September 2021

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Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Before I left home this morning, I started my September list with American Crow, Feral Pigeon, Spotted Towhee, and House Finch. My first birding stop was the Redmond Retention Ponds. I was hoping some of the shorebirds and ducks had stuck around. All the shorebirds except the usual Killdeer had left, but there were more ducks than last week. I soon added Mallard and Gadwall to my list. There were teal there, and all three local teal species look a lot alike. The Green-winged Teal were pretty easy to pick out, and here is a picture of a Green-winged Teal that I took in the afternoon there, when I stopped on my way home.

There was a teal sitting on a rock near the shore, and another birder and I debated about what species it was. Here are three pictures of it.

We thought it was a Blue-winged Teal, but when I processed my pictures, I could see that it had a red eye, and according to my field guide, that would indicate that it was a male Cinnamon Teal in eclipse plumage. Here is a close up of its eye.

Definitely red. The bill seems a bit small for Cinnamon Teal, but juveniles have a smaller bill than adults, so maybe this is a juvenile male Cinnamon Teal, although I don't know if a juvenile male would have a red eye.

Here is what I think was another duck, and I think this one was a Blue-winged Teal, probably female.

Note how the forehead slopes down to the bill, and note the size of the bill. Here is what I am sure is a mature Cinnamon Teal, with a forehead that goes straight into the bill and the bill is larger.

Here is another shot of maybe the same male Cinnamon Teal.

I feel confident of my identification of the Cinnamon Teal, but less so of what I am calling a Blue-winged Teal. There were other ducks there that I think were Blue-winged Teal, too, but I didn't get any more pictures.

There were 2 or 3 Northern Pintails there, too, and here is one of them.

As long as I'm showing duck pictures, I might as well show some I took in the afternoon when I stopped there on my way home. Here is a female Northern Shoveler.

Here are two female Northern Shovelers.

Here are two pictures of a Hooded Merganser.

After the Redmond Retention Ponds, I drove out to the Snoqualmie River Valley. Along the way I got Canada Goose. There were swallows on wires as I drove across the valley, and I added Barn Swallow and Violet-green Swallow to my list. Here is a male Violet-green Swallow.

Here's a female Violet-green Swallow.

Approaching Sikes Lake, there was a Red-tailed Hawk on a pole. At Sikes Lake I spotted a Northern Harrier in the distance. That was an excellent one to get. I never did find a Northern Harrier in August, and this month I got it on the first. There was a Belted Kingfisher on a wire over the Sikes Lake bridge. At the pond at Chinook Bend, I added Great Blue Heron. There was an Osprey on the nest platform just across the Snoqualmie River, along Carnation Farm Road. I saw some European Starlings there, too, and there were swallows flying around over the river. Most of the swallows were Barn Swallows, with some Violet-green Swallows mixed in with them. Then I spotted a Cliff Swallow, another excellent one for my list. That is another species I never got in August, and then found on the first of this month.

I drove to the house in Carnation that has feeders, and I saw a couple of Band-tailed Pigeons in a tree.

There were also a couple of Steller's Jays there, and I saw Eurasian Collared-Doves and American Goldfinches as well. I picked up a sandwich at the Carnation Market and drove to the Tolt River bridge on the south side of Carnation. I got out there and looked for American Dipper, one of my primary targets of the day. No dipper, but I saw some Cedar Waxwings, and a couple of Common Mergansers flew up the river. As I drove away from there, I saw a Turkey Vulture soaring overhead.

After that I drove down the west side of the river to Fall City. I heard a Common Raven calling when I stopped at the pond on that road and took this picture of a feral Muscovy Duck (not countable because it is presumably an escapee from a nearby farm).

I saw a Pied-billed Grebe in that pond, and then I drove up to Tokul Creek to look for American Dipper up there. I dipped on the dipper again, and drove back to Carnation. I drove on to the Stillwater Access to the Snoqualmie River Wildlife Area, where I took my lunch and camp chair up on the dike trail. It was really dead for birds, but it was a lovely day, and I had a nice lunch. While I was eating, I played Common Yellowthroat songs, and a male flew in to check me out. A female Anna's Hummingbird came along, too, but nothing else showed itself. I walked back to my car, and as I left, I saw my only Song Sparrow of the day.

I drove back across the valley and saw three American Coots at Sikes Lake. As I already mentioned, I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds again, and I already showed my duck pictures from that stop. At home, there was a strange finch at our feeder.

I don't know what the little crest is all about, but it must have been a House Finch. Here is a light-colored male House Finch (on the right) in the same frame as that bird, and the male House Finch appears larger to me.

Maybe it was just the angle and the body positions of the two birds. Here is one more picture of the strange finch with the topknot.

That last picture looks like a House Finch except for the strange arrangement of feathers on its head.

I missed my main target, American Dipper, today, but I had a nice time rambling around the Snoqualmie Valley. I started out September with 37 species for my list. It was interesting that I got Northern Harrier and Cliff Swallow today, after not finding either species in August.

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Today I went north, up to Skagit county, which is about an hour north of home. My main target was shorebirds, before they leave for their wintering grounds. My first stop was Wylie Slough, and as I approached I got this picture of an American Goldfinch, a species I had already gotten yesterday.

Nearby was a Savannah Sparrow, a new one for September for me.

Here is the Savannah Sparrow from the front.

I drove into the reserve at Wylie Slough, and I got a brief look at a Black Phoebe, one of my targets there. I walked out on the dike trail, taking my camp chair along so I could rest from time to time and take pictures from a stable base. I added Red-winged Blackbird and Black-capped Chickadee on my walk. The tide was out, as I had expected, and there was lots of mud. There were almost no shorebirds, though, which disappointed me. I assumed that the shorebirds had already flown off south, but I walked to the bridge where the trail splits, anyway. I did see a little group of four Least Sandpipers, at least, and later I heard a Greater Yellowlegs call, but other than a few Killdeer, that was all the shorebirds there were. At the bridge, I spotted a bird in a dead tree, and I sat in my chair to get this rather distant picture of a male Downy Woodpecker.

Sitting in the chair to brace myself makes distant pictures much sharper, which is why I carry it along (although I do like to rest my back from time to time, too). On my way back, I saw some birds in a tree, so I sat down, and there were two or three female Purple Finches, another good one for my list. Here are two pictures of female Purple Finches.

While I was getting those pictures, I could hear some American Robins calling, so that one went on my list. Then, as I walked away, I spotted a robin near the top of a tree and got this picture.

It looked like good habitat for Yellow Warbler, and I knew they hang out at the reserve in the summer, so I sat down and played their songs. In a short while, one of them flew in and flitted around, while I tried for pictures. Here are my best two pictures of the Yellow Warbler, an excellent one for my list. Yellow Warblers will be flying off south very soon.

Before I left that spot, a Bewick's Wren showed up, and I needed that one still for September. Here is the Bewick's Wren.

A short time later I saw a small group of Red-winged Blackbirds, and there was a male Brown-headed Cowbird with them, so that one went on my list. That's all I got at Wylie Slough this morning. All of my pictures that I have shown so far were taken while I was sitting. The first three were taken from my car, and the rest from my camp chair. The older I get, the shakier I get when taking pictures while standing up, and shaky means blurry.

As I drove off up Wylie Road, there were some blackbirds near the dairy there, and some of them were Brewer's Blackbirds, so that one went on my list, too. I drove to March Point, hoping to find American White Pelican and Black Oystercatcher. I pulled over where the road around the point begins, and I got Ring-billed Gull for my list. I got out my scope and looked around. I not only found the American White Pelicans (40 or 50 of them, in the far distance), I also saw Caspian Terns. Both of those were September birds. While driving around the point, looking for oystercatchers, which I never found, I added Double-crested Cormorant to my list.

After that I drove back to Fir Island and went to Hayton Reserve. The tide was in, but there weren't many shorebirds, and nothing I could identify. With the help of another birder there, I picked out a few American Wigeons for my list, among all the hundreds of ducks. Mostly they seemed to be Mallards, Northern Pintails, and Green-winged Teal, all of which I had gotten yesterday. The other birder had a scope, too, and he found a couple of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in the distance, and I got on them as well. That was a great September bird to get, as they are quite uncommon in Western Washington. The other birder mentioned that he was going to go back to Wylie Sough, where had just been, to look more for shorebirds. I told him I had been there this morning and had seen almost no shorebirds. It turns out I was too early, with respect to the tide, and there were lots of shorebirds in the afternoon. I decided to follow him back to Wylie Slough, rather than go to Eide Road near Stanwood, as I had planned. What a great decision that was.

The tide had been coming in since early this morning, and the shorebirds had been pushed close to the parking area, which was great for me (less walking). I immediately got Western Sandpiper for my list, and others soon followed. Here are some pictures, and I needed all these species. First, here is a shot of a Pectoral Sandpiper and a Greater Yellowlegs.

I had heard Greater Yellowlegs in the morning and had counted it, but I saw several of them this afternoon. Pectoral Sandpiper is an uncommon migrant, and there were several of them there this afternoon. The one in that last picture had its neck stretched out, making it look kind of strange. Here is the same Pectoral Sandpiper, standing more normally.

There were a couple of Wilson's Snipe on the same log. Here they are, on their own.

Here is the same Pectoral Sandpiper again, with a smaller Western Sandpiper for comparison.

There were a number of dowitchers around, and I took pictures so I could sort out the two dowitcher species - Long-billed Dowitcher and Short-billed Dowitcher. I think this next picture shows two Long-billed Dowitchers.

Here is a dowitcher and one of the Wilson's Snipe. The snipe is the closer bird.

I think that last one was a Short-billed Dowitcher, but I am not sure. The two dowitcher species look very similar, and I am usually not completely sure which is which. Here is a dowitcher that I am pretty sure is a Short-billed Dowitcher with the Pectoral Sandpiper.

There were logs floating in on the tide, and shorebirds were perched on them. It was kind of like a parade, with the logs coming by, and several birders taking pictures of the birds on the logs from the trail. Here is a Lesser Yellowlegs.

The Lesser Yellowlegs is the bird in the middle of the picture. The one behind it with its head tucked in is a dowitcher. For comparison, here is a Greater Yellowlegs, a larger bird with longer legs and a relatively longer bill.

Here is a picture of shorebirds on a log. Closest to the camera is a Lesser Yellowlegs, then there are four dowitchers, and then a Greater Yellowlegs in the back (facing the camera). You can easily see the size difference between the two yellowlegs species.

I was trying to identify the dowitcher species, and they all lined up and showed themselves well, with the Lesser Yellowlegs in the front and the Greater Yellowlegs in the back.

With those nice profile shots of the dowitchers, I think I can call them Short-billed Dowitchers (four of them).

Then a smaller shorebird flew in to one of the floating logs and landed among the larger birds.

It was something different, and I ended up deciding it was a Stilt Sandpiper, an excellent bird, quite uncommon in the west. I think it was a juvenile, hatched in the arctic this year and now heading for Mexico or points south for the winter. It flew to another log by itself, and here are two more pictures, in which you can see the slightly down-curved bill. Stilt Sandpiper.

The logs kept floating in, and on one of them were three Pectoral Sandpipers. Here is a picture of one of the Pectoral Sandpipers.

Here is a picture of two Pectoral Sandpipers, and the one on the right is standing up straight with its neck out, so it looks like a different species.

Here is a picture that shows all three Pectoral Sandpipers, and the one in the middle is still stretched out and looks a lot bigger to me than the other two.

In this next picture, all three Pectoral Sandpipers look to be about the same size and they are all standing normally.

In that last picture, the one in the middle actually looks smaller than the other two, but it is the same bird that was in the middle in the previous picture. I thought it was interesting how a birds posture can change its appearance so much.

While I was taking those pictures and enjoying the parade of bird-laden logs, I heard a Virginia Rail call from the reeds across the channel, so that one went on my September list, too. As I walked back to my car, I saw a Wood Duck in the little slough by the parking lot, another one for my list. I had gotten a quick look at a Black Phoebe in the morning, but I saw one again as I was leaving. I managed to get one terrible picture, looking into the sun.

It turned out to be a very successful day. When I had missed the shorebirds in the morning, I was very disappointed, but thanks to the birder I met at Hayton Reserve, I got them all in the afternoon when I went back. That guy had pointed out the Yellow-headed Blackbirds, too, and he helped me get American Wigeon. Thank you. I added 28 species to my September list, to bring me to 65 species this month. Many of those were common birds that I will see many times this month, but I had some very good ones, too. Most importantly, I got just about all the possible shorebirds that will be leaving very soon for their wintering grounds.

Friday, September 3, 2021

This morning I went up to Tulalip Bay, about 35 minutes north of home. I was hoping to find the rare Bar-tailed Godwit I had seen there a week ago, or maybe the uncommon Ruddy Turnstone that has been reported there, or maybe the uncommon Surfbird that has also been reported there. The tide was out, and there were few shorebirds around. When I got out of my car at my vantage point on the east side of the bay, I saw a small raptor chasing a gull. I watched it as it came by, and then I watched it with binoculars as it flew away. I followed it for ten seconds or so, until it landed near the top of an evergreen tree in the distance. It was quite dark, smaller than a Red-tailed Hawk for sure, and my first impression was Merlin. After mentally reviewing all I had seen I decided to call it a Merlin, an excellent bird for my September list. It was too dark for a Cooper's or Sharp-shinned Hawk, and I never saw a long tail like either of those species would have.

After that great start, I set up my scope and scanned the sand and mud exposed by the low tide. There were very few shorebirds around, but I did see a few Black-bellied Plovers for my list. I drove to the marina overlook and saw one Black Turnstone on the log boom. I scoped the gulls near the mouth of the little creek on the east side of the bay, and I added Glaucous-winged Gull, California Gull, and Short-billed (formerly Mew) Gull. I drove around to the other side of the bay, hoping that Purple Martins might still be around, but I got nothing there.

I had a few spare minutes before my lunch appointment in Everett, so I stopped at the 10th St boat launch, in the hopes there might be some Semipalmated Plovers around, with the tide out so much. No plovers, but there was a godwit there. I had been hoping to see the rare Bar-tailed Godwit at Tulalip Bay, and this was less than 5 miles away from there, so I thought it might be that bird. I took a lot of pictures, and after looking at my pictures and comparing them to pictures of godwits on eBird, I decided it wasn't the rare Bar-tailed Godwit, but a quite uncommon (in the Puget Sound area) Marbled Godwit. The bird was more than 50 yards away, I figure, but I had excellent scope views of it. I didn't make the identification until I saw my pictures, though. The back and wing feather patterns are different, and I could see that in my pictures. Here are four distant pictures of today's Marbled Godwit.

Last week a Marbled Godwit had been seen at Tulalip Bay, and eBird has a picture of the two godwit species together. This one is definitely not the Bar-tailed Godwit that has been seen up there (which I saw last week).

So, when all was said and done, I added 7 more species to my September list today. Now I have 72 species this month. The Merlin was an excellent bird, but the Marbled Godwit was even better.

Monday, September 6, 2021

I didn't feel like going out looking for birds over the weekend, but today I went down to Juanita Bay Park, which I consider my local patch. I walked up and down the fire station road, and I managed to call up a Warbling Vireo for my list. That was a good one because they will be migrating south very soon. I also saw a Northern Flicker at the top of a dead snag, and I needed that one still for September.

I drove over to the main part of the park and played some bird songs near the parking lot. I attracted a small flock of at least 4 Golden-crowned Kinglets, another one I needed. Here is a male Golden-crowned Kinglet. Note that his crown is reddish gold.

Here are two shots of female Golden-crowned Kinglets, with more yellowish crowns.

While I was taking those pictures, a Brown Creeper appeared on a nearby tree trunk, and that was another one I needed. I played its song and got some pictures of the Brown Creeper, blending in to its environment.

I tried for Chestnut-backed Chickadee there, too, but I didn't see one. I walked out on the east boardwalk. As I got near the end, I saw a Bewick's Wren, a couple of Black-capped Chickadees, and an Orange-crowned Warbler. I had the wren and the chickadee, but the Orange-crowned Warbler was an excellent one for my September list.

From the platform at the end of the east boardwalk, I saw that coots have started to return. I had that one already, but here is a picture of an American Coot, showing off the dark red shield on its forehead.

I had Wood Duck already, but they are photogenic, so here is a picture of a male Wood Duck just starting to get his breeding plumage.

Here is a female Wood Duck.

I hung around out there, scanning the bay for the uncommon Green Heron or the even more uncommon Sora that have been reported there recently. I was about to give it up when someone asked about a bird close to the platform. I identified it as a juvenile Green Heron and to my surprise, it hung around for tons of pictures, by several photographers. Here is a picture of the juvenile Green Heron, which I needed for September, with its crest raised.

It could raise and lower its crest at will, thus changing its appearance. Here is the juvenile Green Heron with its crest lowered, which is how I usually see them.

If you look at that last picture closely, you can see a few downy white feathers left over from its nestling plumage. Here is a close up shot of its head, showing some of the downy white feathers.

Here it is with its crest up.

It was foraging in the lily pads, rather than sitting in one place, like I usually see Green Herons. It caught some kind of worm or something, so I took pictures.

It got the food into position and swallowed it down. It looked satisfied afterwards.

Later I got this picture of it with its crest raised again.

It was really close, maybe 20 feet away, and it didn't seem bothered by the four or five people taking its picture repeatedly and talking excitedly.

After a while of that excitement, someone mentioned that a SORA was showing itself on the other side of the platform. That was my first Sora of the year, and it also stuck around while we took pictures and talked about it. Soras are members of the rail family, and they are normally very shy. You hear them much more often than you see them. This one was foraging on the lily pads, also only about 20 feet away from the platform.

I guess those little black specs on the lily pads were bugs, and it was gobbling them up.

You can see how big their feet are, in that last picture. That's what allows them to walk on the lily pads, I guess.

I like their stubby little tail that they constantly flip up and down.

Here's one last picture of the uncommon Sora, showing its big foot.

That was really fun, but eventually I gave it up and walked back to my car. It would have been amazing enough to have seen either one of those birds so close and for so long, but to see both Green Heron and Sora in the same place, at the same time, was incredible. I added 7 more species to my September list today, and now I have 79 species this month. Sora was new for me for 2021, and now I have 251 different species this year.

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Today I went on a search for Black Oystercatcher and a rarity that has been hanging out on Whidbey Island. It was also going to be first time I would be birding on salt water this month, so there were bound to be other species I needed. I drove up through Skagit county, and my first stop was Wylie Slough. I didn't get anything I needed there, and no pictures, although I did see a Black Phoebe, always a good bird to see. The lighting was terrible for pictures, though, and I didn't want to take the time to try for a decent picture.

I drove by the house with feeders at the corner of Dodge Valley Road and Valentine Road in the hopes of seeing Mourning Dove there. I got lucky and a Mourning Dove was in the hanging feeder tray, and I got these two pictures of it.

From there I drove to the north end of Whidbey Island, to Dugualla Bay. I was looking for a rare (for this area) shorebird that has been reported there for the last 4 or 5 days. The first bird I saw there was a Greater Yellowlegs, which I didn't need, but I took this picture of it.

The rare shorebird was right where it was supposed to be, and I added Black-necked Stilt to my September list. Here are three pictures of the Black-necked Stilt.

I had my rarity, and I moved on to the beaches on the west side of the island, to look for sea birds. At the pullout by Joseph Whidbey State Park, I added Horned Grebe, Pigeon Guillemot, Surf Scoter, and Common Loon. At West Beach county park, I got Red-necked Grebe, Heermann's Gull, and a distant White-winged Scoter.

My next stop was the Hastie Lake Road access, and I spotted three Black Oystercatchers way up the beach. Here is a distant picture of the three Black Oystercatchers.

While I was watching them, they took off and flew along the beach toward me. I was trying to get ready to take a picture of them in flight, but they landed on the beach almost right in front of me. Here are some pictures of Black Oystercatchers.

Another species I was especially looking for today was Harlequin Duck. Here is a picture of five Harlequin Ducks in a row.

For most of the year, male Harlequin Ducks are quite colorful and distinctive, but from July to October, the males look almost like the females. The Harlequin Ducks were diving and I got this picture of three of them. The front one is already underwater, the second one is just starting its dive, and the third one will be next.

Here is a closer shot of one of the Harlequin Ducks.

I was eating my lunch, brought from home, and taking pictures as birds showed up. I spotted two distant Marbled Murrelets, another one I wanted that isn't very easy to get. Here are two very distant pictures of the pair of Marbled Murrelets.

There were gulls on the rocky beach, and here is a California Gull, a species I already had this month.

There were some Surf Scoters feeding offshore, and a Horned Grebe was hanging out with them, also diving. Here is a distant shot of the Horned Grebe.

Here is the Horned Grebe next to a female Surf Scoter.

When I finished my lunch, I drove to the Keystone Ferry terminal, near Crockett Lake. I wanted two cormorant species, and I got them both. Most of the cormorants at the roost there were Pelagic Cormorants, but there was one immature Brandt's Cormorant, too. Here is the immature Brandt's Cormorant.

I drove up and down the unpaved roads along Crockett Lake, looking for American Pipits, but I didn't find any. I did add White-crowned Sparrow to my September list, at least. Here is the immature White-crowned Sparrow I saw.

That was it for me today. I drove back north and home through Skagit county. It was a long day, but I added 15 more species to my September list. Now I have 87 species this month. [9/8/21 - correction, I had 94 species after that day.] I got the rare Black-necked Stilt and also Black Oystercatcher, Harlequin Duck, and Marbled Murrelet - all good species - so it was a successful day.

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

The first order of business today is to correct an error I made yesterday. After yesterday, I had 94 species this month, not the 87 that I wrote.

Today I had a lunch appointment in Everett, and I went up early and tried the Everett sewage treatment ponds first, but didn't find a Bald Eagle like I was hoping for, or any returning ducks. I stopped at the 10th St boat launch and looked around for an eagle sitting on a piling, which I see sometimes there. No eagles, but I counted 15 Ospreys on various pilings. I thought more of them would be migrating south by now, but they are still sticking around, it seems. While scanning for an eagle, I spotted a Great Egret on the far shore of the bay. That was an excellent September bird, as Great Egret is quite uncommon around here. It brought me to 95 species for the month.

Thursday, September 9, 2021

Today I went up to the Edmonds area. My first stop was my quail site in the town of Woodway. I pulled in and sat in my car for a short time, and I heard a California Quail call. Then a male California Quail came out on to the grassy area they have to cross to get to the feeders they like. The light there is always terrible in the morning because I'm looking south, but I got this lousy picture of the male California Quail as it scurried back under a hedge.

I waited and there were more calls. Then the male came out again, and I got this slightly better picture of him, although he was farther away and in the shade.

The feeders are just to the left of that picture, and the male quail went up there and then came back and crossed the open area again. He soon came out again, leading his family. Here is the male California Quail with two juveniles.

Here's a picture that shows the two juveniles a little better.

Mom came out, too, and here is the whole family, heading for the feeders.

I think that is the adult female on the left, although maybe it was just a larger juvenile. Here is one last picture of the male California Quail. He stayed back and was the last one to leave the open area.

That was a good one to get for September, and I moved on to my spot for Pacific Wren. Most of the local Pacific Wrens go up into the mountains to breed, and it almost time for them to come back down to the local areas, so I walked in the woods and played Pacific Wren songs. I didn't get anything for a long time, but eventually a Pacific Wren popped up to check me out. I tried for pictures, but the light was too dim in the woods, and I didn't get anything decent. Still, I had my first Pacific Wren since May.

Next I drove to Sunset Avenue, just north of the ferry terminal in Edmonds. I looked around the bay with my scope, and eventually I spotted a very distant Rhinoceros Auklet, a species I had missed earlier this week up on Whidbey Island. I was driving away from there when I spotted a group of a couple of dozen shorebirds flying south offshore. I stopped the car and got out with my scope, as they landed way out on the water. I got them in the scope for a minute or so, and they took off again. I am calling them Red-necked Phalaropes, even though I couldn't really see any identifying marks at that distance. There aren't any other shorebirds that would or could land on the water like they did, and there have been several recent reports of Red-necked Phalaropes migrating south in that area, sometimes landing on the water like these did. These birds were definitely shorebirds. I feel good about the identification, based on their appearance and behavior.

I drove up to Ocean Avenue just north of downtown Edmonds. I got out and looked with my scope to the northwest, and I saw many dozens of Western Grebes way out there, right where they usually are at this time of year. I wonder what it is about that particular area that draws them back every year. Western Grebe was a good September bird, although they are due back about now, and I expected to see them somewhere this month.

I had some more time, so I stopped at Yost Memorial Park in Edmonds. I was hoping that maybe a Wilson's Warbler was still sticking around, but I couldn't call one up. I played the calls of a couple of other birds, and one of them, a Pileated Woodpecker flew by and landed on a tree deep in the woods. I could see it through the branches, but there was no chance of a picture in the dark of the forest. I was another excellent September bird, though. It was only the third time this year I have seen Pileated Woodpecker.

After that I gave it up and drove home. I added 6 more species to my September list today, and now I have 101 species this month. I'm doing fairly well this month, compared to past Septembers. In 2018, I had only 94 species after the 9th, and I ended up with 130. In 2019, I had 104 species after the 9th, and I ended up with 137. In 2020, I had only 76 species after the 9th, and I ended up with 124. We'll see what I can get to this month.

Friday, September 10, 2021

Today wasn't a very successful birding day. I started out at Marymoor Park, and I was dismayed to find that both of the parking lots near the Mansion area were closed for the day. I guess there is a concert tonight, and they were setting up for it. Since most of the birding I wanted to do involved using those two parking lots, it was disappointing. I was able to park near the viewing mound, but I wasn't able to call up a Lincoln's Sparrow, like I had been able to do a couple of weeks ago.

I decided to throw in the towel on Marymoor, and drive up to Tokul Creek to look for American Dipper. I did that, but I couldn't find a dipper. I tried again at the Tolt River bridge in Carnation, but came up empty there, too. That is two misses for American Dipper this month so far. There isn't any other place near there that I have ever seen a dipper, so I guess I'll have to go back again.

I drove back across the valley towards home, and at Sikes Lake I was able to call up a Lincoln's Sparrow, at least. First I saw this sparrow, though, and got this picture.

That was a Savannah Sparrow, but it looks rather like a Lincoln's Sparrow from a distance. Here is the Lincoln's Sparrow that showed up soon after that.

So, I got one more species for my September list, and now I have 102 species.

Saturday, September 11, 2021

Today I went down to Juanita Bay Park. First I played some bird calls near the parking lot. I attracted a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches, which I needed for the month, and one in particular was very interested in me. It stuck around and I took pictures.

I tried for Chestnut-backed Chickadee, too, but didn't get one. I walked out on the causeway to see what I could find. I was hoping for some little birds in the trees, but there was nothing. There were ducks on the lake, so I took some pictures, although I didn't need any of them. Here is a male Gadwall.

I'm always surprised at how detailed the patterns are on a male Gadwall, when you see one close enough. Here is a frontal picture, looking down on him.

Female Gadwalls look quite different from the males. Here is a female Gadwall.

I was surprised to see that the male Wood Ducks are getting their breeding plumage already. Here is a male Wood Duck in almost complete breeding plumage.

He got out of the water and stood on a block of wood for a few minutes.

After that, he swam toward me, and I got a closer picture of the male Wood Duck in all his glory.

That was all I got at the park today. When I got home, a female House Sparrow was at our feeder, and that was one I still needed for this month.

There was a rather dark American Goldfinch at the feeder, too.

So, I added two more species to my September list, and now I have 104 species this month.

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Today I decided to go look for American Dipper again. I missed it twice this month, and I wanted it. I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds because a Solitary Sandpiper had been reported there yesterday, and I needed it. I guess it moved on in its migration, because I got nothing there today. The water level was lower than I have ever seen it, after all our hot and dry weather this summer. We are supposed to get a couple of inches of rain this weekend, and that should help a lot of things.

I drove out across the Snoqualmie Valley, hoping to see an eagle. No such luck, but did see a male American Kestrel for my list. I was half a second too late in taking a picture, as it took off, but at least I had it for my September list.

I saw lots of swallows, but most of them were Violet-green Swallows, with a few Barn Swallows mixed in. Here are a couple of pictures of Violet -green Swallows against a bright sky.

A Red-tailed Hawk was perched near Sikes Lake, so I took its picture.

At the house with feeders in Carnation, there were a lot of American Goldfinches feeding. Here are some goldfinch pictures.

A stop at the Tolt River bridge just south of Carnation didn't get me my dipper, so I drove on up to Tokul Creek, which is my most reliable spot for dipper. I didn't see one downstream, and I didn't see one upstream at first. I kept looking, though, and I spotted one upstream that must have been behind a log before. Here is the rather distant American Dipper that was upstream from the bridge.

I thought I would try to lure it closer by playing its song on my phone. It seemed to hear it, but it didn't approach me. I crossed the bridge to look downstream again, and a dipper flew out from under the bridge, perhaps attracted by my playing its song. It landed pretty close, but then it just stood there, singing back to me for the longest time. I went back to the north side of the bridge and the other one was still way upstream, so there were two of them. Here is the closer American Dipper.

I guess it must like that particular rock, since there is so much bird poop on it.

It didn't open its bill much when it vocalized, but I could see its throat moving. In that last picture, the bill is open a little as it sang its weird little song. Dippers have what are called nictitating eyelids. There is a separate white membrane that covers their eyes when they go underwater. You often see their eyes flash white when you are watching them. Here is a picture that shows the nictitating eyelid just starting to close.

In this next picture, the nictitating eyelid is just about completely closed.

Here is one last picture of the American Dipper.

I wanted to see it looking for food, but it just stood there most of the time, moving only a little. I eventually gave it up and headed for home.

I got two more species for my September list today, and now I have 106 species this month.

Thursday, September 16, 2021

I didn't feel like a long day of birding today, so I just went down to Juanita Bay Park, which is only a couple of miles from home. Near the parking lot, I added Chestnut-backed Chickadee to my September list, but it was too high in the trees for a picture. I walked to the west boardwalk and at the first observation platform, I played Marsh Wren songs and had a quick glimpse of a Marsh Wren, a good one for September. Marsh Wrens live around here all year round, but they are very skulky in the fall and winter.

I backtracked to the east boardwalk and out at the end there were 3 or 4 photographers taking pictures of two Soras. Sora is a shy bird, but for some reason, they have been showing themselves very well at that location for a week or two. The two I saw today were both juveniles, I think, based on my field guide. Here is the closer Sora.

There was another one a little farther away. This second one was definitely a juvenile.

Here are two more pictures of the more distant Sora.

The closer Sora came even closer, and here are more pictures of it.

I love the way they raise and lower their tail.

The attraction for the Soras seems to be the bugs on the lily pads. They were gobbling them up like mad.

There seemed to be a lot fewer bugs on the lily pads than there were last week, though. Here is a shot I took on September 6th.

You can see that the Sora I saw that day had a black mask, indicating it was a mature bird. You can also see how many bugs there were on the lily pads that day.

There was a male Gadwall foraging around in the lily pads, and I think male Gadwalls are very attractive, with their subtle colors and intricate patterns.

One of the other birders noticed a couple of shorebirds across the little bay on a beach, and I was able to identify them as Wilson's Snipe. Here is a distant picture.

That was it for today. I added two more species to my September list, and now I have 108 species this month. It was fun getting pictures of Soras; they are pretty uncommon, and you usually only hear them call. You only see them rarely, so having two of them right out in the open for a long time was great.

Monday, September 20, 2021

We had a nice rainstorm over the weekend, which brought us 1.3 inches of rain here at home. We badly needed it, but I didn't do much birding, and I didn't get anything I needed or get any pictures. Today I had a lunch appointment in Everett, but I went up to Tulalip Bay earlier. I was hoping for one of the fairly rare (for this area) Ruddy Turnstones or maybe a Bald Eagle. The tide was out, and I didn't see any turnstones at all and no eagles. I drove to the Everett sewage ponds, and I found that the Ruddy Ducks have started to come back for the winter. I needed that one, so that was nice. Way on the other side of the pond I spotted a male Greater Scaup, too, another duck I was waiting for to come back. There still aren't many ducks on the big pond, compared to winter, but the numbers are increasing. In the big trees on the approach to Spencer Island, I saw a Merlin, an excellent bird, but a species I already had this month. I had been hoping for a Bald Eagle or a Peregrine Falcon. Here is a rather distant shot of today's Merlin.

Here's a more closely cropped shot of it.

I also took this picture of a couple of male Mallards that are molting into breeding plumage.

They will look a lot prettier in a couple of weeks.

I had time for a quick stop at the 10th St boat launch parking lot in Everett. Last week I had seen 15 Ospreys around the bay, but today I only counted four. Ospreys migrate south to Southern California or Mexico for the winter, and they are mostly on their way now. Here is an Osprey that had a fish it was working on.

I checked out the gulls for a Herring Gull, but didn't find one, and I went to lunch. After lunch I went back, and the same (presumably) Osprey was still working on its fish, an hour and a half later.

The tide was coming in, and I looked around for shorebirds. I spotted some in the distance, but they were too far away to identify. Then I saw some a little closer, and I could see what they were with my scope. Here is a distant picture that shows Western Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, and a couple of Semipalmated Plovers, which was the species I still needed.

The two Semipalmated Plovers are the two birds with a dark band across the breast - one on the right and one in the lower left. I had thought I had missed that species this month, as they are flying south now for the winter, so I was happy to get them. Here is a picture that shows three Semipalmated Plovers.

I was glad I had gone back after lunch, and after that I drove home. I added 3 more species to my September list today, and now I have 111 species this month.

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon, but I went over to Marymoor Park in the morning. I drove through the park, but I didn't see any of my target species, so I parked at the west parking lot for the dog park and walked along the slough. I saw a bird in a tree in the channel of the slough, but it was too distant to identify with binoculars. I used my camera as a tool and got this picture of a Savannah Sparrow, a species I already had this month.

It isn't a very good picture, but it illustrates how I use my camera as a tool for identification. I saw a couple of birds in a dead tree across the slough, and again, I needed my camera to determine the species. Here is a distant picture of two Mourning Doves, another species I already had this month.

I don't see Mourning Dove at Marymoor very often, so it was a good sighting, even though I didn't need it. I walked around a bit, but I never got anything I needed until I got back to the slough again. There were several Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting around in the trees and bushes in the channel, which is mostly dry at this time of year. I still needed that one. They didn't stay still for long, and they were pretty far away, but most of my pictures show the characteristic yellow rump, even though the pictures themselves aren't very good. Yellow-rumped Warbler.

That was all I got today - one new September species for my list. Now I have 112 species this month.

Thursday, September 23, 2021

Today I went on an all-day adventure across Puget Sound. (All-day for me means I left home at about 8:45 am and got home about 4:15 pm.) I caught the 9:35 ferry out of Edmonds and got a sandwich at the Subway in Kingston, on the other side of the sound. My first birding stop was Point No Point, where I had several target species to look for. I immediately got one of them, Bonaparte's Gull. There were hundreds of them feeding out on the water, and here is one of the cute little Bonaparte's Gulls.

Gulls take two, three, or four years to get to their adult plumage, and each year along the way they look different. I can't keep track of immature gulls, and I don't really try to do so. I took this picture of an immature gull because it seemed distinctive enough that I might be able to identify it with my field guide, but I couldn't. So, it goes down as an immature gull of unknown species.

There was another immature gull on the beach nearby, and I took its picture, too.

After consulting my field guides and Google Images, I decided to call it an immature Iceland Gull. I'm not certain of that, but everything is right for Iceland Gull except the shape of the head seems off. I couldn't find any other immature gull with the right combination of bill size and color, coloration and pattern, and leg color, though, so I'm going with Iceland Gull, formerly called Thayer's Gull. The birding gurus combined those two species a few years ago - Iceland Gull and Thayer's Gull - and they are all called Iceland Gulls now. Iceland Gull was an excellent bird for me; I only recorded that species once before this year.

Next I spotted a couple of COMMON TERNS, my first of the year. One was on the beach in the distance with some gulls, and the other was out in the water with the Bonaparte's Gulls. Common Terns breed in inland lakes in Canada and the far north of the 48 US states. I think the closest they breed to here is Montana, where I saw them one summer. They migrate down the two coasts to Central and South America for the winter. They are much more common in the east, and they are quite uncommon on the west coast. It was only the second time I have ever seen Common Tern in Washington State, in my 20 years of birding.

Another one of my targets was PARASITIC JAEGER, another year bird for me. It is a gull-like bird that breeds in the Arctic and migrates down both coasts to the coast of Southern California and Mexico, as well as the coasts of the southern states, around to Texas. They are coming through here now, and I wanted to see one. I ended up seeing at least 3 of them, probably more. They were flying around harassing the Bonaparte's Gulls, trying to steal the fish the gulls caught. Here are some blurry distant pictures of Parasitic Jaegers.

The jaeger is the dark bird, and the little gulls are Bonaparte's Gulls.

That last one is probably my best effort. It shows the white collar, the lighter colored feathers at the wing tip, and the tail streamer feathers, which are a characteristic of jaegers.

That last picture shows the white belly and the darker breast band of a light morph bird, as well as the white collar. There are two morphs of the bird, a light morph that is white underneath and a dark morph that is dark all over except for the collar.

I was pretty pleased to get both of those year birds today, Common Tern and Parasitic Jaeger. I had one more species I wanted to find at Point No Point, California Scrub-Jay. I drove back and forth through the area where I have seen them in the past, and I played their calls. I finally gave it up and was heading for my next destination when I spotted one on a wire. I wasn't able to get a decent picture of it in the terrible light, but I turned around and went back. I was able to locate it across the road from where I first saw it, and it perched out in the open for this picture. California Scrub-Jay (formerly Western Scrub-Jay).

I kept searching the tree tops for a Bald Eagle, a species I haven't found yet this month, but I didn’t find one today, either. I drove to Fort Flagler State Park in the next county over (Jefferson), eating my Subway sandwich as I drove. I had only one target species I had any realistic chance to get at Fort Flagler, and I found it almost right away. Here is a Sanderling, in the middle of some Black-bellied Plovers.

The Sanderling is the smaller, lighter colored bird. Here are a couple more pictures of that Sanderling.

Here is a Black-bellied Plover in its winter plumage.

I already had Harlequin Duck, but here is a picture of two of them.

Here is another shot of one of those Harlequin Ducks.

I ended up seeing at least three Sanderlings, and here is one of them.

I used my scope to look out over the deep water, but all I saw were Red-necked Grebes and Pigeon Guillemots, both species that I already had. I had been hoping for a Common Murre or a loon, but I knew that was unlikely. I don't see murres very often, and the two loon species I need still for September will be a lot easier to get in a couple or three weeks (which will be October, of course). I headed back toward Kingston and caught the 3:10 ferry. From the ferry car deck, before leaving Kingston, I took this picture of three male Surf Scoters, another species I already had.

Here is a male Surf Scoter that was closer to the ferry.

That last Surf Scoter flapped its wings, and I got this picture.

It was a beautiful day today, with a moderate breeze and temperatures in the 60's. There were some clouds in the morning, but only sun in the afternoon. I added 5 more species to my September list, bringing me to 117 species this month. Common Tern and Parasitic Jaeger were new for 2021, and now I have 253 species this year so far. It was a very enjoyable and successful day of birding.

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Today I went up to Skagit county, about 50 miles north of home. I picked up a sandwich at Subway and my first birding stop was Wylie Slough. I didn't get any of the species I needed, but I got some pictures and saw some birds. Here are two pictures of juvenile Cedar Waxwings.

Here is a Song Sparrow.

At the blind, I got some duck pictures. Here is a Northern Pintail.

Here is a picture of a female Northern Shoveler.

Here is a male Northern Shoveler in his non-breeding plumage.

I needed two or three little birds, but I didn't get any of them today. Here is a Yellow-rumped Warbler, though.

I moved on to Hayton Reserve, and I walked up on the dike with my scope. I spotted two mature Bald Eagles in the distance, a good one for September, and one I needed still. Usually Bald Eagle is a gimme in Skagit county, but not in September. I'm not sure where they all go, but they sure aren't around much in September. When I got back to my car, a flock of a couple or three dozen Cackling Geese flew over, and that was one I needed. I wouldn't have been able to distinguish them from Canada Geese, except Cackling Geese have a higher pitched cackle, and they were calling as they flew. Cackling Geese are just now starting to return from their breeding grounds in the far north.

I drove to the Jensen Access and ate my sandwich in the car, while watching for birds. I got this picture of a Savannah Sparrow there, but I already had that one this month.

I drove around the Maupin Road/Rawlins Road loop, but I couldn't find a pipit or a meadowlark. I drove back across Fir Island to Wylie Slough, but I didn't get anything anywhere. I decided to head for home early and stop at a couple of places on the way home. As I left Wylie Slough, there were several dozen swallows flying around and landing on wires. I searched through them to see if I could find a swallow species I needed, but all I could identify were Barn Swallows and a few Violet-green Swallows, both of which I already had. Here is a juvenile Barn Swallow, I think.

I think this next picture is a Violet-green Swallow, probably a juvenile or maybe an adult female.

All day I had been watching for Snow Geese. They have been up north all summer, and the first reports have started to come in, so I had hoped to come across a flock. I drove south along the Pioneer Highway and Marine Drive, hoping to maybe see some Snow Geese there, but I didn't. On Thomle Road I got this picture of an American Kestrel.

I was fairly close, but the light was awful, coming from behind the bird, so the colors aren't good.

I stopped at Tulalip Bay, hoping to see Ruddy Turnstone, but the tide was too high, and the light was bad for looking. I still had time, so I drove to the Everett sewage ponds. I scanned the ducks on the big pond, and I found two Lesser Scaup, a species I needed for September. I had been hoping for Ring-necked Duck as well, but didn't see any, although there were some ducks way on the other side that could have been Ring-necked Ducks.

At the end of the road to Spencer Island, a Peregrine Falcon was sitting in a dead tree, where I have seen them before. That was an excellent September bird. It was kind of distant, but I was sitting in my car and I was able to hold the camera steady enough for these next pictures of the distant Peregrine Falcon.

I missed several species I might have seen up north today, but I got Bald Eagle, which I really wanted. I also got three other species for my September list, thanks in part to my stop at the Everett sewage ponds. My 4 species today bring me to 122 species for September. We are supposed to get rain each day for the rest of the month, so I don't know how much birding I'm going to be able to do. We really need the rain, though, so I'm not complaining. The rain might not start until the afternoon tomorrow, and there should be some dry periods in between showers all week, so I'll see if I can add any more to my September list.

Sunday, September 26, 2021

The rain was supposed to hold off until the afternoon, so I drove over to the University of Washington and went to the boat launch area on Union Bay. Ring-necked Ducks had been reported there for the last several days, and I thought it would be a gimme. To my surprise, there were no ducks out on the bay at all. It was pretty windy, so maybe that was the reason. I stopped and walked in the "back door" to the Montlake Fill, next to the Husky softball field, but I saw nothing and didn't stay long.

I drove to Magnuson Park, and I had a nice list of possible September birds. I walked quite a bit, playing Fox Sparrow songs mostly, but some other ones, too. A couple of times a Song Sparrow responded, and here is one of them.

Another time a couple of sparrows perched up, but they were immature White-crowned Sparrows, which I didn't need. Here is one of the immature White-crowned Sparrows.

That bird's bill is actually orange, like the base of it, but it has obviously been eating those berries on the tree, and they have stained its bill. Here are two shots of both of the immature White-crowned Sparrows.

I kept on walking, continuing to play Fox Sparrow songs, but I never found one. I did eventually see a Golden-crowned Sparrow, which I also needed, but it moved off before I could get a picture. At least I got something for all my walking.

The Golden-crowned Sparrow brings me to 123 species this month. It started raining this afternoon, and it is going to be raining off and on for the next four or five days. Right now Wednesday looks like the best bet to fit in a little birding between the storms.

Monday, September 27, 2021

We had a gap in the rain this morning, so I went over to Marymoor Park. I drove through the park looking for two or three species, but I didn't see any of them. Nothing at the community gardens, either, so I parked and walked a little near the parking lot. I played Fox Sparrow songs on my phone, but I couldn't attract one. When I got back to my car, I saw some crows chasing a bird, and I got a brief binocular look at it. I decided it could only have been a Cooper's Hawk, an excellent September bird for me. It flew towards the community gardens, and I have seen Cooper's Hawks perch in the gardens in the past, so I drove back over there and got out. Cooper's Hawks prey on small birds, and there were birds in the gardens. I never found the Cooper's Hawk again, but I got pictures of some sparrows. Here is an immature White-crowned Sparrow.

It seems mis-named, since it doesn't have any white on its crown, but it will have when it matures next summer. Here is a mature White-crowned Sparrow for comparison.

Here is a Savannah Sparrow.

I drove through the park one more time before I left, and this time I got lucky and spotted three juvenile Greater White-fronted Geese, another excellent September bird. Here are two of the juvenile Greater White-fronted Geese.

When they mature, they will have white on their face and black barring on their breasts. Here is a closer shot of one of the Greater White-fronted Geese.

They were loosely associating with a group of about 20 Canada Geese, which are somewhat larger. I noticed that one of the Geese in the flock was much smaller, a Cackling Goose. I had counted Cackling Goose for September on Saturday up in Skagit county, but it was a distant flock that I identified by their calls. Since I am terrible at recognizing and remembering bird calls, it was a little iffy. Today's Cackling Goose "insures" the species for my September list, since the one today was definitely a Cackling Goose. Here is the little Cackling Goose, with its short stubby bill.

Here is a picture that shows the little Cackling Goose with some of its much larger Canada Goose cousins.

Here is one more picture of the Cackling Goose.

All of the geese were very approachable, so I moved in and took more pictures of the juvenile Greater White-fronted Geese. Here are all three of them.

It was a nice morning of birding, with only a little rain. I added two more species to my September list, and now I have 125 species this month. That beats last year's total of 124, but falls short of 2018's total of 130 and 2019's total of 137. I'm not doing as much walking these days, and that has limited my totals, I think. Most of my birding these days is done from the car or close to the car.

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Yesterday was mostly rainy, and I only made one brief trip down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park. I didn't get any birds or pictures.

Today I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, so I went up early to look for a couple of species. My first stop was the Everett sewage treatment ponds. I was hoping to see Ring-necked Duck, a species that is just now starting to return for the winter. I saw many Northern Shovelers, some Ruddy Ducks, some Northern Pintails, lots of Mallards, and a few Lesser Scaup, but no Ring-necked Ducks. I had all those other species already this month. There were also dozens of Black-bellied Plovers on the concrete wall along the west side of the main pond and many dozens of swallows swooping over the pond. Most of the swallows were Barn swallows, with a few Violet-green Swallows mixed in, I think. I'll be glad to see those two species in two days, for October, because very soon all the swallows will be gone south for the winter.

I drove to the end of the road, and a Merlin was sitting in one of the two big dead trees, where I have seen Merlins and Peregrine Falcons before. It was pretty distant, but since Merlin is such a good bird (although I already had seen them more than once this month), here are four pictures of the distant Merlin, which is a small falcon.

It had just stopped raining, so the Merlin had wet feathers and was preening them.

I drove to Tulalip Bay, where I found ten Black Turnstones on the log boom at the marina, but no Ruddy Turnstones, which was the species I needed. As I left Tulalip Bay, I saw about a dozen Turkey Vultures making their way slowly south, circling around on the way. Turkey Vultures are migrating south now, and I'm hoping there will be still be a few around in two days, when the new month starts. I had that species this month already.

That was it for today. No new species for September, and only the four Merlin pictures today. I doubt the weather will permit any birding tomorrow, so I'm expecting to finish September with 125 species. My total so far this year is 253 species.