to the water a couple of times, and also landed in one of the trees.  Here are some pictures of American Crow.

 

 

 

That was it for today.  I have some appointments this coming week, and after a week of intensive birding, I don't feel especially eager to get out and look for a lot of birds, so maybe there won't be much more this week.  I have 24 species for June now.  Marsh Wren was new for my 5 Mile Radius list, too, and now I have 91 species this year within five miles of home.

 

 

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

 

Yesterday I had a couple of appointments, and I only added Feral Pigeon to my June list. This morning I went over to Marymoor Park.  I parked and walked along the slough and added birds to my June list.  I picked up Killdeer, Mallard, Gadwall, Great Blue Heron, Tree Swallow, and Common Merganser below the weir.  On my way back to my car, an Osprey flew in and landed on a tree across the slough.

 

 

 

I think its interesting how it can balance on the top of that dead snag like that.

 

I added Common Yellowthroat to June between there and the car, and then I drove over to the other side of the dog park.  I added Savannah Sparrow and got this picture.

 

There was a male Anna's Hummingbird in his usual spot at the top of a fir tree, and I got this picture of a butterfly.

 

I didn't feel up to the half mile walk to the lake, so I moved on.  Going through the Evan's Creek Wildlife Area, I saw Barn Swallows at the usual spot at the second creek.  I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds and got this picture of a Violet-green Swallow.

 

I walked a little and got these next two pictures of a female Northern Flicker.

 

 

There were a couple of Killdeer there, and I took this picture of one of them.  I like the caramel color of its rump.

 

I also found my target species there, Spotted Sandpiper.  Here is a picture of one of the two I saw there today.

 

That's all I have for today.  I don't really feel very enthused about birding right now, and I haven't felt like walking much, so June is starting out slowly.  It was a beautiful day here today, though, and I did enjoy getting out in it a bit.  I now have 38 species in June.

 

 

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

 

Today my birding adventure was out in the Snoqualmie Valley, in and around Carnation.  I picked up Wood Duck for my June list at Sikes Lake, and then I went to the Stillwater Unit of the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area.  As I started south on the trail along the old railway line, I heard a Swanson's Thrush, one for my June list.  I played the song to attract the bird, and it cooperated by flying in fairly close and letting me get these next two pictures.  Swainson's Thrush.

 

 

I moved on down the trail and met a couple of other birders.  We walked together for awhile and talked about birds, while we looked and listened for them.  One of them spotted a couple of Vaux's Swifts overhead, and that was an excellent June bird for me.  A couple of Hairy Woodpeckers were in the trees, and I got this picture of the female Hairy Woodpecker, whch I needed for June.

 

One of the other birders heard a flycatcher calling, and I saw it.  I couldn't hear it, but it was a Willow Flycatcher, and I got a good look at it.  That was another very good June bird for me.  A single Cedar Waxwing was around, and although I didn't need it, I got this picture of it.

 

The others continued on down the trail, but I headed back to my car.  I had hoped to see or hear American Bittern and/or Bullock's Oriole, but both of those eluded me today.  I did add Downy Woodpecker to June, and I got this picture of a male Downy Woodpecker, high up in a tree.

 

I also got this picture of a male Tree Swallow at a nest hole.

 

That's all I got there, so I moved on to the house in Carnation with feeders.  I added American Goldfinch to my June list and got this picture of a male American Goldfinch.

 

There were 40 or 50 Band-tailed Pigeons coming in to feed, and that was another June bird for me.  Here is a Band-tailed Pigeon and a European Starling.

 

Three recently fledged European Starlings came in to eat some seed, too.  Here is a juvenile European Starling, which looks somewhat different from the mature bird in the picture above.

 

Here is another picture of a Band-tailed Pigeon at the bird bath.

 

From there I drove to the bridge over the Tolt River.  I was looking for American Dipper, and I found one sitting on the shore, under the bridge.  There wasn't much light under the bridge, but I got this picture of the American Dipper, another excellent June bird.

 

After that I drove across the valley toward home.  I was surprised to see a Western Kingbird (June bird) along NE 60th St, but I didn't get a picture.  While still crossing the valley, I saw another excellent species for my June list, a male Lazuli Bunting.  It was up on a wire, with the bright sky behind it, so pictures were tough.

 

It kept singing, quite loudly.

 

That was it for today.  I added 11 more species to my June list, and now I have 49 species in June.  I got 2 more species for my 2019 King county list, too, and now I have 133 species in King county this year.  I'm off to a slow start this month, partly because I have been doing other things, but also because I feel kind of burned out on birding right now, and I don't feel like making any big effort.

 

 

Thursday, June 6, 2019

 

Today I went up to Edmonds for the first time this month.  Most of the saltwater birds are now gone for the summer, but I hoped to pick up some of the residents that are there all year long.  First I went out on the fishing pier.  I soon saw Glaucous-winged Gulls for my June list, and then I noticed a gull with a dark back, a white head, and a red-orange bill.  I hadn't known they were back from migration yet, but there were three Heermann's Gulls on the breakwater.  Here are two of them.

 

I checked eBird when I got home, and at that point, there hadn't been any Heermann's Gulls reported in the area this season.  I guess the first ones must have just arrived.  Later I got a picture of three Heermann's Gulls flying.

 

There were a couple of immature gulls on the breakwater, too, and after checking my field guide, I decided they were immature Ring-billed Gulls, a species I needed for June, and one that is hard to find in June.  Gulls take 3 or 4 years to attain their adult plumage, and these Ring-billed Gulls were in their second year, I think.  Here is one of the second year Ring-billed Gulls.

 

As I was leaving, I saw three little birds way out on the water.  Here is a distant picture of three Marbled Murrelets, an excellent June bird for me.

 

Here is a closer crop of two of the Marbled Murrelets.

 

Then I noticed two more Marbled Murrelets closer to the pier, and I got this picture.

 

While on the pier, I also saw a couple of Purple Martins around the nest boxes near the ferry landing.  That was another good June bird.  Next I drove up to Sunset Avenue and got out my scope.  I saw a single Pigeon Guillemot, and nothing else out there.  At least it was one I needed, although easy to get.  From there I drove up to Ocean Avenue, but there wasn't anything at all there.

 

I gave up on the waterfront and drove to Yost Park in Edmonds.  I played Red-breasted Nuthatch where I had seen a nest last month, and I got responses from two or three Red-breasted Nuthatches, one I needed for June still.  Here's a picture of a Red-breasted Nuthatch from below it.

 

Mostly they stayed up high, as they sang their song back to me, but one finally came down and I got this picture of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

 

Check out those long little claws.

 

I walked along the main path and played the song of Wilson's Warbler.  One showed up, and I got this picture of a male Wilson's Warbler, another good June bird.

 

It wasn't easy to get pictures of him, but I got one more.

 

I walked on from there and tried playing Pacific Wren songs, in a place I had seen one in the winter.  I had no luck today, though.  Pacific Wrens mostly migrate up into the mountains to breed in the summer.  A little farther down the trail, I played Brown Creeper songs, and got one to come in.  That was another good June bird, but it didn't cooperate for a picture.  I played Pileated Woodpecker calls a few times, because they live in that park, and eventually I heard one in the distance.  That was still another good June bird for my list.  I heard Swainson's Thrushes several times, but I had that one this month already.  That was it for my actual birding today, but on the way home I saw an immature Bald Eagle flying over the road, and I needed that one still.

 

I ended up getting 11 more species for June, and now I have 60.  Heermann's Gull and Purple Martin were new for Snohomish county this year, and now I have 119 species in Snohomish county in 2019.  June has started slowly, but I keep plugging along.  June was my worst month last year, locally; most of the ducks are gone, as are most of the saltwater birds.  It is also a short month for me, locally, as we are planning to leave for our annual Yosemite trip on the 21st.

 

 

Friday, June 7, 2019

 

I only had about an hour and a half for birding today, and I started by going over to Wallace Swamp Creek Park in Kenmore.  I was looking for Black-throated Gray Warbler and Golden-crowned Kinglet, and I played the songs of both species in the places I saw each of them last month.  Today I got no responses at all.  I thought of another one I needed, and I played Warbling Vireo, and this time I got one to fly in to check me out.  That was an excellent June bird.  I wasn't able to get a picture because the bird stayed up too high and didn't stick around for long.  In addition to being a June bird, it was a 5 Mile Radius (5MR) bird - that is, I saw it within 5 miles of home.  I also saw a couple of Spotted Towhees, and they were the first ones of June for me.

 

There were Swainson's Thrushes singing in a couple of places, and that was another 5MR bird for me.  I didn't need it for June, but I played the song and attracted one for pictures.  Here are a couple of pictures I like of a Swainson's Thrush.

 

 

On my way home I stopped at St. Edward's State Park and tried for Pacific Wren and Golden-crowned Kinglet, but I couldn't attract either species with playback.

 

This afternoon while I was sitting on our front porch, a Red-breasted Sapsucker came to our suet feeder.  I don't recall ever seeing that member of the woodpecker family in our yard before.  I got a couple of pictures, although I didn't need it for any lists.

 

 

So, I added Spotted Towhee and Warbling Vireo to my June list, and now I have 62 species in June.  Warbling Vireo and Swainson's Thrush were new for my 5MR list, and now I have 93 species within 5 miles of home.  I have a commitment tomorrow afternoon, but maybe I can do a little birding in the morning.  After that, I'm thinking of going across the mountains to the Ellensburg area on Sunday, staying overnight until Monday.  If I do that, I should be able to pick up 15 or 20 more June species.

 

 

Saturday, June 8, 2019

 

I needed to be home this afternoon, but this morning I went down to Juanita Bay Park.  I played Golden-crowned Kinglet songs next to the parking lot, where I have seen kinglets in earlier months this year, but there were no responses.  As I headed back down the hill to the parking lot, I looked back, and I saw a little bird fly across the path, so I went back.  It turned out to be a cute little Golden-crowned Kinglet, coming late to the party.  That was a June bird.  Here are three pictures of the Golden-crowned Kinglet, showing off its crown.

 

 

 

I walked out onto the east boardwalk and played Virginia Rail calls, but never got a response.  I did see a Red-breasted Sapsucker a couple of times, and I took this picture.

 

At the end of the boardwalk, I saw some Canada Geese out on the water, and that was a new one for June for me.  With the Canada Geese was a hybrid goose of some kind, maybe a cross between a Canada Goose and a Greater White-fronted Goose.  Here's that hybrid goose, with a couple of Canada Geese.

 

A male Wood Duck swam by, and I took this picture.  I can't resist taking pictures of male Wood Ducks.

 

Far across the water, almost all the way across the bay, I saw some eagles sitting on old pilings.  I counted nine of them at one point.  Here is a very distant picture of 8 or 9 immature Bald Eagles.

 

One of them moved from one piling to another, and I got this distant picture of an immature Bald Eagle coming in for a landing.

 

I have no idea why so many immature Bald Eagles were gathered together there today.  At one point I saw two others flying around, while the nine were still sitting on the pilings.  Still later there were two mature adult Bald Eagles, so there were at least 13 Bald Eagles there today.

 

One of the eagles caught a small fish and took it to the unused Osprey nest platform.  Here are a couple of pictures of the immature Bald Eagle with its little fish.

 

 

I walked over to the west boardwalk, and at the first observation platform I saw this female Wood Duck with four ducklings.

 

There was also a single American Coot, an uncommon bird here in the summer, and one I was happy to get for June.

 

I heard a Pied-billed Grebe calling, and that was another June bird for me, although I never saw it.  As I walked out on the boardwalk, I took this picture of a couple of the eagles up in a tree.

 

Out at the end of that boardwalk, you could see an immature Bald Eagle sitting out in the open on a branch.  It kind of stretched it wings at one point, and I got this picture of it.

 

A few minutes later, the clouds had moved on, and I took another picture of the same bird that looks a lot like the one above, except the sky is completely blue.

 

There were several Wood Ducks around, and some of them had started their annual molt back into winter plumage.  Here is a scruffy-looking male Wood Duck that has started his molt.

 

Walking back to the car, I saw a couple of Barn Swallows flying over the grass.  I already had Barn Swallow for June, but these were the first ones I had seen in my 5 Mile Radius this year.  A short time later I saw a single Tree Swallow flying high overhead, and that was also a first for my 5MR list this year.  I drove home, and as I came down the driveway, I got this picture of a male Northern Flicker on our front lawn.

 

That was all for today.  I added 4 more species to my June list, and now I have 66 species this month.  Adding Barn Swallow and Tree Swallow to my 5MR list gives me 95 species this year, within 5 miles of home.

 

I plan to head over the mountains tomorrow, and I hope to pick up 15 or 20 more species for June before I come back on Monday afternoon.

 

 

Sunday, June 9, 2019

 

Tonight I’m in Ellensburg, WA, which is about 100 miles east of home, over the Cascade Mountains.  I had a long and successful day of birding today.  My first stop was at Hyak, which is just over Snoqualmie Pass, on the east side of the Cascades.  There’s a house there with hummingbird feeders, and the feeders attract Rufous Hummingbirds by the dozens.  I added that species to my June list, and moved on down the street to the water treatment plant.  There I saw a male Barrow’s Goldeneye, an excellent bird for my June list.  That little detour off the interstate only took 7 minutes, and I continued on to my next stop, which was Bullfrog Pond, just west of the town of Cle Elum.  There were some other birders already there, and three women pointed out a hummingbird nest to me.  From my pictures, I decided the bird was a CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, a great one to get, my first in 2019.  Here’s a picture of the female Calliope Hummingbird on her nest.

 

I had a particular target species there, and I played the song of Veery, a small thrush.  I never saw one, but I heard responses from Veerys a number of times, so it went on my June list.  Back near my car, I saw a Mourning Dove, and that was a June bird, too.  Here’s a picture I got later in the day of a Mourning Dove.

 

Next I stopped at the Railroad Ponds in Cle Elum.  I played Pygmy Nuthatch songs, and got one to come in for views.  I didn’t get a picture of that one, but later I got this picture of a Pygmy Nuthatch on Ballard Hill Road.

 

Still at the Railroad Ponds, I stopped and played the song of a warbler that was supposed to be there.  A MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER flew in, and although it stayed in the bushes, I got this marginal picture of this excellent year-bird.

 

I stopped again farther along the road and walked a little, playing bird calls.  I didn’t attract anything, but I did spot a Yellow-rumped Warbler, another June bird.  I stopped still again and tried playing House Wren songs, but I couldn’t ever attract one.  House Wren was my big miss of the day, as I had expected to be able to call one in.  As I headed back toward the highway, I saw a birder who seemed to be watching something, so I stopped and asked him what he had.  It was a male Bullock’s Oriole, and after searching for a couple of minutes, I saw it too.  That was another good June bird.

 

I stopped again on the east side of Cle Elum at a fishing access point and tried for Red-eyed Vireo, which I had seen there a couple of years ago, but I had no luck today.  I continued and turned off on the road to Teanaway, and then turned up Ballard Hill Road.  I got this picture of a female Western Bluebird there, another June bird.

 

A little farther up the road I saw a group of Brown-headed Cowbirds, another June bird for me.  Here is a male Brown-headed Cowbird.

 

I saw my first Turkey Vulture of June there, and later I got this picture of a Turkey Vulture perched on a post.

 

There were a lot of Cliff Swallows flying around a barn, where they obviously had nests, so that one went on my June list, too.  I already showed the Pygmy Nuthatch picture I got on Ballard Hill Road, but while I was taking that picture, I saw a Western Wood-Pewee, too, still another June bird.

 

I was ready for lunch by then, so I went in to the old Swauk Cemetery, and on the way in I saw a couple of Chipping Sparrows, the only ones I saw today.  That was another excellent June bird.  I ate the sandwich I had picked up at Subway, way back in Kirkland, as I headed out this morning, and then I continued.  I got this picture of a Western Meadowlark as I pulled out of the cemetery.

 

I went up Ley Road a little way, and I got this picture of a Savannah Sparrow singing; not a June bird, but I like pictures of birds singing.

 

I backtracked to Swauk Prairie Road and at the east end of it, I got this picture of a male Western Bluebird.

 

Here’s a female Western Bluebird with a flying insect in her bill.

 

I stopped at my Mountain Chickadee spot, and although it took a while, I managed to call in a couple of Mountain Chickadees eventually.  Here is a Mountain Chickadee, an excellent June bird.

 

I moved on to Bettas Road and tried playing Vesper Sparrow songs a couple of places, but I couldn’t attract one.  I did see a Say’s Phoebe there, though, my only one of the day.  That was another June bird. 

 

At the top of the hill, I turned off onto Hayward Road, and I saw a Mountain Bluebird at the first corner.  Here is the male Mountain Bluebird, a June bird, in some brush.

 

I continued on down Hayward Road because I have seen Horned Larks along that road several times, and that would have been a great June bird.  I didn’t see any, but when I got to where the road starts down to Highway 10, I turned around and drove back.  This time my luck was in, and I saw this Horned Lark on a fence.

 

Here it is singing up a storm.

 

I tried to get closer, but that spooked the bird, and it flew up the road.  I watched it, though, and it landed farther up the road on a fence again.  This time I was able to get closer, and I got one more picture of the Horned Lark.  Like many of my pictures today, I took it from the driver’s seat of my car.

 

Back at the corner where I had seen the male Mountain Bluebird, I played Vesper Sparrow songs because I have seen one there before.  I didn’t see one today, but as I pulled out and turned around, I saw a sparrow-like bird in a dead bush on the other side of the road, so I got out to take a look.  The bird wouldn’t come out of the bush, but I got this peek-a-boo picture that shows that it was a Vesper Sparrow, an excellent June bird.

 

Back at Highway 97, I headed toward Ellensburg.  I saw my first Black-billed Magpies of June along there.  A few minutes later I got this picture of a Black-billed Magpie that shows off its long tail nicely, I think.

 

I don’t know what the story on the bird’s eye is.  Maybe it was blinking or something.  Here is another picture of the Black-billed Magpie tending to its feathers.

 

On the edge of Ellensburg, I stopped where I had seen Back Swallows before.  There is a nest colony there, and here’s a picture of some of the nest holes.

 

You can see some of the Bank Swallows flying, and a couple of them are showing off their bright white underside (including chin) and brown band across the upper breast.  That was a great June bird, since Bank Swallows aren’t very common.

 

I was very close to my motel at that point, so I checked in, and then I headed out to Kittitas.  I went up Parke Creek Road and got this picture of a male Yellow-headed Blackbird at the pond.

 

I had Yellow-headed Blackbird on my June list because I saw some in Burns, as I headed home from my Malheur trip on June 1^st, but this was my first one in Washington this month.  The same was true of Western Meadowlark and Brewer’s Blackbird.  I had seen them in Oregon, but today I saw them in Washington.

 

I saw a couple of Eurasian Collared-Doves along Parke Creek Road, too, and that was another June bird for me.  Here is a Eurasian Collared-Dove.

 

My next stop was the Wild Horse wind farm.  Most of the windmills weren’t even working today, and that was one of the reasons I did this trip at this time.  It was much cooler today than usual in June (only mid-70’s) and not as windy as usual.  Before I even got to my regular spot for sage species, I heard a Sage Thrasher singing loudly in the distance.  That was a June bird.  At my regular stop, I played Sagebrush Sparrow songs, but couldn’t attract one.  I tried Brewer’s Sparrow, which is usually more difficult than Sagebrush Sparrow, but this time I got a Brewer’s right away.  It took a couple of minutes because they are shy, but eventually I got this picture of a Brewer’s Sparrow, an excellent June bird, singing.

 

I continued to try for Sagebrush Sparrow, but couldn’t get one.  As I headed back to my car, I noticed a bird at the top of a bush in the distance, but it was too far away to identify it with binoculars.  I took some pictures, and this extremely distant, extremely poor picture shows it was a Sagebrush Sparrow, so that one went on my June list, too.

 

I drove down to the river and tried for Rock Wren, which I can usually call up, but today I wasn’t able to do so.  I didn’t get anything else there, either, and I drove the 30 miles back to Ellensburg and my cheap motel. 

 

As I was sitting in my room processing my pictures with my door open, I head a California Quail calling outside, so that one went on my June list.  Then a little after 9:00, as it was getting dark, I went out and checked out the small lake behind the motel.  That lake is one of the reasons I stay here, because in the summer there are often Common Nighthawks that come out at dusk to hunt insects over the lake.  Sure enough, as it got darker, several Common Nighthawks showed up, and that excellent bird went on my June list.

 

So, it was a long day of birding, and it has been a long evening of processing pictures and writing this report.  I left home at 9 this morning, and now it is almost 10 PM, and I am almost done for the day.  I brought my own dinner fixings and used the microwave in the room, mainly to save time, and now I am ready to go to bed, as soon as I get my report out.

 

My goal for the day was to get 20 more June species, and I exceeded that.  I added 28 species to June today, and now I have 94 species this month.  (91 of those 94 species are Washington June birds).  Calliope Hummingbird and MacGillivray’s Warbler were new for the year for me, and now I have 271 species in 2019.   I have two options for tomorrow, and I need to decide which one to pursue.  Either way, I plan to be home tomorrow evening.

 

 

Monday, June 10, 2019

 

Today I drove down Yakima Canyon toward Yakima.  I stopped at the Umtanum Creek Access area, in the hopes of adding Yellow-breasted Chat to my June list.  I almost always have seen or heard them there in the summer months, including two weeks ago in the rain.  This time I didn't, which was disappointing.  I did pick up Northern Rough-winged Swallow for my June list.  Now I have seen all seven swallow species we get here in Washington this month.  Here's a Northern Rough-winged Swallow preening.

 

I also got this picture of a male Lazuli Bunting there, not a species I needed, but I love blue colored birds.

 

I continued down the canyon and spotted a single American White Pelican far below on the river.  I pulled over at a wide spot and leaned over and got this picture out of the passenger window.  That was a June bird for me.

 

I stopped a couple of times and played Rock Wren songs, but never saw or heard one.  I continued on to North Wenas Road and headed up the Wenas Valley.  I was particularly looking for Eastern Kingbird on that stretch, and after seeing two Western Kingbirds, I spotted my first Eastern Kingbird of June.  My pictures of that one were poor, but I later got a couple of pictures of another Eastern Kingbird that I like.

 

 

There is a little store at Wenas Lake, and I pulled in because I have seen birds around there before.  Today I saw a Say's Phoebe feeding a fledgling.  I got Say's Phoebe yesterday, but I got these pictures that I like, even though the quality isn't very good.  Here is the parent Say's Phoebe feeding a fledgling.

 

Here is the fledgling Say's Phoebe.

 

Here's the parent Say's Phoebe.

 

My destination was Wenas Campground, which is in the beginning of the foothills of the mountains.  As I got closer, I stopped where the habitat looked good for it, and I played House Wren songs.  Yesterday, House Wren was a big miss for me, so I wanted to make up for that today.  I immediately got a response and a House Wren flew in and sang back to me.  Here are three pictures of a rather slender House Wren.

 

 

 

The unpaved road into Wenas Campground has been improved greatly in the last few years, which is a good thing.  The creek used to overflow into the road, and the going was kind of dicey for regular cars, but now it's fine, just dusty.  As I approached the turn off for the campground, I saw a flycatcher and got a picture.  Flycatchers are notoriously difficult to identify, especially for me, but I think this was a Western Wood-Pewee, one I got yesterday for June.

 

I drove into the campground, which is large and almost completely unimproved (no water, no tables, and until this year, no rest rooms or even porta-potties), and stopped a couple of times.  At one stop I got a picture of another flycatcher, and I think this one is also a Western Wood-Pewee.

 

I saw very few birds, but at one stop a bird flew in and perched in a tree right in front of me.  It was a Cassin's Finch, one I needed for June.  Here is the female Cassin's Finch.

 

I pulled off the road into a shady spot near the creek, planning to eat my lunch there maybe, while watching for birds.  Almost right away a bird flew through and briefly landed in a tree down the road.  I got a good binocular look at it, and it was my first RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER of the year.  I tried for pictures then, but the best I could do was this one, which doesn’t show the bird's face at all, just the back of its head.

 

I don't normally show pictures that don't show the bird's face, but the pattern on the back is interesting, I think, and Red-naped Sapsucker is unusual enough for me that I'm showing this picture anyway.

 

I saw a bird a short distance away, and with my binoculars, I could see it was interesting, but it was far enough way that I wasn't sure about the identification.  I used my camera on full zoom, and I could then see that it was my first TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE of the year.  Here is a rather distant picture.

 

I figured I had spent enough time there, so I moved on a short distance and found another place in the shade to eat my lunch.  While I was eating I heard the distinctive calls of a Cassin's Vireo, a great June bird for me.  I never saw it, but the call is quite distinctive, so I counted it.

 

After eating half of my Subway tuna sandwich there, I moved on and went up North Wenas Road over Ellensburg Pass, back toward Ellensburg and home.  I saw a few birds along there, but nothing I needed.  I stopped at the north end of the Umtanum Creek trail and ate the other half of my sandwich in the parking lot there.  I had read a report of Yellow-breasted Chat next to the parking lot, so I played the song.  That was the bird I had missed at the south end of that same trail, down on the Yakima River, this morning.  I didn't get any response, so I ate my sandwich.  As I was finishing up, though, I heard a chat start to sing.  I never could find it or lure it in, but it was definitely a Yellow-breasted Chat, so I got that one after all.

 

As I drove on toward home, I got this picture of a male Mountain Bluebird.  A bright white cloud was behind him, so the picture was difficult, but I love blue colored birds, and I think the male Mountain Bluebird has the prettiest shade of blue of any of them.

 

A little later there was another bluebird on a wire, and it had a large bug, so I took its picture, too.

 

I think that one was a female Western Bluebird.  I was coming down off the ridge into Ellensburg when I saw a raptor swooping over the hills, and it turned out to be a male Northern Harrier, an excellent June bird.  I had an excellent drive home after that, although I was a little sleepy some of the time, and I did lose about 20 minutes to traffic congestion.  I thought my birding was over, but as I pulled into our driveway, there was a Bewick's Wren on the concrete in the entrance to our garage.  I needed that one for June still, so I added one more to my trip list.

 

I exceeded my expectations again today.  I had figured I would get about 5 more June species today, but I actually got 11, including the Bewick's wren at home.  Now I have 105 species for June.  More significantly, I have 103 species in Washington in June, and that already beats last year's total of 102 species in Washington in June.  I have 10 more days to add to that before we leave for our annual Yosemite trip on the 21st, although there aren't a lot of things to look for locally that I need.

 

My little trip over the mountains was very successful.  I had expected to get about 20 species for my June list, and I actually got 39!  That did include a number of species that I would have had a chance for on this side of the mountains, but most of them were Eastern Washington birds.

 

Red-naped Sapsucker and Townsend's Solitaire were new for 2019, too, and now I have 273 species this year.

 

 

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

 

Yesterday, Tuesday, I had a lunch appointment in Everett, and I stopped at the Everett water treatment ponds on the way there.  I was looking for ducks.  Most of our wintering ducks have migrated off to wherever they breed, and ducks are hard to find in June and July.  I thought that there might be one or two stragglers at the water treatment ponds.  Well, there were more ducks there than I expected.  In addition to the expected dozens of Mallards and several Gadwalls, there were about a dozen Ruddy Ducks, a couple of Northern Pintails, a single Northern Shoveler, three or four Lesser Scaup, five or six Redheads, and at least one Ring-necked Duck.  I was blown away.  I needed all of those for June except Mallard and Gadwall.  I had hoped to see two species I needed, maybe three if I was really lucky, and I got six!  No pictures because they were all too far away.  I needed my scope to identify most of them.

 

After those 6 species for June, I had 111 species in June.  Northern Pintail and Redhead were new for 2019 in Snohomish county, too, and now I have 121 species in Snohomish county this year.

 

Today I went over to Richmond Beach and Edmonds, on Puget Sound.  At Kayu Kayu Ac park, I scanned the water and saw a couple of female Surf Scoters.  That was a good June bird because almost all of the Surf Scoters have migrated away for the summer.  I didn't see anything else, but I scanned again, and the second time I saw a couple of widely separated Rhinoceros Auklets, an excellent June bird.  It was my first Rhino Auklet sighting in King county since I started keeping county records in 2012.  Now I have 189 species in King county, overall.

 

I moved on and stopped in Woodway at my Pacific Wren site, but I couldn’t call one up today.  Most of the Pacific Wrens have gone up into the mountains to breed, so that one will be tough for me to get this month.  I keep trying, though, because a few stick around for the summer.

 

I moved on to Edmonds and parked near the fishing pier.  In the past I have often seen two sparrow species that I still needed for June, in that area.  I sat on a bench and waited.  It didn't take long before a White-crowned Sparrow showed up and sang to me from a tree.  That's a common bird, but I hadn't seen one yet this month.  Here is a White-crowned Sparrow.

 

 

 

That last picture shows how the eyes of White-crowned Sparrow, like most birds, I think, can look all around, including straight ahead.  The only blind spot is right behind the head, and birds usually move their head constantly when they are perched, which gives them a view all around them.

 

While I was still taking pictures of White-crowned Sparrow, a couple of House Sparrows flew in, and that was another common species I still needed for June.  Here is a female House Sparrow.

 

I don't have many pictures today, so here is another one of a White-crowned Sparrow, singing away.

 

I went out on the fishing pier, but I didn't get anything else I needed.  I did see a Marbled Murrelet that had caught a fish, and I got this very distant picture of it.

 

I went up to Sunset Avenue and saw more birds than I had expected.  I had already gotten Rhinoceros Auklet earlier, but I saw at least a dozen more, which was unusual.  I also saw at least a half dozen more Marbled Murrelets, which was also unusual.  Finally, I saw 3 or 4 Caspian Terns on the beach at the mouth of Shell Creek, up the coast to the north.  That was another June bird.

 

So, I again exceeded my expectations.  Nothing I got was rare, but I hadn't expected to add 5 more species to my June list today.  Now I have 116 species in June.  Rhinoceros Auklet added one to my 2019 King county list, and now I have 134 species in King county this year.

 

 

Thursday, June 13, 2019

 

This morning I started out at Marymoor Park.  I drove through the park, looking for the pheasant that hangs out there, but I didn't find it.  I parked and walked along the slough a bit.  It was a beautiful morning, but I didn't see anything I needed except a pair of Bullock's Orioles, which I only needed for my 2019 King county list.  On my way back to my car I took this picture of a Great Blue Heron that was circling overhead.

 

Later I got this picture of a Great Blue Heron by the slough.

 

There was a Spotted Sandpiper at the weir, and I took these next two pictures of it.

 

 

An immature Bald Eagle was sitting in a tree across the slough when I came back by there, so I took this picture.

 

I didn't feel like walking any more than that, so I headed toward home.  I had time, though, so I drove through the Evan's Creek Wildlife Area to the Redmond Retention Ponds on NE 95th St.  I didn't see anything there, either, so I made one more stop on my way home.  There is a pond at the Redmond Watershed Preserve, and it seemed perfect for Hooded Merganser to me.  I had never seen one there, but I had seen a report of one a couple of weeks ago, and it was only a mile out of my way.  I was quite surprised to find at least 3 or 4 Hooded Mergansers there, a bird I still needed for June.  Here is the pond at the Redmond Watershed Preserve, looking pretty in the sunshine.

 

Here is one of the female-type Hooded Mergansers that were there today.

 

I say "female-type" because juvenile birds look like females, and it maybe late enough in the year that juveniles would be pretty much full grown.  Here are two more Hooded Mergansers.

 

Here is another Hooded Merganser that looks like maybe it is a juvenile, although I can't really say why it looks like it to me.  It seemed smaller than the others, I guess.

 

So, I managed to add one more to my June list, and now I have 117 species this month.  The Bullock's Orioles give me 135 species in King county this year.  It is getting pretty difficult to add more to June without venturing out of the immediate area, but I still have a few I can look for.  We plan to leave for Yosemite next Friday, the 21st, but I hope to work in a day trip up Skagit county before we go.

 

 

Friday, June 14, 2019

 

Magnuson Park, in north Seattle, was my birding venue today.  I had two main target species, although there were others I could use, of course.  First I drove to the beach area, and looked at the gulls on the swimming raft.  There were only two Glaucous-winged or hybrid gulls there, so I moved on to Promontory Point.  There is a Cooper's Hawk nest at the top of the ridge, and there are two ways to get to it.  I chose to park at the bottom of the hill and walk up to the path that runs near the nest.  It was a stiff climb, but I took my time and rested as needed.

 

At the top I could see one of the Cooper's Hawk chicks in the nest, but only the top of its head.  There were a couple of women there, and they pointed out a hummingbird nest to me.  Here is a female Anna's Hummingbird sitting in her nest.

 

That wasn’t a very good view, so I went around to the other side and got this picture that shows the intricate nature of the nest.

 

I looked it up and learned some things about Anna's Hummingbirds.  They don't form pairs, and the female builds the nest herself, then after finding a male to fertilize her eggs, she lays the eggs (two usually) and incubates them.  When they hatch, she feeds them by herself, until they fledge and are on their own.  Females will raise 2 or 3 broods a year.  They start in January around here, so this one must have been on her third brood by now.  They make the nests out of spider webs, lichen, moss, and leaves.  The nest is attached to a branch, like this one is.  It takes about a week to build a nest.

 

Meanwhile, the Cooper's Hawk chick raised itself up a bit and I could see its eyes and its bill.

 

I knew there were three chicks in the nest, and a second one showed itself after a while, while the first one looked right at me.

 

Still later, the first one stood up, and I was surprised to see how many feathers it already had, and how large it was.

 

Eventually, all three of them showed themselves, and I managed to get a picture that shows all three of them.

 

The one on the right stood up, and I got one more picture showing two of the Cooper's Hawks chicks standing.

 

Neither of the parent birds came around while I was there, so I moved on.  I went back to the swimming beach, and a few more gulls had shown up.  One of them was an immature California Gull, which I needed for June.

 

California Gulls take four years to fully mature, and each year along the way they have a different plumage.  This bird would have been hatched in 2016 and won't be fully mature until next year.  While I was figuring out that this was a California Gull and taking pictures of all the gulls, a Caspian Tern flew by.  I needed that one for my 5 Mile Radius (5MR) list.  Now I have recorded 96 species within five miles of home this year.  The Cooper's Hawks and the California Gull bring me to 119 species in June.  There isn't a lot for me to go looking for now, right around home, so tomorrow I'm tentatively planning to go up to Skagit county to see if I can find any June birds up there.

 

 

Saturday, June 15, 2019

 

I had a full day of birding today, with lots of pictures.  I went up to Skagit county and my first stop was Fox Road, near the small town of Clear Lake.  It is about an hour and 15 minutes north of home.  I had four main target species there, all of them "good" ones.  I parked and played the call of Virginia Rail.  Right away I saw another rail species, out in the open, which is unusual.  I got a couple of pictures of a Sora, a great June bird.

 

 

It scurried back into the reeds, but I saw it again a while later, briefly.  I kept playing Virginia Rail calls, and eventually I heard responses two or three times, so that one went on my June list, too.  Another one I wanted there was Wilson's Snipe, and I heard them winnowing all around me at one point.  I never saw one, but it went on my June list.  I never heard or saw the fourth target species, American Bittern.  There were Common Yellowthroats singing all around me, and I got a couple of pictures.  I didn't need that one, but they are attractive birds.  Here is a male Common Yellowthroat at the top of a bush.

 

He liked to sit on the wire overhead and sing.

 

After that I drove to March Point, over toward Anacortes, stopping at Subway on the way to pick up a sandwich.  I was looking for Black Oystercatcher at March Point, but I didn't see any on the rocky beach.  I parked at the point and ate the first half of my sandwich.  While I was eating I noticed some cormorants out in the water at a distance, so I got out my scope.  They seemed to all be Pelagic Cormorants, which was one I needed for June.  Just as I was getting ready to move on, with the car already started, a single Black Oystercatcher flew around the point, so that one went on my June list, too.  I've seen Black Oystercatchers flying past that point before, which is one reason I ate my lunch there.

 

I moved on around the other side of the peninsula and saw a bunch of cormorants on a long floating object.  These turned out to be Double-crested Cormorants, another species I needed for June.  I was pleased to have gotten Black Oystercatcher and two of the three local cormorant species, and I drove back to the Skagit Flats.  I stopped at the house on Valentine Road that has feeders, intending to eat the other half of my sandwich, while I watched the feeders.  There was good news and bad news there.  The good news was that there was food in a lot of the feeders and there were a lot of birds around.  The bad news was that they had put up a wire fence between the road and the feeders, and the fence interfered with taking pictures of the birds.  The trees and bushes also had a lot of foliage on them, blocking a lot of the bird action.  I could still see the suet feeder, through the openings in the wire fence, and I got this picture of a male Downy Woodpecker.  You can see the wires of the fence.

 

I didn't need that one for June, nor did I need this Red-breasted Nuthatch.

 

I didn't need American goldfinch either, but there were several around.  I had to get this next picture through a little hole in the foliage.

 

Here are two male American Goldfinches on a sock full of seeds.

 

I was trying to eat my sandwich, but I kept having to put it down as more birds showed up.  Finally I got one I needed for June, Purple Finch.  Here are two pictures of a female Purple Finch, in low light, fairly far away.

 

 

Finally, before I left I saw a couple of Pine Siskins briefly, another excellent June bird.

 

From there I drove to Hayton Reserve.  The tide was much too low for there to be anything interesting near enough to see, so didn't stay long.  The two resident Bald Eagles were sitting near the top of the nest tree, and I got this picture of one of them.

 

There was an almost full grown juvenile eagle in the nest, but the leaves and branches kept me from getting a decent picture.  I moved on to my last stop of the day, Wylie Slough, also known as the Skagit Game Range.  As I drove in, there was a duck I needed in the little slough at the entrance.  Here are a couple of pictures of the colorful male Cinnamon Teal.

 

 

I drove back and forth, looking for Yellow Warblers or anything else I needed, but had no luck.  At the west parking area, I saw a couple of Black Phoebes, a rarity for this area, but one that has been there for over a year now.  That species went on to my June list.  Somehow a male and female managed to hook up, despite the fact that there shouldn’t be any Black Phoebes north of California, and they raised two young ones, I understand.  I saw the juvenile ones today, mostly, I think.  Here is a picture of a Black Phoebe, maybe an adult one.

 

Here's a picture of what I think is a juvenile Black Phoebe, and for some reason, it sat in the nest for a short time.

 

I think the bird in this next picture is also a juvenile Black Phoebe.

 

I parked and walked a bit, out onto the dike trail.  There were Cedar Waxwings around, which I didn't need, but I took pictures because they are so attractive.

 

 

Cedar Waxwing was new for Skagit county for me this year, as was Swainson's Thrush, which I also heard and then saw.  Here are three pictures of a Swainson's Thrush.

 

 

 

I saw a couple of Spotted Sandpipers, too, another one I didn't need for June.  It was the first time I had ever recorded Spotted Sandpiper in Skagit county, though, since I started keeping county records in 2012.  Here are a couple of pictures of a Spotted Sandpiper.

 

 

As I got back to my car, there was a Black Phoebe catching insects over the water, and I got this picture.

 

I'm pretty sure that one is a juvenile Black Phoebe because the wing bars are red-brown.  On my way out, I drove around a bit and I got this picture of a juvenile European Starling.  It was eating those red berries.

 

That was it for me today.  I was out there a little over 7 hours, which included the hour or so it took to drive each way to where I was birding.  I put about 170 miles on my car.  I added a whopping 10 more species to June, which far exceeded my expectations, and now I have 129 species in June.  I added one more to my 2012 Skagit county list, and now I have 152 species total in Skagit county, over the last 7 years.  I added 3 to this year's Skagit total, and now I have 118 species in Skagit county in 2019.  My total for the year remains at 273 species.

 

 

Sunday, June 16, 2019

 

After my long day of driving and birding yesterday, I felt like taking it easy today.  The weather was great, so I just went down to Juanita Bay Park, to walk a little.  There was a decent chance of getting Belted Kingfisher, and every time you go out, there is always a chance of something good.  I walked out onto the east boardwalk, and I heard a bird singing loudly.  I thought it sounded like a vireo, but I'm lousy at identifying bird calls and songs.  I listened to Warbling Vireo on my phone, but that wasn't it.  I tried Cassin's Vireo, but it wasn't that one, either.  Hutton's Vireo?  Close, but not quite.  Then it came to me - it was a RED-EYED VIREO, not one I was expecting at all.  I've only ever seen Red-eyed Vireo in Eastern Washington or in the foothills of the Cascades on this side of the mountains.  It stayed in the interior of trees, and I got this partially obscured shot of the Red-eyed Vireo.

 

Here's the best shot I got, as the bird sang away.

 

Here's one more of the Red-eyed Vireo facing me and still singing its loud song.

 

That was a nice surprise, and I moved on out to the end of the boardwalk.  Here's the view of the little bay at Juanita Bay Park, from the end of the east boardwalk.

 

There were a few ducks around, and although I didn't need any of them, I took some pictures.  Here's a male Wood Duck that has mostly molted to non-breeding plumage already.

 

Here's another male Wood Duck that is still in transition and has a lot of his summer feathers still.

 

Here's a pair of Gadwalls.

 

This close-up of the male Gadwall shows his intricate patterns.

 

I noticed a female Belted Kingfisher sitting on the unused Osprey nest platform pole, and that was one I needed for June.

 

The American Coot that has been hanging around was still there, and I got this picture of it.

 

There are a lot of turtles around the little bay, sitting on logs and such.  In this next picture, a female Wood Duck and two ducklings are sharing a log with some turtles.  One of the ducklings is actually sitting on one of the turtles.

 

Eventually I gave it up and walked back toward the parking lot.  On the way I got this picture of a Cedar Waxwing spreading its tail.

 

When I got off the boardwalk, I sat for a while in the sun and watched the bushes and trees.  I was rewarded by a female Black-headed Grosbeak feeding on some berries, and I got this picture.

 

Four Band-tailed Pigeons flew into some nearby trees, and I got this picture of one of them.

 

I headed for home then, but on the way I stopped at the fire station road on the east side of the park, and I saw a flycatcher.  I decided it was a Western Wood-Pewee, based on these next two pictures.

 

 

That was the extent of my birding today.  I had a nice outing in the sunshine, and I added two more to my June list, to give me 131 species now in June.  The surprising Red-eyed Vireo hit all the lists.  It brought my 2019 King county list to 136 species, it gives me 97 species in my 5 Mile Radius now, it added one to my year list to give me 274 species in 2019 now, and it was even a new species for my Juanita Bay Park list.  I don't add birds to that list very often these days, and now I have 99 species in Juanita Bay Park since I started birding back in about 1999.

 

I don't know if I'll add any more or not before we leave for Yosemite on Friday; I have some commitments this week, and there isn't much to go looking for at this point.

 

 

Saturday, June 22, 2019

 

I didn’t do any birding all week, and we left for our annual Yosemite trip on Friday morning.  We drove to La Pine, Oregon, on Friday, and I didn’t see any new birds for June.

 

Today we drove from La Pine to Carson City, Nevada.  North of Klamath Falls I saw some grebes on a pond, and I picked up both Western Grebe and Clark’s Grebe for my June list.  Here is a mediocre picture of a Western Grebe on that pond.

 

After getting gas and sandwiches for lunch, we stopped at Veteran’s Memorial Park in south Klamath Falls.  There were half a dozen Clark’s Grebes there, and I got a better picture of one of them than I had gotten at the pond north of town.  Clark’s Grebe has white around the eye, and the very similar Western Grebe has black feathers that cover the eye, as in the picture above.  Here is a Clark’s Grebe.

 

There was a Great Egret on the opposite shore of the river mouth, and I got these two distant pictures.

 

 

Great Egret was new for June.

 

After lunch at our favorite rest area, Willow Creek, we stopped at Eagle Lake.  I didn’t see everything I had hoped for, but I did pick up Eared Grebe, Black-necked Stilt, and Wilson’s Phalarope for my June list.

 

That was all my birding for today.  I added 6 species to my June list, and now I have137 species in June.  Last year I got 156 in June, so that is my target to beat.  I think that will be a challenge, but it all depends on how lucky I am.

 

It’s only another four hours to Yosemite Valley from Carson City normally, over Tioga Pass, but this year there is a lot of snow in the Sierras and Tioga Pass is only sort of open (from 9 to 10 in the morning, and from 3 to 4 in the afternoon), so they can finish the snow removal.  That doesn’t match our schedule, and it sounds kind of iffy anyway, so we plan to go over Carson Pass (Highway 88) instead, and go into Yosemite on Highway 120, from the west side.  That is supposed to take 5 hours, and it will be a new route for us.  We’ll miss some of our favorite scenery and I’ll miss a couple of birding stops.

 

 

Sunday, June 23, 2019

 

We changed our plans slightly this morning, and we went over Sonora Pass instead of Carson Pass.  It was steep in places, but not a problem, and it was really beautiful.  I missed one turn on the west side of the pass, as we came into Sonora, and then we were stuck in a long line of traffic.  We made a U-turn and got out of there, and took a cross-country route back to Highway 120, and then on in to Yosemite.

 

We stopped in the small town of Groveland for our Trader Joes lunches and while I was eating I picked up Oak Titmouse for my June list.  That was an excellent California bird that I don’t see in Yosemite, usually.

 

We got into the valley and made our way through the terrible traffic to the lodge.  Parking is a huge issue this year, even more than usual, and I waited in the parking lot while Christina checked us in.  We started to unload the car while double parked, and a guy who was leaving asked if I was waiting for a parking place.  Score!  We had a place to put our car, not very far from our room.  Some relatives helped us move all our crap to our room, and I took my camp chair outside and watched birds.  There is an Acorn Woodpecker granary tree just across the bike path from our room.  Here’s a picture, with the dead granary snag in the middle.

 

Here’s an Acorn Woodpecker, a species for my June list, working with an acorn at the tree.

 

Acorn Woodpeckers peck out those holes in the tree, and then they store acorns in the holes.  You can see acorns in some of the holes.  I couldn’t tell if the bird in the picture was making a withdrawal or a deposit in the acorn bank, but in this next picture he has an acorn in his bill, and I think he took it out of a hole in the tree.

 

The idea is, they put acorns in the holes when acorns are plentiful and take them out when they need them for food, at a time when there aren’t any acorns around on the ground.  It seems to me like deposits would be made in the late summer and fall, and withdrawals in the winter or spring, but I’m only guessing.

 

Here’s another picture of an Acorn Woodpecker working away.

 

Here are three Acorn Woodpeckers.  The one in the middle seemed to be begging, so maybe it’s a recently fledged juvenile.

 

Here’s another shot of an Acorn Woodpecker and some holes.

 

I saw one of the woodpeckers with something in its beak.

 

I couldn’t tell what it was, but here is a close up shot of whatever it was.

 

I thought it might be an insect, but it looks more like a fragment of an acorn nut, maybe.

 

There were robins around, and I saw a male Black-headed Grosbeak.  A couple of Steller’s Jays flew in, too.  Here is a picture of a Steller’s Jay.

 

Today was mostly a travel day, but now we are settled into our lodge room here in Yosemite Valley, and we plan to stay until Saturday.  I’m looking forward to birding here.

 

I got 2 more species for June today, and now I have 139 species.  My goal is to get that up to 157 by Friday, to exceed last year’s June total of 156.

 

Incidentally, the lodge wi-fi is even worse than usual this year, so far.  I don’t know when I’ll be able to get this sent out.  I’ve been told that if I take my computer over to the office area, I might be able to get an internet connection.  We will see.

 

 

Monday, June 24, 2019

 

Well, the hotel wi-fi still doesn’t work here in our room, but last night I was able to connect my laptop to the internet via my phone, using my cellular data plan.  Today that has worked some of the time, and some of the time it has been too slow to use.  I think it depends on the 4G signal strength, and maybe also on how many other people are using it at any given time.

 

The morning I walked out on the bike path a little, before breakfast.  I heard a bird singing, and I’m proud that I thought I might know what it was.  I played its song on my phone, and a male Western Tanager flew right in.  That was a June bird, and I got some pictures.  Here is the colorful male Western Tanager.

 

That shot is framed very poorly.  I moved the camera, which is why it is off center.  I like it, though, anyway.  Here is the male Western Tanager singing back to me.

 

Here’s one more of the male Western Tanager.

 

After breakfast, I headed out of the valley to look for birds.  I stopped on the way at El Capitan Meadow to look for White-headed Woodpecker, but I saw only Acorn Woodpeckers.  A few years ago I used to see White-headed Woodpeckers there regularly, but not in the last two or three years.  I’ll keep looking each morning, as I head out of the valley.

 

My first real destination was the little community of cabins called Foresta.  I stopped at the overlook corner and played some bird songs.  I got a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATHCER to fly in, my first of the year.  It wouldn’t sit still for pictures, and here is the only one I could get.

 

It was moving its wing and its tail, which is why they are blurry.  I’ll be trying to get some better pictures.

 

I stopped down the road a bit and saw three little birds on the side of the road.  They turned out to be Lawrence’s Goldfinches, an excellent June bird that I didn’t expect to see here, although I have seen them a couple of times before in the Foresta area.  Here is a male Lawrence’s Goldfinch.

 

Here is a picture of a pair of Lawrence’s Goldfinches.

 

One more picture of those same two birds.

 

I played the song of Lazuli Bunting, even though I already had that one for June.  I wanted a picture because I like blue-colored birds.  I got this picture of a male Lazuli Bunting.

 

I drove through Foresta, stopping a few places.  I saw a Warbling Vireo and a Western Bluebird, but I didn’t need either of those.  I heard MOUNTAIN QUAIL, but as usual, I didn’t see one.  Still, it went on my year and month lists.  I also picked up White-breasted Nuthatch for my June list, and I got this distant picture.

 

After that I left Foresta and moved up in elevation to the Crane Flat area.  I couldn’t access the road to Tamarack Flat campground because of the Tioga Pass closure.  That’s one of my favorite places to bird in Yosemite, so I’m sorry not to be able to go there this year.  Instead, I went up to the Crane Flat fire lookout and heliport.  The road leading up there is good, too.  I stopped several places and I ate my humble lunch that I had made for myself this morning.  I saw GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES, one of my special Yosemite birds, several places, and I got these two pictures.

 

 

I also managed to attract a male HERMIT WARBLER, a great year-bird that I never see anywhere else but Yosemite.  Here’s a picture of the male Hermit Warbler.

 

Several times I saw birds at long distance that I wasn’t able to identify.  Here is a heavily cropped enlargement of a very distant bird that I haven’t been able to identify.

 

It seems like I should be able to tell what it was, but nothing quite fits.  It looks like a finch, but it isn’t quite right for any of the three goldfinch species in the park – Lawrence’s Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, and American Goldfinch.  My best guess would be female Lawrence’s Goldfinch, but I don’t think it would have such a yellow upper breast in that case.  It could have been an immature male Lawrence’s Goldfinch, I guess.  Maybe it will come to me or maybe a reader will know what it is.

 

I had been trying to attract a Fox Sparrow for my June list, and I finally did so.  This Fox Sparrow sat up and sang briefly.

 

On my way back into the valley I stopped and took this picture of Bridalveil Falls.

 

With my binoculars, I could see swifts swooping around the waterfall, which is what I had stopped for.  Here is a swift in the great distance, above the top of the falls.

 

There are actually three swift species that are in the park, but I’m just going to count the most common one, White-throated Swift, for my June list.

 

That was all my birding, but I took this picture of Yosemite Falls in the evening, after the sun was down over the rim of the valley.  I was standing on a bridge over the Merced River when I took it.

 

I got most of the expected species here in Yosemite today, but there are a few more that are possible.  I also will be trying for more pictures, of course.  I got 9 more species for June today, to give me 148 now.  Catching up with last year’s June total of 156 is going to be tough, but I could get 2 or 3 species on the way home, if I am lucky, so it is still possible.

 

 

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

 

Today my first stop was the road that goes to Tamarack Flat campground.  The road to the campground was actually closed, but I parked and walked up the trail on the other side of the highway.  I saw a few birds, including a very vocal Red-breasted Nuthatch, but nothing I needed for my lists.  Next I drove to the Merced Grove access trail.  It was very disappointing because there had been a fire in the last year or so on the right side of the trail, and the trail itself was covered in powdery dust.  I saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a Dark-eyed Junco, but nothing I needed.

 

I moved on to Hodgden Meadow campground.  I drove through the campground, mainly looking for White-headed Woodpecker, but I didn’t see anything, and the campground was full of people.  I gave that up and drove back to the access road to the Crane Flat fire lookout and heliport.  I drove slowly along that road, again mainly looking for White-headed Woodpecker, and when I got to the place where I had seen some birds yesterday, I stopped and had my lunch.  Here is a picture of my camp chair and my lunch, with a view of the forest beyond.

 

I saw another Yellow-rumped Warbler there, and it posed for me, showing its yellow rump.

 

While I ate, I saw a Fox Sparrow and a Spotted Towhee, but I didn’t need either of those.  As long as I was sitting there anyway, I played the song of Hermit Warbler.  I had seen one there yesterday, and I hoped for more pictures.  Like yesterday, a male Hermit Warbler flew in, and I got these pictures of him.

 

 

I continued my leisurely lunch, and as I was finishing it, a flycatcher showed up.  Flycatchers are difficult to identify as to species, but I was able to get some pictures.  Based on the pictures, I believe I had my first DUSKY FLYCATCHER of the year.  Here are four pictures, and they show various markings that caused me to identify the bird as a Dusky Flycatcher.

 

In that one you can see that the lower mandible of the bill is orange.  You can also see that the chin and throat are whitish (rather than the same gray as the head, as it would be in a Hammond’s Flycatcher).

 

 

In that picture, you can see the whitish chin and throat, as well as the whitish underparts.  The loral area (between the eye and the bill) is also whitish, which is characteristic of Dusky Flycatcher.

 

It was great to get pictures, because I never could have identified it from observation only.  After I finished my lunch, I drove slowly back down the road, but I didn’t see anything else.  I stopped by Foresta on the way back to the valley, and as I drove in, there were two birds in a tree next to the road.  One was a male Lesser Goldfinch, which I needed for June.  Here it is.

 

The other bird was a male Western Bluebird, which I didn’t need, but pictures of blue-colored birds are always welcome.

 

I stopped a couple of hundred yards farther along, and got this picture of a female Western Bluebird.

 

I kept playing the song of Wrentit, but I never could attract one.  I also played California Scrub-Jay, and I didn’t get any response at first,  As I was getting back in the car, though, I saw a California Scrub-Jay down the road.  That was another June bird.  I chased it for a picture, but it flew off before I could get close enough.

 

Yesterday I had added Blue-gray Gnatcatcher to my year list, but the only picture I got was unsatisfactory.  Today I played the song and got some good pictures of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.  I call this first one “Peek-a-boo Blue-gray Gnatcatcher”.

 

Here is one from underneath, looking up at the bird.

 

I like the way the picture shows the white undertail feathers.  In this next picture, the bird was singing back to me.

 

Here is one final picture of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, with nice surroundings and in good light.

 

Note the dark tail feathers with only the edge of the white undertail feathers showing.

 

So, it was a slow day of birding, but I still added 3 more species to my June list, to give me 151 species now.  I’m creeping up on my goal of 156 species to match last year’s June total.  The Dusky Flycatcher was new for the year, and now I have 279 species in 2019.

 

There are a few more I can still get here in Yosemite, including the elusive White-headed Woodpecker.  I’ll try again tomorrow.

 

 

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

 

Today my brother, Rick, joined me in my search for birds.  While I was getting ready this morning, I heard our local Acorn Woodpeckers, though, so I went out to take a look.  There was a female that appeared to be feeding a juvenile, so I took some pictures in the nice morning sunshine.  Here is the adult female on the left and the juvenile Acorn Woodpecker on the right.

 

You can tell that the one on the left is a female because there is a black band of feathers between the red on her head and white over the bill.  In male Acorn Woodpeckers, the red meets the white, with no intervening black.  The one on the right has that same male pattern on the head, but all juveniles have the male coloration on the head.  In both male and female adult Acorn Woodpeckers, the eye is white, like in the adult female on the left.  Juveniles have black eyes, like the bird on the right.  In addition, the red on the top of the head of the juvenile is kind of orange-red and not as bright as on the head of an adult.  Anyway, the female was pecking at the branch and then seemed to be transferring something to the juvenile.

 

The adult stuck whatever it was deep into the mouth of the juvenile.

 

I watched them repeat that several times, but I never could see what it was that the adult was feeding to the youngster.

 

When Rick came by, we headed toward the car.  On our way to the car there was a male Western Tanager, probably the same one I saw on Monday morning.  It cooperated for pictures, so here are two more pictures of the male Western Tanager.

 

 

After that bird action, we headed out to Wawona to look for birds.  On the way out of the valley, I saw a bird on a stump, but it was too far away to be sure of the identification, so I took a picture.  Here is a distant picture of what turned out to be a common Song Sparrow.

 

My camera is an important tool for me when a bird is too far away for a binocular identification.

 

At Wawona we drove to the middle of the golf course to a place where we had seen some birds last year.  I was hoping for Yellow Warbler and Lincoln’s Sparrow there, along with the elusive White-headed Woodpecker.  Soon after we got there, we saw a little yellow bird in the same trees where we had seen Yellow Warblers last year, but it flew off before I could get a good enough look at it.  It was most likely a Yellow Warbler, but I couldn’t count it.  We never saw another one in the next couple of hours there.

 

I got some more distant pictures while we sat there on the golf course.  Here is a distant Black Phoebe.  There were two or three of them active in the area.

 

A male Black-headed Grosbeak came by, and I got another distant picture.

 

We walked on the Meadow Trail a short distance, and I played the song of Lincoln’s Sparrow.  I was surprised when that worked, and one flew in.  It kept up in the trees, and it took quite a while to get a good look at it, but I finally saw it well enough to count it.  No chance for a picture, but I did get a June bird.  I heard a bird singing loudly and I’m pleased to say I thought I recognized it.  I played the song of the bird I thought it was, and I was right.  It flew around and I got one mediocre picture of the Cassin’s Vireo, which I had already seen this month.

 

We sat in our camp chairs and ate our lunch, while we watched golfers come through.  There were a few birds, but nothing I needed.  After lunch we decided to go to Foresta, back closer to Yosemite Valley.  The road takes you through the west end of Yosemite Valley, and I stopped and took this picture of the valley.

 

That’s Bridalveil Falls on the right, and here is a closer shot of it.

 

I took this picture of Foresta from the road down in to the valley.  There are quite a few cabins in those trees and on the hillsides.

 

We saw a pair of Lawrence’s Goldfinches, but I had seen them on Monday already.  I got this picture of a Western Wood-Pewee.

 

It looks kind of strange because that is the back of the bird, and it is looking over its shoulder toward the camera. 

 

We drove though Foresta and heard Mountain Quail, but I didn’t hear or see anything new for my lists.  At one point, we drove up an unpaved road that looked like it might be a driveway, but it led to two or three houses, and had a nice turn around area at the top with a great view.  Not really expecting anything, I played the song of Wrentit because the habitat looked good for that species,  Nothing happened, as expected, and as I started to go back to the car, I heard the same song I had been playing, coming from a nearby bird.  I played it some more, and the Wrentit tantalized us by continually flying right past us, but when it landed, it was always deep in a tree or it moved before I could get a picture.  Still, that was a really excellent one to get for my June list.

 

We were again ready to leave when three birds flew in and landed in the lower branches of a nearby tree.  At least two of them were a pair of Cassin’s Finches, a good bird, but one I already had this month.  The female flew on, but the male stuck around for a couple of pictures.  Here is the male Cassin’s Finch.

 

 

That was it for today.  There weren’t many birds, but I did manage to add 2 more to my June list.  Now I have 153 for June, and I keep inching closer to my 2018 June total of 156.  I really don’t have much more I can find here in Yosemite, although I sure would like to see a White-headed Woodpecker.  Yellow Warbler would be great, too.  I think I might hang around the lodge tomorrow and maybe walk over to the area at the base of Yosemite Falls.  I won’t see many birds, and I probably won’t get anything I need for June, but I feel like kicking back and just enjoying the valley.

 

 

Friday, June 28, 2019

 

On Thursday I did indeed kick back and relax.  The only place I went was across the road to the site of John Muir’s cabin, which has a stone chair and a great view of Yosemite Falls.  Here’s Upper Yosemite Falls from the parking lot of the lodge.

 

Here’s the view from the site of John Muir’s cabin, with Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls.  I sat there for over two hours and enjoyed the view while I watched the trees for birds and read my book.

 

To show off the zoom capability of my little camera, here is a shot from that same place of some people at the top of Upper Yosemite Falls – in other words, in the middle top of that last picture.

 

It would be even better if I had used a tripod instead of hand-holding the camera.  Those people are just to the left of the upper falls, at the top.

 

In the afternoon, I shot this picture of a Black Phoebe across the path from our room.

 

Needless to say, I didn’t get any birds for my lists on Thursday.

 

Today I set out in search of what had become my nemesis bird this year, White-headed Woodpecker.  That was the only species left that I had expected to get that I hadn’t yet seen this year.  My first stop was at the meadow across the road from El Capitan, where I used to see White-headed Woodpeckers.  I watched for a while, then moved on a hundred yards and sat again, looking.  No woodpecker, but I did see a lovely Red-shouldered Hawk.  I knew they lived here in the valley, but I had never seen one before in Yosemite, as far as I can remember.  Of course, it was a great June bird for me.  Here is a distant frontal shot of the Red-shouldered Hawk.

 

It flew a short distance and posed with its back to me, and here is another distant shot.

 

That was a great surprise, but I still needed my nemesis woodpecker.  I drove to Crane Flat and went up the Tioga Road to the road to Tamarack Flat campground.  It had been closed on Monday, but today the gate was open.  They have resurfaced the road very recently with blacktop, and it was very smooth.  It’s only about a car and a half wide, though, so when you meet a car, one or both of you has to get your wheels off the road surface.  There are plenty of places to do that, so it isn’t a problem, but you need to pay attention on blind curves.  Usually there is little traffic on that road, but today I must have seen 40 or 50 cars coming out from the campground and at least a dozen going in.  The campground was full, when I got there.

 

I drove slowly down to the campground, which is about 3 miles from the highway.  I stopped frequently and played various bird calls.  There seemed to be a lot of Green-tailed Towhees today, and they were very cooperative for pictures.  I have pictures of at least three different Green-tailed Towhees.  Here are some of them.

 

 

 

One of the Green-tailed Towhees had a beakful of insects or something.

 

I think it was more than one thing, maybe several.  Here is a close up.

 

At one place, while I was playing Fox Sparrow songs, a MacGillivray’s Warbler flew in and flitted around.  It rarely stayed still, but it stuck around, and I eventually got a couple of pictures.  MacGillivray’s Warbler is a great bird, but I already had one this month.  Here are two pictures, though.

 

 

A male Western Tanager flew by, too, and I got this rather distant shot.

 

I already had gotten Fox Sparrow the other day, but I wanted pictures.  Here is a picture of a Fox Sparrow that is one of the Thick-billed Group subspecies.

 

Here it is singing.

 

Here’s what it looks like from the back.

 

The gray head, neutral colored thick bill, gray back, brown wings, and reddish tail are all characteristic of that group of subspecies of Fox Sparrow.  Here it is singing again.

 

I saw other birds, like Chipping Sparrow, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and Steller’s Jay, but nothing else I needed.  I ate my lunch and moved on to the road to the Crane Flat fire lookout and heliport.  I was still stopping frequently and looking for the darn White-headed Woodpecker. 

 

After driving up and back on that narrow road, I decided to head back to the valley, defeated in my quest.  I stopped at the top of the last hill before the highway, but I didn’t hear or see anything.  I got out to take a leak before heading back to the lodge, and as I walked back to my car, a bird flew almost directly over my head and gave a single call as it flew.  It sounded like a woodpecker to me, so I looked for it in the tree it was heading toward.  To my amazement, it was my WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER, the first one this year for me.  I played its call, and it came back and flew from tree to tree while I tried for pictures.  I actually got four decent pictures of my nemesis bird, White-headed Woodpecker, and I got them at the last possible minute before I quit for the day.

 

 

 

 

It was an uncharacteristically cool day for Yosemite in June.  The places I was birding were at about 6200 feet elevation (the valley, where we are staying is about 4000 feet), and it was 58 degrees all day where I was.  I found that quite comfortable and far better than the usual high 80’s and low 90’s we get in June.  It was 68 degrees in the valley when I got back, which was wonderful for me.  It got to the mid-80’s on Monday, and each day since has been cooler than the one before.

 

So, I managed to add two more species to my June list, and now I have 155 species in June, one fewer than what I got in June last year.  Tomorrow we leave for home, and I hope to stop at the Sacramento national Wildlife Refuge.  I have hopes of getting a couple of species there.  We will see.  White-headed Woodpecker was new for the year for me, and now I have 280 species in 2019.  It has been another wonderful week in Yosemite with the family, and now we plan to take three easy days to get home.

 

 

Saturday, June 29, 2019

 

My birding today was very strange.  Mainly we were traveling today, from Yosemite to Corning, CA.  It was supposed to only be a 5 hour drive, but it seemed to go on and on, with various things delaying us.  Anyway, when we got close to Corning, we still had plenty of time, since it was such a short day, so we stopped at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (NWR).  We drove around the auto tour, which takes about an hour if you stop to look at birds at all.  It was disappointing to me because it was so dried out.  There wasn’t much water, but I did find some birds in the few places with water.

 

The first one for my June list was Greater White-fronted Goose.  We saw maybe a half dozen of them.  Here are two pictures of one of them.

 

 

The light was really harsh today for some reason, and I’m not happy with any of my pictures from today.  I show them only for purposes of record keeping and identification, and my future reference.

 

I didn’t even notice it at the time, but when I processed my pictures, I found this Greater Yellowlegs in one shot, and that was another June bird for me today.

 

Some birders wouldn’t count a bird that they missed in the field but saw in their pictures, but I decided some time ago that I would count them.  My justification is that I “saw” the bird, I just didn’t realize it until later when I saw my pictures.

 

That wasn’t the only questionable sighting for me today.  I saw a Mute Swan and I’m counting it for June.  Many birders wouldn’t’ count it because it could be an escapee.  Mute Swans aren’t native to North America, but there are some populations that are countable.  One of those populations is less than 75 miles away in Sacramento, and this bird could have flown from there easily.  Here are a couple of pictures of the Mute Swan, which has been reported there for the last couple of months.

 

 

At one point there were some tiny shorebirds, what birders call “peeps”.  I took pictures of them, hoping that I would be able to identify them from the pictures.  I ended up deciding that there were two species there, Least Sandpiper and Western Sandpiper, both of which I needed for June.  There are some plumage differences, but the easiest way to tell those two species apart is by the color of the legs.  Least Sandpipers have yellowish legs (which is sometimes hard to distinguish if the legs are in shadow), and Western Sandpipers have black legs.  Here are some pictures and comments.

 

I think those two are both juvenile Least Sandpipers, partly because of the plumage and partly because the legs look yellowish to me.  Here is another picture.

 

I think the bird in front is a least sandpiper, with yellowish legs, and I think the one in back is a Western Sandpiper with black legs.  Here is one more picture.  By the way, I was pretty far away and the lighting was poor for these pictures.

 

In that picture, I think the one on the right and the one in the middle are clearly Western Sandpipers, with black legs.  The one on the left looks to me like it has yellowish legs (where they aren’t in shadow), so it would be a Least Sandpiper.

 

Anyway, after looking at all my pictures (many more than just these three), I’m counting both Least Sandpiper and Western Sandpiper for my June list.

 

Here is still another questionable call.  I was taking a picture of a little shorebird, and when I looked at my pictures, I saw that there was a male Blue-winged Teal in the shot.  I needed that one for June, and I’m counting it, although I didn’t realize it at the time.  Here is a poor picture of what is undoubtedly a male Blue-winged Teal.

 

After we left the NWR, as we were driving along the frontage road back to the freeway, I saw a large dark raptor in a tree.  I took some pictures, and again I have a close call to make.  This bird is either a very dark Red-tailed Hawk or a dark morph Swainson’s Hawk.  Here are four distant pictures of it.

 

 

 

 

I’m calling it a dark morph Swainson’s Hawk, which I needed for June.  The third picture has the best evidence that it’s a Swainson’s Hawk.  The yellow gape doesn’t extend to the middle of the eye (as it would in a Red-tailed Hawk); the tail is light colored, but not reddish, as it would be in a dark Red-tailed Hawk; a dark Red-tailed Hawk wouldn’t have any white on the scapulars (shoulder feathers), and this bird clearly does; and there is a buffy area of feathers under the base of the tail, which is characteristic of a dark morph Swainson’s Hawk.  That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

 

As I said at the beginning of this report, it was a very strange day of birding.  I had hoped to get 2 or 3 species at the Sacramento NWR, but wouldn’t have been surprised to get none.  Instead, after checking my pictures, I’m going with 7 new birds for my June list, to bring me to 162 species for June.  That blows away last year’s total of 156, which I didn’t think I would be able to match.  Tomorrow is another travel day, but there is a chance of getting one more species if I’m lucky.  We don’t get home until Monday, GWATCDR.

 

 

Sunday, June 30, 2019

 

Today was another travel day.  Rather than just go straight up I-5 as usual, we took Highway 97 out of Weed to Klamath Falls.  Then we cut back on Highway 58 to Eugene, on I-5 again.  It was about 15 minutes longer, according to Google Maps, but it was much more scenic than I-5, there was a lot less traffic, and we saw some relatively unfamiliar places, instead of the regular I-5 scenery.  Our Yosemite trip this year is a week later than usual, and it is the weekend before July 4^th as well, so there is far more traffic than we are used to.  Tonight we are in Albany, Oregon, and it is only about four and a half hours to home, plus stops and any traffic delays.

 

Our first stop, other than to pick up a case of booze at Liquor Barn in Redding, was Grass Lake rest area, between Weed and Klamath Falls.  I was hoping to see Sandhill Cranes there, and I did.  Here are a couple of distant shots of a pair of Sandhill Cranes, with a lot of heat haze due to the distance.

 

 

That was a great June bird, the one I was hoping for today.  There were also Yellow-headed Blackbirds flying around out in the grass of Grass Lake.  Here is a distant picture of a male Yellow-headed Blackbird in the air.  I already had that species this month but it is a good one.

 

Here is a picture of the east end of Grass Lake, which has water in it in the winter, but is mostly grass in the summer.

 

While I was scanning around looking for Sandhill Cranes, I spotted a bonus bird, Black Tern.  I hadn’t even thought of Black Tern, but it makes sense that they would be there.  It was a wonderful final bird of June for this year.

 

We moved on, picked up sandwiches at Subway in Klamath Falls, and ate lunch at Collier Memorial State Park, north of Klamath Falls on Highway 97.  After lunch we continued on and while crossing the Cascade Range on Highway 58, we stopped at Salt Creek Falls and walked the short distance to view the falls.  Here is the sign at the falls.

 

Here is Christina with the top of Salt Creek Falls in the background.

 

Here is the full 286 feet of the falls.

 

That was it for today.  We had a little traffic slowdown on the freeway as we neared Albany, our destination for the night, and we followed the advice of the GPS app Waze, which took us along some back roads and farms to our hotel for the night.

 

I added 2 more species to my June list today, and I finished June at 164 species, which beats out last year’s June total of 156 species.  I have 280 species now for 2019.  Tomorrow we make the final run for home.