Click here to return to 2020 Birding Reports:  http://www.barry15.com/2020_Birding_Reports

 

 

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

 

Since I'm not birding in April this year due to the coronavirus crisis, here are some of my pictures from previous April 1st's.

 

2017

 

I was in Southern California on April 1 in 2017.  I had just finished about a week in the San Diego area, and on April 1 I was driving from my sister's house in north San Diego county to somewhere along I-5 in the Central Valley of California.  I stopped to look for birds at San Joachin Preserve in Irvine and walked around a bit.  Here is an American Avocet.

 

There were some American White Pelicans around, and here's a shot of one flying overhead.

 

There were a few Western Grebes on the ponds, and at least one Clark's Grebe.  The two species are very similar, and here are a couple of pictures that illustrate the differences.  First, here is a Western Grebe, the more common of the two species in my experience.

 

Note the color of the bill (greenish orange) and the location of the eye (surrounded by black feathers).  Here is a very similar Clark's Grebe.

 

 

The bill is more orange and the eye is surrounded by white feathers, rather than black ones.  "The eye is in the white."

 

There were some White-faced Ibis there, too, a colorful species with an interesting curved bill.

 

Later in the breeding season, there will be a border of white feathers around the bare red skin between the eye and the bill, and that gives the species its name.

 

Next I stopped at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, in Huntington Beach.  I saw some good species there, and here is a picture I like of a Marbled Godwit.

 

From there I endured the terrible Los Angeles traffic and drove to my Motel 6 in the Central Valley.

 

 

2018

 

In 2018, April 1 was Easter Sunday, and I was visiting my sister in north San Diego county.  In the morning I went over to a little park in La Jolla, looking for a rarity.  I didn't find the rarity, but I got this picture of a male Hooded Oriole.

 

After that I went back to my sister's house and had a nice Easter brunch with her and her daughter.  After brunch, the three of us drove out to Lake Hodges and walked around seeing birds.  Here is a distant shot of a California Thrasher.

 

Here is a Cassin's Kingbird sitting on a wire.

 

It's interesting how its feathers are fluffed up so it looks like the wire goes right through its body.  It might have been a female.  Female birds get fluffy feathers on their undersides when they are sitting on eggs or chicks.

 

Here's a clown-faced Acorn Woodpecker.

 

 

That was an excellent day of birding, and I got 46 species that day.

 

 

2019

 

Last year on April 1 I was again in the San Diego area, visiting my sister.  I birded around the San Diego River mouth and Mission Bay, and then on my way back to my sister's house I stopped at the San Dieguito River.  Here is a picture of a Whimbrel I saw there.

 

There were a lot of little crabs on the mud there, and the Whimbrel caught one of them and ate it.

 

Here's a Snowy Egret.

 

Here is another shorebird, a Willet.  I am trying to show birds we don't get in Washington, and Willets are rare here.

 

Back at my sister's house, there were birds in her yard.  Here is a male Western Bluebird.

 

And here is a female Western Bluebird, with her more subdued colors.

 

That April 1 was another excellent day of birding, and I got 55 species that day.

 

Those are the best of my April 1st pictures I could find.  Today was Day 16 of Social Distancing, counting from the first day they closed the bars and restaurants here in Washington State, which was Saint Patrick's Day, March 17.

 

 

Thursday, April 2, 2020

 

Continuing my retrospective of past Aprils, here are some pictures from past April 2nd's.

 

 

2017

 

On April 2, 2017, I drove from the Central Valley of California to Monterey, heading for home.  At the Moonglow Dairy, north of Monterey, I got this picture of a Horned Lark.

 

At the state park at Moss Landing, I got this picture of a Long-billed Curlew, a shorebird we don’t see in Washington.

 

In 2018 I was still in San Diego on April 2, and that day an old friend, Chris, drove down from Orange county and went around with me as I looked for birds.  At the Dairy Mart ponds, just north of the border with Mexico, I got this picture of a Black-crowned Night-Heron.

 

Here's a picture of a couple of male Cinnamon Teal, preening.  You can see the various colors of the wing patch on one of them.

 

At the Bird and Butterfly Garden near there, we were lucky enough to see 2 or 3 Black-throated Magpie-Jays.  That is a very colorful species that isn't officially countable according to the American Birding Association because the ones around that location are deemed to be escapees from across the border, where people keep them in aviaries, supposedly.  They have been breeding in the area for years, though, and someday maybe they will be officially countable.  Meanwhile, I think they are beautiful birds, and I count them.  Here are a couple of pictures of a Black-throated Magpie-Jay.

 

 

That's quite some tail on that bird.

 

Later that day, at the San Diego River mouth, I took these two pictures of Ruddy Ducks.  First, here is the plain looking female Ruddy Duck.

 

Here is her mate, a male Ruddy Duck, in his almost-breeding plumage glory.  Check out that bill.  The bill will get even bluer, and the body redder soon.

 

In 2019 I was also in San Diego, and on April 2, Chris came down from Orange county again, and we were joined by our old friend, John.  We have all known each other since high school.  In La Jolla, I got this picture of a Black Phoebe.

 

Down near the border, at the Dairy Mart ponds again, I got this picture of an Orange-crowned Warbler.

 

At the J Street Marina in Chula Vista, I got this picture of two Gull-billed Terns.

 

At the San Diego River, I got this picture of a Little Blue Heron with a fish.

 

After that, John went home (he lives east of San Diego), but Chris and I stopped at the San Dieguito River Park on Via De La Valle.  I got several good birds there, including this California Thrasher.

 

I see Anna's Hummingbirds here at home almost every day, coming to our feeder, but that day I got this picture of a male Anna's Hummingbird that I like.

 

So, there is another little walk down memory lane, and some pictures from California, taken on various April 2nd's.

 

Today was Day 17 of Social Distancing, by my count.

 

 

Friday, April 3, 2020

 

I stayed home today (no surprise there).  Looking back at 2014, on April 3 I birded locally at Marymoor Park.  I got this picture of a Red-breasted Sapsucker, a member of the woodpecker family.  There is sexual dimorphism in most woodpeckers, but male and female Red-breasted Sapsuckers look the same, as far as I can tell.

 

That day I also took this picture of a female Northern Flicker.

 

On April 3 in 2017, I was in the Monterey area, on my way home from San Diego.  The only picture I got that day that I like is this Red-tailed Hawk.

 

In 2018, on April 3 I was still in the San Diego area, and I got these next two pictures in my sister's neighborhood, in Rancho Santa Fe.  Here is a White-crowned Sparrow.

 

Song Sparrows are quite common birds, but the ones in the San Diego area are much lighter in color than our Song Sparrows here in western Washington.  Here is a Southern California Song Sparrow, singing its heart out.

 

At the San Dieguito River that day, I got this picture of a male Hooded Oriole, a species we don’t get up here in Washington.

 

Later I visited San Dieguito county park, and I got this picture of a House Wren singing.  We get House Wrens east of the Cascades here in Washington, and occasionally on the west side of the mountains.

 

California Scrub-Jays (formerly called Western Scrub-Jay) are moving north, and we have started getting them around here, but they are common in California.  Here is a California Scrub-Jay.

 

On April 3 in 2019, I was again in the San Diego area, and I went to the San Elijo Lagoon visitor center to look for birds.  I saw this cute little Bewick's Wren, a species we have here in our yard at home.

 

That location is a good one for an uncommon bird with a quite restricted range, California Gnatcatcher.  I found one and got this picture of him.  I think he was eating tiny bugs on the bottoms of leaves.

 

I walked the trails a bit, and found a male Common Yellowthroat, a warbler species we have around here in the summer.

 

There was a bird calling loudly and repeatedly, but I had a difficult time locating it.  Finally I spotted it in the distance, through the trees.  Here is a distant shot of a male Black-headed Grosbeak, my first of that species for the year.

 

There is a California woodpecker that I am always looking for when I'm down there, and I spotted this Nuttall's Woodpecker and got this picture.  It isn't ideal, but it's a good bird, so here it is.

 

It looks very much like a Downy Woodpecker, but Downy Woodpeckers have a large white patch on their backs.  A Savannah Sparrow posed for me, so I took this picture.

 

Kingbirds are members of the flycatcher family, and there are two very similar kingbirds that can be found in the San Diego area (actually, other kingbird show up there, but that's rare).  The one that lives there year round is Cassin's Kingbird, and I got this picture of one at the San Elijo visitor center.

 

Late in the day I was driving back to my sister's house in Rancho Santa Fe and I saw a pair of Western Bluebirds.  Here is the male Western Bluebird.

 

I think I showed pictures of Western Bluebirds in yesterday's report, but you can't have too many blue colored birds, in my opinion.  Here is the female Western Bluebird.

 

So, there are some April 3 birds from the past.  This was Day 18 of social distancing, and I'm staying home and doing well.

 

 

Saturday, April 4, 2020

 

My retrospective report for past April 4th's starts with 2017.  I was retuning home from a California trip on April 4, 2017, and I stopped in Ashland, Oregon, at a place called the Ashland Ponds on eBird.  I was looking specifically for a cute little bird called a Wrentit.  We don’t get them in Washington.  I found the site and walked around, playing the Wrentit song.  One responded and posed for me.  Here's a picture of the cute little Wrentit.

 

On that same pond there was a pair of Ring-necked Ducks.  They are common enough, even here in Washington, but the male Ring-necked Duck stretched out his neck for me, and I was able to see the brown ring around its neck.  That ring is what gives the species its name, but I rarely see it because they usually keep their necks pulled in.  Here is the male Ring-necked Duck, showing his brown neck ring.

 

In 2018 I was also heading for home from the San Diego area, and I stopped in the Orange county, California area to look for birds.  At Central Park in Huntington Beach, I added Egyptian Goose to my year list and got this picture.

 

That isn't a native American species, but they are now breeding in the wild, after having been released or escaping, and they are actually officially countable, according to the American Birding Association.

 

I moved on to Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and walked around.  Here is a Forster's Tern, a species we don't see in Washington.

 

Terns mostly look pretty much alike, but the orange legs and the orange bill with the black tip marked this one as a Forster's Tern.  There was a Merlin sitting on the ground behind a fence.  That seemed like a strange place to find a Merlin, but I took some pictures.  We have them locally, here in Washington, but they are uncommon, and I don't see them often.

 

After that I went to the San Joaquin Sanctuary in Irvine and walked some more.  I saw ducks, geese, and shorebirds there.  Here is a Black-necked Stilt.

 

In 2019, I was still in the San Diego area.  A stop at Carmel Creek got me these pictures of a Wrentit.  I don't see Wrentits very often, but this is the second one I have shown in this retrospective report.  Here is a side view of the Wrentit, shwoing its white iris and long tail.

 

Here's a close-up picture of the Wrentit from the front, showing its delicate little feathers.

 

At Crest Canyon Park, in north San Diego, I got some pictures of hummingbirds.  Here is a male Allen's Hummingbird, a specialty of Southern California.

 

 

Male Allen's Hummingbirds look very much like their cousins, Rufous Hummingbirds, but Rufous Hummingbirds don't have any green on their backs, like this bird does.  Here is a female hummingbird, and I can't tell if it is an Allen's Hummingbird or a Rufous Hummingbird.  The females of the two species are identical for all practical purposes.  Most likely it is a female Allen's Hummingbird, since they are resident there, but Rufous Hummingbirds do migrate through San Diego, so it could have been a female Rufous Hummingbird.

 

Here is a California Scrub-Jay.  I like blue colored birds, of course.

 

Here is another California specialty that we don't get up here in Washington State, a California Towhee.

 

After that stop, I drove to the San Diego River estuary.  I saw various species there, including this Belted Kingfisher.  It looks kind of wet and windblown.

 

Here the Belted Kingfisher is showing off its tail pattern.

 

Love those blue colored birds.

 

I made one more stop that day, at Famosa Slough, just south of the San Diego River.  There was a little stream, and birds were coming to the stream to bathe and drink.  I got my folding chair from my car and sat there and watched them for 20 or 30 minutes.  I was pleased to see an uncommon warbler, Townsend's Warbler come to the water and bathe.  In this first picture, it was a little wet from a brief bath.

 

Here is the Townsend's Warbler actually bathing.

 

I also saw a male Hooded Oriole there at Famosa Slough.

 

For comparison, here is a female Hooded Oriole that I saw that morning.

 

So, that was April 4th for me in the past.  I hope you enjoyed the visit.  This is Day 20 of social distancing, and we have a long way to go still.

 

 

Sunday, April 5, 2020

 

Up to today, my retrospective look at past April dates has been easy, but April 5 is more difficult.  I do have a couple of pictures from 2017 that I'll show, though.  I was returning home after a California trip, and I stopped in Woodlands Bottoms, near the Oregon-Washington border and got a couple of pictures.  Here is a Great Horned Owl on its nest.

 

Here is a male American Kestrel on a wire.

 

I have nothing on any other April 5th's, though, except for last year.  To save myself the trouble of a lot of writing, I'm just going to include the entire Birding Report from Friday, April 5, 2019.  It was a travel day, but I only traveled a short distance, and I got a lot of birds and pictures.  I was going to include almost all the pictures, anyway, so here is the whole enchilada.

 

Friday, April 5, 2019

 

Today was a travel day, but only a short distance.  I drove up to Orange County, and after picking up a sandwich at Subway, I went to the San Joaquin Sanctuary, which is adjacent to a water treatment plant and has a number of ponds, with paths and vegetation between them.  As I arrived, I saw a bird down by the river, and it was one of my target species for the day, EGYPTIAN GOOSE.  I parked and went back to get a picture, but the bird had flown.  As it turned out, I saw more of them today, and I’ll show some pictures later.

 

A woman in a ranger outfit told me about an uncommon to rare bird for this area, and told me where to find it.  I walked out onto the paths, and soon added American Avocet and Black-necked Stilt to my April list.  Here is an American Avocet.

 

Here’s a Black-necked Stilt.

 

I had read that yesterday there had been a couple of Redheads seen there, and I soon found them.  That was a great April bird.  Here is the female Redhead.

 

Here is the male Redhead, showing how the species gets its name.

 

There were some dowitchers by the path, and I got this picture of a Long-billed Dowitcher, a species I had already seen this month in San Diego.

 

Here’s a picture of another species I had seen in San Diego, Eared Grebe.

 

There were Ruddy Ducks around, and here is the plain female Ruddy Duck.

 

Here is the male Ruddy Duck, in breeding plumage, again illustrating how the species got its name.

 

I found the bird the woman in the ranger outfit had told me about, a CATTLE EGRET in breeding plumage.  Here’s a picture.

 

I added Canada Goose to my April list, and then American White Pelican.  I mentioned I had seen an Egyptian Goose as I arrived, and I got this distant picture of two of them later.

 

I walked back to my car through the garden area, and was lucky to have a Say’s Phoebe fly in and pose for me.  That was an excellent April bird.  Here are a couple of pictures of the Say’s Phoebe.

 

 

I got my sandwich from the car and ate while I watched the garden area.  I was really lucky and another species I had especially wanted to see flew in and checked me out.  Here are a couple of pictures of a Scaly-breasted Munia, formerly called Nutmeg Mannikin, and known popularly as a spice finch.

 

 

It was interesting because the bird flew in, looked at me for a minute or so, and then flew away.  It was as if it was showing itself off to me because it knew I wanted to see that species today.

 

On my way out of the sanctuary, I stopped across the driveway at one of the ponds and got this picture of a male Cinnamon Teal, another example of a duck species whose name reflects the appearance of the male, when in breeding plumage.

 

I went across the river to Mason Regional Park, which is in Irvine.  I hadn’t ever been there before.  It was a well manicured city park, which isn’t usually good for birding, but there were some wilder areas around the edges.  I had wanted to go there because people report Egyptian Goose there, and I didn’t know I would see that species at San Joaquin.  I found the pair of Egyptian Geese with goslings that I had read about, and I took these next two pictures.

 

I assume that was the male because he was on his own, more or less, and nearby the female was tending to the youngsters.

 

After having a little snooze in my car, I walked along the dry creek bed and looked for birds.  I found a couple of HUTTON’S VIREOS, an unexpected year-bird.  They stuck around for pictures, but were constantly moving.  Here are the best two pictures I could get.

 

 

I sat on benches a few times, and slowly moved around.  Here is a Mourning Dove I saw at one point while I was sitting on a bench.

 

Along the lake I saw a cute little Spotted Sandpiper, a species I had seen in San Diego this week.  The ones I saw in San Diego were in winter plumage, with pure white undersides, but this one was getting his summer plumage, which consists largely of spots on its undersides.

 

I was almost back to my car when I saw some Cedar Waxwings high in a dead tree.  That was a good April bird, but I wanted a picture, and the light was all wrong.  I went around to the other side of the tree, to get a good angle for a picture, and while doing that I spotted a WILSON’S WARBLER, another excellent April bird.  I got some Cedar Waxwing pictures, and here is the best one.

 

Right after taking that picture, I saw another little bird in a tree, and it turned out to be a Ruby-crowned Kinglet for my April list.  It’s funny how birding goes sometimes.  I had been walking around seeing nothing I needed, then I saw the Cedar Waxwings, and while trying for pictures of them, I got two more good species.

 

So, when all was said and done, I added 13 more species to my April list, and now I have 113.  Five of them were new for the year, and now I have 226 for the year.  Tonight I’m staying in Orange county with my old friend, Chris, from high school days (who came down to San Diego on Tuesday), and tomorrow we plan to drive to Sacramento, where we are having what we call a Reunion, with Fred, another friend from those same days.  We will be staying at Fred’s house in Sacramento for four nights, playing a lot of cards.  Then Chris and I plan to drive to Seattle, and he’ll stay one night with us before flying back home to Orange County.  I don’t know how much birding I’ll be able to do in the next several days, and I won’t have a lot of time to process pictures and write reports, so it will be hit and miss for the next week.

 

 

So, that's my retrospective report for April 5.  It was a lazy man's way to write a report for today, but it seemed like the thing to do.  Today was Day 20 of social distancing, counting from the day they closed the bars and restaurants here in Washington.  20 days down - how many more to go?

 

 

Monday, April 6, 2020

 

It turns out that I don't have any pictures from past April 6th's, so I'm doing something different today.  In 2012, I was preparing for my first birding trip to Texas.  I was planning to be there for spring migration, and among lots of other species, many species of warblers would be coming up the gulf coast of Texas.  In a few days, I'll be able to start showing pictures from that trip, and I'm looking forward to that, but in the meantime, today I'm presenting a gallery of warblers that I assembled ahead of my April 2012 trip, to help me learn these species, most of which would be lifers for me, if I saw them.  I posted this in April of 212, and here is a reprise.

 

Texas trip warblers:

I’m planning a 25 day trip to East Texas in April and May, and one of the big features of that trip for me will be Eastern warblers.  Since I have only done a little birding in the East, most will be new for me.  There are potentially 37 species of warbler that I could see on the trip, of which 26 would be lifers for me (that is, I haven’t ever seen those species).  Going into the trip, I have seen only 3 of those species this year.  In preparation, I’m trying to learn as many of them as possible.  To make matters more complicated, the males and the females are different in some of the species.  I’ve accumulated a set of pictures from the web, to help me learn them.  Here is a gallery of the possible 37 species of warblers that I might see on the Texas trip:

 

http://barry15.com/2012_Birding_Reports/Warblers/index.html

 

Click on a thumbnail to see a larger version, and then you can advance using the arrows.

 

 

Follow those directions and click (or tap) on a thumbnail, and you will see a larger version of that picture.  Then you can advance through the pictures using the arrows at the top right of the page.  I hope this works, it's an experiment.  I would appreciate any feedback, one way or the other, as to whether it works for you or not.

 

Meanwhile, stay safe.

 

 

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

 

In 2016, I was here at home on April 7.  I went up to Edmonds, and at the Willow Creek fish hatchery, I got this picture of a male Spotted Towhee.

 

There was a Red-breasted Sapsucker there, too, and I got this picture of it.

 

In 2017, I was also at home on April 7, and I went down to Juanita Bay Park in the morning.  A Double-crested Cormorant with breeding plumes swam near one of the lookout points, and I got this picture.

 

Here's a shot of a pair of Buffleheads.  The male is the more boldly plumaged one, on the right.

 

Red-winged Blackbirds are very active in April, and here's a shot of a juvenile male Red-winged Blackbird.  It looks very much like a female Red-winged Blackbird, except for the red spot on its wing.

 

As usual, there was a Great Blue Heron there, and I got this close-up picture of its head.

 

After lunch I went over to Marymoor Park that day.  I parked where I could see one of the bird feeders near the office, and I took pictures of the birds that came in to feed.  Here are a couple of pictures of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

 

 

Here is a Black-capped Chickadee.

 

 

Dark-eyed Juncos are always abundant around feeders here, and here is a male Dark-eyed Junco.

 

 

A more uncommon species came in, too.  Here are a couple of pictures of a Pine Siskin.

 

 

A White-crowned Sparrow was feeding under the feeder, eating the seed that the other birds spilled.

 

In 2019, I was still in Sacramento on April 7, on my way home from my California trip.  My old buddies and I were having a Reunion, and we took a break from the card playing and went to Ancil Hoffman park.  I got this picture of a Wild Turkey there.

 

I also got this picture of one of the Sacramento areas special birds, a couple of Yellow-billed Magpies.

 

So, that was April 7 in my past.  Here in 2020, I'm staying home and doing a lot of reading.  This is Day 22 of social distancing, by my count.

 

 

April 8, 2020

 

I don't have anything very interesting today, but starting tomorrow I should have some more interesting pictures from the past.  On April 8, 2014, I flew to Houston Texas to begin a 3 week trip that was outstanding.  That first day was my travel day from Seattle, but I got there early enough to go out looking for birds in the evening light.  Here is a Greater Yellowlegs, in a pond behind my motel.

 

There was a Solitary Sandpiper there, too, and here's a picture of the Greater Yellowlegs and the Solitary Sandpiper together.  The smaller Solitary Sandpiper is closer to the camera.  At the time I thought the Solitary Sandpiper was a Lesser Yellowlegs, but now I believe it was actually a Solitary Sandpiper.  The plumage was my first clue, but the color of the legs is pretty conclusive, I think.  A Lesser Yellowlegs would have the same bright orangish-yellow legs as the Greater Yellowlegs, but this bird has greenish-yellow legs, like a Solitary Sandpiper.

 

Here's a poor picture of a Snowy Egret.

 

Finally, here is a Killdeer at that same pond.

 

In 2016, I was here at home, and I went down to Juanita Beach Park.  A White-crowned Sparrow was singing in the parking lot, and I got this picture.

 

In 2017, I was also at home, and at Marymoor Park, I took this picture of a male Common Merganser.

 

Finally, last year in 2019, I was still in Sacramento with my old buddies, having our Reunion.  We took a break from the card playing and visited the Nimbus Fish Hatchery on the American River, and I got some pictures.  Here is a Canada Goose and a domestic goose that must have escaped or been turned loose.

 

Here's a Double-crested Cormorant sitting on a wire above the river.

 

A Common Goldeneye was swimming in the river.  I think it was a juvenile male, and here is a picture.

 

There were some Common Mergansers in the river, as well.  Here is a male Common Merganser, followed by a female Common Merganser.

 

 

So, that's it for past April 8th's.  This was Day 23 of social distancing.  I'm hoping to be able to resume birding on May 1, but maybe I'm being overly optimistic.  We seem to be past our peak of infections here in Washington State now, but we will have to wait and see.  It's going to be very dependent on how well we keep up the social distancing regimen.

 

 

Thursday, April 9, 2020

 

Okay, here is the oddest Birding Report so far this month.  Rather than pick out some pictures from past April 9's, I'm going to include two full reports from past April 9's. 

 

Here is Part 1.

 

April 9, 2014.  I was just starting a three week trip to Texas, my second April trip to Texas.  I had flown in to Houston the day before and stayed near the airport.  I saw two lifers that day, and I haven't ever seen either one of them again since then.

 

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

 

I managed to get to sleep at about 11:15 last night, Texas time, which was great, as it was only 9:15 at home.  I can’t usually fall asleep that early, and if I do, I have a waking period during the night.  Last night was good, though, so maybe I will adapt to the time change quickly.  I was up at about 7:15 this morning, so I got my eight hours of sleep.  I called Avis at about 8:30 to see if they could pick me up at my motel, and they said a driver would be there in about a half hour to pick me up.  Excellent!

 

Car rental prices out of Bush Intercontinental Airport here were absurdly high.  Avis was higher than any of them, and their best price for any car at all was about $2700 for three weeks.  Absolutely out of the ballpark.  They must only rent to corporate people who have company rates, and other suckers who don’t know any better.  I prefer Avis, but I had been able to book an intermediate sedan with Enterprise for about $1100, still an outrageously high price for three weeks.  These prices were with the 20% to 35% discount that Costco members get, which made them even more absurd.  I discovered that if I rented from Avis at their Humble, Texas office, which is about 8 miles from Bush Intercontinental Airport, the rates were far, far less.  I canceled the Enterprise booking and booked a “standard” size sedan for only $608 for three weeks with Avis at their Humble Texas office – that is over $2000 less than the rate from the same company at the airport, eight miles away.  Amazing!  I kept checking, though, and later they reduced their price on an “intermediate” SUV, and I switched my reservation to that, for $730.  I got a Ford Escape, which is more “small” than intermediate, if you ask me, but I am satisfied with it.  I sure don’t understand why it is $2000 less than if I had rented the same car from the same company at the airport, 8 miles away.  It shows that it can really pay to shop sometimes.

 

Anyway, they picked me up at about 9:15, I got my Ford Escape (white, which is what I really wanted because it doesn’t get as hot in the sun) and I went back to the motel and packed up.

 

I finally got to my first birding site, Jesse H Jones Park, at about 10:45, and I started my official birding for the trip.  My first new bird for the trip was Mourning Dove, followed by NORTHERN CARDINAL.  Cardinals are quite common and very vocal, so I hear them all the time.  They have a number of different calls and I’m still learning to recognize them again, after not hearing them for two years.  Here is a male Northern Cardinal, which I actually saw later in the day at another site.

 

Here is a picture of one of the “trails” at Jesse H Jones Park.

 

The trails were mostly asphalt, which is why I used the quotation marks around trails.  I walked in the woods and listened to all the bird calls.  If I knew the eastern bird calls, I could have had more species today, I’m sure, but I don’t know them, so I had to look for each one.  It isn’t easy in a forest, and most of the birds seemed to be up high and not easy to find.

 

I played the call of a warbler I knew was common there, and one flew in right away.  I got PINE WARBLER for my year list.  Here is a picture I got a little later of another Pine Warbler, I think.

 

It is a very odd pose, but several of my pictures today have odd poses in them, I notice.

 

I soon added TUFTED TITMOUSE to my year list.  They are quite common here.  Here is a picture of one, in an odd pose, of all things.

 

Here is a more conventional picture of that same bird, although it twisted its head at the last second, so it is a bit odd, too.

 

Neither picture shows the crest which gives it its name.  I’ll keep trying.

 

I passed by a pile of logs and brush, and I know that a wren I need for my year list likes that kind of habitat, so I played its song.  Sure enough, almost right away, a HOUSE WREN popped up, to check me out.  It moved around a lot, and I was only able to shoot one picture of it, and it isn’t ideal, but it does show the little darling.  Interestingly, the park bird list shows them as common in the winter but rare in the spring, so I guess this one is hanging on after spending the winter here.

 

I heard an interesting call at one point, so I looked for the bird.  This time I found it, a lovely male SUMMER TANAGER.  Here is a picture of him.

 

He is red, like the male Northern Cardinal, but the cardinal has black around his face, and the bill is quite different.  Here is another picture of the tanager.  I didn’t know they could raise the feathers on their heads like this bird is doing.

 

It was pleasant walking in the woods, but it got warmer than I had expected, eventually.  I thought the forecast was for mid-70’s, but it was low 80’s by the time I was through today.  Still, that isn’t too bad, since I wasn’t exactly exerting myself.  I was very pleased that the mosquitoes weren’t bothering me at all, as they had been bad two years ago at this park.  This year I sprayed all my clothes with permethrin, an insect repellant that the US Army uses.  You don’t apply it yourself, you spray it on your clothes, and it is supposed to last for six weeks, and through six washings of the clothes.  I had sprayed some of my clothes in 2012, but this time I sprayed all my outer garments, including my socks (for protection against chiggers and ticks), my hat, and my shoes.  For today at least, it kept the mosquitoes away, and I hope the chiggers and ticks, too.

 

I saw some birds along the path and I thought at the time that they were White-crowned Sparrows, but they didn’t really look exactly right for that, and I later decided that they might be another sparrow I saw later, Chipping Sparrow.  Not one for my year list, but one for my trip list anyway.  Here is a picture of a Chipping Sparrow at a feeder there at the park.

 

Looking at that picture now, I am thinking that maybe the ones along the path were indeed White-crowned Sparrows, but I’m not going to count them.  Maybe I’ll get another look at them, although they supposedly only winter here, and I would think they would be moving north by now.

 

I sat for a while on a bench back at the parking lot, and I added EASTERN BLUEBIRD to my year list.  Here is a picture that I think is a female Eastern Bluebird.

 

There were American Crows flying around overhead from time to time, and I saw one on the ground on my way out of the park.  On my way out, I discovered some feeders by the park offices.  I picked up American Goldfinch for my trip list there, and also Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, and Brown-headed Cowbird.

 

It was past 1 PM by then, so I left the park and stopped at the McD’s nearby and loaded up on grease and carbs.  With hunger banished (for the time being), I moved on up the freeway to my next site, named after another Jones, I guess, W. G. Jones State Forest.  My main reason for going there, and also my reason for staying where I am staying tonight, was to try to see Red-cockaded Woodpecker again.  It is an endangered species and I did manage to see one on my 2012 trip.  I was disappointed today to find that you can no longer access the part of the forest where the woodpeckers nest, during nesting season.  That part of the forest is closed from March 15 to July 15.  They say you are welcome to look for the woodpeckers from the boundaries of the nesting area (called a cluster, as they make their nests as a group, in an area covering several acres).  I don’t know what the chances are of seeing one from outside the cluster – last time the one I saw was in the area which is now restricted.  Anyway, I walked around and didn’t see one today.  I planned the trip so I could go back there tomorrow morning if I want to, and I haven’t decided yet if I will do that or not, given the restrictions on where you can go.  Two people today told me they had seen them outside the restricted area, though, so maybe I’ll give it a go.  We will see.

 

So, anyway, this afternoon I walked the trails, staying in the allowed areas.  There was a man who was pushing a stroller with an infant in it, and we chatted a bit.  He was one of the people who told me he had seen the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers outside of the restricted area.  While we were talking, I spotted a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, which was nice, because in 2012 I didn’t see one until the last day or two of my trip.  Here is a picture of it with its back to the camera, but it shows the nest hole it was attending, so I like it.

 

My buddy with the stroller pointed out a CAROLINA CHICKADEE in a tree nearby, which I appreciated.  There was also a Tufted Titmouse and a bird I think was a Pine Warbler.  Then, as we split up and we each were going our separate way, I noticed him pointing his camera at something, so I went back.  It turned out to be a BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH (lifer), my first lifer of the trip.  I hadn’t been able to see one when I was here in 2012, and they have a very limited range.  It was the other bird I had hoped to see here, in addition to the Red-cockaded Woodpecker.  I even got some poor photos, and here is my best.

 

So, that was pretty exciting, and I walked on, still trying to see woodpeckers or anything else.  I did get another picture of an Eastern Bluebird.  I think that this one is a male, although the males are supposed to have more blue around the head.

 

When I got back to the headquarters area, I noticed there were feeders and a water feature, so I took a seat on a bench and watched the birds at the feeders and the water.  One of the birds that came to the water was a LINCOLN’S SPARROW, but it flew away before I could get a picture.  Then there was another sparrow-like bird at the water, and I got some pictures.  I thought it was a Chipping Sparrow at first, but it wasn’t quite right for that.  I was planning to look it up later, but another birder came along about then, and I showed him one of my pictures and asked him if he knew what it was.  He thought it could have been an immature White-crowned Sparrow, but I was sure it wasn’t that, as I see them all the time in California and at home.  He looked on his phone birding app and came up with a picture that matched mine perfectly.  It was a FIELD SPARROW (lifer).  No wonder I hadn’t recognized it, I had never seen one before, and it wasn’t even on my radar for that location.  I was hoping to see one in the Hill Country, east of San Antonio, later in the trip, but I didn’t know they even lived in this area.  Here is a picture of my lifer Field Sparrow.

 

Here is a more conventional view, showing the side of the bird.

 

So, that was really exciting – two lifers on a day when I didn’t really do much birding and only visited two sites.  I wanted to see the woodpecker, but the other two more than made up for missing that one.  While I was sitting there with the other birder, I also added White-throated Sparrow to my trip list.

 

There were a number of American Goldfinches around, as there had been at the feeders at the other park, and I got this picture of a male American Goldfinch at a feeder.

 

One came to the water, too, and I got this less conventional view of him.

 

So, that was my first real day of birding on the trip.  I added 11 species to my year list, of which two were lifers.  That brings me to 262 species for the year, of which 4 are lifers.  I also added 19 to my trip list, to bring me to 30 for the trip.

 

Tomorrow I move on a bit and try some other habitats.  I might or might not go back to W.G. Jones State Forest to try for the Red-cockaded Woodpecker.

 

 

Part 2

 

April 9, 2016

 

On that day I drove over the mountains and birded around Cle Elum and Ellensburg.  I was doing Day Of The Week birding that year, which explains my references to "Saturday birds".

 

Saturday, April 09, 2016

 

I’m in Eastern Washington tonight, or maybe it is more properly called Central Washington.  I’m in the town of Ellensburg, and the university here is called Central Washington University, so I guess Central Washington is more appropriate.  At any rate, I’m on the east side of the Cascade Mountain range. So, this morning, Saturday, April 9, I headed out across the mountains.  My first stop was just across Snoqualmie Pass, on the “east side”, as we Western Washington people call it.  There is a house there with hummingbird feeders, and I always stop to get Rufous Hummingbird there, and I soon saw three males today.  Ka-ching!  My first Saturday bird of the day.

 

My next stop was Bullfrog Pond, at exit 80 from I-90.  I parked and walked to the old bridge over the river there.  It was maybe a couple of hundred yards, which is as far away from my car as I got today.  When I have all my stuff in my car, as I did today, I worry about leaving it where someone could break into it, but it was a fairly busy road.

 

It was pretty windy, which hurts the birding, and I didn’t see or hear anything interesting on my way to the bridge.  There were four birders already there at the bridge when I got there, and I saw them a couple more times today after that.  They were looking toward one side of the bridge, at a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers, but I looked the other way and saw my target species, AMERICAN DIPPER, on a rock under the next bridge, which was the bridge for the main highway.  It was a brief binocular look as the bird soon flew up under the bridge, to its nest, no doubt.  Dippers like to nest under bridges.  I mentioned it to the others, but it never came back into view while we were there.  My timing turned out to be perfect, and I got the bird.

 

I didn’t get anything else there, and I moved on to the Ranger station in Cle Elum, where several interesting species have been seen recently.  I wandered around the grounds, playing various bird calls, but I didn’t see anything there.  After a quick stop at McDonald’s to take a leak, I moved on to the Railroad Ponds there in Cle Elum.  I ran into the four birders again there, and they were looking at my target species for that stop – a cute little PYGMY NUTHATCH.  It was at a nest hole, but soon moved to a branch nearby and posed for us.  Here is a picture of the Pygmy Nuthatch, a species I didn’t really expect to see this year.

 

As its name implies, it is a tiny thing, about the size of a chickadee.

 

I didn’t see anything else there at the Railroad Ponds, so I went back to McD’s and downed a gut bomb, then headed out through town to the east.  I drove the Swauk Prairie Road, looking for Vesper Sparrow mainly.  No sparrows except a Savannah Sparrow, which I didn’t need for Saturday, but there were several pairs of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, a species I figured to pick up this weekend.  I hope I’ll see them each day, for that day’s list.  No pictures yet; they didn’t wait for me to take a picture.

 

On the last part of that road, I stopped in a likely looking patch of pine forest and played the song of a bird that ought to be there.  Sure enough, one flew in and sang back to me. I got out of the car and took pictures of this cute little MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE.

 

It looks very much like a Black-capped Chickadee, except for its white “eyebrow”.  The song is somewhat different, too.  It was satisfying to have recognized the habitat as the correct one for the species and to be able to attract it, even if some people consider it cheating to use playback to attract birds.  I consider my phone and the app that has the songs and calls to be tools that I use, just like I use my binoculars, my scope, and my camera.

 

On my way to my next location, I took Bettas Road, off Highway 97, because I had seen both species of bluebirds along there in the past.  There were some Western Bluebirds, but again I didn’t manage to get a picture.  Then, as I was going over the pass out of the valley, I got MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD.  There was a pair of them on a wire, too far away for pictures.  But then, just a couple of minutes farther down the road, this male Mountain Bluebird cooperated, and I got this picture.

 

The light was wrong, but it does show the beautiful blue color of the bird.  As I have said many times, I love blue-colored birds, and I think that male Mountain Bluebirds have about the prettiest shade of blue of any of them.

 

My next target species is one I had never seen in Washington before, although I see them regularly in California.  I had read that they had been seen along a road north of Ellensburg, so I cruised Lower Green Valley Road slowly, looking for them in the fields.  I was almost at the end of the stretch I was searching when I saw a largish bird in the field out in front on the right, and it was indeed a LONG-BILLED CURLEW, a shorebird that breeds inland, in fields.  Here are a couple of pictures of that beauty.

 

 

I was looking west, into the sun, so the colors aren’t very good, but the pictures do show the bird.  You can’t tell the size there, but they are larger than crows.

 

So, having gotten my main target for the area, I headed up into the hills.  I went up Reecer Creek Road.  Here is a picture of the canyon, looking up the road.

 

Looking back down the road toward the valley, you can see how steep the road is there.  In the middle of this next picture, you can just see the top of Mount Rainier, peeking above the range.

 

It was windy, and it was the middle of the day, so I didn’t see anything of interest, although I went up as far as the evergreen trees in the first picture.  It is still early in the year, too; there would have been a lot more birds if it had been mid to late May, or June.  I hadn’t been there before, though, and it is always satisfying to visit a new place.  I did see my first BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE while in that area, though.  Later I got a couple of pictures of a Black-billed Magpie, from the parking lot of my motel.  Here is a front view.

 

Here is a more “field guide” view, showing its iridescence in the sun.

 

It’s always a challenge to capture the eye in a bird with a black head, so I’m pleased with those two pictures.

 

Back to Reecer Creek Road, I picked up Common Raven for my Saturday list, on my way down to Ellensburg.  I had directions to a neighborhood where Western Scrub-Jays have been seen recently, and that is a fairly rare bird in this county, so I found my way to that neighborhood of Ellensburg.  I drove around for half an hour or so, but didn’t see or hear any scrub-jays.  I did see two pairs of CALIFORNIA QUAIL, though.  I was kind of surprised to see them in the middle of town; I had been looking for them all day, expecting I was more likely to see them out in the countryside.  Here is a close-up picture of a female California Quail.

 

Here is one of the males.

 

I wonder what the function of those feathers on the top of their heads is.  I call them “deely-boppers”, but maybe there is a more official name.  The male’s is different from the female’s.  I just looked it up in my field guide, and they call it a “head plume” or a “topknot”.  I think I like deely-bopper better, but I guess that isn’t very official sounding.

 

Eventually I gave up on the scrub-jays and boogied on over to my humble motel.  I’ve stayed here several times, and it has undergone a couple of name changes in that time.  It is still comfortable enough and cheap enough for me, though, and I’ll be glad to spend two nights here.  $72 plus tax for tonight, and $55 for tomorrow night.  That is in the heart of my desired range for lodging these days, and this place is a little better than what I usually get for that price.

 

It is located right off the interstate, and there is a lake out back.  There were a bunch of Common Mergansers on the lake, and I got this picture of some of them in the distance after I checked in.

 

Later I noticed they were closer, and the lake was calmer as the wind had died down a bit, and I got this picture of a pair of Common Mergansers.  The male is the one with the dark green head.

 

So, that was my Saturday.  I managed to add 10 species to my Saturday list, to bring it to an even 100.  Of those ten, eight species were year birds, to bring me to 134 for the year.  I also added 7 species to my Kittitas county list, to bring that one to 72.

 

So, tomorrow is another day – a Sunday, with a different list to add to.  I only have 83 species on Sunday, so I hope to add a lot tomorrow.  I’ll be in Yakima county for most of the day, too, so maybe I can add to that list.  Who knows, maybe I can get a few more year-birds as well.  We shall see.

 

That's it for Day 24 of social distancing.

 

 

Friday, April 10. 2020

 

Here's a selection of pictures from past April 10th's.

 

2014

 

In 2014, I had just started a three week birding trip to Texas, and I was driving, north and east of Houston.  Here is a male Common Grackle, a common bird in the east, but one we don't get west of the Rockies.

 

I saw several Upland Sandpipers in a field, and that was a great one, an uncommon bird.  Here is an Upland Sandpiper.

 

Another bird we don't get out west is Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.  Here are a couple of pictures of that species with its long tail.

 

 

When the bird flies out to catch a flying insect, it opens and closes its tail like a pair of scissors, thus giving the species its name.

 

Here's a picture of a Loggerhead Shrike.

 

2016

 

In 2016, I was in Kittitas and Yakima counties, east of the Cascade Range, here in Washington.  In the town of Ellensburg, I got this picture of a Turkey Vulture.

 

I was in that neighborhood because of reports of Red Crossbills there.  I walked around the neighborhood, and eventually I found a small group of the uncommon Red Crossbill.  Here is a male Red Crossbill.  Note the crossed tip of his bill.

 

Here is a female Red Crossbill.  You can see her crossed bill a bit better.

 

In Yakima county, southeast of Yakima at a pond called Kerry's Pond, named after the birder who made it well known, I got this picture of a pair of Redheads.  The male is the one with the red head, of course.

 

Here are a couple of Black-necked Stilts at the same pond.

 

At Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge, birders showed me the Great Horned Owl nest there.  Here is a picture of the two owlets in the nest.

 

Across the road, I got this picture of an American Pipit.

 

Note the long toenails on the hind toes.  Here is a close-up of those long toenails, which are characteristic of that species.

 

Here is a male American Kestrel in that same area.

 

I headed for home after that, and north and west of Ellensburg, along Bettas Road, I got this picture of a Vesper Sparrow.

 

This male Mountain Bluebird was in that same area.

 

2019

 

In 2019 on April 10, I was driving back home from Sacramento with my old buddy, Chris.  That day we drove from Sacramento to Klamath Falls, Oregon.  We stopped at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and drove around the auto tour.  Here is a male Cinnamon Teal on a log.

 

Here is his mate, a female Cinnamon Teal.

 

In Oregon, along Miller Island Road, just south of Klamath Falls, I got this picture of a Black-billed Magpie.

 

Here is a distant picture of a Peregrine Falcon along that same road.

 

We saw a single Sandhill Crane there, too.

 

At the north end of the lake just south of Klamath Falls, I saw these two Bonaparte's Gulls, just coming into their breeding plumage (black heads).

 

Here is a male Greater Scaup we saw there, too.

 

Finally, here is a Western Grebe.

 

So, there's another little trip down memory lane.  This is Day 25 of social distancing, and I feel ready to go out birding again.

 

 

Saturday, April 11, 2020

 

Here is another look back at the past, at former April 11's.

 

2012

 

April 11, 2012, was the first full day of my first birding trip to Texas.  I was in the area just north of Houston.  Here is a White-winged Dove, a common bird in Texas, but we don't have them here at home.

 

Here is a Red-headed Woodpecker, an Eastern bird that we don't get out here in the west.  The light was coming from behind the bird, so the picture is kind of marginal.

 

Blue colored birds are my favorites, of course, and I was looking forward to seeing my first Blue Jays of my life.  Here are a couple of pictures of a Blue Jay.

 

 

 

2014

 

In 2014, I was several days into my second Texas trip.  Here's a shot of a Carolina Wren, another eastern species.

 

I saw some shorebirds and this Sora near a shoreline.  We have Soras in Washington in the summer, but they are uncommon.

 

Here is a Solitary Sandpiper.  They come through western Washington in migration, and I see them in August sometimes.

 

Here's another southeastern bird, a Tricolored Heron.

 

 

2016

 

On April 11, 2016, I was in the Ellensburg area, in Central Washington.  Here is a Red-tailed Hawk showing its red tail.

 

A few Long-billed Curlews breed in Central Washington, and here is one landing, showing its wings.

 

Here's a Long-billed Curlew on the ground.

 

Near the twon of Cle Elum, I got this picture of a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

 

 

2018

 

On April 11, 2018, I was here at home.  I went over to the Snoqualmie Valley, and got some pictures at the Stillwater Access to the Snoqualmie River Wildlife Area.  Here is a female Hooded Merganser.

 

Wood Ducks breed there, and I got these next two pictures of female and male Wood Ducks.

 

 

 

Here is a female Downy Woodpecker, the smallest of our American Woodpeckers.

 

April is nesting season for woodpeckers, and in 2018 I followed a family of Hairy Woodpeckers there at Stillwater.  Here is the male Hairy Woodpecker, looking out of his nest hole.

 

With social distancing, I'm not only missing nesting season, I am missing the best month of the year to hear and see American Bitterns, an uncommon species that only lives a few places around here.  Here is an American Bittern in the long grass.

 

So, there are some pictures from past April 11th's.  The weather has been excellent for days, and it promises to be excellent for another week, but I'm stuck here at home, like the rest of us.  This was Day 26 of Washington's Stay At Home time.

 

 

Sunday, April 12, 2020

 

I stayed home again today, as usual this month, but I have assembled some pictures from past April 12th's.

 

 

2012

 

I was near the start of my first Texas birding trip on April 12, 2012, and April 12 was a travel day.  I did manage to get a lifer, though, Red-cockaded Woodpecker.  That is a very desirable bird with a very restricted range, and it is the only one I have ever seen.  Here is my only lifetime Red-cockaded Woodpecker.

 

There is a great story associated with seeing that bird.  The short version is that I was birding with one of the three birders featured in the movie called The Big Year.  I had read the book, which was a true story, and seen the movie, based on the book, on the plane while I was flying to Texas, so when the guy I was with introduced himself as Sandy Komito, I knew who he was.  I birded with one of the most famous American birders, and I was actually the one who first spotted the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, which we were both looking for.

 

Later that day I got this picture of a Black Vulture.

 

 

2014

 

In 2014, on April 12, I was on my second Teas birding trip.  I was in the High Island area that day, northeast of Houston.  Here is a Roseate Spoonbill, a bird not seen in the west.

 

I see Franklin's Gulls in Oregon at Malheur in May, but I was happy to find them in Texas.  Here is a Franklin's Gull, with the black hood that the species gets in breeding season.

 

In the town of High Island, which isn't actually an island, I got this picture of a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

 

Here is an Eastern Kingbird, a species I actually get here in Western Washington in recent years, now that I know where to look for them.

 

Warblers are a big deal in east Texas in April, and here is a Northern Waterthrush, which is a member of the warbler family.

 

 

2019

 

In 2019 I was returning from a California trip, traveling with my old buddy, Chris.  Our last day, on the east side of the Cascades in Central Washington, we found some good birds.  Here is a Black-billed Magpie, sitting on a wire.

 

Here is the Black-billed Magpie as it took off, showing its black and white pattern.

 

In the sage habitat along the old Vantage Road, I got this picture of a Sagebrush Sparrow.  That is sage it is sitting on.

 

At that same site, I got these two pictures of a Brewer's Sparrow, also in the sage.

 

 

Along Recreation Road, next to the Columbia River, we spotted a Chukar and I got these two pictures of that uncommon species.

 

 

Near the parking area next to the river, I took this picture of a male California Quail.

 

On the cliff overlooking the Columbia River, I looked down and got this picture of two male Redheads on the river, far below.

 

Heading toward home, we detoured to Bettas Road and Swauk Prairie, northwest of Ellensburg, and I got this picture of a singing Western Meadowlark.

 

Here is a male Mountain Bluebird from that same area.

 

For comparison, here is a female Mountain Bluebird.

 

Here is one more picture from that day, a Pygmy Nuthatch.

 

So, there is another retrospective report.  This was Day 27 of social distancing.  It just goes on and on.

 

 

Monday, April 13, 2020

 

Here's another look back, focusing on past April 13th's.

 

2012

 

In 2012 I was in Texas, on my first birding trip to Texas.  It was a travel day, and I stopped first at the Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary.  Northern Cardinals are common in the east, but I always enjoy seeing them because we don't ever see them on the west coast.  Here is a male Northern Cardinal.

 

Here is another red and black bird, a male Summer Tanager.

 

Since I'm showing red and black birds, here is a red, black, and white bird - a Red-headed Woodpecker.

 

I spotted a large bird in the distance, and it turned out to be a very desirable Swallow-tailed Kite, a lifer for me.

 

 

Here's a shot of the Swallow-tailed Kite that shows the forked tail and the pattern of the underside of the bird.

 

 

 

2014

 

In 2014 I was on my second Texas trip. I was in the area around High Island.  Here is an Inca Dove.

 

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is one of the specialty birds of that area, and here is a picture of one.

 

I see Green Herons here at home, but here is a Texan Green Heron.

 

Another specialty of the Texas Gulf Coat is Purple Gallinule.  Here are a couple of pictures of a colorful Purple Gallinule.

 

 

I think those shades of blue are spectacular.

 

There are three species of grackle in east Texas.  Here is what might be the least common one, a male Boat-tailed Grackle.

 

There are two species of whistling-ducks found in that area, and here is a Fulvous Whistling-Duck.

 

And, here is a White Ibis, another bird we don't get out west.

 

 

 

2017

 

In 2017, I was here at home in mid-April.  I went to Marymoor Park on April 17, 2017, and I got this picture of a Loggerhead Shrike, a rare bird on this side of the Cascade Mountains.

 

Here is another shot of the Loggerhead Shrike, in less favorable light.

 

Here is a Savannah Sparrow, a common bird in the summer months at Marymoor.

 

At the hummingbird feeder near the office, I got this picture of a female Rufous Hummingbird.

 

 

 

2018

 

In 2018 I was here at home, and I went up to Tokul Creek, between Fall City and the town of Snoqualmie.  I was looking for American Dipper, and I found a couple of them that were working on a nest.  Here are some rather distant shots of the American Dippers.

 

 

Note the moss in the bill of the bird on the left.  They were repeatedly bring moss to that log, and taking it into the open end of the log.

 

 

 

They must have abandoned the nest, because there was no sign of them there a few days later.

 

After that I visited the house in Carnation that has feeders.  I got pictures of three species of pigeon-like birds while I was there.  Here is a Mourning Dove.

 

Here's a Eurasian Collared-Dove.

 

Finally, here is a picture of a Band-tailed Pigeon.

 

So, there are some pictures from four past April 13th's.  This was Day 28 of social distancing here, and I'm ready to go out birding again.

 

 

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

 

Here's another blast from the past.

 

 

2012

 

In 2012, I was on my first Texas trip, birding around High Island, which isn't an island, but a town that is northeast of Houston.  Warbler pictures are quite difficult, so the quality of my warbler shots isn't very good.  Here is a Kentucky Warbler in poor light at a distance.

 

Gray Catbirds were common around water features, and here is a mediocre shot of a Gray Catbird.

 

 

2014

 

My second Texas trip was in 2014.  I was birding that day along the Bolivar Peninsula, which is near High Island, northeast of Houston.  Here is a member of the falcon family, a Crested Caracara.

 

Here's a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck.

 

You can drive on the beaches on the Texas Gulf Coast, and I did so, taking pictures.  Here is a Ruddy Turnstone in breeding plumage.

 

There are six or eight species of terns along that coast, and here is the smallest of them, a Least Tern.

 

Next, we have a small eastern plover, a Piping Plover.

 

 

2015

 

In 2015, April 14 was the first day of a 5 day trip to northeastern Washington, adding the last 5 (of 39) counties to my Washington county list.  Here is a map showing my trip.

 

The only picture worth showing from that day is this Black-billed Magpie.

 

 

2016

 

On April 14, 2016, I wasn't on a trip, and I birded in the Duvall area, northeast of home.  Here is a male Cinnamon Teal.

 

Here is a male Violet-green Swallow.

 

Female Violet-green Swallows look a little different, and here is a picture of one.

 

 

2019

 

Last year I was home on April 14, too.  I went up to Edmonds, on Puget Sound, northwest of home.  I stopped at Deer Creek Park in the town of Woodway and got these two pictures of a cute little Pacific Wren.

 

 

On the Edmonds waterfront, I took this picture of a Horned Grebe that had almost completely transitioned to breeding plumage.

 

Here is a Red-necked Grebe, also transitioning to breeding plumage.

 

This Common Loon had also mostly changed in to breeding plumage.

 

Brant is a small goose, and they visit here in the winter.  Here is a small group of Brant, getting ready to head off north to breed.

 

So, there is an April 14 retrospective.  This was Day 29 of social distancing, and I'm ready to go out birding again.

 

 

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

 

Here are more pictures from the past.

 

 

2012

 

I was on my first birding trip to Texas, and on April 15 I was in the High Island area.  One of the premier birding spots in High Island is Boy Scout Woods.  There is a water feature there that attracts migrants, and a grandstand for birders to sit in and watch them.  Here is the grandstand at Boy Scout Woods, with happy birders watching the birdies.

 

Nearby is another birding site called Smith Oaks, and I got these next two pictures of Roseate Spoonbills there.

 

 

At the Bolivar Peninsula I got some pictures of shorebirds.  Here is an American Oystercatcher.

 

The Oystercatchers on the west coast are all black, and they are called Black Oystercatchers.  This was the my lifer American Oystercatcher.

 

Here is my lifer Wilson's Plover.

 

Here's my first ever Piping Plover.  It was a good day for lifers.

 

We get these next two species on the west coast, but here is a Ruddy Turnstone and a Willet.

 

Back at Boy Scout Woods, I got this picture of a male Indigo Bunting.

 

 

2014

 

I was on my second trip to Texas in 2014, and on April 15 I was again in the High Island area.  Here is a male Hooded Warbler.

 

Here is another warbler species, Northern Parula.

 

This isn't a very good picture, but it shows the many colors of a male Painted Bunting, another migrant.

 

Here is a common hummingbird in the east, not seen in the west - a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

 

We do get Purple Martins out west, but here are pictures of a female and a male Purple Martin, a member of the swallow family.

 

That was the female, and here is the male Purple Martin.

 

Migrating warblers are a main attraction of birding in east Texas in April, and here is a Black-and-white Warbler.

 

Here's a shot of a Black-throated Green Warbler, looking up at it.

 

Here is an uncommon Louisiana Waterthrush, another member of the warbler family, another lifer for me.

 

Here's another migrant, a female Summer Tanager.  The male is bright red.

 

 

2015

 

In 2015 I was on my trip to Northeast Washington state, picking up birds for my Washington State county lists.  Here is a male California Quail.

 

Here is a male Yellow-headed Blackbird.

 

 

2016

 

In 2016, I wasn't traveling on April 15, and I went up to Edmonds.  Here is a male Barrow's Goldeneye.

 

Female Barrow's Goldeneyes look quite different, and here is one.

 

At the Edmonds March I got this picture of a singing Marsh Wren.

 

That's it for today.

 

 

Here is another batch of pictures from previous April 16th's.

 

 

April 16, 2012

 

In 2012 I was on my first birding trip to Texas, and I birded around the High Island area.  (reminder - if anyone wants to check out the full reports from past days, they are all available on my website, at barry15.com .)

 

Here is a picture of three Black Skimmers, a member of the tern family.

 

There are three species of grackles in that area, and here is a male Boat-tailed Grackle, one we don't see out west.

 

Here are two Mottled Ducks, another species we never see in the west.

 

Here is a Clapper Rail.  At the time (2012) I had already counted Clapper Rail, based on seeing the species in California.  Later the species was split into two species, and the one in California is now called Ridgway's Rail.  The ones in Texas are still Clapper Rails, and here is one.

 

Here is another species we don't see out west, although I did see one in Arizona once, where they are rare.  Here is a Tricolored Heron.

 

Here is a Swamp Sparrow, my first one ever.  Since then I have seen them on the west coast, both in California and here in Washington, but they are rare on the west coast.

 

I've shown pictures of this species before this month, but I like them so much that here is another Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

 

 

April 16, 2014

 

I was on my second Texas birding trip in 2014, and on April 16 I was travelling between the town of Winnie (northeast of Houston) and the area around Concan (referred to as the Texas Hill Country by birders.)  Here is my lifer Anhinga, a species in the cormorant family.  This is a male Anhinga.

 

At a very nice rest area along the freeway, I picked up my first ever Black-crested Titmouse.  Here's a picture of one I saw later that day.

 

As I drove through San Antonio, I stopped at a site I had researched and added Monk Parakeet to my life list.  Here is a distant, blurry picture of a Monk Parakeet, a species that escaped or was released, but now breeds in some area of the U.S. and is officially countable.

 

At Neal's Lodges, near the town of Concan, I settled into my little cabin and did some birding around the grounds.  Here is a Canyon Towhee, another species we don't get out west.

 

We sometimes get Clay-colored Sparrows out west, but they are rarities.  Here is a Clay-colored Sparrow.

 

Northern Cardinals don't come out here, either, although they have been introduced to Hawaii, and I have seen them there.  Here is a male Northern Cardinal.

 

One of the specialty birds of the Texas Hill Country is Golden-cheeked Warbler, and I got this picture of a female that evening at Neal's.

 

Here is a Black-throated Sparrow.

 

 

April 16, 2017

 

In 2017 I wasn't travelling on April 16, and I went down to my local park, Juanita Bay Park.  Here is a close-up shot of a White-crowned Sparrow singing.

 

I like the feather detail in that picture.  Here is a male Northern Flicker from an interesting angle.

 

In April, Red-winged Blackbirds are establishing their territories and mating.  Here is a male Red-winged Blackbird calling.

 

Here is the rather different looking female Red-winged Blackbird.

 

 

April 16, 2019

 

Last year on this date I birded in Marymoor Park, in Redmond, and I got these pictures of a Golden-crowned Kinglet showing its crown color.

 

 

 

 

That's it for today.  This was Day 31 of social distancing.  How long can this go on?

 

 

Friday, April 17, 2020

 

Here are more pictures from past April 17th's.

 

 

2012

 

I was on my first Texas birding trip in April 2012, and on April 17 I was in the High Island area.  Here is a Common Nighthawk that was pointed out to me at Boy Scout Woods.  I see Common Nighthawks in central Washington, east of the Cascades, but I haven't ever seen one in Western Washington.

 

Here is a male Orchard Oriole, a bird we don’t get in the Pacific Northwest.

 

Here is a female Painted Bunting, which looks very different from male Painted Buntings (see picture later in this report).  I think she is an interesting shade of yellow.

 

Male Indigo Buntings are a deep blue color, but this is a much less colorful female Indigo Bunting.

 

 

2014

 

I was on my second Texas birding trip in 2014, and I spent the day around Neal's Lodges, near Concan, Texas.  They have feeders in various places, and it a very birdy area.  Here is a White-winged Dove.

 

Warblers are a big deal during migration, and here is a Nashville Warbler, one we actually get out west sometimes.

 

Here is a Carolina Chickadee, which looks just like our Black-capped Chickadees, as far as I'm concerned, but Carolina Chickadees are eastern birds.

 

Here is a female Summer Tanager.

 

This next one is a Canyon Towhee, another species we don’t get on the west coast.

 

I think woodpeckers are cool birds, and here is a Golden-fronted Woodpecker, found only in Texas in the US.

 

Here is a male Hooded Oriole, a species I see in the San Diego area.

 

Here is a pair of Northern Cardinals.  The male is the red one, of course.

 

I found a small puddle near a faucet that was leaking, and various birds were coming in to bathe there.  Here are a couple of Clay-colored Sparrows in the puddle, bathing.

 

Here is one of the Clay-colored Sparrows, quite wet from its bath.

 

Here is a Yellow-throated Vireo, still another eastern bird.  It was coming to the same puddle.

 

Later I got this picture of an Ash-throated Flycatcher, a species I see in California, but not in Washington.

 

Earlier in this report, I showed a female Painted Bunting, the one that is an interesting shade of yellow.  Here is a male Painted Bunting.

 

 

2019

 

On April 17, 2019, I birded out in the Snoqualmie Valley, a half hour east of home.  I got this picture of an American Crow that I like because it shows the feathers so well.

 

Here is a male Brown-headed Cowbird.

 

Next we have a Red-breasted Sapsucker.

 

At the Tolt River bridge, just south of the town of Carnation, I got this picture of an American Dipper in the river.

 

The dipper was taking food to chicks in the nest, which was located on a girder on the underside of the bridge.  Here is an American Dipper chick looking out of the nest.

 

That nest is still there, and I imagine it is being used again this year.  This coronavirus thing has kept me at home, and I'm missing most of the nesting activity this year.

 

Here is a Band-tailed Pigeon.

 

In a flooded field near Duvall, there were three Greater Yellowlegs.  Here is one of them.

 

A Peregrine Falcon was sitting in a tree near the road.  It looked quite wet, but it hadn't been raining, so I assume it had just had a bath in the river.  Here are three pictures of the Peregrine Falcon after its bath.

 

 

 

So, there is another blast from the past.  This was Day 32 of social distancing, by my count.  I'm hoping I can start doing some birding again in May, but we will see.

 

 

Saturday, April 18, 2020

 

Here is another batch of pictures from the past - specifically, from past April 18th's.

 

 

2012

 

In 2012 I was on my first birding trip to Texas, and I spent the day in the area around High Island, northeast of Houston.  Here is a male Scarlet Tanager, in the parking lot area of Boy Scout Woods in the town of High Island.

 

There wasn't much going on in High Island, so I moved on to the Bolivar Peninsula to look for water birds.  Here's a shot of a Green Heron, a bird I see here at home sometimes.

 

I think of Green Herons as being about the same size as Snowy Egrets, but here is a shot that shows the difference.  Snowy Egrets are quite a bit larger than Green Herons.

 

The Green Heron is a little farther away from the camera, but there is still a much bigger size difference than I would have thought.

 

Here is an Eastern Meadowlark.  They are almost identical in appearance to Western Meadowlarks, which I see in the west, but the song is different.  Their ranges overlap a bit, and in east Texas, you have to either get a good look at their tail feathers as they fly away from you or hear them sing.

 

Here is a male Great-tailed Grackle, a very common species in most of Texas.

 

They have been moving westward, and since I have started birding, they have moved in to places in California.  I first saw them around Las Vegas, I think, before they had moved as far west as California.

 

Back in High Island, I saw this desirable warbler species, Prothonotary Warbler.

 

In the west we have Black-headed Grosbeaks, but in the east they have Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  They pass through east Texas during migration.  Here is a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

 

Here is the rather different looking male Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

 

Here's a mediocre picture of a male Indigo Bunting in the water.

 

Here's a Brown Thrasher, another eastern bird.

 

 

2014

 

In 2014 I was on my second Texas trip, and on April 18 I was in the Texas Hill County, around the town of Concan.  I remembered today that my camera broke on this trip, and my pictures for about a week in the middle of the trip were blurrier because of it.  I had Christina ship my old camera to me in Alamo, Texas, and I used that for the last week or so of the trip.

 

Here is a Greater Roadrunner that was outside my little casita at Neal's Lodges.

 

I drove to a nearby park and got these next two pictures of a Carolina Wren.  It looks very much like a Bewick's Wren, which we have here on the west coast, but the underside is brownish, rather than grayish.

 

 

I saw my only Ringed Kingfisher of my life along a river there.  Check out the long bill.

 

Back on the grounds of Neal's Lodges, I got this picture of a Lark Sparrow, a species I see in California regularly.

 

I have shown a couple of poor pictures of male Painted Buntings in the last couple of days, but here is the best picture I have ever gotten of a male Painted Bunting.

 

The bird took a bath while I watched, and I got this picture of it in the water.

 

There were several Nashville Warblers around, and this is my favorite picture I got of one of them.

 

Here's a shot of three Nashville Warblers.

 

One last shot from Texas - a Black-crested Titmouse.

 

All the pictures I took that day are lousy because of my broken camera.  The Image Stabilization function stopped working.

 

 

2018

 

I was here at home on April 18, 2018, and I went down to my local park, Juanita Bay Park.  I got this series of pictures of a Bald Eagle bathing in a shallow spot in the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, there's another little walk down memory lane.  This was Day 33 of social distancing.

 

 

Sunday, April 19, 2019

 

Here are some pictures from past April 19th's.

 

 

2012

 

I was in Texas on my first birding trip there, and on April 19 I drove from Winnie, which is near High Island, to the town of Columbus, which is east of San Antonio.  I stopped near the town of Katy, and I saw my first ever Crested Caracara in a field with Turkey Vultures.  Crested Caracaras are members of the falcon family, but they are scavengers.  Here is my lifer Crested Caracara.

 

Here's that same bird with its wings lifted, showing its markings.

 

Near there I found an Upland Sandpiper, only the second one I had ever seen in my life.  Here is a distant picture of my almost-lifer Upland Sandpiper.

 

Near the end of the day I visited the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, and I got this picture of another Crested Caracara sitting on a post.

 

As I left Attwater NWR, I spotted a bird on a wire, and it turned out to me my lifer Dickcissel.

 

 

2013

 

On April 19, 2013, I was in Southern California, and that day I drove from the San Diego area to Brawley, in the Imperial Valley.  At a stop along the way I got this picture of a male Scott's Oriole.

 

Here is an Ash-throated Flycatcher.

 

Here is a Black-chinned Sparrow, a species I don’t see often.

 

Here is a cute little Oak Titmouse with a winged insect.

 

In Brawley, I got this picture of a Black-throated Gray Warbler, a species I see around here at home in the summer.

 

Here is a Common Ground-Dove, a southwest species we don’t get up north.

 

 

2014

 

On April 19, 2014, I was on my second Texas trip.  This was during the time I was using my camera that had broken.  The Image Stabilization wasn't working, so everything is blurrier than usual.  That day I was driving from Neal's Lodge's, near Concan, to the Alamo Inn, near Alamo, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley.  Here is a Harris's Hawk I saw along the way (blurry, of course, due to the camera malfunction)..

 

Here is the first Great Kiskadee I ever saw.

 

I got settled in to my apartment at the Alamo Inn, and down the street I saw some ducks sitting on wires, something I hadn't ever seen before.  Here are two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks on a wire, over the street.

 

Sorry about the blurriness of the photos from that day.  Christina had shipped my old camera to me at the Alamo Inn, and the next day I used the old camera, which gave me much sharper pictures for the rest of the trip.  After that experience, I travel with a spare camera.

 

 

2015

 

I was on the last day of my trip to northeastern Washington, having visited the last 5 (of 39) of Washington's counties.  I drove that day from near Spokane to home.  Here is a male California Quail I saw along the way.

 

I got this picture of a Horned Lark at another stop.

 

I got this picture of an American White Pelican on Sprague Lake.  The protuberance on the bill develops during breeding season, and I have no idea what its function is.

 

 

2016

 

I was at home on April 19, 2016, and I went down to my local park, Juanita Bay Park.  Here is a male Common Yellowthroat, a member of the warbler family.  They breed in this area and migrate south in the winter.

 

Here is a male Cinnamon Teal, an uncommon bird here.

 

Here is a Pied-billed Grebe, a species that lives here year round and breeds there at Juanita Bay Park.  When I first started birding, back in the late 90's, I used to watch the Pied-billed Grebes nesting at Juanita Bay Park, and that was one of the things that got me interested in birding.

 

 

2018

 

I was also home in 2018, and on April 19 I went over to what birders call the Montlake Fill, adjacent to the University of Washington, on Union Bay.  Here is a Virginia Rail, a secretive bird that is much more often heard than seen.

 

There is an Osprey nesting platform there, and the Ospreys were nesting.  One of the Ospreys was being harassed by some crows, and I got this series of pictures of the Osprey and a crow.

 

 

 

 

 

So, there are some pictures from past April 19's.  This was Day 34 of social distancing, and I'm ready to go out birding again.

 

 

Monday, April 20, 2020

 

I have something a little different today.  I have some pictures from April 20, 2014, from Texas, but first I want to show some pictures I took today in our yard.  I noticed a couple of Black-capped Chickadees going repeatedly to a hole in the dead trunk of a hazelnut tree, so I checked them out.  It turned out they were working on a nest, excavating a hole in the trunk of the tree.  I didn't realize that little birds like chickadees actually made their own holes; I thought they used natural cavities or old nest holes from other species.  I don't know if they made this hole from scratch or if they simply took over an existing hole, but they were definitely excavating the hole, making it larger inside.  Here is the hole in the dead trunk of the tree.

 

The chickadees were flying in and out of the hole.  One would fly in and work in there for a minute or so, then come out with its bill full of wood chips.  Both birds were working on it, taking turns, seemingly.  I got my folding chair and sat in the sun taking pictures of them.  Here is one of them going into the hole.

 

Here is one coming out with a load of wood chips.

 

Sometimes one would sit on a nearby branch for a few seconds, usually flying off after that, to dump the wood chips elsewhere.

 

After a while I moved around to the side, to get better pictures of them emerging from the nest hole.

 

Sometimes when one came back to the hole, it would sit on a branch for a few seconds.

 

Here's a picture of one of them flinging the chips away, sitting near the nest hole.  If you look closely, maybe you can see the wood chips flying away.

 

Mostly they flew off to dump the chips, though.  A couple of times I got a picture of one of them hopping out of the hole with a bill full of chips, to land on a nearby branch.

 

 

I got this rather motion-blurred picture of one of them flying off with some chips.

 

Here's another shot of one of them entering the hole.

 

Here's one more of one of them leaving the hole with chips.

 

Finally, here is one of them sitting near the hole.

 

Toward the end of the time I was watching the chickadees, a Steller's Jay came around, and I took some picture of it.

 

 

 

 

 

So, that was from today.  It was fun to actually watch birds in my own yard, and it was very pleasant sitting in the sun doing so.  Here are some pictures from a past April 20th.

 

 

2014

 

I was on my second Texas trip, and I was in the Rio Grande Valley on April 20, 2014.  These pictures were taken at Estero Llano State Park.  I had my old camera, sent to me by Christina, after my new camera malfunctioned.  Here is a Plain Chachalaca.

 

Here is a Sora, a reclusive member of the rail family.  I see them on the west coast, but not often because they are so secretive.

 

There were some shorebirds there, and I got this picture of a Stilt Sandpiper, a species I don't see very often at all.

 

There were owl boxes scattered around, and I got this picture of an Eastern Screech-Owl snoozing in the doorway of his box.

 

Here's a Curve-billed Thrasher, a species we don't see out west.

 

Flycatchers are generally difficult to identify, and this one is a member of a family of very similar looking ones.  I think it was a Brown-crested Flycatcher.

 

Here is a White-tipped Dove, another species we don't get in the west.

 

Finally, here is a Couch's Kingbird, still another species we don't get on the west coast.

 

So, there is a twofer - two for the price of one.  Pictures from today and pictures from April 20, 2014.  What a life!

 

 

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

 

No birding for today, and no pictures.  Here are some pictures from past April 21st's.

 

 

2012

 

In 2012 I was on my first Texas birding trip, and on April 21 I drove from Columbus to Concan, in the Texas Hill Country.  A stop at Kerr Wildlife Management Area got me my lifer Golden-cheeked Warbler, a bird with a quite restricted range.  In the U.S., they are only found in a narrow swath of central Texas.  Here are a couple of pictures of that very desirable warbler species.

 

 

Here's a picture of a Lark Sparrow that I saw at Kerr WMA, too.

 

 

2013

 

In 2013 I was in the Imperial Valley, in southern California, on April 21.  In the town of Brawley, I got pictures of a female Costa's Hummingbird, with a small violet patch on her throat.

 

Later that day I got this next picture of a male Costa's Hummingbird.  The bird is out of focus, unfortunately, because the camera focused on some branches behind the bird.  Still, you can see his bright violet gorget.

 

Too bad about the focus in that last picture.

 

Here are a couple of Cactus Wrens, the largest of the wren family by far.

 

Here is a male Black-chinned Hummingbird.

 

There are several kingbird species in the west, and here is a Western Kingbird.

 

One of the specialties of desert areas of the west is Phainopepla, and here is a male Phainopepla.

 

Here is a gray female Phainopepla with the black male in the background.

 

Here's a shot of another desert bird of the American west, a Verdin.

 

That is another case of the bird being out of focus because the camera focused on a branch in front of the bird.

 

 

2014

 

I was on my second Texas birding trip in April 2014, and on the 21st I was in the Rio Grande Valley, around the town of McAllen.  Here's a non-bird picture of a Bobcat, because they are pretty rare, and it was fun to see one.

 

I joined a group on a platform doing a hawk watch.  Hawks migrate through there in April.  With the help of other birders, I saw some good species.  Here is the only Wood Stork I have ever seen.  It was way early in its migration, maybe a month early.  Everyone was astounded to see it.

 

Here is a first year Altamira Oriole, a species only seen in the Rio Grande Valley in this country.

 

One of the birds I especially wanted to see in the Rio Grande Valley was Green Jay.  In this country, they are only found in south Texas.  I found one that was taking a bath, and here is a wet Green Jay.

 

 

 

Here's another species only found in south Texas within the U.S., Great Kiskadee.

 

The Rio Grande Valley is a wonderful birding venue, and here is still another species only found there, within the U.S.  Here is an Olive
Sparrow.

 

 

2016

 

On April 21, 2016, I was here at home, and I walked on to the Edmonds-Kingston ferry to try for Bonaparte's Gull on the crossing or in the harbor on the other side.  I didn't see any Bonaparte's Gulls, but we did run across a small group of Orcas in the middle of the crossing.  The ferry captain slowed the boat down and we got great looks at them.  Here are two of the Orcas.

 

Here are three Orcas, including a very young one.

 

That was more exciting than seeing Bonaparte's Gulls, any day.

 

 

2017

 

In April 2017 I was in Central Washington on an overnight trip, and on the 21st I drove between Wenatchee and Okanogan.  Here is an Osprey on a nest.

 

Here's a Common Loon in breeding plumage, on the Columbia River.

 

Here's a Say's Phoebe.

 

In a canyon west of Wenatchee, I spotted a couple of Chukar in a field.  Here are pictures.

 

 

So, there are some pictures from past April 21st's.  April is a great birding month because migration and nesting are both going on, and I'm very sorry to be missing it this year.

 

 

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

 

Here is another little trip down memory lane for me, visiting past April 22nd's.

 

 

2011

 

In 2011 I was on my way to Las Vegas to meet Christina.  I drove, she flew.  It was the start of a long trip that included Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and southeast Arizona.  Christina flew home from Phoenix, after Sedona, and I went on to southeast Arizona, my first birding trip there.  On April 22, I drove through Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon and took some pictures.  Here is a male Redhead.

 

Yellow-headed Blackbirds had just come back from their winter sojourn down south, and here is a male Yellow-headed Blackbird.

 

A whole gang of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds had congregated on a power pole, and I got this picture of them.

 

I think the males migrate first, and the females follow along later.  These guys were waiting for the females, I think.

 

Here is a Great Horned Owl.

 

There was a nest nearby, and here are two owlets.

 

 

2012

 

2012 was the year of my first birding trip to Texas, and I was in the Hill Country on April 22.  A well-known birder led a bird walk some days, around the grounds of the place I was staying, and he pointed out a rarity to us, a Tropical Parula, a vagrant to Texas.  Here is a poor picture of that rare (in the US) warbler

 

The guide also showed us a Black Vulture nest.  The two youngsters were actually out of the nest itself, but they were hanging around.  Here is one of the Black Vulture chicks.

 

It isn't exactly cute, is it?  Here is one of the parent Black Vultures, also not cute.

 

 

2014

 

In 2014 on April 22, I was in the Brownsville area, on my second birding trip to Texas.  I had a great birding day, and here are some of the excellent birds I saw that day.  On Port Isobel Road, I saw this male Northern Bobwhite, a species I had especially wanted to see.

 

On South Padre Island, I saw a lot of great species.  Here is a Yellow Warbler bathing.  I see them here at home, and this one was evidently migrating along the Texas Gulf Coast.

 

Here is a male Baltimore Oriole, an eastern species.

 

Here's a shot of a female American Redstart, an eastern warbler species.

 

Here is a very desirable eastern warbler species, Golden-winged Warbler.

 

Here's a rather plain Tennessee Warbler.

 

Blackburnian Warbler is another very desirable species that birders look for, and here is a male Blackburnian Warbler, an eastern species also.

 

There were other migrants in addition to warblers.  Here is a male Indigo Bunting.

 

Here's another eastern warbler species that is usually seen on the ground, Ovenbird.

 

Black-throated Green Warbler is a fairly common eastern species, and here is a female Black-throated Green Warbler.

 

This male Scarlet Tanager is another eastern species that was migrating up the Texas Gulf Coast.

 

Here's a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, common in the east.

 

Prothonotary Warbler is another desirable species, and I got this picture of one.  The large eye is characteristic of the species.

 

I love blue colored birds, of course, and here's a male Blue Grosbeak, a species I see in California sometimes, and I have seen in Arizona as well.

 

Blue-winged Warbler is another excellent eastern species, and here's one.

 

Finally, here is a Reddish Egret, a bird I have seen in Southern California, but not often.

 

I saw other excellent species that day, too.  It was one of the best birding days of the trip.

 

 

2017

 

In 2017 I was in Central Washington, birding around the Ellensburg area.  Here is a Chipping Sparrow.

 

Here's a Western Meadowlark singing.

 

Flycatchers are notoriously difficult to identify, but I saw this one bobbing its tail downward, and Gray Flycatcher is the only one in that family that does that.

 

 

2018

 

I was again in the Cle Elum/Ellensburg area on April 22 in 2018.  Here is a Great Horned Owl that had a nest right in front of Cle Elum High School.

 

Here's one of the Great Horned Owl owlets in the nest.  I think that's a second one in front, too.

 

I got this picture of a Vesper Sparrow singing.

 

Back to blue colored birds, here's a male Mountain Bluebird looking good.

 

Here is the much less colorful female Mountain Bluebird.

 

Here's a Sagebrush Sparrow singing away.

 

My final picture for today is a Rock Wren.

 

That's an overload of pictures, but April 22 was a very good photo day in the past, I guess.  This was Day 37 of social distancing, and I'm ready to go out birding again.

 

 

Thursday, April 23, 2020

 

April 23 was another good birding day for me in the past, and here are some pictures to prove it.

 

 

2012

 

I was in the Texas Hill Country, on my first birding trip to Texas, and I got this picture that I think was a Brown-crested Flycatcher.

 

Here's a Vesper Sparrow, a bird I see in Central Washington, but not often.

 

I loved the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, and I have already shown some pictures.  Here is one that had just taken off, though, and it was showing the orange and yellow colors under its wings.

 

Here is a female Wilson's Warbler, a species we see here on the west coast.

 

Here's a better picture of an Olive Sparrow than I have shown before.  We definitely don't get those on the west coast.  In the US, they are only found in extreme southern Texas.  The Hill Country is actually a little far north for the species, so I was surprised to see one there.

 

Here's a White-throated Sparrow, one I see around home in the winter.  I have had them in my yard a few times.

 

Here is a Golden-fronted Woodpecker, an attractive species.  I hope to show a better picture before the end of April.

 

Here is a female Summer Tanager.  Males are bright red.

 

 

2013

 

On April 23 in 2013, I was in the San Diego area.  Down near the Mexican border, I saw this Black-crowned Night-Heron.

 

There were also some Yellow-crowned Night-Herons in that same place, and they are rare on the west coast.

 

Here is a Clapper Rail.  Since 2013, the species has been split into two species, and now the ones in California are called Ridgway's Rail.

 

They are usually very shy, but this one was right out in the open, and didn't seem to mind having its picture taken.  Up at the San Diego River mouth, I got this picture of a male Blue-winged Teal.

 

Here is a Little Blue Heron, a San Diego specialty that I also saw in Texas.

 

Here is a bird that is common in California, a Snowy Egret.

 

 

2014

 

On April 23, 2014 I was in Texas, in the Brownsville area.  At Sabal Palm Sanctuary, I got this picture I really like, one of my best pictures ever, in my opinion.  Here is a Great Horned Owl and an owlet peeking out from behind mommy.

 

Here is a Least Grebe at Sabal Palm.

 

At the Brownsville dump, I got this picture of a Black Vulture flying overhead.

 

On Old Port Isobel Road, I managed to find and photograph an uncommon sparrow that is difficult to identify.  I heard this one sing, though, so I was confident in my ID as a Cassin's Sparrow.

 

On South Padre Island, I got this picture of a male Bronzed Cowbird.  Note how his neck is puffed up in back, a characteristic of that species.

 

Here is a Black-and-white Warbler.  They usually are found on a branch or the trunk of a tree.

 

Here's a male Blackburnian Warbler, a desirable species.

 

Here is a Dickcissel, a midwest species that was migrating.

 

 

2018

 

In 2018 I was in the Ellensburg, WA area on April 23.  I got this picture of a Black-billed Magpie that I like.  They are fairly common, but for some reason, I like magpies.

 

I've written many times about the difficulty I sometimes have in identifying flycatchers.  I saw a flycatcher on that trip and got some pictures.  After consulting my field guides, I decided it was a Dusky Flycatcher, one I don't see very often.  Here are a couple of pictures of what I think was a Dusky Flycatcher.

 

 

 

2019

 

On April 23 last year I visited Marymoor Park in Redmond.  Here is a Red-breasted Sapsucker that was working on a nest hole.

 

Here is a Savannah Sparrow.

 

Here's a male Common Mergnaser.

 

I like this picture I got that day of an American Crow.

 

On the way home that day I stopped at a little pond on the north side of Redmond and watched a male Northern Flicker excavating a nest hole  Here he is next to his hole.

 

So, there is a look back at past April 23rd's.  I hope to be able to go out birding again in just 8 more days, on May 1.

 

 

Friday, April 24, 2020

 

It's time for a look back at past April 24th's.

 

2011

 

In 2011 I was in Las Vegas on April 24.  Christina flew in from Seattle that day, and our plan was to visit the Grand Canyon and Sedona, AZ.  She was arriving in the late afternoon, so I birded in the morning and early afternoon.  Here is a Black-chinned Sparrow, a species I don't see often.

 

It was Easter Sunday, with beautiful sunny weather, and all the places I went were packed with people.  Here is a male Gambel's Quail.  They look very much like California Quail, but there are differences.

 

Here's a picture of two cute little Gambel's Quail chicks.

 

At the Henderson wastewater treatment plant, there are ponds and I got some pictures of water birds, in the midst of the desert.  Here are two America Avocets.

 

Here's a picture of a pair of Ruddy Ducks, with the male in his bright breeding plumage.

 

Here's an Eared Grebe in breeding plumage.

 

This is a Black-necked Stilt.

 

There were shrubs and trees between the ponds, with walking paths, and I found a pair of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers there.  Here is the male Black-tailed Gnatcatcher.

 

 

2014

 

In 2014 I was on my second Texas birding trip, and on April 24, I drove from Brownsville to Aransas Pass.  On Old Port Isabel Road, before I left Brownsville, I got this picture of a Harris's Hawk on a wire.

 

On Mustang Island, across the channel from Aransas Pass, I got this picture of a Pectoral Sandpiper.

'

 

Here's a Veery, a small member of the thrush family.

 

I showed a picture of a Dickcissel yesterday, but here is a picture of a Dickcissel from the front.

 

Here's a male Baltimore Oriole.

 

Here's a shot of the male Baltimore Oriole and a male Indigo Bunting that had been bathing.

 

Here is the male Indigo Bunting and a Nashville Warbler bathing together.

 

Here's the Nashville Warbler in the midst of its bath.

 

I saw a flycatcher and got some pictures.  I ended up deciding it was my first ever Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, an excellent species.  Here are three pictures of that great bird.

 

 

 

I also saw a Gray-cheeked Thrush, another excellent bird.

 

 

2017

 

On April 24th in 2017, I went up to Skagit county.  There was a Great Horned Owl nest at Wylie Slough, and I got this picture of it.

 

An adult owl is guarding the nest, and the fuzzy owlets were mostly snoozing.

 

Here's one of the owlets with its eyes open, looking at me.

 

 

2019

 

Last year on April 24, I went over to Whidbey Island.  Here is a distant picture of a Black-bellied Plover that is coming into its breeding plumage.

 

Whimbrels are quite uncommon around here, but there were some Whimbrels at Deer Lagoon last year.  Here is a distant picture of a Whimbrel.

 

Here are two Whimbrels.

 

There are reportedly Whimbrels there again this year, and I hope they will stick around until I can get over to Whidbey Island in May.  Here are two Dunlin that are almost into their breeding plumage.   They would have been on their way north to breed.

 

They get that black spot on their bellies in the breeding season.  On my way home, I got this next picture at the Mukilteo ferry dock.  This is a Brandt's Cormorant in breeding plumage (blue throat pouch and white plumes).

 

So, that was April 24 in some past years.  This was Day 39 of social distancing, counting from the day they closed the restaurants and bars here in Washington, March 17, St. Patrick's Day.

 

 

Saturday, April 25, 2020

 

Here are some pictures from past April 25th's.

 

 

2012

 

I was on my first Texas birding trip in 2002, and on April 25 I drove from Laredo to Alamo, TX.  At Falcon State Park, I got this picture of a Curve-billed Thrasher.

 

I spotted a Northern Bobwhite at one point, and I waited for it to come out in the open, and I got this picture.

 

While I was walking on one of the trails, I got this picture of a male Bullock's Oriole, a species we get here on the west coast.

 

While I was eating my lunch in a picnic area, a Greater Roadrunner came around, and I got this picture of it scooting along.  Beep, beep.

 

Later that day, on the Rio Grande River at the tiny town of Chapeno, I saw my first Altamira Oriole of my life.

 

At that same place, I managed to get a photo of a male Golden-fronted Woodpecker that I like.  The red spot on the top of his head marks him as a male.

 

At Roma Bluffs, I got this picture of my first Buff-bellied Hummingbird ever.

 

That species is a specialty of south Texas.

 

 

2014

 

I was on my second Texas birding trip that year, and on April 25 I was driving along the coast, south of Houston.  On Mustang Island, near Port Aransas, I took this picture of a male Ruddy Duck in full breeding plumage.

 

Here's a shot of a Sora, normally a reclusive species.

 

Later that day I saw a raptor in a field, and I got this picture of a second year male Northern Harrier on a post.

 

 

 

2017

 

I was at home on April 25, 2017, and I went out to the Snoqualmie Valley.  Here's a Red-breasted Sapsucker, posing next to some of its sap wells.

 

Here's a pair of Hooded Mergansers.

 

I heard an American Bittern calling, and then I spotted it in the deep grass, with only its head and the top of the neck showing.

 

There were a lot of Red-winged Blackbirds around, and here's a male.

 

 

 

2018

 

I was home in 2018 on April 25, too, and I went up to Edmonds.  At Yost Memorial Park, I got these next two pictures of a Black-throated Gray Warbler.

 

 

Somewhere along the Edmonds waterfront, I got this picture of a singing White-crowned Sparrow.

 

 

 

2019

 

I was home again on April 25 in 2019, and I went over to Magnuson Park in north Seattle.  I was checking out a Cooper's Hawk nest.  I saw a Cooper's Hawk on the nest, but all I could see was the tail.  I waited, though, and eventually I got these next three pictures of a Cooper's Hawk, near the nest.

 

 

 

 

So, there are some April 25 pictures from my past.  This was Day 40 of social distancing.

 

 

Sunday, April 26, 2020

 

Here are some photos from past April 26th's.

 

 

2012

 

I was on my first Texas trip on April 26, and I visited several places in the Rio Grande Valley.  At Santa Ana NWR, I got this picture of a Great Kiskadee.

 

Here's a Little Blue Heron.

 

I saw a flycatcher and got pictures.  Flycatchers are very tough to identify, but I decided from my pictures that this one was a Least Flycatcher.

 

I moved on to Estero Llano Grande State Park, and I got this picture of a Spotted Sandpiper in breeding plumage.

 

Great-tailed Grackles are very common in the Rip Grande Valley, and I have shown pictures of males.  Here is a female Great-tailed Grackle.

 

Here's a shot of a couple of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks with a Black Necked Stilt keeping them company.

 

Next I visited Frontera Audubon Thicket and walked around.  Here is a Plain Chachalaca in a tree.

 

Here's a Plain Chachalaca on the ground, displaying.

 

I saw three species of dove there.  Here is a White-tipped Dove, the first one I had ever seen.

 

Here's a White-winged Dove.

 

This next one is a smaller dove, an Inca Dove.

 

I think this next picture is a Tennessee Warbler.

 

 

 

2014

 

I was on my second Texas trip that year and on Galveston Island, I got this picture of a Black-billed Cuckoo.

 

On the Bolivar Peninsula I took this picture of a Wilson's Plover.

 

I was surprised to see some nighthawks flying around in the middle of the afternoon.  Normally they roost in the daytime and come out at night to catch insects.  Here is a female Common Nighthawk sitting on the ground.

 

Here's a male Common Nighthawk.  Note the white throat that marks it as a male.

 

 

 

2017

 

I was at home in 2017 on April 26.  I went over to Marymoor Park in Redmond, but on the way I stopped at a pond on the north side of Redmond.  I saw a male Northern Flicker that was excavating a nest hole in a snag.  He had the hole deep enough that he could get inside, and when I saw him, he was in the nest and tossing out the wood chips.  Here are some shots, and you can see the wood chips flying in some of them.

 

 

 

 

I went on to Marymoor Park and I got this picture of the male Ring-necked Pheasant that has been hanging around there for over a year now.

 

On my way home I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds and took some pictures of shorebirds.  Here is a Least Sandpiper.

 

I got a couple of pictures of a Spotted Sandpiper in breeding plumage, too.

 

 

That's it for today.  I'm eager to get out there birding again.  I keep reading about spring migrants that are coming through already, and I would like to look for them.  I'm also missing the nesting season.

 

 

Monday, April 27, 2020

 

Here are more pictures from the past.

 

 

2011

 

I was on my first trip to Arizona in April 2011, and on April 27, Christina and I were at the Grand Canyon.  Along the rim of the Grand Canyon, I got some pictures.  Here is a female Western Bluebird.

 

Here's a male Western Bluebird.

 

I have seen various species of titmouse in various places, and at the Grand Canyon I added Juniper Titmouse to the list.  I was taking pictures of one, and it hopped from one branch to another just as I snapped a picture.  I call this next one Jumping Juniper Titmouse.

 

Juniper Titmouse looks just like Oak Titmouse, which I see in California.  You tell the difference simply by where they are.  West of the Sierra Nevada range, you get Oak Titmouse, and east of the Sierra Nevadas, you get Juniper Titmouse.

 

Here is another similar situation.  I saw a scrub-jay, and at the time it was a Western Scrub-Jay.  Since then, that species has been split into two species with a geographic separation, and the ones in Arizona are now called Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay.  Here is a picture of a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay.

 

One of the special species at the Grand Canyon is California Condor.  There is a long story about California Condors, but the short version is that there are a few of them breeding at the Grand Canyon now.  I was lucky enough to spot one and get a picture.  Here is a California Condor (with the number 33 on its wing) with a Common Raven.

 

It was very exciting to spot the condor, and I set up my scope and was able to share the sighting with 20 or 30 people who were walking along the canyon rim.

 

 

2012

 

In April 2012 I was in Texas on my first Texas trip.  On the 27th, I was in the McAllen area, in the Rio Grande Valley, along the Mexican border.  Here is a Clay-colored Thrush (formerly called Clay-colored Robin).

 

Here's a Clay-colored Thrush sitting on a nest.

 

At Estero Llano Grande State Park I got this picture of an Eastern Screech-Owl roosting in the doorway of its nest box.

 

It looks a little grumpy at being disturbed, I think.

 

Here's a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, with its breeding plumes blowing in the wind.

 

Common Pauraque is a night bird that roosts during the day.  There is a pair that was roosting at Estero Llano, and each day they were in a certain small area.  I managed to find one of them, and here is a picture of that cryptic bird sitting on the ground.

 

Here are a couple of Common Ground-Doves.

 

Here's a Tricolored Heron.

 

 

 

2014

 

I was on my second Texas trip in April of 2014, and on April 27 I birded in the High Island area.  Here is a White-faced Ibis.

 

There had been a rarity reported at one reserve, and I managed to find it.  Here is a picture of a rare female Ruff.

 

Ruffs are pretty rare anywhere in the world, and I have seen a Ruff in three countries - the U.S., Great Britain, and Australia.

 

I was looking for Sedge Wren, and I found this one.

 

 

It looks very much like a Marsh Wren, and either one could be in that particular habitat, but after studying my pictures, I decided that this one was a Sedge Wren.

 

Here is a male Blue Grosbeak, looking very blue.

 

Here's a male Scarlet Tanager, looking very scarlet.

 

One of the rare shorebird species I was looking for was Buff-breasted Sandpiper, a bird that is found in fields, not at the shore.  I found a little group of them, and here is a picture of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

 

I saw Gray Catbirds a lot, usually around water features, and here is a Gray Catbird that is about to go into some water.

 

That's it for today.  Twenty pictures from the past.  The governor of Washington announced today that "outdoor recreation" is going to be opened soon here in Washington, with some restrictions, of course, and the state parks and wildlife areas will open next Tuesday.  Maybe other things will open sooner, or maybe I can go out birding from my car sooner.  I'm still hoping to be able to work on a May birding list, starting on Friday this week.

 

 

Tuesday, April 28. 2020

 

Here's another blast from the past.

 

 

2012

 

On 2012 I was on my first Texas birding trip, and I spent the day on South Padre Island, east of Brownsville.  Here is a Swainson's Thrush, a species I see here at home in the spring and summer.  I haven't seen one yet this year, but they are around, according to reports.

 

I was birding around the convention center, and I saw some orioles.  Here is a female Hooded Oriole, I think.

 

Here's a first year male Orchard Oriole.

 

As you can see, the orioles like oranges.  Here is a female Baltimore Oriole, I think.

 

Here's a picture of a male Indigo Bunting.  I do like those blue colored birds.

 

There is a boardwalk next to the convention center, and I saw some shorebirds there.  Here is a Pectoral Sandpiper.

 

This next one is a White Ibis.

 

At Sheepshead Street, I got this picture of a Northern Waterthrush, a member of the warbler family.

 

South Padre Island is a great place to bird during migration because it is one of the first possible places for birds flying over the Gulf of Mexico to land.  After flying hundreds of miles nonstop, they stick around to feed and gather their strength.

 

 

2014

 

In 2014 I was on my second Texas trip, and I was back in the High Island area by April 28.  Here is a picture of a Willet in breeding plumage.

 

I found three female Wilson's Phalaropes, and here's a picture of two of them.  They spend our winter in Argentina and fly to their northern breeding graounds each year.

 

Here is an Eastern Kingbird.  I recently have discovered how to find them here at home, although they are much more common on the east side of the Cascades.

 

I showed pictures of Common Nighthawks on the ground in the last day or two, but at Anahuac NWR I saw them sitting on posts.  Here is a female Common Nighthawk.

 

Here's a male Common Nighthawk, with his white throat.

 

Great-tailed Grackles are very common in Texas, but at Anahuac NWR there are Boat-tailed Grackles.  Here is a male Boat-tailed Grackle.

 

Here is a male Dickcissel.  I hadn't seen any of them when I was in that area two weeks earlier, but they had arrived from migration by April 28, and I saw them several times.

 

At one of the reserves in High Island, I saw this Blue Jay that had just taken a bath.

 

Here is a Brown Thrasher near a water feature.

 

 

 

2019

 

Last year on April 28, I birded at Marymoor Park, in nearby Redmond.  Here is a female Mallard with a batch of ducklings.

 

I saw several sparrow species that day, including the rare one I was looking for.  Here is a common White-crowned Sparrow.

 

Here's a Savannah Sparrow.

 

Here's another common sparrow, a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

 

The rarity (for this area) that I was looking for was Vesper Sparrow.  I found it right where people had reported it, near the compost piles next to the viewing mound.  Here are a couple of pictures of the Vesper Sparrow, my first one ever, west of the Cascade Range.

 

 

At the Redmond retention ponds, I got this picture of a Wilson's Snipe, a good bird to get in late April.

 

Finally, here is a Least Sandpiper.

 

So, there is another stroll down memory lane.  25 pictures from past April 28th's.  I'm looking forward to starting a May list on Friday this week, and if all goes well, there should be a report with new pictures.

 

 

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

 

Here's another retrospective look at past April 29th's.

 

 

2012

 

In 2012 I was in the Brownsville area on April 29.  I got this picture of a Chihuahuan Raven that I like very much.  Chihuahuan Ravens look like Common Ravens, except the feathers on their necks have white bases.  I got lucky and the wind blew this raven's feathers up, and you can see the white bases to the neck feathers.

 

They have a different call, too, but this one didn't call while I was there.

 

At Sabal Palm Sanctuary, right on the Mexican border, I got this picture of a Least Grebe.

 

Here's a Common Gallinule, formerly called Common Moorhen.

 

Here's a shot of a pair of Mottled Ducks.

 

At the feeders, I got this shot of a male Hooded Oriole.

 

Here is a Long-billed Thrasher.  It looks a lot like a Curve-billed Thrasher, except the Long-billed Thrasher has streaks on its breast.

 

I drove to South Padre Island and got these next two pictures of a male Cape May Warbler, an excellent species.

 

 

Here's a male Golden-fronted Woodpecker, an attractive species, I think.

 

Here's a Baltimore Oriole, a male I think.

 

 

 

2014

 

On April 29, 2014 I was on the last day of my second Texas trip.  That day I drove from Winnie, where I was staying in the High Island area, to the Houston airport.  On the way I saw my first and only Red-headed Woodpeckers of that trip.  The light was poor, but here are some pictures of Red-headed Woodpeckers.

 

 

 

I also found a Mississippi Kite on my way to the airport, and here are a couple of pictures.

 

 

 

 

2018

 

On April 29 in 2018 I was here at home, and I went over to Marymoor Park that day.  I got this series of pictures of a White-crowned Sparrow taking a bath in a puddle.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know why I like pictures of birds bathing, but for some reason, I do.  That's it for today, folks.

 

 

Thursday, April 30, 2020

 

Here's one final look back at pictures from previous Aprils.

 

 

2011

 

I was on my first Arizona birding trip, and on April 30 Christina and I were in Sedona, Arizona.  Here's a picture of a male Summer Tanager.

 

Here's a pair of Summer Tanagers.  The yellow female is in the lower right corner, partly hidden in the leaves.

 

Christina spotted this next bird, the only Common Black-Hawk I have ever seen.

 

There were some feeders at one place we visited, and I got this picture of a male Anna's Hummingbird, a species we have here at home.

 

Here's a male Black-chinned Hummingbird, a species we don't have in Western Washington.

 

Here is a male Lesser Goldfinch.

 

 

 

2012

 

On April 30, 2012 I was in Texas, and that day I drove from Brownsville to Aransas Pass, near Corpus Christi.  On Old Port Isobel Road, I got these next two pictures of Harris's Hawks.

 

 

Here's a shot of a pair of Northern Bobwhites.  The male is the one in front, on the left.

 

Later in the day, on Mustang Island, near Port Aransas, I got this picture of my lifer Baird's Sandpiper.

 

Here are a couple of Franklin's Gulls.

 

Here's a male Blue-winged Teal.

 

I got my lifer Stilt Sandpiper there, too.  Here's a Stilt Sandpiper in breeding plumage.

 

Stilt Sandpiper looks very much like Lesser Yellowlegs, and I was lucky enough to get a picture of a Lesser Yellowlegs (closer to the camera) and the Stilt Sandpiper in the same frame.

 

The bill of the Stilt Sandpiper droops just a little near the tip, and the legs of the Lesser Yellowlegs are more yellow.

 

Here's a male Ruddy Duck.

 

Here's a first year male Indigo Bunting.  Note that he is blotchy, as he is getting his first blue feathers.  He would have been hatched the year before.

 

I saw three thrasher species on that trip - Brown Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, and Long-billed Thrasher.  Here is a Brown Thrasher.

 

So, that is the end of my April look back at the past.  I have shown 649 pictures from my past Aprils.  I have enjoyed being reminded of past glories, but now it is time to go out birding again.  I hope to go out tomorrow, to start a May birding list.