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Thursday, October 1, 2020

 

It was a new month today, but I had to be home by 1:00 for a technician who was coming to try to get our internet and landline phone working again.  I started my day at Marymoor, at the rowing club pond,. Hoping to find the California Quail again for my October list.  Before I left home, I got Feral Pigeon, American Goldfinch, and Black-capped Chickadee in our yard.  I added Song Sparrow at the rowing club pond, and then, after I was already in the car to leave, I noticed the little family of California Quail feeding on the edge of the parking lot.  That was outstanding!  I took pictures, but they were difficult to get good pictures of.  Their coloration is drab, there wasn't a lot of light, and they never stood still for more than a second or so.  To make it even worse, the young ones still had some downy feathers, so they looked kind of blotchy.  Here are some pictures, the best I could get.

 

 

That last one was the adult female.

 

 

 

Here is the adult female with two of the chicks.

 

Here is the whole family unit, the female and five chicks.

 

I never saw a male.  Usually males help with raising the young, but I don't know if something happened to dad, or if maybe he was with some more youngsters, somewhere else.  Usually a brood would have more than 5 youngsters in it.  I usually struggle to get California Quail each month, although I have gotten the species for the last 32 months in a row.  Now I won't have to go looking for the species this month.

 

There were a couple of Northern Flickers around, too.  Here is a male Northern Flicker. With the red streak on his face..

 

Here is a female Northern Flicker, with no red on the face.

 

While I was taking those pictures, I picked up Dark-eyed Junco, American Robin, and House Finch, too.  Next I went over to the main part of the park and added American Crow and Canada Goose easily.  At that point, I had 11 species, and all of them were repeaters, seen in each month this year so far.  I drove through the park looking for the other goose species I had seen yesterday.  I found about 15 Cackling Geese in one flock, and then I spotted the Snow Goose in with one of the many flocks of Canada Geese.  I also saw an immature Bald Eagle being harassed by crows, and then I saw the family group of Greater White-fronted Geese I had seen yesterday.  Here is the adult and two of the juvenile Greater White-fronted geese.

 

Here are three of the juveniles.

 

I was rushed for time, since I had to be home by 1, so next I drove up to Tokul Creek to look for a dipper.  At first there was nothing, but then an American Dipper flew up the creek and landed right in front of me.  Before I could get a picture, though, it flew off upstream, and I didn't see it again.  I was there at just exactly the right time, and another good one went on my October list. 

 

I drove to the town of Carnation, and as I drove into town, it was about 11:15, and I got a call from the technician who was going to repair our phone and internet.  The appointment time was 1 pm to 5 pm, but he wanted to come early, so I headed straight for home, cutting my already short day even shorter.  I did take the time to stop briefly at the house in Carnation with feeders, and I saw some Band-tailed Pigeons as I drove up.  Here is one of them.

 

Then, to my great surprise, a California Scrub-Jay flew into a tree.  I got this picture before it flew off.

 

That was amazing, because I had never seen a California Scrub-Jay anywhere in east King county before.  It was totally unexpected.  I have been reading of scrub-jay sightings all around the area in the last couple of weeks, but none of the reports were in east King county.  The theory is that they are expanding their range into our territory, because a few years ago, there were very few of them around.

 

With that great bird, I headed for home, to meet the technician.  On the way I picked up Eurasian Collared-Dove, European Starling, and American Kestrel.  That last was an excellent one, but I didn't take the time to chase it for pictures.  At Sikes Lake I saw American Coot and Pied-billed Grebe as I went across the bridge, and at a pond soon after that, I saw some Mallards.  There was a Red-tailed Hawk in the top of a tree as I drove across the valley, too.  This afternoon I saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch in our yard, still another good October bird.

 

I only got 26 species today, which is low for the first day of a month, but I was out there for less than three hours, and half of that was spent driving between sites.  23 of the 26 species were repeaters.  The best part was all the great species I saw.  California Quail, Greater White-fronted Goose, American Dipper, California Scrub-Jay, Snow Goose, and American Kestrel are all great ones to have under my belt already this month.  I often have to make two or three trips to get California Quail, American Dipper, and American Kestrel, and yesterday was the first time I had seen Greater White-fronted Goose this year.  Considering the limited time I had and the great quality of species, it was a great day of birding.  I only got out of my car twice - at the rowing club pond and at Tokul Creek to get the dipper.  We got our phone and internet fixed, too.

 

 

Friday, October 2, 2020

 

As I was going out to my car this morning, I added Steller's Jay and Red-winged Blackbird to my October list.  I also took this picture of about 60 pigeons that were on our roof, waiting for Christina to throw some seed out on the walkways.

 

It was somewhat foggy this morning, but I went up to Everett anyway, to look for shorebirds and ducks.  At the 12th St NE wetlands, just north of the Everett sewage treatment ponds, I saw a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs, about a half dozen Long-billed Dowitchers, and a Hooded Merganser for my list.  It was pretty foggy.  I walked up on the dike, and I took this picture of the wetlands in the fog.

 

That's my car on the right.  I usually scope the wetlands from that spot.  I added Great Blue Heron from the dike, and back at my car, I saw a Green-winged Teal and a single female Northern Shoveler.  I went around to the large pond of the treatment plant and looked through my scope in the fog.  Right next to where I parked, I saw a Bewick's Wren, and then a Marsh Wren as well.  It was the first time I had seen Marsh Wren since July.  They are resident around here, but they keep out of sight and keep quiet for most of the year.  A Savannah Sparrow made a brief appearance, too.

 

On the edge of the pond, there were some Mew Gulls, and out on the pond there were a lot of Ruddy Ducks.  Here are some Ruddy Ducks in the fog.

 

The ones with the white on their faces are males.  Here is a male Northern Pintail in the fog.

 

I drove along the road to Spencer Island and stopped and got this picture of a male Northern Pintail on the side of the pond.

 

I also saw some Gadwalls and a couple of Horned Grebes.  After that I knocked off and went to lunch with my friend, Chris.  By the time we were finished with lunch, the fog had mostly burned off, so I did some more birding.  At the 10th Street boat launch on Gardner Bay, I saw a Caspian Tern in the distance, and some gulls.  Here is a Ring-billed Gull

 

There were also Glaucous-winged Gulls out there, and this California Gull flew in and landed in the parking lot for me.

 

Way out there I saw a number of Double-crested Cormorants and I finally spotted a couple of Ospreys sitting on pilings.  That was my main target species there.  Ospreys will be flying south for the winter very soon, and I was lucky to find two of them still around. 

 

Next I drove up to Tulalip Bay, but the fog was still thick up there.  I wasn't going to be able to use my scope to look for shorebirds, like I had hoped to do.  I drove around to the far side of the bay, in the hopes of finding a kingfisher.  I not only saw a Belted Kingfisher through the fog, I managed to barely make out a couple of shorebirds.  It turned out that they were both of the main ones I had hoped to find, Black Turnstone and Black-bellied Plover.  Here is a picture of the two of them, taken through the fog.  The Black Turnstone is the closer, little round one.

 

The fog was clearing as I was watching.  When I first spotted them, I could barely make them out through the fog.  Here is a shot of the Black turnstone flying away from me, showing its attractive black and white pattern.

 

Here is a Great Blue Heron in the fog, with the colors mostly faded out.

 

The sun was just starting to break through the fog.  I drove back to the Everett sewage pond, and the sun was out there.  That made it possible for me to use my scope to check through the hundreds of ducks on the big pond.  Far across the pond, I was able to find a couple of Lesser Scaup and then a couple of Ring-necked Ducks.  I kept looking, and eventually I saw a male Canvasback, too, an excellent duck to get.  Here is a picture of some female Ruddy Ducks in the sun.

 

Here's a closer look at a female Ruddy Duck.

 

Here is a male Ruddy Duck in winter plumage, for comparison.

 

I was excited to get this next picture of a grebe.

 

At the time, I thought it was an Eared Grebe, which was my main target there today, but when I looked at my field guides here at home, I decided it was a juvenile Horned Grebe, a species I had counted earlier in the day, in the fog.

 

It was a successful day, despite the fog.  I added 29 species to my October list, and now I have 55 species this month.  14 of the 29 were repeaters, and now I have 37 repeaters this month.

 

 

Saturday, October 3, 2020

 

It was foggy this morning, all over the area, and it wasn’t supposed to clear until afternoon, so I didn't venture out very far.  I went down to Juanita Bay Park and walked up and down the fire station road.  There was a foraging flock of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and then a Brown Creeper flew in while I was trying to attract a kinglet down for a photo.  That was two species for my list.  An Anna's Hummingbird buzzed through, and that was another one.  I walked up the road and played Virginia Rail calls, and got several responses, to give me four species for the day.  There were other little birds high in the trees, but I wasn’t able to identify anything else for my list.  There was a Red-tailed Hawk looking down on the scene, though, so I took pictures.

 

 

Here is a close up.

 

A little later I took this shot from the side.

 

In that picture, you can see what I think is a band on its right leg.  Black with yellow letters or numbers on it.  The bird suddenly dove straight down and tried to pounce on something, but it missed, I guess.  It flew to another spot, and I got this picture from the back, showing its red tail.  You can see the band on the right leg, too.

 

Here is a crop of the band from that last shot.

 

Here is one last shot of the Red-tailed Hawk..

 

That was it for today.  With the heavy fog, there wasn't much light, and the little birds stayed up high and never stayed still, so I couldn't shoot any of them.  I added 4 species to my October list, and 3 of them were repeaters.  Now I have 59 species this month, and 40 of them are repeaters.

 

 

Sunday, October 4, 2020

 

Today I headed north, to Skagit county.  My first birding stop was at Eide Road, just west of Stanwood.  I didn't find anything there, but as I drove off, I passed a juvenile Cooper's Hawk in a tree, right next to the busy road.  I pulled over and got into position for this somewhat distant shot of the juvenile Cooper's Hawk, an excellent October bird.

 

Next I went to Wylie Slough, on Fir Island.  They had dumped more squash in the field there, and here is what it looks like now, with a third row started.

 

At the headquarters at Wylie Slough, they raise pheasants which are intended to be released for hunters.  Here are some of the pheasants in the cage there.  Captive birds are not countable, so it didn't go on my list.

 

Technically, I shouldn't count Ring-necked Pheasant in Skagit county at all, because they don't breed there in the wild, and captive raised birds are not countable, even after they are released.  In fact, though, I do count them when I run across them in the wild, even though it is almost certain that they are captive raised birds.

 

As I approached Wylie Slough, there was a large flock of Barn Swallows, which I was glad to see because they will be migrating south any day now.  I drove through the reserve slowly, and I added Cedar Waxwing to my list.  I stopped at the end of the road near the boat ramp and got out.  I added House Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, and Pine Siskin there.  After that I drove to the parking lot at the west end of the reserve, and I walked out on the dike.  The tide was too high for shorebirds, but I figured there would be birds in the trees along the dike.  I played Lincoln's Sparrow songs at one point, and a couple of them flew in to check me out.  Here is a Lincoln's Sparrow, a good October bird.

 

 

I saw a Northern Harrier flying over the marsh, so that one went on my list.  There were Golden-crowned Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows feeding on the ground, so they went on my list, too.  At the bird hide, I got this picture of a pair of Gadwalls, although I already had that one this month.

 

The closer one is the female and the one in back with the black butt is the male.  On my way back to my car, I spotted some birds far away in the top of a tree.  I used my camera to determine that they were Purple Finches.  Here is a very distant picture of a male Purple Finch.

 

Near the entrance road, I played Fox Sparrow songs and got a quick look at one, although I wasn’t quite quick enough to get a picture.  It was the first Fox Sparrow I have seen since March. 

 

A Red-tailed Hawk was perched near the road, so I took its picture.  Red-tailed Hawks have a very wide range of different plumages, but this one looked much like the one I saw yesterday at Juanita Bay Park.

 

Near the boat ramp, I saw a Merlin perched at the top of a snag.  That was a really great October bird, the best bird of the day for me.  I don't see Merlins very often.

 

Merlin is a small falcon, not much bigger than a robin.  In this next picture, it appears like it has spotted me in my car, taking its picture out the window.

 

Next I drove to Hayton Reserve and ate the first half of my Subway tuna sandwich.  I didn't see anything interesting there, so I drove around the Rawlins Road, Maupin Road loop, but saw nothing there, either.  There were no birds at all at the two houses on Valentine Road that have feeders.  I went back to Hayton Reserve, and after eating the second half of my sandwich, I walked up on the dike with my scope.  I saw a distant bunch of American Wigeons for my list, but I couldn't find a Eurasian Wigeon among them.  There was a flock of Snow Geese at Hayton Reserve, along the entrance road, and I got this picture that shows some Cackling Geese mixed in with them.

 

I stopped one more time at Wylie Slough, hoping to find one of the rare (for this area) Black Phoebes that live there, but I missed that one today.  I took this picture of a Great Blue Heron from a different perspective than I usually see.

 

A female Wood Duck was swimming in the yucky water, and that was one I needed for October.

 

I love the purple color on the wing.  I didn't get anything else for my list, but I did see a male Northern Harrier as I left, and I got this picture of him.  The white rump is the distinguishing feature for that species.

 

It was pretty quiet today, and I didn't really get many birds, but I did manage to add 15 to my October list, and now I have 74 this month.  Six of those were repeaters, and now I have 46 repeaters this month.  I got a few good birds, and the Merlin was a great one, but I missed some too, including Black Phoebe, which I have to get because it is a repeater. Wylie Slough is the only place I can get it, unless I suddenly take a trip to California.

 

 

Monday, October 5, 2020

 

Before I get into today's birding, I want to make a correction to yesterday's report.  I saw many Brewer's Blackbirds yesterday, but I forgot to add them to my list.  Since it was a repeater as well, my correct totals after Sunday were 75 for October and 47 repeaters.

 

Today my back was hurting, and I didn't want to walk much, so I set up an early lunch appointment in Everett (about a half hour north of here), and I did a little birding in that area first.  At 12th St NE in Everett, I saw some shorebirds, so I got out my scope.  I ended up finding 4 or 5 Wilson's Snipe, which was a good October bird.  There were also some dowitchers around, and most of them seemed to be Long-billed Dowitcher, which I already had.  I saw a group of about 5 or 6 dowitchers a little farther away, though, and I decided they looked like Short-billed Dowitchers, which I needed.  I got some distant pictures that seem to confirm my identification, but they aren't worth processing or showing.

 

After that I drove around and took a look at the big Everett sewage treatment plant pond.  I didn't find any Eared Grebes, which was my main target, but I did see some Greater Scaup, which I needed.  Again, I have distant pictures that aren't worth processing or showing, but they do seem to confirm my identification.

 

So, I added 3 species to my October list today, and now I have 78 species this month.  I still have 47 repeaters, after adding Brewer's Blackbird from yesterday.

 

 

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

 

I had hoped to go over to Whidbey Island today, but I just didn't feel like it this morning.  I'm getting old, and some days are better than others.  Instead, I went down to Juanita Bay Park, which is only about 2 or 3 miles away.  I played Golden-crowned Kinglet songs near the parking lot, where I have often been able to attract them, and sure enough, a couple of them flew in to check me out.  They never stayed still for long, of course, but I kept trying for a picture.  Here is the best I could do - a very out of focus picture of a Golden-crowned Kinglet, a repeater for me.

 

Too bad about the focus, it might have been a good shot.  While I was trying to get a picture of the kinglets, a couple of Chestnut-backed Chickadees moved through.  That was another repeater.  They never stayed still enough for me to even attempt a picture.

 

I moved on over across the road to the fire station road.  I played some woodpecker calls, but never could attract any.  There were a lot of birds around, but they were high in the trees, and the lighting was terrible.  At one point I did see a Red-breasted Sapsucker, and that was a good one to get for October.  Here are a couple of distant pictures, in terrible light, of the Red-breasted Sapsucker.

 

 

The sapsucker moved up the branch until it was next to a Northern Flicker, a larger woodpecker that I already had this month.  Here are a couple more pictures, showing the Red-breasted Sapsucker with the much larger female Northern Flicker.

 

 

On my way back to my car, I continued to try to identify the birds high up in the trees, and finally one of them came down low enough for me to see it was a Yellow-rumped Warbler, another October bird.

 

That was it for me today.  I added 4 more species to my October list, and 2 of them were repeaters.  Now I have 82 species this month, and 49 of them are repeaters.

 

 

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

 

Today I went across Puget Sound to Whidbey Island.  It was foggy, but I had hopes it would clear.  From the ferry in Mukilteo, I added Surf Scoter to my October list.  At the Clinton terminal, on Whidbey Island, I added Common Loon from the ferry.  On Whidbey Island, I picked up a sandwich and went to Deer Lagoon.  My main target there was American White Pelican, and I spotted a group of about 15 of them on the fresh water side of the lagoon.  Here is a picture of them, taken through the fog.

 

I looked through a bunch of gulls and found a couple of Heermann's Gulls for my list.  I also looked through many dozens of American Wigeons in the hopes of finding a Eurasian Wigeon.  No luck at that. 

 

From Deer Lagoon I drove to Crockett Lake.  I was trying to find some American Pipits, but I never saw any.  I did get this picture of a Bald Eagle on a post.

 

From the parking lot for the boat launch next to the ferry terminal, I took this picture of some cormorants out in the water.

 

The one on the left is a Pelagic Cormorant, and the other two are Brandt's Cormorants.  I needed both of those species for October.  Note how much smaller the Pelagic Cormorant is than the Brant's Cormorants.  The shape of the head is different, too.

 

Next I drove to Penn Cove, hoping to find Black Oystercatcher there.  No oystercatchers, but there were some Greater Yellowlegs, which I already had this month.  Here is a picture of five of the Greater Yellowlegs.

 

Here is one of them.

 

There were a couple of Killdeer there, too, and I needed that one for October.  After that I drove to Libbey Beach.  The fog was much worse on the west coast of Whidbey Island, so it was difficult to find birds out on the water.  I did manage to add Harlequin Duck to my October list, and here is a picture of a male Harlequin Duck, through the fog.

 

Here is a pair of Harlequin Ducks.  The female is the brown one on the left.

 

I didn't get anything else there, so I moved on Hastie Road Park, where it was also quite foggy.  I ate my sandwich, hoping it might clear a bit.  It didn't clear, but I did manage to see 3 or 4 Common Loons, which I had seen already at the Clinton ferry terminal.  Here is a picture of a Common Loon through the fog.

 

I also saw a Red-throated Loon, which was probably my best bird of the day.  When I left there, I moved up the coast to West Beach county park.  I saw some Horned Grebes there, but I already had that one this month.  The fog was too much for me, and I left the coast and headed for home.  I did stop once more on Whidbey Island at Deception Pass state park, hoping for Black Oystercatcher.  Again, no oystercatchers, but I did see a number of Pigeon Guillemots, one I needed.

 

My next stop was in Skagit county at the house with feeders on the corner of Valentine Road.  I can usually find Mourning Doves there, and I needed that one.  As I approached, I saw a dove on a wire, but it turned out to be a Eurasian Collared-Dove.  There weren't many birds at the feeders, but I did spot a couple of Mourning Doves in the background.

 

There were a couple of Eurasian Collared-Doves, in the same area, and here is a picture of two of each species.

 

That picture is good as an illustration of how much smaller Mourning Doves are than Eurasian Collared-Doves.

 

I drove to Wylie Slough, hoping to find Black Phoebe.  I noticed that more squash has been dumped into the field I have been watching and photographing.  Now the third row is almost complete.

 

As I approached Wylie Slough, a Common Raven was trying to eat something, in a field next to the road.  I needed that one for my list, and I took pictures.  Common Raven.

 

I couldn't tell what it was that the raven was trying to eat, but here is a picture.

 

I didn't find any Black Phoebes or anything else at Wylie Slough, and I drove home.

 

If I had known how foggy it was going to be on the west coast of Whidbey Island, I probably wouldn't have gone today.  It cut down my birds by at least 6 species, and maybe 8 or 10.  On the other hand, one reason I did go today was that the weather is about to change for the worse, and the American White Pelicans will be flying south for the winter very soon.  I can try for those other species in other places, and I can also go back to Whidbey island later this month, weather permitting.

 

As it was, I got 12 more species for October today, despite the fog, and now I have 94 species this month.  8 of them were repeaters, and now I have 57 repeaters this month, species I have counted in each month so far this year.

 

 

Thursday, October 8, 2020

 

I didn't feel like taking another all day trip today, and I wanted to get the lawn mowed, too.  I went down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park, looking for woodpeckers - Downy, Hairy, and Pileated.  I didn't find any woodpeckers, but I took some pictures.  Here is a female Northern Flicker, which is a member of the woodpecker family.

 

I like that picture because it shows the typical woodpecker tail well.  Woodpeckers have strong tail feathers because they use their tail to brace themselves when they perch on tree trunks.  (Also on suet feeders.  Our suet feeder has a board at the bottom for woodpeckers to brace their tails on.)  Here is another picture of a different female Northern Flicker a little later.  This time the bird is using her tail to brace herself.

 

There was a large flock of Pine Siskins feeding in the trees and moving around.  They didn't stay still long, but I kept at it, and I got some pictures I like of the Pine Siskins.  I was about 30 or 40 feet away, but they came out pretty good, partly because the light was great.

 

 

 

Here are some group shots.  They kept moving around while feeding, and I just kept shooting.  In this next shot, four of them were pretty much just sitting still for a moment.

 

Mostly they were feeding, though.  They are seed eaters.

 

In this next shot, one of them was just taking off.

 

The split tail is a good diagnostic for the species when you are trying to identify them.  Since I don't have many other pictures today, I'll just keep showing Pine Siskins.

 

 

 

That was all I got at the fire station road today.  It is one of my best places for woodpeckers, so I'll just have to keep going back there.  Before I went home to mow the lawn, I stopped by St. Edwards State Park to look for Pacific Wren.  I was able to call one up right away, but there wasn’t enough light in the forest to get a picture.  It was a repeater, though, and I was happy to get it.  That gives me 95 species in October now, and 58 of them are repeaters.

 

There is supposed to be one more dry day tomorrow, and then we are supposed to be in for at least 4 days in a row of wet weather.  I was glad to get the lawn mowed today, for the first time in 3 or 4 months.  I will probably have to mow it once more before winter turns it dormant.  Maybe twice.

 

 

Monday, October 12, 2020

 

I didn't get anything new or any pictures over the weekend.  We had rain each day, but I did venture out locally a little, finding nothing I needed.  Today I went north.  My first stop was to get a sandwich at Subway, then a stop to gas up my car, and then I went to my first birding destination, which was Wylie Slough, in Skagit county.  I got this distant picture of a Mourning Dove there, one I already had this month.

 

My main reason for stopping at Wylie Slough was to try for Black Phoebe, a repeater I can't get anywhere else.  I didn't find one.  I did see a HERMIT THRUSH, though, my first of the year.  As I left Wylie Slough, there was a male American Kestrel on a wire, and I got a couple of pictures.

 

There were clouds behind him in that picture, but I moved up the road a little and got this shot with blue sky behind him.

 

I think American Kestrels are very attractive birds.

 

My next stop was the home of my birding acquaintance, Gary.  I spotted two Barn Owls in his barn, as expected, and I moved on.  There wasn't nearly enough light for a picture.  I drove to Padden Lagoon, in Fairhaven, in south Bellingham, and got Northwestern Crow, a repeater that is a certainty there.  Then I drove down Chuckanut Drive to the Samish Flats.  I stopped at what birders call the East 90 and ate the first half of my sandwich, while I watched for birds.  I wanted Western Meadowlark, but I didn't see any.  As I drove off, along Edison-Bay View Road, I saw a hawk on a wire.  It was an interesting color and pattern, but I decided it was just an odd Red-tailed Hawk.  Here it is.

 

When I came back a short time later, I took a couple more pictures of the same Red-tailed Hawk.

 

 

Farther along that road, I noticed a little bird on a wire, so I stopped to check it out.  It turned out to be an American Pipit, a species I had wanted to see up there today.

 

I ate the second half of my sandwich at the West 90, and then drove back to Best Road and went south.  On Fir Island, I drove down Rawlins Road and got this shot of another Red-tailed Hawk on a barn.

 

There is a wide variation of plumage among Red-tailed Hawks, and this one is one of the more common variations.  I stopped at Hayton Reserve and went up on the dike with my scope.  There were hundreds of Snow Geese, way across the bay.  There were also many dozens of American Wigeons, and I looked through them for a Eurasian Wigeon, but I couldn't find one.  I think it is still a little early for Eurasian Wigeons to show up here.

 

I stopped again at Wylie Sough to try for the Black Phoebe again, but again I missed.  I plan to try for that one at least a couple more times this month.  There are at least a half dozen species that should be showing up for the winter up in Skagit county by the end of this month, so I expect to be up there in the last week of the month, at least once.  Since I have been showing the field with the squash dumped in it, here is the latest picture.  They have spread more of it out, and dumped a couple more piles recently.

 

I noticed some birds flying around in the distance, and they turned out to be some crows that were harassing a male Northern Harrier.  Here is a very distant shot showing two of the crows and the harrier.

 

After that I headed down the freeway for home.  I drove about 215 miles today, and I was out there for about 7 hours.  I added just 4 species to my October list, and now I have 99 species this month.  Hermit Thrush was new for the year, and now I have 211 species this year.  Northwestern Crow was a repeater, and now I have 59 repeaters this month.  I have 7 more potential repeaters to look for this month, and I will be concentrating on them.

 

 

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

 

Today I went across Puget Sound to look for birds.  I managed to catch the 9:35 ferry out of Edmonds, and while waiting on the ferry for it to leave, I took some pictures of Surf Scoters, a species I already had this month.  Here is a female Surf Scoter being followed by three male Surf Scoters.

 

Seeing the picture made me wonder what it is about a particular male Surf Scoter that attracts a female Surf Scoter.  It wouldn't seem to be appearance.  Here are a couple of male Surf Scoters.

 

Here's a close up of the female Surf Scoter.

 

I sat in my car for the ferry crossing (they require that during the pandemic), and I spotted a couple of Western Grebes in the middle of the sound.  That was one for October.  As we were approaching Kingston, on the Kitsap Peninsula, I saw a couple of dozen female Common Mergansers flying along the shore.  That was another October bird.

 

Back on land, I stopped at Subway and picked up a tuna sandwich, then drove to Point No Point.  I soon found a bunch of Bonaparte's Gulls out on the water in the tidal current, and that was a repeater.  I looked around with my scope, and I found two single Rhinoceros Auklets, another repeater.  There were a couple of dozen Pacific Loons out there, too, in various stages of molt from their summer plumage to their winter plumage.  Here is a very distant Pacific Loon, another October bird.

 

Here is a shot of three distant Pacific Loons.

 

There were some Red-necked Grebes there, too, another October species for me.

 

Bonaparte's Gull was my main target there, and the others were nice bonuses.  I moved on next to Port Gamble and looked around there, but didn't find anything new I needed. 

 

I crossed the Hood Canal floating bridge, and my next stop was Oak Bay county park.  I have been skipping that site lately, but I was ahead of schedule, and my main target for that area, Black Oystercatcher, has been reported there.  It is just across the channel from Indian Island county park, where I see Black Oystercatchers regularly.  It was great that I took the time to check it out today, because the tide was out and I found a Black Oystercatcher on the beach with a bunch of gulls.  I was able to get close enough for a distant picture, but the sun was right behind the bird and the reflection off the water made a picture impossible.  It was the only Black Oystercatcher I saw today, though, so stopping there worked out great.  The park has been improved a lot since I was there last time, and I will stop there in the future.

 

I moved on to the lower campground at Fort Flagler State Park.  I see Black Oystercatchers there sometimes, but not today.  I ate the first half of my sandwich, and as I was eating, a flock of Black-bellied Plovers flew in to the shore near me.  I had that one this month, but here is a picture of some of the Black-bellied Plovers, in their winter plumage, which doesn’t include a black belly.

 

I looked through the plovers and found a Dunlin, a species I needed for October.  Here is a picture of the Dunlin, in the midst of the larger Black-bellied Plovers.  It is the bird in the middle of the picture, with its head tucked under its wing.

 

I was waiting for it to take its head out, but a woman walked onto the beach and scared all the birds away, so I moved on to the end of the parking lot, where I could look to the north over the strait.  There were a lot of Harlequin Ducks out there and various other species, but nothing I needed.  There were several Horned Grebes, and one of them caught some kind of fish or eel, so I took pictures.  At the time I thought it looked like an Eared Grebe, which I need, but after seeing my pictures, I have decided it was probably a Horned Grebe, one I already had this month.  Here is the Horned Grebe with its lunch.

 

 

 

I think that last picture was actually a different Horned Grebe.  The crown of the head seems darker.  I drove back to the boat ramp, where I had seen the plovers, and they had returned to the shore there.  There were some Harlequin Ducks fairly close in, too, and I like them, so I took pictures.  Here is a pair of Harlequin Ducks.  The female is the plainer one, on the rock.

 

Here is a picture of a male Harlequin Duck in the sun, which was playing peek-a-boo from behind the clouds.

 

Here are two female Harlequin Ducks.

 

I located the Dunlin again, in with the Black-bellied Plovers, and this time I got a shot of it that shows its downcurved bill.

 

Here is another shot of the Dunlin, facing mostly away from the camera.  I show it because when I processed it, I noticed that there was a second Dunlin, with its head tucked under a wing, closer to the camera, at the bottom center of the picture.

 

I hadn't even noticed the second Dunlin at the time, as I was concentrating on trying to get a picture of the first one.

 

After that I headed for home.  I stopped again at Oak Bay county park, in the hopes the oystercatcher might still be around, but the tide had come in, and it was nowhere to be found.  My timing had been right, earlier.

 

I caught the 2:30 ferry out of Kingston, and when I got to Edmonds, I had time, so I drove up to Sunset Avenue and looked out over the bay.  I was glad to see that they have opened Sunset Avenue to car traffic again, after closing it all summer for walkers, due to the covid crisis.  There wasn't a lot out there, but I did see one largish group of scoters.  There were at least two female Black Scoters, at least 8 male Black Scoters, and at least 3 female White-winged Scoters.  They were all diving and moving around, so I never got any exact counts.  I needed both Black Scoter and White-winged Scoter, though, and they are both uncommon species, so I was pleased I had stopped.  I drove to Ocean Avenue, but I didn't get anything new there.  There were some Horned Grebes fairly close to shore, and one bird that I'm not sure about.  It was definitely a juvenile grebe, but I'm not sure what species.  It had a fish or eel and was working on getting it down.  Here is a series of pictures of the juvenile grebe with its prey.

 

 

 

 

I guess it must have been a Horned Grebe, since it was near some Horned Grebes, but I've never seen a juvenile Horned Grebe before, because they don’t breed around here.

 

So, it was a very successful day for birds.  I added 10 species to my October list, and 3 of them were repeaters.  Now I have 109 species this month, and 62 of them are repeaters.  I just have four more repeaters to look for now, and I will be concentrating on them.

 

 

Thursday, October 15, 2020

 

Today I went down to Juanita Bay Park, looking for woodpeckers and Bushtits.  I walked the fire station road, but I didn't see anything interesting or get any pictures.  I moved over to the main part of the park and ran into a great little feeding flock of birds.  Most of them were Dark-eyed Juncos, but there was at least one Bewick's Wren, one Golden-crowned Sparrow, one White-crowned Sparrow, a couple of Song Sparrows, a couple of House Finches, and eventually some Cedar Waxwings up high.  Here is a picture of two Cedar Waxwings, a juvenile on the left and an adult on the right.  It is the kind of picture I call a peek-a-boo shot, because the birds are back in the foliage.

 

Here is a distant shot of an adult Cedar Waxwing.  It has three red waxy spots on its wings, which indicates it an older bird.

 

Here is one more Cedar Waxwing shot.

 

Finally they moved on, and I walked out to the end of the east boardwalk.  There were a couple of Bald Eagles.  Here is one on a log in the lake.

 

Here is another one on the osprey nest platform.

 

Check out this huge foot with its huge talons.

 

Here is a picture of Juanita Bay this morning.  The osprey nest platform is in the middle of the picture.

 

I was playing woodpecker calls, but couldn't attract any.  I walked on over to the west boardwalk area and sat on a bench for a while.  After a while I got up and walked toward the west boardwalk.  As I approached it, a Bushtit flew across the path and landed on a bush, right in front of me.  That was one of my repeaters I needed still.  It was soon followed by more of them, and they fed on the bushes for a while.  I started taking pictures, of course.  Here is a scruffy looking Bushtit.

 

I don't know why it was so disheveled.  Here it is preening, trying to smooth out its feathers, I guess.

 

Female Bushtits have light colored eyes, and here is a female Bushtit.

 

Here is another female.

 

Here are some more Bushtit pictures.

 

 

 

Here's a male Bushtit, with dark eyes.

 

 

Here is another female.

 

To finish with the Bushtits, here is one final male Bushtit picture.

 

I realize that that is a whole lot of Bushtit pictures, but I think they are very cute, and the light was excellent, so I just kept shooting.  I had my repeater, but I kept looking for woodpeckers, two of which I still needed for my repeater list.  I had been talking to another birder, off an one all morning as we moved around the park, and he told me he had seen a Downy Woodpecker in a large willow tree nearby.  I sat on a nearby bench and played Downy Woodpecker calls.  I was pleased to see a Downy Woodpecker fly into a tree next to the willow tree, and I took some pictures.  Here is a Downy Woodpecker.

 

Here is a peek-a-boo shot of the Downy Woodpecker.

 

Here's a picture of the Downy Woodpecker with an interesting angle on it.

 

Here is one final shot of the Downy Woodpecker.

 

It was getting on for lunch time, so I headed for home.  I stopped one more time at the fire station road to try for Hairy Woodpecker, but I couldn't attract one.  I did see a group of 3 or 4 Yellow-rumped Warblers, which is a good bird.  Here is one of the Yellow-rumped Warblers.

 

So, I had a very nice morning at Juanita Bay Park in the sunshine, and I got two more repeaters for my October list.  Now I have 111 species for October and 64 of the possible 66 repeaters.

 

 

Friday, October 16, 2020

 

Today my report is pretty simple and short.  First I went down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park.  I saw three or four Yellow-rumped Warblers, like yesterday, and then a Hairy Woodpecker showed up, quite close to me, in a small tree.  I had been playing Hairy Woodpecker calls, so that is probably what brought him in.  It was quite dark, due to the heavy overcast and the vegetation, but I managed to get four pictures of the male Hairy Woodpecker, two of them pretty good, despite the low light..

 

 

 

 

I didn't get anything else there, so I drove over to Marymoor Park.  I didn't get anything at the rowing club pond, so I drove through the main part of the park, but I didn't get anything there, either.

 

That was it for today.  Hairy Woodpecker was number 65 repeater for me this month, out of a possible 66.  I now have 112 species this month.  My final repeater is Black Phoebe, which I can only get at Wylie Slough because they are rare in Western Washington.  I'll try to get up there 2 or 3 more times this month, to see if I can see one, although at this point, the weather forecast is not encouraging.  There are other Skagit county birds that should be returning in the last week of this month, so I'll be trying for those, too.  Maybe the weather will be better in the last week of the month.

 

 

Saturday, October 17, 2020

 

My target today was Black Phoebe, my only remaining repeater this month.  The weather was supposed to be dry up in Skagit county, so I headed on up.  It drizzled almost all the way, sometimes heavily, but when I got to the Skagit valley, it cleared up.  On the approach to Wylie Slough, where the phoebes live, I saw three Mourning Doves on a wire, and took this picture of one of them.

 

I drove into the reserve and drove around looking for a phoebe, but couldn't find one from the car.  I got out to look on foot, and spotted a Merlin high in a tree.  That's a great bird, one I don't see very often, but I happened to have seen one already this month.  Here is a distant shot of today's Merlin, which is a small falcon.

 

I walked a little, but then it started to drizzle, and it more or less kept up for the rest of the morning.  I moved on to Hayton Reserve and walked up on the dike in the drizzle, but didn't see anything interesting.  As I drove out of Hayton Reserve, I saw some Eurasian Collared-Doves, and here is a picture of one of them.

 

It turned out that today was not the right day to go to Wylie Reserve.  Not only was the weather a problem, the place was overrun with hunters.  Someone said it was the first day of duck and goose hunting season.  Normally there would be about 5 or 6 cars n the parking lots there, but today there were 40 or 50, with people in cammo outfits and guns all over the place.  Birds seemed pretty sparse, but I don't know if that was because of the weather or because of all the shotgun blasts going off constantly.  As I approached Wylie Slough the second time, I took these next two pictures of a couple of hunters that were setting up their blind and decoys in a field near the road.

 

 

I guess they sit in that blind made of reeds and wait for geese to come in to be with their mates, then the hunters blast away.  It kind of bothered me that the blind was on the other side of the decoys from the road, and it wasn't very far from the road.  If they were sitting in the blind, they might be shooting toward the road.  I imagine that setup will stay there for the duration of hunting season.  Most hunters just carry a few decoys of their own and set them up somewhere and watch for ducks or geese to be attracted.  I guess that putting the decoys out is kind of like me playing the birds' songs on my phone to attract them, but at least it isn't potentially fatal to the birds if they respond to my playing.  You can see in those pictures how foggy and drizzly it was.  Not a good day for birding.

 

Back at Wylie Slough, I saw a Hermit Thrush a couple of times, and took these next two pictures.

 

 

That was another good bird, but again it was one I already had this month.  I couldn't find a Black Phoebe today, but I did spot a bird I needed for October.  A Peregrine Falcon flew through, and I was able to follow it to where it landed high in a big tree.  Here are a couple of distant shots of the Peregrine Falcon.

 

 

The shots aren't very good, due to the lighting and the drizzle, but at least you can identify the species.  It was sitting in the same tree that the Merlin had been in a couple of hours earlier.

 

After that I left for home, but on my way out I saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler working the bushes along the road, and I took these next two pictures.  That was another one I already had this month.

 

 

It wasn't a very successful day of birding today, but the Peregrine Falcon was an excellent bird, and now I have 113 species this month.  The weather looks pretty iffy for the next several days, but by the end of next week, it looks to be good enough for me to go back up to Wylie Slough to try again for Black Phoebe.

 

 

Monday, October 19, 2020

 

The weather was drizzly and I didn't expect to get anything I needed, but I felt like driving out to the Snoqualmie Valley, anyway, just to look around.  I have been sitting around the house too much this month, due mainly to weather.

 

I drove across the valley in the drizzle, and I did see three Barn Swallows, which is quite late for them, but I already had that one this month.  At the usual spot on the east side of the Snoqualmie River bridge, I saw a female kestrel.  Here is a shot of a very wet female American Kestrel.

 

She flew to another wire, and I got a couple more pictures of her.  Here is the female American Kestrel from the rear.

 

She turned around for another front shot.

 

There weren't any birds around at the house with feeders in Carnation, so I moved on to Tolt-MacDonald Park to try for Varied Thrush.  No luck, and after trying again at the feeder house, I got this picture of a couple of doves up high in a tree, in the drizzle.  The one on the left is a non-native Eurasian Collared-Dove, and the one on the right is a native Mourning Dove.

 

I drove down the west side of the river from there, and got this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk on the way.

 

Obviously, the lighting was terrible for all my pictures today, but at least I was out and about.  I drove through Marymoor Park on the way home, looking for Western Meadowlark or Ring-necked Pheasant, but I didn't see either one.  It was too wet to get out of the car, but I took this shot of a male Dark-eyed Junco at the feeder next to the office building.

 

It was kind of hunkered down against the cold, wind, and rain.  I don't what the white feathers on the face and back of the neck are all about.  I guess it was partially leucistic.

 

So, I didn't get anything I needed, but I got to see some of my normal birding places that I haven't visited much this month.  I still have 113 species and 65 repeaters this month.

 

 

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

 

We had a break in the weather today, and I went up to the Everett area.  I stopped first at NE 12th St and found a whole bunch of dowitchers.  Here is a shot of over a hundred Long-billed Dowitchers.

 

There were a few other shorebirds mixed in with them.  Here is a Wilson's Snipe, in the middle of the picture.

 

Here is another shot of the Wilson's Snipe.

 

There were several Greater Yellowlegs and at least one Lesser Yellowlegs that was pretty active.  Here is a picture of two of the Greater Yellowlegs, with their heads tucked in, and the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs on the right.

 

There were at least three Dunlin as well.  Here is a Dunlin, with its down-curved curved bill, surrounded by larger Long-billed Dowitchers.

 

Here is the Lesser Yellowlegs, with the slightly larger Long-billed Dowitchers in the background.

 

Here is a Long-billed Dowitcher, showing is long bill.

 

The Lesser Yellowlegs was very active, and here it is, in the middle of the picture, moving along in front of the dowitchers.

 

That was a pretty good lineup of shorebirds for mid-October, but I didn't need any of them.  I was hoping to find one of the Great Egrets there, but I didn't.  I moved on to the big pond at the Everett sewage treatment facility.  I scanned the ducks out on the pond, but all I could find that I needed was a couple of Buffleheads.  At least that was one for my October list, although it was a certainty that I would find some before the end of the month.  They are just now starting to return from wherever they go in the summer to breed.  They were too far away for pictures.  There were Black-bellied Plovers there, too, but I had that one already this month.

 

As I drove away from there, I got this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk along the way.

 

I stopped again at 12th St, and the large number of Long-billed Dowitchers had gone.  There were a few Greater Yellowlegs around still, but almost all the shorebirds had left.  It is interesting how timing is so important in birding.

 

I drove to the waterfront, on Port Gardner Bay, hoping to find one of the Great Egrets there, but I didn't find one.  I did see a several more Buffleheads, though.  I will see them everywhere now, I am sure.  They are quite common, but they have been gone since May.  There were also dozens of American Wigeons, and I searched through them for a Eurasian Wigeon, but didn't find one.

 

I made one more stop, at Mukilteo.  I was hoping for Marbled Murrelet or Barrow's Goldeneye, but came up empty.  I got this picture of a juvenile Red-necked Grebe, which I already had this month.

 

That was it for today.  I got one more for my October list, and now I have 114 species this month.  I still have 65 repeaters, and I need to get back up to Wylie Slough in Skagit county to get Black Phoebe, to complete my possible repeaters this month.  There are still species that haven't returned yet, and some of them will start showing up in the next couple of weeks, so I'll be looking for them, too.

 

 

Thursday, October 22, 2020

 

Today I went up to Skagit county, mainly to look for my last repeater, Black Phoebe.  I stopped to pick up a sandwich and went to Wylie Slough.  As I drove in to the reserve, I saw a Cooper's Hawk and got this picture.

 

I drove through the reserve and got out and looked for Black Phoebe, but I couldn't find one.  I moved on to Hayton Reserve, and as I drove in, there was a flock of blackbirds in the road and the field next to the road.  I looked through them, as I have been looking through all flocks of blackbirds, and I spotted a male Brown-headed Cowbird, one I needed for the month.  Then, right after that, I noticed a male Yellow-headed Blackbird, a rarity in Western Washington.  I got out of the car, but I wasn't quite able to get a picture of the Yellow-headed Blackbird.  I kept looking through the flock, hoping to re-find the Yellow-headed Blackbird, but I never could find it again.  I did get this picture of a male Brewer's Blackbird.

 

It was great to get those two October birds, but I had to move on, and I drove to the Samish Flats.  I couldn't find anything there, so I moved on to Samish Island.  At the overlook there, I looked around at the coniferous trees because I have seen reports of a finch species there that I hadn't seen this year.  I was surprised and very pleased to spot a female RED CROSSBILL near the top of a Douglas fir tree.  That was what I had been looking for, but I certainly hadn't expected to see any.  Here are some pictures of the female Red Crossbill.

 

 

Here is a close up that shows the crossed bill better.

 

Here is another shot of the female Red Crossbill.

 

There are ten types of Red Crossbills in the U.S., and their bills have developed for them to feed on various conifer species.  This tree was a Douglas Fir, so it was most likely a Type 4, or maybe a Type 3 Red Crossbill.  Here is the female Red Crossbill, digging a seed out of a fir cone with her specialized bill.

 

When I stopped taking pictures of the Red Crossbill, I looked out over the saltwater, which is the main reason to visit that site.  I was extremely pleased to spot a couple of male Long-tailed Ducks, a species that is just now starting to return to this area after breeding in the far north.  There was also a group of female Red-breasted Mergansers.  Here is one of the female Red-breasted Mergansers.  I needed both of those species this month.

 

Here is a group of Red-breasted Mergansers.

 

I already had White-winged Scoter, but it is an excellent species, and I saw four females.  Here are a couple of distant pictures of female White-winged Scoters.

 

 

I drove back through the Samish Flats and stopped at the West 90 to eat the first half of my sandwich.  I was hoping to see Western Meadowlark or Rough-legged Hawk, or maybe even Short-eared Owl, but I didn't see any of those.  I moved on to the East 90 and had the second half of my sandwich.  Nothing there, either.  As I drove on from there, I got this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk with a huge wing tag.  I wonder what the story on that bird is.

 

Next I drove back to Hayton Reserve.  This time I walked up on the dike and the tide was favorable.  There were a lot of shorebirds, fairly close to the dike.  I needed Least Sandpiper still this month, and here is a picture of three Least Sandpipers.

 

I already had Dunlin this month, but here is a picture of three Dunlin.

 

I looked through a lot of American Wigeons out on the bay, hoping to see a Eurasian Wigeon, but I didn't see any.  I did see a distant Trumpeter Swan, which I needed for October.

 

As I left Hayton Reserve, I got this picture of a Bald Eagle at the top of a tree.

 

I stopped one more time at Wylie Slough and again looked for Black Phoebe, but again I dipped on it.  I did see a swan flying around, and I got this picture.

 

In a week or two, there will be many hundreds of Trumpeter Swans in Skagit county, and a week or two after that, plenty of Tundra Swans, too, but swans are just now barely starting to show up.  At that same place, three Red-tailed Hawks flew around overhead, interacting.  I managed to get a couple of pictures of a Red-tailed Hawk overhead.

 

 

I kept track of Red-tailed Hawks today, and I saw 26 of them.  I got an astounding total of 7 species for my October list today, and now I have 121 species this month.  I got 122 in 2018 in October, and last October I somehow got 137.  I won't catch up with 2019, but maybe I can beat 2018 still.  Red Crossbill was species number 212 for me this year.  It was a great day of birding, but I missed my main target, Black Phoebe.  I guess I'll have to go back up there again this month, maybe a couple of times.

 

 

Friday, October 23, 2020

 

Today I had a lunch appointment up in Everett.  It was raining, but it looked like the rain was ending, so I went up a little early to look for one of the three rare (for this area) Great Egrets that have been hanging out up there lately.  At the 12 St NE wetlands, I didn't see any egrets, but the shorebirds were back, over a hundred of them.

 

Most of them were Long-billed Dowitchers.

 

 

It was heavily overcast still, and drizzling, so there wasn't much light for pictures.  Here is a shot that shows a Short-billed Dowitcher, I think, and a couple of Dunlin.  The Short-billed Dowitcher is the second bird on the left, and the two Dunlin, with shorter bills, are on the right.

 

Next I checked out the main sewage pond, but I didn't see anything interesting.  As I drove back to the main roads, I spotted a Merlin at the top of a tree, though.  It was my third Merlin this month, which is very unusual.  For some reason, my pictures came out blurry, and I don’t know why.  I was looking up into a bright sky, so maybe that was part of the problem.  Anyway, here are my best two shots of the Merlin.

 

 

They don't look too bad in that size, but they look bad when blown up.  Merlin is an excellent species to get.

 

I stopped at Port Gardner bay to see if any of the egrets were over there, but I couldn’t see any.  I got Bufflehead for the month a few days ago, and I knew I would see them everywhere in a few days.  I have seen Buffleheads everywhere I have gone in the last several days, since that first sighting of the fall.  Here are some on Port Gardner bay.

 

The males are the ones with more white on them.  I went to lunch, and afterwards the rain had stopped, so I went by Port Gardner bay again, to look for the egret there.  No luck with that, but I took some pictures of the gulls loafing in the parking lot.  There are various differences in gulls, but in the case of the next three species, the bills alone are enough to identify the species.  Here is a California Gull, in winter plumage.

 

Here's a Ring-billed Gull, also in its winter garb.

 

There were some Mew Gulls there, too, with smudging around the head, which is the species' winter look..

 

Most gulls take 2 to 4 years to achieve their adult plumage.  Here is a Mew Gull in what is called "first winter" plumage.  This bird would have been hatched this year.

 

Next I went back to 12th St NE to look for an egret again.  This time I struck it lucky and one was there.  It was at least the fifth or sixth time I had gone there this month looking for Great Egret.  Here are a couple of distant shots of a rare Great Egret, an excellent one for my October list.

 

 

I got out of my car and tried to get closer, but the bird flew off.  I went over to the main pond of the sewage treatment plant again, and found a number of Bonaparte's Gulls on the pond.  Bonaparte's Gulls are very small, and I think they are very attractive.  In breeding season they have a black head, but in the winter, they look like this.

 

 

There were hundreds of Northern Shovelers on the pond, so I took some pictures of them.  The males were in various stages of molting from their non-breeding plumage (June to October) to their breeding plumage.  The ones with dark heads are males.

 

Here are two males and a female Northern Shoveler.

 

The female is the one on the right, and the other two are males.  The closer male has transitioned more to his breeding plumage than the one in the background, which is still pretty much in non-breeding plumage.  Here is one more male Northern Shoveler.

 

On my way home, I stopped once more at the 12th St NE wetlands, and the Great Egret had come back.  Here are two more shots of it, since it is a rarity and I was happy to get it for my list this month.

 

 

So, I managed to add one more species to my October list, and now I have 122 species this month.

 

 

Saturday, October 24, 2020

 

Today I visited a location I had never been to before.  A birding acquaintance had reported seeing 34 Varied Thrushes along one 11 mile stretch of road, and I wanted to find one.  It was about 40 minutes from home, up in the foothills of the Cascades east of North Bend.  I drove up NE Middle Fork Road, past Twin Falls Middle School.  The road went past several parking lots for different trailheads, following the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River, more or less.  I had expected to look for Varied Thrushes along the road.  In my experience, they are seen feeding along the road and they fly up into the trees when you approach.  Well, that might have worked if there had been less traffic.  I should have gone on a week day.  On the weekend, there was way more traffic than I expected, and that meant the birds would not be feeding along the road. 

 

The traffic lessened as I went past one trailhead parking area after another.  Eventually, it lessened enough that I stopped a few times and played Varied Thrush songs on my phone.  At the 3rd or 4th place I tried that, I saw a bird approach.  It turned out to be a Varied Thrush.  It never came close, staying about 50 feet away, but it was definitely responding to my playing of its song.  I got some rather distant pictures of the male Varied Thrush.

 

This next one was out of focus, and this is the best I could fix it.

 

Here's the best shot I got of the male Varied Thrush.

 

Eventually, there were 3 or 4 of them around, but none ever came close, and they all ended up high in a conifer tree.  I moved on and tried once or twice more, in the hope of getting a better picture, but eventually I gave it up and drove back down the road.  It was only the second time I had gotten Varied Thrush this year - the last time was in February.  They aren't rare, but I don't see one very often.  We have had one in our yard more than once, but it has been a couple of years, I think, since that happened.  That brings me to 123 species this month, beating my  October 2018 total of 122.  I don't have any chance of matching my October 2019 number of 137, but I still want to get Black Phoebe, the last of my repeaters this month.  There are others that I could get, too, so I'll keep looking.  I have a week left in October, and some species should be returning in this next week.

 

 

Sunday, October 25, 2020

 

Today I headed up to Skagit county, trying for Black Phoebe, my last repeater, again.  There were also reports of a rarity up there yesterday, so that was on my radar, too.  When I got off the freeway at Conway, I saw several dozen swans in a field, so I checked them out.  There are two species of swans around here - Trumpeter Swan and Tundra Swan.  Trumpeter Swan is more common and returns a little earlier from migration, and I had that one already this month.  I looked through the swans, but I couldn't find a Tundra Swan.  Here is a Trumpeter Swan.

 

At the field near Wylie Slough where the squash was dumped in the field, there were birds feeding along the edge.  There were starlings, American Pipits, a Spotted Towhee, and some sparrows.  Here is a White-crowned Sparrow.

 

I looked from the car for Black Phoebe at Wylie Slough, but before I got out to go walking in search of one, I checked my email.  Someone had reported seeing the rare birds that had been reported yesterday, at nearby Hayton Reserve.  I immediately drove over there, but no one there knew of anyone seeing the rarity this morning.  I walked around looking, and then noticed a group of people with cameras and binoculars, focused in an area.  As I hurried over there, I spotted a SNOW BUNTING, the rarity (for this area) that had been reported.  Here is a picture of that very attractive little bird.

 

The group of birders/photographers were looking at a group of three more of them, so I moved over there and took more pictures of the Snow Buntings.

 

 

The birds were feeding in the grass, and the presence of the watchers didn't seem to bother them at all.  Here are some of the photographers and birders observing the Snow Buntings.

 

The three birds were on the bank, on the left.  Here are two of the Snow Buntings.

 

Here are a couple of pictures of three of them.

 

 

I think that Snow Buntings are incredibly cute, and their colors remind me of butterscotch ripple ice cream, which I love.  It was hard to stop taking pictures of the cute little birds, but I tore myself away and went back to Wylie Slough to look for Black Phoebe.  I couldn't find a Black Phoebe from the car, so I walked out on the dike trail.  The tide was out, and there were a bunch of dowitchers feeding in the mud.

 

I think most, if not all of them were Long-billed Dowitchers, which are more common at this time of year, but at least one in this next picture looks kind of like a Short-billed Dowitcher to me.

 

I couldn't find a Black Phoebe, but I saw a juvenile Cooper's Hawk and took this picture.

 

Note the pattern on the breast.  It will be important later in this report.  A little later I saw another Cooper's Hawk, this one an adult.

 

Note the breast pattern, marking it as an adult, and also the flat head, typical of Cooper's Hawk.  Here are a couple more pictures of the adult Cooper's Hawk.

 

 

There was a Red-tailed Hawk with a large blue wing tag, but it flew off before I could get a picture.  It landed way out there, but here is a very distant picture that shows the blue wing tag, which says H9.

 

Here is a closer crop of the wing tag.

 

On my way back to my car, I saw a little group of Purple Finches eating berries in a tree.  Here is a female Purple Finch.

 

You can see the remains of a berry on her bill.  Here is a male Purple Finch.

 

Here's another female Purple Finch picture.

 

Here is a pair of Purple Finches, with the female reaching for a berry.

 

Here is another male Purple Finch picture.

 

Finally, here is another picture of a female Purple Finch.

 

There were a few Greater Yellowlegs around, too.  Here is one of them.

 

A Belted Kingfisher showed up and landed rather far away.  I took its picture anyway.

 

As I got back to the parking area, I saw another hawk high in a tree.  I thought it was another Cooper's Hawk, but they look very much like Sharp-shinned Hawks, so I took pictures to study later.  Here are three pictures of that hawk.

 

 

 

It is a juvenile, and the breast pattern indicates a Sharp-shinned Hawk to me,  Scroll up to the juvenile Cooper's Hawk I showed earlier to see the difference.  This bird has a rounded head, too, not a flat one like a Cooper's Hawk.  It is a close call, but I'm calling it a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk, a great one for October.

 

After that I drove up to the Samish Flats and looked for various winter birds that are just starting to return.  The only thing I found was a Western Meadowlark that flushed and flew away from me.  I could tell from the size and the white tail feathers that it was a meadowlark, so that one went on my October list.  Eventually I gave it up and headed toward home.  I stopped once more at Wylie Slough to try for Black Phoebe, but again I missed it.  I did see a group of Bushtits and got this picture of a Bushtit looking right at me.

 

So, I again missed Black Phoebe, but I did get a rarity and 3 more for my October list.  Now I have 126 species this month, and I have 213 for 2020.  I don't know if I'll try again for Black Phoebe or not.  I have tried 5 or 6 times this month.  Would one more time make a difference?  We will see.

 

 

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

 

Today I went up to Skagit county again, looking for Black Phoebe, my last remaining repeater.  As I drove in to Wylie Slough, I saw what was probably the same juvenile Cooper's Hawk I had seen there before, sitting on the pen where they keep the pheasants they are raising for hunters.

 

I drove along the slough, looking for Black Phoebe, but I didn't find one.  I parked in the west parking lot and walked around the shelter there, again looking for a Black Phoebe, and again I didn't find one.  A large bird flew in to a tree, and it turned out to be a juvenile Cooper's Hawk, presumably the same one I had seen when I was coming in to the reserve.  This time I got a closer picture, from the front.

 

I walked out on the dike trail to the junction, hoping to find a Black Phoebe, but again I struck out.  At the bird blind, I got this picture of two Green-winged Teal males.

 

Here is a female Green-winged Teal for comparison.

 

A Pied-billed Grebe in its winter garb swam past, too.

 

There was a Bald Eagle sitting fairly close to the trail, so I took its picture.  I couldn't decide which one of these next two shots was my favorite, so here are both of them.  In the first one, the wind was blowing its feathers and it was leaning into the wind.

 

In this second picture, the Bald Eagle was standing up straighter, looking very regal.

 

On my way back to the car I saw some Purple Finches and a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  There were some dowitchers and some Greater Yellowlegs there, too, but they kept moving around, and I never got a picture.  I gave up on the phoebe and headed toward the Samish Flats and Samish Island, hoping to find some species that had returned from their summer migration. 

 

On Rawlins Road, I got this picture of a male American Kestrel.

 

There were swans around, and I checked out a couple of groups of them, but most were the expected Trumpeter Swans, which I got earlier this month already.  Here are a couple of Trumpeter Swans.

 

I did manage to find at least two Tundra Swans, an adult and a juvenile.  I needed Tundra Swan still this month.  The swan on the right is a Tundra Swan.

 

The yellow mark on the bill, in front of the eye, marks it as a Tundra Swan.  Not all Tundra Swans have that mark, but this one did.  I'm not sure about the adult swan on the left, but the darker, smaller juvenile swan on the left (looking toward the camera, with the pink bill) is a juvenile Tundra Swan.  Juvenile Trumpeter Swans have a mostly black bill, especially at the base.  I only learned that about the juveniles this week, and I'm glad to know how to tell the difference between the juveniles of the two swan species now.  That might be easier to see than the yellow dash.  Tundra Swans are smaller, too, but size is always tricky.

 

I drove across the Samish Flats, but I couldn't find a Rough-legged Hawk, a Short-eared Owl, or a Northern Shrike.  On Samish Island, at the overlook, I saw three Long-tailed Ducks, which is a great species, but I got it when I was there a few days ago.  There were also two or three hundred female Red-breasted Mergansers, another one I got there last week.  I presume they were migrating, since they have been gone from this area all summer.  There were some Buffleheads there, but I had gotten that one, too.  Today I saw a single female Common Goldeneye, though, a new species for me this fall.  Here is a distant picture.

 

Back on the Samish Flats, I took this picture of a Eurasian Collared-Dove.

 

A little farther down the road, I got this picture of a Mourning Dove.

 

I like this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk that posed nicely for me.

 

I also spotted a distant juvenile Cooper's Hawk.

 

I stopped one more time at Wylie Slough, but I didn't find a Black Phoebe.  I guess it just wasn't meant to be this month.  I could still go back one more time on Saturday (I have other obligations the next two days), but the Wylie Slough Black Phoebes have either moved on or they have changed their habits, because I haven't been able to find one.  It doesn't seem like one more try would find one, either.

 

I added two more to my October list today (Tundra Swan and Common Goldeneye), and now I have 128 species this month.  I have 65 repeaters, and I have 213 species this year.

 

 

Friday, October 30, 2020

 

I had a lunch appointment up in Everett today, and I went up early to look for birds.  I tried the Everett sewage ponds and when I found nothing there, I moved on to 12th St NE.  There were some dowitchers and ducks in the wetlands there, but I took my scope and went up on the dike.  With a little walking, I got to where I could see the smaller north pond of the Everett sewage works, as well as the north part of the main pond.  There were a lot of ducks, including some Canvasbacks, an excellent species, but nothing I needed. (Redhead or Barrow's Goldeneye were the two I had hopes for).  Northern Shrike has been reported there, too, this week.

 

I gave that up and went to lunch.  After lunch, I drove to Edgewater Beach Park in Mukilteo.  As I drove in, I spotted one of my target species there, Barrow's Goldeneye.  They are just now starting to come back from their summer migration, and I was pleased to find a group of 7 of them, five males and two females.  Here are three male Barrow's Goldeneyes.

 

As with most ducks, the females look quite different.  Here is a female Barrow's Goldeneye.

 

Here is a shot of two males and two females.

 

Finally, here is a picture of two male Barrow's Goldeneyes.

 

In most light, the males' heads just look black, but I had the sun behind me, and the blue sheen showed off nicely.  I looked around for Marbled Murrelet, but I didn't see any.  Barrow's Goldeneye brings my October total to 129 species now. 

 

That might be it for October, but I am thinking that I might go up Skagit county tomorrow for one last shot at Black Phoebe.  I noticed that on Wednesday, when I was last there, someone reported Black Phoebe at the same parking lot I visited and searched, at just about the same time I was there.  Maybe I will give it one more try, if I feel like an adventure tomorrow.  There are five or six other species I could potentially get up there, too, although none are likely.