June 2020

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Monday, June 1, 2020

Today was a new month. All birds would be new for my June list. I picked up Dark-eyed Junco in our yard as I left, and I got American Crow as I drove. I went up to Marysville, about a half hour north of home. First I went to the neighborhood where a family of California Scrub-Jays lives, but after walking around for half an hour and playing scrub-jay calls, I hadn't seen a single bird of any species. Remarkable.

Next I went to the trail along Ebey Slough, which departs from the south side of Marysville. I chose to carry my camp chair, rather than my scope, which might have been a mistake. Cliff Swallows were nesting under the bridge, and I soon saw a Song Sparrow and a little family of Canada Geese. A single Tree Swallow perched on a piling, and an American Robin was singing in a tree.

I got to the point where I could see the main pond of the Marysville Sewage Plant, and I realized then I should have brought my scope. I was looking for ducks, and they were far away and I was looking right into the sun, which made it even harder. I easily got Ruddy Duck (which I don't see very many places) and Northern Shoveler, and then I spotted 4 or 5 Lesser Scaup, which was another good one to get. There were many Mallards and some Gadwalls also. I saw a couple of interesting ducks I couldn't identify, so I took some pictures, and I'll get back to those later in my report.

I started back toward my car and I spotted three Bonaparte's Gulls, my main target there today. They hadn't been there when I passed on my way south, and they flew off as I watched them, so I was lucky to get that one.

I left there and saw a Great Blue Heron flying high overhead as I drove, and then some European Starlings and a Feral Pigeon. My next stop was the Everett Sewage Ponds, but there were almost no ducks there at all. I got Red-winged Blackbird and a single Killdeer. An Osprey was circling high overhead, so that one went on my list, too. Back here at home I added Northern Flicker to my list.

When I looked at my pictures, I was happy to find two more species I needed. Here is a male Cinnamon Teal. The picture is awful, but I include it for my records.

You can see the cinnamon color and also the blue wing patch is showing. The shape of the head and bill is pretty diagnostic, too.

Here are two pictures of a male Blue-winged Teal. They are also awful, but the first one shows the blue, white, and green patches on the wing. The second one shows the white crescent on the face, at the base of the bill.

I show those pictures for my records, but also to illustrate how important a tool my camera is for me in identifying birds when I don't have my scope with me.

So, I got most of my target species today (Bonaparte's Gull, Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, and Ruddy Duck), other than the scrub-jay, and now I have 23 species in June.

Tuesday, June 2, 2020

My first stop this morning was the northwest trailhead for Rattlesnake Ridge trail, near the town of Snoqualmie. I walked around and played various bird calls, but I didn't get much. I did manage to attract a Warbling Vireo, though, and it sang back to me and hung around for pictures. Vireos are often very responsive to playback, and once you get them going, they usually just keep on singing. Here is the Warbling Vireo.

A couple of Common Ravens were flying around overhead, calling loudly, so that one went on my June list, too.

Next I drove to Tokul Creek, where I try for dipper. I found one pretty quickly, and I got a couple of pictures of the American Dipper. In this first shot, it is vocalizing.

I love their pudgy little bodies and stubby little tails that stick up.

From there I drove to the town of Carnation, to the house with feeders. A male Brewer's Blackbird was right out in front when I got there.

Here is a male Red-winged Blackbird for comparison.

There were a couple of dozen Band-tailed Pigeons in the trees behind the house and American Goldfinches at the feeders. A female Anna's Hummingbird came to the hummingbird feeder, too. All of those were ones for my June list.

After that I drove to the Stillwater Access to the Snoqualmie Valley Wildlife Area, and on the way I picked up Steller's Jay. At Stillwater, I walked on the trail and carried my camp chair with me. I soon added Cedar Waxwing to my June list. I can never resist taking pictures of Cedar Waxwings, so here are a couple of them.

That Cedar Waxwing doesn't have any of the waxy red spots on its wings, which indicates that it is a first year female, hatched last year. A first year male would have at least one spot, and up to seven. A first year female would have zero to three spots. I never knew that before, but I saw it in my field guide tonight. I knew that males and older birds had more spots, but not about the first year birds. Males supposedly have more black on their chins, too.

The Red-breasted Sapsuckers were still carrying food to their nest hole repeatedly. Here is one of them coming out of the hole.

I don't know if young Red-breasted Sapsuckers ever stick their heads out, like other woodpeckers do. They might just not be big enough yet. While I was sitting in my chair watching the sapsucker nest, I saw a pair of Black-headed Grosbeaks in a tree in the background. Farther down the trail I saw a male Bullock's Oriole, but I couldn't get a picture. I saw a male Wood Duck on a pond, much too far away for a picture, and a Bald Eagle flew overhead. A Western Wood-Pewee showed up, but a couple of Cedar Waxwings harassed it, and it flew off before I could get a picture. A few minutes later, three Turkey Vultures were circling overhead. I spotted a female Wood Duck with about 8 or 9 young ducklings. Here is the female Wood Duck on her own.

Here she is with four of her ducklings.

Here is a shot of her with four ducklings very close to her.

After that I ate my lunch as I drove up to Duvall. I drove up the west side of the river and saw a male Lazuli Bunting on a wire. I wanted a picture, but by the time I got out of my car, it flew off. There were swallows on wires along the river - Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, and a Cliff Swallow. I had all of those yesterday, but today I added Northern Rough-winged Swallow to my list, and got this picture of one.

Here is a Cliff Swallow.

I was kind of surprised to find all the Great Blue Heron nestlings still in their nests. They are quite large now, about as big as the adults. Each of the two nests in the dead tree across the river had three large nestlings in it.

You can tell these are young Great Blue Herons because the tops of their heads are blue, rather than white, and their upper bills are dark, rather than orange, like an adult's would be. I would guess they will be flying very soon.

I didn't find Western Kingbird there today, like I usually do, but I did add White-crowned Sparrow to my June list. When I got home, as I drove down the driveway, I noticed a male House Sparrow at our feeder, another one for my list. Then a couple of House Sparrow fledglings flew in and the male House Sparrow fed one of them, while I took pictures from my car.

I don't think there is much seed in the feeder right now, but the male found a couple of seeds, anyway.

So, I got out and about today, and I added 21 more species to my June list. Now I have 44 species in June. I haven't added any new species to my year list yet this month, and I still have 183 species for the year.

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

I had a plan for today, and it included a long drive up to Skagit county and then on to Whatcom county. The plan had 8 specific stops and 7 key target birds, along with other less significant birds. My goal was to get all 7 key target species, although I knew that would be tough.

My first stop was Fox Road, in the little town of Clear Lake, northeast of Mount Vernon. I had two key target species there, and I got Sora (heard only), but I missed the other one, Wilson's Snipe. As an excellent consolation prize, I heard an American Bittern calling a number of times. I also got Violet-green Swallow and Brown-headed Cowbird there.

Next I drove to the tiny town of Lyman, east of Sedro Woolley along Highway 20. I was going to the house of a birder I have met in the field and have exchanged emails with several times. Gary has had a rare (for western Washington) hummingbird coming to his feeders since last Friday. I found his house and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the three hummingbird feeders. Gary came out and joined me, and we chatted about birding while we watched for the rare hummer. There were a number of Rufous Hummingbirds, which was a June bird for me, and a few Anna's Hummingbirds, which I already had this month. Here is a male Rufous Hummingbird.

I usually don't show pictures that don't show the bird's eye, but this next one is interesting because it shows the delicate hummingbird wing feathers so well. It is that same Rufous Hummingbird.

Here is a less colorful female Rufous Hummingbird.

Here is a female Anna's Hummingbird. Note that the side of her breast and stomach don’t have any brown on them, like in Rufous Hummingbirds.

Here is another shot of a female Rufous Hummingbird.

In addition to the brown sides, there is brown at the base of the tail.

Here is another male Rufous Hummingbird in flight. The light is right to see his red gorget.

Here's one more female Rufous Hummingbird.

The light was good for pictures, and I'm happy with what I got. While that was going on, the rare one came in once, but it landed on the opposite side of a feeder from me, and I missed seeing it. We continued to wait and talk and about birds.

Then I saw a flash of purple, and I had my first BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD of the year. It was also my first one ever in Western Washington and my second one ever in the state. Here is the rare male Black-chinned Hummingbird.

His throat pretty much looks black in those shots, but in the right light it is a beautiful purple color. This next shot is blurry, but it does show the purple color of the throat.

While we had been sitting there, I picked up Eurasian Collared-Dove for my June list, and Gary asked me if I wanted to see a Barn Owl. Of course, I very much wanted to see a Barn Owl, and it turns out there is one that roosts every day in his barn, in the exact same spot. He showed me where to look and I got a good look at my first ever BARN OWL in Skagit county, and only the second time I had seen one in Washington State. Barn Owl wasn't on my list of target species, but it was actually even better than anything on my list, so I was happy. As I was walking to my car, I added Savannah Sparrow to my list, too.

My next stop was the Bank Swallow colony in Lyman, just two miles down the road from Gary's house. He was the one who had posted to Tweeters about that colony, and I had seen it last week for my year list. Now Bank Swallow went on my June list. That was another target species for the day.

From there I drove up to Whatcom county, to the community of Fairhaven. I count the crows there as Northwestern Crows, although that is controversial with a lot of birders. Northwestern Crows look exactly like small American Crows, and the two species interbreed. All the crows in Western Washington are probably hybrids of the two species, to some degree or other, but I count Northwestern Crow when I see a small crow near saltwater in Whatcom county, San Juan county, or Clallam county. That's just my own personal rule. Northwestern Crow was another of my target species for the day. I got the bonus species I was hoping for at Padden Lagoon in Fairhaven, too, Black Oystercatcher. I have seen the species there several times in the past, but not usually. Here is a Black Oystercatcher, a great June species for me.

After that I headed back south toward my next birding site. On the way I added Red-tailed Hawk to my June list. At Rancho Valentine, the house on Valentine Road with feeders, I played a House Wren song on my phone, and one flew right in. They are pretty uncommon in Western Washington, but now I know they nest there, and they seem to be very responsive to playback. That was another key target species for me today.

I moved on down the street to the house on the corner that has some feeders, and I sat in my car and took pictures of the birds at the feeders. I added Purple Finch to my June list right away. Here are two male Purple Finches on the ground.

There were some goldfinches around, too, and I got this next picture of the two male Purple Finches and a male American Goldfinch. I thought it was pretty colorful, with the green grass and the birds.

Here are two male American Goldfinches at one of the feeders.

There were some House Finches around, too, and I needed that one for June. Here is a female Purple Finch (on the left) and a female House Finch. They are very similar, and I had to learn to tell the females of the two species apart.

The female Purple Finch has different markings on her head, and the top of her bill is pretty straight, while the top of the bill of the female House Finch is curved. You can see how similar the two species look.

Here's a male Brown-headed Cowbird. I had gotten that species this morning at Fox Road.

I added Pine Siskin to my June list, and I got this picture of one.

A male Black-headed Grosbeak flew in to one of the feeders. I already had that one this month, but pictures are always welcome. Here is the male Black-headed Grosbeak.

I had another needed species that I usually see there, and one flew by and landed on a wire up the road. I drove up a little way and got this picture of a Mourning Dove, one I needed for June.

Interestingly, when I left there, I hadn't been out of my car since I left the Bank Swallow colony near Gary's house over an hour earlier. I drove to Hayton Reserve and walked up on the dike. The tide was out, but I could make out some American Wigeons (a duck species I needed) in the distance, with my scope. After that I stopped at Wylie Slough to get the last of my 7 target species, Black Phoebe. I found one near the nest site, and got these pictures of Black Phoebe (from my car, of course).

That was it for me today. I got 6 of the 7 key target species on my list today, and another 3 excellent bonus species, not to mention a number of other good species. I added 20 species to my June list today, and now I have 64 species in June. Black-chinned Hummingbird and Barn Owl were new for the year for me, and now I have 185 species in 2020 so far. Those same two species raised my lifetime Skagit county list to 172 species.

I drove 208 miles today, which was about 4 hours of driving, and I was out there for a little over 6 hours in total. It was a fairly big day of birding for the Old Rambler.

Thursday, June 4, 2020

This morning I went over to Marymoor Park. One of my main targets was Lonesome George, the male pheasant that has been hanging out there for over a year now. I didn't find George today, although when I drove next to the community gardens looking for him, I did add Spotted Towhee to my June list.

I walked along the slough, looking mainly for Willow Flycatcher, but I needed other species, too. I didn't need Gadwall, but I got this picture of a male Gadwall.

From a distance, male Gadwalls look rather plain, but seen up close, they have very intricate patterns on them.

There was a lot of activity by Red-winged Blackbirds, male and female. Here is a female Red-winged Blackbird that seemed to be gathering dry grass, as if for a nest.

It seems late in the season for her to be working on a nest now, but maybe it is the second one of the year. Here is another female Red-winged Blackbird that was feeding a fledgling.

She was picking things out of the water or off that stick and putting them in the fledglings mouth.

The fledgling looks larger than the mom bird, but young birds are often larger than their parents when they first fledge.

There were swallows flying around overhead, and I picked out one Vaux's Swift with them, a good one for my June list.

I only went as far as the fourth dog beach, and then I came back on the meadow side of the trees. I saw a flycatcher near the top of a dead tree, but I couldn't really tell what species it was. I took some pictures, but while I was doing that, a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers flew in to the same tree, so I switched my attention to them. That was an excellent June species for me. Here is the male Hairy Woodpecker.

Here is the female Hairy Woodpecker.

Here is the male again.

Meanwhile, the flycatcher had flown off. I was studying my distant pictures of the flycatcher and thinking about it, when it came back. Here are some closer pictures of the flycatcher, which I ended up deciding was a Willow Flycatcher, one of my target species for the day.

It flew off again, but after looking at those pictures, I thought it might be a Willow Flycatcher, so I played the song on my phone. A couple of flycatchers flew in, and I got another picture. This time the bird sang its "fitz-bew" song, so I knew it was a Willow Flycatcher.

I wandered back over to the path along the slough, and I spotted a Band-tailed Pigeon at the top of a tree.

I already had that one, but pictures are always welcome. A little later I took this picture of a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree across the slough.

A male Red-winged Blackbird was chasing a crow around, presumably because the crow was too close to the blackbird's nest. The crow decided to take a bath in the slough, but the blackbird continued to harass it.

Here is the wet American Crow, after its bath.

The blackbird kept up its watching until the crow finally finished its bath and flew off.

I got one more species for my list, Common Merganser. Here is a female Common Merganser.

She did a lot of preening, while I took pictures.

Eventually she swam up the slough.

She didn't go far, though, and then she got out of the water again.

That was it for today. I added 5 more species to my June list, and now I have 69 species for June.

Saturday, June 6, 2020

There were supposed to be rain showers today, so I stuck close to home. I went down to my local park, Juanita Bay Park, and I walked on the fire station road. I got Black-capped Chickadee for my June list, and then a little farther down the road I saw a couple of Downy Woodpeckers. I got pictures of one of them, and I think it was a youngster that had recently fledged. Here is the male Downy Woodpecker fledgling.

One of the hallmarks of a juvenile Downy Woodpecker is that the bill is quite short. The markings on the head weren't quite like what a mature bird would have had, either. Here are a couple more pictures of the same bird.

Continuing down the little road, I played the call of Virginia Rail and got a response. At the end of the road I played Marsh Wren songs, and more than one Marsh Wren responded, but I never actually saw one. Since I count "heard only" birds these days, both of those species went on my June list.

Back near the car, I saw three little birds high in a tree, and they turned out to be Bushtits, another one I needed. I wanted a picture, so I played Bushtit calls, and they flew in close. I never got a picture because they never stayed still long enough, but I hadn't ever tried calling in Bushtits before, and now I know it works, at least sometimes.

I played Golden-crowned Kinglet calls and I got one of those to fly in, too. I think it was a juvenile, but no picture.

I drove across the road to the main part of the park, and I walked out on the east boardwalk. Out at the end, I saw some ducks. Here is a male American Wigeon, one I already had this month, but an uncommon bird for June around here.

There were several Wood Ducks around, another species I already had, but here is a picture of a pair of Wood Ducks.

Here is a female Wood Duck with one of her ducklings.

Here is a close up of a Wood Duck duckling.

Here are two Wood Duck ducklings.

I spotted a female Belted Kingfisher, which I needed, on the Osprey nest platform. She was far away, but I took this picture for the record.

While I was watching her, she flew to the shore and landed a lot closer. Female Belted Kingfishers have that brown band on their bellies, along with the blue "belt".

A female Mallard with two ducklings swam by, so I took a couple of pictures of them.

I walked back to my car, but I stopped on the way to rest and look around. A male Black-headed Grosbeak showed up, so I took his picture, although I already had that one this month.

I was still sitting there when I heard a "whit" call from the bushes. I didn’t know what bird it was, but then I spotted a flycatcher of some kind. I have a really difficult time with flycatchers, but I had an idea of the species, based on its behavior, so I played some calls. It ended up perching out in the open, and it seemed to have responded to the calls I was playing. Here is a picture of what I decided was my first PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER of the year.

It stayed there for a couple of minutes or more, and I got closer. Here's a shot that looks kind of weird. I guess the bird was calling at the moment, although I didn't hear it. Check out that tongue.

Here is one more picture of the Pacific-slope Flycatcher.

On my way home, I decided to stop at Juanita Beach Park, on the north side of Juanita Bay. I walked down to the dock, hoping to see a Pied-billed Grebe or even a coot, but I didn't see anything there except a single duckling foraging on its own. It was next to a dock, so maybe the mother was just out of sight. It looked much too young to be on its own.

Between the car and the dock there is a little wetland, and I played Common Yellowthroat songs and two or three of them responded. They kept flying near me, but I never could get a picture. That was another June bird for me.

So, even though I stayed near home and was only out there for a couple of hours, I added another 9 species to my June list. Now I have 78 species in June. The Pacific-slope Flycatcher brought my 2020 total to 186 species.

Sunday, June 7, 2020

The weather forecast was kind of iffy today, but I headed out anyway. I went to the Brightwater Center, north of Woodinville. It is a sewage treatment and pumping station, and they have some ponds and trees, with paths to walk on. I was looking specifically for coots. They are abundant around here in the winter, and I can't figure out where they go in the summer, but they mostly disappear from all the places I see them in the winter and early spring. Anyway, I knew a pair of them had bred last year at Brightwater, and eBird showed reports of one or two of them this month there, so I went there this morning. It was starting to sprinkle as I got there, but almost as soon as I got out of the car I spotted a single American Coot on one of the ponds. I had my target, but I felt like walking, so I walked around, hoping maybe I would see a warbler or something.

It continued to sprinkle, and it increased as I walked. I saw a male Anna's Hummingbird at the top of a little tree, and I got these first two pictures of him, despite the bright background behind him.

Next I spotted a small group of Cedar Waxwings. I can't resist taking pictures of Cedar Waxwings, so I took the following pictures, despite the increasing rain, which you can see in the pictures.

It started to rain in earnest then, and I went to my car and drove home. It poured rain all the way home and after I got there, but in about a half an hour it stopped and the sun actually came out a little later. I took advantage of that and went down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park. I walked and played bird calls, but I wasn't having any luck. Then a small flock of Pine Siskins showed up. I had that species already this month, but I took pictures of them, despite the difficult lighting and the fact they move around a lot. They weren't real close, so the pictures aren't great, but they do show the species in various aspects. Pine Siskin is a small member of the finch family.

Some of them flew across the road and were feeding in the trees, and the light was better there, although they still weren't very close.

So, there are more Pine Siskin pictures than anyone ever asked for. I didn't see anything else of any interest until I was almost back at my car. As I approached my car, a bird flew into the bushes at the base of the last tree on the road, not ten feet from my car. It had yellow on it, so I was interested. It flew up into a nearby tree, and I got one shot of this male Western Tanager, a new one for June for me.

It flew a short distance away, and I tried playing its song, in an attempt to lure it back for more pictures. That worked, and it flitted around for quite a while, as I tried for pictures. Here are more pictures of the male Western Tanager.

It was lunch time by then, so I gave it up for the day. American Coot and Western Tanager bring my total to 80 species this month. My goal for the month is 112 species in Western Washington, which would exceed what I got in Western Washington in each of the last two years. If I go over the mountains this month, I'll have to increase my goal.

Monday, June 8, 2020

This morning I went up to Edmonds, which is on Puget Sound, about a half hour northwest of home. My first stop was my California Quail site in Woodway, and as I approached it, I saw a pair of California Quail hustling off the street through a fence. No chance for a picture, and as I was sitting in my car hoping they might come back out, I heard some distant woodpecker drumming. I decided it was a Pileated Woodpecker, based on the volume and the cadence of the sound. That was an excellent June bird, as was California Quail.

Next I drove on to Deer Creek Park in Woodway, where I often can call up Pacific Wren and/or Brown Creeper. The app on my phone that I use for bird calls didn't work for sounds, though, and I ended up leaving without being able to play anything. This afternoon I uninstalled the app and paid 16 bucks to buy a new version, because I use that app all the time, and it has been giving me problems lately.

I went on to the waterfront, since I couldn’t play bird calls. At Marina Park I saw a Caspian Tern diving for fish, and that was a June bird. At the fishing pier, I walked out with my scope and saw a couple of Pigeon Guillemots, some Purple Martins around the nest boxes in the bay, and a Pelagic Cormorant on one of the ferry dock pilings. There were some gulls on the breakwater, including at least one Glaucous-winged Gull and some immature California Gulls. I scanned the water and found one Marbled Murrelet. All of those species were new for June for me, since this was my first visit to a saltwater habitat.

Next I went up to Sunset Avenue, but I didn't add anything else there. In the winter there are many birds out on the water, but not many at all in the late spring and summer. I moved on to Ocean Avenue, and while I was looking around, I spotted a pair of Surf Scoters flying south. That was another June species, as was the pair of Rhinoceros Auklets I saw a little later. I had planned to stop at Yost Park, but without my app to play bird calls, I skipped that today.

All in all, I didn't see many birds today, but I still managed to add 11 species to my June list, and now I have 91. Sorry, no pictures today, it wasn't that kind of birding.

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

The weather forecast today was for rain all morning and showers in the afternoon. I almost just stayed home, but then I decided to go out to the Snoqualmie Valley near Duvall to try for the Western Kingbird that I missed the last time I was there, last week. I didn't know if insects would be flying in the rain, and I didn't know if the kingbird would be hunting them. Of course, I could miss it anyway, like last time.

Anyway, I gambled and drove out there, as much to get out of the house as anything. When I got to the halal butcher on W. Snoqualmie River Rd NE, where the kingbird hangs out, there it was, on its usual wire. Western Kingbird is pretty uncommon in this area, but there has been one at that location for several years (for a month or two, in the late spring and early summer), presumably the same one. I pulled up and took a picture out of my window of the very wet Western Kingbird.

I drove on up the road but I didn’t get anything else I needed. The Great Blue Heron nests were empty, so I guess the youngsters fledged since I was there last week. Here is a picture of a Eurasian Collared-Dove, which I already had for June.

It must have been as wet as the kingbird, but it didn't look it.

As I drove back past the halal butcher place, the Western Kingbird was still in the same spot.

It was raining or drizzling all the time I was out there, and I took my pictures out of the window, quickly. As I was getting back to the main road, there was a Savannah Sparrow sitting on a wire. That was another one I already had this month, but here are two pictures of the wet Savannah Sparrow.

I drove through Duvall toward Carnation, and turned off to Sikes Lake. I was hoping to find a kestrel, but they are very thin on the ground in June. Likewise Northern Harrier. I don't know where they go, but there are very few reports of either species in June around here. At Sikes Lake I got out of the car, despite the rain, to check the lake for Pied-billed Grebe, but they seem to go missing in June, too. As I drove home over Novelty Hill Road, I remembered that in past years I have seen Hooded Mergansers with ducklings at the pond at the Redmond Watershed Preserve, so I turned in there. I didn't see anything at first, but then I spotted a juvenile Hooded Merganser, which I needed for June, and got this picture of it.

There turned out to be two of them, but I didn't see the mother duck. I was going to stop at the Redmond Retention Ponds and walk out in the rain, hoping to find a Spotted Sandpiper, but there were some county people there doing something, so I passed on that.

I got two more species for June, despite the rain, and now I have 93 species for June.

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

This morning my main birding site was to be Three Forks Natural Area, between the towns of Snoqualmie and North Bend, in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. I stopped on the way at the trailhead for Rattlesnake Ridge trail, though, and tried for MacGillivray's Warbler, which I had seen there a week or two ago. I couldn't call up a MacGillivray's Warbler, but I saw a couple of little birds flitting around. My initial impression was that they were small, greenish flycatchers, but something wasn't quite right. Their behavior was wrong, too. Based on the color, the pattern, the size, the behavior, and the location, I ended up deciding they were most likely HUTTON'S VIREOS, a species I only see once or twice a year, although they are on many eBird lists locally, year round. I probably see them more than I realize and don’t identify them. I can't think of any other species they could have been.

I moved on to Three Forks Natural Area. I parked in the parking lot for the off-leash dog park there, and carried my chair out on to the trail. I had figured on getting Eastern Kingbird there, but didn't. I had a long list of species that others have seen recently, but it was very quiet and I saw very little. I was playing the song of my secondary target, and finally I did hear a distant response of a RED-EYED VIREO, a species that is uncommon on this side of the Cascades. I got overheated and walked more than I would have liked, but I didn't get anything else. Now I have 95 species in June and 188 species this year. Sorry, no pictures today, I just didn't see much of anything.

Thursday, June 11, 2020

It was supposed to be showery today, but it was only sprinkling lightly, so I went over to Marymoor Park. I drove to the community gardens, to try to find Lonesome George, the male pheasant that hangs out there. Thursday morning is the weekly bird walk at Marymoor, and I saw a small group of birders at the far end of the garden. My introvert reaction was to move on, thus avoiding any actual human contact, but I overcame that and drove down the north side of the gardens. The group of birders moved on, and as it turned out, I didn't have to have any interaction with them. When I got to the east end of the gardens, I noticed that one of the birders who had a large camera had stayed back and was taking pictures of something in the gardens. That got me out of my car, and when the guy with the camera moved on, I went to where he had been. Sure enough, there was lonesome George, the male Ring-necked Pheasant that I needed for June, scratching around ina garden.

On my way back to my car, I took this picture of a Tree Swallow on a nest box.

The Thursday morning birders were moving to the area where I wanted to play some bird calls, so I drove to the Redmond Retention Ponds and tried for Spotted Sandpiper. In past years they have been easy in the summer there, but this year there is so much water in the ponds that there is very little suitable shoreline for them, and I didn't find one today. I drove back to Marymoor to try for three species that are often responsive to playback, but the rain had intensified. I took my umbrella and tried anyway, but never attracted anything.

I went home for lunch, but this afternoon the rain stopped and the sun was out, so I went back to Marymoor. I tried again for the three species, near the office and mansion, but again had no responses. I did get some pictures of juvenile Dark-eyed Juncos that were being fed by an adult and also foraging a bit on their own. Here are two juvenile Dark-eyed Juncos.

Here is another shot of one of them.

That was it for today. The pheasant brought me to 96 species for June.

Friday, June 12, 2020

Showers were forecast again for today, but it wasn't actually raining, so I went over to Marymoor Park again. I went back to the area around the office and mansion and again played Red-breasted Nuthatch songs, like yesterday afternoon. Today I got responses, and a couple of them flew in. They stayed high up in the trees, and rarely stayed still, but I got one picture of a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

I tried for Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Brown Creeper, too, like yesterday, but like yesterday, I didn't get any responses. While I was sitting at a picnic table playing those calls, some juncos were foraging in the area. Here is a female Dark-eyed Junco with a beakful of dried grass. I assume she must have been working on her second nest of the year, or maybe repairing the old one to use it again. A little later I saw her with even more dried grass in her beak.

Here is a male Dark-eyed Junco. Note the blacker hood, compared to the female's gray hood.

Here is a juvenile Dark-eyed Junco. Note that it looks somewhat different from either of its parents at this stage.

There are a couple of bird feeders outside one of the windows of the office building, but they have been empty for weeks, as the office is closed because of the coronavirus. Yesterday I had put some seed in one of them, in the hopes it might attract birds. I have seen both Red-breasted Nuthatches and Chestnut-backed Chickadees go to that feeder in the past, so I was hoping. I checked it today when I got there, and some of the seed was gone. In particular I noticed that all the peanuts were gone. I added more seeds and peanuts when I got there, and as I left I looked across the parking lot at the feeder, and there was a bird at it.

I moved my car around so I could see the feeder well, and by golly, a Chestnut-backed Chickadee was coming in regularly to feed. Here is the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, which was my second June bird of the day.

I think that was a peanut half it had in its beak. Here is a better picture.

I had been playing Chestnut-backed Chickadee songs on my phone, with no response, but I guess food was the secret that brought this one out.

I drove over to the slough and walked for a while. I didn't get anything else I needed for June, but here is a picture of a female Rufous Hummingbird.

I always like getting hummingbird pictures "in the wild", away from feeders.

A Swainson's Thrush was singing loudly and long, and I walked over as close as I could get and played the song on my phone. The bird was very responsive and came right over. I tried for pictures, but mostly it kept back in the foliage. My phone and the bird sang back and forth for several minutes, and I did manage to get a couple of decent pictures of the Swainson's Thrush.

That was it for today. Red-breasted Nuthatch and Chestnut-backed Chickadee were new for June for me, and now I have 98 species in June. My goal for the month is 112 species in Western Washington.

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Sorry, no pictures today. I drove up to Skagit county and my first stop was Hayton Reserve. My main target there was Northern Harrier, but I never found one today. I took my scope up on the dike and did manage to see 4 Black-bellied Plovers, one I needed for June.

I drove to the base of March Point, figuring I would see the American White Pelicans that roost on the spoil islands offshore. Not today. I did see a Double-crested Cormorant, though, another one for my June list.

Next I drove through Bay View and the Samish Flats to Samish Island. At the public access there, I looked around with my scope. All I saw were several Surf Scoters. I thought at the time I needed that species for June, but I remembered when I got home that I had seen a couple of Surf Scoters flying, up in Edmonds last week. I was just about ready to leave when I saw a Common Loon, though. That was an excellent June species.

I stopped several places on the way home - the West 90, the East 90, Hayton Reserve, and Wylie Slough, but I never saw anything else I needed and I didn't get any pictures. I also took an extra half hour and got off the freeway in Marysville to try for California Scrub-Jay at my site there, but I didn't find any. That makes three times in a row I have missed that species there. Maybe I have to go back to my old site, near the University of Washington for that species, which is uncommon around here.

I added 3 more species to my June list today, and now I have 101 species this month.

Sunday, June 14, 2020

I went over to Seattle today. My first stop was Magnuson Park, in northeast Seattle. I had expected the park to be open, but in fact, the access for cars was closed, although you could walk in. I had two specific species I was looking for, and I wasn't really up for the walk it would take to get them both. I drove in and discovered that there was plenty of handicapped parking, somewhat close to one of the places I wanted to go to. I happen to have a handicap placard due to my bad left knee, so I used it and decided to walk to the old tennis courts, where one of my target species was supposed to have a nest.

As it turned out, I should have brought a map. I walked for a while and then realized I was off course. I remembered my phone, and I fired up Google Maps, to figure out where I was. I had walked far enough, and I was doing well enough, that I decided to go for the second species I was looking for, and then try for the nest on my way back to the car by another route.

I walked through the wetlands and found a Pied-billed Grebe on one of the ponds. That was one of my June target species. Here is a picture of a Pied-billed Grebe with some kind of prey.

I don't know what it was, but it struggled with it for a minute or so.

Whatever it was, I think it might have gotten away, because less than a minute later, the grebe didn't have anything.

Maybe the grebe had swallowed it down, I don't really know.

So, with that one under my belt, I found my way to the old tennis courts and looked for the Cooper's Hawk nest that was supposed to be there. On my way, I played the song of another species I needed, Bewick's Wren, and at one of the places I stopped to rest, one flew in and I had a good 4 or 5 second look at it before it flew off. Score number two for the day.

At the tennis courts, I couldn't find the Cooper's Hawk nest, but just about when I was ready to give up, I saw some movement off to the right of where I had been looking. It was a juvenile Cooper's Hawk in the nest, tearing at some kind of prey.

The bird flew away then, and I didn't see any other birds around the nest. I don't understand, because it seems too early for a hawk hatched this year to already be at that stage, and even if that were so, it seems strange that it would be on the nest when it had already fledged. The streaks on the breast indicate a young bird, but I don't know how long they keep that plumage. Maybe it was hatched last year, still has the juvenile plumage, and now is nesting this year. I have written to the birder who told me about the nest, and I expect to learn more. (I heard back from Scott and he said the female on the tennis court nest is a second year female, so I guess she was feeding her chicks, which I couldn't see. I learned something tonight - that second year Cooper's Hawks still have their juvenile plumage.)

Anyway, I had my two target species and a bonus bird (the Bewick's Wren), so I was good. I carried on with the second half of my plan for today. Yesterday I struck out on California Scrub-Jay up in Marysville, with my third unsuccessful try there this month, so today I went back to my old site, near the University of Washington. I walked up and down the street, playing scrub-jay calls, and on my way back to my car, one was sitting on a street light standard. Here are some pictures of the California Scrub-Jay, an excellent June bird.

That was all the birding I had planned for today, but this afternoon I happened to see on eBird that Green Heron has been seen at the Canyon Park Wetlands, which is only about 15 minutes from home. I went up there, but I couldn't find any Green Herons today. I did get some pictures, though. Here is a Violet-green Swallow.

Here is another swallow that I guess must have been a recently fledged Violet-green Swallow. If I had seen it on its own, I probably would have called it a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, but I looked it up, and I guess it was actually a juvenile Violet-green Swallow, since it was sitting with three adult Violet-green Swallows, and the habitat was wrong for Northern Rough-winged Swallow.

Here is another shot of an adult Violet-green Swallow.

Here is another shot of the juvenile, with its wing stretched out.

A Northern Rough-winged Swallow wouldn't have that light-colored ring around its neck. A juvenile Tree Swallow might, but the face would be different in a juvenile Tree Swallow. Here is a shot showing an adult and the juvenile Violet-green Swallow together.

Interestingly, as so often happens, there was a Pied-billed Grebe there, which is the bird I had walked an extra mile or so this morning to see at Magnuson Park. Here is this afternoon's Pied-billed Grebe.

Today was very efficient, compared to yesterday. Yesterday I drove for 170 miles and was out there for over six hours. I added 3 species to my June list. Today I drove 30 miles and was only out there for about 2 hours, and I added 4 species to my June list. I checked on Google Maps, and I walked about a mile and a half this morning to get the Pied-billed Grebe, Bewick's Wren, and Cooper's Hawk. If I had known that the auto access to Magnuson Park was closed, I probably wouldn't have gone, but it all worked out great. I don't usually walk a mile and a half any more, but it was definitely good for me, and it felt good this morning. A mile and a half is nothing, I know, but I am getting pretty decrepit in my old age.

My 4 new June species today brings me to 105 species this month.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Before I get into today, I want to report that yesterday afternoon I went up to Canyon Park Wetlands to look for Green Heron. I didn't see any Green Herons or anything else I needed, but I did get a few pictures. Here are some Violet-green Swallows.

The brown one on the left is a juvenile. Here is a shot of the juvenile Violet-green Swallow and one of the adults.

Most of the swallows were Violet-green Swallows, but there were a couple of Barn Swallows, too. Here are three shots of a Barn Swallow.

There were a lot of Mallards and Mallard hybrids (what I call Park Ducks) there, but this female Mallard and her duckling look like pure Mallards to me.

She actually had two ducklings still, and here's a shot of her with both of them.

So, today I went up to Edmonds. My first stop was actually in Richmond Beach at Kayu Kayu Ac Park. I had read that someone saw a Harlequin Duck there yesterday, and they are very uncommon in June around here, so I wanted it. I didn't find it, or anything else of interest, so I moved on to Deer Park in Woodway. I walked in the woods and played the songs of Pacific Wren and Brown Creeper. No Pacific Wrens today, but one Brown Creeper did fly in and it did its creeping act up the trunks of several trees. There wasn’t enough light for a picture, and it never stayed still anyway, but it went on my June list.

I moved on to Edmonds and parked on Sunset Avenue. I looked around with my scope, although there isn't much I need now that was likely to be there. I was just about ready to go, and I looked one more time at the floating log in the underwater park area, and darned if there wasn't a male Harlequin Duck there! That was a great June bird. I wonder if it was the same one that had been reported at Kayu Kayu Ac Park yesterday. Kayu Kayu is only about a mile down the coast from Edmonds.

Next I went to Yost Memorial Park, which is in Edmonds, too. I tried for Pacific Wren, but couldn't attract one. I went to the bridge over the dry creek, which is my spot for Wilson's Warbler, and I played its song. To my pleased surprise, one came in immediately and stuck around, singing back to me. It was tough to get a good picture because it never stayed still for long, but here are two shots of my male Wilson's Warbler today.

It was almost noon, and I started to head for home, but then I decided to stop on the waterfront to try for a gull species that is there from late June until early December. I had read that the first one this year had been seen yesterday, so I went down to look for it. I found it, with other gulls on the breakwater. Here is a distant picture of my first HEERMANN'S GULL of the year.

It's the gull in the middle, with the white head, red-orange bill, and gray underside. Heermann's Gull.

I was very surprised and pleased to get 4 more species for my June list today, which brings me to 109 for June. The Heermann's Gull gives me 189 species so far this year.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Today I went north. My first stop was a place that birders call the Buffalo Ponds. It is just east of Mill Creek, in southern Snohomish county. I was hoping for Green Heron, which was reported there recently, but didn't see one. I did see a Spotted Sandpiper, though, a good June bird. I took a couple of pictures that I like of Barn Swallows.

That's water in the background. I was looking down from a bridge.

I like that picture because it shows the long tail streamers of Barn Swallow. There were a couple of Cedar Waxwings there, too, and I can't resist taking pictures of those sleek birds.

After that I drove to Fobes Road, which is west of the town of Snohomish. I walked out onto the Ebey Slough Dike Trail, carrying my camp chair with me. The chair is not only good for me to rest in, which helps my back, I use it get a stable platform for taking pictures. I saw a flycatcher perched in a tree, so I sat down and took pictures.

Those three pictures are of the same bird. It is a member of the empid family, and I have often said how difficult the identification of that family is, for me. I'm guessing this one was a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, based on the greenish tint to its back and the yellow wash on the belly. The other likely candidate would be Willow Flycatcher. I think this next picture is a Willow Flycatcher. The back looks a lot less green to me.

The best way to tell the various empid species apart is by their voice, but I didn't hear either of these birds. I already had both species this month, so I don't have to make a call on these two flycatchers.

There were some Cedar Waxwings there, too, and I took the obligatory picture.

I set up my chair where a kingbird had been reported, but I couldn't lure one in. A while later I did spot an EASTERN KINGBIRD, though, the species that was my main target there today. It was too distant for pictures, but I had some good binocular looks at it. Then I saw my secondary target species, a Yellow Warbler. I got one distant picture of the male Yellow Warbler.

The red streaks on the breast mark it as a male. A while later I saw a pair of Red-breasted Sapsuckers going to a nest hole in a dead snag. Here are three pictures of Red-breasted Sapsucker.

I sat in my chair at that point, but the sapsuckers didn't come back again. Maybe I was too close to the nest hole. Other birds came around, though, including a male Bullock's Oriole that I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of. Here is a Tree Swallow.

Here is a first year (hatched last year) female Tree Swallow.

She stretched a wing at one point and kind of looked down at me.

Another Yellow Warbler landed near the top of a tree, and I got a distant picture of it from the back.

I played its song, and he came closer and sang back to my phone.

Here are a couple more pictures of the second male Yellow Warbler of the day for me.

That last batch of pictures were taken while I was sitting, which really helps when the bird is pretty distant. If I had been standing, there would have been a lot more motion blur in the pictures. It is really working out well for me to take my camp chair along when I bird.

Back near the car, I took a couple of pictures of a butterfly.

I was quite pleased to get 3 more species for my June list, which now stands at 112. That was my goal for the month, and it beats the last two Junes here in Western Washington. In 2018 I was in Western Washington for 19 days in June and I got 110 species in that time. In June 2019 I was in Western Washington for 19 days also, and I got 109 species. I have two more days to add to my lead over those two years.

Eastern Kingbird brings my year total to 190 species.

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Today I went over to Whidbey Island. I caught the 10:00 ferry out of Mukilteo and when I got to Whidbey, I picked up a tuna salad sandwich at Pickles Deli. My first birding stop was Deer Lagoon. It is a short walk to where you can see the whole lagoon, and I took my scope along because I wanted to look for ducks, gulls, and pelicans. I also took my camp chair along, so I could rest my back before walking back to the car. Carrying both my scope and chair is a bit cumbersome, but it was worth it.

I heard California Quail two or three times, but I already had seen that species this month. When I got out to where you can see both sides of the lagoon, I couldn't find the pelicans, which was a major disappointment, because they were my main reason for going over to Whidbey. I also couldn't find any Ring-billed Gulls, only immature California Gulls. You can see out to Useless Bay from that vantage point, and I scoped the bay two or thee times before I finally thought I saw a group of pelicans. There was so much heat haze that I wasn't sure, but then a couple of them took off, and I could see their black wing tips, and I had my American White Pelican for June. The only picture I took out there was this female Red-winged Blackbird.

I moved on to Crockett Lake. There weren't any shorebirds, which wasn't surprising, but I had hopes of some late-staying ones. My main target there was Northern Harrier. I drove slowly up and down the road along the lake, and then I took my lunch up on the observation platform and kept watch while I ate. I never did get my Northern Harrier, which was disappointing. I took this picture of a Savannah Sparrow that came by.

When I gave up there, I moved on to West Beach county park, which is actually only an overlook of the water. I was hoping for White-winged Scoter, but all I saw were a lot of Pigeon Guillemots and a small group of Surf Scoters. On Bos Lake I saw four Lesser Scaup, which is a good sighting for June, but I already had it this month. I took this picture of a Double-crested Cormorant that flew in while I was there.

I next drove to Dugualla Bay, and as I approached, I got this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk.

At Dugualla Bay, there was a small group of Caspian Terns (a species I already had), and there were three Ring-billed Gulls with them. The gull was a welcome addition to my June list. Here is a distant picture of a couple of Caspian Terns and a Ring-billed Gull.

I drove over the Deception Pass bridge, off the island, and came home through Skagit county. Somewhere along the way I took this picture of a White-crowned Sparrow on a wire.

I stopped by the house on the corner of Valentine Road and Dodge Valley Road, at the house with feeders. I knew I wouldn't get anything I needed there, but I thought I might get some pictures. There wasn't much bird action, though, and all I got was this picture of a female Brown-headed Cowbird.

I drove the Rawlins Road/Maupin Road loop, hoping to find a kestrel, but kestrels go somewhere in the summer, and I can't seem to find any this year. I also drove through Hayton Reserve, hoping to find a Northern Harrier, but failed at that, too. I made a token stop at Wylie Slough, but didn't find anything there, either. As I left there, I got this picture of a juvenile European Starling.

I headed for the freeway, but I saw some little birds on a wire, so I pulled over to take a look. There were five recently fledged Tree Swallows and one adult Tree Swallow on the wire. Here are two of the Tree Swallow fledglings.

Here is one fledgling.

Here is a shot of the adult Tree Swallow.

Soon the adult flew off, hunting for bugs, and the youngsters begged when the adult came back.

Here is one of the fledglings being fed by the adult. Note that the parent has its bill right down the throat of the youngster. I guess they don’t want to drop the food on the transfer.

The adult repeatedly flew off and caught more insects and brought them back to the kids. Here two of the fledglings are following the parent like a radar beacon, hoping to get the latest bug.

Here is the parent coming in with some food.

In between feedings, while the parent was off catching more food, they sat there quietly. This one was stretching its little wings a little while waiting.

Here is one being fed again, while its sibling looks on and begs.

Two of the fledglings kind of cozied up to each other while waiting.

After a while, the parent came back and rested, and I headed for home.

It was a beautiful day today, and I enjoyed being out there, but it wasn't very productive for birds or pictures. I added 2 species to my June list, and now I have 114 species this month.

Friday, June 19, 2020

This morning I went over to St. Edwards State Park and walked to my Pacific Wren site. I played Pacific Wren songs, and soon a cute little Pacific Wren showed up and sang back to me. There wasn't much light in the forest, but I took some low-light pictures that at least show the bird.

It was singing back to me much of the time, like in that last shot. I was pleased to add it to my June list.

That's all I did this morning, but after going out to lunch with my friend, Chris, for the first time in three months, we went to Canyon Park Wetlands. I hoped I might see Green Heron there. We actually probably saw one flying, but I didn’t get a good enough look to count it, unfortunately. I did get some pictures of a flycatcher, though.

It is getting harder and harder for me to hold the camera steady when I am free standing, as I get older, but I moved a little closer and braced myself on a sign post, and I got some closer pictures.

I've often said how difficult flycatcher identification is for me, but based on the habitat, the bird's appearance, and the bird's behavior, I would have called it a Willow Flycatcher. As it turned out, it was calling regularly, and although I only heard it once, Chris could hear it well (with his younger ears), and he concurred with my ID when I played the Willow Flycatcher song on my phone. The bird itself also confirmed it and flew down from the tree to about 5 feet away from us, when I first played its song. I didn't need Willow Flycatcher for June, but it was still a good bird, and I was pleased to be able to identify it and to get pictures.

Pacific Wren added 1 species to my June list, and now I have 115 species in June. That exceeds my goal of getting at least 112 species in the first 19 days of June, to beat the last two years in Western Washington. I had about 110 species in 2018 and about 109 species in 2019, both in 19 days of birding in Western Washington. I have to say "about" because in both years, I got birds in California that I might well have gotten in Western Washington later in the month. Anyway, I'm satisfied with my total of 115 species in June in Western Washington. June and July are the worst months here for number of species. Many of the ducks are now gone, many migrants have come and gone, and other species are laying low because it is breeding season, and birds are protecting their nests and young. Other species have gone elsewhere to breed and will be back in the late summer or fall.

I don't know if I will do much more birding this month, because I have so many species now. I might take a long day trip over to the east side of the mountains, which could get me 10 or 15 more species for June. We will see. It's hot and often windy over there at this time of year, and I have to see if I feel like a long, hot day.

Monday, June 22, 2020

Well, I decided to take the long day trip across the mountains today. I figured I could get 10 to 15 more species for June, and some of them would be new for the year. I got out of here at 9:10, which is reasonably early for me. It is about an hour and a half to Cle Elum, and I got off the freeway there and started looking for birds. I drove along Red Bridge Road and then Ballard Hill Road. I got Western Bluebird quickly, and then the first of many Western Meadowlarks for the day. Both of those were new for the month for me.

On Ballard Hill Road, I stopped at my Pygmy Nuthatch site and played their song. I attracted one, and got this picture.

There were some House Wrens feeding fledglings there, too, but I already had that one this month. I had a lot of ground to cover today, and I didn't spend much time trying for pictures. I just kept moving along, so I could get as many June species as possible in my limited time. I drove through the Swauk Prairie Cemetery and spotted a couple of CHIPPING SPARROWS, new for 2020 for me. Along Swauk Prairie Road there were few birds, but I did get a couple of pictures of Western Meadowlarks.

At the east end of the road, I got this shot of a male Western Bluebird.

I stopped at my Mountain Chickadee spot and managed to call one in. I also tried for White-breasted Nuthatch there, but couldn’t get one to respond today. Moving on to Bettas Road, I got another picture of a male Western Bluebird, this time on a wire overhead.

Farther along Bettas Road, I got this picture of a VESPER SPARROW on a fence wire.

At that same place, there was a finch that I wasn't sure of, so I took a couple of pictures before it flew off.

Checking out my field guides and the pictures, once I got home, I decided it was a female CASSIN'S FINCH, an excellent year bird.

A little farther up the road there was a bird on a pole. The light was terrible, but I took this picture, and I think it was a female Brown-headed Cowbird, a species I already had this month.

As the road came up out of the valley, I saw a bird on a wire ahead. It flew, but I got a good look at it in the air, and it was an American Kestrel, a great one to get for June, because they seem to have disappeared this month on the west side of the mountains. There were actually two of them.

Continuing on Hayward Road, I got my Horned Lark, right in the area I expect to see them. It is amazing how consistent they are along that road. Here are a couple of pictures of a Horned Lark.

I saw another Vesper Sparrow along Hayward Road, too. Here it is singing, not in response to anything I did, unless it was just glad to see me.

I like these two pictures because they show the rufous (red-brown) patch on the wing of the bird, at the shoulder joint.

My field guide says you can't always see that rufous patch.

I spotted my first Black-billed Magpie of the day soon after that. They are fairly common over there, but I don't always see them. I saw three today. Here is a picture of one of the Black-billed Magpies.

I got on the freeway at Ellensburg and drove to the town of Kittitas, and then I drove along Parke Creek Road. I found YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS at the ponds along that road, where I see them in the late spring and summer. I didn't take the time to try for a picture, though. In all my birding today, I only got out of my car three times for birds. Everything else I got from my car, including all but 7 of today's pictures. It was car birding at it's best.

I drove east on the Old Vantage Highway and stopped at the Wild Horse Wind Farm. I thought it would be closed, because of coronavirus, and the visitor center indeed was closed, but I was able to drive on the entrance road to my site for sage species. I parked and got out and played some bird songs. Before I got any of the three sage species I was looking for there, I took this picture of a female Mountain Bluebird.

I saw a bird perched on a bush in the distance, and I had to take some pictures and look at them in my camera to tell that this one was my first SAGEBRUSH SPARROW of the year. It is a distant picture, but I can identify the bird from it.

While I was taking pictures of the Sagebrush Sparrow, another bird flew in to that same bush and displaced the Sagebrush Sparrow. It turned out to be another species I needed, SAGE THRASHER. Here is a distant picture of the Sage Thrasher.

That was two of my three sage species, and I walked down the road, playing the song of the third one. A Brewer's Sparrow (the third sage species) showed up and sang back to me briefly. I got these next two pictures of the Brewer's Sparrow. Neither one is in perfect focus, but I am showing them both.

I continued on down the Old Vantage Highway to the Columbia River, at the end of Recreation Road. I played ROCK WREN songs along Recreation Road and one flew in, but it took off before I could get a picture. Near the end of the road I saw a Say's Phoebe, my final June bird of the day. It flew off before I could get a picture, and I didn't chase it. By that time it was about 2:00, and I was over two hours from home, so I got on the freeway and boogied on home.

I was out for just over 7 hours today, and I drove about 290 miles. As I mentioned, I only got out of my car three times for birds, and I got out 5 other time to take a leak. Other than that, I spent the day in my air conditioned car, which was nice, because it was 88 degrees out there when I headed for home. I had brought my lunch from home, and I ate it while driving. I added 17 species to my June list today (12 of them from the car), and now I have 132 in June. Seven of those species were new for the year, and now I have 197 species in 2020. It seemed like I wasn't seeing many birds, but I ended up getting just about all the expected species and 2 or 3 unexpected ones. 17 was an outstanding total for the day.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

I went up to Skagit county today, looking for two species I still needed for June. (Wilson's Snipe and Northern Harrier) My first stop was Fox Road, near the little town of Clear Lake. A duck I needed had been reported there a few days ago, and I looked, but I couldn’t find it. I did see an American Wigeon and a male Blue-winged Teal, both of which were good species for June, but I had them both already this month. I hope they are still there next week, for July.

In the marsh area, I played snipe calls, and I heard Wilson's Snipe call at least twice, so that one went on my June list. Wilson's Snipe is difficult to find in June, and this was my third trip to Fox Road this month, but I finally got it. I saw a flycatcher that I think was a Willow Flycatcher, and I got this distant picture.

Four or five American Goldfinches were feeding along the road, and I got this picture of a female American Goldfinch.

She had been preening, which is why she has that strange posture. Here's a picture of a Barn Swallow fledgling that was being fed.

Here it is when the parent came in with food one time.

Here is the fledgling and the parent Barn Swallow together.

While I was taking those swallow pictures, I took this one of a female House Sparrow in the field by the road.

After that I drove to Wylie Slough. I walked to the duck blind, hoping to see one of the two uncommon ducks that were reported there this week, but all I saw were Mallards and Wood Ducks. Here is a juvenile Wood Duck (on the left) and a male Wood Duck that is molting into his eclipse (non-breeding) plumage.

Here is a closer shot of the molting male Wood Duck.

I saw Mallards with ducklings several times today. Here is a picture of 3 Mallard ducklings.

There were a lot of juvenile starlings around today. They tend to hang out in flocks of just juveniles. Here is a shot of a juvenile European Starling.

Here's a picture of a rather distant flycatcher on a wire.

I think it was a Western Wood-Pewee. Here is a picture of what might be the same bird, because it wasn't far away from the first sighting. I'm sure this one is a Western Wood-Pewee.

I checked out the Black Phoebe nest. I had read that the first clutch had already fledged, but that the parents seemed to be nesting again, going for a double dip this year. I got this picture of a Black Phoebe near the nest, with a moth it had just caught.

It flew up to the nest with the moth.

It kept sticking the moth down into the nest, as if passing it off to another bird. I suspect the female was sitting in the nest and the male was bringing her food. I didn't see if the one that caught the moth ate it or if it went to whatever was in the nest, but here the moth is gone.

The bird then flew down to a rock in front of the structure that the nest is built in.

After that I drove over to Hayton Reserve. I checked out some ducks on the long pond along the entrance road, and then I sat in my car and ate my lunch. I had my first Subway tuna sandwich in over three months, and I enjoyed it. I was sitting there watching for a Northern Harrier. I didn't see one, so after I ate I took my camp chair up on the dike and watched for one from there. I spent more than an hour there at Hayton Reserve, but I never did get my Northern Harrier. Unless I go back up there before the end of the month, I guess I'll miss that one this month, after getting it for 28 months in a row. There are a lot fewer of them around in the summer.

While I was watching for the harrier, there were Marsh Wrens singing all around me. I played some Marsh Wren songs to encourage them, and then I took some pictures of one that perched up and sang. It was kind of far away, but here are a couple of pictures of a Marsh Wren.

That was another instance where I was sitting in my camp chair when I took the pictures, which really stabilizes them. If I had been free standing, I couldn't have held the camera still enough to get a usable shot at that distance.

Two Bald Eagles were perched near their nest.

As I drove out of Hayton Reserve, a Killdeer flew into the corn field next to the road, and I took this picture of it standing up tall.

I drove past Wylie Slough again, hoping for Northern Harrier, but no dice. There were two Mallard families in one of the creeks or sloughs, so I took more Mallard duckling pictures.

Those ducklings were a few days older than these next ones, which were farther away.

As I drove to the freeway, there was an American Robin on a wire, and it had a beakful of worms. I imagine it was headed to a nest to feed some youngsters.

It was a nice day out, with excellent weather, and I got some pictures, but I only got one new species for my June list, Wilson's Snipe, which I got in the first ten minutes of birding today. Still, it isn't the results that count, it is the process. As it says in the Harry Chapin song, Greyhound, "It's got to be the goin', not the gettin' there, that's good." I had a good day. Now I have 133 species in June, and I have 197 species this year. I have gotten 66 species in each of the first five months of the year (I didn't bird in April). I call those "repeaters", and I'll be keeping track of them for the rest of the year.

Monday, June 29, 2020

Today I decided to make one last try for Northern Harrier. I drove up to Skagit county and my first stop was at Wylie Slough. Along Wylie Road, I saw an American Kestrel. That was one I got last week over in Central Washington, but this was my first one this month in Western Washington. Here is the female American Kestrel.

I drove through the reserve, but I didn't get out of my car. I didn't see anything else I needed, but here is a picture of six Wood Duck ducklings, snuggling up on a branch.

I drove on to Hayton Reserve and went up on the dike to look for Northern Harrier. I spent over an hour there, in my chair much of the time, but I didn't see any harriers. On my way out of Hayton Reserve, I took this picture of a Bald Eagle nestling in the big nest there.

A woman who was there said she had seen two nestlings last week, so maybe the other one was down in the nest. I drove on to Maupin Road and Rawlins Road, and I got out to look for Northern Harrier at the North Fork access. No luck. Driving back, I got these next two pictures of a Red-tailed Hawk on a pole, at the corner of Rawlins Road and Maupin Road.

The bird was watching a guy across the road who had a farm tractor with a mower attachment, and when the guy started to mow the grass and weeds along the edge of Maupin Road, the hawk flew down to the field opposite the mower. It was joined by another one. Here is one of the Red-tailed Hawks on the ground, watching the mowing operation.

I soon saw what they were watching for. One of them flew across the ditch and grabbed a rodent of some kind that had been stirred up by the mower. It flew off with its catch, and the other hawk kept watching. It would have been fun to see if the second one made a catch, too, but I drove on at that point. It was interesting to see that the hawks had figured out that the mower would likely turn up some prey, and they were watching it all intently.

Along Maupin Road there was a Bald Eagle sitting on a pole, and I couldn't resist a couple of pictures.

Back at Hayton Reserve, I again went up onto the dike with my chair and my lunch, which was another tuna sandwich from Subway. Again, I never spotted a Northern Harrier, but it was very pleasant sitting in the sun with a nice breeze blowing. Some Caspian Terns were flying over the water, which was coming into the bay. Here are a couple of distant pictures of Caspian Terns.

I had timed my visit to the high tide, and when it was at its peak and starting to go out again, I saw a half dozen little shorebirds fly in. They turned out to be Least Sandpipers, the first of the fall migrants coming through already. I had seen reports of them at Hayton Reserve in the last few days, and I needed that one for June, so I was glad to see some. Here is a Least Sandpiper.

Here is another Least Sandpiper.

A Killdeer was there, too, and here is a shot that shows the relative size of the Killdeer and one of the tiny Least Sandpipers.

Eventually I gave it up and drove back to Wylie Slough. I hadn't seen any activity around the Black Phoebe nest in the morning, but I checked it out again, and two Black Phoebes were in the area of the nest, and they kept flying up to the nest. I had seen reports that they had already raised one brood of chicks this year, but they might be working on a second one. I verified that today. Here is one of the adult Black Phoebes, near the nest.

Here is one of them at the nest itself.

You can see the orange bills of three chicks in that picture, if you look closely. Here is another shot that shows two chicks and a parent.

Here is one of the parents feeding a chick. They really stick the food right down into the chick's gullet.

Here is one more nest picture, showing an adult and a chick's open mouth.

While I was taking those pictures, a male House Sparrow flew in and demanded my attention by calling, so I took a couple of pictures of him.

As I drove out of the parking lot, across the freshwater slough, one of the Black Phoebes was hunting insects over the water, and I took more pictures.

So, that was it for today, and that is probably it for the month of June. I added Least Sandpiper to my June list today, and I also added American Kestrel to my Western Washington June list. I have 134 species in June now, and 118 in Western Washington this month. I have 66 "repeaters" now, species that I have seen in each month this year (except April, when I didn't do any birding because of the coronavirus shutdown). When the year started, I had 53 species that I had seen in each month for the last two years, and today I missed getting one of those, Northern Harrier. After seeing Northern Harrier for 28 months in a row, I missed it this month. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes. I still have 197 species so far this year. I doubt I'll get any more tomorrow, but July starts on Wednesday, and I can start all over with a new list.