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Wednesday, October 2, 2019

 

On Monday and Tuesday this week, we had a crew of five people here, pruning and shaping trees and shrubs, so I didn't do any birding, since I wanted to watch the work being done.  Today I headed up to Skagit county to see what I could find.  I especially wanted to see some shorebirds, since any that are still around here will be migrating south very soon.

 

It was a new month, so everything was new for my October list.  Before I left home, I saw Feral Pigeon and American Crow in our yard.

 

I picked up a sandwich at Subway and my first birding stop was at Hayton Reserve.  The tide was in, which was what I was expecting, and there were a lot of roosting shorebirds close to shore.  I saw my first Great Blue Heron as soon as I got there, as well as some Song Sparrows and a Golden-crowned Sparrow.  There were a lot of Ring-billed Gulls around, too.

 

Here are a couple of Greater Yellowlegs that weren't roosting at the time.

 

Here are three Least Sandpipers.

 

Here are some Greater Yellowlegs with a Short-billed Dowitcher.  The dowitcher is the one on the left.  Most of the dowitchers I saw today were Long-billed Dowitchers, and I hadn't noticed that this one was a Short-billed at the time, but I could see it this picture.

 

The shorebirds were lined up on logs, mostly snoozing.

 

Here is a shot of a Greater Yellowlegs and a Least Sandpiper.  Those were the largest and smallest shorebird species I saw today.

 

Most of the little "peeps" were Least Sandpipers, but there were some Western Sandpipers in with them.  Here is a Western Sandpiper (standing on one black leg) with three Least Sandpipers (yellowish legs).

 

I was interrupted in my shorebird picture taking by a flock of Snow Geese that took to the air nearby and flew around.

 

 

Here is a Long-billed Dowitcher.

 

Here is a row of dowitchers.  Most of them are Long-billed Dowitchers, but I think the second one from the right might be a Short-billed Dowitcher.

 

While I was taking pictures of the shorebirds, the ones I was looking at suddenly stopped sleeping and got very alert.  I looked up and saw a Peregrine Falcon fly through.  That was a great October bird.  Here is a picture of three shorebird species.  The two larger birds are Long-billed Dowitchers, the one on the left is a Least Sandpiper, and the second one from the left is a Western Sandpiper.

 

Here are two Long-billed Dowitchers with a Western Sandpiper between them.

 

Some of the shorebirds were waking up and starting to feed.  Here are some Least Sandpipers feeding on the shore.

 

I scoped the inlet, which was filled with water at the time, and I added Northern Pintail, American Wigeon, and Green-winged Teal to my list.  There was a Bald Eagle sitting on the top of a tree in the cluster of trees where there is an eagle nest.  I added American Robin and European Starling as I drove out of there, too.  Some Canada Geese flew over as well.

 

I drove to Wylie Slough, and on the way I saw a Northern Harrier.  I stopped briefly at the bridge over the little slough at the entrance, and I saw an Orange-crowned Warbler, which was an excellent October bird.  There were a couple of Fox Sparrows singing there, too.  I drove along the road to the boat ramp and saw some American Goldfinches foraging in a tree.  I also got this picture of a Mourning Dove.

 

I also got a picture of a Pine Siskin, a species I hadn't seen for months.

 

I also added Northern Flicker, Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch, House Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and Steller's Jay at the end of the road near the boat ramp.  You can see a nearby house with some feeders, and the birds hang out around there.  I drove to the west end of the reserve and parked.  I saw a couple of Eurasian Collared-Doves, and as I walked toward the dike trail, I saw a Wood Duck and a couple of Northern Shovelers on the little slough.  I played Common Yellowthroat songs because most of them have left already, and I was hoping to attract a straggler.  No yellowthroats, but a Marsh Wren responded with a lot of singing.  I walked on the dike trail and at the bird hide I added Gadwall, Mallard, and Pied-billed Grebe to my list.  There were Red-winged Blackbirds along the way, and I saw a Belted Kingfisher fishing.  At the place where the trail splits, there were some dowitchers and an American Coot.  A male Spotted Towhee showed himself well, so I took pictures.

 

 

A male Downy Woodpecker was moving from tree to tree.

 

I had seen a Northern Flicker earlier, but this male showed himself well, so I took his picture.

 

I also saw some Brewer's Blackbirds on that walk.  I looked for Black Phoebe because there is a family of them there, and they are rare in the area.  I didn't find one this morning, though.

 

I headed out from Wylie Slough and at a large puddle in a field, I spotted a shorebird.  It turned out to be a PECTORAL SANDPIPER, my first one of the year.  Here are some pictures of that uncommon migrant.

 

 

 

 

While I was taking those pictures, I noticed another little bird at the edge of the same puddle.  It was an American Pipit, and I got these two pictures of that excellent addition to my October list.  It was only the second pipit I have seen this year.

 

 

It was time for lunch, so I headed toward the houses on Valentine Road with feeders.  I like to sit in my car and eat my lunch as I watch the feeders for birds of interest.  On the way I added Red-tailed Hawk and Savannah Sparrow.  At the house on the corner, I added White-crowned Sparrow.  At the house with the sign "Rancho Valentine", I saw Red-breasted Nuthatches on the large suet feeder.  Here are a couple of pictures of Red-breasted Nuthatch.

 

 

A female Hairy Woodpecker flew in to the feeder, but I wasn’t able to get a decent picture.  She kept her back to me, and the foliage and the plastic flamingos got in the way.  Here is the best I could get of the female Hairy Woodpecker.  Note the Red-breasted Nuthatch photo-bombing the shot, in the top right corner.

 

A Chestnut-backed Chickadee came to the suet, too.  I ate half my sandwich there, and then moved to the house on the corner, where I ate the second half.  I had wanted to get Purple Finch there, and finally I did.  The females look a lot like female House Finches.  Here is a female House Finch.

 

Here is a female Purple Finch.  Note the facial pattern.

 

Here is a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow

 

Here is a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

 

A couple of Steller's Jays flew in, and I always like to get pictures of blue-colored birds.

 

After that I headed back toward home.  I stopped at Hayton Reserve, and the tide had gone out.  I added Glaucous-winged Gull there, and then I saw a group of Common Mergansers in the distance.  I had seen a group of Hooded Mergansers earlier in the day, but I forget exactly where.  There were also a couple of Double-crested Cormorants in the distance.  I got this picture of a Belted Kingfisher before I left.

 

I stopped again at Wylie Slough, hoping to find some birds I had missed in the morning.  I saw a single Cedar Waxwing near the boat ramp, but my only picture is poor because of the lighting.  The tide had gone out there, and there were some dowitchers feeding near the east parking lot.  Looking at my pictures tonight, I decided that I had seen Short-billed Dowitcher in the morning, but at the time I hadn't realized it, so I was scrutinizing these dowitchers, and one of them came to my attention because it seemed to be smaller than the others, with shorter legs.  Here is a picture, with the smaller dowitcher on the right.

 

Size alone isn't enough for an identification, though, because individual birds vary and there is a a difference between males and females, too.  I watched that bird, though, and when it turned, I could see it was indeed a Short-billed Dowitcher.

 

I drove around, and near the west parking lot, I saw a Hermit Thrush briefly.  That was an excellent one to get for October.  I was leaving then, but as I started to pull out, one of the Black Phoebes flew in from somewhere, and I got that one, too.  Here is a picture.

 

I kept thinking I was done for the day, and I kept seeing another bird.  Next it was a Yellow-rumped Warbler, on my way out of the reserve.  Outside the reserve, I drove down the short road that leads to a dairy, to check out the blackbirds on the wires.  One of them was a male Brown-headed Cowbird, which was still another excellent one to get for October.  The light was terrible, but here is a picture of the male Brown-headed Cowbird.

 

Phew!  It was a long day and a long report, with lots of pictures.  I need to send this out and get to bed.

 

I got 63 species for my October list,  and 45 of them were repeaters.  Three species were new for Skagit county this year, and now I have 143 species in Skagit county in 2019.  Pectoral Sandpiper was a year-bird, and now I have 292 species this year.

 

 

Thursday, October 3, 2019

 

I had a lunch appointment up in Everett today, and I went up early to look for birds.  First I went to Port Gardner Bay, on the Everett waterfront.  I hoped to find the rare Great Egret that hangs out in the area, or maybe see Caspian Tern or Osprey, both of which have mostly already migrated.  I didn't find the egret or any Caspian Terns, but I did see a total of four Ospreys on the north side of the bay.  Two of them were juveniles sitting in a nest, and the other two were nearby.  I suspect that they were a family that had nested late, and now they are waiting for the youngsters to be able to feed themselves before they migrate.  Anyway, I was glad to find Ospreys, since almost all of them have already left our area.

 

I was also looking for a couple of gull species that I needed, and I found them both.  Here are a couple of Mew Gulls.

 

The other gull species I needed was California Gull, and I got that one, too.  Here is a picture of those two Mew Gulls and a California Gull.

 

There was a Peregrine Falcon sitting on a piling, too.  I got that one yesterday, but Peregrine Falcon is always a great bird to see.  Here are a couple of distant pictures of the peregrine.

 

 

Next I went over to the Everett Sewage Treatment ponds to look for ducks.  There were tons of Ruddy Ducks, as usual, and I saw a fair number of Ring-necked Ducks.  There were also a few Lesser Scaup.  All three of those species were repeaters.  I scanned the water, looking for grebes.  I ended up seeing 3 or 4 grebes, and I decided that I had both Horned Grebe and Eared Grebe, both of which I needed.  Across the water there were dozens of Black-bellied Plovers sitting on the concrete edge of the pond, so that one went on my list.  The main pond is quite large, and I didn’t get any bird pictures.  Here are three shots of parts of the main pond.

 

 

 

I drove down the end of the road and saw a Cooper's Hawk sitting on a piling.  It flew off before I could get a picture, though, unfortunately.  I went to lunch and went home, but later in the afternoon I went down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park for about an hour.  The road was really dead, but at the end of the road I played Virginia Rail calls, and got one to respond.  As I walked back to my car, I played Ruby-crowned Kinglet songs on my phone, and eventually one flew in.  I tried for pictures, but the kinglet never stayed still for long.  I got one picture, but it isn't framed well.

 

Check out the cute little orange feet.

 

I had a little flurry of birds then, but they were very difficult to see because I was looking up into the bright cloudy sky, and I wasn't able to identify any that I needed.  I did get some pictures of a Hairy Woodpecker, a species I saw yesterday.  Here is the male Hairy Woodpecker.

 

 

 

I added 12 more to my October list today, and now I have 75 species this month so far.  5 of those 12 were repeaters, and now I have 50 of the possible 67 repeaters this month.

 

 

Friday, October 4, 2019

 

I went over to Marymoor Park this morning.  On my first drive-through the park, I added Cackling Goose to my October list.  Here is a picture of some Cackling Geese, which are smaller cousins of Canada Geese.

 

I didn't find anything else on that first drive-through, so I went to the community gardens, hoping to see the pheasant that hangs out there.  I didn't find the pheasant, but I did see a group of six Turkey Vultures circling overhead.  They were gaining altitude and I'm sure they were in the midst of their annual migration south.  That was an excellent one to get for October because most of the Turkey Vultures have already passed through here.  While walking in the gardens, I got some pictures of birds I already had this month.  Here is a male Dark-eyed Junco.

 

 

A Black-capped Chickadee was getting sunflower seeds and was opening one of them while posing for pictures.  Here is the Black-capped Chickadee with a sunflower seed in its bill.

 

In the next picture, the chickadee was pecking at the seed to open it.

 

Here it is with the seed in its bill again.

 

I parked and walked along the slough, hoping to see a Green Heron or Wilson's Snipe, but I didn't see anything I needed.  It was pretty windy today, and that kept the small birds down, I think.  I drove through the park again, and this time I saw a lot of Killdeer, which was a repeater, in the parking lot field.  Here are a couple of pictures of a Killdeer.

 

 

There were half a dozen Northern Flickers in a group, feeding in the grass.  Then I noticed that there was a Western Meadowlark nearby, too.  Here is a picture of one of the flickers and the Western Meadowlark, which I needed for October.

 

I wanted a picture of the meadowlark facing me, showing its yellow underside, but it kept moving away from me.

 

I finally got a picture of it that showed a bit of yellow, but not much.  It might have been a juvenile, because it wasn't very yellow on its underside and the black V on its breast was faint.

 

I went up on the viewing mound at the East Meadow and played Lincoln's Sparrow songs, but couldn't attract one.  Yesterday a juvenile Northern Shrike was reported in the East Meadow, and I might have seen it in the distance.  I went back and got my scope from the car, but when I got back, it had moved, so I'm not going to count it.  I have an extremely distant picture, but it is inconclusive.  I did see an Anna's Hummingbird there, though, and that was a repeater.

 

I drove through the Evan's Creek Natural Area and looked for Wilson's Snipe where I had seen a couple of them last week.  I didn’t see any from the car, but I got out and one flushed and I got a good look at it as it flew away.  I scanned the rest of the area, but I didn't see any others.  Then, just as I was about to leave, three more of them flushed and flew off - from the exact area I had been scanning.  They really blend in when they stay still.  I was glad to get that one, though.

 

At the Redmond Retention Ponds I was hoping to see the Greater White-fronted Goose I had seen there last week, but I didn't see it today.  I already had Hooded Merganser this month, but there was a male in breeding plumage, the first one I have seen this fall.  Here are a couple of pictures of Hooded Mergansers.  The male is the colorful one.

 

 

That was it for today.  I added 6 more species to my October list, to give me 81 species now this month so far.  I got 2 more repeaters, and now I have 52 of the possible 67 repeaters this month.

 

 

Saturday, October 5, 2019

 

Today I went over to Puget Sound to try for saltwater birds.  I expected to get 7 or 8 species for my October list, and that would have been just fine.  I stopped on the way in Lake Forest Park and picked up Band-tailed Pigeon at the house with feeders that is quite reliable for Band-tailed Pigeon, a repeater.

 

There were half a dozen of them in that bare tree.  I went on to Richmond Beach and stopped at Kayu Kayu Ac park, overlooking Puget Sound.  I saw three single Rhinoceros Auklets, some Heermann's Gulls, and a female Harlequin Duck, all ones I needed for October.  I drove through Woodway when I left there, and I drove down the dead-end street where I have heard California Quail in the past.  I got lucky this time, and 15 or 20 adult California Quail were feeding on the side of the street.  That was a great October bird, a repeater.  They scattered when I approached, but I stopped and waited, and I got pictures from the car.

 

Here is a male running across the road.

 

Here is a female California Quail from the front, as she moved toward me.

 

Here's a male moving toward me.

 

Here is a male moving across the street.

 

Here are some California Quail feeding in the grass on the side of the road.

 

Next I drove on toward Edmonds, through the town of Woodway.  I stopped at Deer Creek Park in Woodway and walked in the woods, looking for a couple of species I have seen there before.  I played their songs, and I got both Pacific Wren and Brown Creeper (repeater) there.  It was too dark in the woods for pictures.  I had 7 species for my October list at that point, and I was sure to get more at the Edmonds waterfront, so I was pleased.

 

In Edmonds, I stopped at the Edmonds Marsh because I had read that a Long-billed Dowitcher had been hanging out there, and I needed that one for my 2019 Snohomish county list.  I had seen Long-billed Dowitchers up in Skagit county this month, but this was my chance to add that species to my Snohomish county list.  I found it, and I got this distant picture of the Long-billed Dowitcher.

 

The picture was good enough to identify the species.  It had started sprinkling, but I kept going.  Up on Sunset Avenue, the rain was light enough that I could use my scope to look out over the water.  I added Surf Scoter (repeater), Pelagic Cormorant (repeater), Red-necked Grebe, and Pigeon Guillemot (repeater) to my October list.  Then I saw a Common Murre in winter plumage, and one more went on the list.  I had expected 7 or 8 species, but I was up to 12 at that point and I was feeling pretty successful.  I moved on up to Ocean Avenue and the rain pretty much let up.  There were a number of Horned Grebes around, and I got this picture.  I didn't need that one since I had seen them at the Everett Sewage ponds the other day, but most of the seabirds I was seeing were too far away for pictures, so I took this one of the Horned Grebe.

 

While looking around with my scope, I saw a couple of Marbled Murrelets way out there, and that was number 13 on the day.  Then I spotted three male Black Scoters, and that was number 13.  Here are a couple of pictures of Black Scoters.

 

 

I drove down to the south end of Ocean Avenue and got out my scope.  There were dozens of gulls offshore at the mouth of Shell Creek, and I looked through them with my scope.  Most of them were uninteresting, but I found two Bonaparte's Gulls, and that was an excellent October bird, number 15 on the day for October.  As I was getting ready to leave, I looked around once more and saw a couple of Pacific Loons, mostly still in breeding plumage, another excellent October species.

 

That was it for me today.  I ended up getting 16 species for October when I expected to get 7 or 8.  Now I have 97 species in October.  Last October I got 122 species, so I'm well on my way to beating last year.  6 of the species today were repeaters, too, and now I have 58 species that I have seen in each of the first 10 months of this year.  I had seen 67 repeaters at the end of September, so there are only 9 more possible this month.  I need to make a list of them and go after them.

 

The Long-billed Dowitcher brought me to 136 species in Snohomish county this year.  I had corrected my Snohomish county total yesterday when I found I had overlooked seeing Cedar Waxwing last month at the Everett Sewage ponds, and 136 is the correct total at this point.

 

 

Sunday, October 6, 2019

 

Today I went over to the Snoqualmie Valley, around Carnation.  A quick stop at the Redmond Retention Ponds yielded nothing, but as I drove across the Snoqualmie River Valley, I saw a couple of sparrows fly across the road.  I stopped and played Lincoln's Sparrow songs, and by golly, a number of sparrows showed up, including 2 or 3 Lincoln's Sparrows, which I needed for October.  It was foggy in the valley, although it was clearing, and this first picture of a Lincoln's Sparrow sort of shows the fog in the background.

 

Here are two more pictures of Lincoln's Sparrows.

 

 

A couple of Song Sparrows showed up, too, and here are three pictures of a Song Sparrow.

 

 

 

There were also some White-crowned Sparrows, both mature ones and immature ones.  I think the differences between immature White-crowned Sparrows and mature ones are interesting.  Here is an immature White-crowned Sparrow.

 

Here is what it will look like next summer, after it gets its adult plumage.

 

Here is a back view of an immature White-crowned Sparrow.

 

Here is a side view of an adult White-crowned Sparrow.

 

Soon after seeing those sparrows, I saw a bird on a wire and stopped to check it out.  It was a Barn Swallow, which was a good October bird to get, since most of them have already migrated south for the winter.  Usually swallows are in groups, or at least in pairs, but this one was all alone.  While I was looking at the Barn Swallow, I heard a Common Raven, a repeater.  I didn't see that one because of the fog, but later I saw another raven.

 

A little later I saw some more sparrows and this time I got a picture of a Savannah Sparrow.

 

Later I saw another Savannah Sparrow, and I got this picture of that one.

 

I drove on, but I didn't see anything else I needed as I crossed the valley.  At the house in Carnation with feeders, the American Goldfinches were mobbing the feeders.  They have pretty much lost all their yellow color now.  They were chasing each other away from the feeders, competing for perches and acting like they were hungry.  Here is a shot of one of the finch feeders with American Goldfinches in their winter plumage.

 

I was going to go up to Tokul Creek to look for American Dipper, but I stopped at the bridge over the Tolt River instead, in case I could find one there.  I was pleased to see one, and I took some pictures of the American Dipper, a repeater.

 

The dipper was actively feeding along the shore, putting its head into the water in search of food.

 

It was difficult to get good pictures because the lighting was bad and the bird mostly stayed in the shade.

 

I watched the dipper feeding for a while, and then it flew up under the bridge to the nest.  I was surprised to see it going to the nest, since it is too late for nesting now.  I don't know if they use the nest in the winter or not.  This bird today went back to the nest repeatedly, and it was removing grass and stuff from the inside of the nest.  Maybe it was cleaning out the nest for next year, or maybe just making it nice for winter use.  There was very little light under the bridge, so this was the best picture I could get of the American Dipper at its nest.

 

A second dipper showed up, and I got this picture of two American Dippers near the shore.

 

Here is one last picture of one of the American Dippers.  I love the stubby little tail.

 

I drove down the west side of the Snoqualmie River, but I didn't see anything of interest there.  On my way home I stopped at Marymoor Park, but I didn't find anything I needed there either.  It was a beautiful sunny fall day by then, and the off-leash dog park was packed with people and dogs.  Here is a picture of one part of the dog park, taken from the viewing mound north of the East Meadow.

 

I got 4 more species for my October list, and now I have 103 species this month.  Two of the species today were repeaters, and now I have 60 repeaters - birds I have seen in every month so far this year.  It is supposed to rain for the next couple of days, so I might not get any more until mid-week, but then the weather is supposed to be good for several days.

 

 

Monday, October 7, 2019

 

It was supposed to rain today, but it ended up not raining.  I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, and I went up early and visited the Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP).  It was windy, but I set up my scope and spotted a couple of Western Grebes in the distance.  That was a good October bird.  I saw some Lesser Scaup, and then I saw a male Greater Scaup, and I needed the Greater Scaup for October.  I drove to the end of the road, to the entrance bridge to Spencer Island, and on the way back I saw a Red-tailed Hawk.  I didn't need it, but I got a couple of mediocre pictures of it.

 

 

I stopped at Gardner Bay, but didn't see anything interesting.  After lunch I went to Forest Park, hoping to find a Varied Thrush.  No thrushes, but I walked a little and played the songs of Bewick's Wren, and I attracted one.  That was a repeater.  I wasn't able to get a picture, though.

 

I added 3 more to my October list, and now I have 104 species in October.  The Bewick's Wren gives me 61 repeaters now this month.

 

 

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

 

I was going to go over to West Seattle on Tuesday, but there was an accident on the West Seattle bridge that shut the bridge down for most of the day, so I stayed home, other than a short trip down to Juanita Bay Park, which got me nothing.  At lunch I cracked a piece off of a tooth, and I couldn't get into see the dentist until today.  That meant I couldn't go up to Skagit county and Whidbey Island today, like I had planned to do.

 

Those two events both turned out to be blessings in disguise, though.  The dentist appointment wasn't until this afternoon, so I went over to West Seattle this morning, and it was exactly the right time to do that, as it turned out.  I went to the Charles Richey Sr Viewpoint because several species I needed for October had been seen there yesterday.  One of the species was Sanderling, a little shorebird that I wasn’t at all sure I would see this month anywhere.  There were two or three dozen Sanderlings along the beach, and I took some pictures.

 

 

They are really cute, the way they scurry along the edge of the water, busily feeding.

 

They can look like big, gray and white bugs as they rush around.

 

This was the very first time I have ever seen Sanderlings in King county, so it was a big deal for me.  I also got the expected Black Turnstones for October.  Note how well they blend in with the rocks and seaweed.

 

When they stand still, they are hard to find on the rocky beach.

 

 

There were at least half a dozen Black Turnstones and one Surfbird, another one I needed.  Here is the Surfbird.

 

 

I saw a couple of Brandt's Cormorants flying, and they landed in front of me in the water.  That was another good October bird.  I talked with another birder named Alan, and he pointed out Caspian Terns flying overhead a couple of times, after I mentioned I needed that one for October.  I kept forgetting to look up at the sky, so it was great to have Alan there to point them out.  That was my first time for Caspian Tern in King county this year.

 

Those were all excellent birds to get, but the best was yet to come.  Another birder came along, and he told us that he had seen a Rock Wren just up the beach.  We followed his directions and Alan spotted the cute little Rock Wren foraging on the rocks.  It was very cooperative about pictures, so I took some.  This was the very first Rock Wren I have ever seen in King county, too, and it is a minor rarity in King county.  Here are some Rock Wren pictures.

 

 

 

 

It had some kind of green insect at one point, but the bug appeared to be too large for the wren, and I don't think the bird ate it.

 

 

It was a pretty day out there on the water, although a little breezy.  Here is the view looking across Puget Sound from the north end of the Charles Richey Sr Viewpoint.

 

As I said, it was an excellent day to be there.  I added 6 species to my October list, including three that I didn't expect to get at all, at this point in the year (Rock Wren, Caspian Tern, and Sanderling).  Now I have 110 species for October.  I added 3 species to my 2019 King county list, and now I have 155 in King county this year.  Two of those (Rock Wren and Sanderling) were lifers for King county, too, and now I have 193 species in King county since I started keeping county lists in 2012.

 

To top off the day, the dentist was able to do a little repair to my chipped tooth and he didn't even charge me.  I was afraid I was in for a filling, or maybe even a crown, so a 15 minute repair that he didn't charge me for was wonderful.  An excellent day all around, and the weather looks good for a trip up to Skagit county and north Whidbey Island tomorrow, in search of Black Oystercatcher and other goodies.

 

 

Thursday, October 10, 2019

 

As planned, I headed up to Skagit county and north Whidbey Island today in search of Black Oystercatcher.  It was a gorgeous day, and I took this picture of Mount Baker when I got up to Skagit county.

 

On Wylie Road I saw an American Kestrel, a repeater that isn't easy to get.  My camera was having a problem this morning at first, and I had to process this picture a lot just to be able to show it.  It was as if the Image Stabilization in the camera wasn't working right.  Every shot was blurry.  Here is a male American Kestrel.  I had to use the shake reduction feature in my software to sharpen it up.

 

I had an American Pipit on a wire, too, but I couldn't sharpen that one enough.  I already had American Pipit this month, but it is a good bird, and I would have liked a picture of it in the sun.  I also had a Western Meadowlark on a wire, and that was new for Skagit county for me this year.  I got this picture of a Bald Eagle in the sunshine, and it seemed to come out okay.

 

I drove to Rosario Beach to look for oystercatchers, but I didn't find any there today.  Next I tried Deception Pass State Park, but I couldn't find an oystercatcher there, either.  Here is a picture of Puget Sound from the point on the south side of Deception Pass.

 

There was a female White-winged Scoter near shore there, and that was one I needed for October.  Here is a picture of the only White-winged Scoter I saw today.

 

Starting with that picture, my camera seemed to be okay.  The ones I took of the scoter just before that one were blurry, though.  If the Image Stabilization circuitry is getting flakey, I'm going to have to get a new camera.  Image Stabilization is absolutely necessary when taking long shots like I do.

 

I moved to Dugualla Bay and in the lagoon there, I saw a dozen or more Canvasbacks, which was an excellent bird for my October list.  My next stop after that was the viewpoint pullout near Joseph Whidbey State Park.  There I saw a female Red-breasted Merganser, another good October bird.  I saw a Common Loon, too, my first one of October.  A female Harlequin Duck was near the shore, and, although I didn't need it for October, I shot this picture of her.

 

Here she is, flapping her wings and showing us her back and wings.

 

My next stop was my lunch stop, at Hastie Lake access.  I got this picture of a male Harlequin Duck there.

 

It is interesting that so many ducks are already coming into their breeding plumage for next spring, as this male Harlequin Duck is.

 

I sat on a bench and watched the water as I ate my lunch.  A Common Loon came by, fairly close to shore, but I wasn't able to get a picture of it because it kept diving.  Here are some Surf Scoters, another one I didn't need.  Most of them are males, but there is one female in the lower left corner of the picture.

 

I got Red-throated Loon there, which was another excellent October bird, but it was too far out for a picture.  That was species number 6 today for my October list, which was more than I had expected.

 

I still hadn't seen a Black Oystercatcher, though, so I stopped again at Deception Pass State Park, but again missed it there.  It was getting late, so I headed for home, but I detoured around March Point on Fidalgo Island because I have seen oystercatchers there.  At the point, I looked out across the channel and got Western Grebe for my 2019 Skagit county list.  After I rounded the point, I saw some Canada Geese, and I looked to see if a Greater White-fronted Goose might be with them.  I had been doing that all day, whenever I saw any kind of geese.  This time I got lucky, and a juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose was hanging out with its much larger cousins.  Here is the Juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose, which was not only an excellent October bird, it was the very first time I had recorded Greater White-fronted Goose in Skagit county, since I started keep county lists in 2012.

 

Here is a shot that shows how much smaller that bird is than one of the Canada Geese it was hanging out with.

 

Coming across the Skagit Flats, I saw a Cooper's Hawk on a wire next to the busy road.  I turned around when I could and found a place to pull of and I got some pictures.  I already had Cooper's Hawk this month, but the photo op was great.  Here are some shots of the juvenile Cooper's Hawk.

 

 

 

 

On Dodge Valley Road I saw half a dozen Barn Swallows perched on a wire.  Almost all of the swallows have left for the winter by now, but these stragglers are running late.  Here are three pictures of a Barn Swallow in the late afternoon sun.

 

 

 

I stopped one more time at Hayton Reserve because the tide was high, and I was hoping to see Dunlin, a small shorebird that is just now starting to come back for the winter.  When I got there, there were 4 or 5 birders up on the dike with scopes, so I grabbed my scope and joined them.  The first thing they did was to point out an American White Pelican flying very high in the sky, circling around with some gulls.  That was a species I hadn't expected to find in October at all.  That was my first American White Pelican in Skagit county this year, and likely my last.  There were some ducks on the slough to the north of the large bay, and one of them was a Ruddy Duck, another 2019 Skagit county bird for me.  There were a lot of shorebirds nearby, with the tide high, and I saw dozens of Dunlin, another excellent October species for me.  There were also a couple of dozen Greater White-fronted Geese in the slough, and a lot of them were juveniles.

 

So, I had missed Black Oystercatcher, which is a repeater, and I might not get one this month now, unless I decide to make the long drive up to that area again this month.  I did get 9 new October species, though, which was an outstanding result.  Now I have 119 species this month, and I should easily be able to beat last year's October total of 122 species.  American Kestrel was a repeater, and now I have 62 repeaters this month.  I added 5 species to my 2019 Skagit county list, and now I have 148 species in Skagit county this year.  Greater White-fronted Goose was new for my lifetime Skagit county list, too, and now I have 164 species in Skagit county since I started keeping track of county lists in 2012.

 

I drove over 200 miles and was out there for about seven and a half hours today, and I enjoyed the beautiful sunny fall day.

 

 

Friday, October 11, 2019

 

This morning I went over to Marymoor Park.  First I looked for the Northern Shrike that was seen there yesterday, but I didn't find it.  Northern Shrike is quite uncommon around here, and they are only here in the winter.  The first of them are just now starting to return.  There has been one at Marymoor in recent winters, so I have hopes of seeing it, but this is quite early for them to be returning here.

 

While looking for the shrike, I got this picture of a male Anna's Hummingbird.  The black gorget is magenta-red in the sun, but it appears black in this light.

 

I went over to the community gardens to look for the Ring-necked Pheasant that has been hanging out around the park for months, but I didn't find that one, either.  In the gardens I did find a Cooper's Hawk sitting in the open, though.  I've seen a lot of Cooper's Hawks this month, it seems.

 

There were some crows that didn't seem to appreciate its presence, and I got this picture of it having a face-off with a crow.

 

Here is another shot of the immature Cooper's Hawk.

 

I could tell it was a Cooper's Hawk rather than a Sharp-shinned Hawk because of how large it was.  I knew it was an immature bird because the back was brown rather than bluish gray.  This shot of the bird from the front also shows that the plumage is that of a juvenile bird, because a mature bird would have horizontal streaks across the breast.

 

The shape of the head (flat top) also indicates that it is a Cooper's Hawk rather than a Sharp-shinned Hawk, which would have a rounded head.

 

I moved on over to the slough to look for Green Heron.  I didn't find any Green Herons, but I did get a couple of pictures of a Belted Kingfisher.

 

It refused to look to its left so I could get a profile shot.  It flew on a bit and I got this picture that is partially obscured by leaves and branches.  I like the fall colors in the shot.

 

I also saw a couple of Wilson's Snipe, a good bird, although I didn't need it for the month.  Here are a couple of pictures of one of them.

 

 

Snipe are shy birds and when they noticed me standing there, they flew on a bit and settled down in the vegetation.  I never did find one of them, even though they both were right out in front of me and I was looking down on them, but I spotted one of them hunkered down and staying still.

 

After a minute or two, that was too much for them, too, and they flew off.  On my way out of the park, I stopped by the office and walked a little by the mansion.  I played Golden-crowned Kinglet songs, and one flew in.  That was a repeater, and one I fully expected to get eventually this month.  I didn't have much time by then, and I couldn't get a picture.

 

After having lunch with a friend, in Everett, I drove by Gardner Bay to look for the rare (for this area) Great Egret that shows up there from time to time, but I didn't see it today.  Next I went to the Everett Water Treatment pond to look for a couple of duck species I needed.  Yesterday 7 Buffleheads were reported there, but I couldn't find any today, among the hundreds of ducks on the pond.  Buffleheads are just starting to come back from their breeding grounds, and I should be able to get that one later this month, with some luck. 

 

The other species I needed that had been reported yesterday there was Redhead.  I found a Redhead today, and that was an excellent October bird that I hadn't expected to get this month.  There were 3 or 4 Canvasbacks, too, another excellent species, but I had seen Canvasbacks on Whidbey Island yesterday.  Here is a picture of two Canvasbacks with a Redhead between them.

 

Here's a distant shot of the Redhead alone.

 

I think that it was a male in non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, but maybe it was a female.  Here is a male Canvasback.

 

Canvasback was new for my 2019 Snohomish county list.  Now I have 137 species in Snohomish county this year.  Golden-crowned Kinglet and Redhead bring me to 121 species for October, just one fewer than last October's total.  Golden-crowned Kinglet was a repeater, and now I have 63 repeaters this month.

 

 

Saturday, October 12, 2019

 

This morning I headed over to Seattle, to my California Scrub-Jay spot at the end of 15th Ave NE in the University District.  I parked and walked around, playing California Scrub-Jay songs.  It took about 20 minutes, and I'm not sure if the bird I finally saw had heard my playing or not, but I saw a California Scrub-Jay on a light standard.  The lighting was terrible, but here are a couple of pictures of the California Scrub-Jay with something in its beak.

 

 

California Scrub-Jays are uncommon around here, although the population is increasing, I think.  It was a repeater.

 

When I got back to my car, I heard a bird singing, and it turned out to be a Bewick's Wren.  I didn't need that one for this month, but I got three pictures.

 

 

 

On the way home I stopped off at the parking area behind Husky Stadium.  There are some places where you can see the water, and I knew that Green Herons lived in that area.  I didn't find anything at the boathouse, but as I drove out, I discovered a place to access more of the mouth of the creek there, from a biking/walking trail.  I had to park in a lot where I wasn't supposed to park, but I noticed that it is okay to park there on Sundays, and I'll be going back there in the future because it is a shorter walk to access the Montlake Fill area, compared to parking on the street on the other side.  I didn’t find any Green Herons today, but I was able to access a place where I have seen them before.  I did get a couple of pictures of a male Wood Duck in breeding plumage, though.

 

 

I stopped on more time, at Magnuson Park.  I walked a little, hoping to see Bushtits, which I need.  I didn't find any, but I saw a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers foraging in the tree tops.  Near that spot, I spotted another bird, and it turned to be a Townsend's Warbler, an uncommon bird around here, and one I don't see very often at all.  I had it on my spreadsheet for October, but I hadn't even assigned a percentage to it because I figured my chances of seeing one this month were less than 10%.  A lot less.

 

So, I ended up seeing two more species for October, and now I have 123 species this month.  That beats last October, and it is only the 12th of the month.  The scrub-jay was a repeater, too, and now I have 64 repeaters this month.  It was my first Townsend's Warbler in King county this year.  Last night I found that I had overlooked counting Eastern Kingbird in King county when I saw one on August 1, and with that correction and today's Townsend's Warbler, I now have 157 species in King county this year.

 

 

Monday, October 14, 2019

 

My first birding stop this morning was the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park.  I was hoping to find Bushtit, or even Red-breasted Sapsucker, but neither of those species showed up.  I played a sparrow song on my phone, though, and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW popped up briefly.  I got an excellent binocular look at it, but I couldn't lure it out for a picture, and then it disappeared into the blackberry brambles and never showed itself again.  It was my first one of the year.  They are an uncommon winter bird around here, and they have just started showing up in the last week or so.  I hadn't expected to find one so early in the season, but there it was.

 

Walking on down the road, I got this picture of a male Northern Flicker on top of a power pole.

 

I walked to the end of the road and started back to my car.  I saw seven Turkey Vultures circling overhead, and that surprised me very much.  It was the first time I have ever seen a Turkey Vulture at Juanita Bay Park, in the 20 years I have been birding there.  In addition to going on my Juanita Bay Park list, it was within 5 miles of home, so it went on my 5 Mile Radius list, too.  Of course, since it was the first of the year, the White-throated Sparrow also went on to my 5MR list.  Here are a couple of pictures of Turkey Vultures circling overhead.

 

 

Besides being my first Turkey Vultures at Juanita Bay Park, it is quite late in the season to see them.  They are migrating south for the winter, and they travel in groups.  This group of 7 probably was coming from somewhere well north of here, just passing through.

 

I took this picture of a Song Sparrow eating a red berry.  I think the berry is nightshade, and sparrows eat them in the fall.

 

That was all I got there, so I moved on to Marymoor Park.  I stopped at the pond near the rowing club first, hoping for Green Heron, but I didn't find one.  A male Wood Duck was sitting in the sun and I liked the way the reflection looked in the still water of the pond.

 

I went over to the main part of the park and looked for the pheasant and the Northern Shrike that have been reported there.  No luck, though.  I got some pictures of Savannah Sparrows.

 

 

 

Savannah Sparrows have been at Marymoor since March, but they will be leaving for the winter any day now.

 

I walked along the slough, hoping to find a Green Heron, but I missed again.  I did see six Wilson's Snipe, though, and took rather distant pictures in the morning sun.  Here is a shot with four Wilson's Snipe.

 

Here are three of them.

 

They were foraging and moving right along.  Here are two of the Wilson's Snipe.

 

Finally, here is a single Wilson's Snipe, scurrying along.

 

It was a beautiful sunny morning and there were lots of people with their dogs, but not many birds.  I did see another White-throated Sparrow, though, and this time I got some pictures.

 

It flew down to the ground and foraged around, and I got more pictures.

 

There are two morphs of White-throated Sparrow.  This one is called a white morph, and its "eyebrow" is white with a yellow spot in front of the eye.  The one I saw at Juanita Bay Park this morning was a tan morph, and the "eyebrow" was tan in color.  There are some other small plumage differences, too.  The bird was feeding with a Golden-crowned Sparrow, which is in the same sparrow family.  Here is the Golden-crowned Sparrow.

 

Here are three shots of the two species together - White-throated Sparrow and Golden-crowned Sparrow.

 

 

 

I'll go back to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park tomorrow morning and try to get a picture of the tan morph bird there.  There has been a White-throated Sparrow for the last two years in the same patch of blackberry vines there, and also Fox Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and White-crowned Sparrows.  It is still early, and there are lots of the red berries around, which is what seems to attract them.

 

Meanwhile, back at Marymoor, I drove through the park on my way out, and I saw a couple of Western Meadowlarks.  Here is a picture of one of them.

 

I didn't see a lot today, but I added to a number of lists, anyway.  White-throated Sparrow brings my year list to 293 species, my October list to 124 species, and my King county list to 158.  That and Turkey Vulture brings my 5 Mile Radius list to 108 species - that's birds seen within 5 miles of home.  Turkey Vulture also brings my Juanita Bay list to 102 species.

 

 

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

 

Yesterday, Tuesday, I went down to Juanita Bay Park and tried for a picture of the White-throated Sparrow on the fire station road.  I didn't see it, or anything else of interest.  I went across the road to the main part of the park and walked out on both boardwalks.  I didn't find anything I needed, but I took a few pictures.

 

I saw a couple of male Green-winged Teals, the first time I have seen that species in breeding plumage this fall.  Here are a couple of pictures of a male Green-winged Teal in breeding plumage.

 

 

You have to get a close look to see the fine pattern on the gray side of the bird.  Here is a picture of a Green-wing Teal pair.

 

I also got this picture of a Great Blue Heron yesterday.

 

I hadn't expected to do any birding today because it was supposed to rain all day, but the rain stopped for a while this morning, and I went back down to Juanita Bay Park.  I found nothing on the fire station road, but as I was driving to the main part of the park, I saw a flock of Bushtits.  I was stopped at a traffic light, and I was able to get my binoculars on one of them to verify the identification, although I was sure before that.  That was one of my three remaining repeaters this month.  Bushtits are pretty common, and I am surprised it took until this late in the month before I came across a flock of them.  I'll probably see them everywhere I go now.

 

I walked out onto the causeway at the main part of Juanita Bay Park, but I didn't find anything interesting.  I did see a Fox Sparrow, but the light was too dim to get a picture.  I got a shot of the Golden-crowned Sparrow it was associating with, though.

 

Bushtit gives me 125 species this month now, and since it was a repeater, it increased my repeater total to 65 this month.  There are only two more potential repeaters I can get this month (because there were 67 species I had seen in each of the first 9 months of the year, and now I have seen 65 of those this month).  Those two remaining possible repeaters are Cinnamon Teal and Black Oystercatcher.  Cinnamon Teal is quite unlikely, although barely possible, and Black Oystercatcher will require a longish drive up to Fidalgo Island and northern Whidbey Island.  If the weather cooperates, I'll try to do that, because there are two or three other species I could get on that same trip.  The weather for the next week looks unfavorable, though.  I don’t expect to do much birding at all in the next week, based on the weather forecast.

 

 

Friday, October 18, 2019

 

Both yesterday and today were windy and cloudy, but there wasn’t much rain either day, contrary to the forecasts.  I didn't do anything yesterday, mainly because of the wind, but today I went over to Marymoor Park.  I drove around and tried for the Northern Shrike that has been reported there, but didn't find it.  In the community gardens, I saw two Cooper's Hawks and got there two pictures of one of them.  This is a juvenile, and based on its size, I would say it was probably a male (females are larger than males).

 

 

The crows were harassing it, and eventually it flew off, and I chased it.  I got distant pictures of it, and then it flew back to the gardens.  Back at the gardens myself, I spotted the male Ring-necked Pheasant that has been hanging out there for months.

 

 

The crows didn't seem to mind it, and they were foraging in the same straw that the pheasant was feeding in.

 

I drove around some more, looking for the shrike, and I got this picture of a Canada Goose with three of its much smaller cousins, Cackling Geese.

 

I didn't notice it at the time, but there are two Killdeer in that picture, too, at the bottom.

 

I drove over to the pond near the rowing club, but all I saw there were a couple of Hooded Mergansers.  Here is the male Hooded Merganser in breeding plumage.

 

Here is the female Hooded Merganser.

 

That was it for today.  Ring-necked Pheasant was the only species I needed, and now I have 126 species in October.  The poor weather forecast continues.

 

 

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

 

The series of six storms that blew through here was finally clearing out this morning, and I went over to Marymoor Park.  I looked for the Northern Shrike, but I didn't find it or any of the other possibilities.  At the viewing mound, I got these two pictures of a Golden-crowned Sparrow that was feeding on weed seeds.

 

 

There were a lot of birds around this morning, but they were all common ones I already had this month.  Here is a male Spotted Towhee.

 

On the edge of one of the parking lots there were 5 or 6 Savannah Sparrows.  It is late for them around here, and they will no doubt be leaving soon for the south.  Here is one of the late-staying Savannah Sparrows.

 

Here is a Cooper's Hawk in a tree.

 

I walked along the slough, which was very high today, after all our rain.  Here is a picture of it with fall colors.  It is much wider than it has been all summer.

 

Only the middle channel had water in it last week.  A Belted Kingfisher posed for me, and I positioned myself to get a tree with red leaves in the background, for the color contrast.

 

The kingfisher preened itself and I took this picture.

 

After preening, the Belted Kingfisher stretched out its wings and tail and showed its feathers.

 

There was a group of Cedar Waxwings at the top of a bare tree, and most of them were juveniles.  I took some pictures of them, but the lighting was poor, and the pictures aren't good.  Fortunately, they were also feeding in a hawthorn tree nearby that was loaded with red berries.  Here is a Cedar Waxwing, maybe a mature one, with a berry in its bill.

 

Here is a juvenile Cedar Waxwing (with a streaky breast) that is swallowing a berry.  Down the hatch!

 

They were just gobbling them down whole, one after another.  Here is another one with a hawthorn berry.

 

There were a few American Robins feeding on the hawthorn berries, too.

 

Here is a robin swallowing a berry.

 

There were also a few Golden-crowned Sparrows joining in the feeding frenzy,

 

Here is a shot that shows two Golden-crowned Sparrows and a Cedar Waxwing.

 

The second Golden-crowned Sparrow is lurking in the bottom right corner of the picture.  Here are a couple more Cedar Waxwing shots.

 

 

After I got tired of that, I drove to the office area and walked around the mansion.  I didn't see anything I needed, but I did get a couple of pictures of a Red-tailed Hawk.

 

 

I had a nice walk in the fall colors and got some pictures, but I didn't get anything I needed for any lists.  It is supposed to be dry now for the rest of the month, except for maybe some showers on Friday afternoon and evening.  I don't have a lot to look for, but I plan to get out there and give it a try.

 

 

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

 

Today I went up to Skagit county in search of Black Oystercatcher.  I had seen the species in each month so far this year (a repeater, in other words), and I wanted to get it today.  I had 4 places to look.  I have seen them in each of the four places in the past, but it is always an uncommon bird and I don't usually find any.

 

On the way I stopped at Hayton Reserve, but I didn't see anything there.  There were half a dozen other species I needed that were possible today, and I was looking for them as well, of course.  My first oystercatcher site was March Point, east of Anacortes.  As I approached the point, I took this picture of a Mourning Dove on a wire in the lovely morning light.

 

A little farther along I saw a Red-tailed Hawk in the same light, so I took this picture.

 

I didn't find any oystercatchers on the beaches of March Point, so I moved on to site number 2, which was Washington Park, in Anacortes.  There is a loop drive through the woods, around a point, and there are views of the water in two or three places.  At the first place where you can see some rocks, I parked and walked to the edge of the cliff.  There were three Harlequin Ducks in the water, in the same nice morning light, so I took some pictures.  Here is a male Harlequin Duck.

 

Here is a front view of him.

 

Here is a much drabber female harlequin Duck.

 

Here is a front view of the female Harlequin Duck.

 

I looked around and darned if I didn’t spot a couple of Black Oystercatchers on some rocks below.  Pictures were tough because they were dark birds on dark rocks, with bright reflecting water behind them.  I struggled with exposures, and these were the best two shots I could manage.

 

 

I had my target species, and it wasn't even lunch time yet!  I bagged the other two oystercatcher sites and changed my plans.  I ate my lunch as I drove and went to the Samish Flats, which is the area north and west of the town of Mount Vernon, between Bay View and Edison.  Yesterday someone reported both Rough-legged Hawk and Short-eared Owl there.  Both of those are great species any time, but it is early for them, and these were about the first reports I have seen this fall.  I cruised around, but I didn't find either species.  I drove to Samish Island, which isn't actually an island, and went to the view point overlook on the north side of the "island".  I was hoping for Long-tailed Duck, which is another one that is just now starting to return for the winter, but I couldn't identify any.  I saw various sea birds, including Western Grebes, Common Loons, Red-throated Loons, Marbled Murrelets, and Surf Scoters.  I didn't need any of those for October, but it was the first time I had seen Red-throated Loon this year in Skagit county.

 

I scanned the water several times, and at one point I saw some gulls and cormorants that had obviously found a school of fish, and they were diving and flying around.  While I watched them, I noticed one bird with a white body and long dark wings.  It was chasing the gulls, and I realized it was a Parasitic Jaeger, a great bird.  It was only the second time I had seen one this year, and the first time I had ever seen one in Skagit county.

 

I retraced my steps back across the Skagit Flats, but I still didn't see any Rough-legged Hawks or Short-eared Owls.  I did see a couple of Northern Harriers, which look a lot like Short-eared Owls when they hunt.  Here is a picture of a female Northern Harrier on the ground.

 

I drove through the little town of Edison because I have seen Merlins there in the past, but not today.  I headed toward home, but stopped at Hayton Reserve again, and then Wylie Slough.  All day I was looking for swans, two species of which are just now starting to come back for the winter.  People have seen seeing Northern Shrikes in that area, too, another one I needed.  Eurasian Wigeon was also possible.  As I drove in to Wylie Slough, I saw a Brown Creeper, and took this distant picture.

 

Anyway, I drove through Wylie Slough and I saw an interesting-sized bird in a bare tree, and it turned out to be a Merlin, one I definitely needed.  It was only the third time I have seen a Merlin this year.  I took a lot of distant pictures, and here are four of them.

 

 

At that point, the Merlin took off and flew around, but I watched it, and it landed again a little closer.

 

 

After that, I took off for home, and on the way back to the highway, I took this picture of a Great Blue Heron in a field, with Mount Baker in the background.  As you can see, it was a beautiful sunny day.

 

It was a long day, and I drove almost 200 miles.  I didn't get many that I needed, but at this stage of the month, there aren't many left to get, and the quality today was outstanding.  I got the uncommon Black Oystercatcher, which was a repeater; I got the second Parasitic Jaeger of the year for me, and my first one ever in Skagit county;  and I got pictures of only the third Merlin I have seen this year.  Those three give me 129 species in October now (compared to last year's October total of 122).  I have 66 repeaters now.  I got 3 more species in Skagit county for the year, and now I have 151 species in Skagit county in 2019.  The Parasitic Jaeger brings my lifetime Skagit county list to 165 species.

 

 

Thursday, October 24, 2019

 

This morning I drove up to Tulalip Bay, which is west of Marysville, about a half hour north of here.  There were 3 species I thought might be possible, based on reports.  The main target was Ruddy Turnstone, a rarity around here.  I saw one over in West Seattle in August, I think, and again in September.  I missed the West Seattle one when I went over there earlier this month.  I found the Black Turnstones and Black-bellied Plovers, and the Ruddy Turnstone was supposedly hanging out with them.  I scanned through them a couple of times and eventually I found the rare Ruddy Turnstone.  I didn't find anything else there, though.

 

On my way home, I stopped at the Everett Sewage Ponds.  My target species was Bufflehead, a small duck that is just now starting to return to this area for the winter.  I didn't find any, and I'll keep looking for Buffleheads, since they should be around soon.  A Peregrine Falcon was in the same tree that I have seen one in for the last couple of months.  I think this is the third or fourth time I have seen it.  I already had that species this month, but here is a picture of the Peregrine Falcon..

 

It kind of fluffed up its feathers at one point.

 

Here it is, looking right at the camera.

 

I stopped again on my way out, and I took some pictures.  Here are three Eared Grebes.  That is an uncommon species around here, and we only see them as they migrate through here.

 

Here is a closer crop of two of the Eared Grebes.

 

I already had that one this month, but it was still good to see them and to get pictures.  There were hundreds of Ruddy Ducks out on the pond, as usual, and I got this picture that shows an Eared Grebe in front and a male Ruddy Duck in winter plumage behind it.

 

Here is a female Ruddy Duck.

 

There were about 20 Bonaparte's Gulls in one corner of the pond, fairly close.  I already had that one this month, too, but it is an excellent species so I took pictures.  Here are 2 Bonaparte's Gulls.

 

I think Bonaparte's Gull is an attractive, compact little gull.  In breeding season, their entire head is black, but in the winter they only have the black spot behind and below the eye.  Here are three more Bonaparte's Gulls.

 

Finally, here is a male Northern Pintail in breeding plumage.  Northern Pintails won't breed until next spring, but they are already molting into their breeding plumage.

 

Most ducks are already molting into their breeding plumage, but Ruddy Ducks won't change to breeding plumage until next April.  I think it is interesting how much variation there is in the annual molting schedules of various species.

 

The Ruddy Turnstone brings my October total to 130 species now.

 

 

Friday, October 25, 2019

 

I have a short report today, with no pictures.  It was overcast and windy, but I went down to Juanita Beach Park to look for Bufflehead and Eurasian Wigeon.  With my scope, I was able to find one male Bufflehead, way across the bay at Juanita Bay Park, but I wasn't able to find a Eurasian Wigeon among the American Wigeons that were rafting with the coots.  Still, it was one more for my October list.

 

I drove over to Marymoor Park, mainly looking for the Northern Shrike that people have seen there, but I stopped first at the rowing club pond.  There was nothing on the pond, but I played some Green Heron calls, and a Green Heron loudly called back to me from deep in the brush.  I would have rather seen it, but I count "heard only" birds when I'm sure of the identification, so it went on my October list.

 

I drove through the park and went up on the viewing mound, but I didn't see the shrike.  It started raining soon after that, but now we are supposed to have dry weather for a week.

 

So, I got two more species for October, and now I have 132 species this month.  I don't have very many species to look for now, but I hope to make at least one more trip up to Skagit county to try for some of the species that are just starting to return for the winter.

 

 

Sunday, October 27, 2019

 

I didn't do any birding yesterday, but today I went down to Juanita Bay Park, mainly just to get out of the house and walk a little.  At the fire station road, I was hoping for Red-breasted Sapsucker, Pileated Woodpecker, Varied Thrush, or maybe even a Sharp-shinned Hawk.  I have seen all four of those species there in the past, but they are all unlikely on any given visit.

 

I was also interested in getting a picture of White-throated Sparrow, which I saw there earlier this month, but I didn't get a picture.  I played White-throated Sparrow songs, and one did indeed show up.  It was very shy and only stuck around a minute or two, and it stayed back in the blackberry brambles.  Here is the only decent picture I got, and the bird is slightly out of focus.  White-throated Sparrow.

 

There were 2 or 3 Song Sparrows around, as usual, and I got this picture of a Song Sparrow with a berry (nightshade, I think).

 

Sparrows don't seem to just gulp down nightshade berries whole, like other species do with hawthorn berries.  They chew at them and break them up and then swallow the parts.  I think maybe the nightshade berries are a little larger than the hawthorn berries, or maybe there is some other reason.

 

I also got this picture of a Spotted Towhee from the rear.  I like the red eye of Spotted Towhees.

 

I walked to the end of the fire station road, and near the end, I distinctly heard the loud call of a Pileated Woodpecker, a species I needed still for October.  I tried to see it, but never did.  Since I count "heard only" birds, it went on my list, anyway.

 

I headed toward home, but I decided to stop at Juanita Beach Park, on the north side of the bay.  I was looking for Eurasian Wigeon, an uncommon duck that had been reported there.  Eurasian Wigeons breed in Alaska and Siberia, along with American Wigeons, but the Eurasian ones migrate down the coast of Asia in the winter, while American Wigeons migrate down the North American coast.  A small number of Eurasian Wigeons go the wrong way and come down the North American coast, and it is estimated that about 1% of the wigeons in Western Washington in the winter are Eurasian Wigeons.  American Wigeons spend the winter in large flocks usually, so one has to search through each flock, looking for a Eurasian Wigeon.  One had been reported at Juanita Beach Park last week, but I hadn't seen it earlier this week when I was there.

 

Well, today I found it, hanging out with its American cousins.  Here are three rather distant pictures of the male Eurasian Wigeon.

 

 

 

The pictures are poor, but they serve to identify the bird.  I also saw a dozen or more Buffleheads.  I had seen that species last week at the same site, but far across the bay.  Today they were much closer, and I got some mediocre pictures of Buffleheads.  Here is a picture of a pair of Buffleheads, with the male flapping his stubby little wings.

 

Here are two more pictures of some Buffleheads.  The males are the white ones with the white wedges on their heads, and the females are the dark ones with white dashes behind their eyes.

 

 

That was it for today.  Pileated Woodpecker and Eurasian Wigeon brought my October total to 134 species.  I may not get any more this month, but I plan to go up to Skagit county on Wednesday, and I could pick up one or two more then.  There are one or two species I could get more locally on Monday or Tuesday, too, and I can always try for photos.

 

 

Monday, October 28, 2019

 

Today I started at Marymoor Park, looking for the Northern Shrike that has been reported there recently.  I didn't find it, and I drove on to the Snoqualmie River Valley.  Along W. Snoqualmie River Road SE, I saw several Muscovy Ducks in a pond, where I have seen them before.  Muscovy Ducks are raised domestically, presumably for eggs, and I imagine these are escapees from a farm in the valley.  They are not countable, according to the birding rules, so I don't count them.  I took a picture of a pair of them, though.

 

There was a lot of water in fields and the ponds were very high, because it had flooded there last week.  A little farther along the road I saw two Trumpeter Swans in a pond, and that was an October bird for me.  Here are the two Trumpeter Swans.

 

Something seemed to be going on with my camera today, and I discarded most of my pictures.  This has happened before, and I wonder if it is time to get a new camera.

 

I stopped in Carnation at the house with feeders, but there wasn't much action there.  Near the bridge over the Snoqualmie River at Chinook Bend, I saw an American Kestrel hunting.  I took some pictures, but my camera difficulties struck again.  Here is the only picture that is even halfway decent, of the female American Kestrel.

 

At Sikes Lake there were five more Trumpeter Swans and some ducks, but nothing I needed.  When I left there, I got this picture of a juvenile Cooper's Hawk, as I went across the valley.

 

It has been a big month for Cooper's Hawks for me, most of them juveniles.

 

Trumpeter Swan brings me to 135 species for October.  I don't expect to do much more birding this month, but I could still pick up one or two more species.  Or not.  November is right around the corner, and then I can start all over again.

 

 

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

 

Last night I saw a report that both Common Goldeneyes and Barrow's Goldeneyes had been seen on the Edmonds waterfront yesterday, and I needed those two for October.  They are just now starting to come back from their breeding grounds, and this was my opportunity, maybe, to get both species.

 

I started off at Kayu Kayu Ac Park in Richmond Beach.  I got this picture of a group of Buffleheads offshore.

 

Last week I was looking everywhere for Buffleheads and I finally saw one at Juanita Beach Park, but now they are everywhere.  I saw them at each place I stopped today.  I also saw a group of about a dozen Barrow's Goldeneyes from the lookout platform at Kayu Kayu Ac Park, but they were too far away for a picture.  Still, I had one of my two species at my first stop.

 

I headed up the coast to Edmonds, but I stopped briefly at the place where I have seen California Quail before.  I already had that one this month, but I wanted to check it out for next month, to see if they were still around, and I also hoped to get pictures.  I didn't see any, but I did hear one call, so they are still around there.

 

At the Edmonds waterfront, I walked out onto the fishing pier. I didn't see anything I needed there, but I got some pictures.  Here are a couple of pictures of Heermann's Gulls.  Their sooty gray coloration and bright orange bills are interesting, I think.

 

 

On the breakwater I saw a single Surfbird.  I had that one this month, but it is an uncommon bird around here, so I was glad to see it.  Here are a couple of pictures of the Surfbird.  The lighting was poor because the bird was in the shade and I was looking right toward the sun in the background.

 

 

There were some European Starlings foraging in the seaweed on the rocks, too, and here is one of them.

 

After that I went up to Sunset Avenue and used my scope.  There were a lot of Buffleheads around, as well as Red-necked Grebes and these two Horned Grebes.

 

I moved a little farther up the street, and I found a group of five Common Goldeneyes, my second target species of the day.  They were much too far away for pictures. 

 

In the hopes of getting more pictures, I drove up to Ocean Avenue.  There were several Buffleheads there, too, and the light was good for pictures.  In most light, the heads of the males just look black and white, but in the sun this morning, you could see the iridescence of the black parts of their heads.

 

The ones with the white on them are males, and the dark ones are female Buffleheads.  Here are more pictures of Buffleheads in the nice light.

 

 

Here is one last Bufflehead picture, of a pair of them.

 

Here is a Horned Grebe.

 

There were a couple of female Common Mergansers close to shore, so I took pictures.

 

 

Getting the two goldeneye species today brings me to a total of 137 species for October, and I probably won't get any more.  Last year I had 122 species in October.

 

My end of the month summary shows me at 66 repeaters (species I have seen in each month so far this year), and I have 293 species in 2019 now.  In my 3-county list, I have 158 species in King county this year, 138 in Snohomish county, and 151 species in Skagit county.  Just to finish off my lists, I have 108 species in my 5 Mile Radius circle - species that I have seen within 5 miles of home this year.

 

I don't expect to have anything to report tomorrow, and on Friday November starts.