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Sunday, November 1, 2020
It's a new month, so everything was new for my November list. In our yard this morning, I started my list off with American Crow, Dark-eyed Junco, Feral Pigeon, Spotted Towhee, House Finch, Red-winged Blackbird, and House Sparrow. With those seven on my list, I headed out to the Snoqualmie Valley, around Carnation. It had been sunny and clear at home, but over in the valley it was quite foggy when I got there. The birds were not showing themselves much in the fog, but a Song Sparrow flew across the road, so it went on my list. There were American Wigeons and Mallards on a farm pond, but it was too foggy for pictures. At the pond at Chinook Bend, I added Bufflehead, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, and Ring-necked Duck. Again it was too foggy for pictures. I heard a Common Raven, calling off in the fog somewhere. Just across the river from Chinook Bend, the kestrel was not on station today, sorry to say. I saw about 6 or 8 Common Mergansers on the river, but my pictures look terrible because of the fog. There were Canada Geese in fields, so that one went on my list, too. I saw swans on Sikes Lake, but in the fog, I couldn't tell which species they were, so I didn't count them.
At the house in Carnation that has feeders, the birds were very skittish. I assume a hawk had been around recently. I got this picture of a Eurasian Collared-Dove in the fog.
There were a lot of American Goldfinches in the trees, but they never came to the feeders while I was there. A few juncos approached and ate a little seed, and I got this shot of a male Dark-eyed Junco as the sun started to burn off the fog.
A Black-capped Chickadee was flitting around in the background, and a couple of Steller's Jays approached, too. I picked up a sandwich at the Carnation IGA, and I pulled in to the parking lot by the Tolt River, south of Carnation. I wasn't planning on getting out, but I looked from the car, and I was surprised to see an American Dipper in the river. That had been my main target for the day, but I had expected to have to drive up to the Tokul Creek bridge to find one. I hurriedly parked and got out, and I heard the dipper singing. I don't recall ever hearing a dipper sing before, but this one just stayed in the same place and sang intermittently for several minutes, as I approached and took pictures. Here is the American Dipper, singing away.
As I got closer, I got better pictures.
Here is a close up shot of the American Dipper, really showing the feather detail.
Eventually, it moved off its rock and started foraging for food in the river. Here is a front view.
Here it is mostly underwater, as it looks for food.
It was my 76th birthday today, and getting a long, close look at an American Dipper, which is one of my favorite birds, was a great birthday gift. Hearing it sing was an added bonus.
Next I drove down the west side of the Snoqualmie River, and at one point I saw some sparrows and stopped. It turned out that there was a nice mixed group of sparrows. I played sparrow songs for them, and they showed themselves. I added Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, and White-throated Sparrow to my list. That last one is an excellent one, and I got several good looks, but I couldn't get a picture. Here are a couple of pictures of a Golden-crowned Sparrow, or maybe two different Golden-crowned Sparrows.
Here is a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.
The fog was still burning off, but the sun was breaking through, although it was coming from the wrong direction. There were also Song Sparrows and House Sparrows in the flock, and I thought I saw a Lincoln's Sparrow once, but it was only a glimpse and I couldn't be certain, so I didn't count it.
I stopped at Marymoor Park on my way home, but it was totally packed with people on a sunny fall Sunday. I drove through, but I didn't get out or stay for long. I added Cackling Goose there, and here are a couple of pictures of Cackling Geese. There are 4 subspecies of Cackling Goose that show up here, and I think these next two are different subspecies. I think this first one is from the smallest subspecies of Cackling Goose, which is called minima.
Here is a Cackling Goose that is a little larger and darker, with a white band around its neck at the base. I think it is from the subspecies leucopareia.
I saw my only American Robin of the day about then, too. I left the main part of the park and drove to the rowing club parking lot, on the west side of the slough. I walked to the pond and saw a Red-tailed Hawk flying overhead. At the pond, there were two or three pairs of Hooded Mergansers. Here is a male Hooded Merganser, which I think is a very handsome bird.
He has his crest about halfway up and his tail is raised. Here is a female Hooded Merganser with her crest down and her tail down on the water.
That was it for today. I started November off with 29 species, which is not very many, but I had the fog as an excuse, and I was only out there for about 4 hours, much of which was spent driving. 22 of the 29 were repeaters.
Monday, November 2, 2020
This morning I spent some time down at my local park, Juanita Bay Park. It was sunny and beautiful, and there were quite a few birds for the first hour or two. At the fire station road, I got Anna's Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, and Virginia Rail (heard only) quickly. I didn't need Black-capped Chickadee, but this one posed for me in the great light.
As I was leaving, I spotted a mixed feeding flock and added Golden-crowned Kinglet and Chestnut-backed Chickadee. While I was watching them, a male Downy Woodpecker flew across the road and landed in a distant tree. I moved on over to the main part of the park and again I saw a couple of small feeding flocks of small birds. There were two or three Red-breasted Nuthatches in one flock, but they were in the deep shade and moving around too fast for pictures. Here is a male Dark-eyed Junco, one I get every day in our yard.
Out at the end of the east boardwalk, there were 3 or 4 photographers that were mostly trying to get pictures of the Bald Eagles as the eagles kept trying to catch one of the numerous American Coots. I needed those two species and I also spotted three Wilson's Snipe across the little bay. Here is a distant shot of two of the Wilson's Snipe, another one I needed.
Here is a picture of the little bay at Juanita Bay Park, taken from the end of the east boardwalk. The snipe were at the tip of the land on the right, across the little bay.
I saw several Pied-billed Grebes in the distance and one female Wood Duck. After that I left the boardwalk to the photographers. On my way back along the boardwalk, I saw a male Downy Woodpecker. It was high in the trees mostly, and there were a lot of branches in the way, but I managed to get this shot from below, looking through the branches. Male Downy Woodpecker.
It came down a bit, and I got one more picture of the male Downy Woodpecker.
You can see how great the light was, in all my pictures from today.
I walked through the park, stopping to rest from time to time, but I didn't add anything else to my list for a while. At the first viewing platform on the west boardwalk, I saw a Belted Kingfisher for my list. There were a number of Green-winged Teal feeding, too, but mostly they had their heads underwater, so pictures were difficult. Here is a male Green-winged Teal, a species I got yesterday.
Near the end of the west boardwalk, I got this picture of a male Mallard in the sun, showing off his iridescent green head.
Here he is with his mate.
A pair of Gadwalls came swimming by, so I took pictures of them. Here is the male Gadwall, with his intricate patterns and subtle colors.
Here is the pair of Gadwalls.
As I was leaving, I took this picture of a Great Blue Heron, another new one for November today.
That was it for today. It was only a bit over two and a half hours, but I enjoyed walking in the sunshine and seeing some birds. I added 14 species to my November list, and now I have 43 species this month. All but the snipe were repeaters, and now I have 35 repeaters this month. There are three storms lined up to come through here in the next three days, so it could be a while before I do another report.
Friday, November 6, 2020
We had three storms come through in three days, so I didn't go out birding at all. Instead, I stayed home and obsessively watched the election drama on various websites. Today I had an early lunch appointment up in Everett and it wasn't raining for a change, so I went up a little early and checked out the Everett Sewage Pond area. On 12th St NE I saw the usual herd of Long-billed Dowitchers, over a hundred of them. There were a few Dunlin mixed in as well. I also got Greater Yellowlegs for my list. I was hoping for a Great Egret, but not today at that site. I drove on to the main Everett Sewage Pond and set up my scope. I did well with ducks, adding Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, and Canvasback to my November list. Here are a couple of shots of Lesser Scaup.
There were a couple of Bonaparte's Gulls sitting on the edge of the pond, so I took their pictures.
There were hundreds of Black-bellied Plovers in the distance, sitting on the concrete wall that makes up the edge of the pond, and also hundreds of Dunlin. I also added Mew Gull to my list. I still had a little time, so I stopped at Port Gardner Bay. From the north view point, I spotted a Great Egret on the shore of Jetty Island, across the bay. Here is a very distant picture.
I drove to the boat launch area at 10th St and found the egret again. Here is another distant shot of the Great Egret from a different vantage point.
There were several dozen gulls roosting in the parking lot, as usual, and I drove up close enough to look through them. Here is a Mew Gull, the one I had seen at the sewage works. Note the small, chisel-like bill and the yellow legs and eye.
Here is a new one for the month for me, Ring-billed Gull. You can see how it gets its name.
Here is another new one, a California Gull, with its greenish legs and a bill with both a red spot and a black band.
I also added the common Glaucous-winged Gull, and then I noticed a Herring Gull right next to my car, less than ten feet away. Herring Gull is fairly uncommon around here, and I hadn't seen one since February. The yellow eye is the characteristic I look for to identify Herring Gull, along with the size and the pink legs.
Here is a close up of the yellow eye and the distinctive bill.
After lunch I stopped by Edgewater Beach in Mukilteo, but it was quite windy, which isn't good for a sea watch. I did see a Brandt's Cormorant flying by, but that was all I got there for my November list. When I pulled into our driveway at home, there were European Starlings feeding in the grass, and that was another November bird for me. I ended up getting 19 species today, and 8 of them were repeaters. Now I have 62 species this month, with 43 of them being repeaters. We are supposed to have some cold, clear weather for the next three days, so I'll see what I can get.
Saturday, November 7, 2020
Today I went up to Skagit county, which is about an hour north of home. My first stop was at Wylie Slough. As I approached, I added Brewer's Blackbird and Trumpeter Swan to my list. The reserve was packed with hunters and walkers on a nice Saturday. Too many people for my taste, but I drove through to see what I could see from the car. I saw a huge flock of hundreds of Pine Siskins, but my distant pictures were not in focus for some reason. As usual lately, I didn't see a Black Phoebe. As I was leaving, I saw a Northern Harrier for my list.
Next I went to Hayton Reserve, and as I drove in I saw some Killdeer, which I hadn't gotten yet this month. Here are couple of Killdeer pictures.
I took my scope up on the dike because I knew it was high tide. There were hundreds of ducks, and I sorted through them with my scope. Eventually I found one male Eurasian Wigeon, an excellent one for my list. There were a lot of eagles around, including this batch of thirteen of them in the distance.
There seem to be only two adult Bald Eagles and eleven immature ones. A flock of Snow Geese flew over, so that one went on my list. Here are a couple of pictures of the Snow Geese flying over.
From there, I drove to Anacortes, looking for birds on the way. Near the Anacortes ferry terminal, there is a trail, and from the parking lot for that trail, I saw some Surf Scoters, Double Crested Cormorants, a Pelagic Cormorant, a Red-necked Grebe, and a Common Loon. All of those were new for November.
I drove on to Washington Park and drove around the loop road. I stopped near Green Point and got out with my scope. I saw some Pigeon Guillemots and a pair of Marbled Murrelets. Marbled Murrelet was an excellent bird to get, and it was one of the main reasons I went there today. I also saw one Black Oystercatcher, another excellent bird, and another reason I went there today. As I walked back to my car, three young women pointed out a Bald Eagle at the top of a tree in the sunshine.
I drove back through the Skagit Flats and along Dodge Valley Road, there were some swans. I was still looking for Tundra Swan, and I think I found two of them, an adult and a juvenile. Here is the juvenile Tundra Swan, with its mostly pink bill.
Here is what I think is an adult Tundra Swan.
Back on Fir Island, I saw an American Kestrel for my list, along Rawlins Road. I parked at the end of Rawlins Road, at the North Fork Access of the Skagit Wildlife Area, and I walked up on the dike. I was looking mainly for Short-eared Owl, Marsh Wren, or Northern Shrike. I didn't find any of those, but as I left I saw three Western Meadowlarks in a small tree. They flew before I could get a picture, but one of them landed on a fence, so I took this picture of a Western Meadowlark, a good one to get for my list.
It flew again, but they landed at the top of a large tree, and I got one more picture.
I stopped briefly at Hayton Reserve, but I didn't get out of the car that time. I moved on to Wylie Slough and again just drove through, since there were still tons of hunters and walkers there. I need to go there on a week day. I picked up Ruby-crowned Kinglet for my list and I got this picture.
As I left, I detoured briefly to look for Mourning Dove where I see them sometimes. On my way there, I scared up a Western Meadowlark and I managed to get one picture of it in a field of grass.
There were indeed several Mourning Doves in the place I see them, and I got this picture of two of them on a wire.
After that, I boogied for home. I was out there for a little less than 7 hours, but it was an hour of driving each way, just to get to and from Skagit county, so I was actually only birding for a little less than 5 hours. I drove around most of that time. I added 20 species to my November list, and now I have 82. Eleven of the 20 were repeaters, and now I have 54 repeaters this month.
Sunday, November 8, 2020
Sunday is a lousy day to go to parks because of the crowds, especially when it is sunny like today. Because of that, I decided to go over to Seattle to try for California Scrub-Jay at my site near the University of Washington. On the way I stopped at the house in Lake Forest Park with a feeding station to try for Band-tailed Pigeon, and I found one there.
When I got to my scrub-jay site, I parked and walked down the street, playing scrub-jay calls. I didn't see anything, but I checked out the new park they have made, next door to the old park. On my way back toward my car, I spotted a California Scrub-Jay up in a bare tree and took some pictures, despite the light, which was coming from the wrong direction.
I moved around to the other side and got better pictures, with better light. A second California Scrub-Jay joined the first one for a while, and I'm not sure which one is which in my pictures. Since I have nothing else today, here are more California Scrub-Jay pictures.
My problem from that angle was getting a focus on the bird, rather than on branches in between the bird and the camera.
I'll finish with what I think was maybe the best shot I got today of California Scrub-Jay.
On my way home I stopped by Magnuson Park, but it was even more crowded than I thought it would be, and I just drove through, using a rest room on my way. I got two more species today for my November list, and they were both repeaters. Now I have 84 species this month, and 56 of them are repeaters.
Monday, November 9, 2020
Today I went over to Puget Sound to Richmond Beach and Edmonds. My first stop was at my quail site in the town of Woodway, and a male California Quail was sitting on a fence post when I got there. I got a good look at him through the windshield, but the only picture I got is terrible. I show it anyway, to show what happens when you move the camera and a windshield is in the way. I fixed it up as best I could, but this is what I ended up with. Male California Quail, through the windshield and with camera motion.
He flew down and I saw a couple of females on the ground, but they scurried off into the brush. I pulled up farther and saw about 7 or 8 quail running across some grass, heading from the feeders in a yard to some bushes. I got a mediocre picture of another male California Quail when it stopped on the grass, fairly far away.
A pair of quail stopped at the edge of the bushes, and I got one decent picture of a pair of California Quail.
That was a great repeater to get for November, because I often struggle to get the species each month. I moved on to Kayu Kayu Ac Park in Richmond Beach and looked out over the wind-swept sound. I spotted a group of 8 or 10 Harlequin Ducks in the distance, so that repeater went on my list. I scanned around, and there was very little out there in the windy seas, but I did see four Western Grebes, another good one for my November list.
I backtracked to Deer Creek Park in Woodway, and walked in the woods. I couldn’t call up a Brown Creeper, but I did see Pacific Wren twice, so that repeater went on my list. There wasn't enough light in the woods for my camera to focus for me. Next I drove to the fishing pier in Edmonds. I got Horned Grebe there, and then Heermann's Gull. Here are two pictures of Horned Grebes.
It was pretty chilly out on the pier, with the temperature in the low 40's and a stiff breeze blowing. From there, I went up to Sunset Avenue and looked around from there. Again, there wasn't much out there, but I did see one female White-winged Scoter for my list. Eventually I saw a group of about 10 or 12 Common Goldeneyes, too, which was one I needed. I also added Red-breasted Merganser to my list. I didn't get anything else I needed, but there was a male Bufflehead relatively close to shore, so I took his picture.
My last stop was at Ocean Avenue, and I didn't get anything I needed there, but I did take a couple of pictures of a female Bufflehead, as a comparison to the male shown above.
That was it for today. I added 9 more to my November list, and 3 of those were repeaters. Now I have 93 species this month, and 59 of them are repeaters. In 2018, I had 120 species in Washington (I went to Hawaii at the end of the month) and I had 61 repeaters. In 2019, I had 124 species and 65 repeaters at the end of the month. I'll be working to get the remaining 6 repeaters I still need this month, and maybe I can match my 2018 and/or 2019 numbers in total. I haven't done an analysis, and I don't really know if I am on track or not.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
This morning I saw a Bewick's Wren outside our back door. I assume it is the one that we see here regularly, but I hadn't seen it yet this month. Then, a little later I saw it again, and this time there was a Fox Sparrow with it. I needed both of those species, and I got them from inside my house. With that good start under my belt, I went down to Juanita Bay Park. I walked the fire station road, playing Hairy Woodpecker calls, but never attracted one. It was heavily overcast, threatening rain all morning, and the bird were very quiet. I took this picture of a Song Sparrow that was eating those red berries.
Three Spotted Towhees were eating the berries, too. Here are two pictures of potted Towhees.
A little later I saw another Song Sparrow that was eating grass seeds.
When I was almost back to my car, a male deer strolled through, and I took this picture of him.
I drove over to the main part of the park and played Brown Creeper calls near the parking lot, where I have seen creepers in the past. One flew in, and I managed to get a couple of decent pictures, despite the low light.
That one was a repeater, and it was nice to get it on my list. I walked to the east boardwalk, but there were very few birds around. At the end of the boardwalk, I took some pictures of water birds. Here is a rather distant male Wood Duck.
Here is a male Wood Duck that was a lot closer, but the light was poor, so the colors are kind of strange.
Here is a female Wood Duck.
I never used to see swans at Juanita Bay Park, but in recent years, a few Trumpeter Swans have spent the winter there. Here are two Trumpeter Swans.
Here is a male Green-winged Teal.
For comparison, here are two female Green-winged Teal.
That was all I got at the park today, but at home in our yard, I took these two pictures of a male Dark-eyed Junco at our seed feeder.
For comparison, here is a female Dark-eyed Junco.
The reason I was out there taking pictures was that I had seen the Bewick's Wren again, and I was hoping it would go to the feeder. It approached, but the best shot I could get was this one.
Not a very satisfactory picture, but I like wrens, and it does meet my minimum standard of showing the eye, barely.
I got 3 more species for my November list today, and now I have 96 species this month. Bewick's Wren and Brown Creeper were repeaters, and now I have 61 of the possible 65 repeaters this month. The toughest repeater I have left is Hairy Woodpecker, so I'll keep working on that one.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Today I went north. After picking up a sandwich at Subway, my first stop was the barn of my birding acquaintance, Gary. I found one of the Barn Owls in his barn, although it wasn't much of a look. All I could see was one eye and half of a face, but it was enough to identify it as a Barn Owl. Next I drove up to Fairhaven, in south Bellingham and picked up Northwestern Crow, a repeater. At that point I was over an hour and a half north of home, in Whatcom county. I drove south along Chuckanut Drive, back to Skagit county. I ate my sandwich in a couple of places on the Samish Flats, west of the little town of Edison. I picked up Rough-legged Hawk there, one of my targets for the day. Here are three pictures of the Rough-legged Hawk.
That was at what birders call the East 90. I was hoping to find Short-eared Owl there, too, but I didn't see any. Driving west from there, I saw a little bird on a wire, and I thought it might be a Savannah Sparrow, which I needed. It turned out to be a female House Finch, though, and here is the picture I took to identify it.
I ate the second half of my sandwich at the West 90 and looked for Short-eared Owl there, too. No luck. Next I drove to the view point on Samish Island and looked around. There wasn’t a lot out there, but I found my target species, Long-tailed Duck. That is an excellent bird, and I was stunned to see how many there were. I did a rough count by tens, and there were over 100 Long-tailed Ducks all stretched out in a line, too far out for pictures. In my whole life, I don't think I have seen more than 30 or 40 Long-tailed Ducks, total. There were Common Loons, Red-necked Grebes, Horned Grebes, Western Grebes, Surf Scoters, Buffleheads, and one Common Goldeneye, too, but I didn’t need any of those.
So, with that, I headed back toward home. I stopped again at the West 90 and then at the East 90, still looking for Short-eared Owl. This time I did see one, at the East 90, so that target species went on my list. That made me 5 for 5 on my main target species for today, at that point. I could have stuck around to try for distant pictures, but it was getting late and I was running out of time.
I drove back south to the Skagit Flats, and at Hayton Reserve, I took these next two pictures of the big eagle nest there. Bald Eagles have been nesting there for years, and this year's pair have already claimed the nest for next year's breeding. I think they lay eggs in January, but they must want that nest, so there has always been one around it, for the last few weeks. Today one was eating something in the nest.
I was running out of time, but I stopped at Wylie Slough to try for my 6th target species of the day, the elusive Black Phoebe. I haven't been able to find that rarity there in my last 6 or 8 visits, and today was no exception. I did add one more species to my November list, though, Cedar Waxwing. Most of them have migrated south by now, but a few spend the winter here, usually. Here are a couple of poor pictures of Cedar Waxwings. The light was terrible and they were far away.
A flock of Pine Siskins was feeding in a tree, and I took pictures, despite the distance and the terrible light. Here are three Pine Siskin pictures.
I counted 12 Pine Siskins in that picture.
So, it was mostly a day of driving for me, but I got 5 of the 6 main targets for the day (missed on Black Phoebe again). That was really great because I won't see any of those 5 anywhere else I go this month. I drove 212 miles, and I got 6 more for my November list. Now I have 102 species this month. Northwestern Crow was a repeater, and now I have 62 repeaters this month. There are three repeaters left - Rhinoceros Auklet, Hairy Woodpecker, and Bushtit.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
I had been expecting rain this morning, but the storm was a little late arriving, and we had a fairly nice morning. I went down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park, mainly hoping for Hairy Woodpecker or Bushtit. I didn't find either species, but soon after I got there, I spotted a Sharp-shinned Hawk in a distant tree. It was only the 4th time I have seen a sharpie this year, so it was a great one for my November list. I walked up the road until I could get pictures through gaps in the branches that were in between. These next two shots were the best I could do with the distance and the branches, not to mention the bright sky behind the bird. Sharp-shinned Hawk.
A small feeding flock of birds came through. There were chickadees, juncos, and at least one Yellow-rumped Warbler. I needed the warbler, and I got these next two pictures of the Yellow-rumped Warbler.
As I got back to my car, there was another little flock of small birds, and at first I thought some of them were Bushtits, but I realized when I got a better look that they were Golden-crowned Kinglets and chickadees. After that, I drove over to Marymoor Park. I drove through the park, looking at the various flocks of geese, hoping to find one of the Greater White-fronted Geese that had been reported yesterday. In one large flock of Cackling Geese and a few Canada Geese, I found a Greater White-fronted Goose. Here are two pictures of it. It is the one in the middle that looks different.
I stopped at the parking lot near the viewing mound, so I could look for the Northern Shrike that has been reported there recently. As I got out of the car, I saw a Western Meadowlark high in a fir tree, and I took this picture.
I went closer and got this next picture of the Western Meadowlark.
I couldn't find the shrike, so I drove through the community gardens, but I couldn’t find the pheasant or anything else. I gave it up after that, rather than do some walking in search of other birds. Back here at home, I took this picture of a Chestnut-backed Chickadee at our seed feeder.
It isn't a very good picture, but I wanted to show the differences between that species and Black-capped Chickadee. Here are some Black-capped Chickadee pictures, the more common of the two species around here.
Finally, here is a picture of a male Dark-eyed Junco that I like, partly because it shows the white outer tail feather that is normally hidden until the bird flies away from you.
I added 3 more species to my November list today, and now I have 105 species this month. In 2018 I had 98 species after the 12th of the month, and I ended up with 120. In 2019, I had 111 after the 12th, and I ended up with 124. We'll see what I can get this month.
Friday, November 13, 2020
This morning I went down to Juanita Bay Park and walked the fire station road. I saw a large flock of Pine Siskins and a single Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but nothing I needed. I could have gone over to Marymoor Park to try for various birds, but I just didn't feel like it today, so I came home and read for most of the day. In the middle of the day, while going out the back door to the garage, I saw a Cooper's Hawk in one of our leafless plum trees, and that was one for November. I circled around and got my camera from the car, but I couldn't get a decent focus on the bird because of all the branches in the way. Here is a very out of focus shot of my November Cooper's Hawk.
The Cooper's Hawk gives me 106 species this month now.
Saturday, November 14, 2020
I started my birding day down at the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park, but I didn't find anything I needed or get any pictures. I drove over to Marymoor Park in Redmond, and I went up on the viewing mound, north of the East Meadow. A finch flew into the tree next to the mound, and in order to identify it, I took this picture.
I had hoped it might be a Purple Finch, but it was a female House Finch, which I already had lots of this month. I walked along the edge of the dog park, past the end of the East Meadow, but all I saw of any interest was a flock of Pine Siskins, which seem to be everywhere this year. I had seen a large flock at the fire station road, too. I wanted to walk in the dog park to the spot they call Dog Central, but it was just too crowded. Instead, I parked near the office and walked around the old mansion. I heard a drumming sound, and I traced it down to a Red-breasted Sapsucker that was drumming on a window frame. I missed getting a picture of it there, but it flew to the top of the window, and I got these next two pictures of my nice November Red-breasted Sapsucker.
It flew off, and I wasn't able to locate it again for better pictures. There were tons of robins and juncos around. The juncos were feeding on the ground, but some of the robins were eating berries off a tree. Here is an American Robin with a berry.
Here's a robin that has just swallowed a berry.
Here is another one with a berry.
Finally, here is that same robin that has just swallowed a berry.
I didn't find anything else of interest there, so I stopped at the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park again on the way home. I wasn't able to call up anything I needed, but I got this picture of a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a good bird that I already had this month. You can just barely see a narrow slice of yellow on its rump.
The bird turned away in this next picture, but the slice of yellow on the rump is a little larger.
As I drove in our driveway, I checked out the birds around our feeder, as usual. There was a Fox Sparrow on the ground under the feeder, so I got the car into position to take pictures of it from the driver's seat. I already had Fox Sparrow, but I am always interested in pictures.
So, I added one more species to my November list, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and now I have 107 species this month so far.
Sunday, November 15, 2020
Today was supposed to be very windy, but I decided to go up to the Puget Sound coast between Richmond Beach and Edmonds, anyway. It turned out not to be as windy as they had forecasted, although it was windy enough to produce some waves that made birding difficult. At Kayu Kayu Ac Park in Richmond Beach, I saw Harlequin Ducks, Buffleheads, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Horned Grebes, but no Barrow's Goldeneyes, which is what I wanted. I realized then I had forgotten my camera, which normally wouldn't matter much when doing a sea watch, since pictures are hard to come by anyway when the birds are so far away.
I drove to the Edmonds pier, and some other birders there put me on to some Surfbirds, and that's when I really missed my camera. Surfbirds are uncommon around here, so I would have loved to have gotten decent pictures. I decided to try the camera in my phone, which I have only used a few times. I struggled to figure out how to use it and zoom it, and I got some really terrible pictures of Surfbirds.
There are two Surfbirds in that last picture - one on the left with its wings spread and one in the bottom right corner of the picture.
I'm not sure why I'm even showing these awful pictures, but they are all I got, and here is the last Surfbird picture.
I saw seven Surfbirds in total, which is a large number, considering how uncommon they are. I'll try not to forget my camera again.
Next I drove up to Sunset Avenue and looked around. I spotted a pair of Black Scoters for my list, but they were too distant for my camera, let alone my phone. I drove to Ocean Avenue and I saw a group of about 8 Pacific Loons, a species I needed. Later I saw two more Pacific Loons. I stopped at Yost Memorial Park and tried for Hairy or Pileated Woodpecker, but couldn’t get a response from either species.
That was it for today. I added 3 more species to my November list, and now I have 110 species. I think the weather for the next four days is supposed to be quite wet, but maybe there will be some dry times when I can get out birding.
Thursday, November 19, 2020
We have been having rain each day this week, but I did get down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park two or three times. I didn't get anything I needed or any pictures, but one day when I was pulling out of our garage there was a Downy Woodpecker on our suet feeder. I didn’t need it this month, but I got this picture I like of the Downy Woodpecker.
Today it wasn't raining, although it was windy, and I drove over to Puget Sound. I stopped first at Kayu Kayu Ac Park in Richmond Beach, but I didn't see anything except Harlequin Ducks and Red-breasted Mergansers, both of which I already had this month. I had been hoping for Barrow's Goldeneye.
I moved on to Sunset Avenue in Edmonds. There were quite a few birds out there today, but the wind was a problem. Not only were there waves, which meant the birds were only visible intermittently, as they bobbed up and down in the waves, the wind also shook my tripod, which interfered with my viewing. At 60X zoom, you don't want your scope moving around. In addition to the usual suspects, I saw 6 or 7 Pacific Loons, a good species, but one I already had gotten this month. I already had Black Scoter, too, but there were 6 or 8 of them fairly close, and they were chasing each other around. There were four males and two females, and I suspect the chasing had to do with courting behavior. When I say fairly close, I mean for scope viewing. For pictures, they were pretty distant, but here are some Black Scoter pictures.
You can see that the two in the back were chasing around. The four with yellow bills are males, and the one in the front row on the left is a female. Here are two male Black Scoters.
Here is a female Black Scoter.
I spotted two Brant, which was new for November for me. They have been off somewhere breeding, and they are just now starting to return for the winter months. I drove on to Ocean Avenue and looked around. There were Common Goldeneyes, but I couldn't find any Barrow's Goldeneyes. I saw three birds way out there, and I watched them for 5 or 10 minutes. They were very distant, they were preening most of the time, and the waves had them bobbing in and out of sight all the time. My tripod was shaking, too, because the wind was quite gusty. I never got what I would call a good identification on them, but after watching them for 5 or 10 minutes, I decided that the only thing they could be was Common Murres, probably juveniles. I eliminated every other species I could think of, and what was left was Common Murre. They were solidly black and white, and there aren't many sea birds that are that black. It wasn't a very satisfying identification, but Common Murre went on my November list.
I stopped at Yost Memorial Park in Edmonds, but I didn't see anything there. When I got home, I took some pictures of birds in our yard. Here's a Spotted Towhee.
A female Dark-eyed Junco posed at the feeder.
For comparison, here is a male Dark-eyed Junco.
A different male Dark-eyed Junco took a bath in the bird bath.
That was it for today. I added two more species to my November list, and now I have 112 in November.
Friday, November 20, 2020
Today I drove up to Tulalip Bay, north of Everett, about 40 minutes from home. I was looking for Black Turnstone and a rare (for this area) Ruddy Turnstone that has been hanging out there. It was high tide, and I found a couple of Black Turnstones on the logs around the marina. There were dozens of roosting Dunlin, too, but I already had that one this month. I scanned the ducks out on the bay, looking for Barrow's Goldeneye, but I never found one, only Common Goldeneyes.
On about my 4th or 5th scan of the logs around the marina, I spotted the Ruddy Turnstone in among the Dunlin. As a bonus, there was a smaller shorebird foraging around, and after studying it and consulting my field guide, I decided it was a Western Sandpiper, probably a juvenile. That was one I hadn't expected to get this month, since most of them have continued their migration south by now.
I drove around the bay, continuing to look for Barrow's Goldeneye and also Hairy Woodpecker at the house with feeders on the far side of the bay. No luck with either one.
I headed for home, but I detoured to Edgewater Beach Park in Mukilteo on the way. I was looking again for Barrow's Goldeneye, but there weren't any around the Port of Everett pier, like I had seen in October. I looked over at the ferry terminal, and there they were. There were a couple of dozen Barrow's Goldeneyes hanging around the ferry dock pilings.
That was all I got today, although I did stop at the fire station road in Juanita Bay Park just before giving up for the day. I added 4 more species to my November list, and now I have 116 this month. No pictures today, sorry to say.
Saturday, November 21, 2020
We had a dry day today, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures up into the low 50's. I went over to Marymoor Park, and after driving by the community gardens, I parked and walked in the dog park. I was hoping for Hairy Woodpecker or Bushtit. I had a nice walk, but I didn't see many birds. Here are a couple of pictures of a Spotted Towhee in the sun.
I saw a Bewick's Wren, but it never stayed still long enough for me to get a picture. I had a little better luck with a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, although the bird looked away just as I took the shot.
You can just barely see a tiny spot of red on its crown.
Along the slough, there were some Canada Geese, and there was a juvenile White-fronted Goose hanging out with them. Here are three shots of the juvenile Greater-White-fronted Goose.
Here's a picture of the geese swimming away from me. The much smaller juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose is trailing the larger Canada Geese.
Here's another shot that shows the size difference.
I tried to call up a sparrow, but all I got was House Finches. Here is a female House Finch.
Here's a colorful male House Finch.
I stopped at the viewing mound, north of the East Meadow, but I didn't get anything there. It was incredibly crowded at Marymoor today, in the dog park and also on the athletic fields. There was a lot of traffic everywhere I went today, too.
Next I drove out to the Snoqualmie Valley, but I didn't get anything out there, either, except a nice sandwich at the Carnation Market. After I ate my sandwich, I drove back across the valley, but I didn't see anything interesting.
So, I had a nice day in the sunshine, but I didn't get anything for my lists today.
Sunday, November 22, 2020
It was supposed to rain in the afternoon today, but the morning looked okay. I drove up north, stopping first at Eide Road, just west of Stanwood. A Snow Bunting had been hanging out there for the last two days, and I was hoping it was still around. I walked out on the dike trail, but I didn't find the Snow Bunting. At the end of the paved trail, I got a glimpse of a little brown bird, but I couldn't tell what it was. The habitat looked good for Savannah Sparrow, so I played that song on my phone. I saw some motion and it turned out to be a Marsh Wren, responding to the sparrow song. That was great, because Marsh Wrens are difficult in the winter and I needed it. I just missed getting a picture by less than a second, and the bird never showed itself again. I played the Savannah Sparrow song some more, hoping the Marsh Wren would come back, and darned if a Savannah Sparrow didn't fly in. I needed that one, too. I got one quick picture of the Savannah Sparrow.
A Song Sparrow responded, too, so I took its picture also.
Back at the parking lot, I got this picture of a female Common Merganser.
I tend to think of all ducks as being about the same size, but I guess Common Mergansers are pretty large. I knew that Green-winged Teal are pretty small, but this picture shows how much larger the Female Common Merganser was than the female Green-winged Teal in the bottom right of the picture.
Here is a male Green-winged Teal.
It was heavily overcast, and the lighting was very flat today. Here is a pair of Green-winged Teal.
So, I hadn't gotten the Snow Bunting I had hoped for, but I got Marsh Wren and Savannah Sparrow for my November list as compensation. I moved on to Wylie Slough. I was hoping for Black Phoebe. Three people reported seeing one at the place where the dike trail forks, at three separate times yesterday. I had hopes, and I walked out to that point. No Black Phoebe around today, though, and I never found one. I saw some Cedar Waxwings on the walk, and here are pictures.
Here is a Red-tailed Hawk, looking right at me.
On my way back to my car, I saw some Purple Finches, and that was one I needed. Here are two pictures of male Purple Finches.
I drove and walked around, but I didn't find anything else I needed. As I was leaving, I got this picture of an immature Bald Eagle at the top of a tall tree.
It had been sprinkling a bit as I walked out on the dike, but it let up and didn't start raining again until I was heading for home, later. I drove to Hayton Reserve and ate half my Subway tuna sandwich in the car. After that, I walked up on the dike, where I could see that the tide was very high. There were a lot of ducks in the distance, and hundreds of Dunlin flew up and swirled around at one point, but I didn't get anything I needed from the dike. As I walked back to my car, though, I spotted a bird near the top of the eagle trees, where Bald Eagles have a nest. The eagles weren't around today when I was there, and this bird was smaller than an eagle. It turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon, another one I needed for November. Here is a distant picture of the Peregrine Falcon.
I walked and drove closer and got more Peregrine Falcon pictures.
I drove back to Wylie Slough and ate the second half of my sandwich and looked for birds from the car. I didn't get anything else, and as it started to rain, I headed for home. I got 4 more species for my November list today, and now I have 120 for November. I still have 62 repeaters, with 3 more possible repeaters remaining - Hairy Woodpecker, Bushtit, and Rhinoceros Auklet. I'll keep trying to get those, but none of them will be easy.
Thursday, November 26, 2020
Yesterday I went up to Edmonds to try for saltwater birds, but I didn't get either one of the ones I needed - Rhinoceros Auklet (repeater) or Red-throated Loon. I didn't go out today, but a little flock of Bushtits (repeater) visited our birch trees and suet feeder. I was able to grab my camera out of the car and get some pictures of the Bushtits at the suet feeder.
This first one is a female Bushtit, which you can tell from the light-colored eye.
Here are three Bushtits, chowing down on suet.
In this next picture, you can see part of a second Bushtit on the other side of the feeder.
Here you can see parts of two or three Bushtits on the other side of the feeder.
Finally, here is a male Bushtit, with a dark eye.
Bushtit brings me to 121 species this month, and 63 of them are repeaters. I still need Hairy Woodpecker and Rhinoceros Auklet for repeaters, but neither one is likely I'm afraid.
Friday, November 27, 2020
I went down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park today, looking for a Hairy Woodpecker (again!). I must have gone there at least ten times this month, and I hadn't found a Hairy Woodpecker, but I don't have anyplace better to look for one, and it is very convenient to home, less than 3 miles away.
I found a Golden-crowned Sparrow eating red berries, and I took a lot of pictures. For some reason, I enjoy getting pictures of birds eating in the wild. Here are some Golden-crowned Sparrow pictures.
Some birds eat those berries whole, but this Golden-crowned Sparrow was taking bites out of them.
You can see that there is a bite or two taken out of one of those berries.
It was interesting that it kept taking bites out of the same berry, rather than taking just one bite out of each berry and moving on.
I moved on down the road, playing Hairy Woodpecker calls. I never found a Hairy Woodpecker, but I did spot a woodpecker-like bird near the top of a dead tree, too distant to identify with my binoculars in the poor light, and I used my camera to identify it as a male Northern Flicker.
Back where the berries were, a couple of Spotted Towhees were working on them, so I took more pictures.
That was it for today. I got nothing new, and I still have 121 species this month, with 63 repeaters.
Saturday, November 28, 2020
Today I decided to pull out all the stops and go over to Point No Point to try for Rhinoceros Auklet, one of my two remaining repeaters. The weather forecast said a 20% chance of showers in the morning, clearing in the afternoon. It was sprinkling when I left home, and it never stopped. As it turned out, the rain didn't really interfere with my birding at all today. I stopped at Sunset Avenue in Edmonds before catching the ferry, and I simply set up my scope in the rain. No problem. The scope has a hood that pulls out in front, so the rain didn't get on the front lens, and the light sprinkling didn't bother me, with my hat and coat on.
I didn't find a Rhinoceros Auklet, so I caught the 11:10 ferry to Kingston, on the Kitsap Peninsula, across Puget Sound. I picked up a Subway tuna sandwich and stopped at Eglon beach, but I didn’t get anything there. At Point No Point, I set up my scope and looked around, ignoring the sprinkles. There were many dozens of mergansers out in the bay, and I took this picture.
Virtually all of the mergansers were the expected Red-breasted Mergansers, which are most common on saltwater. The picture above happened to catch a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers (on the left) and a pair of Common Mergansers (on the right). Common Mergansers are more common on freshwater, but they do appear on saltwater as well, as in this picture.
Here are a couple of Red-necked Grebes.
In addition to those three species, I saw Pacific Loons, Marbled Murrelets, Common Murres, a Western Grebe, Double-crested Cormorants, Mew Gulls, Bonaparte's Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls, and Herrmann's Gulls. I didn't need any of those, but I also saw my Rhinoceros Auklet, which is the repeater I was looking for. I saw two singles, and later I saw a pair of them.
I drove to Buck Lake county park and ate my sandwich, while looking for Hairy Woodpecker, which had been reported there this month. I didn't see the woodpecker or anything else there. At Norwegian Point, I saw a Common Loon that had caught a fish, and I took this series of pictures of the Common Loon with its catch.
It finally got its catch in position to swallow, and here is the Common Loon swallowing its prey.
Common Loon, looking for its next meal:
Here is a cute little Bonaparte's Gull.
The dozens of Red-breasted Mergansers were still around, and here is a female Red-breasted Merganser.
That was it for today. As I started for home, the rain finally stopped and I saw some blue sky and sun on the drive home.
I got my Rhinoceros Auklet, which was the main point of the trip, but I didn't see Red-throated Loon or Ancient Murrelet, my other two possibilities. Rhino Auklet brings me to 122 species this month and 64 (of 65 possible) repeaters. The only repeater remaining is Hairy Woodpecker, which will be very tough, I fear. I have 213 species so far this year.
Sunday, November 29, 2020
No pictures today. Most of my pictures didn't come out, for one reason or another, and I don't feel like bothering to process the rest of them. Mediocre pictures of common birds, for the most part.
It was foggy here this morning, but I went out anyway. I got nothing at the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park and nothing at Marymoor Park in the fog. By the time I got over to the Snoqualmie Valley, the fog had lifted, and at Chinook Bend, I saw a male Ring-necked Pheasant along the road. It was probably captive-raised for hunters, but it is remotely possible it was wild born, and I counted it, as is my practice on Ring-necked Pheasant.
I stopped at the house in Carnation with feeders and saw some Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches, but no Varied Thrushes, as I had hoped for. I got a sandwich at the Carnation Market and drove to the Stillwater Access to the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area. I walked down the trail, hoping for Hairy Woodpecker, but I couldn't attract one. I tried for the Swamp Sparrow at the second bridge that two birding parties had told me about, but it wouldn't come out for me. I walked back to my car, ate my sandwich, and drove home across the valley.
The Ring-necked Pheasant brings me to 123 species in November, and I still have 64 repeaters and 213 species this year. That is probably it for November, although if the weather permits, I should make one more final try for Hairy Woodpecker tomorrow.
Monday, November 30, 2020
Before I get into today's adventures, I want to show some of the mediocre pictures I didn't bother with from yesterday. Here are two pictures of a male Ring-necked Duck, on the pond at Chinook Bend.
At the house in Carnation with feeders, I got this shot of a Pine Siskin that I kind of like.
Here is a shot of an American Goldfinch.
Here's a Pine Siskin and a couple of American Goldfinches.
Later when I was looking for the Swamp Sparrow on the Stillwater Access trail, this male Dark-eyed Junco kept responding.
Those were all from yesterday, out in the Snoqualmie Valley. Today I went down to Juanita Bay Park, mainly hoping to find a Hairy Woodpecker, the last repeater I needed this month. At the fire station road, a Merlin flew in to one of the dead trees, and I got some distant pictures.
Merlin is a small, uncommon falcon, and it was my first one this month. I went over to the main part of the park, and at the end of the east boardwalk, I took pictures of water birds. Here is a Pied-billed Grebe.
Here is a male Gadwall, with his intricate patterns and subtle colors.
Here is a shot of a female Gadwall along with a male Gadwall.
Here is a male Bufflehead, showing off his iridescence in the sunshine.
This is a female Bufflehead, looking somewhat different.
There were some Trumpeter Swans there, so I took pictures.
Here is another Pied-billed Grebe.
This next one is a male Green-winged Teal.
It was a beautiful sunny morning at the park, and I enjoyed walking around and resting on benches from time to time. When I got home, I took this picture of a Pine Siskin eating seed on our sidewalk.
I didn't get my Hairy Woodpecker, but Merlin brings me to 124 species this month. I finished November with 64 repeaters, and I have 213 species this year so far.