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Friday, July 1, 2022
A new month, and everything was new for my July list. Here at home I got Feral Pigeon and Dark-eyed Junco, and I headed out to the Snoqualmie River Valley, around the town of Carnation. My first stop, though, was at the Redmond Watershed Preserve, where I walked on a trail and picked up Pacific Wren for my July list. On the pond there was a female Hooded Merganser and two young ones. Here is the female and one young Common Merganser.
Driving down the west side of the valley, I added Canada Goose, and while driving across the valley, I added American Goldfinch. I also got this picture of a male Lazuli Bunting.
I saw some Northern Rough-winged Swallows, some Tree Swallows, European Starlings, and then an Osprey on the nest platform at the river. There were Barn Swallows around the farm on 310th Ave NE. I saw American Robins many places today, including along that stretch of 310th Ave NE. Here is a picture of a Violet-green Swallow from the back, showing the violet and green colors.
At the "old" house with feeders in Carnation, I took this picture of a couple of Band-tailed Pigeons feeding on the ground.
There were also some American Crows around there. At the "new" house with feeders, I added Pine Siskin, House Finch, House Sparrow, and this male Black-headed Grosbeak.
Here's a Pine Siskin.
As usual, there were lots of American Goldfinches around. Here is a male American Goldfinch.
Here is a female American Goldfinch, from later in the day.
The female isn't as brightly colored as the male and doesn't have the black forehead of the male. One Eurasian Collared-Dove flew in and posed for me.
There were very few hummingbirds around today, for some reason. Last week there were lots of both species of hummingbird, but today I only saw a couple of female Anna's Hummingbirds, and no Rufous Hummingbirds. Here is a female Anna's Hummingbird.
I picked up a sandwich at the deli in the Carnation Market and drove to the Tolt River bridge, south of Carnation. I was hoping to find American Dipper there, but failed at that. I did add Cedar Waxwing to my list, and then saw this thrush.
At the time I assumed it was a Swainson's Thrush, but when I saw my picture I noticed that the bird lacked the prominent eye ring of Swainson's Thrush. Then I noticed the little sliver of red-brown on the top of the tail. I think the bird was a HERMIT THRUSH, my first of the year. I suppose it could be a juvenile Swainson's Thrush, but I'm going with Hermit Thrush (because of the red-brown tail) until someone tells me why not. While I was there I heard a Red-eyed Vireo singing loudly.
Next I drove down the west side of the Snoqualmie River. There was a Northern Flicker high in a tree, and then a Red-tailed Hawk flew over. At the pond south of Jubilee Farms, there was a female Wood Duck, along with a feral male Muscovy Duck (not countable). I also saw a Great Blue Heron and took this picture just as it took off.
I also saw a male Common Yellowthroat at that pond. After that I drove up to Tokul Creek to try for dipper up there. Today I got lucky, and here is my July American Dipper.
I drove up Neal Road, north of Fall City, but all I got there was Song Sparrow. Back in Carnation, I parked at Tolt-MacDonald Park and walked to the river, to view the Bank Swallow colony there. There were many Bank Swallows flying around over the river. As I got back to my car, a Turkey Vulture flew over. There was also a White-crowned Sparrow singing in the parking lot, so I took its picture.
I drove back to the "new" feeder house in Carnation and added more birds and took more pictures. There were a couple of male Brown-headed Cowbirds at one feeder, but they flew off before I could get a picture. I added Mourning Dove to my list and got this picture.
Here's a picture of a male House Finch.
Note the curve of the top of the bill and compare it to the straight bill of this male Purple Finch.
A Steller's Jay made an appearance, and then some Red-winged Blackbirds showed up. Here is a male Red-winged Blackbird in a strange posture.
Here is a female Dark-eyed Junco.
Here is another picture of a male Black-headed Grosbeak.
Here's a bird that stumped me at first.
The color of the bill and the white on the tail mark it as a juvenile Dark-eyed Junco. The dark feathers on the breast are the start of the adult plumage coming in, I think.
I headed for home, but I birded as I drove across the valley, of course. Here is a male American Kestrel.
There were Cliff Swallows around the farm where they nest. A little later there were a number of Cliff Swallows on wires, including this begging fledgling Cliff Swallow.
There were other swallows on the wires, too, including this Bank Swallow.
Bank Swallows have a dark band across their upper breast, but I had never seen one with the dark feathers extending down the middle of the breast. My field guide says the underside is "white except for a wide brown breastband, which often extends as variably thick line down center of breast". I hadn't realized that before.
As I drove over Redmond Ridge, there was a female Mallard beside a decorative pond, so that one went on my list. I stopped at the Redmond Retention Ponds, but all I got there was this Savannah Sparrow.
It was a very successful day. I got all four of my target species (Pacific Wren, American Dipper, Red-eyed Vireo, and Bank Swallow). I had 44 species for my July list, and 30 of those were repeaters. Hermit Thrush was new for the year for me, and now I have 184 species this year. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I had a great time getting pictures and seeing birds.
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Today I stayed close to home. I went down to my neighborhood park, Juanita Bay Park, and stopped first at the fire station road. I didn't take any pictures there, but I picked up Virginia Rail (heard only), Downy Woodpecker, and Black-capped Chickadee for my July list.
Across the street at the main part of the park, I played bird calls near the parking lot and attracted a Golden-crowned Kinglet. Here are two pictures of that little cutie.
At the top of the steps, I played Brown Creeper songs, and I attracted this guy.
You can barely make out the bird, it blends in so well. Here is one on a better part of the tree trunk, and you can see it a little better.
While I was taking those pictures, another one I needed flew in. Here is a Chestnut-backed Chickadee in the deep shade.
I walked out into the park, stopping at the convenient table near the start of the east boardwalk. I played Bushtit songs, since I had seen one there a couple of weeks ago. I was pleased when one flew in, and I added it to my list. I only got one picture of it today. Male Bushtit (with black eyes).
I walked out to the end of the east boardwalk. There were a couple of American Coots in the distance, in the little cove to the west, so that one went on my list. I already had Mallard, from yesterday, but this female Mallard with her youngsters caught my attention.
They were out in fairly open water, which wasn't really very smart because there were two or three Bald Eagles around (another species I still needed). One of the eagles flew in and landed on a log in the bay, and I took these next two pictures.
There were a couple of Caspian Terns flying around briefly, and a pair of Gadwalls at the mouth of the creek, so those two went on my July list. I had it already, but a Great Blue Heron that had been close flew in even closer, and I couldn't resist taking its picture.
The Great Blue Heron spread its wings, and I took this picture, which was just a moment too soon or too late, because I didn’t get the bird's face in the picture. I still like it because it shows the wing feathers so nicely.
I didn't get anything else at Juanita Bay Park, so I moved on. I also didn't get anything at the little wetlands area at the east end of the parking lot for Juanita Beach Park, along Juanita Creek. I drove to Big Finn Hill Park and tried for Red-breasted Nuthatch, but missed on that one, too.
I was only out there for about two hours, and I was never more than 3 miles from home, but I added 11 more species to my July list, to bring it to 55 species. 10 of those were repeaters, and now I have 40 of my 70 repeaters, birds that I hope to see every month of the year. I'm still on 184 species for the year.
Monday, July 4, 2022
Yesterday there was a Bewick's Wren singing in our big rhodie by the front porch, so that one went on my list. Today I went up to Edmonds. My first stop was at my quail site in the town of Woodway. After I had sat there in my car for about ten minutes, I spotted a female California Quail at the far end of the patch of grass to the south. She rapidly went out of sight, but I waited a few minutes more, and she reappeared.
Soon she was joined by a male California Quail.
The female is in that last picture, too, but in this next one, you can clearly see both the female and the male California Quail.
Here are two more pictures of the male California Quail.
As I was getting ready to leave, another female and at least one young quail scampered across the end of the lawn, heading toward the feeder that attracts them to that place. California Quail had been my main target of the day, so I moved on with satisfaction. There aren't many places in this area to find California Quail.
My next stop was the Edmonds fishing pier. Looking across to the ferry terminal, I added Pelagic Cormorant and Brant's Cormorant to my list. A female Purple Martin was at one of the nest boxes in the little bay, and that completed the local swallows for me, for July. I saw a Pigeon Guillemot flying, and on the breakwater, I saw Glaucous-winged and Heermann's Gulls, both for my list. A couple of female Surf Scoters were swimming around the ferry dock.
I drove up to Sunset Avenue, but all I added from there was Harlequin Duck, a good one to get in that location in July. I tried Ocean Avenue, but saw nothing there. My last birding stop of the day was at Yost Park. I walked the trails from the east end of the park to my Wilson's Warbler site, and a male cooperated by flying in and checking me out. Here are three pictures of the male Wilson's Warbler.
I played the song of Swainson's Thrush, and one flew in and perched close by. It never answered the song I was playing, but it sat there for pictures.
That was it for today. I was out there for less than three hours, including the half hour drive each way to Edmonds, and I added 12 more birds to my July list, to go with the Bewick's Wren I added yesterday. Now I have 68 species this month. Six of the species today plus yesterday's Bewick's Wren were repeaters, and now I have 47 of my 70 repeaters this month.
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Today I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, and I went up early to look for birds. I went to the parking lot for the Ebey Slough trail and walked to the Marysville sewage treatment plant ponds with my scope. I was looking for ducks, but on my way to the where you can view the ponds, there was a Tree Swallow nest hole in an old piling. Five Tree Swallow nestlings were wedged into the hole, looking for their parents with food.
When either parent approached, the nestlings opened their mouths for food, in the classic baby bird begging way. The orange color of the insides of their mouths made great targets for the parents.
Both parents were actively feeding the youngsters. Here is the female Tree Swallow at the nest hole.
Here is the male parent at the nest hole.
There was a little lag in the feeding schedule, and a sixth nestling showed up in the opening. Here are six Tree Swallow nestlings looking for food.
There could have been more of them in the nest, I have no way of knowing. Here are two more pictures of the male Tree Swallow at the nest hole.
Finally, here is the male Tree Swallow flying away from the nest, showing us his wing feathers.
That was pretty cool, but I was there for ducks. I walked on to the ponds and picked up a couple of Northern Shovelers and 4 or 5 Lesser Scaup for my July list. Ducks are hard to come by in the summer, and it was good to get those two species today.
I had a little more time, so I stopped by the Everett sewage ponds on the way to lunch. I only saw about a half dozen ducks on the big pond (where there can be a couple thousand of them in the winter), but one of them was a male Ruddy Duck in full breeding plumage. It was great to get that one. Ruddy Ducks are uncommon around here at any time of the year, and especially so in the summer. For the last several years some have spent the summer at the Everett sewage treatment ponds, but this year they disappeared some time in May. I never found one in June. I have it on my list of repeaters, based on their presence there in the past few years, and I was glad to see one today.
After lunch I tried for gulls at the Everett waterfront, but I didn't get any I needed.
I added 3 more species to my July list today, and 2 of them were repeaters. Now I have 71 species this month, and 47 of my 70 repeaters.
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Today my main target species was Eastern Kingbird, which had been reported at Three Forks Park in Snoqualmie. I took the scenic route, across the Snoqualmie Valley, rather than use the freeway. The weather forecast was iffy, with showers forecast. I didn't see anything or get any pictures going across the valley. At the new house with feeders in Carnation, I took some pictures and I added Rufous Hummingbird to my list. Here is a female Rufous Hummingbird.
Here is a female Purple Finch.
Here is a female Red-winged Blackbird.
A male Anna's Hummingbird posed for me in a nearby bush.
A female Black-headed Grosbeak landed on a wire close by.
Here is a male Black-headed Grosbeak for comparison.
As I was about to leave, a Steller's Jay flew in and posed for me.
I picked up a sandwich and drove to Three Forks off-leash dog park, in Snoqualmie. I played the song of Eastern Kingbird, and immediately, two of them flew out and flew around. Each time I played the song, they flew up and around again, but they kept landing high in the trees. Finally I got one distant picture of an Eastern Kingbird.
One of them eventually landed out in the open, but the lighting was terrible for this picture.
I walked into the dog park and played the song of Yellow Warbler. They aren't always responsive, but today one flew in and flitted around in the trees nearby. Here are three pictures of a male Yellow Warbler, one I needed for this month.
It was sprinkling by then, but I moved on to Snoqualmie Point Park, across the freeway and up the hill. My main target there was Warbling Vireo, and eventually two of them responded to their songs. I had good looks at them but I could never get a picture of either one of them. I walked a little and tried for other species, but got nothing else.
As I left that park, the rain started coming down heavier. Nonetheless, on my way home I stopped at Yellow Lake in Issaquah to look for Pied-billed Grebe, a species I needed this month still. By the time I got there it was raining pretty good, so I sat in the car and ate my sandwich. When I was done with that, the rain lessened to a good sprinkle, and I donned my coat and hat and ventured out to the floating dock to look for Pied-billed Grebe. It took a few minutes, but eventually I spotted one in the distance. I hastened back to the car and moved on.
By the time I got to Marymoor Park, the rain had stopped, and the pavement was dry there, so I guess the showers hadn't hit Redmond at that point. I went up on the viewing mound, but I didn't get anything I needed. I did take this rather distant picture of a male Lazuli Bunting, though.
I added 5 more species to my July list today, and now I have 76 this month. Pied-billed Grebe was a repeater, and now I have 50 of my 70 repeaters so far this month. I still have 184 species this year.
Friday, July 8, 2022
Today I went over to Marymoor Park, in the neighboring town of Redmond. I drove through the park and at the model airplane field, I noticed that there are at least two Osprey youngsters in the nest, maybe three. They are big enough to be left on their own, it seems. On my way back through the park, I spotted Lonesome George, the male Ring-necked Pheasant that lives in the park and wanders around, completely unafraid of people. I parked and approached him and got this picture of him.
I needed that one for my July list, and I moved on. At the new Osprey nest platform, there was an Osprey in the nest, rearranging the sticks.
I haven't seen any youngsters in that nest yet this year, but there were two adults at the nest the other day when I went through the park. There could be eggs or chicks in the nest.
I parked and walked along the slough. I saw several Killdeer, one I hadn't yet counted for July. Here is one of the Killdeer.
I had read that yesterday the Thursday morning birding group had seen a couple of Belted Kingfishers, for the first time since April. One of them was around today, and I needed it for my list. Here are three pictures of the Belted Kingfisher.
An osprey flew over the slough, looking for fish. It landed across the slough in a tree, and I took these next two pictures.
Meanwhile, a Marsh Wren had been singing away, on the island in the middle of the slough. I never spotted it, but it went on my list as "heard only". A mama Mallard swam upstream with four ducklings following her.
Here is a closer picture of the four Mallard ducklings.
After that I stopped at the mansion and played Red-breasted Nuthatch songs on my phone. It took a while, but eventually I saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch for my list.
I made one more stop, at the Rowing Club pond. I didn't get anything I needed, but I took this picture of a female Hooded Merganser and a turtle on a log.
That was it for today. I added 5 more species to my July list, and 4 of them were repeaters. Now I have 81 species this month and 54 of my 70 repeaters.
Saturday, July 9, 2022
Today I went north, up to Skagit county. I got gas at my favorite Indian gas station for 4.599, and my first birding stop was Wylie Slough. I thought I had the tide figured out, but it fooled me, and it was much too high for shorebirds, so I moved on. At Hayton Reserve, the tide was way out, and I didn't see anything of interest. On my way out, though, I stopped and used my scope on the long body of water along the exit road, and I picked up a male American Wigeon in non-breeding plumage there, one for my list.
At the house on the corner of Dodge Valley Road and Valentine Road, I took this picture of a male Brown-headed Cowbird.
A Mourning Dove was feeding on the ground, under the feeders.
Here's a male Purple Finch.
Three male Brown-headed Cowbirds were feeding at another feeder.
I moved on up Valentine Road, but when I got to Rancho Valentine (the house with the big suet feeder), a phone guy was working on the wires, so I moved on. At the north end of Valentine Road, across the street from the cemetery, there was a flycatcher at the top of a leafless tree. I decided it was a Western Wood-Pewee, one I needed this month. I have a hard time telling the difference between Western Wood-Pewee and Olive-sided Flycatcher, but I'm calling this one a Western Wood-Pewee. Here are three pictures.
While I was taking those pictures, the phone guy who had been working at Rancho Valentine showed up and started working on a pole at the end of the road. I went back to Rancho Valentine and tried playing House Wren songs. I got no response, though, and I moved on to where I could watch the big suet feeder. To my delight, a male Hairy Woodpecker showed up, one I needed this month still.
When he flew away, a smaller male Downy Woodpecker came in and took his place.
Next I drove to March Point. There were at least 5 or 6 dozen American White Pelicans loafing on one of the spoil islands in Padilla Bay, and I needed that one. Driving around the point, I saw a lot of Double-crested Cormorants on a long buoy, and so that one went on my July list. On the Fidalgo Bay side of March Point, at the end of the spit near the north end, the usual Double-crested Cormorants were roosting, along with some Canada Geese. Next to the geese, on the beach, were two Black Oystercatchers, another one I needed and was looking for especially today. With the heat distortion and the distance, I had to look closely to identify them, but their distinctive red-orange bills showed up well.
After that I ate my lunch while I drove (ham, cheese, vegetables, and chips) to the town of Lyman. I checked out the Bank Swallow colony there, and it was active, but I already had gotten Bank Swallow last week in King county. I drove to my birding buddy Gary's house and found the Barn Owl in his barn. Gary was there, and we chatted about birding in Skagit county for a few minutes.
After that I drove to Hayton Reserve, driving along some roads in the Skagit Flats, looking for Common Raven or Northern Harrier. I missed both of these species today. At Hayton Reserve, the tide was in, actually too high for shorebirds, which was disappointing. I did manage to spot several dozen Bonaparte's Gulls and some Ring-billed Gulls in the distance, both of which I needed. I also saw some Black-bellied Plovers, which I needed. I saw some dowitchers, too, but they were too distant to tell which of the two dowitchers species they were, so I didn't count them. After that I gave it up and headed for home. Shorebirds are just starting their fall migration south, and there is plenty of time left this month to find some of them.
I had a nice 7 hour outing today, driving about 195 miles and getting 25.8 miles per gallon, which is isn't bad for such a big car. I added 10 more species to my July list, and now I have 91 this month. Six of the ones today were repeaters, and now I have 60 of my 70 repeaters, which are birds that I have a decent chance to see in every month of the year.
Sunday, July 10, 2022
I went up to the Everett area today. My first stop was at the Everett sewage treatment plant ponds. I didn't see anything I needed, although I was interested to see an American Wigeon on the big pond. I had gotten that one yesterday at Hayton Reserve, but there aren't many around in the summer.
I moved on to the 12th St NE wetlands, just north of the sewage treatment plant ponds. The wetlands itself is overgrown with grass this year, thus ruining it for shorebirds. I took my scope and went up on the dike and looked around. There were very few ducks, but I did see a little grouping of five ducks, and one of them was a male Green-winged Teal, a repeater I needed still. I assume the others were also Green-winged Teal, but I didn't bother trying to confirm that. I had my bird.
I looked around some more, and I noticed a Spotted Sandpiper fairly close by. I needed that one still, too, and I took these next two somewhat distant pictures of Spotty.
Next I drove over to Port Gardner Bay, on the Everett waterfront. The tide was out pretty far, but was coming in. I was hoping for shorebirds, but there were none at all. There were some raggedy looking immature gulls round, and I decided that this one was an immature California Gull, which I needed.
I looked around for the group of Common Mergansers that had been reported the last two days there, but I didn't see any. At the Great Blue Heron rookery, most of the nests were empty, with the youngsters off on their own now. Three or four nests still had young herons in them. Here are a couple of pictures of a nest with three Great Blue Heron nestlings in it.
That was it for today. It was disappointing not to find the Common Mergansers or any shorebirds, but it was nice to pick up Green-winged Teal. There just aren't many ducks round this summer, at all. I added 3 more species to my July list, and now I have 94 this month. Two of my birds today were repeaters, and now I have 62 f my 70 repeaters. I have reached the point in the month where there aren't all that many species left to pursue, but I'll keep plugging away.
Monday, July 11, 2022
Today I went out to the Snoqualmie Valley, to look for several species at the Stillwater Access to the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area. As I drove across the valley, I saw a pair of Brewer's Blackbirds on a fence, one I needed still. The male is the black one with the light-colored eye.
I didn't expect to get anything I needed there, but I stopped at the "new" feeder house in Carnation, just to see what was around. There wasn't much action, but I took this picture of a male Black-headed Grosbeak.
Here is a female Black-headed Grosbeak.
I got a sandwich from the Carnation Market and drove to the Stillwater Access. I took my camp chair out onto the dike trail and walked a bit, sitting from time to time. It was very quiet, which isn't really surprising in the middle of a hot day. There were a few Cedar Waxwings around, and here is one of them.
I had a list of 8 species that I needed that had been reported there in the last several days, but I didn't get a sniff of any of them. There were some Wood Ducks on one of the ponds, so I took some distant pictures. Here is a female Wood Duck and two ducklings.
There were actually at least seven ducklings with that female, but they were spread out a bit. She went in the water and I took this picture of her on her own.
As it turned out, though, I there were at least three female Wood Ducks in the area, and at least two of them had ducklings with them. I sort of lost track of which ones were which. Here are more pictures of female Wood Ducks and ducklings.
In this next picture, you can see two of the Wood Duck families.
It was getting hot by then, so I went back to my car and moved up the road to the Fay Road Access. There I ate my lunch in my camp chair next to my car, in the shade. While I was eating, a couple of Cedar Waxwings came through, and here is a distant picture of one of them.
After I finished my lunch, I decided it was too hot (low 80's) for me, and the birds were all being very quiet, so I headed for home. Going back across the valley, there were two Ospreys on the nest by the Snoqualmie River at Chinook Bend. I haven't seen any young ones in that nest yet. Here is a picture of the two birds today.
The one on the left kind of had its wings spread a bit, and I wonder if it was shielding youngsters from the sun. I'll continue to watch that nest, when I get out to the valley.
It was a fairly short day of birding today, only about 4 and a half hours, including driving time, and I only got one more species for my July list (Brewer's Blackbird, which was a repeater). Now I have 95 species this month, and 63 of those are repeaters.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
I didn't do any birding yesterday, and today I had a lunch appointment in Everett. I went north early, to Jennings Memorial Park in Marysville, to look for California Scrub-Jay. Unfortunately, the park was crowded with people. There were maintenance people there, gardeners, volunteers painting stuff, and two day camp busses of children running around. I walked around a little, but with the noise and people, I soon gave it up. I'll have to go back on a quieter day to look for the scrub-jay. Before I gave up and left, though, a large flock of maybe 25 or 30 Bushtits came through, and I got a couple of pictures of the little darlings. Here is a male bushtit, with a dark eye.
Here's a female Bushtit, with a light-colored eye.
I drove to the 12th St NE wetlands and went up on the dike with my scope. I was looking for Northern Pintail, which had been reported there yesterday. I didn't find the ducks, but I did see five dowitchers in the distance. There are two species of dowitcher around here, and they are very similar. There was so much heat shimmer through my scope that I had a hard time identifying the dowitchers. Eventually I got a brief look that caused me to think they were Long-billed Dowitchers. I'm not certain, but I'm going with that. I needed either of the two dowitcher species for my July list, and Long-billed Dowitcher is several times more likely than Short-billed Dowitcher at this time of the year in that habitat.
Next I drove to the main pond of the Everett sewage treatment plant. There weren't any ducks of interest or any shorebirds at all, but at one stop, I heard a Marsh Wren singing. I had that one, but I took a couple of pictures. Here is the Marsh Wren singing.
Here it is, in between songs.
Soon after that, I spotted a raptor high in the sky, circling around. There were smaller birds, probably Red-winged Blackbirds chasing it. I figured it was a Red-tailed Hawk, but I took a look with my binoculars. I was pleased and surprised to discover it was a Northern Harrier. Northern Harriers have a white rump patch, and I could clearly see the white rump on this bird. I took some extremely distant pictures of the bird. The dark wing tips are consistent with Northern Harrier, and in the second picture below, you can actually see a sliver of the white rump, which I could easily see with my binoculars.
Northern Harriers are normally seen swooping low over the land, but I have seen them circling high like this a few times in the past. I've seen them in that location before, but in the winter or spring. It was an excellent species to get in the summer, when they seem to disappear.
After lunch I went down to the boat launch area on Port Gardner Bay, on the Everett waterfront. The tide was lower than I have ever seen it, but there wasn't anything interesting out there. I checked out the Great Blue Heron rookery, and there are still two or three nests with young ones in them. Here is a nest with three young Great Blue Herons.
While I was taking pictures of the herons, a swallowtail butterfly flew by and landed about 15 feet away. Here are a couple of pictures of the swallowtail.
Back to the Great Blue Heron nests, here is a picture of a nest with an adult feeding a couple of quite large youngsters.
The youngsters were aggressive about trying to get food from the adult, which was about the same size they were.
The adult flew off and here are the two large Great Blue Heron chicks.
That was it for today. I added Long-billed Dowitcher and Northern Harrier to my July list, and now I have 97 species this month. Northern Harrier was a repeater, and now I have 64 of my 70 repeaters this month. I still have 184 species so far this year.
Sunday, July 17, 2022
I've been busy with other things, including Physical Therapy appointments for my sore neck and lower back, so I haven't done much birding recently. I did go down to the fire station road at Juanita Bay Park on Thursday, though. I simply sat in my chair and watched and listened for almost an hour. I was hoping to see a Red-breasted Sapsucker at the tree with sap wells, but I didn't. While I was sitting there, a doe and two fawns came walking down the road toward me.
Here is one of the fawns.
Eventually they turned around and went back the way they had come.
On Friday I again went down to Juanita Bay Park for about an hour, and sat a couple of places. I didn't see anything I needed, but I did take a couple of pictures of a male Brown-headed Cowbird.
Today I finally had a chance to do some real birding. I drove up to Skagit county and my first stop was Hayton Reserve. I took my scope up on the dike and looked around. The Trumpeter Swan that has been reported there was around, very much out of season, and I got it for my list. There were more than a dozen Black-bellied Plovers in various stages of molting to their non-breeding plumage, but I had that one already. There were also some little peeps, but most of them were too distant to distinguish the species. I checked them for Semipalmated Plovers, but didn't find any. Then I saw a few little shorebirds closer. At least one of them was a Western Sandpiper, and at least one was a Least Sandpiper, so those two went on my July list. The "fall" migration of shorebirds has started. Here is a Western Sandpiper, I think, unless it is a Semipalmated Sandpiper, but I have a very difficult time making that distinction.
As I left Hayton Reserve, I took this picture of a Red-tailed Hawk.
I stopped at Wylie Slough because there had been a report of a Black Phoebe there yesterday, but I couldn't find it. This is the first report of Black Phoebe there since May. I hope at least one has come back. Black Phoebe, which is pretty rare in this area, was fairly reliable there for several years, until June this year.
Next I drove to Fox Road, which is east of Mount Vernon, near Clear Lake. I used to get Wilson's Snipe and Sora there, but not since the big water pipeline project has been going on. The area is very torn up, and I'm sure there is lots of noise and disruption on weekdays. I parked at the end of the road, on the edge of the woods and walked back along the road. I had seen a report of multiple Willow Flycatchers there, earlier this week, so I played the "fitz-bew" song of Willow Flycatcher as I walked along the road. Eventually, a bird flew in and with patience, I got these pictures of a Willow Flycatcher.
Flycatchers in that family are difficult to tell apart, so I used the Merlin sound ID app on my phone, and it confirmed Willow Flycatcher.
I was happy with that, and I was ready to move on, but I played the song of Western Tanager before I left, just in case. That species had been reported there this week, too. I was pleased and surprised to have a male Western Tanager fly in and actually sing back to me, while it flew back and forth and posed for pictures.
Meanwhile, while I was doing all that, a Common Raven flew over, calling loudly a number of times. Since it is such a distinctive call, I was able to add that repeater to my July list. I was very pleased to have added 3 species there, and I moved on.
I stopped at the feeder house on Valentine Road that has the big suet feeder. I ate my sandwich in the car while I watched the feeder, hoping for a Pileated Woodpecker. I didn't get that one, but I did get some pictures. Here is a female Downy Woodpecker.
Here is a male Downy Woodpecker, with the red patch on the back of his head.
Here's the female Downy Woodpecker in a nearby tree.
A couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches were coming to the suet, and here is one of them.
One of the Red-breasted Nuthatches landed on an empty feeder that was closer, and I got this picture.
At the house on the corner of Valentine Road and Dodge Valley Road, there were birds around the feeders. I didn't get anything I needed, but I took pictures. Here are two pictures of a Mourning Dove.
Here's a male Purple Finch.
I stopped again at Wylie Slough, but I couldn't find a Black Phoebe. I'll be watching the reports to see if anyone else spots one there. There were seven juvenile ducks, not quite full grown, in the little slough on the entrance road. I assumed they were something common like Mallards or Gadwalls, but when I looked closer, they weren't either of those two species. I ended up deciding to call them Cinnamon Teal, a species I needed still this month. Here are five of the seven.
The color and shape of the bill looks like Cinnamon Teal to me; they have broken eye rings, like Cinnamon Teal do; and the most persuasive thing of all is that they had some light blue feathers on their wings, the same color as Cinnamon Teal have.
The only other possible species I can think of would be Blue-winged Teal. I don't know if Blue-winged Teal breed in our area or not, but I know that Cinnamon Teal do. I needed both species this month, but I'm counting these as Cinnamon Teal. What I don’t understand is why other birders haven't been reporting them. That slough is fairly long, and if the ducks can go through the culverts under the roads, they could have come some distance from where they were hatched. I was kind of surprised not to see an adult female with them, too. Cinnamon Teal was reported there at Wylie Slough a number of times in June, but not in July.
So, that was it for me today. I was out there for about 5 1/2 hours, including an hour of driving each way. I drove 148 miles and got 26 miles per gallon, according to my car's computer. I added 7 more species to my July list, and now I have 104 species this month. Common Raven was a repeater, and now I have 65 of my 70 repeaters this month. I have hopes of getting 4 to 6 more shorebirds still this month, and maybe one or two other species. Several species that are normally found around here in July just aren't here this year, it seems, so I will have a low total this month.
Monday, July 18, 2022
I had a lunch appointment in Everett today, and I went north early, to look for birds. Specifically, I went to Jennings Memorial Park in Marysville to look for California Scrub-Jay. Last week there had been crowds of people there, and no scrub-jays. It had rained a little overnight, and today the park was uncrowded. Unfortunately, there weren't many birds around. I walked around a little, sat a little, and was about ready to leave when I saw a Steller's Jay. I didn’t need that one for my July list, but I threw out a couple of peanuts, hoping to get a picture or two. Here is the Steller's Jay with a peanut.
The jay took the peanut up into a little tree and was working on getting the nut out of the shell, while I tried to get a picture. None of my pictures came out because the jay was moving all the time and there was very little light, but suddenly there was a squawking noise, and the jay flew to another branch. A California Scrub-Jay had come from somewhere out of the blue and it caused the Steller's Jay to drop the peanut. The scrub-jay swooped down and picked up the peanut. I threw out some more peanuts, and the scrub-jay went looking for them in the grass. Here are some pictures of the California Scrub-Jay, the species I needed for my July list.
It found a peanut and took off with it, and I moved on.
I had a little time, so I stopped at Port Gardner Bay, which is the north Everett waterfront. The tide was medium high, but enough mud was showing that there were a bunch of little shorebirds, which birders call "peeps". Most of them seemed to be Western Sandpipers, with a few Least Sandpipers mixed in. I had gotten those two species yesterday up in Skagit county. Then I noticed that there were some SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS on the edge of the group, on the side I was on. That was a year bird for me. They are just starting their southward migration now, and they seem to somehow miss our area on their northward migration in the spring, so I hadn't seen one yet this year. Here is a distant shot of two Semipalmated Plovers.
They are just about the same size as Western Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers. Here is a comparison shot of a Semipalmated Plover and a Western Sandpiper.
Here is another one showing both of those species.
Here's a distant shot that shows some of the peeps there today. Most of them were Western Sandpipers, with some Least Sandpipers mixed in. There were likely a few Semipalmated Sandpipers, too, but they are difficult for me to identify, and certainly not at that distance.
Here's one more shot of a Semipalmated Plover and two peeps.
I went over to the parking lot for the boat ramp, but I didn't see anything I needed there. On my way out of that parking lot, I stopped and took a look at the Great Blue Heron nests I've been watching. There were still 3 or 4 nests with youngsters in them, but most of the chicks are getting pretty big now. Here are pictures of two of the nests with young still in them.
I added two more species to my July list today, to bring it to 106 species. Semipalmated Plover was new for the year for me, and now I have 185 species on my year list. I still have only 65 of my 70 repeaters this month. I'm hoping to get 3 or 4 more shorebirds and maybe as many as 3 or 4 more sea birds this month. There are others I could get, of course, but none of them are very likely.
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Today I went up to Edmonds, which is on Puget Sound, about 12 or 15 miles northwest of home. I was looking for a rarity (for this area) that had been reported there yesterday. I found it almost right away, sitting on the south breakwater of the marina. Here is a picture of a juvenile BROWN PELICAN, somewhat out of its normal area.
Here are some shots of the juvenile Brown Pelican preening.
With that one under my belt, I moved on to Sunset Avenue and looked around with my scope. There was very little out there, as expected in July, but I did spot four sea birds way out there. At first I thought they were Marbled Murrelets, but eventually I decided they were Rhinoceros Auklets, which I needed for July. I moved down the street and got a little closer look, and then I drove around to Ocean Avenue. I found them again, and this time I was close enough to feel more confident in my identification. I saw one more Rhinoceros Auklet much closer, and there was no doubt about that one.
That was it for today. I added two more species to my July list, and now I have 108 species this month. Brown Pelican was new for my 2022 list, and also for my Snohomish county list. I have 186 species in 2022 now and 187 species in Snohomish county.
Thursday, July 21, 2022
I didn't do any birding on Wednesday this week. Two old friends from high school and college days came to town, and I picked them up at the airport. Today, Thursday, Chris, Fred, and I took the ferry over to Whidbey Island and looked for birds while sightseeing. I didn't get anything I needed at Deer Lagoon, although there were several dozen American White Pelicans there. We drove up to what I call the west coast of Whidbey, and stopped at Libbey Beach. Unfortunately, it was foggy over the water, and we could see very little. The foggy conditions were the same at Hastie Lake access, but I did see a male White-winged Scoter for my July list there. I would have tried for a picture, but the fog precluded that.
At West Beach county park overlook, I saw a loon in the fog, but I wasn't sure which species it was, and I couldn't find in it my scope, so it went uncounted. Along the lake/lagoon there, I saw a couple of Greater Yellowlegs, a repeater I needed. There was nothing at Dugualla Bay, although at least the sun was shining on that side of the island. We tried for Pileated Woodpecker at Rancho Valentine, on Valentine Road, but missed that longshot. A stop at Hayton Reserve with the tide out got me Cackling Goose, among some Canada Geese for size comparison. That is rare for this time of year, but there had been 2 or 3 reports this week, so I was looking for it.
A stop at Wylie Slough produced nothing, as did a stop at Eide Road in Stanwood. On the way home I got 18.1 gallons of gas at $4.299, and that was my biggest win of the day. It was not a very birdy day. We were out there for about 6 1/2 hours, and drove about 155 miles. Surprisingly, I added 3 species to my July list, and now I have 111 species this month. Greater Yellowlegs brought my repeater total to 66 this month. I still have 186 species this year. Tomorrow we might go looking for a couple more species I need, but there aren't many left to get for July.
Sorry, no pictures today.
Friday, July 22, 2022
On Friday, Chris, Fred, and I went over to Marymoor Park. We drove through the park hoping to see Lonesome George, the Ring-necked Pheasant that lives in the park, but we missed him today. We looked at Ospreys on the two nests, and we walked up on to the viewing mound. I didn't see anything for my lists, so we went over to the west dog park parking lot. We walked along the slough, and I spotted two Black Swifts high overhead. In flight, they look very much like our other swift species, Vaux's Swift, but a swallow was up there, too, and these two swifts were larger than the swallow, and that ruled out Vaux's Swift. Then a couple of minutes later, a number of swallows were swooping over the slough, and there were some of the smaller Vaux's Swifts in with them. So, I ended up adding both Back Swift and Vaux's Swift to my July list.
We walked along the slough to the first dog beach, but didn't see anything else I needed. Then on the way back to the car, a male Bullock's Oriole flew into some trees, and I needed that one for July still. Here are a couple of mediocre pictures of the male Bullock's Oriole.
A couple of minutes after that, a female Bullock's Oriole showed up and went down to the same water that the male had been at.
Here's a juvenile European Starling.
After that, we drove around to the rowing club part of the park and walked down to the slough. We saw some birds, but nothing I needed. On the way back to the car, there was a flycatcher chasing flies and going back to various perches. The lighting was terrible for a picture, but here are two lousy pictures of what I think was a Willow Flycatcher, which I already had.
We heard another bird calling, and I used Merlin, the bird sound app for my phone. It indicated Western Tanager, so I played the song. A male Western Tanager showed itself, and I got one picture of that colorful bird, which I already had this month.
That was all the birding we did on Friday. I added 3 more species to my July list, bringing me to 114 species this month. I still have 66 of my 70 repeaters this month and 186 species for the year.
Saturday, July 30, 2022
I didn't do much birding this last week. Last Saturday, when my friends were still here, we went down to Juanita Bay Park. I didn't get anything I needed, so I didn't write a report, but here are some pictures from that day, starting here at home. There has been a mostly white pigeon in our yard recently, and I took some pictures last Saturday.
In this next picture, you can see that the bird has bands on both legs, an orange one and one with some writing on it. I assume it was in someone's collection and it flew off.
At Juanita Bay Park, I took this picture of a female Wood Duck.
Here's a male Wood Duck in non-breeding (eclipse) plumage.
Here are a couple of American Coots. Coots go somewhere n the summer, but they have started to return to Juanita Bay Park now.
On our way back to the car, I took this shot of a male Downy Woodpecker.
I don't know why his eye looks funny. Maybe he was blinking.
It was hot all week, and I had other things to take care of, so I didn't go out birding again until today. On Friday I did stop at the Great Blue Heron rookery in Everett, though, on my way to lunch up there. Most of the nests are empty now, but 4 or 5 of them still had young Great Blue Herons in them. Here is a picture of three large juvenile Great Blue Herons that are still in their nest.
Today was the fifth day in a row of 90 degree plus temperatures around here, which tied the record of most days of over-90 degrees in a row. Tomorrow is supposed to be a sixth day, which would be a new record. I had some birds I wanted to get for July still, though, and most of them were along the coast of north Whidbey Island, where I expected it to be much cooler.
My first stop today was Davis Slough, just west of the town of Stanwood, in north Snohomish county. There is a little pond there that has been good for Lesser Yellowlegs in the past, and it came through today. There were 3 or 4 Lesser Yellowlegs and a couple of Greater Yellowlegs. I needed Lesser Yellowlegs still for July. Here is a Lesser Yellowlegs.
Here is a Greater Yellowlegs, which is larger than the Lesser and has a relatively longer bill.
Here is a picture of two Greater Yellowlegs and two Lesser Yellowlegs.
I moved on north and stopped briefly at Wylie Slough. Today will be my last visit to Wylie Slough until October, I guess, as they are closing it to do some work on the dikes. Wylie Slough is my best birding site for shorebirds, and August and September are the best two months of the year for shorebirds around here, so having it closed for the next two months will be a bummer. I didn't see anything I needed there today, but I took this shot of a Cedar Waxwing at the top of a tall tree.
After that I boogied on over to the northwest coast of Whidbey Island. It was only 65 degrees along the water there, and I enjoyed the sunny day and great temperature. At West Point, in Deception Pass State Park, there were many dozens of Rhinoceros Auklets out on the water, but I didn't see any of the four species I needed.
At Joseph Whidbey State Park, again there was nothing I needed, so I moved on to the overlook at West Beach county park. There was very little there, but way off in the distance I spotted some gulls with some other birds. I decided the other birds were Common Murres, a species I needed for July. It was a distant view, but I couldn't think of anything else they could have been. Black heads and bodies, with snowy white lower neck and breast, and the right size, compared to the gulls.
I ate my Subway sandwich at Hastie Lake Road access. There were some Black Oystercatchers down the beach, and eventually they flew south past me. That's a good bird, which I am always glad to see, but I had it this month already. There were Harlequin Ducks around, but I had that one already as well. Here are some Harlequin Ducks that swam along the shore close to me.
I finished my lunch and was ready to leave, but I looked around once more. I'm glad I did, because I spotted three Pacific Loons, another one of the four species I was hoping to see for my list. Here is a very distant picture of two of the Pacific Loons.
Next I went to Libbey Beach and looked around. I saw Surf Scoters, Pigeon Guillemots, and cormorants, and then I saw 2 or 3 pairs of Marbled Murrelets, a third species I had hoped to see today for my July list. The first ones I saw were very distant, and it was hard to tell if they were murrelets or auklets, but there were some Pigeon Guillemots nearby, and these birds were clearly smaller than the guillemots. Rhinoceros Auklet is a bit larger than Pigeon Guillemot, so I knew these had to be Marbled Murrelets. Later I saw a pair much closer and could identify them with my scope.
That was it for my list today. I stopped at Dugualla Bay and got nothing, and made one more token stop at Wylie Slough on the way home, but it was much too hot (mid-90's) for me to walk out on the dike to look for shorebirds there.
Oh yes, I also stopped at a new gas station on Fidalgo Island. Regular was $4.059 per gallon, so I filled up with 16.5 gallons. My usual station that I like so well was $4.199, which I had thought was great, until I saw this one, which has only been open a month or two. Both of those stations seem to be associated with Indian tribes, which explains the low gas prices, I think. I think the tribes are exempt from some of the taxes.
I added 4 more species to my July list today, and I now have 118 species this month. That beats 2021 (105) and 2018 (114), but falls well short of 2019 (129) and 2020 (131). I have 60 of my 70 repeaters this month. My total for the year is 186 so far. I doubt I'll do any birding tomorrow in the heat, so that is where I expect to finish the month.