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Tuesday, February 1, 2022
It's a new month. Everything today was new for February. I got American Crow, Dark-eyed Junco, House Sparrow, House Finch, and Spotted Towhee here in our yard before I left this morning. I headed out to the Snoqualmie Valley in a quest for American Dipper. My first stop was Marymoor Park, though, and I got American Robin, European Starling, and Great Blue Heron as I drove in. I parked in the west dog park lot and walked along the slough.
I picked up Song Sparrow on the way to the slough, and on the water I saw Gadwalls, Green-winged Teals, American Coots, and Canada Geese. A couple of Golden-crowned Sparrows were foraging near the blackberry brambles, and I heard Red-winged Blackbirds calling loudly from across the slough.
I had just spotted a couple of Wilson's Snipe along the edge of the water and was taking pictures, when a dog came running through, chasing the water birds away. I managed to get some pictures of the Wilson's Snipe before they flew off, too. Here is a shot head-on of a Wilson's Snipe, which I thought showed a different perspective on the bird.
Here are three more shots that show the whole bird a bit better.
Meanwhile, the dog kept rampaging up and down the slough, scaring the birds. It was in an area that is clearly out of bounds for dogs, and the owner knew it. He tried to get his dog to come to him, but very ineffectually. I told him he shouldn't let his dog off leash if he couldn't control it, and he blamed it on the fact that there wasn't a fence, like in all the other dog parks he visits. I told him then maybe he should go to those dog parks, not Marymoor. When I left, he was still helplessly trying to get his dog to come to him. It would get within a few feet of him and take off again.
I didn't see anything else for my list at Marymoor, and I drove on out to the Snoqualmie V alley. At the pond along the west side of the valley, I added Double-crested Cormorant and Trumpeter Swan to my list. I saw the first of several Red-tailed Hawks as I drove across the valley. At the farm pond along the way, I added Ring-necked Duck to my list, and as I did that, two or three dozen American Wigeons flew in. I looked through them and found a male Eurasian Wigeon for my list.
I saw a couple of male Common Mergansers on Sikes Lake, and on the other side of the lake there was an immature Cooper's Hawk in a leafless tree. Here is the young Cooper's Hawk.
There is a Wild Turkey that is pretty tame at a farm at that location, and I saw it today. I didn't count it because Wild Turkeys don't live in Western Washington, and I'm sure the people brought it there. I took a picture of the tame Wild Turkey (which I didn't count). I have seen it there several times before, over the years.
I drove on in to the town of Carnation, to the house with bird feeders. There wasn't much around at first, but I did see a Chestnut-backed Chickadee come in to one of the feeders a couple of times. Then, as I was about to leave, a male VARIED THRUSH showed up. That's a great bird, one I don't see often. Here are a couple of pictures of the Varied Thrush.
I picked up a sandwich at the IGA Carnation Market's deli and drove down the west side of the river towards Fall City. I saw a couple of Northern Flickers at one point, and then there was a female American Kestrel at the top of a small tree.
She flew down to another tree and I got a picture of the female American Kestrel from the back.
There were some Northern Pintails in a flooded field and a Bald Eagle in a tree. At the pond just south of Jubilee Farms, I added Bufflehead to my list. I also got this picture of female and male Ring-necked Ducks there.
A little later, I got this picture of a White-crowned Sparrow, another one for my list.
There were 8 or 10 Muscovy Ducks foraging in a field at a farm, but they were domestic ones, so I didn't count them. I drove on to Tokul Creek for the Main Event of the day - dipper. I looked upstream first, and I didn't see any dippers. As I crossed the bridge to look downstream, though, I saw a bird fly onto a rock in the creek, and I had my February American Dipper. 38 months in a row now.
I was surprised to see the dipper start to sing.
American Dipper has a very interesting song, and I don't hear them sing very often. I could only hear parts of the song because of the sound of the creek, unfortunately.
With my February dipper under my belt, I drove back down to the valley and went up dead-end Neal Road. There was a Pied-billed Grebe on the pond there, and a couple of Hooded Mergansers as well. At the end of the road, I set up my scope and looked through the blackbirds in the trees across the river. As expected, most of them were starlings, with some Red-winged Blackbirds and a lesser number of Brewer's Blackbirds, which was the one I needed. I also finally found a male Brown-headed Cowbird, another one I needed.
I backtracked to the highway and went in to Carnation. I parked and ate my sandwich at the house with feeders. Again, there weren't many birds around, but I did add Black-capped Chickadee there. A black bird flew high overhead, and I couldn't tell if it was a crow or a raven until it called, and then I identified it as a Common Raven. A bird was calling repeatedly, and knew I should recognize the call, but I couldn't place it. I took out my phone and fired up the app called Merlin. I selected the sound ID function and recorded some of the bird's calls. The app immediately identified it as a Steller's Jay, and that made me remember it. I should have known that, but I have a hard time remembering bird calls. I had gotten Eurasian Collared-Dove earlier, but some flew in and I got this picture.
Here are half a dozen Eurasian Collared-Doves on a feeding tray.
When I finished my excellent sandwich, I headed back across the valley toward home. Just north of Sikes Lake I saw two male Ring-necked Pheasants foraging in the grass. Here are the two Ring-necked Pheasants.
Here's a shot of the two pheasants and an American Crow.
Finally, here is a shot of one of the male Ring-necked Pheasants.
These birds were most likely captive-raised birds, released for hunters, and thus, not officially countable. I count pheasants, though, when I see them in the wild.
I added one more species to my February list as I drove across the Sammamish Valley - Feral Pigeon.
It was an excellent day of birding. I got my dipper and saw some other good species for my February list as well. I ended up with 44 species today for February. 35 of those were repeaters, from my list of 70 species that are likely every month this year. Varied Thrush was new for my year list, and now I have 107 species in 2022.
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
This morning I went up to the Edmonds area, to look for California Quail and saltwater birds. Before I left home, though, I added Anna's Hummingbird to my February list. I stopped in Lake Forest Park to look for Band-tailed Pigeons, but found none. I'm afraid that my best site for that species is gone now. I think the people stopped feeding them.
Next I went to Deer Creek Park in the town of Woodway. I was able to call up a Pacific Wren, but not a Brown Creeper. I moved on to my quail site, and as I drove up, three California Quail were scurrying across the grass to cover, so that good one went on my list. That was a great one to get out of the way so early in the month.
After that, I drove to the Edmonds waterfront and walked out on to the fishing pier. As I reached the pier, a BELTED KINGFISHER (first of the year for me) flew by. Later I got a couple of pictures of the handsome female Belted Kingfisher.
I saw Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, Pelagic Cormorants, and Surf Scoters from the pier, but I couldn't find any Black Turnstones or Surfbirds today. As I was leaving the pier, there were four juvenile Red-breasted Mergansers foraging close in. I think they all were males, although one of them had already gotten much more of his adult plumage. Here are some pictures of the juvenile male Red-breasted Mergansers.
My field guide says the males get their adult plumage by the summer, and it often starts with black around the eye. Here is one that is much more developed.
Another shot of that one.
I couldn't keep track of them, since they were diving all the time, but here are more pictures.
I drove up to the cliff on Sunset Avenue and found more for my list. I picked out a Brandt's Cormorant on one of the ferry pilings, and a Short-billed Gull (formerly called Mew Gull) on a buoy. There were a few Common Goldeneyes around, some Harlequin Ducks, and a couple of male Greater Scaup. There were several dozen Brant around, and here are a couple of pictures of Brant.
Eventually I saw a couple of Pigeon Guillemots and a Common Loon. I moved on to Ocean Avenue, but I didn't get anything else there. On the way home I stopped at the parking lot that overlooks Logboom Park from up on Bothell Way, hoping to find Canvasbacks, like I had last week, but not today. I did see a couple of Wood Ducks, though, for my list.
I ended up getting 18 more species for February today, and now I have 62 species this month. Nine of them were repeaters, and now I have 44 of the 70 repeaters on my list. Belted Kingfisher was new for the year, and now I have 108 species this year. This is the best start for February that I have had since I started keeping monthly lists, and we'll see how it goes from here.
Friday, February 4, 2022
I didn't go out Thursday, but on Friday I went down to Juanita Bay Park. I walked up and down the short fire station road and got a Virginia Rail to answer the calls I played on my phone. After that I went over to the main part of the park and tried for small birds near the parking lot. I was able to attract several Golden-crowned Kinglets, but nothing else. Those two species brought my February total to 64 species, of which 46 of are repeaters.
Saturday, February 5, 2022
Today I drove up to Skagit county, which is about 50 miles north of home. I stopped at Wylie Slough but I couldn't get Black Phoebe or anything else I needed. I moved on, and on Rawlins Road, I added Tundra Swan to my February list. Here is a Tundra Swan, with a yellow dash on the bill, in front of the eye.
Here is one of the more common Trumpeter Swans, without the yellow mark, although it has been rooting in the mud and it is kind of hard to tell.
The bill is straighter and the top of the head is flatter, in addition to the lack of the yellow mark. Trumpeter Swans are a bit larger than Tundra Swans, too, but you have to see them next to each other to see that.
At the end of Rawlins Road, at the North Fork Access, I went up on the dike, but I was unable to attract a Marsh Wren. I did spot my first NORTHERN SHRIKE of the year, although it flew before I could get close enough for a picture.
When I got back to the main road, there were hundreds of Snow Geese spread out in a field. I needed that one for February. They were more spread out than Snow Goose flocks usually are. Here is a juvenile Snow Goose that is starting to transition to adult plumage, with white feathers coming in on its wings and back.
Here is an adult Snow Goose.
I stopped at the house at the corner of Dodge Valley Road and Valentine Road, but I didn't see either one of the two species I was hoping for there - Purple Finch or Mourning Dove. I drove up Valentine Road to Rancho Valentine, and I saw a Downy Woodpecker on the big suet feeder and a Pine Siskin on a smaller feeder. A single BUSHTIT, my first of the year, flew in to the big suet feeder, too. I needed all three of those species.
Next I drove up to the Samish Flats. I got nothing on Sullivan Road, but near the West 90 I spotted a bird in a tree and got out my scope to take a look. I expected it to be just another Red-tailed Hawk, but it turned out to be an uncommon PRAIRIE FALCON, an excellent find. They are quite uncommon around here. Here's a distant picture of the Prairie Falcon.
I drove in to the West 90 parking lot and added Rough-legged Hawk to my list. Here is a distant picture of it.
I didn't get anything else on the Samish Flats, and I headed back toward home. I stopped at Rancho Valentine again, and this time I added Red-breasted Nuthatch to my list. Here's a picture.
There still weren't any Purple Finches or Mourning Doves at the house on the corner, so I drove back on to Fir Island. I drove down Rawlins Road again, hoping for Western Meadowlark, but I didn't get anything I needed. I did get a picture of a male American Kestrel, though.
At the Jenson Access, I got this picture of an immature Bald Eagle.
Here's a close up shot of its head.
I drove through Wylie Slough again, but I didn't get anything. Near there, I saw a Rough-legged Hawk on the edge of a roof and got this shot.
I also saw Northern Harriers several times during the day, another species I needed. It was a successful day, with the Northern Shrike and the Prairie Falcon being the highlights - especially the Prairie Falcon, a species I hadn't seen since May of 2019 at Malheur in Oregon. January of 2018 was the last time I saw one in Washington State. I added 10 more species today, and with the 2 I saw yesterday, I now have 74 species this month. Five of the species today were repeaters, and now I have 51 of the 70 species on my repeater list. Three of today's species were new for 2022, and now I have 11 species this year.
Sunday, February 6, 2022
Today I decided to hunt for Black Oystercatcher. That meant driving up through Skagit county to the north end of Whidbey Island. My first birding stop was at Wylie Slough, to look for Black Phoebe. I thought I had a Black Phoebe at one point, but I couldn't get a good view from my car with the sun in my eyes, so I parked the car and hustled back to where I had seen it. I never found it again, and I decided I hadn't gotten a good enough look to rule out a Song Sparrow that was flying out over the slough and hawking insects. That's probably what I saw.
Interestingly, because I was out of the car and looking up and down the slough, I noticed a Fox Sparrow, which I needed, taking a bath at the edge of the water. Here are three pictures of the Fox Sparrow bathing.
While I was watching the Fox Sparrow I noticed another bird along the edge of the water. I thought it looked like a Marsh Wren, another one I needed. I played a Marsh Wren song on my phone, and the bird flew in and I took pictures as it flitted around. Here is my February Marsh Wren.
I never would have seen either of those two birds if I hadn't gotten out of the car to check out what I mistakenly thought was a Black Phoebe. Black Phoebe is turning out to be very tough this winter. It is a 50 minute drive up to Wylie Slough to look for it, and that is the only place around here where I would have any chance at all of seeing one. I don't know if I'll get back up there again this month or not.
I drove on toward Whidbey Island. I went by the two houses on Valentine Road with feeders, but I didn't get anything I needed there. After that I went straight to Deception Pass State Park, to look for my oystercatcher. The tide was out a fair bit, and there weren't any oystercatchers roosting on the rock offshore at West Point beach. I set up my scope and I did see a couple of hundred Red-throated Loons, anyway, so that one went on my list. I was getting ready to move on when I heard the distinctive call of oystercatchers. Two Black Oystercatchers had flown in and landed on a little rock just offshore.
I was talking to another birder there and she mentioned that there had been six Redheads with the Canvasbacks at Dugualla Bay, which the next place I was planning to go. I drove there and in the lagoon, I did find one male REDHEAD (first of the year for me) among the dozens of Canvasbacks, which I also needed for February. There were undoubtedly more Redheads, but the light was terrible, they were far away, and some of the ducks were sleeping, with their heads tucked under their wings. I only needed to see one, so I didn't really spend much time looking for more. As I drove away from there, I spotted four GREATER YELLOWLEGS on the bay side of the road, feeding in the shallow water. Here is one of the Greater Yellowlegs.
It seems to have found something to eat, in that last picture.
I had encountered patchy fog since leaving home, and I was happy to see that the far north end of Whidbey Island was clear and sunny. As I moved over to the west coast and started south, I caught up with the fog, though. At the pullout at Joseph Whidbey State Park, it was foggy to the south, but I could look north with my scope. I looked north and didn't find anything, and by the time I had looked north, the fog was clearing directly offshore and then to the south. I was able to pick out a couple of White-winged Scoters and then a couple of Long-tailed Ducks, and I needed both of those species.
I continued south, and West Beach county park was completely socked in, so I didn’t even stop there. It was about 12:30 when I pulled into the next place, Hastie Lake Road beach access. The fog seemed to be lifting there, so I ate my sandwich in the car and watched. By the time I finished my sandwich, the fog was almost gone. I got out my scope and was able to see my first COMMON MURRE of the year and a couple of Pacific Loons, which I needed. Then I noticed a small grebe and after a good long look, I decided it was an uncommon EARED GREBE, another first of the year bird for me.
That has been one of my best sites for oystercatchers recently, when the tide is out, so I looked up the beach to where I see them. Sure enough, there were about 20 Black Oystercatchers there. As I watched them, a bunch of them took flight and headed my way. I scurried to my car and got my camera, and I was able to get one shot of them as they flew by, up pretty high. Here are 14 Black Oystercatchers, flying overhead in formation.
Here is a closer crop of the bottom five birds.
A few minutes later four more flew by, down low to the water. It was quite a good oystercatcher day.
I drove on to Libbey Beach, but got nothing more there. I headed for home then, stopping in Oak Harbor to fill my gas tank at Safeway, where the gas was only 3.499 per gallon. That is 50 cents a gallon less than it is at my local Safeway, which in turn is 10 to 20 cents per gallon less than the big brand gas stations around my house. I knew ahead of time that it was that price, I had checked it on Google Maps. For some reason, that Safeway in Oak Harbor sells gas for less than anywhere else I have found in Western Washington, so I try to time my gas purchases to my trips to Whidbey Island. I put in 15.5 gallons today.
I stopped again at the two houses on Valentine Road with feeders, but again I didn't get anything. I didn't get Black Phoebe at Wylie Slough, either, but I did take this picture of a female Hooded Merganser, which I already had this month.
The fog had all burned off by then, and as I drove to the freeway, I took this shot of Mount Baker.
As I drove south on I-5, Mount Rainier was visible in the distance, too. It was somewhat obscured by haze, but it was over 100 miles away at that point, so a little haze wasn't unexpected.
It was a very successful birding day today. I got my target species, Black Oystercatcher, and I also got several other good ones - Eared Grebe, Redhead, and Common Murre stand out in particular. I was pleased to get Marsh Wren (with pictures!) and Greater Yellowlegs, too. I added 12 more species to my February list, and now I have 86 species this month. I got 3 more species from my 70-species repeater list, and now I have 54 of those 70 species this month. Four species were new for 2022, too, and now I have 115 species this year.
Monday, February 7, 2022
Fair warning. My pictures today are poor. It was heavily overcast for one thing, and I was too distant for most shots as well. Oh well, at least I saw some good birds.
I started at Tulalip Bay, which is about 40 minutes northwest of home, on Puget Sound. At the marina, I immediately found the fairly rare (for this area) RUDDY TURNSTONE. (Remember, when I use ALL CAPS, it indicates a new species for the year for me,) I looked for Black Turnstones, but didn't find any today. I moved to a spot closer to the bay, looking for the two Barrow's Goldeneyes that a local birder said she had seen earlier today. I couldn't find any Barrow's Goldeneyes, but I did see some Dunlin on the beach, and that was one I needed. Even better, there was a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER standing nearby. Here are some pictures of the Black-bellied Plover (the larger bird) and Dunlin.
That was excellent, and I moved on to the Everett sewage treatment ponds. I picked up Northern Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, and Ruddy Duck there, as expected. No falcons, though. After that I went to lunch in Everett.
After lunch I went down to the boat launch area at 10th St in Everett, but there weren't any gulls roosting there. The gulls roost there when the tide is high but it was fairly low, and the gulls were off feeding in other places. I'll have to go back at high tide, as there are four gull species I still need that I could get there.
On my way home, I detoured to Mukilteo and picked up BARROW'S GOLDENEYE. Here is a male Barrow's Goldeneye.
Here's a female Barrow's Goldeneye.
Here are the two Barrow's Goldeneyes keeping company.
I had expected to get that one, but I looked around to see what else might be on offer. I was pleased to spot my first RHINOCEROS AUKLET of the year, far offshore. I looked more, and found a pair of MARBLED MURRELETS, another excellent species. Here is a very distant picture of the two Marbled Murrelets.
They were really a long distance away. I couldn't even see them with the naked eye. There was a pair of Common Goldeneyes diving offshore, too. I tried for pictures, but the only decent one I got was this one of the male Common Goldeneye.
Compare it to the male Barrow's Goldeneye above. The shape of the white spot on the face is different, the shape of the head is different (steeper forehead in Barrow's), and the pattern on the back is different. In better light, you would be able to see that a male Barrow's Goldeneye has a dark blue tint to his head, while a male Common Goldeneye has a greenish tint. I already had Common Goldeneye this month.
So, I was quite pleased to add 9 more species to my February list, and now I have 95 species this month. I added 3 more repeaters to my list today, and now I have 57 of the 70 repeaters that I hope to see in each month this year. Five of the species today were new for the year, too, bringing me to 120 species for 2022.
I'm off to an excellent start in February. It took me until January 24 to get to 95 species last month.
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Lifer! Yesterday a mega rarity was seen up in Snohomish county, and today I went looking for it. I drove to the Monroe prison farm pond area, which is about 40 minutes northeast of home, between Duvall and Monroe. When I got there, I found 4 or 5 birders there, looking at some swans. I parked and joined them, and I was immediately shown the rare (for anywhere in the lower 48) WHOOPER SWAN (lifer). I looked at eBird and only found records from 2006 and 2007 in all of Western Washington. It was fairly close, too, so I took pictures. Here is my first picture ever of a rare Whooper Swan, with some Trumpeter Swans.
The Whooper is the one with the extensive yellow on its bill. It was moving around, and I took more pictures.
Here is a close up showing its head.
That was very exciting, but I moved on. I drove around the Tualco Loop Road, looking for Cackling Geese, but didn't find any. On my way home, I decided to swing by Marymoor Park to look for several species I needed. The east parking lot for the dog park was closed for re-grading, so I parked in the west parking lot. There were more than 70 cars there, on a Wednesday morning at 11:00. It's a popular off-leash dog park. I didn't get anything I needed, but I took some pictures.
There was a male Belted Kingfisher on the slough.
Here is a pair of Green-winged Teal. The male is the more colorful one, of course.
Here's a male Green-winged Teal on his own.
I played songs of Lincoln's Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow, but the only sparrows I saw were Golden-crowned Sparrows.
On my way home, I stopped off at Sixty Acres Park and found a small flock of geese. Most of them were Cackling Geese, and I needed that one for February still.
After lunch, I went out again, up to Edmonds. A stop at the Edmonds Marsh gave me Killdeer for my list. I parked and walked out on the fishing pier. Here is a Pigeon Guillemot in breeding plumage. It had been struggling with some prey, and it either got away or the bird swallowed it.
I found the two species I was looking for, ones I needed for February still. I saw 3 Black Turnstones and 4 Surfbirds. Here is a Black Turnstone.
Here is a Surfbird.
I already had Surf Scoter this month, but here is a picture of a male Surf Scoter.
Here is a female Surf Scoter.
A female Red-breasted Merganser was pretty close, so I took her picture.
Finally, here is a Pelagic Cormorant.
I had those last two species, but I went up to Sunset Avenue in the hopes of finding a couple of others that I needed. I spotted about 50 Western Grebes pretty far offshore, and I had one of them. Then I looked to the north and found a pair of Black Scoters, the other species I was hoping for.
I headed for home, but I had a few minutes to spare, so I stopped at Edmonds City Park. I played Brown Creeper songs, and found one. That was another one I needed. Now for the numbers.
I added 8 species to my February list today, and now I have 103 species this month. Two of those species were repeaters, and now I have 59 of my 70 repeaters. Whooper Swan was new for the year, of course, and now I have 121 species this month. The Whooper Swan also brought my Snohomish county list to 186 species, my Washington state list to 287, and my US list to 622 (including Hawaii). It also brought my life list to 1176. Lifers are few and far between these days, since I don't travel much any more.
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Before I get into today's adventures, I forgot to mention something from yesterday. I wanted to say that Whooper Swan (my lifer from yesterday) breeds across Europe and Asia, from Iceland to Siberia. They don't breed in the far north of North America. They winter near the shores of large bodies of water across Europe and Asia. The one I saw yesterday must have strayed across the strait to Alaska and then joined some Trumpeter Swans in migrating down the wrong side of the Pacific Ocean.
Today I went looking for a fairly rare gull (for this area) that has been seen for several days, about 12 or 15 minutes from home. I drove to the town of Kenmore, where the gull has been reported, and as I approached the intersection where it has been seen, I saw a light colored gull on a streetlight pole. The gull I was looking for is quite white, and I thought I had it already. I pulled into a parking lot, and took a closer look with binoculars, and it turned out that it wasn't my rare gull. Here is a shot of it. You can see why it looked light colored against the cloudy bright sky.
Gulls take two to four years to get their adult plumage, and each year they change some. This bird looks to me like a first winter (hatched in 2021) Glaucous-winged Gull, which is the most common gull around here, other than hybrids. Glaucous-winged Gulls hybridize with Western Gulls and most of the large gulls you see around the Puget Sound are hybrids of Western Gull and Glaucous-winged Gull. Birders call them Olympic Gulls, and they vary considerably in plumage, due to various degrees of each bloodline. They take four years to come to their final plumage, so there are an incredible number of different plumaged gulls around this area.
Anyway, I drove around a few blocks, looking for gulls on streetlights. I saw others, and then as I circled back almost to where I had started, I spotted a white gull on a streetlight. It turned out to be the GLAUCOUS GULL I was looking for. I had checked that same corner about ten minutes earlier, and nothing was there then. Here are some pictures of the second winter (hatched in 2020) Glaucous Gull.
Here's a shot from the other side of the intersection.
That was only the second time I have ever seen a Glaucous Gull. The first time was in 2011. They breed in the far north and winter along the west coast of Canada, coming down as far as Washington once in a while. They also winter on the East Coast, coming down a little father south.
While I was driving around looking at gulls on street lights, I saw a Glaucous-winged Gull for my February list. With all the hybrids around, there is no way to know for sure if it was 100% Glaucous-winged Gull, but if the other things are right, and the wing tips are the color of the back, then I call them Glaucous-winged Gulls. Most of the hybrids have black or dark gray wing tips.
Since I was already in the neighborhood, I went on to Lake Forest Park to look for Band-tailed Pigeon. I went to the house where they used to feed them, but I think they must have stopped feeding them there, because they don't seem to hang around there any more. That house and the house in Carnation with feeders have been my two sites for Band-tailed Pigeon for several years. I rarely see them in other places. I don't think they are around the Carnation house much in the winter, but they used to be reliable in Lake Forest Park all year round. In the last few months, I have seen one a couple of times in that same neighborhood, so today I drove around the neighborhood more than I have before. I got lucky, and I spotted two of them within ten minutes or so, several blocks away from the house where they used to get fed. They like to perch near the tops of tall evergreen trees, and that neighborhood has a lot of tall evergreen trees. Here are my two Band-tailed Pigeons for February.
They were quite distant, but I was able to identify them from my pictures. I guess driving around that neighborhood is going to be my new protocol for getting Band-tailed Pigeon when I don't see them out in Carnation. At least it is only about 15 minutes from home, so I can look several times each month, and it is on my way to a couple of places I go every month anyway. It will be interesting to see if I continue to find them that way.
So, I added 3 more species to my February list today, and now I have 106 species this month. That ties my total for all of January, after only 10 days. The problem is, there aren't a lot of species left to look for now. My totals for February for the last several years have ranged from 115 species to 131 species. I have hopes that I can surpass the 115 number, but I don't see any way to match the 131 number. Band-tailed Pigeon and Glaucous-winged Gull are on my list of 70 "repeaters", and now I have 61 of the 70 this month. Glaucous Gull brings my 2022 total to 122 species. It also brings my King county total to 196. I only started keeping track of Washington State and Washington counties in 2013, and since my only other sighting of a Glaucous Gull was in 2011, it added to my Washington State total, too, bringing that one to 288 species.
Friday, February 11, 2022
Today I went north, to the Everett/Marysville area, about 25 minutes north of home. My first stop was the parking lot at the Public Boat Launch on 10th Avenue in Everett. I was looking for gulls, and I added Ring-billed Gull and California Gull to my February list. I couldn't find a Herring Gull, the other possibility. I moved on to the Everett sewage treatment ponds, in the hopes of finding a falcon, but the only birds in what I call the falcon trees were a couple of Bald Eagles.
Next I drove in to Marysville, to Jennings Memorial Park, to look for the jay I see there sometimes. I had some peanuts, and I hoped to attract jays to the peanuts. Just as I got there, a couple of people were sitting down on the bench I wanted to use, though. I used the rest room, and when I got out, I looked around, trying to decide what to do, with my bench taken. I looked up and spotted a CALIFORNIA SCRUB-JAY near the top of a tall evergreen tree.
I moved closer, hoping to get in position to throw out some peanuts that the jay would notice, and the bird flew down to a lower tree. I attracted its attention, and just then 3 or 4 more of them flew in. I tossed out some peanuts and took a seat at a picnic table, and the jays started coming down for peanuts, while I took pictures.
That last one is my favorite.
In that last picture, it looks like the bird is trying to decide which peanut it wants. I was running out of peanuts, and finally a Steller's Jay showed up.
Last month, I had a lot of Steller's Jays and no scrub-jays at all. Today there were 4 or 5 California Scrub-Jays and just the one Steller's Jay. Here is one last picture of a California Scrub-Jay.
I headed back toward home, but I stopped again at the sewage treatment plant. Still no falcons, but now a third Bald Eagle had shown up, in the other tree. Here are the two Bald Eagles in the closer tree.
Here is the Bald Eagle on the left.
I left there, but I stopped again at the boat launch parking lot, hoping that maybe a Herring Gull had flown in. They are pretty uncommon around here, but I see one there sometimes. I drove around the pack of 40 or 50 gulls, checking them out, looking for one with yellow eyes. That's my way of identifying Herring Gull, the yellow eyes, along with the size and the pink legs. I drove all around the gulls, and then as I was about ready to leave, I spotted my February Herring Gull.
Here's a close up of the head, showing the yellow eye with the orange orbital ring.
Here's one more picture of the Herring Gull, from the other side.
That was it for me today. I added 4 more species to my February list, and now I have 110 species this month so far. Two of the ones today were repeaters, and now I have 63 of the 70 potential repeaters. California Scrub-Jay was new for the year for me, and now I have 123 species so far in 2022.
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Today I drove up to Skagit county, which is about 50 miles north of home. My first birding stop was Wylie Slough, hoping for Black Phoebe. I didn't see one, but I did run into a birding acquaintance, Gary, who is the Skagit county expert, in my mind. He said that Black Phoebe has only been reported once in the last several weeks, so I guess I won't get it this month. He also told me where he had heard Bewick's Wren this morning, and I went there and called one up with my phone. Here is my February Bewick's Wren.
I tried for more pictures, but it kept moving around too much. Here is what you get when the bird turns away just as you take the picture.
I walked a bit there, but birds were quite scarce, despite the beautiful sunny morning. I moved on from there, and on Maupin Road, there was a guy out of his car with a long-lens camera, pointing it out into a field. I pulled over and looked where he was pointing the camera, and I found my February Peregrine Falcon, sitting on the ground. Here are a couple of distant shots in overly bright light.
I got nothing on Rawlins Road, so I drove to the house with feeders at the corner of Valentine Road and Dodge Valley Road. I parked and watched the birds on the ground under the feeders. After about ten minutes, I was rewarded with my first PURPLE FINCH of the year. Here is a male Purple Finch.
Next I drove up the road to Rancho Valentine, the house with the large suet feeder. There were several cars parked along the road there, and a group of people who looked like birders in the yard. There were several birding groups going around Skagit county today, and this must have been one of them. They looked like they were leaving, so I drove up the road and looked a little at a turnout, and went back a short time later. The cars were gone, and as I drove up to where you can view the big suet feeder, there was a PILEATED WOODPECKER on the feeder. That was a great bird, but it flew off before I could get my camera on it.
I parked and ate the first half of my sandwich, while watching the feeders. I already had Downy Woodpecker this month, but two females showed up, and then little later, a male. Here is one of the female Downy Woodpeckers.
Here is the male Downy Woodpecker.
I kept eating and watching, and a Hairy Woodpecker showed up. I needed that one for February. Here is the Hairy Woodpecker.
After that, I headed for home. I drove down Rawlins Road again and stopped at Wylie Slough again, but I didn't get anything else I needed. I did take this picture of a male Spotted Towhee on Rawlins Road, though.
So, I didn't get some of the birds I had hoped for, but they were difficult ones. I ended up with 5 species for my February list, and that was outstanding. This morning as I drove north, I figured I would get 1 or 2 species, and 3 would be great. Getting 5 really surprised me. The Bewick's Wren was an easy one, but the other four I got are all fairly difficult species. Now I have matched my February total from last year, with 115 species. I won't get many more, I fear, but I'll see if I can add some more before the end of the month. Getting to 120 would be great. Two of the species today were repeaters, and now I have 65 of the 70 possible repeaters. I hope to get two more. Purple Finch and Pileated Woodpecker were new for the year for me, and now I have 125 species this year.
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
My first birding stop today was Marymoor Park. I went up on the viewing mound, hoping for Lincoln's Sparrow or Western Meadowlark, but got nothing I needed. My consolation prize was a nice picture of a male Dark-eyed Junco, a species I already had this month.
I drove out to the Snoqualmie Valley next. As I started across the valley on NE 100th St, there was a MERLIN perched on a dead snag. That was my first Merlin of the year. It was drizzling, and here is the wet Merlin.
I continued along 100th, playing Lincoln's Sparrow songs at frequent stops. I had no luck calling up a Lincoln's Sparrow today, but at one stop I did see a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, another one I needed. It wouldn't sit still, but eventually I got one picture of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, with his red crown faintly showing.
Farther along, there was a wet female American Kestrel on a wire, and I got a picture of her.
Just past the old Carnation Farms dairy, a Red-tailed Hawk was drying its wings and posing for me.
There were virtually no birds at the house in Carnation with feeders, so I soon moved on and got a sandwich at the deli in the Carnation Market. I took my sandwich back to the house with feeders, and a few birds started coming in. There were quite a few Eurasian Collared-Doves, but I didn't see any Mourning Doves. I stuck around and started on the second half of my sandwich., My patience was rewarded, and I spotted an American Goldfinch in the big tree in front. That was a good one that I needed for February. Here is a picture.
I played a goldfinch song on my phone, to try to attract it closer for more pictures, and I ended up seeing several more of them.
Eventually, they came down to the fence and were eating the seed that was scattered there. It turned out that there were nine of them, and here is a picture of them all lined up, eating seed on the fence.
There is a closer crop of the five American Goldfinches on the left.
When I was finished with my sandwich, I headed back toward home. I played Lincoln's Sparrow songs again, all across the valley in likely looking places, but I never could attract one. The female American Kestrel had moved a few blocks, but cooperated for another picture. She had dried out, as the rain had stopped by then.
When I got back to the dead snag where I had seen the Merlin, it was still there. I assume it must have moved, as it had been about three hours since I was there the first time, but it was sitting very close to the same place. Here is a picture of the Merlin from the back.
Here it is from the front.
I added 3 more species to my February list today, which was excellent. Ruby-crowned Kinglet is common, but Merlin is difficult, and there aren't many American Goldfinches around in February. Now I have 118 species this month. American Goldfinch was a repeater, and now I have 66 of the 70 possible repeaters this month. Merlin was new for the year, and now I have 126 species this year.
I have a lead on a Black Phoebe at Crescent Lake, which is much closer than Wylie Slough. It has been seen recently, and I want to go look for it. There are other possibilities in that same area, too. It is only a few blocks from where the rare Whooper Swan has been hanging out, and I'd like to check that out again as well.
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Today I went up to the Crescent Lake Wildlife Management Area, which is about a half hour north of home, just north of the town of Duvall. I was looking for the Black Phoebe that has been reported there, but I never found it. I parked in the north parking lot and immediately spotted a smallish raptor across the slough, perched on a dead snag. I took these pictures.
It was the age-old question - Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk? I decided eventually to call it a SHARP=SHINNED HAWK, my first of the year. The head appears to be more rounded than flat; the white terminal band on the tail is narrow, rather than wide; and the legs appear more thin to me, rather than thick. It seemed large for a Sharpie, but size is tricky when there isn't another bird of known size nearby.
I walked a bit, and got one more picture of the bird from the other side of the slough.
I played Lincoln's Sparrow songs a lot, but never saw one. I drove around a little, looking for Mourning Dove or Western Meadowlark, but couldn't find either of those. On my way home, I drove up W. Snoqualmie River Road NE to a spot where I have seen Lincoln's Sparrow in the past. I couldn't call up a Lincoln's Sparrow, but I did get this picture of a Fox Sparrow that responded.
It was disappointing not to get any of the ones I needed (I had a list of 9 species seen there recently) except Sharp-shinned Hawk, but at least that was a good one. Now I have 119 species this month and 127 species this year.
Friday, February 18, 2022
The Mandarin Duck that has been hanging around Juanita Bay Park for months was reported yesterday, so I went down there this morning to try for it. I walked out onto the causeway, which is where it was yesterday. I never found it, although I did talk to a guy who said someone said they had seen it earlier today. I hung around for quite a while and scanned the ducks in the bay many times, but I couldn't find it. Here is a distant shot of a Wilson's Snipe on the shore.
In the lower right corner, you can see the head of another snipe. There was one male Northern Pintail, diving for vegetation, and I took this picture of him.
There were lots of Wood Ducks around, and here is a male Wood Duck in his colorful breeding plumage.
Eventually I gave up on the Mandarin Duck and walked back to the main part of the park and then to the west boardwalk. While I was resting on a bench near the west boardwalk, I spotted a couple of little birds in a fairly distant tree. They turned out to be my first YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS of the year. Here are a couple of pictures of them. You can see the yellow rump in the first picture if you look closely.
Out on the west boardwalk, I took this picture of a male Green-winged Teal.
Here is a shot of a pair of Wood Ducks.
On my way back to the car, I stopped again at the same bench, and I got one more picture of a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
That was it for today. I dipped on the Mandarin Duck, but I added Yellow-rumped Warbler to my lists. Now I have 120 species in February and 128 species in 2022.
Saturday, February 19, 2022
The weather forecast was fairly grim this morning - cold, cloudy, windy, and drizzly. I looked online, though, and found that the Mandarin Duck had been reported at Juanita Beach Park this morning. A Spotted Sandpiper was also listed. I hadn't seen either of those species this year, so I went on down, despite the weather. It is only about two miles from home, so it was easy. There are two sides of Juanita Beach Park (as opposed to Juanita Bay Park, where I usually go) to visit, the east side and the west side. I went to the west side first because a number of gulls were on the eBird report I saw, and gulls roost on the west side, at the delta at the mouth of Juanita Creek.
There were gulls there, but the only ducks I saw were a couple of Mallards. I did see a small shorebird, though, and I thought I had the Spotted Sandpiper. I took some pictures, though, and decided it was actually a Dunlin, a very similar shorebird, but one I already had this month. I think the guy who reported the Spotted Sandpiper simply made a mistake, an easy one to make if you weren't very familiar with the two species. The bird wasn't bobbing its tail up and down like a Spotted Sandpiper and it also had black legs, while a Spotted Sandpiper would have yellowish legs. The final confirmation was the bill, which was too long for a Spotted Sandpiper and slightly down-curved. Here are a couple of pictures of what I think was a Dunlin.
All my pictures today suffer from the low light and the wind that made it hard to hold the camera steady. I moved my car, and went to the east side of the park. In front of the apartments or condos, there was a small group of ducks and coots, and I saw the male MANDARIN DUCK that has been hanging around, off and on, for 8 or 9 months. Here are some rather distant pictures of that colorful guy.
He went up on the beach several times.
There has been some debate about where the duck came from. Most birders probably would say it is an escapee from someone's collection, although there are established populations of the species in California. I think that it is likely an escapee, and if so, then it isn't officially "countable". Birds in collections usually have their wings clipped so they can't fly away, though, and they usually have bands on their legs, to identify them. I don't see any bands on this duck's legs, and it must be flying because it is regularly sighted at Kirkland's Marina Park as well as Juanita Bay, and they are over two miles apart. I suppose it could swim back and forth, but flying seems more likely to me. Anyway, I have personally made the decision to count it on my lists. Every birder has his or her own criteria as to what to count, and this bird meets mine.
Interestingly, today there have been a number of posts on Tweeters, the local birding mailing list, about this duck. Today's posts were started by a woman who seems to be quite offended that eBird would include this bird in its Notable Sightings list when people report it, because she believes it must be an escapee. I don't really understand why it should bother her if other people are interested in the bird, but she seems to feel quite strongly about it. Today when I was looking at it, 4 or 5 other people, with binoculars and without them, asked what I was seeing, and they were all quite interested and even thrilled to see the duck. Most of them had heard about it. It was fairly distant, so I showed some of them pictures of it, which they seemed to enjoy. So, I'm not the only person who is interested in it.
My first sighting of the Mandarin Duck for the year brings my February count to 121 species and my 2022 count to 129 species. I still have 66 of the possible 70 repeaters on my list.
Monday, February 21, 2022
I had a lunch appointment up in Everett today, so I headed north. My first stop was at a pond just south of Tambark Park, in Snohomish county. I was looking for Cinnamon Teal, a duck species that is uncommon around here in the winter. I had seen them there a few times over the years in the winter, and there was a report a couple of weeks ago. No luck today, though.
Next I went to 12th St NE, just north of the Everett sewage treatment ponds. There was nothing interesting in the little wetlands there, so I parked my car and took my scope up on the dike, to look over the wetlands to the east. There was a single Greater Yellowlegs, which I already had this month, and then I spotted three LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, my first of the year. Here are the dowitchers.
I had a little time, so I drove around to the big pond at the treatment plant. There was an immature Bald Eagle in one of my "falcon trees".
I saw a Great Blue Heron, and the light was so good that I took some pictures.
It walked to a little pond and started hunting.
It caught little creatures a few times. Here is one of its catches.
When I left, it was still patiently hunting.
On my way back, I stopped at the gate and heard a Marsh Wren singing. I got this picture, which is pretty disappointing, actually.
I normally don't show pictures that don't show a bird's eye, but this next one shows the pattern on the back of the Marsh Wren's neck and wing tip so well, that I'll show it.
A pair of Northern Shovelers were feeding close in, so I took some pictures in the nice light.
In case you couldn't figure out which was the male and which was the female, here is the male Northern Shoveler on his own.
Here's the female Northern Shoveler.
That was it for today. Long-billed Dowitcher was the only one I got for my lists today, and now I have 122 species in February and 130 species so far this year. I still have 66 of my 70 repeaters this month. I hope to add one to three more species still this month, although that will take some luck. It looks like the weather should be dry for several days, so I hope to get out there looking.
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
It was about 32 degrees here this morning, and there was a little snow on the grass. There were some very light snow flurries as I left home, but they soon stopped, and I had mostly sun for the rest of the morning. I got gas at Costco in Woodinville and drove to the Crescent Lake area, north of Duvall. The Black Phoebe had been reported there again yesterday, and I wanted it. I parked in the north parking lot and walked a little. I never got a sniff of the Black Phoebe, but at the edge of the field across the culvert bridge, a sparrow flew up into some bushes. It turned out to be a Lincoln's Sparrow, a species I have been looking everywhere for all month. Here are some pictures of my February Lincoln's Sparrow.
I looked all around the area for the Black Phoebe, and I drove around the Tualco Loop Road and other adjoining roads, looking for Western Meadowlarks or Mourning Doves, but I didn't find anything I needed. Swallows are just starting to show up, too, and I kept looking for them as well. I saw the rare Whooper Swan again, about a half mile north of the north parking lot for Crescent Lake, which is about three quarters of a mile from where it was hanging out when I saw it earlier in the month. It was pretty close to the road, so I took some pictures of it.
I hope it sticks around for another week, so I can get it for my March list.
Lincoln's Sparrow brings my February list to 123 species now. I didn't think I would get this many, and now I have hopes of getting to 125. I had 115 last year, 131 in 2020, 125 in 2019, and 127 in 2018. I have a handicap of one species this year because Northwestern Crow was considered a species in all those earlier years, and now they have lumped the Washington State ones with American Crow, so I can't count it any more.
Friday, February 25, 2022
On Wednesday, February 23, I went up to the Crescent Lake area again, via Carnation and the Snoqualmie Valley, looking for two or three species, but I didn't find anything I needed. Near Carnation I got this picture of a coyote.
Up on Tualco Road, I took this picture of an American Robin.
I stayed home yesterday, and today I drove up to Skagit county. My first birding stop was Wylie Slough. I haven't seen Black Phoebe this year, and there are no reports of Black Phoebe on eBird at Wylie Slough since December. I wonder if the very cold weather and snow we had at the end of December killed off the Black Phoebes there, or maybe they just moved to another place. It will be interesting to see if they show up for the breeding season this year.
Barn Swallows were reported at Wylie Slough earlier this week, but I couldn't find any today. There was a Bald Eagle sitting out in the sun, and as I was taking pictures of it, it called. Bald eagles have a strange little call, not at all what you would expect from such a big bird. Here is the Bald Eagle calling.
I didn't get anything I needed at Wylie Slough, so I drove on. I was hoping for Mourning Dove at the house with feeders at the corner of Valentine Road and Dodge Valley Road, but not today. I moved on to March Point, at the edge of Anacortes. I was hoping to find the Sanderlings that were reported there this week, but I failed at that. I was keeping an eye out for Mourning Doves, since I have seen them there before, and there was one Mourning Dove sitting on a wire on the east side of March Point.
That was a repeater that I still needed this month. A little farther along, there was a Red-tailed Hawk sitting in the sun, posing for me.
I already had Black Oystercatcher this month, but I always like to see them, and I got these next two pictures of one on the Padilla Bay side of March Point.
Next I drove to the Samish Flats. On Sullivan Road, there was a medium-sized flock of Snow Geese, and some of them were close to the road, so I took pictures. Here is a Snow Goose.
Those darker ones are immature birds. Here is an immature Snow Goose.
Here is an adult Snow Goose and an immature one together.
I drove to the West 90 and ate half my lunch in the car, while watching and listening for Western Meadowlark, which I dipped on. Along Samish Island Road a Rough-legged Hawk was perched on a wire, and I took this picture.
Here is a closer look at the head of the Rough-legged Hawk.
At the East 90, I took this picture of another Red-tailed Hawk.
I ate the other half of my lunch there, again watching and listening for meadowlarks. After lunch, I headed toward home. I stopped at Rawlins Road to look for meadowlarks, and then I stopped at Wylie Sough to see if the swallows had shown up. Nope. That was it for my day.
I added Mourning Dove to my February list, and it was a repeater. Now I have 124 species this month, and 67 of the 70 species on my "repeater" list. I have 130 species this year still. Sunday and Monday look to be pretty wet, but maybe I can add something tomorrow.
Saturday, February 26, 2022
No pictures today. I went over to Marymoor Park to look for a bird that has been reported there regularly this month, but that I haven't been able to find this year. The park was packed with cars and people - lots of youth soccer and lots of dog walkers. There were also people starting to arrive for today's performance of Cirque du Soleil. After driving through the park looking for my bird, I parked and walked up on the viewing mound. The species I wanted had been seen and heard around there on Thursday.
I looked and listened, and after about 20 minutes, I heard a single song from a WESTERN MEADOWLARK, my first one this year. That was good enough to count, but I wanted to see one. A few minutes later, a single meadowlark flew up from the area where I had heard the song and flew off to the west. I tracked it with my binoculars, and when it landed in a distant tree, I got my scope on it and confirmed the identity. It flew down, out of my sight, but I was looking in that area with binoculars when two more Western Meadowlarks flew into some deep grass. Then a third one flew in, and it was visible, so I got my scope on it and got a good look.
That was it for today. I could have walked around within the dog park and looked for White-throated Sparrow, but it was too crowded, and I went home. The meadowlarks today brought me to 125 species for February, a respectable total and more than I expected to get. Meadowlark also brought my year total to 131 species. I got 67 of the 70 "repeaters" on my list. The weather looks bad for the next two days, and I probably won't go out birding again.