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Thursday, July 1, 2021

 

A new month begins, so every species goes on my July list.  I saw some Feral Pigeons in our yard this morning as I headed out to the Snoqualmie River Valley.  Out in the valley, I saw some swallows on wires as I drove across the valley.  I added Barn Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Tree Swallow, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow to my July list today.  I saw Song Sparrows as I drove across the valley, too.

 

Here is a male Tree Swallow.

 

Here is a Violet-green Swallow.  Note how the white goes over the eye.

 

Here is a Barn Swallow showing its tail.

 

I missed getting a picture of the Northern Rough-winged Swallow I saw.  I was moving my car into position for a picture when it flew off.  An Osprey was on the nest at the bridge over the Snoqualmie River.  There was also a Belted Kingfisher on a wire at the bridge over Sikes Lake.  Along the way, I saw American Robins and European Starlings.  At one point I saw a Turkey Vulture on the road ahead of me, but it took off as I approached.

 

I added American Goldfinch at the house in Carnation with feeders.  Here is a male American Goldfinch.

 

Here is a female American Goldfinch.

 

She has more subdued colors and doesn't have the black patch on the forehead that the male has.

 

I picked up a sandwich at the Carnation Market and drove to the bridge over the Tolt River, just south of Carnation.  I was looking for my prime target of the day, American Dipper.  I didn't get a dipper, but some Cedar Waxwings were hawking insects over the river, and I got two pictures of one that looks wet.  I assume it must have taken a bath recently.

 

 

Next I drove down the west side of the Snoqualmie River towards Fall City.  Along the way I added Bald Eagle, House Finch, and American Crow to my July list.  At Tokul Creek, my other site for American Dipper, I dipped on it again.  I did see a Swainson's Thrush, but I couldn't get a picture.  I headed back toward home and stopped again at the Tolt River bridge, but again I missed the dipper.  Strike three, and I was out.

 

I drove by the house with feeders again, and I added Band-tailed Pigeon and this Eurasian Collared-Dove.

 

I drove to the Stillwater Access to the Snoqualmie Valley Wildlife Area, and I took my camp chair and my lunch out on the dike trail.  There were Red-winged Blackbirds all over the place and I saw one Great Blue Heron.  There were  a lot of swallows flying around, and I set up my chair where I could watch them and also watch for other birds.  I ate my sandwich and took pictures for over an hour.  There were three Barn Swallow fledglings on a branch, waiting to be fed.  Here are the fledgling Barn Swallows begging for food as a parent flew by.

 

 

 

Those three fledglings sat on that branch for 45 minutes or an hour, and I never noticed that they ever got fed.  I wonder if they are at the stage when the parents let them get hungry so they can learn to catch insects for themselves.

 

There was a Tree Swallow nest hole right in front of me, and I watched the swallows and took pictures for an hour.  Here is a male Tree Swallow.

 

Here is a male Tree Swallow at the nest hole with the nestlings begging for food.

 

Here is a female Tree Swallow feeding one of the nestlings.  She really sticks the food right down their throats.

 

 

Here is the male at the nest again.

 

Here are the male and female Tree Swallows, with the youngsters begging for food (in the lower left of the picture).

 

I had assumed that those were the parents of the nestlings in that nest hole, but then another female flew in and fed the youngsters.

 

There was another family of Tree Swallows around, too, and their youngsters had already fledged.  Here is a picture of a fledgling Tree Swallow.

 

Here are two pictures of fledgling Tree Swallows begging for food.

 

 

I got up and walked around a bit and got this picture of a Cedar Waxwing.

 

Here is a Red-breasted Sapsucker, another one for my July list.

 

I heard a Swainson's Thrush singing, and I lured it in by playing its song.

 

Here is the Swainson's Thrush singing back to me.

 

I walked back to my car, and on the way I added Wood Duck to my list.  Here are five juvenile Wood Ducks resting on a log.

 

 

 

Back here at home, I saw a Northern Flicker feeding in the grass and a Black-capped Chickadee at our feeder.  I ended up getting 27 species today for my July list.  That isn't very good, but I was out there in the middle of the day and I mostly stayed in or very near to my car.  I missed my main target, American Dipper, but I enjoyed getting the pictures of the swallows and it was very pleasant eating my lunch on the trail.  After our scorcher of a day on Monday (108 degrees here), today's temperature in the low 70's was a joy.

 

 

Friday, July 2, 2021

 

This morning here at home, I added Steller's Jay to my July list, and then I drove over to Marymoor Park in Redmond.  I drove along the side of the community garden, but all I added to my list was Dark-eyed Junco.  I parked at the dog park and walked along the slough.  There were three Killdeer in the dry part of the slough, and that was another one for my list.  Here is a Killdeer.

 

Here is a female Brown-headed Cowbird, another one for my list.

 

I had seen a Belted Kingfisher yesterday, but today I got these next two pictures of one, just below the weir.

 

 

At the weir, I added Spotted Sandpiper, but it was too far away for decent pictures.  I didn't get anything else there, so I drove over to the east parking lot for the dog park and walked up on the viewing mound.  There was a bird at the top of the fir tree just south of the viewing mound.  It was a flycatcher, and I decided it was a WILLOW FLYCATCHER, my first one of the year.  Here is a distant shot of the Willow Flycatcher.

 

To confirm my identification, I played the Willow Flycatcher song on my phone, and the bird flew right in to check me out.  Here is a close picture of the Willow Flycatcher.

 

I played the song of Lazuli Bunting, and a male flew in.  I wasn't able to get a picture, but it went on my list.  I continued to play the song, and the bird flew back and forth, but I couldn't quite get a picture.  A male Dark-eyed Junco responded, though and sang back to me from a fence post.

 

A male American Goldfinch flew through, too, and I got this picture when it perched briefly.

 

I tried the Lazuli Bunting song again, and this time I got these next two pictures of the male Lazuli Bunting.

 

 

Next I walked along the west side of the East Meadow.  I played the song of Savannah Sparrow and attracted one for these next two pictures.

 

 

When I left there, I stopped at the parking lot for the model airplane field and took pictures of the Osprey nest at the ball park there.  First, here is one of the adult Ospreys standing guard on a neighboring light standard.

 

Here is the Osprey nest, with the other adult and two youngsters.

 

In this next picture, you can see the two chicks more clearly.

 

It was time to head for home, but I stopped by the rowing club access on the way.  I added Mallard to my list, and I got a couple more pictures of kingfishers.  Here is a juvenile Belted Kingfisher, indicated by the brown feathers in its breast band.

 

Here is an adult male Belted Kingfisher.

 

That was it for me today.  I added 9 more species to my July list, and now I have 36 species this month.  Willow Flycatcher was new for the year for me, and now I have 244 species this year.

 

 

Monday, July 5, 2021

 

I tried going birding on Saturday, but my left knee hurt enough that I went right home.  After resting it for two days, it was better today, so I went up to Skagit county, planning to mostly be in my car or close to it.  I picked up a sandwich at Subway, where I was mystified by their new policy, at least at that store, of charging for two six inch sandwiches instead of one footlong sandwich, when you have them wrap the two halves of the footlong separately.  I have always had my footlongs wrapped in two pieces because it is easier to eat that way when I'm traveling.  I wonder what motivated the change.  Two six inch sandwiches cost 2 or 3 dollars more than one footlong.  Of course, I had mine wrapped in one piece, but it was a nuisance when I ate it.  I wonder if it is a chain-wide policy or if it is just that particular franchisee.

 

Anyway, after that adventure, I drove on to Wylie Slough.  I saw a distant bird that I couldn't identify with my binoculars, so I took a picture.  The picture showed that it was a White-crowned Sparrow, a species I needed still for July.  Here is the picture.

 

It isn't a particularly good picture, and the species is common, but I show it because it is a good illustration of how I use my camera as a tool for identification.  As I drove in to the reserve at Wylie Slough, there were five ducks on the first slough.  I studied them and decided they were Cinnamon Teal, another species I needed still.  I think they were juveniles.  Here are three pictures of what I think are juvenile Cinnamon Teal.

 

The little sliver of blue on the wing is the confirmation of the species.

 

The plain face and the long bill are also characteristics of Cinnamon Teal.

 

Again you can see some blue on the wing of that duck.

 

I missed finding a Black Phoebe, which was my main target there.  I moved on to Fox Road, near the little town of Clear Lake, east of Burlington.  I added American Kestrel to my list there, but I missed on Wilson's Snipe and some other possibilities.

 

Next I drove through Sedro Woolley to the town of Lyman.  The Bank Swallows were still flitting in and out of their nest holes at the colony there, so that one went on my list.  At the barn of my birding acquaintance, Gary, I saw a Barn Owl.  At Gary's feeders, I saw a Downy Woodpecker and a couple of Pine Siskins, both of which I needed for July.

 

I drove to the little community of Bay View, on Padilla Bay, and with my scope I could see a bunch of American White Pelicans across the bay.  That was another July bird for me.  On my way to Valentine Road, I saw a male Brewer's Blackbird at a dairy east of La Conner.  At the house at the corner of Valentine Road and Dodge Valley Road, I got this picture of a male Brown-headed Cowbird, a species I already had this month.

 

I added Mourning Dove, Spotted Towhee, House Sparrow, and this male Purple Finch to my July list.

 

Up Valentine Road, at the house called Rancho Valentine, I tried to call up a House Wren, and I think one showed up briefly, but I didn't get a good enough look at it to count it, and then it disappeared and I couldn't get it back.  No sale.

 

I headed toward home and a stop at Hayton Reserve only got me Canada Goose for my list and no pictures.  I stopped one more time at Wylie Slough, and this time I got the Black Phoebe.  I also saw a Yellow Warbler, a Greater Yellowlegs, and some little peeps.  Looking at my pictures, I can see the peeps have yellow legs, which makes them Least Sandpipers, one for my list.  Here are three pictures of distant Least Sandpipers.

 

 

 

That's another example of using my camera to make an identification.  With my binoculars, at that distance, I couldn't tell the leg color, especially since the birds were moving around and when the legs were in the shadow of the body, you couldn't really tell the color.  The other possible small peep, Western Sandpiper, would have had black legs.

 

So, I added 18 more species to my July list today, and now I have 54 species.  I didn't really see very many birds today or get any good pictures, and on the way home it took me 100 minutes instead of the normal 50 minutes, due to a combination of heavy holiday traffic and a lane reduction where they are working on a bridge.  I would have been better off going on a regular weekday or a regular weekend day.  I got several species I'm not likely to see elsewhere, though, so it wasn't a total waste of time.

 

 

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

 

I had a limited amount of time available today, so I went up to the Edmonds area to look for some species that have limited ranges.  My first stop was my quail site in the town of Woodway.  I parked and waited only a few minutes before a family of quail ventured out of cover, on their way to the feeders (which I can't actually see from where I have to park).  Here are two distant shots showing the female California Quail and three youngsters.

 

 

The male came out a few seconds later, and here is a distant shot of the male California Quail.

 

Here is a shot that shows the male and the female, along with one of the chicks (on the left).

 

At about that time, someone came out into the yard with the feeders, and the quail scurried off.  I did the same.

 

Next I stopped at Deer Park in Woodway and walked in the woods.  I played Pacific Wren and Brown Creeper songs, and got nothing, until I got back to my car.  Just as I got back to my car, a Brown Creeper flew in to a tree trunk right in front of me.  There is rarely enough light for good Brown Creeper pictures, and this is the best I could do today.

 

I moved on to the fishing pier in Edmonds.  There weren't any Purple Martins around the distant nest boxes, so I walked out on the pier.  I spotted 3 or 4 very distant Heermann's Gulls, a species that has just come back from its migration down south.  Later I got this picture of a distant Heermann's Gull.

 

While on the fishing pier, I got these next two pictures of the most common gull around here, Glaucous-winged Gull.  The key to identifying this species is that the wing tips are the same shade of gray as the wings and back.

 

 

There wasn't anything else around, so I headed back to my car.  On the way, some Purple Martins showed up around one of the distant nest boxes.  Here is a distant shot of a female Purple Martin on the roof of one of the nest boxes.

 

In this next picture, the female has moved to the porch of the nest box, and a male Purple Martin is just coming in for a landing.

 

In this last shot, the pair of Purple Martins are both on the porch of the nest box.

 

That was it for today.  All my shots except the one of the Brown Creeper and the two of the Glaucous-winged Gull are quite distant, but at least I saw the species.  I got all three of my main target species - California Quail, Purple Martin, and Heermann's Gull, with two bonus species.  That brings my July total to 59 species.  It is a slow start to the month, and we will see if and when I can improve on that.  Tomorrow I have some other things to do (including replacing my cell phone, which I somehow lost today), but maybe I can get something.

 

 

Thursday, July 8, 2021

 

Yesterday I got a SIM card for my new phone and got the phone set up, and then I went out to lunch and took care of some chores in the afternoon.  No birding at all.  Today I headed up to the north end of Whidbey Island, through Skagit county and across the Deception Pass bridge.  I stopped in Anacortes and picked up one of my second cousins, Bill, and his wife, Linda.  Our first birding stop was the pullout on the water next to Joseph Whidbey State Park.  We saw a group of White-winged Scoters, an excellent one for my July list.  Summer is the absolutely worst time for finding sea birds - they have mostly migrated away from here now.  I was glad to see that White-winged Scoters have stuck around.

 

We drove on, and I got my first picture of the day - a female Mallard and her nine ducklings.

 

That was on the lake or lagoon that has various names, just south of Joseph Whidbey State Park.  Here is a closer shot of some of the ducklings.

 

The light was really strange today, or else my camera was acting funny, because all my pictures look strange to me.  Here is a female Tree Swallow that perched nearby.

 

At West Beach county park, we saw a lot of Surf Scoters, another one for my list.  There were also more White-winged Scoters there.  A Double-crested Cormorant flew in and landed on the water, and there were a lot of Pigeon Guillemots around, too.  Everything was too far away for pictures, as usual on the water.

 

Next we drove down the coast to the Hastie Lake Beach Access and ate our lunches, which we had brought from home.  While eating, we scanned the water, and we saw about a half dozen Rhinoceros Auklets that came to join some gulls that were having a little feeding frenzy.  Then Linda spotted some Black Oystercatchers way up the beach.  That was my primary target today, so I was quite pleased.  Here is a very distant shot that shows the oystercatchers, blurred by the heat shimmer off the water and beach in between.  You can just see the black birds and their red-orange bills, and you can actually see the orange eye of one of them on the right.

 

Between the distance and the heat shimmer, pictures today were difficult.  A little later the Black Oystercatchers flew south along the beach, right in front of us, calling as they flew.  A couple of female Surf Scoters were fairly close, so I took this next picture of one of them.

 

I had hoped to see Harlequin Duck there, but not today.  That was my biggest miss of the day.  We next drove down the coast to Libbey Beach.  There were at least three pairs of Marbled Murrelets there, another excellent one for my list.  After that, we drove to the parking area just east of the Port Townsend ferry terminal, across the road from Crockett Lake.  The usual large number of cormorants were roosting on the old pier to the east of there.  We have three cormorant species locally, and I had hoped to see all three species there, but as far as I could tell, there were only Pelagic Cormorants and Double-crested Cormorants - no Brandt's Cormorants that I could identify.  I guess that was another miss for me today, but I hadn't really expected to see Brandt's Cormorant.

 

Bill noticed some Great Blue Herons on a piling across the little bay.  There turned out to be four of them and they were juvenile Great Blue Herons, presumably recently fledged.  From time to time they would clack their bills like juvenile Great Blue Herons do when they want to be fed.  There was an adult Great Blue Heron on our side of the little bay, and it was hunting, but we didn't see it catch anything.  Here it is.

 

Here is one of the juvenile Great Blue Herons.  Check out the hair do.

 

Here are the other three juvenile Great Blue Herons.

 

Here are all four juvenile Great Blue Herons.

 

Great Blue Herons usually nest in trees, in colonies called rookeries, but I suppose there could be a nest behind what we can see in the pictures.  I just looked at eBird, and two or three birders noted in June that there was a nest on the old ferry pilings, so maybe they nested there.  The juveniles don't really look old enough to be flying yet.

 

There were five or six Killdeer on the rocky beach there, too, and I got this shot of one of them.  It looks very wet, so I would guess it had a bath recently.

 

After that, we drove east along the shore of Crockett Lake.  There were Purple Martins around the nest boxes, but I had gotten that species on the Edmonds waterfront earlier this week.  There were also several dozen American White Pelicans on the lake, which was shallower than I have ever seen it.  I had that one, too, but I took a picture to illustrate the problem with heat shimmer that I was fighting all day.

 

That picture should have been in focus and clear, but in today's conditions, this is what you get, either with a camera or with a scope or binoculars.  I think it might be a combination of heat and humidity that makes the shimmer so bad, as well as the surface between the camera and the subject.  It wasn't very hot today, only low 70's, but the sun was shining, and I think it was rather humid.  I kind of like the picture; it looks kind of impressionistic.

 

As we drove along the lake we were looking for my secondary target of the day, and we spotted a female Northern Harrier (the species I wanted), hunting over the field right next to the road.  We had great looks at her as she swooped along over the field.  Northern Harrier is difficult to find around here in the summer, so I was pleased to see one today.

 

That was it for today.  Not many birds, but I got quite a few good ones, so I would call it a success.  With all the driving I did and my usual late start and early finish, we were only actually looking for birds for maybe 4 hours, including the time to drive between sites and to eat lunch, so the 9 new species I got for July is quite satisfactory.  Now I have 68 species in July, a rather low number for the 8th of the month.

 

 

Friday, July 9, 2021

 

Today I decided to try for American Dipper again.  I had missed on it earlier this month, but I really like that bird, and I wanted to see one this month.  On my way out to the Snoqualmie River Valley, I stopped at the Redmond Watershed Preserve.  I walked in the woods and played Pacific Wren songs, but I never saw or heard one.  On my way out, I checked out the pond, looking for Hooded Merganser, which I often see there.  All I saw was a female Mallard with a couple of ducklings.  Just as I was about to leave, though, a bird flew in and landed on the water, right in front of me.  It was a female Hooded Merganser, so it went on my list.  Here is the female Hooded Merganser.

 

If I had left one minute earlier, I wouldn't have seen it.

 

As I drove across the valley, I saw a Western Kingbird on a wire.  That is quite an uncommon species here in Western Washington, so I was pleased.  I got out of my car and managed to get two pictures in poor light before it flew off.

 

 

I saw swallows at various points along my route, but it wasn't until I got to NE 60th St that I found the last swallow species that I still needed this month, Cliff Swallow.  That was the last of the seven local members of the swallow family for me.  Here is the Cliff Swallow.

 

There were other swallow species there, and I got this picture of a Violet-green Swallow preening.

 

Here is another picture of that same Violet-green Swallow that shows the various shades of green and violet on it.

 

That was all I got today.  No dipper at the Tolt River bridge south of Carnation or at Tokul Creek.  I drove down the west side of the river from Carnation to Fall City, but saw nothing there, either.  It was disappointing to not find a dipper, for the second time this month, but the Western Kingbird was a pretty good consolation prize, and I was happy to get Cliff Swallow, too.  My three July birds bring me to 71 species this month.

 

 

Saturday, July 10, 2021

 

I didn't feel like having a big birding day today, so I went down to my local park, Juanita Bay Park.  First I walked on the fire station road, and I heard a Virginia Rail, calling in response to my playback.  I couldn't call up anything else, and all I saw were three House Finches, a Black-capped Chickadee, and a Brown Creeper, none of which I needed.

 

Across the street at the main part of the park, I tried to call up a Golden-crowned Kinglet in a couple of places near the parking lot, but had no success at that, although a female Anna's Hummingbird flew by, and I hadn't counted that one yet this month.  Next I walked out to the end of the east boardwalk and I soon added Gadwall to my July list.  Here is a Gadwall.

 

I don't know if it was a female or a male, because at this time of year, male Gadwalls look very much females do all year round.  Next I spotted an American Coot on the shore, roosting with some Wood Ducks.  I needed that one, and here is a picture.  The coot is the black bird.

 

There were several Wood Ducks around, both juveniles and adults.  Here is a male Wood Duck in his eclipse plumage.

 

A Great Blue Heron was trying to catch something.

 

 

Here is another male Wood Duck in eclipse plumage.

 

The water lilies were just starting to bloom.

 

The American Coot came off the shore and swam toward me, so I took more pictures of it.  I don't know where coots go in the summer, but there are very few of them around for a couple of months, so I was glad to see this one.

 

 

I headed back to the car, stopping to rest a couple of times.  At my usual place near the parking lot, I was finally able to call up a Golden-crowned Kinglet, one I needed for my list.  Here are four pictures of a male Golden-crowned Kinglet (males have a golden crown and females have a yellow crown).

 

 

 

 

That was all for today.  I added 5 more species to my July list, and now I have 76 species this month.  It was nice to be able to walk a little and not have either my knee or my back hurt at all.

 

 

Sunday, July 11. 2021

 

Today I went north, to the Everett area, about a half hour north of home.  My first stop was at Ebey Waterfront Park in Marysville.  There is a path that goes under the highway from there to the Marysville Sewage Treatment plant.  I carried my scope and my camp chair and enjoyed the half mile walk along Ebey Slough to where I could see the southern pond of the treatment plant.  Most of the ducks on the pond were Mallards, but I found a pair of Ruddy Ducks, two Northern Pintails, and a male Lesser Scaup.  All of those species except Mallard are uncommon around here in the summer, so that was good.  I needed those last three species for July.

 

After returning to my car, I drove to the Everett Sewage Treatment plant.  There were only about ten ducks there, where there are many hundreds or even thousands in the winter, but 5 of them were Northern Shovelers, another one I needed.  Here are some Northern Shoveler pictures.

 

 

 

 

I walked a bit along the road and played Marsh Wren songs, and I eventually got one to respond.  I never saw it, but I heard it singing away, so it went on my list.

 

There were a couple of Bald Eagles in a tree there, so I took their pictures.

 

 

After that I drove around to the wetlands on 12th St NE.  I was surprised to see it completely dried up.  This hot, dry weather we have been having is causing lots of changes to habitat.  I moved on to the Everett waterfront.  At my first stop, at the north viewpoint, I scanned around and found about a half dozen Caspian Terns in the distance, another one for my list.  At the 10th St boat launch, the tide was way out, and along the edge of the water there was a Whimbrel, a very uncommon species in this area.  It must be migrating through here to its winter destination, along the California or Mexican coast.  Here is a distant picture of the Whimbrel.

 

I needed two gulls that I was hoping to find there, and I spotted a Ring-billed Gull, which was one of them.  Here it is.

 

I checked out the Osprey nest that I have been watching for a couple of years.  There was an adult Osprey at the nest, but I didn't see any sign of youngsters.  I saw three young Ospreys in the nest on June 29.  A guy I talked to today said that some Osprey nests had lost their chicks in the heat wave at the end of June, when it got to 108 here in Kirkland, but the hottest day was June 28, so I don't know what the story is with this nest.  Maybe all three youngsters were hunkering down today.  I plan to be up that way again tomorrow, and I'll check the nest again to see if the chicks are showing themselves.  Meanwhile, here is the adult Osprey at the nest.

 

Looking at that picture again, maybe that is a chick just to the right of the piling.

 

There were a lot of very scruffy looking gulls around.  They must molt in July, completely changing their feathers.  Here is what I think is a California Gull, with some kind of in-between plumage, almost in its adult stage.  It takes them three years after hatching to achieve their full adult plumage, so maybe this is its third year.

 

Here is another scruffy looking gull in some kind of in-between plumage.  I suspect this is also a California Gull, a year or two younger than that last one.

 

That was it for today.  I'm happy to have gotten four duck species and the two gulls I needed.  I added 9 more species to my July list today, and now I have 85 species in July.  It was the first time I had ever seen a Whimbrel in Snohomish county, too, and that brings my Snohomish county total to 181 species.  It was also good that I could walk a little and neither my back nor my bad left knee hurt much.

 

 

Monday, July 12, 2021

 

I had a lunch appointment up in Everett today, and I drove north early to look for California Scrub-Jay in Marysville, where I have seen them before.  I walked around and I played their calls, but I didn't get a sniff of a scrub-jay.  I drove on to the Everett waterfront, to look for shorebirds and check on the osprey nest there.

 

I didn't see any shorebirds, but there was an Osprey on the nest, just like there was yesterday.  I had seen three chicks in the nest on June 29, but yesterday I hadn't seen any.  I watched today, and it didn't take long before a chick popped up.

 

I continued to watch, and pretty soon a second chick showed itself.

 

The adult on the nest started calling loudly, and in a few seconds the other parent flew in, presumably with a fish, although I didn't actually see the fish because I was fooling with my camera to take pictures.  I got this shot as the second adult flew away.

 

The parent in the nest appeared to be eating the fish and feeding the youngsters.  In a minute or two, the third chick showed itself, so all three chicks had survived the heat wave.

 

After several minutes of eating and feeding, the adult at the nest flew off.

 

When I had to leave, the three chicks were in the nest by themselves.

 

That was the extent of my birding adventures today.  Nothing for my list, but I was happy to see that all three Osprey chicks had survived and seemed to be flourishing.

 

 

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

 

Today I went over to Marymoor Park, in neighboring Redmond.  First I parked near the mansion and played the songs of Red-breasted Nuthatch and Chestnut-backed Chickadee.  I never saw a chickadee, but eventually a nuthatch showed up.  Here are two pictures of a Red-breasted Nuthatch for my July list.

 

 

Next I drove to the west parking lot for the off-leash dog park.  I walked along the slough, but I never got anything I needed.  I did get some pictures of a Spotted Sandpiper that was foraging along the weir.  In this first shot, the bird is stretching its wing.

 

 

 

I drove along the edge of the community garden, but I didn't see anything or get any pictures there.  From the parking lot for the model airplane field, I observed the Osprey nest on the light standard at one of the ball fields.  That nest is about 3 years old, I think, and I had seen young Ospreys there a couple of weeks ago.  When I got there today, I could only see an adult on the nest, but eventually, three chicks showed themselves, too.

 

I watched them for about 40 minutes, hoping the other parent would bring a fish.  The youngsters moved around a bit, and each of them stretched its wings at one point or another.  Here is one of them stretching its wings.

 

They have a bit more growing to do, but they are getting pretty big now.  Here are a couple more pictures of them, as they moved around the nest, calling from time to time, looking for the other parent.

 

 

Note that the young Ospreys have spots on their wings and the adult doesn't.  They also have red eyes, and the parent has yellow eyes.  At this point, the youngsters are still a bit smaller than the parent, and they won't be ready to fly until they are as big as the adults.

 

Eventually they all sort of settled down, and I moved on.  I never got to see the other parent bring them a fish.

 

Driving through the park on the way home, I saw a bird in a field, and it turned out to be a Killdeer, so I took a picture.  I think Killdeer are very photogenic.

 

The original Osprey nest in the park was removed last year (to make way for a new light rail line) and a new nest platform on a pole was built.  Here is the new Osprey nest, in its second year.  Note that it is a lot smaller than the other one.  They add to the nest each year.

 

There was only one bird on the nest when I first got there, and here is a picture taken from the road that runs near it.

 

I watched for a few minutes, though, and two chicks showed themselves.

 

 

Those chicks seem to be smaller than the three in the other nest, so I guess they are younger.  It was nice to see five young Ospreys in the park today.

 

The only bird I added to my July list today was Red-breasted Nuthatch, and now I have 86 species in July.

 

 

Friday, July 16, 2021

 

Today I decided to go out to the Snoqualmie River Valley to try again for American Dipper.  I had missed it twice this month, and I wanted to give it another try.  I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds on the way.  I was glad to see that the water level had dropped, due no doubt to our long dry spell.  Now there is some mud for the fall shorebird migration, which should start later this month.

 

On the small pond, I saw three Killdeer chicks and a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper.  Here is one of the Killdeer chicks.

 

Here is another one of them.

 

Here's the third Killdeer chick.

 

An adult Killdeer was on the other side of the pond, watching me take those pictures.

 

The adult flew across the end of the pond and landed near the chicks, which were somewhat spread out.  She (I don't actually know if it was a female or male, but I'm going to call her the mom Killdeer) started peeping, and I guess she was calling the chicks to her, because they came to her, one at a time.  Here is the first one approaching the mom.

 

The chick burrowed under mom and stood there.  Here it is, going under.

 

The second chick came running in.

 

It joined the first one, under mom.  You can see the legs of both chicks, as well as mom's legs.

 

The mom kept peeping, and the third chick came running in.

 

Here's chick number 3 going under mom.  Will there be room for all three of them?

 

The adult Killdeer just stood there then, and the three chicks stayed in place.

 

 

In the meantime, while I was taking those pictures, I was also taking pictures of a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper that was making its way along the shore of the pond, coming toward me.

 

 

 

While my attention was on the juvenile Spotted Sandpiper, another adult Killdeer flew over, calling as it flew.  Dad?  Anyway, mom left the chicks and flew off with the second Killdeer.  The three chicks went back to foraging around on their own.

 

 

 

One of the adults (mom again?) flew back in and called the chicks to her a second time.

 

 

 

I left them like that and headed back to my car.  At the south end of the main pond, I found another juvenile Spotted Sandpiper and took more pictures.

 

 

 

That was a lot of fun, but I hadn't gotten anything I needed for my list.  Next I headed out to the Snoqualmie Valley to see what I could find.  I took so many pictures today that I'm going to divide my report for today into two parts.  I'll send out the second part tomorrow.

 

 

Friday, July 16, 2021 - Part 2

 

Here's Part 2 of my July 16 report.  Part 1, sent out last night, covered my stop at the Redmond Retention Ponds, and after that I drove out across the Snoqualmie River Valley.  There were a lot of swallows on wires, and here is a Violet-green Swallow.

 

A male American Goldfinch showed itself on a wire, so I took his picture.

 

There weren't any birds around the house in Carnation with feeders, but I spotted this distant Black-headed Grosbeak in a tree behind the house.

 

My main target for the day was American Dipper, and I stopped at the bridge over the Tolt River, just south of Carnation, where they nested this year.  I didn't see any dippers, but some Cedar Waxwings were taking baths in the river.  I tried to get close enough to get pictures, but they flew off.  I waited and one of the Cedar Waxwings came back to the edge of the river and posed for me.

 

It flew off without taking a bath, so I moved on.  I drove down the west side of the river, toward Fall City.  At the Blue Heron Golf Course, I saw a Yellow-rumped Warbler, my first species of the day for my July list.  Here are a couple of pictures of the Yellow-rumped Warbler foraging in the grass.

 

 

Also at the golf course, I got this picture of a juvenile Barn Swallow, still showing some of his downy nestling feathers.

 

Next I drove up to Tokul Creek, my best spot for American Dipper.  I didn't see one downstream, and I didn't see one upstream.  I walked across the bridge and down the road a little, playing some bird songs, but I didn't attract anything.  As I crossed the bridge again, ready to give it up, I noticed an American Dipper downstream, just sitting there.

 

I watched it for 5 or 10 minutes, but it never moved.  I left it and looked upstream again, and this time I saw a juvenile American Dipper, pretty close to the bridge.  Note that is lighter colored than the adult.

 

It didn't move around much, either, but I kept watching it, going back and forth across the bridge to also keep an eye on the adult dipper downstream.  The juvenile did start to move around a bit, so I took more pictures.

 

 

Here is Tokul Creek, looking upstream from the bridge.  The juvenile dipper is on a rock in the bottom right corner of the picture.

 

 

The juvenile dipper was preening, which is why it is kind of puffed up there.  Meanwhile, the adult dipper downstream finally moved, but it went downstream, getting farther away from me, unfortunately.  Here are two more distant pictures of it, as it moved away from me.

 

 

Back on the upstream side of the bridge, the juvenile dipper was still preening.

 

I was wondering if the juvenile was waiting to be fed, since it was basically just sitting there for so long.  Then it moved a bit and started foraging for food by sticking its head in the water.

 

It moved closer to me, and I was practically looking right down on it, trying to get pictures.

 

 

It kept looking for food as it moved closer to me.

 

At about that point, I looked away and it must have flown off, because I didn't see it again.  The show was over.

 

I drove back down through Fall City and drove up Neal Road, but I didn't find anything there.  Back in Carnation, at the house with feeders, I got this picture of male and female Goldfinches eating seed.

 

The three bright yellow ones are males and the four paler ones are females.  I headed for home and got this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk near Sikes Lake.

 

From the bridge over Sikes Lake, I got these next two pictures of a juvenile Wood Duck.

 

 

I saw a bird on a wire shortly after that, and it was a male Lazuli Bunting, a very attractive bird, but one I already had this month.  I stopped and played its song, and he sang back to me while I took pictures.

 

 

 

 

While I was chasing him around and taking his picture, I heard Common Ravens calling in the distance.  That was another one I needed for July.  To finish off the day, I saw a Chestnut-backed Chickadee, another one I needed still for July, at our feeder in the afternoon.

 

So, I ended up adding 4 more species to my July list, to give me 90 species now.  I got so many pictures that I had to break them up into two reports, and I got my main target, American Dipper - two of them, no less.  A successful day of birding, any way you look at it.

 

 

Sunday, July 18, 2021

 

Today I drove over to my old California Scrub-jay site near the University of Washington, on the ship canal.  I walked up and down the street, and I played their calls, but I never saw or heard a scrub-jay.  They used to be a lot easier to get there, so I assume the colony of them in that area has been depleted.  Too bad, at one time that was a reliable place to find that uncommon species in this area.

 

I moved on to the Montlake Fill, also known as the Union Bay Natural Area.  I can park in the University of Washington parking lot nearby on Sunday for free, so it is a good place to visit on a Sunday.  I saw this Osprey sitting out in the open, and I took a lot of pictures.  Since I have so little to report on and show today, here are five of them.

 

 

 

I went around behind the bird and got this shot of the Osprey from that perspective.

 

Here's one final picture of the Osprey from a little farther away.

 

My main target there was Pied-billed Grebe, and I saw a couple of them.  Here are two close shots of a Pied-billed Grebe.

 

 

Pied-billed Grebes have a loud and distinctive call, and this one called a couple of times.  Here it is, calling.

 

I haven't ever noticed that black patch on its chin and upper throat before.  They lose that in the non-breeding season, along with the black marking on the bill.  Here is one final picture of the Pied-billed Grebe.

 

It was too warm in the sun to do much walking, so I headed back to my car, and got this shot of a Canada Goose near my car.

 

I stopped at Magnuson Park on my way home, but I didn't see anything there.  I didn't really look much; it was much too crowded on a sunny summer Sunday.

 

I added one more species to my July list today, and now I have 91 species this month.  It is truly the summer doldrums, and birds are just not around or not showing themselves much.

 

 

Monday, July 19, 2021

 

Before I get into today, I want to mention that I realized last night that I had overlooked adding Red-tailed Hawk to my July list on Friday, even though I had shown a picture of the bird.  With that addition, my total as of last night should have been 92 species.

 

Today I went up to the Edmonds Marsh, located in the town of Edmonds, which is on Puget Sound, about 25 minutes northwest of home.  I was looking for shorebirds, Western Sandpiper in particular.  I found several little peeps, and with my scope I determined that there were both Least Sandpipers (which I already had this month) and Western Sandpipers (which I needed).  Then I saw some larger shorebirds, which turned out to be dowitchers.  There are two species of dowitcher seen here, and the fall migration is just starting.  At first I assumed they were Long-billed Dowitchers, because they are more common in mid-July than Short-billed Dowitchers.  Both species are coming through here now, though, so I took a lot of pictures.  The two species are very similar, but after examining my pictures, I think I saw both species this morning - probably four Short-billed Dowitchers and one Long-billed Dowitcher.  Here are some pictures, with my comments on identifications, for my future reference.

 

I think that at least two of those birds are Short-billed Dowitchers - the one on the right and the one in the back on the left.  The location of the eye and the shape of the white "eyebrow" are what I am relying on.

 

In that picture, I think the bird on the right is a Long-billed Dowitcher and the one on the left is a Short-billed Dowitcher.  Again, the location of the eye and the shape of the white line over the eye that runs down to the bill are what I am relying on.  The bird on the right seems larger, too, and Long-billed Dowitchers are slightly larger than Short-billed Dowitchers.

 

In that picture, the larger bird on the left is the Long-billed Dowitcher and the paler one on the right is a Short-billed Dowitcher, I think.

 

In that picture, the larger bird on the right is the Long-billed Dowitcher, I think.  The others are Short-billed, I think.

 

Okay, so the pictures are crap, but they are useful for me to identify the species I think I saw.  The two species are so similar, though, and there is enough variation among individuals, that I can't be certain, but I'm going with both species today for my July list.

 

I moved on from there to Everett, where I had a lunch appointment.  I had time to stop briefly at the Everett waterfront, at the 10th St boat launch, to check out the Osprey nest I have been watching there.  There were Caspian Terns diving for fish between me and the Osprey nest, though, and they distracted me while I tried to get pictures of the Ospreys.  The pictures are poor, but here some shots of Caspian Terns.

 

That one didn't catch anything with its dive into the water, but this next one got a fish.

 

Here is another one that missed.

 

I didn't have much time to take pictures of the Ospreys, but here are two pictures that show that all three chicks are still surviving.

 

 

They were calling a lot, and another adult Osprey flew in with a fish for them.

 

You can't really see the fish in that last picture, but right afterwards, that adult flew off and all the Ospreys in the nest appeared to be eating.  Here is a shot showing the adult in the nest feeding one of the chicks.

 

That was all I had time for today.  I added three more species to my July list today, and now I have 95 species this month.

 

 

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

 

Yesterday I saw a little flock of Bushtits at our suet feeder, and that was a July species.  Today I went over to Marymoor Park, but I didn't add any more to my list.  I checked out the two Osprey nests, to see how the Ospreys were doing.  I had seen three chicks in the ball field nest last week, and when I got there today, I saw an adult and one chick.

 

The adult was calling loudly for the whole time I was there, which was about 40 minutes.

 

Another adult Osprey was sitting on a nearby light standard.

 

 

That one took off and flew around a bit, then landed on another light standard on the other side of the ball field.  I watched it from a distance, and was kind of surprised to see another adult Osprey fly in and displace it from where it was sitting.  I continued to watch the third Osprey, and the second one flew off.  In the meantime, another chick showed itself in the nest, and the adult in the nest continued to call.

 

Eventually, the third chick showed itself in the nest.

 

I was waiting for an Osprey to bring a fish to the nest, but eventually I got tired of waiting and decided to drive around to where I could see the one on the other side of the ball field.  I did that, and when I was in position, I took this picture.

 

At about that time, the third adult Osprey flew in and displaced the one in that last picture.  This one had a fish.  I got this picture as it took off to fly to the nest with its prize.

 

By the time I got back in position to see the nest, the Ospreys in the nest were eating, and there weren't any more photo ops.  I had wanted to get a picture of an Osprey bringing a fish to the nest, but I had gambled by going around to the other side of the ball field.  I lost the gamble, but at least I got that last picture of the bird with its fish.

 

That was it for today.  My Bushtits from yesterday brought my July total to 96 species.  It was good to see that all three chicks in the ball field nest at Marymoor were still there.  I didn't see any Ospreys at all around the "new" nest.  Either they were hunkered down, or that nest failed.  I don't know what the story was with the three adult Ospreys around the ball field nest today.

 

 

Thursday, July 22, 2021

 

I didn't feel like making any kind of big expedition today, but mid-morning I drove up to Big Finn Hill Park, which is only about 3 miles away from home.  I sat in the sun and I walked a bit in the woods.  I played some bird songs, and I attracted a couple of Bewick's Wrens, a species I still needed for July.  They flitted back and forth, but it was dark in the woods and they never stayed still for long, so these three pictures were the best I could get.  Bewick's Wren (Bewick is pronounced to rhyme with the car, Buick, so it sounds like the bird belongs to a car).

 

 

 

I ended up sitting in my car, and before I started for home, I checked my email, something I don't often do on my phone.  There was a post on Tweeters, the local birding mailing list, that reported a Snow Goose at Log Boom Park in Kenmore, just a half hour earlier.  Well, Log Boom Park was only ten minutes away, so I drove over there.  As soon as I walked out on the dock, I saw the Snow Goose, a rarity here in July, and one for my list, of course.  It was associating with some Canada Geese.  Snow Geese are up in Alaska and far northern Canada now, but this one must have attached itself to a small flock of Canada Geese are spending the summer here.  Some Canada Geese migrate and some spend the summer here and breed here.  Here is the Snow Goose with a Canada Goose.

 

 

I wondered what that line on its face, going back from the bill, was.  Here is a closer picture.

 

I decided it was a piece of floating vegetation, which the goose was eating from the surface.  Here is another picture showing it eating some more vegetation.

 

Here is one final picture of the rare (for this season) Snow Goose.

 

That was it for today.  I added two more species to my July list, and now I have 98 species this month.

 

 

Friday, July23, 2021

 

I went over to Marymoor Park today.  A stop at the rowing club pond didn't get me anything, so I moved on to the main part of the park.  There was one adult Osprey and one chick visible in what I call the "new nest".

 

I drove along the edge of the community gardens, but I didn't see anything there.  At what I call the "ball fields nest", all three young Ospreys were showing themselves nicely.

 

That picture was taken from close to the nest pole, but I moved back to get a better perspective on the whole nest.

 

It turned out that an adult Osprey was in the nest, too, hidden from my view at first.  Here is the adult with the three nestlings.

 

The adult is the one without the white spots on its wings and back.  The nestlings were doing some flapping of their wings today.

 

All of the Ospreys were calling a lot, wanting to be fed.

 

At about that time, the adult in the nest flew off and landed on a nearby light standard, leaving the three youngsters in the nest.  One of the young ones flapped its wings and hopped, flying a few feet.

 

It hopped up on the pole next.

 

The three youngsters kept calling, as they waited for the other parent to bring some lunch.

 

 

At about that time, the adult that was originally in the nest flew back, and they all seemed very excited.

 

They must have spotted dad (or maybe mom) coming back with a fish, and I got a picture of the Osprey with its fish coming in for a landing.

 

Here are all five family members gathered around the fish.

 

 

The one that brought the fish flew off and the others gathered around and ate.

 

After that, I left them to their meal and checked out the new nest.  I stopped on the road and got a close picture of the adult Osprey at that nest.

 

I drove around to where I could see the nest better, although it was pretty far away.  Once again, I saw just one chick in the nest.

 

The last time I was there, a couple of days ago, I didn't see any birds in that nest, so it was nice to at least see that one chick was still surviving.  I had seen two chicks in that nest last week, though.  Then a second one showed itself.

 

The two youngsters in the new nest appear to be a couple of weeks younger than the three in the ball fields nest.

 

So, although I didn't get any birds for my July list today, I was able to confirm that both Osprey nests at Marymoor are still viable, with a total of 5 young Ospreys.  I also got a lot of pictures of the Osprey activity.  I have 98 species this month, and I don't know if I'll get any more or not.  Summer is really slow for birding, and I just haven't felt like doing the walking that would be necessary to find more for my list.

 

 

Tuesday July 27, 2021

 

I picked up my new car on Saturday, and I didn't do any birding over the weekend.  I did a little bit of birding yesterday, but I forgot my camera and I didn't get anything I needed.  I did manage to confirm that the three young Ospreys in the nest on the Everett waterfront that I have been watching were still there yesterday.

 

Today I went over to Marymoor Park, mainly to check on the two Osprey nests there.  I wanted to see if the youngsters in the ball field nest had fledged yet.  First I checked out the new nest, and both youngsters were still in that nest.  Here is a picture with both adults at the nest, with both of the nestlings showing themselves, although you have to look closely to see them both.

 

Here is another shot of the nest, with only one of the nestlings showing itself.

 

In this third picture, you can see the faces of both of the youngsters.

 

That nest is a little distant for good pictures, but it still fun to watch the birds.

 

I drove through the community gardens to try to hear or see the pheasant, Lonesome George, but I got nothing.  Next I drove to the ball field Osprey nest, to check out the youngsters there.  One of the adults and two young Ospreys were in the nest.  I assumed that meant that at least one of the young ones had fledged (flown for the first time).

 

Remember, the young ones have spots on their backs and wings, and the adults don't.  One of the youngsters was flapping its wings from time to time.

 

 

The one that had been flapping its wings took off and flew to a nearby light post, thus confirming that they had fledged and were now flying around.

 

 

Back at the nest, there seemed to be some food there, because the various birds were eating from time to time.  I lost track of the various fledglings, as they were moving around.  All three were around, though.

 

While I was watching, suddenly the three Ospreys in the nest started calling loudly and looking up at the sky as if they saw something coming.

 

 

Sure enough, the other adult flew in with a fish for the family.

 

The adult in the nest started eating first, but the youngsters soon moved in too.

 

The adult that had brought in the fish flew off, leaving the others to eat.

 

Meanwhile, the third fledgling just sat across the ball field on its own perch.  I guess it wasn't very hungry.

 

I left the Osprey family eating and drove back to check out the "new" nest again.  A park truck was parked where I needed to park to watch the nest, though, and a couple of workers were doing something, so I moved on to the west parking lot for the dog park.  I walked along the slough, hoping to see the Green Heron that has been reported there recently, but I didn't find it.  On my way back to the car, I saw a bird flying, and I thought I recognized the species.  It landed in a tree, rather distant, but I moved closer and took pictures.  Here is my first MERLIN of the year.

 

 

A couple of crows were keeping watch on the Merlin, and here is a picture of the Merlin and an American Crow, making a good size comparison.

 

Here is the best shot I got of the Merlin.

 

One of the crows started chasing the Merlin, and they flew around, chasing each other.  They seemed to take turns being the pursuer, which was interesting.  Eventually, the crow landed in a tree, and the Merlin flew off out of sight.

 

I checked out the new Osprey nest again, but there was nothing going on there.  I drove back to the ball field nest, and all three fledglings and an adult were eating.

 

That was it for today for me.  I have been enjoying watching the Osprey families raising the young ones.  The Merlin brought my July total to 99 species and my 2021 total to 245 species.

 

 

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

 

Today I drove up to Snoqualmie Point Park, which is about a half hour southeast of home, on the way up to Snoqualmie Pass.  When I got there, a Brown-headed Cowbird fledgling was following a Dark-eyed Junco around, presumably wanting to be fed.  Cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, and this junco and his mate were victims, I guess.  The junco didn't seem interested in feeding the cowbird, though, so maybe it was time for the cowbird to start feeding itself.  Anyway, here are two pictures of the Brown-headed Cowbird fledgling, which was 2 or 3 times the size of the poor little junco.

 

 

I walked around a little and played some bird songs, but I didn't see any other birds there.  I moved on to the Three Forks off-leash dog park.  An Eastern Kingbird was very responsive to its song being played on my phone.  Whenever I would play the song, the kingbird would fly right over me and land nearby.  I took a lot of pictures, and here are the best ones of the Eastern Kingbird, a July species for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eastern Kingbird is uncommon on this side of the mountains, and they only show up in a few places each year, so it was nice to get it.

 

I could have walked a bit there, but it was getting hot by then, and my knee was hurting a little, so I moved on.  I stopped at Tokul Creek to see if I could get pictures of an American Dipper.  I already had gotten dipper this month, but it is one of my favorite birds, maybe my most favorite, and I was driving right by there anyway, so I stopped.  I got lucky today, and as soon as I walked out on the bridge over Tokul Creek, I saw a dipper right below me on a rock.  It stayed there, moving around a little, while I took pictures.  Here are some close shots of an American Dipper, taken from almost right above the bird.

 

 

 

 

I was hoping it would start looking for food, so I could get some action pictures, but after several minutes, it took off and flew under the bridge.  I don't know where it went, and I never saw it again.

 

I drove on down the hill to Fall City and then to the town of Carnation, where I picked up a sandwich at the Carnation Market.  I ate the sandwich in the car, at the house in Carnation that has feeders.  Here is a male American Goldfinch.

 

Another bird flew in and perched on a perch that didn't have any seed next to it.  I decided it must have been a fledgling American Goldfinch.  It seemed to be looking at the goldfinch below it, hoping to be fed.  Here is what I think was a fledgling American Goldfinch.

 

 

Here is a Eurasian Collared-Dove on one of the hanging platform feeders.

 

I drove across the valley, but I didn't see anything interesting.  I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds to see if any interesting shorebirds or ducks had shown up.  All I saw of any interest were a couple of Killdeer.

 

I think those might be juveniles.  Here is one more picture of one of those Killdeer.

 

I headed for home, and just down the street from the ponds I saw a little family group of raccoons, a mom and two youngsters.  They scurried away before I could get a picture of the whole family, but here is one of the juvenile raccoons.

 

I don't see raccoons very often, but one reason for that is that they are mostly nocturnal.

 

Eastern Kingbird added one more species to my July list, and now I have 100 species this month.

 

 

Friday, July 30, 2021

 

Today I headed north to the Leque Island Unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area.  It is located between the town of Stanwood and Camano Island, in north Snohomish county.  I stopped at the Davis Slough Access and got very lucky.  First I spotted two Lesser Yellowlegs for my July list.  Here is one of them.

 

There were some Long-billed Dowitchers there, but I already had that one.  Here is a picture of three Long-billed Dowitchers.

 

There was another birder there, and he came over to me and said he had seen a phalarope, an uncommon shorebird that I very much needed.  There are two species of phalarope that migrate through here, and he thought it was a Wilson's Phalarope.  That was an excellent one for my July list.  Here is a picture of the Wilson's Phalarope and two Long-billed Dowitchers.  The phalarope is the one in the middle.

 

Here is the Wilson's Phalarope and a Killdeer.

 

Here is another picture of the phalarope and a couple of Long-billed Dowitchers.

 

Here are a couple more pictures of the Wilson's Phalarope on its own.

 

 

Here are two pictures of the phalarope and a Lesser Yellowlegs.

 

 

Here is another one of the Wilson's Phalarope.

 

Phalaropes are shorebirds, but they also swim when the water is deep enough.  Here is a picture of the phalarope swimming.

 

Here are the two Lesser Yellowlegs together.

 

Here is one of the Lesser Yellowlegs and the Wilson's Phalarope in the same shot.

 

Meanwhile, in between taking pictures, I saw some Semipalmated Plovers in the distance, another species for my July list.  Then it got even better, and the other birder pointed out a Peregrine Falcon flying away into the distance.  That made four species I got at that stop.  Amazing.  That was only the second Peregrine Falcon I have seen this year.  It was also only the second time I had seen Wilson's Phalarope this year, having seen them on my Yosemite trip in June.

 

I had intended to stop at Eide Road, on the other side of the reserve, but since I had everything I was hoping for already, I skipped that and headed south along Marine Drive to Tulalip Bay.  At Tulalip Bay I used my scope to see some Black-bellied Plovers across the bay on the spit,  my fifth species of the day for my July list.  There were a couple of Whimbrels on the same spit, an excellent species, but one I had already gotten this month.  I drove around to get a better look at them from the other side of the bay, but they were still too distant for pictures.  There were Purple Martins flying around the nest boxes there, so I took pictures from my car.  Here is shot of a pair of Purple Martins.  The male is the dark purple one.

 

That light purple thing in the upper right is a decoy, I guess.  Here is another shot of a pair of Purple Martins.

 

There were several Purple Martins flying around, including some that I think were fledglings.

 

The fledglings look a lot like females, and I can't really tell the difference for the most part.

 

Females supposedly have a light patch on the back of their necks, and I see that some of these birds had that, so maybe those are females, and ones without that light colored patch are fledglings.  Here is a shot of the two groups of Purple Martin nests, including the white gourds on the right.

 

After that I went to my lunch appointment in Everett.  After lunch I went down to the Everett waterfront to check out the Osprey nest I have been watching there.  One of the adults was in the nest with the three nestlings, and they seemed to be eating something.

 

 

After a while, they seemed to finish whatever they were eating and they stood around for a while.

 

There was another adult Osprey sitting on a nearby post, and eventually the one in the nest flew off, presumably to go fishing.  I waited around, but when it hadn't come back in ten or fifteen minutes, I gave it up and headed for home.  It was nice to see that all three nestlings were still hanging in there.  On my way to the freeway I stopped at the north viewpoint on Port Gardner Bay and saw a lot of little shorebirds, fairly far away.  Some of them were Semipalmated Plovers, which I had seen up north in the morning.  This was the first time I have seen them on the Everett waterfront this summer, though.  The migration south is just starting for shorebirds.

 

I added a whopping 5 species to my July list today, and now I have 105 species for July.  I probably won't even go out tomorrow, but we will see.