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Saturday, February 1, 2020
A new month. My first bird was American Crow, and that was soon followed by Dark-eyed Junco. After breakfast, I watched the feeder and added European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. The forecast called for a low percentage chance for rain this morning, and the wind was supposed to be only 4 mph, so I headed up to Edmonds, intending to get some saltwater birds. On the way I stopped by the house in Lake Forest Park and tried for Band-tailed Pigeon, but didn't see any. I added American Robin and Feral Pigeon on the drive. I stopped at the place in Woodway where I have seen California Quail, but not today. I did add Black-capped Chickadee, House Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and Red-winged Blackbird there, though. It had been drizzling all the time since I left home, and it was worse when I got to the waterfront in Edmonds. The wind was blowing a lot harder than 4 mph, too. They blew the forecast. I gave that up, after trying unsuccessfully to see birds from Sunset Avenue. I added Glaucous-winged Gull in Edmonds, but nothing else.
Back home there were a lot of birds around the yard. The best one was this cute little Bewick's Wren, one for my February list.
That picture was taken through the window in the back door. Here is a male Spotted Towhee at the feeder.
You can see the rain falling. For comparison, here is a female Spotted Towhee. Note how much lighter gray the color is, compared to the male.
I added House Finch to my February list, and here is a picture of a male House Finch.
You can really see the rain in that picture. Here is a male Dark-eyed Junco feeding on the ground.
There was a Fox Sparrow feeding on the ground under the feeder, and that was another good one for February.
One final picture - a European Starling at the feeder.
I took all those pictures, other than the Bewick's Wren, from my car, while sitting in the driveway with the window open and the rain coming in. I got 16 species for February today, and I still have 118 for the year. The forecast is still wet, but there are supposed to be some breaks, so I'm hoping to get out birding. Today the forecast let me down, but maybe it will be more correct in the next 2 or 3 days.
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Finally we had a nice day. Temperatures in the 40's, mostly sunny, and not much wind. My plan was to go up to the Edmonds waterfront again, figuring I could do a lot better than yesterday in the wind. Before I even left home, though, I saw a Golden-crowned Sparrow under the bird feeder. Here are two pictures of the Golden-crowned Sparrow.
A little later I looked again, and this time I spotted a White-throated Sparrow, an excellent February bird. I went outside and tried for a picture, but the best I could do before it flew off was this very blurry picture of the White-throated Sparrow.
A Steller's Jay flew in to a bush near the feeder, too, and that was another February bird.
On my way to Edmonds, I stopped at the house in Lake Forest Park where I see Band-tailed Pigeons. I missed them yesterday, but today they were there. Here is a Band-tailed Pigeon.
While I was taking pictures of the pigeons, a VARIED THRUSH flew into a tree nearby. That was a great year-bird. The light was so poor that I couldn't get a picture before it flew off.
As I drove through Edmonds, I added Canada Goose to February. I parked and walked out onto the Edmonds fishing pier, and I soon added Bufflehead, Surf Scoter, and Red-breasted Merganser to my February list. There were also Horned Grebes and Red-necked Grebes around. There were a couple hundred Dunlin, another February bird, sitting on the marina breakwater.
I scanned the south breakwater with my scope, and I spotted two SURFBIRDS (year-bird) and a Black Turnstone near the southern end of the south breakwater, way too distant for pictures. I also saw some Mew Gulls, a Pelagic Cormorant, and a couple of Pigeon Guillemots out there - all February birds. There was also a Rhinoceros Auklet inside the marina, something I had never seen before.
I went up to Sunset Avenue and looked around. There were a lot of Brant nearby, so I took pictures of that attractive little goose.
There was a large group of Western Grebes out there, and there were Double-crested Cormorants and Brandt's Cormorants on the ferry dock pilings. I saw two separate Pacific Loons and a few Common Goldeneyes. Three times I saw Bald Eagles flying over the water. I moved up to Ocean Avenue, but I didn't see anything new up there.
On my way home I stopped at Squires Landing park in Kenmore, and I added Mallard to my February list. At home there were Anna's Hummingbirds coming to the nectar feeder, and another species went on the list. Later in the afternoon, as I went by the back door and looked out at the feeder, a Cooper's Hawk flew in and tried for a junco, but I don't think it got one. All the birds cleared out after that, but they were soon back.
It was a good day of birding, and the weather was excellent for a change. I added 28 more species to my February list, and now I have 44 species this month. Varied Thrush and Surfbird were new for 2020, and now I have 120 species this year so far. If the weather forecast holds, I hope to go up to Skagit county tomorrow to see what I can find.
Monday, February 3, 2020
I headed up to Skagit county this morning. It was sunny when I left home, but I ran into fog about 20 minutes north of home at Everett. I kept thinking I was going to come out of the fog, and I finally did, north of the Stanwood exit, almost to the exit I was heading for. As it turned out, I got back into fog as I approached Wylie Slough. While I was there, the fog finally burned off, but it held down visibility at first.
I added Trumpeter Swan right away, as some flew over, giving their loud trumpeting calls. I didn't see anything I needed at Wylie Slough except a Great Blue Heron, but on the way back to the highway, I saw some yellowlegs in a flooded field. For some reason, my pictures from today are blurry, off and on. I've fixed some of them with Shake Reduction, but they look kind of weird. Here is a Greater Yellowlegs.
Here is my first LESSER YELLOWLEGS of the year.
Note the relatively shorter bill on the Lesser Yellowlegs.
Lesser Yellowlegs is pretty rare here in the winter, but I had read that there was one in that location recently. Here is a picture that shows a Greater Yellowlegs (closer to the camera) and a smaller Lesser Yellowlegs.
I saw my first Red-tailed Hawk about then, and I also got Brewer's Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird at the dairy on Wylie Road. Brown-headed Cowbird is tough here in the winter, so I was pleased to get it for the second month in a row.
At Hayton Reserve I saw a Lincoln's Sparrow and got some pictures.
There were hundreds of Snow Geese out on the bay, in the distance, and I also spotted at least one Black-bellied Plover for my list.
I drove along Maupin Road to Rawlins Road. At the North Access I saw a Western Meadowlark fly in, so it went on my list. While driving up Rawlins Road I saw the American Kestrel I have seen there before, and near the end of the road there were some swans. At least one pair of the swans were Tundra Swans, so that one went on my list.
There were virtually no birds around the feeders at the corner of Dodge Valley Road and Valentine Road. Later I saw a small hawk near there, so that probably explains it. There were a couple of beautiful Bald Eagles in a tree, and they called at one point. This next picture is one that mysteriously came out terribly. I fixed it as best I could, but it's a shame it didn't come out, because the two eagles were magnificent.
At the house along Valentine Road, there was no suet at all in the big suet feeder, so I didn't get any woodpeckers today. Next I drove up to the east side of the Samish Flats in search of a rarity that has been seen there. When I got to the location where the bird has been hanging out, a guy was already there, with a scope set up, pointing at my target bird. I got out and took a look through his scope at the first GOLDEN EAGLE I have ever seen in Western Washington. I got this next picture, in which you can see the gold highlights on the top of the bird's head.
The bird is a juvenile, hatched last year. It takes four years for a Golden Eagle to get its full adult plumage. I went around the other side, to get a less obstructed view, but the light was terrible from that side. Here is the best I could do, but at least it shows the white band on the tail as well as the golden color of the top and back of the head.
I guess that bird has been hanging around there for weeks, but I hadn't realized it until over the weekend. As I drove to my next destination, I pulled off on a side road to find an outdoor bathroom to use, and there were ducks in a flooded field, so I took a look. I added American Wigeon, but I couldn't find a Eurasian Wigeon. I also got Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, and Common Raven there.
At the East 90, I sat in my car and ate half my Subway tuna sandwich, while I watched the fields. I added Rough-legged Hawk and Northern Harrier there, and I saw a couple more Western Meadowlarks, too. There were Bald Eagles everywhere I went, with more than two dozen around the big "eagle tree" to the north of the East 90. As I pulled out from where I had my sandwich, I noticed a couple of photographers out in a field, so I stopped to see what they were shooting. As it turned out, there were a couple of SHORT-EARED OWLS swooping around, so I tried for distant pictures from my car. Here are two distant pictures of a Short-eared Owl.
One of the owls flew toward me, and I watched it fly over the road to the other side. I got out of the car and got some closer pictures of Short-eared Owl.
I had tried several times in January to find Short-eared Owl, but I wasn't successful. It was satisfying to not only see two of them today, but to get pictures. Soon after I left that spot, I got these two pictures of a perched Rough-legged Hawk.
I drove to the overlook on Samish Island, but the only thing I got for my February list there was Common Loon. On my way back to the Samish Flats, I got this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk.
I drove back to the Skagit Flats area and stopped again at the houses with feeders along Valentine Road. Here is a male House Sparrow, not one I needed for February.
I got this picture of a male PURPLE FINCH near the house where I had seen them last year.
Here is a male House Finch for comparison.
There are several differences, but two of them are obvious in these pictures. The House Finch has streaks on his flanks, but they are blurry in the Purple Finch. The bills are different, too. The top of the bill of the House Finch is a bit curved, but the top of the bill of the Purple Finch is straight.
There were few birds around the house at the corner of Valentine Road and Dodge Valley Road, but a few Mourning Doves did show up, and I needed that one for February. Here is a Mourning Dove.
The few birds that were around that house were extremely skittish, taking off at the slightest thing. When I drove around to the other side of the house, as I was leaving, I discovered why. This SHARP-SHINNED HAWK was sitting out in the open, and sharpies prey on little birds.
I wasn't sure if it was a small Cooper's Hawk or a large Sharp-shinned Hawk, but when I studied my pictures, I found enough evidence to convince me to call it a Sharp-shinned Hawk pretty conclusively.
I stopped again at Hayton Reserve, but I saw nothing new there, and the tide was out. At Wylie Slough I found one of the Black Phoebes, which was one I particularly wanted to get for February. My pictures are too poor to show. I'm concerned about my camera, and I might have to buy a new one. I also saw a single American Coot there, for my February list. While I was at Wylie Slough, it hailed for a few minutes and rained after that. The rain and hail interfered with my picture-taking of the Black Phoebe, and it kept me from getting out of the car to look for more birds.
As I drove to the freeway, heading for home, I spotted a small falcon on a wire. I figured it was a kestrel, but it turned out to be my first MERLIN of the year. My camera again didn't cooperate, but I fixed up a picture enough to show it, at least. Here is a fixed picture of the Merlin.
Here is an unfixed one, marginally good enough to show, but not nearly as good as it should have been.
If I have one more day like today with my camera, I will get a new one. I did notice when I got home that there was a smear on the lens, so maybe that was enough to make today's pictures blurry. We will see.
I added 28 species to my February list today, and now I have 72 species this month. I added 6 species to my year list, and now I have 126 for the year. It is interesting that I have added 8 species that I didn't see in January, in the first 3 days of February. That shows the effect that the weather and my bum knee had on my birding in January.
Golden Eagle added one to my Skagit county life list, and now I have 170 species in Skagit county since I started keeping track of county lists in 2012.
Tomorrow the rain comes back, for several days, but it might be dry enough in the morning to get a few birds.
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Today I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, which is about a half hour north of home. The weather forecast called for snow showers to start about 10 or 11 this morning, but the temperatures were supposed to stay above freezing, so I headed up early, to look for birds. My first stop was the house in Marysville that has feeders, and a family of California Scrub-Jays hangs around there. This was my third time I would be going there for the scrub-jay, and I had been successful the first two times. California Scrub-Jays are uncommon around here, but families of them will stick around an area once they are established there. I had to walk around for 15 minutes or so, but I finally spotted a California Scrub-Jay near the top of a tree, and I got these pictures, which were tough because I was looking up into a bright cloudy sky as a background.
While I was looking for the scrub-jay, I spotted Northern Flicker and American Goldfinch for my February list. There were a lot of birds around the house with feeders.
With that one under my belt, I drove to the Everett sewage treatment ponds. There I added Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, and Lesser Scaup to my February list. While I was there, it started to snow very lightly - what I called snow sprinkles. It was 38 degrees with a brisk wind blowing, and my hands were hurting from the cold by the time I left. I lost one of my gloves, so my hands were unprotected.
I drove to the public boat launch area of the Everett waterfront to look for gulls. I found the two species of gulls I was expecting, but I struck out on Herring Gull, which is uncommon, although I saw one there last month. Here is a California Gull, one for my February list.
Note the yellowish legs and the bill with both black and red spots on it. California Gull in non-breeding plumage (in the summer, it wouldn't have that streaking on its neck). Here is a Ring-billed Gull.
Yellow legs, yellow eye, and the bill has that black ring around it near the end. Ring-billed Gull, also with the streaking they get in the winter.
So, I went to lunch, and by the time lunch was over, it was snowing lightly, but it wasn't sticking because it was in the mid-30's. My car indicated 38 degrees as we left for lunch at 11:45, but it was 34 degrees by the time I left for home about 1:00.
I added 10 more species to my February list today, and now I have 82 species this month so far. In 2018 at this point, I had only 68 species, and in 2019 I had 55, so I'm running ahead of the last two Februarys. On the other hand, the weather forecast for the next 3 or 4 days looks pretty wet. Maybe I can find some windows of opportunity, but I might be spending a lot of time at home for the rest of this week. Sunday and Monday look like my next good weather break.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Well, this was a truly rainy day. We have had 2 inches of rain since midnight, here at our house, and it is still bucketing down out there. It's supposed to continue overnight and finally taper down to showers tomorrow afternoon. I didn't let a little rain stop me, though, and I went looking for birds in the rain. Before I even left the house, I added Downy Woodpecker to my February list. A male Downy Woodpecker was at our suet feeder, and I went out on the back porch and got these pictures.
Notice how the bird uses the green board under the feeder to brace himself with his tail. That's the purpose of that board, and woodpeckers usually use it. They get a nice three point stance with their feet and their tail.
My first destination today was Marymoor Park. I drove through the community garden, looking for the male pheasant that birders call "Lonesome George". He gets that name because there aren't any pheasants in that area; one wonders how he ended up there, and also why he sticks around. He has been in the park, often at the community gardens, for at least a year. I looked for him as I drove down the north side of the garden, but I didn't see him. As I was turning around at the northeast corner of the gardens, I actually first spotted him in my back-up camera view. I quickly got myself turned around, and he stuck around for pictures. Here is Lonesome George, the Marymoor Park Ring-necked Pheasant.
He was very wet, and rain came in my window as I took those pictures. All my bird pictures from today, other than the ones at our suet feeder at home, were taken from my car, with rain coming in the window as I was shooting.
I didn't see anything else for my list at Marymoor, mainly because I didn't get out of my car in the downpour, but I did get some distant pictures of a wet Red-tailed Hawk.
Next I headed up into the foothills to look for my main target of the day, American Dipper. I got out of my car with my umbrella and looked from the bridge over Tokul Creek, but the creek was very high and fast, and I don’t think it was a very good place for a dipper today. I didn't see one. Here is Tokul Creek, looking upstream, in full flood.
So, my long drive up to Tokul Creek was in vain, and I retreated down the mountain to Carnation. There was lots of water in the fields, but at least no roads I went on were flooded, although I did have to go through 3 or 4 inches of water at one point. At the house in Carnation with feeders, I added Eurasian Collared-Dove to my February list. At Sikes Lake, there were ducks in the field to the north of the lake, which was flooded and basically part of the lake today. Among the ducks I found three female Common Mergansers, and that was another one for my February list, my fourth species of the day.
As I drove across the valley after that, a Common Raven flew in and landed on a fence. It was really soaked, and I got these next two pictures of a very wet Common Raven.
I had to take a detour to get home because there had been a landslide on Novelty Hill Road, and I got home about noon. In the afternoon I saw a female Northern Flicker at our suet feeder, and I got this picture.
She flew off after a minute or two, and a male Northern Flicker took her place.
The male has that red malar stripe.
Note that both flickers used their tails to brace themselves on the green board under the feeder.
Considering the frightful weather, I'm happy to have gotten 4 species for my list today, and to have also gotten some pictures I like. Now I have 86 species this month. Tomorrow looks to be rainy again, but there could be a brief break on Friday morning. Saturday is supposed to have showers, but then Sunday and Monday both look good, so maybe I can get out for a day trip or two.
Friday, February 7, 2020
No pictures today. I started my birding day at Kayu Kayu Ac Park in Richmond Beach. I added two species to my February list there - Harlequin Duck and Black Scoter. I moved on from there to my California Quail spot in Woodway. I didn't see anything, and I played the calls of California Quail. I heard nothing back, but as I was about to leave a California Quail called three times, so that one went on my list as a "heard only" species. That was a great one to get. I've now gotten California Quail for 26 months in a row, but I don't know how I have done that, as they are not common around here at all.
I moved on to Deer Park in Woodway and walked in the woods on the trails. I played the songs of Pacific Wren and Brown Creeper, the two species I see there, and eventually I heard a Pacific Wren calling back to me for a minute or so. I couldn't lure it out of the undergrowth, so it went on my list as another "heard only" bird for the day.
Next I went to the Edmonds Marsh. I tried for Marsh Wren, but never saw or heard one. I did see a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers, high in a tree, though, and I needed that one for February. There was also a pair of Gadwalls in the marsh, another one I still needed for February.
I stopped at Sunset Avenue and Ocean Avenue, but I got nothing I needed at either place. It was quite windy. For the day, I added 6 more species to my February list, and now I have 92 species in February.
Our very rainy weather is coming to an end, supposedly. Tomorrow there is one more storm moving through, with a lot of wind, and then it looks good for the next four days after that. I'm hoping to do a little overnight trip over to the north end of the Olympic Peninsula on Sunday-Monday, staying in Sequim on Sunday night, but we'll see if the forecast holds.
Saturday, February 8, 2020
This morning I went down to Juanita Beach Park and took my scope out onto the pier. I was hoping for 3 or 4 species, but all I got that I needed was Wood Duck. Here is a picture I took later in the day of a male Wood Duck.
I next went around the bay to Juanita Bay Park and walked out onto the east boardwalk. On the way I saw this Downy Woodpecker, one I already had for February.
While I was taking pictures of the Downy Woodpecker, a larger bird flew over, and I followed it with my binoculars to a distant tree. I got this distant picture to comfirm my first Hairy Woodpecker of February.
I was approaching the Hairy Woodpecker, hoping to get pictures, when I saw my first RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER of the year. It was behind some branches at first, but I got these pictures of the Red-breasted Sapsucker.
Out at the end of the boardwalk, there weren't many ducks around, and I was looking for a couple of duck species. A Belted Kingfisher flew by, though, and that was one I needed still for February. A little later, five Wilson's Snipe flew up from a part of the shore I couldn't see, but I got good binocular looks at them, and I had another target species. Later they flew back, but they landed out of sight along the shore. I headed back to my car, and on the way I saw two Ruby-crowned Kinglets, another February bird for my list. I also got this picture of a Black-capped Chickadee on a cattail.
That was it for my birding this morning, but back at home several species were going to the suet feeder. I got this picture of a Chestnut-backed Chickadee and a Downy Woodpecker on the suet feeder at the same time.
Our yard Bewick's Wren was feeding on and under the seed feeder, and I got these next two pictures of that little cutie.
I had lunch, and after lunch I went over to Log Boom Park in Kenmore, mainly to try for Canvasback. I saw a distant couple of Pied-billed Grebes, my first for February, and then I saw some Canvasbacks. Here is a mediocre picture of a pair of Canvasbacks, with the male on the right.
Back again at home, a male Northern Flicker was feeding at the suet feeder.
A short while later, I spotted a hawk fly in to the birch tree, and I went out to try for pictures. The hawk flew a couple of times, but didn't leave the yard. It tried for a bird once, but missed. It landed in a pine tree, though, and I got a couple of pictures of this juvenile Cooper's Hawk.
So, without venturing more than about 3 or 4 miles from home, I added 8 more species to my February list, to bring me to a nice round 100 species this month so far. The Red-breasted Sapsucker brought my 2020 total to 127 species.
Tomorrow I plan to go across Puget Sound to Kitsap, Jefferson, and Clallam counties, and spend the night in Sequim.
Sunday, February 9, 2020
I caught the 9:35 ferry from Edmonds to Kingston this morning, as planned. At the ferry terminal in Kingston, I got my first February bird from the car deck of the ferry, a male Barrow’s Goldeneye.
I picked up a sandwich at Subway and motored on up to Point No Point, at the northeast tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. I actually never got to Point No Point itself, because I pulled into the overflow parking lot just west of there. I got out my scope and scanned around. There were about three dozen small boats out there, fishing, and not a lot of birds. I did find two pairs of Marbled Murrelet, though, which was one of my targets there. I also saw just one Common Murre, although a couple of birders reported they had 300 of them yesterday at the same time and place. Still, one was all I needed. I also got the expected Bonaparte’s Gulls, which were scattered among the boats. I got those three February species in about fifteen minutes, and then I moved on.
My next stop was Port Gamble. I spotted about half a dozen Long-tailed Ducks, too far away for pictures, but a great one for my February list. There was also a distant Red-throated Loon out there, another one I needed. I saw Pacific Loon and Common Loon there, too, but I already had those two this month. There were some American Wigeons in a little bay, and there was one male Eurasian Wigeon with them, so that one went on my list, too. Fairly close to shore were 3 or 4 White-winged Scoters, and that was another one I needed. Here is a distant picture of a pair of White-winged Scoters.
From a little closer, here is the male White-winged Scoter.
Here is the female White-winged Scoter.
I didn’t need it, but here is a picture of a male Red-breasted Merganser.
That bird was pretty far away, and I’m pleased with how well the picture came out. The light was great, which is what made the picture possible.
After that I drove to Fort Flagler State Park, where I ate my lunch and watched the birds. I didn’t need them, but there were a lot of Black-bellied Plovers around, and I got this picture.
There were also a lot of Dunlin around, a species I didn’t need, and also a lot of Sanderlings, which I did need. Here is a picture of a couple of SANDERLINGS (my first of the year) and some Dunlin. The Sanderlings are the light colored ones.
I scanned the waters offshore, and I got this extremely distant picture of a Long-tailed Duck.
I think that is a male Long-tailed Duck (formerly called Oldsquaw) in winter plumage. I also saw a Double-crested Cormorant that had caught a large fish. It was struggling to swallow it, and I managed to get a picture just as it finally was getting it down.
I was amazed it could swallow such a big fish. Here is the cormorant with the fish still in its neck, on its way down.
While I was driving back south on Marrowstone Island, there were some ducks on a farm pond, and I got this picture of a male Eurasian Wigeon and a male American Wigeon. The Eurasian one has the red head, while the American one has a green stripe on its head.
From there I drove to John Wayne Marina in Clallam county, near Sequim, my eventual destination today. As I approached the marina, there were some Hooded Mergansers close to shore. I needed that species still for February. Here is a male Hooded Merganser.
This is what a female Hooded Merganser looks like.
Here are two pictures of the pair of Hooded Mergansers.
On the south side of the marina, there is a little beach where gulls hang out, and I wanted to look through them for three gull species I needed. There were a couple of dozen gulls there, but just as I got there, a couple of little kids on the beach flushed the gulls, so that was that. I’ll go back again tomorrow. I did pick up Northwestern Crow there at the marina, at least, a good one for my February list.
Next I drove to the area that birders call Three Crabs, named after a restaurant that used to be located there. I was hoping for Northern Shrike or Marsh Wren there, but I didn’t get either one of them, despite playing Marsh Wren songs in a couple of places. I did see a raptor on a fence post, though, and it turned out to be a female Northern Harrier, one I already had this month. Here she is.
Her face looks almost like an owl’s face. Something got her attention, and she perked up and raised her head.
Right after that, she took off and flew away. I got one picture of her flying off, but it is blurry from the motion.
I drove to Dungeness Landing county park, looking for gulls and a rare shorebird. I scanned the distant shorebirds roosting on Cline Spit, looking for the rare Willet that has been reported around there, but I didn’t find it among the Sanderlings, Dunlin, Black-bellied Plovers, gulls, and cormorants. There were a number of gulls around, and I looked closely at them, looking for three species I needed. The only one I found was WESTERN GULL, my first ones of the year. Here is what I believe is one of the Western Gulls I found there.
Western Gulls have darker backs and wings than the rest of our local gulls. We don’t get them very often near Seattle, but they are fairly common over here, and much more common on the ocean shores of the west Coast.
It was getting late by then, but I had one more place I wanted to go. I found my way to Railroad Bridge Park and walked out on the old railroad bridge, which is now part of a wonderful biking and hiking trail that runs all through this area. The Dungeness River was high, and I couldn’t find an American Dipper. I’ll go back in the morning and try again.
There is an Audubon Center there, and they have some bird feeders. I watched the feeders for a while, and a couple of Pine Siskins came in, one I needed for February. Here is a Pine Siskin at one of the feeders.
When I first started thinking about this trip last week, one of my main targets for the trip was California Quail. As it turned out, I heard a California Quail call in Woodway last week, but I still like to see them and get pictures. None were around the feeders, where I have seen them in the past, but just as I was about to leave, they showed up. There ended up being 8 of them, I think – 2 males and 6 females. It was starting to get dark, so there wasn’t much light for pictures, but I love quail, so I took pictures anyway. Here is a female California Quail looking back over her shoulder at me.
Here are a couple of female California Quail hustling along.
Here is a male California Quail.
Finally, here are two more pictures of a male California Quail.
That was it for me today. It was a productive day, with excellent weather for a change. I added 13 species to my February list, and now I have 113 species this month. I added 2 to my 2020 list, too, and now I have 128 species so far this year.
There isn’t much more for me to get tomorrow, but I’ll try for the dipper and a couple of gulls around here, and on my way home I’ll try again for Black Oystercatcher, which I missed today. Something else could always show up, too, of course. That’s part of the fun of birding – surprises can show up.
Monday, February 10, 2020
My first stop this morning was Railroad Bridge Park, and I tried for the dipper there. No luck. I played Golden-crowned Kinglet songs, and had no luck with that one, either. The only interesting birds I saw there were a couple of Varied Thrushes. I already had that one this month, but I got three rather distant pictures of them, and I have very few pictures today, so here they are.
Next I went to Dungeness Landing county park and looked for the rare Willet on distant shores. I didn't find it. There were a few gulls around, and I think this one looked like an Iceland Gull (formerly Thayer's Gull).
I would probably have counted it after looking at that picture, but a little later at John Wayne Marina I saw another gull that I'm pretty sure was an ICELAND GULL, my first of the year. Here is that one.
The very pink legs on that one is one big factor that convinces me. Anyway, I saw others, too, and I'm satisfied that at least some of them were Iceland Gulls. I had hoped to see Black Oystercatcher at John Wayne Marina, but I didn't.
From there I drove to Indian Island county park, Lagoon Beach section. I have seen oystercatchers there a number of times, and today I found two of them Here is a terrible picture of two Black Oystercatchers.
I was looking right into the bright sun, and it would have meant clambering over the rocks to get a better angle, so I settled for what I could get. Here is one more terrible picture of a Black Oystercatcher.
After that I headed for home. I stopped a couple of places, but I didn't see anything of interest. At Shine Tidelands I did take a couple of pictures of a Golden-crowned Sparrow. I saw Golden-crowned Sparrows several times on the trip, but never their cousin, White-crowned Sparrow, which is the one I need still this month. Here is a Golden-crowned Sparrow.
So, I only added two more species to February today, but one was a year-bird, at least. Now I have 115 species in February and 129 species this year so far. [that was corrected to 130 the next day] The trip was very successful in terms of birds. I had a list of 24 potential species I might see on the trip, but some of them were pretty unlikely. Before I left, I told myself that I expected to get 10 or 12 of the 24. As it turned out, I got 14, plus one more that I had overlooked putting on the list. I was especially lucky with saltwater species, and those were the main targets of the trip.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Before I get into today, I need to correct a mistake I made on Sunday. I neglected to add Western Gull to my year total. As of last night, my year total was actually 130 species.
Today I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, but I went north early, up to Tulalip Bay. I was looking for the rare Ruddy Turnstone that has been hanging out there with Black Turnstones all winter. First I tried the high tide roost to the northwest of the marina, but there weren't any birds there. Next I tried the southeast part of the bay where there is good foraging for turnstones as the tide gets low enough, but that area was still covered with water from the falling tide. Finally, I went out on the residential peninsula on the west side of the bay, and I could see shorebirds feeding along the main spit, which was just starting to be uncovered by the falling tide. With my scope on the highest power, I searched through the Dunlin and Black Turnstones, and eventually found the single Ruddy Turnstone, busily foraging along the edge of the water.
With that excellent species under my belt, I drove to the boat ramp area of the Everett Harbor. I was looking for Herring Gull, an uncommon gull around Puget Sound. I had seen one there in both December and January, so I was hopeful. There weren't many gulls roosting in the parking lot, but I spent 20 minutes or so looking through them, and eventually I found what I believe was a Herring Gull. The best way I have of telling a Herring Gull from the other large gulls is that the eyes of Herring Gulls are light-colored. Here is a gull with brown eyes that are lighter than most of the eyes of the large gulls, but not light enough for me to call it a Herring Gull. Almost all of the large gulls had darker eyes than this.
Here is a close-up picture of the one I think was a Herring Gull, with its lighter colored eye.
There were other marks, too, like the red spot on the lower bill, with a small black spot that would only be there in the winter. Here is a picture of the whole Herring Gull.
The legs were pinker than those of the other large gulls, too, and I think that was also a clue.
After lunch I stopped at the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park. I got a response from playing Virginia Rail calls, so that one went on my February list. I couldn't call up a Marsh Wren, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, or a Brown Creeper, though.
I went across the street to the main part of the park, and I did get a Golden-crowned Kinglet to fly in when I played the call. Normally, when a Golden-crowned Kinglet does respond, it sticks around and shows its golden crown, and I can usually get pictures. This one only stayed very briefly, though, and I was lucky to get a quick view of it with my binoculars, to confirm the species, before it flew off. I tried for Brown Creeper there, too, but couldn't attract one.
So, the day was a bust for pictures, but I added 4 species to my February list, to give me 119 species now. Last year I got 125 species in February, and in 2018 I got 127. I have hopes of beating both of those numbers this month, but there is work to do yet. Fortunately, there is a lot of time left this month still, and I have an extra day in February this year, too, due to leap year.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
My first stop this morning was Marymoor Park. I tried the rowing club pond for Green Heron, but didn't find one. I drove around to the main part of the park, but I couldn't find any Cackling Geese today. I stopped at the viewing mound and took my scope up on it, in the hope of seeing the Northern Shrike that has been wintering there. I didn't see it, but I noticed a couple of guys with big-lens cameras walking down the east side of the East Meadow. At one point they stopped and pointed their cameras, and I looked with my binoculars where they were looking, and I thought I saw the shrike, flying up into a tree. I went to my scope, but I couldn't find it again. I watched the area for 15 or 20 minutes, but I never saw the shrike. I did see a couple of small groups of Western Meadowlarks, and eventually I decided that I wasn't sure enough of my shrike ID to count it. It might have been a meadowlark I saw, but at the time I sure thought it was the shrike. I didn't count Northern Shrike today. In hindsight, I wish I had put my scope in my car and walked to that end of the meadow.
I drove over to the west side of the park and walked along the slough. The slough was higher than I have ever seen it, due to all our recent rain, no doubt. I was hoping for Green Heron, but the water was so high and so fast that there weren't really any good places for it, and I never saw one. I did get this picture of a male Common Goldeneye, though, one I didn't need.
As I was leaving the park, I stopped to pick up the gimme Killdeer that I still needed, so at least I had one species for the day. After that I drove up to Tokul Creek, to look for American Dipper. The water was very high and fast there, too, and I dipped on the dipper. That makes two misses in a row this month for the dipper, but the water level wasn't favorable either time.
I tried again for the dipper at the Tolt River bridge, on the south side of Carnation, but the Tolt River was also very high and fast, and I missed it again. I picked up a sandwich at the Carnation Market and took it to the Stillwater Access to the Snoqualmie Valley Wildlife Area, and I ate half of it in the car. After I ate, I walked south on the dike trail, playing Marsh Wren and Brown Creeper calls. I had to walk almost to the second bridge, but eventually I spotted a MARSH WREN a fair distance away, obviously reacting to the calls I was playing. I got this distant, blurry picture that at least confirmed the identification.
The bird kept disappearing and then showing up again a little closer, and I watched it for about 15 minutes as it slowly got closer. Here was the best picture I could get of my first Marsh Wren of the year.
It was quite gratifying to finally see a Marsh Wren this year. I had seen one in every month for 23 months in a row, until December of 2019, and then I didn't see one last month, either. It was turning into my nemesis bird, so it was nice to finally see one.
I continued to walk down the trail and play Brown Creeper calls, and finally one of those flew in. Here are couple of pictures of my first Brown Creeper of February this year.
I headed for home, stopping a couple of places as I went across the Snoqualmie Valley. I couldn't find any Cackling Geese, but at one stop I did see a White-crowned Sparrow at least, and that was another one for my February list. While I was unsuccessfully trying to get a picture of the White-crowned Sparrow, a Fox Sparrow flew in and posed for me. I didn’t need it, but I like Fox Sparrows, so I took these next two pictures.
I stopped one more place on the way home - at the Redmond Retention Ponds, mainly because I wanted to see how high the water level was. It was higher than I had ever seen it, like everywhere else. Here is the main pond there.
There were remarkably few birds everywhere I went today, for some reason. I was quite fortunate to get 4 more for my February list, although none of them were uncommon species. Now I have 123 species in February. Marsh Wren brings my 2020 total to 131 species. We had a break in the weather today, but tomorrow our rainy weather returns, and I'll have to try to find short windows when I can go out, or else chase birds I can see from the car.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
I don't have many more species I can get this month, and it was supposed to rain today. On top of that, I had a friend coming over for lunch at about 11:15, so I didn't have much time. I drove over to the Woodinville Turf Farm to look for the Cackling Geese that have been reported there, but they were absent. I drove around to other possible sites in the Sammamish Valley, including the 60 Acres soccer fields and Marymoor Park, but there were no Cackling Geese on offer. On my way home I pulled in to the parking lot at the Willows Run Golf course, and I spotted a flock of Cackling Geese there. I knew they had to be somewhere in that valley, and I found them. That one brought me to 124 species for February.
Friday, February 14, 2020
I've done so well this month that there are not many species left for me to get, and the month isn't even half over yet. I decided today to try for Green Heron at the Rowing Club pond at Marymoor, because it had been seen there yesterday. I didn't find it, but as I was looking, I heard the distant call of what I thought was a Pileated Woodpecker, another species I needed. I walked down to the slough, and the woodpecker kept calling. I never was able to actually see it, although I got a lot closer to it, and I heard it call at least a dozen times, so Pileated Woodpecker went on my February list.
While I was chasing the woodpecker, I saw a hawk fly into a tree. I got underneath it, and I shot a lot of pictures of the juvenile Cooper's Hawk, not one I needed, but I always like raptor pictures. Here are more pictures than necessary of the juvenile Cooper's Hawk.
There was a pair of Buffleheads on the pond, and they kept flying back and forth. I got this picture of the male Bufflehead.
My next target was American Dipper. I had tried twice before this month and dipped on it, but a dipper had been reported at my Tokul Creek site two days ago, so I drove up there to see if I could find one. I looked upstream, and I looked downstream, but I didn't see any dippers. I looked again, and on about my 3rd or 4th look upstream, I thought I saw a bird fly low across the creek, out of the corner of my eye. I searched the area with my binoculars, and by golly, there it was - a lovely little American Dipper. It was pretty far away for pictures, but I tried anyway. I took about a dozen shots, and the best I could get at that distance was this one.
After that I had to hit the road because I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, and I was a hour away. Pileated Woodpecker and American Dipper brought me to 126 species this month. I had 127 in 2018 and 125 in 2019 in February. There aren't a lot left to get, but I have lots of time to find a couple more species and beat the 2018 number.
Saturday, February 15, 2020
Today was dry, but it was also pretty cold and windy, and I didn't really feel like going out looking for birds. I needed to go to the store, though, to pick up the fixin's for a salad. Christina is out of town for four days, and I needed to prepare my own dinner tonight. Since I was already out, I stopped by Juanita Bay Park on my way home, and I walked on the fire station road. There is very little I still needed for February, but I was hoping to find a flock of Bushtits. Bushtits range over a large area, and there is really no way to go to a particular place to look for them, but they had nested along the fire station road this last year, so I thought there might be a flock in the area. Bushtits form large (10 to 40 individuals) flocks in the winter, and then they pair up for the breeding season.
Anyway, I didn't find any Bushtits on the fire station road, so I drove around that area for ten or fifteen minutes, hoping to luck into a flock. I didn't, so I gave it up and headed for home. As I drove down our driveway, what do I see in the birch tree and on our suet feeder? That's right, a flock of Bushtits! I got Bushtit in our yard in that same group of trees in both December and January, so I knew it was possible, but it is just a matter of chance to see them there. So, I added Bushtit to my February list today, and I spent ten or fifteen minutes trying to take pictures of the little cuties. They never stay still for more than a couple of seconds, so it is always a challenge, and today it was overcast and there wasn't much light, which makes it even harder. I actually did quite well, and I got a number of pictures of Bushtits.
This next picture shows a Bushtit hanging upside down, and it appears to have only one leg.
Aren't they cute little birds? Look how tiny their bills are.
All the ones I have shown so far appear to be females. Female Bushtits have light-colored eyes, and males have dark eyes. Here is a male Bushtit.
So, that was pretty exciting. I was out looking specifically for Bushtit, one of the few species I had left for February, and when I got home, there they were. Now I have 127 species for February. That exceeds the 125 I got last year and matches the 127 species I got in 2018. I have lots of time left to get a few more species, but not many left to look for. I'm hoping a rarity will show up, or maybe I'll go down to south King county to try for something down there. There are three swallow species that could possible show up by the end of the month, too, and I'll be watching for reports of them. I actually saw a small group of Barn Swallows last month, and maybe I'll get lucky with another very early group this month. I could also keep going back to Marymoor to look for the Green Heron that is wintering there.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Showers were forecasted for the area today, but the morning looked pretty good. I decided to head down to south King county to try for a duck species down there. This species had been reported on all 6 or 7 February eBird reports for Weyerhaeuser Pond, so I figured my chances were good. Weyerhaeuser Pond is about 40 minutes south of home, without traffic. When I got there, I saw some ducks, but not the species I needed. I couldn't find a close enough place to park my car legally, so I pulled over at a safe spot that looked good. It wasn't actually illegal, because it was private property, but it is open to the public. It did have a sign down the road that implied parking was forbidden there, though.
I walked along the pond a bit, hoping to be able to see the far end from some point. I saw a duck with a red head, which my target species also has, but it was only a male Eurasian Wigeon, which I already ahd this month.
At the south end of the pond, there were a bunch of ducks, but I didn't see my target species. I got as close as I could, and I stood there a couple of minutes because the ducks were slowly coming out from behind some bushes on a point. In a short while, I spotted my target species, a male REDHEAD, my first of the year. Another one showed itself, and eventually I saw four of them - three males and one female. The light was as terrible as possible. I was looking right into the sun, and the sun was reflecting off the water between me and the ducks. Here is the best picture I could get of the first male Redhead I saw.
You can see that he has a red head, like the male Eurasian Wigeon, but he also has a black breast, which the wigeon does not have. Here is another picture of a male Redhead (in the middle of the picture.)
A female Redhead is just coming into the frame on the right - you can just see her head. The light was so terrible that I gave it up after that and headed back to my car. On the way I got another pictures of a male Eurasian Wigeon. There were at least two of them there today.
As I approached my car, I noticed a security car, and the security guy told me I couldn't park where I had parked. We had a friendly chat, and I headed for home. I was kind of surprised that a security guy had shown up on a Sunday morning, when no one else was around, and I had only been there for about 15 minutes.
So, I got one more species for February, and it was a new one for 2020 as well. Now I have 128 species for February, which beats 2019 (125) and 2018 (127). There are two or three other possibilities I could get this month, as well the chance that a swallow species will come back a little early this year and I'll see one before the end of the month. There isn't much for me to go looking for, though.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
I didn't do much birding for several days, partly because there isn't much to go looking for, since I have so many species already this month, and partly to rest my bum knee. I did go over to Marymoor Park a couple of times, to look for Green Heron and Northern Shrike, but I dipped.
Today I headed up to Skagit county. I had a list of eleven species that I needed, and had been reported recently in the places I was planning to visit, but none of them were likely and several were real long shots. To illustrate the difficulty, 8 of the 11 would have been new for the year for me.
On my way to Wylie Slough, my first stop, I saw a couple of Western Meadowlarks in a field, and I got this picture.
At the entrance to the reserve, a Black Phoebe was flycatching, and I got this picture.
I didn't need either one of those species, but they are both "good" ones, and I was happy to get the pictures. A large group of birders was walking on the entrance road, and I stopped and told them where the Black Phoebe was, and asked if they had seen the rare Northern Waterthrush. They had seen the waterthrush and they told me exactly where they had seen it. I have gone up there at least a dozen times this winter, looking for that bird, and I still haven't seen it. I missed it twice today. The tide was going out, and I did manage to see my first LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS of the year. Here is a rather distant picture of the two Long-billed Dowitchers.
Next I drove to Hayton Reserve and walked up on the dike. I was hoping for Peregrine Falcon, but I didn't see one and neither of the other two birders who were there had seen one today there, either. I drove on to the Jensen Access and I saw an interesting looking blackbird in a tree with a mixed flock of blackbirds. Here are a couple of pictures.
I wondered if it was a rarity, a Rusty Blackbird, transitioning from winter to summer plumage, but I decided it was most likely a partially leucistic male Brewer's Blackbird. I drove on toward the North Fork Access and took some swan pictures. Here is a Trumpeter Swan.
There are two swan species in the area, and main differences are in their heads. Here is a close-up shot of a Trumpeter Swan.
Note the flat spot on its head and the way the black of the bill meets the eye. Here is a close-up of a Tundra Swan that I took a little later. The head is rounded and the black of the bill is coming to a point as it reaches the eye.
Most Tundra Swans also have a yellow spot on their bill, in front of the eye. The yellow spot can vary a lot in size and shape, or be missing entirely. Here are three more Tundra Swans, with different shapes and sizes of yellow spots on the bill.
I stopped at the North Fork Access and took my scope up on the dike. I was looking for Northern Shrike. I spotted a male Northern Harrier and I took this very distant picture of him.
For some reason, female Northern Harriers are much more common than males, so spotting a male is always good. Just as I was ready to leave, I spotted a very distant Northern Shrike, my target there and one I needed for February. It was much too far for a picture, but I was happy to see it, and I returned to my car. When I got to my car, I saw it fly a lot closer. Here is a pictures that is distant, but at least you can see the bird. Northern Shrike.
It was nice to get a picture, but then the bird flew right toward me and ended up on a sign post that I was able to approach quite closely. Here are some nice close pictures of my Northern Shrike today.
So, that pleased me - two species for February, with pictures. As I drove back to the main road, I got this picture of an immature Bald Eagle in a field. Check out that massive bill.
I drove around Fir Island, looking for several species, but I didn’t get anything else I needed. I did get this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk that is interesting, though. It has bands on both of its legs.
There was a female American Kestrel on a wire, and I took pictures. The light was absolutely terrible, because I was looking up into a bright cloudy sky, right toward the sun, and here is the best I could do.
After driving around Fir Island and finding nothing I needed, I stopped again at Hayton Reserve and at Wylie Slough, but I didn't get anything else. I did get another Red-tailed Hawk picture at Hayton Reserve, though.
I was ready to head for home, but I had seen a report of a couple of Yellow-headed Blackbirds on a road down in Stanwood, so I stopped by there on my way home. I saw a blackbird flock right were the Yellow-headed Blackbirds had been seen, and I got a good scope views of them in some trees, but I didn't see any Yellow-headed ones. I had seen a flock of 2 or 3 hundred Snow Geese near Wylie Slough earlier, but they were too far away for pictures. On Tholme Road in Stanwood, where I was looking for the Yellow-headed Blackbirds, there was a huge flock of thousands of Snow Geese. Here is a picture of part of the flock flying around. You can see others on the ground, and this was still only part of the flock.
Farther down the road, the edge of the flock was close to the road, so I took pictures. Here are some adult Snow Geese.
Here are some juvenile Snow Geese, with their dark wing feathers.
The discoloration on the heads of both the adults and the juvies is due to the mud they root around in while feeding.
So, that was it for my birding today. I added two species to my February list, and now I have 130 species in February. Long-billed Dowitcher was new for 2020 for me, and now I have 133 species this year. There is a week left in February, but there is really little to go looking for, so I might not get any more this month, and I might not even go out looking much.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
On Tuesday I went over to Magnuson Park to look for Cedar Waxwings. I didn’t find any, but I got a couple of pictures of a Spotted Towhee. I find Spotted Towhees very attractive, and I like these two pictures.
On my way home I stopped at Matthews Beach and I took pictures of ducks. Here is a male American Wigeon.
There was one Eurasian Wigeon with the American Wigeons, but something spooked them all, and they flew off to the water before I could get a picture for comparison. I was able to get this more distant picture of the male Eurasian Wigeon in the water, eventually.
Today I went over to Marymoor to look for Green Heron. I stopped first at the rowing club, but I didn't see anything there. Over in the main part of the park, I walked along the slough, but I couldn't find a Green Heron there, either. I saw a Belted Kingfisher with a relatively large fish, though, and I took some rather distant pictures.
Here's a shot from a little different perspective, to get some of the branches out of the way.
The kingfisher took off and flew down the slough to another tree, taking its fish with it. I moved down and got more pictures.
The fish was still flopping around a bit.
I moved down to another slough access point and got this picture of the kingfisher, just sitting there with its catch.
I stuck around a while, but the bird just sat there. I don't know what it was waiting for, and I don't know if it ever managed to swallow the fish. I would have liked to have seen the end of the story, but I didn't hang around long enough for that.
I took some pictures of ducks on the slough. Here is a female Common Merganser.
Here is a male Common Goldeneye.
There was a pair of Green-winged Teals feeding along the shore. Here is the male Green-winged Teal.
I like to show the differences between males and females of a species, so here is a picture of the female Green-winged Teal.
That was it for my birding today, but at home I noticed a few Bushtits going to our suet feeder, so I took a couple of pictures.
While I was taking those pictures, a Bewick's Wren went to the seed feeder, so I took a couple of pictures of that little cutie.
I didn't get any more species for my lists today, and it looks like I will be finishing February with 130 species. I have 133 species so far this year.
Friday, February 28, 2020
Well, I thought was done for February, but yesterday Tree Swallows and Violet-green Swallows were seen at Marymoor Park for the first time this year. Either of those species would be new for the year for me, as would Green Heron, which is definitely there, but I have missed it every time this year. In addition to that, a single Greater White-fronted Goose was reported to be in a flock of a thousand Cackling Geese, and I needed that one for my year list, too.
So, with all those possibilities, I went over to Marymoor. I didn't find a Green Heron at the rowing club pond, so I went around to the main part of the park. I checked out the East Meadow, where Tree Swallows had been seen yesterday, but I saw no swallows. I couldn't find any Cackling geese around, either. I guess the flock was somewhere else in the valley today. I went over to the west parking lot for the dog park and walked along the slough. Another birder there told me that there was a duck there that was a vagrant, not usually seen around here. I walked down the slough and spotted the male EURASIAN TEAL, a rare vagrant to this area in the winter. It should have been in Asia. Here are a couple of rather distant pictures of the male Eurasian Teal.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to count it for my lists or not. Some authorities consider Green-winged Teal and Eurasian Teal as subspecies of the same overall species. I looked it up, and found that most authorities call them separate species so I decided to count it on my 2020 list and February list as a separate species from Green-winged Teal. Here is a picture of a Green-winged Teal, which is an American species (or subspecies according to some experts).
You can see that they are quite similar, but the Green-winged Teal has that prominent white vertical stripe on its shoulder, and the Eurasian Teal doesn't. In addition, the Eurasian Teal has more prominent white markings around the face and has that white on its side as well, just above the black marking. Here is another male teal that has a thinner white shoulder stripe.
That last one could possibly be a hybrid cross of Green-winged Teal and Eurasian Teal, according to what I read. Anyway, I ended up deciding to count Eurasian Teal today.
There were several Common Mergansers on the slough, a species I already had this month. There were both males and females, and taking pictures of male Common Merganser is always a challenge because of the bright white of the flanks and the very dark green head. It is a challenge to be able to see the eye, and also to get the green color to show. They often just look like they have a black head. Here are a couple of pictures of male Common Merganser.
Female Common Mergansers look quite different, and here are a couple of pictures of a female Common Merganser.
So, I missed all the species I went to Marymoor Park to find, but I picked up Eurasian Teal, which had also been mentioned in yesterday's reports for the park. That brought my February total to 131 species and my 2020 total to 134 species. That will most likely be it for February.