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Thursday, April 1, 2021

 

A new month.  Everything is new for my list again.  I had a business appointment this morning with my sister, but after lunch I ventured out on the birding trail.  I visited a new place (for me), the eastern part of San Elijo Lagoon.  I parked and walked out on the Santa Carina trail.  I immediately saw a California Towhee, and soon added Anna’s Hummingbird and American Kestrel to my list.  Here is one of the two American Kestrels I saw.

 

The temperature was in the mid-80’s, and I was out in the sun, so I took it easy and rested often.  A male Northern Harrier swooped by, and when I got to the overlook, I saw a couple of Snowy Egrets.  I could look down on a wide spot in the creek, and I got a bunch of water birds.  There were American Coots, Gadwalls, Mallards, a male Green-winged Teal, and a male Redhead across the water.  The Redhead was the good one of the bunch.  There was also a male Cinnamon Teal on the bank, and a female Ruddy Duck swam by.  In the distance I saw a Double-crested Cormorant.

 

I started back up the trail to my car – I had dropped a lot of elevation, and it was a lot tougher going back, of course.  There was a kingbird on a dead tree, and I took pictures.  The light was terrible and the shot was distant, but it was good enough for me to tell it was a Western Kingbird, the less common of the two kingbird species here.  Here is the Western Kingbird.

 

I kept playing California Gnatcatcher songs, but never attracted one.  I did attract a Wrentit, though, at one point.  I only had a very quick glimpse of it, but it sang back to me repeatedly, and it is a very distinctive song.  I saw a male Red-winged Blackbird fly over, and while I rested on a rock back at the car, I spotted a male Allen’s Hummingbird.  Here is the hummer.

 

I drove around to another trailhead, but I didn’t get out of the car.  I saw a couple of Orange-crowned Warblers there, though.  Next I drove to the nature center at the western part of San Elijo Lagoon.  I first heard and then saw a Common Yellowthroat near the nature center, but I couldn’t get a picture.  Out on the trail, I soon saw a Willet, a Pied-billed Grebe, and an American Wigeon.  Then I spotted a shorebird I had missed in March, a WHIMBREL.  Here is a distant picture of a Whimbrel (closer to the camera) and a Willet for size comparison.

 

I continued along the trail, and I saw what I thought was a duck swimming across the channel.  I got my binoculars on it, and it turned out to be a Ridgway’s Rail, not a bird you usually would see swimming.  Here is the Ridgway’s Rail, pretending to be a duck.

 

I continued along the trail and added Song Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow.  I was trying to call up a Savannah Sparrow, but never got one.  Here is a Great Blue Heron that was back in the brush a bit.

 

I had a brief rain shower, which cooled it down a little, anyway, but it soon passed.  An Osprey flew in across the channel and was eating something.  I took some distant pictures, but they aren’t worth showing.  American Crows flew over, calling.  I got another picture of a Whimbrel and a Willet.  The Whimbrel is the one with the curved bill.

 

That was it for my birding this afternoon.  I was out there for about 3 hours in total, and I visited two parts of the San Elijo Lagoon reserve.  During the evening here at my sister’s house, I saw a male Hooded Oriole at the jelly feeder, but I was too slow to get a picture.  A male House Finch came in, too, and I saw the local Cooper’s Hawk take off from where it had been sitting in a tree in full sight.  I hadn’t noticed it until it took off, though, so no picture.

 

Altogether, I got 32 species for my April list.  Most were common ones, but there were a few nice ones.  Whimbrel was new for the year, and now I have 197 species this year.  I have a longer day of birding planned for tomorrow, and my friend, Chris, is coming down from Orange county to join me.

 

 

Friday, April 2, 2021

 

My old friend, Chris, and I headed out at 9:30 for a day of birding.  Our first stop was the San Diego River estuary, across the road from Sea World.  I added Northern Pintail, a duck, to my April list, and then both Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitcher, which are very similar.  Here is a picture of what I think were Short-billed Dowitchers.

 

Here is another Short-billed Dowitcher, I think.

 

I didn’t get any pictures of Long-billed Dowitchers, but I was sure I had seen some.   There were some little peeps across the channel, both Western Sandpipers and LEAST SANDPIPERS.  A Little Blue Heron flew up the river.  There were a few Caspian Terns roosting on the sand across the channel, and two or three Forster’s Terns were flying around fishing.

 

We moved on from there and drove to Robb Field, where you can stand on the banks of the San Diego River and look at the birds in the sand, when the tide is low enough.  There weren’t nearly as many birds there as on Sunday when I was there, but I soon added some species.  There was a large group of Elegant Terns, with some Royal Terns mixed in with them.  A bunch of Black Skimmers were loafing in the distance.  Here is a Marbled Godwit with a nice reflection.

 

A Long-billed Curlew was walking around, and there were two Reddish Egrets.  Here is one of the Reddish Egrets.

 

There was one Great Egret in the distance and a number of Western Gulls around.  As we drove away from there, I added Feral Pigeon to my April list.  At Crown Point on Mission Bay, I added Brant, a small goose, to my April list.  I also got this picture of a couple of Black-bellied Plovers.

 

The plovers are the larger birds.  The one on the left is molting into its summer plumage, in which the entire underside will be black and the back will be black and white.  The black-bellied Plover on the right is mostly still in its winter plumage of gray-brown on top and white underneath.  Its wings are just beginning to molt.

 

We next drove south and stopped at the J Street Marina.  Many of the same birds were there, but I added California Gull to my April list.  As we drove out of the parking lot, a Canada Goose was in the road, so that one went on my April list.  On the way to the freeway I added European Starling.

 

Our next stop was the Dairy Mart ponds, a mile or two from the Mexican border.  There were Northern Shovelers on the pond.  One of the specialties of that site is a little bird that is just now coming back from migration.  I hadn’t seen one on Sunday when I was there, and if I heard one, I wasn’t able to identify it.  Today I played the bird’s song, and Chris immediately heard a response.  He could hear two or three of them in the area, but mostly I couldn’t hear them.  I have some hearing loss in the high frequencies, and we have noticed this before when have birded together.  Anyway, eventually I heard BELL’S VIREO singing back to me, and we even got good looks at one, although I couldn’t get a picture.  Chris spotted a NUTTALL’S WOODPECKER in a dead tree, the first woodpecker I have seen on the trip.  Here is a picture of the Nuttall’s Woodpecker, a species we don’t get in Washington State.

 

We drove the short distance to the second pond and got out and walked.  We saw a Greater Roadrunner right away, a great bird to get.  Here is the Greater Roadrunner.

 

It walked ahead of us down the path, and shortly it caught a lizard.  Here is poor picture of the roadrunner with its lunch.

 

I think the roadrunner was walking up and down the path, where lizards sit out in the open, basking in the sun, hoping to snatch a few.  On our way back to the car, the roadrunner was following us, and I got this shot of it.

 

It looks to me like it has a beetle or something in its bill.  I saw a Black-crowned Night-Heron fly up the length of the pond, and that was one I had hoped to see there.  We continued on our way, and there was a Red-shouldered Hawk on a pole at one point.  Here is the Red-shouldered Hawk.

 

At the Bird and Butterfly Garden, it was pretty quiet, but I did see one Common Ground-Dove, an excellent sighting because I won’t see that species anywhere else this month, for sure.  Here is the single Common Ground-Dove we saw today.

 

There were a few swallows flying around overhead.  I was able to identify Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Cliff Swallow, the same two species I had seen on Sunday there.  I played House Wren songs, and one came in and posed for me in several different places.  Here are three pictures of the cute little House Wren in the sun.

 

 

 

We got lunch at Jack In The Box, one of the few fast food restaurants I have seen that had the dining room open, at reduced capacity, of course and with various covid protocols.  Then we drove on to the sports park in Imperial Beach and saw at least two Yellow-crowned Night-Herons in the usual nest tree.  That is another species I definitely will not see anywhere else this month, or this year, for that matter.

 

We headed back north after that, and our next stop was at the Grand Avenue Overlook on the San Dieguito River.  We saw three Mourning Doves on wires near there, and two Black-necked Stilts on the river shore.  Here are the two Black-necked Stilts.

 

We drove up the river and I got this distant picture of a Red-tailed Hawk on a pole.

 

Back at the overlook, presumably the same Common Loon I saw on Sunday was still around.

 

We also saw a Northern Mockingbird on a wire.  Next we drove to the eastern part of the San Dieguito River reserve, along Via de la Valle.  As we drove in, I saw what I thought was a California Thrasher, although I wasn’t 100% sure that is what it was, as it flew across the road in front of us, low to the ground.  We parked and walked on the trail.  I played another bird song for a species I knew lived there and Chris immediately heard a response.  He kept hearing it, over and over again for a number of minutes, even as we walked up the trail, but I never heard a thing.  We had had the same experience two years ago in the same place.  Eventually I was able to see the CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER that was constantly singing back to us, long after I had stopped playing his song.  Here is the male California Gnatcatcher that kept serenading us.

 

We walked on and saw a few other species, but the only one I needed for April was Killdeer.  As we left the parking lot there, I stopped and played California Thrasher songs, and one popped up and looked at us briefly, so I guess that was what I had seen as we drove in.  Here is the California Thrasher checking us out.

 

It was right on the way, so we drove along the unpaved back road to the old polo grounds and slowly cruised through the parking lot.  I got this picture of a female American Kestrel, a species I had gotten yesterday.

 

There was a pair of Western Bluebirds for my April list, and then two Say’s Phoebes, which I also needed.  Here are two shots of Say’s Phoebe.

 

 

Our last bird of the day for my April list was a Black Phoebe on a fence, as we exited the parking lot.

 

That was it for the day.  We had an outstanding day, considering we didn’t leave my sister’s house until 9:30 and were back by 5:00.  We drove 40 or 50 miles south and back again, so there was freeway time in there, as well.  I added 44 more species to my April list, to bring it to 76 species.  Four of those were new for the year, and now I have 201 species this year.  I looked at my list for yesterday, and if you count the ones we saw today that I had already counted, it turns out that Chris and I had 66 species today, which was really excellent.  Most importantly, we both had a great time.

 

 

Saturday, April 3, 2021

 

Before I get into today, I wanted to make a correction to yesterday’s report.  I overlooked the fact that as Chris and I approached my sister’s house at the end of our day, I saw a bird at the top of a tree.  I looked at it, but it was only a House Finch, which I didn’t need.  Then I noticed there was a male Lesser Goldfinch near it, and I did need that one.  With that addition, my total for yesterday was actually 45 new species for April, bringing me to 77 total.  Chris and I had 67 species for our day.

 

Today was a much more laid back day for me.  I have seen enough of the San Diego birds that there weren’t a whole lot left to go look for, and I was ready to take it easier, after a fairly intense week (for me).  I decided to go back down to Mission Bay and the San Diego River, and it turned out to be a great decision.  My first stop was the river estuary, across the road from Sea World.  There wasn’t much there (the tide was actually probably too low), and I didn’t add anything I needed.  I got this picture of two Forster’s Terns, though.

 

They are smaller than the other terns around here now, and have short orange legs and orange bills with black tips.  This is their summer plumage.  They look different in the winter, but they are down in Central America then, anyway.

 

Forster’s Tern is the smallest tern here now (Least Terns will be returning from migration in a week or two, I think, or maybe a bit more), and here is the largest tern here now, Caspian Tern.

 

I drove around to Robb Field, where you can view the river almost at its mouth.  The tide was out, and there were even fewer birds than yesterday, and that was a lot fewer than last Sunday.  It most likely had to do with the tide level.  Anyway, despite the tide level, I did very well.

 

One of the species I had missed there on Friday was Blue-winged Teal, and I found 5 or 6 of them way across the river near the opposite shore.  That one is tough in Washington, so I was pleased to get it for April.  I added Bufflehead, too, but I will see plenty of them at home.  Another species I had missed yesterday was Brown Pelican, and there were 2 or 3 of them there today.  To my pleased surprise, there was also a single American White Pelican loafing on the sand.  I won’t see either of the pelican species in Washington in April, I don’t think.

 

Then I had the highlight of the day, a rare TRICOLORED HERON.  I had read that one was hanging around, but I had not seen it until today.  I was able to walk down the path and get quite close for pictures.  Here is the rare (for the west coast) Tricolored Heron.

 

 

 

 

 

I have seen Tricolored Heron on the gulf coast of Texas and once in Arizona, where it is also rare, but never anywhere else, as far as I can remember.

 

I moved on from there, and as I drove out of the parking lot, I saw another one I still needed for April, Cassin’s Kingbird.  Cassin’s Kingbird is the most common kingbird around here, but I won’t see one anywhere else I plan to go this year, so I wanted it for April.  Here is the Cassin’s Kingbird.

 

You can not only see the white “dash” under the eye, you can see the light colored tips on the tail feathers.  Those two features are the main ways to distinguish Cassin’s Kingbird from any other kingbird species.

 

Next I went to Crown Point.  I didn’t get any of the species there I was hoping for, but I got a couple of pictures.  Here is a Mourning Dove.

 

An Osprey was sitting on the end fence post.

 

It is a species I expect I’ll see at home in Washington, but I did add Dunlin to my April list there.  I headed back north toward Kathy’s house, but I stopped off at the San Dieguito River to see if there was anything I needed around there.  There wasn’t anything interesting, although I did add House Sparrow to my April list.  I also got a picture of another Cassin’s Kingbird, this time from the front.

 

That was it for my morning.  I was out there for about 3 hours, and I spent one of those hours driving back and forth to the Mission Bay area.  I decided to take it easy this afternoon, and I stayed in and read and did some computer stuff.  In my 3 hours this morning, I added 8 more species to my April list, to bring me to 85 for the month.  The rare Tricolored Heron brings me to 202 species in 2021.

 

Tomorrow is Easter, and Kathy’s daughter and her friend are coming for brunch, and then I plan to do a little birding in the afternoon, with whoever wants to join me.  The trip is winding down.  My flight home is Monday afternoon.

 

 

Sunday, April 4, 2021

 

My sister and her daughter put on a great Easter brunch today, and afterwards we went out to look for a few birds I needed for April, including ones I won’t see in Washington this month.  Our first stop was the San Dieguito Reservoir in Rancho Santa Fe.  I was hoping to see an Eared Grebe or maybe a Clark’s Grebe, but I didn’t.  There were some ducks on the water, and I added Western Grebe to my April list, a species I will likely see at home this month, but it isn’t a sure thing.  In addition, I added Tree Swallow to my April list, but that’s one I will see a lot of at home in April.  I also got this picture of a Northern Mockingbird on a wire, looking pretty nondescript.

 

You can see it has a long tail, with white feathers on the underside.  What you can’t see is the white patches on the wings that flash when the bird flies.

 

We moved on to Lake Hodges.  I stopped where I had seen both Western and the very similar Clark’s Grebes last week, in March.  I wanted Clark’s Grebe for April, since I definitely won’t see that one in Washington.  I set up my scope and scanned the 15 or 20 grebes in view, and I found a pair of Clark’s Grebes, much too distant for pictures.

 

Next we drove to the north end of Lake Hodges and parked.  I was looking for Acorn Woodpecker, where I had seen them last week and in earlier years.  We walked around, and I played their calls, but we never saw or heard one.  It was pretty windy and there was a group of what looked like four families there, with the kids running around and having a great time.  The screaming kids might have put the woodpeckers off, I don’t know.

 

Eventually we gave up on that and moved on to the boat ramp area at the end of the road.  I drove along the sides of the big parking lot, listening and looking for birds, but saw and heard nothing.  I was looking for a particular species in that area, and as we drove back from the very end of the road, I spotted a bird flying across the water to a dock.  I got my binoculars on it, it was a female GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE, the species I was looking for.  Here are three distant pictures of the female Great-tailed Grackle, another species I will definitely not see in Washington.

 

 

 

You can see in that last shot that there was a trash can there, and that was the attraction for the grackle.  She flew off, and after we waited a little longer, two males flew in to the same trash can area.  Unfortunately, a little boy saw them and ran at them and deliberately scared them off.  I managed to get one shot of a male Great-tailed Grackle, showing his iridescent blue-black body, light-colored eye, and long tail.  Remember, these grackle shots were all quite distant, so they aren’t great.

 

We headed back toward home, but stopped again where I knew the Acorn Woodpeckers hung out.  They live in colonies, and I knew there was a colony of them there.  We sat in the car, looking and listening, and Kathy heard one call, sounding like it was right above us.  I got out and soon spotted it, on the underside of a branch almost right above us.  Here is the Acorn Woodpecker on the underside of a branch.  You can see the holes in the dead branch that the woodpeckers have drilled, to store acorns in for the winter.

 

The bird was preening, so it was hard to get pictures, and the bright background didn’t help either.

 

It flew a short distance, and I got more pictures.  At least the very bright background was gone.

 

In this next shot, the bird is looking back over its shoulder in my direction.

 

Here is one last shot, showing the bird’s front.

 

So, that turned out to be a very successful expedition.  I got the three birds that I really wanted (Clark’s Grebe, Great-tailed Grackle, and Acorn Woodpecker), none of which I will see anywhere else this month, and it was a nice little excursion on a beautiful sunny day.

 

I added 5 more species to my April list, and now I have 90 species this month.  Great-tailed Grackle brings my year list to 203 species.  Tomorrow I play the tedious airplane game all day, and I hope to be home by 7 or 8 PM, GWATCDR.  I might be able to look for birds for a short while on the way to the airport, but we will see.  There isn’t much easy stuff left to get for April.

 

 

Monday, April 5, 2021

 

Today was a travel day, from San Diego to Seattle.  My flight didn't leave until 3:30 PM, though, so I stopped a few places on the way to the airport.  My first stop was the San Dieguito River overlook in Del Mar.  I saw a Greater Yellowlegs when I got there, but it flew before I got a picture.  That was one I needed for April.  I saw another one down the river, and I got this picture of a distant Greater Yellowlegs.

 

There were some Willets there, and I got this picture of one of them.

 

As I was leaving, I saw a Belted Kingfisher on a wire, but the light was too lousy to try a picture.  That was my first Belted Kingfisher of April  Also as I was leaving, a couple of Northern Mockingbirds were singing up a storm, from opposite sides of the road.  Here is one of the Northern Mockingbirds singing.

 

My next stop was the San Diego River estuary, just south of Sea World.  I was looking for American Avocet, and I found five of them.  Here is a distant shot of five American Avocets for my April list.

 

I drove to Crown Point, but I didn't get anything there.  Next I drove up to Point Loma and drove through the Fort Rosecrans cemetery, looking for Chipping Sparrows.  I didn't find any, or anything else I needed.  I made one more stop, at Famosa Slough, and I got this picture of a male Hooded Oriole.  I had seen Hooded Orioles 3 or 4 times on the trip, but this was my first picture, I think.

 

So, despite it being a travel day, I added 4 more species to my April list.  I'll most likely see the other three here in Washington this month, but I won't see any American Avocets, so that one was the bird of the day.  Now I have 94 species in April.  My total for the year is 203 species.

 

I had a good trip home, and it is nice to be back on my desktop computer in my own office.

 

 

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

 

I'm home now, and I will start a new list - species seen in Washington State in April.  That will facilitate comparing this year with 2018 and 2019.  I didn't do any birding in 2020 because of the pandemic.  I will designate birds seen in Washington, but also seen in California this month with a notation of (W) or WA Apr.  Ones I see that are new for the month will be designated (A) or April and I will continue to add to the April lisit I started in California.  I'll have two separate April lists going - One for all April birds and one for ones seen in Washington.

 

This morning I got Feral Pigeon (W), American Crow (W), and Pine Siskin (A).  In other words, Pine Siskin was new for the month for me, but I had seen the other two in California this month.

 

I was fatigued today and didn't really feel much like birding, but the sun was shining and I went down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park for a short walk up and down the road.  There were several Northern Flickers (A) around and lots of Red-winged Blackbirds (W).  I played the call and a Virginia Rail (A) responded.  A Red-tailed Hawk (W) was sitting on a branch of a dead tree, and a couple of Mallards (W) were in the pond at the end of the road.  I wasn't getting any bird pictures, so I took this picture of a plant called Skunk Cabbage, a harbinger of spring in the Pacific Northwest.

 

I saw a couple of American Robins (A), a couple of Chestnut-backed Chickadees (A), and a couple of Black-capped Chickadees (A).  A single Bushtit (A) was flitting around and I saw a couple of Song Sparrows (W).  Then I got my first bird picture of the day when I spotted a female Downy Woodpecker (A) on a tree trunk.

 

After that I saw a single Dark-eyed Junco (W) and a female Anna's Hummingbird (W).  I gave it up after that and went home.  As I came down our driveway, there were birds at our seed feeder, so I stopped the car and took pictures.  Here are a couple of pictures of a male American Goldfinch (A) that was coloring up nicely for the summer.

 

 

Here is a Pine Siskin (counted earlier).

 

I didn't get a picture of the House Finch (W) that came to the feeder, but I did get a couple of pictures of the Fox Sparrow (A) on the ground under the feeder.

 

 

Here is a female Red-winged Blackbird, also counted earlier in the day.

 

This afternoon I saw a Steller's Jay (A) at the feeder, too.

 

I was only out birding for less than a half hour, but I managed to get 11 more species for my April list, to bring me to 105 species this month overall.  I have 20 species on my April Washington list now (includes species seen in California this month.)

 

 

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

 

There were showers forecasted for this morning, turning to rain by midday.  I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, though, so I headed north early, to see what I could find in the rain, but hoping for some dry spells.  I didn't get any dry spells, but I did see some birds from my car, in the rain.  At 12th St NE, just north of the Everett Sewage ponds, I picked up Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, and Canada Goose for my April Washington list.  At the main pond, I added Ruddy Duck (W), Ring-necked Duck (A), Greater Scaup (A), Lesser Scaup (A). American Coot (W), and Green-winged Teal (W).  In one of the trees to the east, I saw a Bald Eagle (A).  All this was from the car, as it was raining.

 

I moved on to Port Gardner Bay, and on my way, I saw a couple of male Common Mergansers (A) on the river.  At Port Gardner Bay, I saw a flock of Dunlin (W), and I got this picture of some of them on the mud.

 

They will be moving north soon.  Some of them have various amounts of black on their bellies, which they get in breeding season.  As I drove toward the boat launch area on 10th St, I saw a Great Blue Heron (W) flying.  In the parking lot at the boat launch, I added California Gull to my April Washington list, and here is a picture.

 

There weren't any Mew Gulls or Ring-billed Gulls there, but I did add Glaucous-winged Gull to my April list.  Here is the Glaucous-winged Gull.  Note the pink legs, the red spot on the lower bill, and the wing-tips (looks like the tail, because they stick out beyond the tail) are the same color as the upper wings.

 

I saw a Double-crested Cormorant(W) on a piling, and then I saw an Osprey (W).  There were some Buffleheads(W) diving in the shallows, and I got this picture of a Canada Goose sitting on an old Osprey nest.

 

For the last two years, I have watched and photographed Ospreys nesting in that nest, and it will be interesting to see if the Ospreys kick the goose out when they get back.  The Osprey I saw today was about two pilings to the west, just sitting there.  Can a Canada Goose stand up to a couple of Ospreys who want that nest?  I don't know.

 

So, I never got out of my car this morning, and I only looked for birds for about an hour, but I got 6 more species for my overall April list, giving me 111 species now.  I added 18 to my April Washington list, and now I have 38 in Washington in April.

 

 

Friday, April 9, 2021

 

Today I went out to the Snoqualmie Valley and up to Tokul Creek, in my monthly search for American Dipper.  Driving down the west side of the valley, I saw some American Wigeons (W).  While driving across the valley, I saw an American Kestrel (W) on a wire and a pair of Gadwalls (W) on a farm pond.  As I approached Sikes lake, a Northern Harrier (W) flew across the road in front of me.  From the bridge over Sikes Lake, I saw a pair of Wood Ducks (A) and two female Hooded Mergansers (A) on the lake.  [Reminder - (A) indicates a species that is new for the month of April, and (W) indicates a species that is new for April in Washington, but I saw it in California already.]  Here are the two female Hooded Mergansers

 

There were swallows flying around over the lake, and I was able to identify Tree Swallow (W) and Violet-green Swallow (A).  I drove on in to Carnation and at the house with feeders, there were some Eurasian Collared-Doves (A) hanging around, and some Band-tailed Pigeons (A) a little farther back.  I picked up a sandwich at the Carnation Market and drove down the west side of the river toward Fall City.

 

I was looking for sparrows and didn't see any for quite a while.  Then, I finally saw a little group of sparrows and picked up White-crowned Sparrow (W) and Golden-crowned Sparrow (A).  Here is a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

 

While I was looking at the sparrows, I noticed a Red-breasted Sapsucker(A) land on a tree trunk just up the road.  I didn't see anything else along that road, and I drove up to Tokul Creek to look for my April dipper.

 

I looked up and down the creek from the bridge, but I didn't see any dippers.  I went across the bridge and played Pacific Wren songs because the habitat looked good for that species, and I did manage to attract one.  Here is a poor picture of my first April Pacific Wren(A).

 

Hoping a dipper had flown in, I went back out on the bridge and looked upstream and downstream again.  Still no dippers.  I was about to leave when an American Dipper(A) flew out from under the bridge and up the little tributary stream on the side.  It landed once on a rock and gave me a good look, then flew up the stream out of sight.  No picture, but I got my dipper, after I was ready to give up.

 

Back down on the valley floor, I drove up Neal Road to the end.  I got out my scope and checked out the blackbirds in the trees across the river, at the dairy.  Most of them were Brewer's Blackbirds (A), but I also found a little group of 4 or 5 male Brown-headed Cowbirds (A).  That was what I was looking for there.  On the long pond along the road there were Ring-necked Ducks and Wood Ducks.  Here is a pair of Wood Ducks.

 

Here are two male Wood Ducks who appear to be following a female Wood Duck.

 

I continued on my way and stopped again at the house with feeders in Carnation.  This time I got a couple of pictures of Band-tailed Pigeons.

 

 

I moved on to the Stillwater Access to the Snoqualmie Valley Wildlife Area and ate my sandwich in the car.  When I finished eating, I walked on the dike trail.  I played Brown Creeper songs as I walked along, and at one point I saw a Brown Creeper (A), but I wasn't able to get a picture before it disappeared.  A little farther down the trial, I played Marsh Wren(A) songs, and one came flying in from quite a distance, but I wasn't able to get a picture of that one, either.  I had been hoping to hear or see American Bittern, but didn't see or hear any.  They are quite reclusive, but they call and show themselves during breeding season, which should be starting about now.

 

I drove up through Duvall after that, and then up the west side of the river from there.  I added House Sparrow (W) at the dairy near the end of the road, and here is a picture of a juvenile male House Sparrow.

 

While driving back south on that road, I spotted a duck on the river that was diving.  I waited for it come up and found it was a juvenile male Common Goldeneye (A).  Here is a picture of him.

 

He is kind of in between the juvenile plumage of his first year and the adult plumage he will have by this summer.

 

That was it for today for me.  I got my dipper, which was my main target for the day, and I got a couple of other fairly good species, along with a lot of common ones.  I added 15 species to April today, and now I have 126.  I got 22 more for my April Washington list, and now I have 60 in Washington this month.

 

 

Saturday, April 10, 2021

 

Today I went up to Edmonds, which is about a half hour northwest of here.  When I left home, it was hailing or sleeting or something, but halfway to Edmonds, I was in bright sunshine with a blue sky over me.  My first stop was my quail site in Woodway.  I pulled in to the little cul-de-sac that is surrounded by wilderness on two sides and waited.  There is a house with some feeders, and the quail often show up there.  After about five minutes, pairs of California Quail (A) started to appear.  They would scurry across the grass and pavement and disappear into the bushes at the house with feeders.  I can't actually see the ground under the feeders from where I have to park, so I only saw the quail as they hustled across the open area.  I took pictures, but they are pretty mediocre because of the distance, the back lighting, and the fact the quail were usually moving.

 

They were mostly moving in pairs, one pair at a time.  Sometimes there would be a single bird.  This male stopped and posed for a few seconds.

 

 

 

 

 

They were quite skittish, and from time to time a pair would retreat back across the open area.  There was more calling going on than I have ever heard.  There were at least two groups of quail, and only one of them was approaching the feeders.  It was fun to see them; too bad I couldn't get better pictures.  While I was doing that, a Spotted Towhee (A) flew in and went on my list.

 

After that very successful quail quest, I drove to Sunset Avenue on the Edmonds waterfront.  I added Brant (W) to my Washington list right away.  Brant is a small saltwater goose.  They are gathering on the Edmonds waterfront in preparation for their migration up to the arctic circle.  They will be leaving soon, so I wanted to get them for April in Washington now.  I had seen them in San Diego, and those birds will have an even longer migration trip.  Here are some pictures of Brant.

 

 

 

It was sunny but quite cold today, with a brisk wind.  The waves on the water made it difficult to see birds, as they kept popping up and then disappearing in the troughs of the waves.  I didn't get any more pictures, but I added a number of common species to my lists, many of which will be migrating north soon.  I got Surf Scoter (A) and Black Scoter (A), both of which are saltwater ducks.  I saw some Pelagic Cormorants (A) on the ferry pilings in the distance.  There were a number of Red-necked Grebes (A) and Horned Grebes (A), most of them already mostly in their breeding plumage.  Pigeon Guillemots (A) stick around here all year, although they change their plumage drastically for breeding season, from mostly white and gray in the winter to almost all black in the summer.  I missed other species that I might have seen in better conditions.  I want to take a ferry trip over to Whidbey Island to get some of those species, and I also hope to go across Puget Sound to Kitsap and Jefferson counties, where I could see some of the sea birds, too.  The most important birds I got on the waterfront today were the Brant and the Black Scoters, as I don't see those species very many places, and they will be leaving soon.

 

I added 8 more species to April, and now I have 134 species this month.  I added 9 more to my Washington April list, and now I have 69 species here in Washington this month.  I have a lot more to get, and I have several day trips and one overnight trip I want to do this month to get them.

 

 

Sunday, April 11, 2021

 

When I got up this morning, it was sunny, but very frosty outside.  I went over to Marymoor Park, knowing that there would be huge crowds on a sunny spring Sunday.  On my first pass through the park, I saw that an Osprey was on the new nest at the baseball field on the east side of the park.  They nested there last year, and maybe the year before, and it looks like they will try again.  Here are a couple of pictures of the Osprey on the nest, which is on a tall light fixture.

 

 

I headed for the East Meadow, planning to walk there, looking for a couple of species.  On the way, I saw some geese in the distance, probably about 100 yards away.  They looked interesting, so I stopped and got out my scope to take a look.  I could see that at least one of them was a Cackling Goose (A), a species I was very glad to see, since most of them have already moved north toward their breeding grounds in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.  Here is a terrible picture that shows the much smaller Cackling Goose (on the left) with a few of its much larger cousins, Canada Geese.

 

That was excellent, but then I noticed a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE in with them.  Here is a distant picture of the Greater White-fronted Goose, which is the one with white on its face, orange legs, and an orange bill.

 

That was the first time I had seen that species this year.  I then noticed that there were actually two of them.  Here is a shot that shows both Greater White-fronted Geese with some Canada Geese.  (The one on the left and the one in the middle.)

 

I could have walked out across the field, to try for better pictures, but I moved on to the viewing mound and the East Meadow.

 

The only thing I got from the viewing mound was a single Barn Swallow (A).  Next, I walked down the west side of the East Meadow.  I added Savannah Sparrow (A) there, and here are three pictures.

 

 

 

I sat for a while on the bench at the south end of the East Meadow, looking for the Rufous Hummingbird I saw there a couple of weeks ago.  While sitting there, some Golden-crowned Sparrows were feeding in the grass nearby, so I took pictures. 

 

They look kind of scruffy, and I think that is maybe because they are molting into their summer plumage.  They will migrate north soon.  Here is another Golden-crowned Sparrow.

 

An American Robin posed for me in the sun, so I took its picture.

 

The Rufous Hummingbird didn't show up, so I walked farther down the path toward the lake.  I found a male Rufous Hummingbird (A) at the top of a little tree and got this picture of him with his bill open.

 

On my way back to my car, I got a quick look at a Yellow-rumped Warbler (A).  Next, I drove over to the slough, to the west parking lot for the dog park.  On the way I noticed that the new Osprey nesting platform had an Osprey in possession.

 

That platform replaced one that had been in the park for many years.  They had to remove the old one because the new light rail line goes along the edge of the park, and the old nesting platform was in the way.  There were Ospreys on this new platform last year, early, but something must have happened, because I don't think they successfully raised any young.

 

At the slough, I saw a couple of Wilson's Snipe (A), and I took pictures.

 

 

 

A little farther downstream, I saw a couple of Killdeer (W) for my April Washington list.

 

 

I walked back to my car and got this picture of a Golden-crowned Sparrow on the way.

 

It was a beautiful, sunny spring day, and the park was packed with people.  Normally I don't stick around when it is so crowded, but today it worked out okay.  I added 7 more species to my April list, to give me 141 now.  I added 8 to my Washington April list, and now I have 77 species here in Washington this month.  The Greater White-fronted Geese added 1 to my year list, and now I have 204 species in 2021.

 

 

Monday, April 12, 2021

 

Today I went up north to Skagit county.  I picked up a Subway sandwich and stopped at Wylie Slough first.  I didn't get anything there, including Black Phoebe.  I noticed that the nest the Black Phoebes had used for at least two years was gone, which is too bad because it was in a great place for observation.  If they nest again, it certainly won't be in such a convenient place.  I drove on to Hayton Reserve but didn't get anything I needed there, either.  I did get this picture of a Bald eagle sitting near the nest there.

 

I moved on to my Barn Owl site, in the barn of my birding acquaintance, Gary, in Lyman.  I had seen at least one Barn Owl in that barn every month for ten months in a row, but today I dipped.  I don't know if I will bother to go back or not; it is an extra hour of driving time (round trip) from wherever else I might be, and it might not be worth it.  They nest in the barn, and maybe one of them was on the nest and the other was roosting somewhere else today.  I can't see the whole top part of the barn from the only vantage point, so they might have simply been roosting out of sight today.

 

Next I drove to the Samish Flats.  Most of the winter birds have left for the summer now, but I did find a flock of about 400 Snow Geese (A) that must be on their way north.  I hadn't expected to get that one this month.  While I was checking out the Snow Geese, a Common Raven (A) was nearby.  Here is a distant picture of some of the Snow Geese.

 

On Samish Island, I couldn't find any Long-tailed Ducks or White-winged Scoters, two more species that have probably left now.  I did pick up Red-breasted Merganser (A) and a Common Loon (W) in full breeding plumage.  After that I ate my sandwich as I drove south back to the Skagit Flats and Fir Island.  I got this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk along the way.

 

At the house on the corner of Valentine Road and Dodge Valley Road, I got Purple Finch (A).  Here is a male Purple Finch.

 

Here are two female Red-winged Blackbirds.

 

A female Purple Finch came in, so I took her picture.

 

Here is one more male Purple Finch picture.

 

I stopped again at Hayton Reserve, but got nothing.  My final stop was Wylie Slough again.  I had timed it for low tide, so I could try for shorebirds there, including a rarity seen recently, including yesterday.  As I approached the reserve, there was a puddle in a field, and there were several Greater Yellowlegs (A) feeding there.  Here is one of the Greater Yellowlegs.

 

I drove through the reserve and got this picture of a Great Blue Heron.

 

The tide was out, as I expected, and there were Greater Yellowlegs and dowitchers feeding in the mud.  I looked at a lot of dowitchers and took pictures of them, and I decided that both Long-billed Dowitcher and Short-billed Dowitcher were present.  The two species are very similar, and I am rarely 100% sure of my identifications, but here are some pictures.  I think that these are Short-billed Dowitchers.

 

In this next picture, I think the bird that is second from the right is a Long-billed Dowitcher.

 

Here is one more that I think is a Long-billed Dowitcher.

 

Here is a picture of a Greater Yellowlegs that shows the gooey mud they were feeding in.  Check out the bill and the back foot.

 

I looked through the birds feeding in the mud, looking for the rare shorebird, but couldn't find it.  As I was leaving, I talked briefly with a couple who were also looking for it.  I wished them luck and headed for my car.  I was about 50 yards down the path when they shouted at me and excitedly gestured for me to come back.  I hustled back and they showed me the rare RUFF in their scope.  I hadn't seen it, and I would have missed it if it weren't for the kindness of birders.  Here are a couple of pictures of the rare Ruff that should be in Asia now.

 

 

 

The size of the bird, the orange legs, and the length of the bill are the characteristics that identify it, along with the plumage.  Here are a couple of pictures of the Ruff with a Greater Yellowlegs (larger) for size comparison.

 

 

 

Here are two more pictures of the Ruff, since it was such a great bird.

 

 

This was the third time I have seen a Ruff in the US.  I saw one in Great Britain and one in Australia, both in 2010.  They are rare in both of those countries, too.

 

I was running late by then, so I hurried to my car.  I got lucky and saw a Black Phoebe (W) near the parking lot, but it wouldn't cooperate for a picture.

 

5 more species went on my April list today, and now I have 146 species this month.  I saw 10 more species for my Washington April list, and now I have 87 species here in Washington this month.  The Ruff brings my 2021 list to 205 species.  Today was a qualified success, qualified because I missed Barn Owl.  Getting the Ruff and the Black Phoebe at the end of the day saved it from being disappointing.  It was sunny and cold again today.  Now the weather is supposed to warm up, staying dry.  There is no rain forecast for at least another week, which is unusual here in April.  It is supposed to get up into the mid-70's by the end of the week.  Spring appears to have arrived.

 

 

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

 

Today I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, and I went up early to do some birding at Tulalip Bay, a little north of Everett.  I went to the marina and saw a couple of male Barrow's Goldeneyes (A), a sea duck, inside the log boom.  I looked across the bay and saw a Black-bellied Plover (W) on the beach.  I was surprised to see some Caspian Terns (W) as well.  I hadn't realized they had come back from their winter migration south.  I saw them down in San Diego this month, but now I had the species in Washington, too.

 

I drove to the youth center and went down by the water.  On the way I saw a European Starling (W).  I had seen that species a number of times this month here in Washington already, but I had neglected to add it to my list, so I did so today.  I picked up Mew Gull (A) and Ring-billed Gull (A) from the youth center, and I drove around to the western side of the bay.  I was hoping to see Belted Kingfisher, which I usually see there, but not today.

 

I added 6 more species to my Washington April list today, and 3 of them were new for April overall.  Now I have 149 species in April and 93 species in Washington this month.  My 2021 list remains at 205 species.

 

 

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

 

Today I stayed local, visiting three local parks.  My first stop was Log Boom Park in Kenmore.  I walked out on the dock and spotted a couple of Canvasbacks (A) right away.  That is an uncommon duck that doesn't show up many places around here.  Here is a picture of a male Canvasback.

 

Here are a couple of rather distant pictures of a pair of Canvasbacks, male and female.

 

 

I didn't see anything else there I needed, but I did get this picture of what I think is a female Greater Scaup.  Greater Scaup and Lesser Scaup look very much alike, and the females are even harder to tell apart than the males.

 

Next I drove to Big Finn Hill Park.  I was hoping to see Hairy Woodpecker or Pileated Woodpecker, which are reported there fairly often.  I walked around and I sat in my camp chair from time to time, listening and looking for woodpeckers.  I never found a woodpecker, but I did hear and see some little birds.  I heard Red-breasted Nuthatch (A) songs, and got this picture of one, high in a tree.

 

There were two of them flitting around, and a couple of Black-capped Chickadees as well.  I noticed them hanging around the top of a particular tree, so I went over there to take a look.  First I saw a Black-capped Chickadee poking its head into a hole.  Here it is outside the hole.

 

I thought the chickadee must be excavating a nest hole.  Then a Red-breasted Nuthatch came around and also was poking its head into the hole.  It turned out that the nuthatch was actually making the hole, and the chickadee must have been checking it out when the nuthatch was away.  Here is the Red-breasted Nuthatch near the hole.

 

 

The hole is just under that broken branch above the nuthatch's head in that last picture.  Here is the Red-breasted Nuthatch with its head in the hole, excavating.

 

It would root around in there and then back out and toss some wood chips away.

 

It kept doing that repeatedly.

 

It will be interesting to go back in a few days and later in the year, to see if I can see more nesting activity.  When the tree leafs out, though, it is going to be difficult to actually see the hole, I fear.

 

Eventually I gave up on the woodpeckers and went to Juanita Bay Park.  I played Golden-crowned Kinglet songs near the parking lot, where I usually can attract them, and a Golden-crowned Kinglet (A) showed up.  It flew back and forth, never staying still for a picture, but I kept trying.  Eventually I got these two pictures of the Golden-crowned Kinglet.

 

 

I drove across the road and walked up and down the fire station road.  I didn't get anything I needed, but a Red-breasted Sapsucker flew in and I got this picture of it working on its sap wells.

 

Sapsuckers drill those holes in the tree, and when the holes (wells) fill up with sap, they come back and suck it up.  You can see the fresh holes from this year and below them, the darker older holes, probably from last year.  The bird flew off before I could get a decent picture of it.

 

So, I got three more species today for my April lists.  Now I have 152 species total for April, and 96 of those were counted in Washington.  I hope to find 25 or 30 more species still this month, but it will take a trip over the mountains to do that.  Our great weather continues.  It is supposed to get up into the mid-70's this weekend, and there is no real rain forecast for the next ten days, only a small chance of minor showers in a week.

 

 

Friday, April 16, 2021

 

Before I get into today, I have a couple of things to report from yesterday.  First of all, I didn't go birding yesterday because we had a crew of four people here, removing a big plum tree and cutting back the boxwood hedge along our front porch.  Here is a picture of the hedge before it was cut back.

 

Here's what it looked like this morning, after the big cut back.

 

It will take a while for it to green up again, but now I can keep it pruned to a decent size.  It had gotten out of control over the years.

 

The second thing I want to report before I get into today is that I saw a Bewick's Wren (A) in our yard yesterday afternoon.  That added to my April lists.

 

Today I went across Puget Sound to Kitsap and Jefferson counties.  I caught the 9:35 ferry out of Edmonds, and it was a good thing I was 15 or 20 minutes early, because it was full, which surprised me.  I guess the great weather had people getting away early for the weekend.  When we got to Kingston, I saw some Brandt's Cormorants (A) on a ferry piling.  I got this picture of an immature Brant's Cormorant.

 

I took a couple more pictures, and I noticed when I looked at them that all four of those birds were Brant's Cormorants - three immature ones and an adult (the black one with the white neck plumes and the blue throat patch).  Here are the four Brandt's Cormorants.

 

There were Barrow's Goldeneyes in the water, too, and I got this picture of two males and one female Barrow's Goldeneye.

 

I drove to Point No Point and looked out at the water with my scope.  There weren't many birds around, unfortunately, but I still picked up a few species.  Here is a Bonaparte's Gull in breeding plumage (the black head).

 

I saw one pair of Marbled Murrelets (A) and one Pacific Loon (A).  Other than that, there were lots of Bonaparte's Gulls in the distance, some Horned Grebes, a few Pigeon Guillemots, Red-breasted Mergansers, and a couple of Common Loons.  I had hoped for more, but you never know what is going to be feeding there at any given time.  I thought I had timed the tide right, but I guess not.

 

While driving at Point No Point, I saw a yellow bird in a tree.  I was mystified, and it turned out to be a male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, a rarity on this side of the Cascade Mountains.  Here is the male Yellow-headed Blackbird, a new one for my year list.

 

 

Near there, I saw a California Scrub-Jay (A) at a feeder; that was one I had wanted to get there today.  Now I won't have to go looking for them at either of my local sites for that species.

 

There were some Horned Grebes fairly close to shore, and they were molting into their breeding plumage. They were in various stages of the process.  In the winter they are a nondescript gray and white color, but they are changing to brighter colors now.  Soon they will fly off to wherever they breed.  Here are some pictures of Horned Grebes in transition plumages.

 

 

One of the grebes flapped its little wings.

 

Here is a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers.  The male is the more colorful one in front.

 

Here is a female Red-breasted Merganser on her own.

 

As I drove away from there, I saw a couple of swallows on a wire.  The light was terrible and I couldn't tell what species they were, so I took a couple of pictures.

 

 

At the time, looking at the pictures in the camera, I thought it looked like maybe it was a Cliff Swallow, but I decided after seeing the pictures on the computer that it was a Northern Rough-winged Swallow (W), one I needed for my Washington April list.  Before I left Point No Point, I took these two pictures of Savannah Sparrows.

 

That one had its crest raised, and this next one had it down.

 

My next stop was Port Gamble.  I spotted 2 or 3 Long-tailed Ducks (A) in the distance.  I was glad to see them because they will be leaving this month to breed in the north.  I also saw 5 Western Grebes (W) there.  I moved on and stopped at Oak Bay county Park, but I didn't get anything there.  Likewise a stop at Indian Island county park got me nothing.  At Fort Flagler, I got Harlequin Duck (A), but nothing else.  I missed two or three species there that I had hoped to get.  After that, I drove back to Kingston and caught the 3:10 ferry.  Again, it was full.  I was there a half hour early, and I was among the last cars to get on.

 

It was a moderately successful day in terms of numbers, and I added 8 more to my April list.  With the Bewick's Wren yesterday, I now I have 161 species in April.  I added 10 more to my Washington April list, and with the Bewick's Wren yesterday, I now I have 107 species in Washington this month.  The rare (for this area) Yellow-headed Blackbird brought my year list to 206 species.  The weather was spectacular and I had a nice day out and about.

 

 

Saturday, April 17, 2021

 

I only have three bird pictures today, so here are two more "before and after" pictures of the hedge along our front porch.  Here is the part of the hedge on the street side of the walkway - before the butchering.

 

You can see that it is not only high, it is very wide as well.  Here is the after picture, showing the patch of dirt between the hedge and the grass now.

 

Today I went out to the Snoqualmie Valley.  I stopped on the way at the Redmond Retention Ponds, but I didn't see anything there or get any pictures.  Shorebirds should be migrating through here soon, going north, but the water level there is too high for shorebirds at this point.  Maybe the level will drop a bit with another dry week, as is forecast.

 

I didn't get anything driving across the valley or in the town of Carnation, either.  I went to the Stillwater Access of the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area and walked south on the trail that runs down the old railroad line.  It was very quiet, with no birds at all, practically.  I did get a picture of a Red-breasted Sapsucker that was drumming on a metal sign.

 

Soon after that, I got this shot of a female Downy Woodpecker.

 

I had brought my camp chair along, and from time to time I rested and listened for my main target species of the day.  I heard a woodpecker drumming a little later, and I traced it down to another Downy Woodpecker, this time a male.  Here is the male Downy Woodpecker.

 

I walked as far as the second bridge, and then I started back toward my car.  Back at the first bridge, I played Common Yellowthroat (W) songs and I eventually enticed one to show himself.  That was one for my Washington April list.  I slowly made my way back toward my car, continuing to stop and sit from time to time.  As I was getting close to the parking lot, I finally heard what I had been waiting for - an AMERICAN BITTERN doing its pumping call, a call they only do in the breeding season, which is now.  That was my first bittern of the year, and it was my main target for today.  I waited around and heard it do another series of calls, but I never could see it, even though it wasn't very far from the trail.

 

It was another beautiful day out there today.  Not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was in the low to mid 70's by the time I got back to my car.  I only added two species today, but at least one of them was a good one, anyway.  Now I have 162 species in April, with 109 of them in Washington.  My year list is now 207 species.

 

 

Sunday, April 18, 2021

 

It was another beautiful, sunny day today.  I went up to Big Finn Hill Park, which is only about ten minutes from home.  I walked around, sat sometimes, and looked for woodpeckers.  I didn't see any woodpeckers, but I did see a Cooper's Hawk (W) fly over twice, so it went on my Washington April list.  Now I have 110 species for April, here in Washington.  I still have 162 species overall for April and 207 species for the year.

 

 

Monday, April 19, 2021

 

Our great weather continues.  I had a lunch appointment today up in Everett and an errand to run on the way there.  After my errand, I went to the 10th St boat launch on the Everett waterfront to look at gulls.  I found what I think is a Herring Gull (A), a somewhat uncommon gull around here.  My way of identifying a Herring Gull is to look for very light-colored eyes, pink legs, and a fairly large gull.  Here are a couple of pictures of what I think was a Herring Gull.

 

 

I don't understand why there is so much black on the tip of the bill.  Everything else looks right, though, including the yellow-orange orbital ring around the eye.

 

A week or two ago I had seen a Canada Goose sitting on an old Osprey nest, and I wondered if the Ospreys would let that stand.  Well, today there again was a Canada Goose on the nest, presumably the same goose or its mate.

 

It will be interesting to see if eggs hatch in that nest.  I won't ever know because the goslings don't stay in the nest after they hatch.  The nest is about 15 feet above the water (at high tide) or the mud (at low tide).  I would love to see the little, just hatched goslings take the plunge.  I wonder if they need encouragement and I also wonder if they can survive such a leap.  There were a couple of Ospreys on another old nest a short distance away.

 

I had a bit more time, so I drove over to the 12th St NE pond to look for Cinnamon Teal.  No teal, but I did see a single little shorebird, along with 15 or 20 dowitchers.  I think the little peep was a Least Sandpiper (W), although it was hard to tell, since I was looking right into the sun.  I took some pictures, hoping to be able to determine the leg color (yellow would be Least Sandpiper and black would be Western Sandpiper).  The pictures are crap because of distance and lighting, and you can only see a little part of the legs, but here are a couple of them, for my future reference.

 

 

Those legs look more yellow than black to me, and that agrees with what I think I saw with my scope.  Least Sandpiper, migrating through here on its way north.

 

So, I added two more species to my Washington April list, and now I have112 species here in Washington in April.  The Herring Gull was new for April for me, and now I have 163 species overall for April.  I'm planning an overnight trip over the mountains tomorrow and Wednesday, and I hope to add 20 more to my Washington April list, if all goes well and I'm lucky.

 

 

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

 

Today I drove over the mountains to the east side, to see what I could get in Kittitas and Yakima counties on an overnight trip.  I got away from home at 9:10, and the traffic had died down to a reasonable level.  Traffic hasn’t yet gotten back to pre-pandemic levels, but it is growing all the time.

 

My first stop was at Lambert Road, east of Cle Elum, but I didn’t get anything there.  It was pleasantly chilly, in the mid-50’s, but the sun was shining and I knew it would be an excellent weather day, by my standards.  I drove along Red Bridge Road and got my first Western Bluebird (W) of the day.  I didn’t see nearly as many bluebirds today as I would have expected, and in fact, the total numbers of birds seemed quite low all day long.

 

On Ballard Hill Road, there were Cliff Swallows (W) working on nests under the eaves of a barn.  I have seen them nesting there before, but I had forgotten about that, so I wasn’t counting on getting Cliff Swallow today.  A little farther along Ballard Hill Road, I got my first Black-billed Magpies (A) of the day.  I actually saw a lot more magpies today than usual, even though the overall bird count was low.  Here is a Black-billed Magpie.

 

I saw my first Western Meadowlark (A) of the day along that stretch, too.  They were everywhere, as usual, more heard than seen.  At my Pygmy Nuthatch stop I managed to call up one.  Here are three pictures of a Pygmy Nuthatch (A).

 

 

 

Another species I saw a lot of today, despite the low numbers in general, was Yellow-rumped Warbler.  I didn’t need it, but I took pictures.  Here is a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

 

Yellow-rumped Warblers have lots of different plumages because there are two sub-species that are different, males and females have different plumages, and they are different in the winter than in the summer.  The one thing they all have in common is a yellow rump.

 

I drove along Swauk Prairie Road and got this picture of a female Western Bluebird.

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I added Say’s Phoebe (W) to my Washington April list next, and then I stopped and managed to call up a Mountain Chickadee (A) for my overall April list.  Here is the Mountain Chickadee.

 

You can just barely see the white eyebrow that distinguishes it from Black-capped Chickadee.  I tried for White-breasted Nuthatch there, but I didn’t get one, as usual.  I have called them in once or twice there, but they are uncommon in this county.

 

I drove to Betta’s Road, but it was unproductive for me today.  I did manage to get a good picture of a Black-billed Magpie, though.

 

They are pretty shy, and it is difficult to get a picture of one that shows the eye.

 

I couldn’t call up a Vesper Sparrow on Betta’s Road or Hayward Road, nor could I get a Horned Lark on Hayward Road, where I usually see them.  It took a long time on Hayward Road before I finally saw a Mountain Bluebird (A), but at least I found a pair of them eventually.  Here is a blurry picture of a male Mountain Bluebird.

 

The female Mountain Bluebird posed closer for me.

 

Here is a shot that shows both the male and female Mountains Bluebirds together.

 

Here is one more distant picture of the female Mountain Bluebird.

 

While I was taking those pictures, a Yellow-rumped Warbler was trying to photo-bomb my pictures, so I took a couple of pictures of it.

 

 

After that, I drove along Smithson road and Lower Green Valley Road, looking for Long-billed Curlews, but I didn’t see any.   I spent way too much time on that longshot species.  I gassed up my car and headed for the sage country, along the Old Vantage Highway.  On the way I made one more try for Long-billed Curlew, on Fox Road, where I have seen them before a couple of times, and I got lucky today.  I had given up and had just turned around, and before I could even get going again, I noticed a Long-billed Curlew (W) in a field.  I got this rather distant picture of a shorebird that was far from any shore.

 

It was nice to get an unexpected species, after missing two or three that I had expected to get.  I moved on to the Wild Horse Wind Farm to try for my three sage species.  At my usual spot, where I usually get all three of them, I could only call up a Sagebrush Sparrow (A) today.  Here are two pictures in the terrible light.  One was overexposed and one was underexposed, and I tried to fix them both as best I could.  Sagebrush Sparrow.

 

 

I gave up on the other two sage species, but I had other places to look for them.  As I drove out of the Wild Horse Wind Farm facility, I played Sage Thrasher (A), and one showed up.  It didn’t cooperate for a picture, and I was running low on time, so I moved on.  I stopped a couple more places, and at the second one, when I played the song of the third sage species I was looking for, a BREWER’S SPARROW (remember, all caps means it is the first time I have seen that species this year) flew right in near my car.  I got out and it flew back and forth, but I could never get a picture, so I moved on.

 

On Recreation Drive, I stopped and played Canyon Wren songs, although I have never seen one there.  The habitat looks right, and others report them there.  I didn’t get any response from Canyon Wrens, but a Rock Wren (A) flew in briefly.  Wrens are usually quite responsive to playback of their songs, and they often will respond to the songs of other wren species.  Farther down the road, I played Rock Wren songs, and a Rock Wren flew in.  It had an insect in its bill, but it still managed to sing back to me, which was interesting.  Here is the Rock Wren with its prey.

 

I was surprised that it would pay any attention to me when it had such a nice little snack in hand, and I also was surprised to hear it sing back to me with such a mouthful.  Near the end of the road, a Say’s Phoebe was hawking insects from a perch I have seen them on before.  Here is the Say’s Phoebe.

 

After that I headed for my hotel, which was about an hour away at that point.  As I pulled out onto the highway, I got one last picture, of a Western Meadowlark singing away at the top of a pole.  It was quite distant, and the picture is pretty good considering the distance.

 

It was after 5:00 by the time I got to my hotel here in Union Gap, which is adjacent to Yakima.  It was interesting when I got off the freeway in Union Gap.  At the first major intersection there was a big sign that said “Free vaccines until 6:30 PM” and it alternated between English and Spanish.  There were three cars next to a couple of umbrellas, and two guys in high visibility vests that seemed to be the ones administering the vaccine, but mostly the huge parking lot was empty.  I had heard that in some counties, the supply of vaccine was now exceeding the demand for it, but this was a stark illustration of that.  If I hadn’t already had my shots, I would gladly take the scenic two hour drive over the mountains to get one.

 

It was a long day of birding, by my standards, and I added 13 species to my Washington April list.  I had been hoping for at least 16 species today, but that’s birding for you.  I should get some more tomorrow.  Nine of those species were new for April overall, and now I have 172 species in April, including what I saw in California this month.  I had missed Brewer’s Sparrow when I was here in March, and getting it today brings my year total to 208 species.  We’ll see what I can get tomorrow.

 

 

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

 

I slept well last night, and I was up at 6:30 this morning, which is early for me.  I took care of my morning ablutions and had some brekkie from the hotel breakfast room, then I headed out, without checking out.  My destination is a place that eBird calls Kerry's Pond.  Kerry doesn't own the pond, but he birds there a lot and sort of made it well known.  Kerry is a controversial figure in the Yakima birding community, so some birders don’t like that eBird has used his name to name this little farm pond.  The pond is well known and often visited because Redheads and Black-necked Stilts are almost always there in the right seasons.  The road runs right next to it, so it is easy to see the birds and get pictures.  A few days ago, Cinnamon Teal and American Avocet were both reported there, and that was an added attraction for me.  It was 25 minutes from my hotel, so I planned to zip in and zip back to the hotel.

 

It all worked out great.  Here is a pair of Redheads (W), with the male being the one with the red head.

 

 

There were a couple of American Avocets (W) there this morning, too, and here is a picture of one.

 

There were over a dozen Black-necked Stilts there as well.  Here is one.

 

I saw my first Canada Goose goslings of the year, and here is a picture of the family.

 

Here are the five goslings.

 

Black-necked Stilts have very long legs, which gives them their name, I guess.

 

Here are two more pictures of a pair of Redheads.

 

 

Redheads are pretty uncommon, but for some reason, they show up at Kerry's Pond every year, in good numbers.

 

I drove back to the hotel, stopping to check out the ponds at the start of the Poppoff Trail, where a Great Egret had been reported a couple of days ago.  No luck for me today, though.  I checked out of my hotel and drove to the Oak Creek Wildlife Area to look for a swift species and a woodpecker species, both of which are common around there at this time of year.  I was surprised and disappointed that Oak Creek Road was closed (for habitat restoration, or something like that).  That made the woodpecker seem unlikely, but I drove on to the cliffs where the swifts hang out.  I found the WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS, and while I was sitting on a rock next to my car, trying to figure out if I could get a distant picture of the swifts overhead, I noticed a bird fly into a tree up the road.  It turned out to be a LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, the other species I was looking for in that area.  I got this distant picture of the colorful Lewis's Woodpecker.

 

So, both of my morning sojourns paid off, and I headed toward home.  I went up Yakima Canyon, hoping I might possibly see American White Pelican on the river, but that didn't happen.  I had wanted to see the effects of the fire last year that reached the river from the west side in places, and I was able to do that.  I found that the Umtanum Recreation Area was closed.  That is a key birding site, as well as a trailhead for the popular hike up Umtanum Creek.  I wonder how long it will be closed.  There is a footbridge over the river there, and I used to like to walk across to the west side of the river, where there are a number of good species in the late spring.

 

When I got out of the canyon, I drove around the Woodhouse Loop and played Sora calls where I have gotten responses before, but not today.  I passed one of the many Osprey nesting platforms that are all over Kittitas and Yakima counties.  They are platforms on poles, usually right next to roads.  Here is a picture of one of the platforms.

 

Every platform I saw on the trip had an Osprey on it.  Here is a closer shot of the one above.

 

Because of my early start today, I had some time in hand, so I decided to drive on Highway 10 from Ellensburg to Cle Elum.  I was looking for Turkey Vulture, Wild Turkey, and Mourning Dove.  I got none of those, but I took a detour at Hayward Road to look for Horned Lark one more time.  On the way up the hill on Hayward Road, I got this picture of a male Western Bluebird.

 

Like yesterday, I didn't see any Horned Larks, but I saw more Mountain Bluebirds today than I had seen yesterday.  At one point I stopped my car to try for a distant picture of a pretty male Mountain Bluebird, but it is too blurry to show.  While I was stopped, with my windows open, a female Mountain Bluebird was calling repeatedly and fluttering around my car.  She almost flew into my car a couple of times.  Maybe I was too close to her nest, but the only nest box in the area was pretty far down the road still.  Anyway, I took advantage of her hanging around to get these three pictures of the female Mountain Bluebird.

 

 

 

I dipped on Horned Lark, but I went on a short distance to where I have seen a sparrow that I missed yesterday, and I played its song.  I didn't hear or see any response, so I drove around the bend in the road, looking for a spot to turn around.  I noticed a sparrow-like bird on a branch, so I pulled over and took some pictures.  At first I thought it might only be a Savannah Sparrow, which I didn't need, but my pictures revealed it to have be a VESPER SPARROW, the one whose song I had been playing.  Here are two pictures of the Vesper Sparrow.

 

 

As I drove back to the main road, a couple of swallows were chasing each other around and calling incessantly.  One of them flew to a nest box and the other perched on a wire next to the box, as they continued to call.  I thought at first it might be a mating ritual, but they were both male Tree Swallows.  Now I think that it might have been a dispute over the occupation of the nest box.  Here are two male Tree Swallows, looking at each other.

 

 

After that I headed for the freeway and home.  I got home just after 3:00, and the freeway was starting to back up.  I used the Express Toll lanes for a cost of 75 cents and beat the traffic, though.

 

It was a successful trip, although I came up a little short on birds.  My spreadsheet had indicated 19.6 species that I would get, and I only got 19.  I missed three species that I had at over 50% - Turkey Vulture, which I had at 99%; Mourning Dove, which I had at 80%; and Horned Lark, which I also had at 80%.  Interestingly, I might very well still be able to get Turkey Vulture and Mourning Dove around here this month.

 

Today I added 6 more species to my Washington April list, to give me 131 species in Washington this month.  Three of those species were new for April overall, and now I have 175 species in April.  All three of those new April species were also new for the year, and now I have 211 species in 2021.

 

 

Thursday, April 22, 2021

 

I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, so I went up early and went to Tulalip Bay.  I had three species to look for.  I didn't see any of them from the marina, so I moved to the spot on the bay on Totem Beach Loop Road.  From there I was able to find a Black Turnstone (A) across the bay, in with some Black-bellied Plovers.  That was a great one to get because most of the Black Turnstones have already left for the summer, and the rest will be leaving this month.  I drove around the bay, and from Mission Beach Road I saw a couple of Belted Kingfishers (W).  While I was watching, one of them dove and caught a fish.  It took it back to a perch on a dock, and I got in position to get pictures as the kingfisher prepared the fish to swallow it.  Here is the Belted Kingfisher with his fish.

 

 

The kingfisher was beating the fish against the railing, maybe to kill it, or maybe to soften it up for swallowing.  It would raise it up and then bring it down on the railing.

 

 

 

 

It kept that up for about 10 minutes, and then it flew off with the fish.  It came back, though, still with the fish and beat it some more.  At one point the kingfisher raised his wings up, for some reason.

 

Eventually I guess it got the fish down, although I didn't see the actual swallowing.  Here is the Belted Kingfisher after having his breakfast.

 

 

After that little drama, I left and went to the 12th St NE pond, just north of the Everett sewage ponds.  I was hoping for a shorebird I needed, but there weren't any shorebirds there at all.  I did see a single male Cinnamon Teal (W), though, and that was one I needed.  The light was terrible, though, as it always is there because you are looking south, into the sun, but here are a couple of pictures of the male Cinnamon Teal.

 

 

It is an easy duck to identify; no other duck looks anything like it.

 

I had a little time left, so I drove around to the sewage ponds.  I got this picture of an immature Bald Eagle, a second year bird, I think.  Bald Eagles take four years to get their full maturity and their white heads and tails.

 

There weren't any ducks I needed there, so I left.  On my way to the highway, I saw another immature Bald Eagle.  This one was a third year bird, I think, with a yellow bill.

 

That was it for me today.  I got three more species for my Washington April list, and now I have 134 species in Washington this month.  Black Turnstone was new for April for me, and now I have 176 species overall this month, including the ones I saw in the San Diego area.  I still have 211 species this year.

 

Up until today, we had had seven days in a row of 70 degrees or higher temperatures, which is the longest stretch we have ever had in April.  Today was much cooler and overcast, and by tomorrow night, rain should be moving in.  I might be able to get in one more day of birding tomorrow, although it will be windy, and I don't know where I might go.

 

 

Friday, April 23, 2021

 

Today I went north, up to Skagit county.  My first birding stop was Fox Road, near the little town of Clear Lake.  As I drove into town, a Turkey Vulture (A) was circling over the fields, so I finally got that one.  I didn't get anything else at Fox Road (I was hoping for Sora), and I drove to the town of Lyman, to the barn of my birding acquaintance, Gary.  I had missed Barn Owl earlier this month, after getting it there for ten months in a row.  Today I missed it again.  I wonder if the two Barn Owls that nested there last year have moved away, or if they were just out of sight for my two visits this month.

 

Next I headed for March Point, to try for American White Pelican and Black Oystercatcher.  There was an accident on Highway 20, though, and the traffic was backed up so bad that I turned off and went to Channel Drive instead, hoping the tide would be right for shorebirds.  It wasn't, and there weren't any shorebirds there at all.

 

It wasn't going real well, and my next stop was the house on the corner of Valentine Road, hoping for Mourning Dove.  I dipped again, and I moved on to Wylie Slough.  I had a list of possibilities there, and an owl nest I had read about to look for.  The tide was out enough that there were shorebirds feeding in the mud.  Here is a Dunlin, in breeding plumage.

 

Here are a couple of Least Sandpipers.

 

I had counted that species the other day at the 12th St NE pond in Everett, but it was questionable, so today I "insured" that species for April for  Washington.  The legs of these two peeps are clearly yellow, not black.

 

Here is a Long-billed Dowitcher and a Dunlin.  You can't tell from this view that it is a Long-billed Dowitcher, as opposed to a Short-billed Dowitcher, but I can see from other shots that it was a Long-billed.

 

Here are a couple of Dunlin (in the back) and a couple of Short-billed Dowitchers (closer to the camera).

 

Here is another Dunlin in breeding plumage.

 

Here is a yellowlegs with a Dunlin, in a size comparison.  I'm not sure if it is a Greater Yellowlegs or a Lesser Yellowlegs, but my guess is Greater.  The bill seems too short, but I think the bird had its head turned away slightly.

 

About that time I ran into a birding couple that I see from time to time, when I'm out birding.  They told me where they had seen a shorebird species I was looking for, and they also gave me excellent directions to the owl nest that I wanted to see.  First I went after the shorebird, and it is a good thing I did, because the tide was coming in, and all the shorebirds were about to leave.  Here is a Greater Yellowlegs.

 

It is hard to tell the size of the bird, but the length of the bill, with respect to the size of the head indicates a Greater Yellowlegs.  Here is my first LESSER YELLOWLEGS of the year, with a relatively shorter bill.

 

I could see those last two birds at the same time, and the Lesser Yellowlegs was definitely smaller than the Greater Yellowlegs.  Here is another shot of a Greater Yellowlegs, with its longer bill.

 

Here's the Lesser Yellowlegs again for comparison.

 

So, with that taken care of, I set out to find the owl nest.  Hank had given me excellent directions and marked the spot of the nest with a stick, so I had no problem finding it.  Here is an obscured shot of my first GREAT HORNED OWL of the year.

 

The nest was even deeper in the branches, but I could see the two youngsters in the nest, moving around.  Here is a shot through the foliage that shows part of the face of one of the owlets and you can just see the "horns" on the second one, to the lower left in the picture.

 

Here is the best shot I got of one of the fuzzy Great Horned Owl owlets.

 

As I walked back to my car, a Great Blue Heron flew in and I just missed getting a shot of it landing, but I think it is still an interesting picture.

 

In the 20 minutes or so that I spent on the Great Horned Owl nest, the tide came in and all the mud disappeared.  The shorebirds mostly left, I guess, because there were very few left, where there had been dozens 20 minutes earlier.  I was very surprised how much difference 20 minutes could make.  Originally, I would have gotten there later, and missed the shorebirds, except that the traffic accident on Highway 20 had caused me to cancel the March Point part of my day.  Timing can be crucial in birding.

 

So, it turned out to be a pretty successful day, despite missing Barn Owl again and not finding Mourning Dove.  I added 3 more species to both of my April lists.  Now I have 137 species in Washington this month, and I have 179 species overall, including the species I saw in the San Diego area.  Lesser Yellowlegs and Great Horned Owl were new for the year for me, and now I have 213 species this year.

 

Tomorrow it is supposed to be rainy all day, so I probably will just stay home.  Sunday looks iffy, too, but maybe I can sneak out between showers.

 

 

Saturday, April 24, 2021

 

Well, it did rain all day today, just as they had forecasted.  It was a light rain, though, and I ventured out to my local park, Juanita Bay Park.  I walked to the lake in the light rain, where I expected to see Pied-billed Grebes, since they are always there.  Well, the rain seems to have kept all the ducks and other water birds in today.  I don't know where they were, but there were only 3 or 4 ducks in sight, and no Pied-billed Grebes.

 

I gave it up and went home.  I looked up Pied-billed Grebe on eBird and saw that at least one had been reported on the Redmond Retention Ponds every day this week, so I went back out in the rain.  There were only a couple of Gadwalls and a couple of Mallards on the pond; they were taking the day off in Redmond, too.  I scanned the pond 3 or 4 times, but came up empty.  I headed back for my car, and as I did, I heard the loud and distinctive call of a Pied-billed Grebe.  I looked again at the pond, and there it was.  It must have been underwater when I scanned the pond with my binoculars.  So, I had an April Washington bird.  Then I got the bright idea of going down to Lake Sammamish to look for Purple Martin.  They are just now starting to return, and I was quite close already, so I drove to where I can see a number of Purple Martin houses.  There were lots of swallows flying over the water, and some of them were no doubt Purple Martins, but none around the Purple Martin houses, where I would have been able to identify them.

 

So, I gave up on that idea, and since it was right on the way, I drove home through Marymoor Park, on the off-chance I would see the pheasant that roams around there.  By golly, I did exactly that!  I figure I see the pheasant about once in ten visits to Marymoor, and today was the day.  The male Ring-necked Pheasant (A) was standing in the rain, near the road, right out in the open.  I quickly pulled into a parking lot and got a picture.

 

I drove back onto the road through the park and stopped and got a couple more pictures.  They aren't great, but they do show the colorful male Ring-necked Pheasant that the birders call Lonesome George.

 

 

With that, I gave it up and drove home, just in time for lunch.

 

Considering it rained all day and I hadn't intended to even go out birding, I did great today.  Two more species for my Washington April list and one for my overall April list.  Now I have 139 species in Washington this month and 180 overall.

 

 

Sunday, April 25, 2021

 

It was supposed to be rainy today, but it was dry all day.  It was rather windy, though.  I went up to Edmonds, which is located on Puget Sound, about a half hour northwest of home.  There were a couple of possible sea birds I could get, but I didn't see anything I didn't already have.  After checking out Sunset Avenue and Ocean Avenue and getting nothing of interest, I went to the Edmonds Marsh to see if any shorebirds were there.  I was hoping for Western Sandpiper, which had been reported this week.  The tide was still too high, and there wasn't much mud, so I went out on the fishing pier.  Here is a Horned Grebe that is transitioning to breeding (summer) plumage.  In the winter, it is just gray and white.

 

Most of the Horned Grebes have already migrated north, and I am hoping a few might hang around another week, so I can get the species in May.  Here is a Pigeon Guillemot in summer plumage.  They stick around all summer, anyway, although I don't know where they breed..

 

The Pigeon Guillemot caught some kind of long fish or eel or something and fooled around with it before swallowing it down.

 

A small group of four Surf Scoters flew in, so I took their picture.

 

As I left the pier a White-crowned Sparrow was singing loudly, and I tracked it down and took some pictures.

 

 

It kept singing from time to time as it foraged for food.

 

It flew up into a tree, and I got this shot.

 

After that, enough time had passed that I went back to the marsh to see if the tide had gone out more.  It had, and there was a lot more mud, but still no shorebirds at all.  There was a Song Sparrow that posed for me in the wind.

 

On the grass, there were a couple of White-crowned Sparrows, a Spotted Towhee, a Song Sparrow, and some Golden-crowned Sparrows feeding, and I got these pictures of Golden-crowned Sparrows.  That species will be heading out within a week or two, and I hope a few will stick around for my May list.

 

 

 

That was it for my birding today.  I got some pictures of common species, but nothing for my lists. 

 

This afternoon I was in my basement office when Christina called for me to come upstairs.  A juvenile Cooper's Hawk had caught a pigeon, and I scrambled upstairs and took pictures through the dirty, wavy glass of the back door window.  These are the two best shots, with the waviness of the window showing.  The first one is kind of graphic, I'm afraid.

 

 

The crows were going crazy and harassing the hawk, and it dragged the pigeon off, out of my sight.  I didn't go outside to try to follow it because I didn't want the hawk to leave the pigeon and fly off, since the pigeon was still struggling a bit.

 

I have one more day trip I want to make this month, up to north Whidbey Island and Skagit county, to try for Black Oystercatcher, Mourning Dove, and maybe one or two others that aren't very likely.  There are showers forecasted for most of the week, but maybe tomorrow or Tuesday will work out.

 

 

Monday, April 26, 2021

 

Today my plan was to go looking for Black Oystercatcher, with a secondary target of Mourning Dove.  I had some other possibilities, too, and I had planned a complicated schedule with several contingencies, depending on how it was going.

 

Things changed a bit when a mega-rarity was reported yesterday in Skagit county, pretty close to my planned route for today.  It was found again this morning, so I stopped when I got to Skagit county and checked email on my phone.  The rarity was still being seen, so I changed my route and drove to where it was being watched by 6 or 8 birders.  It was only about 20 minutes out of my way, and it was a chance for a lifer, which doesn't come along for me very often these days.  I got to Sunset Road and immediately saw my lifer COMMON CRANE (LIFER).  Here are some distant pictures of that mega-rarity.

 

 

 

 

That bustle at its rear end is actually the wing tips, which are black and feathery.  It was the first addition to my life list since February of 2018.  As I left, I took this picture of some of the birders enjoying the Common Crane, which I think is the first record ever for Washington State.

 

It isn't clear how it got to Skagit county in the spring.  It should be in Asia now, having spent the winter in southern Asia, heading north now, back to its breeding grounds in the north.  It could be an escapee from a zoo or someone's collection, but so far, there is no evidence of that.

 

Anyway, having gotten the Common Crane, I went back to my plan for the day, only about 20 minutes behind schedule.  I drove to March Point next, and as I drove up the east side of the peninsula, I saw a Mourning Dove (W) on a wire and got this picture.

 

The tide was out, and I took this picture of a Canada Goose family along the shoreline.

 

Then there it was - a single Black Oystercatcher (A), sitting on a rock out in the open, where it couldn't be missed.

 

After posing like that for me for a minute or so, it turned its back to me and stood on one leg.

 

After a couple of minutes of that, it walked to the edge of the rock, hopped down and walked along the shore.

 

So, I had my main target (Black Oystercatcher), my secondary target (Mourning Dove), and a mega-rarity (Common Crane), and it wasn't even lunch time yet.  I got back onto my original itinerary and drove to Deception Pass State Park, at the north end of Whidbey Island.  I scanned the birds out on the water, and I added Rhinoceros Auklet (A) to my two April lists.  Stops at West Beach county park and the Hastie Lake beach access didn't get me anything else I needed, although I saw some birds, at least.  Most of the ones I saw today will be leaving very soon for the summer, and I hope some of them stick around one more week so I can get them for May.

 

I stopped at Crockett Lake to check out the Purple Martin nest boxes.  There were swallows around the nest boxes, but they were all Tree Swallows, as far as I could see.  I wonder if the Purple Martins will kick them out when they return.  There were some little shorebirds at the east end of Crockett Lake, so I checked them out.  Most were Least Sandpipers, which I already had this month, but I found one Western Sandpiper (W), which I needed for my Washington April list.

 

My last stop of the day was Deer Lagoon.  As I walked out to where you can view the two sides of the lagoon, I took this picture of a cooperative male Red-winged Blackbird.

 

When I got out where I could see the lagoon, I spotted a group of about 10 American White Pelicans (W) in the distance.  Here are a couple of very distant shots of them.

 

 

I had been expecting to get that one there, and next I looked for Whimbrels, which had also been reported there.  Here are a couple of shots of a Greater Yellowlegs on the saltwater side of the lagoon, where the tide was out.

 

 

Then I spotted five Whimbrels (W) in the distance.  I walked al little closer and one of them walked toward me, which resulted in these two shots of the Whimbrel, with its long, curved bill.

 

 

A pair of Northern Pintails was feeding near shore in good light, so I took these next two pictures.

 

 

Before I could get a picture of the female, I got distracted by a Marsh Wren that was singing.  I switched to the Marsh Wren and got these two pictures.

 

 

That was it for my birding today.  I headed for the Clinton - Mukilteo ferry and home.  It was an incredibly successful day of birding.  I got both of my target species, four others species I needed for the month, and a mega-rarity to top it all off.  The 7 new species for Washington State brings me to 146 species in April in Washington.  Three of those species were new for April for me, and now I have 183 species overall for April, including the species I saw in the San Diego area.  The Common Crane was new for the year for me, of course, and now I have 214 species in 2021.  Common Crane was a lifer for me, and now my life list is approximately 1174 species.  I say approximately because they are constantly combining species and separating other species into two or more new species, and I don't try to keep up with it all.  That 1174 species is spread over the US, Britain, and Australia.  What a life!