March 2022

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Tuesday, March 1, 2022

A new month and a new list. I got Steller's Jay, American Crow, and Feral Pigeon here in our yard before breakfast. It was blustery and showery today, but there was a report of the rare Whooper Swan up by Crescent Lake, so I decided to go up there looking for it. We had had a whole lot of rain over the last couple of days, and there was flooding. I had to turn around on the west side of the valley as I approached Crescent Lake, so I went around via the Duvall Monroe Road. On Tualco Loop Road, I ran into another flooded road.

I probably could have gotten through in my big boy SUV, but I turned around. The water was running over the road, and I didn't want to take a chance.

If you look at that first picture, you can see some swans on the left side, across the water. I checked them out with my scope, but I didn't see the Whooper, and the place it had been reported was farther north, anyway. While circling around to get to the location where it had been reported, I picked up European Starling, Red-winged Blackbird, Bald Eagle, and American Kestrel. When I got to the location where the Whooper Swan had been seen, I got out my scope and checked out the swans I could see. No Whooper, but I did get both Trumpeter Swan and Tundra Swan. I also added Mallard, but that was it. I backtracked and checked out another place I have seen swans in the past. As it turned out, I ended up at the north end of the same flooded road I showed up above.

There were 10 or 12 swans nearby, and one of them turned out to be the rarity, Whooper Swan. The Whooper was actually with the swans I had seen in the first picture I showed today, but I hadn't looked very hard for it, because I was still trying to get to where it had been reported this morning. Here are a couple of pictures of the Whooper Swan.

While I was taking those pictures, a Common Raven called from a tree, and it took this poor picture of the raven.

I had the rarity that I had set out to find, and the weather was kind of nasty, although the temperature was actually quite warm for March 1st - mid to high 50's. I drove around a little before I headed for home, and I first heard, then saw, a Western Meadowlark, which flew up from a field and landed across the road in another field. I ended up seeing three Western Meadowlarks, and here are pictures of two of them.

That was an excellent one to get. I got my first Western Meadowlarks of the year on Saturday, and I got my second batch of them today. Excellent. I drove home, and when I got there, I added Black-capped Chickadee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and House Finch at our feeder. After lunch I spotted a Pine Siskin at our feeder and took this picture.

A male House Sparrow flew in and shared the feeder with the Pine Siskin.

Here is the House Sparrow on his own.

It turned out to be a pretty good day to start my month off with. I got my target species, Whooper Swan, and getting Tundra Swan (which is less common around here than Trumpeter Swan) and Western Meadowlark was excellent, too. I now have 21 species for March, and I have 17 of my 70 repeaters. The weather is supposed to improve by Friday, but maybe I can fit in a little birding in the meantime, between rain showers.

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

It rained all day today, but the rain was light mostly, and I went out to see if I could see some birds from the car. My first destination was Kenmore, and I was looking for the uncommon Glaucous Gull that I saw there last month. There had been reports yesterday afternoon, after a week or two of no reports. I drove around the neighborhood, but never could find the gull.

I moved on to Lake Forest Park, where I again drove around, this time looking for Band-tailed Pigeon. Again I had no luck, but as I was heading for home, I spotted a small raptor at the top of an evergreen tree. I took some pictures, but I had a little mishap when I was uploading the pictures to my computer, and I accidently deleted many of my pictures from today. Here is the best one remaining of the little raptor.

I had looked closely at the pictures in the camera's viewfinder, and I was already convinced it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Some of the deleted pictures showed it much better, and I don't see anything in this shot to change my mind.

I drove around some blocks again as I went through Kenmore, but again I didn't see the Glaucous Gull. This afternoon at home, a Downy Woodpecker came to our suet feeder, so it went on my list. As I was watching it, a much larger Hairy Woodpecker came along and took its place. I ran downstairs and got my camera, and I managed to capture the female Hairy Woodpecker.

Here is a nice size comparison between the Hairy Woodpecker and a Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

A male Northern Flicker came in and took the place of the Hairy Woodpecker, so I took his pictures as well, although I already had that one this month.

While I was taking pictures, a couple of American Goldfinches came to our seed feeder. Here is one of the American Goldfinches, another one for my list.

A Spotted Towhee came to the seed feeder, so that one went on my list, too. I hadn't gotten Anna's Hummingbird yet this month, and a male posed for me at the hummingbird feeder.

So, I did okay for a rainy day on which I only was out there for less than two hours. I missed my two target species, but Sharp-shinned Hawk is an excellent one, and Hairy Woodpecker was also quite good to get. I added 6 species to my March list today, and now I have 27 species this month. Four of today's species were repeaters, and now I have 21 repeaters. One more rainy day, and then we are supposed to get some decent birding weather.

Thursday, March 3, 2022

The rain was down to a light sprinkle when I left home this morning. My plan was to repeat my search for the Glaucous Gull and Band-tailed Pigeon, like yesterday, and then go on into Seattle. It was my hope that it would stop raining. I again drove around the area of Kenmore where the Glaucous Gull was reported earlier this week, but again, I dipped on it. Moving on to Lake Forest Park, I drove around the neighborhood where I have seen Band-tailed Pigeons in the past. I didn't find any up on top of the hill, but on the same side street where I saw the Sharp-shinned Hawk yesterday, I spotted 5 or 6 Band-tailed Pigeons at the top of a fir tree. Here are three of them.

The common pigeons that are seen everywhere, worldwide, are descended from Rock Doves, a European bird. Band-tailed Pigeons are native to the Americas. They are a little larger than common pigeons (which I call Feral Pigeons in my reports), and they have a white line on the back of their neck and an orange bill with a black tip. Here is one more picture of a Band-tailed Pigeon.

That was an excellent one to get on my March list, and I moved on into Seattle. I stopped at Matthews Beach, which is on Lake Washington in north Seattle. I was looking for Eurasian Wigeon, an uncommon vagrant that should be in Asia now. I found one in the first little flock of American Wigeons I found. Here is the male Eurasian Wigeon.

Here is a picture of the Eurasian Wigeon and an American Wigeon, which has green on his head, instead of red.

In this next shot, the Eurasian Wigeon seems to be taking exception to something an American Wigeon did.

Eurasian Wigeons will be migrating away soon, so I wanted to get that one early in the month. There were some Ring-billed Gulls in the park, too, so that one went on my list.

Out in the water, there was a male Barrow's Goldeneye and a couple of female Barrow's Goldeneyes. Here is the male Barrow's Goldeneye.

Here is the male Barrow's Goldeneye and one of the female Barrow's Goldeneyes.

I also added Pied-billed Grebe to my list, and here is a picture.

American Coot, Bufflehead, and Canada Goose went on my list, too, and then I moved on. My next stop was Magnuson Park, a little south, still on Lake Washington. I stopped in the park at one point and tried to call up a Lincoln's Sparrow, but the only thing that responded was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, so that one went on my list. From the parking lot along the lake, I added Common Merganser and Common Goldeneye. There were some Ring-necked Ducks on the ponds you see from the road, and here is a picture of a male Ring-necked Duck.

I spotted a Cooper's Hawk in a tree and got a couple of mediocre pictures of it.

I walked around a little bit, but all I saw were House Finches and American Robins, and I already had those two species. On my way out of the park, I stopped at the north beach area. I saw some Double-crested Cormorants for my list, and then I saw some ducks. At least three of them were Greater Scaup. Here are pictures of Greater Scaup.

I needed both species of scaup, and they are quite similar. In addition to slightly different head shapes, Lesser Scaup have grayish sides, while Greater Scaup have bright white sides. Here is what I am calling a Lesser Scaup.

After that I headed for home. The rain had pretty much stopped, and with a rainless forecast for several days, I got my car washed, something I don't do often. It really needed it. I looked for Glaucous Gull again in Kenmore, but again I didn't find it. After lunch I went back to Kenmore to try once more for the gull, but still couldn't find it. I suspect something is fishy about the eBird reports from this week. There have been no other reports of it for a couple of weeks, and the three reports this week were all within a five minute period, and two of them were about a half mile apart. Anyway, I don't think I'll go out of my way to look for it again, unless there are more reports. Glaucous Gull is quite uncommon around here.

Since I was right there, I took some pictures of the Great Blue Herons nesting behind the Kenmore Park and Ride. Here is a picture of the nests, with herons on many of the nests.

Here is a closer shot of one of the Great Blue Herons on a nest.

Here is a different one, with the wind blowing its feathers up on the top of its head.

The herons will raise one to three chicks in each nest, and the youngsters are as big as the adults by the time they can fly. The nests get quite crowded. The parents bring food the young ones until they can fly off and fend for themselves.

I added 17 more species to my March list today, and now I have 44 this month. Eight of those 17 were repeaters, and now I have 29 of my 70 repeater species this month. Band-tailed Pigeon, Barrow's Goldeneye, and Eurasian Wigeon were my best birds today. Now we are supposed to have several days without rain, although there is still a lot of flooding around. We'll see what I can find.

Friday, March 4, 2022

After finally getting my car washed yesterday, I was disappointed to see that it was raining lightly as I left home this morning. The back of my car got a bit dirty on the freeway, as I drove north to the Marysville/Everett area. My first stop was Jennings Memorial Park in Marysville, my go-to place for California Scrub-Jay these days. The rain had stopped on the way, and I walked around, looking and listening for scrub-jays. There was a Cooper's Hawk in a tree, drying its wings and tail, after the rain.

Here's a shot from a little different angle.

It flew to another tree and I got a rear view of the Cooper's Hawk with its wings and tail spread

I had crows, robins, Steller's Jays, and eventually, as I was getting ready to leave, I spotted a California Scrub-Jay in a distant tree. Here are two distant pictures of it.

With that success under my belt, I drove to the Everett sewage treatment plant area. At 12th St NE, I added Killdeer and Northern Shoveler to my March list. At the big pond, I got Green-winged Teal and Ruddy Duck. I stopped and played Marsh Wren songs, and one popped up for me, but didn't stick around for pictures. Here is an immature Bald Eagle from the back, sitting right next to the parking lot.

Here is the same immature Bald Eagle from the front.

I drove to the parking lot for the 10th St boat launch to look for gulls. The tide was out, so there weren't many around, and all I could add to my list was Glaucous-winged Gull. I went to lunch with my friend, Chris, and after lunch I went home. As I drove in my driveway, there was a lot of action at our seed feeder, so I stopped the car and took pictures. Here is a female Dark-eyed Junco.

Here's a Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

A Bewick's Wren flew in, and I needed that one for March still.

There was another one I needed on the ground under the feeder, a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

Finally, here is a little Downy Woodpecker at the suet feeder.

Notice how it is bracing itself with its tail. Woodpeckers have stiff tail feathers, which they use to brace themselves when feeding or drumming on a tree trunk.

I added 9 more species to my March list today, and now I have 53 species this month. Seven of the species today were repeaters, and now I have 36 of my 70 repeater species that I look for every month. I have a medical appointment tomorrow morning, but then there are supposed to be a couple more dry days after that, and I hope to get out there.

Sunday, March 6, 2022

Today was dipper day, the day that I went looking for American Dipper for March. I stopped at Marymoor Park on the way, but all I could get was a Red-tailed Hawk. The water in the slough was very high, as were all the streams, ponds, and rivers I saw today. The last week was quite rainy.

On my way out to the Snoqualmie Valley, I drove into the Redmond Watershed Preserve, and I added Gadwall to my March list. Out in the Snoqualmie Valley, I played Lincoln's Sparrow songs several places, and at Sikes Lake I attracted a Fox Sparrow, which I needed. Here are some pictures of the Fox Sparrow.

Check out those toenails.

In this next picture, the Fox Sparrow was calling back to me.

It kept posing for me, so I kept snapping pictures.

Eventually an immature White-crowned Sparrow flew in as well, and I needed that one, too. Here is the immature White-crowned Sparrow.

I drove to the house in Carnation with feeders. There wasn’t much bird action, but eventually a couple of Eurasian Collared-Doves flew in, and I needed that species still. Here is one of them.

There didn't used to be any Eurasian Collared-Doves in Washington State, or anywhere else in the west. They started moving in about 15 years ago, from the east, first to California, and eventually up here to Washington. I remember when I traveled to Southeastern Arizona in 2011, I told my guide that I would like to see one, since it would be a lifer. He said not to worry, and within a couple of years, we had them here at home.

I picked up a sandwich at the deli in the Carnation Market and headed up toward Tokul Creek, to look for American Dipper. On the way, I detoured onto dead-end Neal Road, in Fall City. There was a small flock of Canada Geese near a pond in a field, and there was a Cackling Goose with them. I needed the Cackler. I also needed the Hooded Mergansers I saw on the long pond along the road. At that point, my camera was doing its out-of-focus thing, so no pictures of those two species. I wish I knew why it does that sometimes.

At the end of Neal Road, I got out with my scope and checked out the blackbird flocks in the trees across the river. There were lots of Brewer's Blackbirds, which I needed, and eventually I found a Brown-headed Cowbird for my list, too. After that I drove up to Tokul Creek. At first I didn't see a dipper, either upstream or downstream, but eventually I saw two of them way upstream, flying toward me. One of them stopped a couple of times, and I confirmed the identity with my binoculars, but then I lost both of them, and never got a picture. Still, American Dipper went on my list. That makes 51 months in a row that I have seen American Dipper, ever since I started keeping a monthly list. There are lots of common species that I have seen in every one of those 51 months, but American Dipper isn't common at all. There are only a couple of places I see dippers, but I've managed to see one every month.

I ate half my sandwich there, and checked again after that, but still no pictures. I drove back down to the house in Carnation with feeders and ate the other half of my sandwich as I watched the birds. I didn't get anything else I needed, but I was glad to see a couple of Band-tailed Pigeons after a while. Here is a picture of one of the Band-tailed Pigeons, with the other one in the background.

With patience, I managed to get a picture that shows both Band-tailed Pigeons fairly well.

In recent months I have been getting Band-tailed Pigeon in Lake Forest Park, near the house that used to feed them there, but they are tough there. I'm glad to see them back in Carnation. I guess most of them migrate south in the winter. Band-tailed Pigeon is another uncommon species that I have managed to find in all 51 months since I started keeping a monthly list.

There weren't a lot of birds there, but Red-winged Blackbirds (which I already had) were coming in. Here are two pictures of male Red-winged Blackbirds in their winter plumage.

That was it for today. I added 10 more species to my March list, and now I have 63 species this month. That is a very slow start, mainly due to the places I have been this month so far. (I haven't visited any saltwater sites or been up to Skagit county yet.) In 2020 I had 106 species after six days in March. My lowest total for the first six days of March (before this year) was 84 in 2021. I have some good species this month, though, so I hope to catch up. Eight of the 10 species today were repeaters, and now I have 44 of my 70 repeater species.

Monday, March 7, 2022

Today I finally got up to Skagit county, and I also got in a little saltwater birding. I stopped and picked up a sandwich, and my first birding stop was Wylie Slough, as usual. I saw some Snow Geese flying overhead as I approached Wylie Slough, but I got nothing else I needed. On my way to my next stop, I saw a Northern Harrier, so that one went on my list, too. At the house on the corner of Valentine Road and Dodge Valley Road, I saw a Purple Finch, always a good one to get.

My next destination was March Point. I added Northern Pintail to my list at the base of March Point, then I spotted a group of five Mourning Doves, one I had hoped to see there. Here are two pictures of Mourning Doves.

I saw a couple of Common Loons for my list, but I couldn't find the Sanderlings that have been reported there lately. Then I found two Black Oystercatchers, another one for my list. Here are two Black Oystercatchers.

Next I drove to Whidbey Island, across the Deception Pass bridge. At Deception Pass State Park, I added Red-throated Loon, Red-breasted Merganser, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Pigeon Guillemot, and Surf Scoter - saltwater birds. Next I drove to Dugualla Bay. Out on the edge of the bay, I spotted a small group of Dunlin and a Greater Yellowlegs, both of which I needed. On the freshwater lagoon, I added the usual Canvasbacks to my list, and then found two male Redheads, a difficult duck to find around here.

At that point, rather than proceed to the west coast of Whidbey Island for more saltwater birding, I headed back to the Samish Flats to try to get Rough-legged Hawk. They will be heading off to the arctic soon to breed, and I wanted to be sure to see one in March. I spotted one along the Bayview Edison Road, but I didn't stop to take a picture because I had seen a report online of a Prairie Falcon at the West 90, just an hour earlier. I got to the West 90, but no Prairie Falcon was in evidence. I did see a couple of immature Bald Eagles there, though, with a couple of ravens nearby. The interactions were interesting. I'm not sure exactly what was going on, but here are some pictures. Here is one of the immature Bald Eagles.

Here's the other immature Bald Eagle. They look very much the same, but this second one has a darker bill.

One of the ravens seemed interested in something the eagle seemed to also be interested in.

The eagle didn't seem to care for the raven's interest.

Here is a shot of the Common Raven. Ravens are larger than crows, and the bill is much more massive.

The eagle chased the raven away from time to time, but the raven persisted. Is this what is known as the eagle eye?

The eagle with the darker bill was also interacting with them, and was sort of hopping around with its wings out, almost like it was taking off, but it stayed on the ground.

When I got tired of watching that show, I headed back toward home. I saw my second Rough-legged Hawk along Samish Island Road, and this time I took pictures. Unlike their cousins, Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks don't fly off right away when you pull up to take pictures.

Here is a closer shot.

The Prairie Falcon has also been reported along Sullivan Road, so I turned there. Almost right away I saw a guy with a camera on a tripod, pointing it at some trees. One thing I always watch for when birding is other people with binoculars, scopes, and cameras who seem to be seeing something. I stopped and looked at the trees he was pointing his camera at, and the rare (for this area) Prairie Falcon was perched near the top of one of the trees. The other guy had a real camera with a honking big lens, but I got out my little point and shoot super zoom camera, braced myself on my car, and took my own distant pictures of the Prairie Falcon.

After that I headed for home, but I stopped at the house on Valentine Road with the big suet feeder. I didn't get anything I needed, but I took a few pictures. Here is a male Spotted Towhee.

Here's a shot of a Chestnut-backed Chickadee. The background is a metal roof.

Here is one of its cousins, a Black-capped Chickadee.

I stopped once more at Wylie Slough, but I didn't see anything I needed there.

It was a very successful day of birding. I got everything I could have reasonably expected, including the rare Prairie Falcon. I added 19 more species to my March list, and now I have 82 species this month. Nine of those 19 species were repeaters, and now I have 53 of my 70 repeater species. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but then we are supposed to have three dry days, so maybe I can get out there and get more birds.

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

It rained yesterday, but I went out to lunch up in Everett, and I stopped by the 10th St boat launch parking lot and added California Gull to my March list.

Today I went up to the Edmonds area for saltwater birds. I stopped in Woodway and tried for California Quail, but a guy was working in the yard where the feeders are, and there weren't any quail around. I went to Kayu Kayu Ac Park, looking for Harlequin Duck, but I didn't see any. I did add Brant (a small saltwater goose) and Black Scoter (a sea duck) to my list, but that was all.

At Deer Creek Park in Woodway, I was able to call up a Pacific Wren, but not a Brown Creeper.

I drove to Sunset Avenue, on the Edmonds waterfront, and I saw both Pelagic Cormorant and Brandt's Cormorant on the ferry dock pilings. I needed both of those. Way out on Puget Sound, I saw about 15 Western Grebes, which I also needed.

I drove to Ocean Avenue, north of the ferry terminal, and spotted a single Pacific Loon, an excellent one for my list.

That was it for today. Sorry, no pictures, everything was too far away. I added 1 to my March list yesterday and 7 more today. Now I have 90 species this month. Two of the species today and the California Gull from yesterday were repeaters, and now I have 56 of my 70 repeaters.

Thursday, March 10, 2022

Today I went down to our local park, Juanita Bay Park, which is only 2 or 3 miles from home. Before I even left home, though, I saw a single Bushtit on our suet feeder. It flew off, but I played Bushtit calls, and 4 or 5 of them came back. It was so cold out (mid-30's) that I didn't spend much time trying for a picture.

At the park, I played Golden-crowned Kinglet songs near the parking lot, and one flew in for me. Again, I didn't spend too much time trying for a picture. I also played Red-breasted Nuthatch songs, and one of those showed up, too. That made three species for my list, though, and all three were repeaters.

I walked out into the park, and I met a woman who was there looking for the Mandarin Duck, as I was. She hadn't seen it from the east boardwalk, and she wasn't familiar with the park, so I walked with her out onto the causeway to look for it there. I have never seen so few ducks around as today. I don't know where they all were. There weren't even any coots, and usually there are hundreds of them at this time of year. There were a few Wood Ducks, though, and I needed that one. Here is a picture of a pair of Wood Ducks.

It was a bright sunny day, and the light was great for pictures. Here is a Double-crested Cormorant drying its wings in the sun.

I needed Wilson's Snipe, and there were two of them quite close to the causeway. Here are a couple of pictures of Wilson's Snipe.

I already had Green-winged Teal, but there was a male feeding quite close, in the great light, so I took pictures.

I love the pattern on the side of Green-winged Teal males.

I find it amazing that the duck's DNA can produce such an intricate pattern, when it is made up of feathers.

I heard a Virginia Rail calling as we walked along the causeway, too, and I needed that one. I had Common Merganser already, but a female showed herself well, so I took her picture.

I added Yellow-rumped Warbler to my list along the causeway, too. No sign of the Mandarin Duck today, though.

A little later, a Red-tailed Hawk was sitting in the sun, so I took some pictures of it.

A male Northern Flicker was watching the action, too.

I didn't get anything else I needed, but here is one more picture of a male Wood Duck.

So, I had a nice walk in the sunshine, and I got some pictures. I also added 7 more species to my March list, and now I have 97 species this month. Five of those 7 species today were repeaters, and now I have 61 of my 70 repeaters this month.

Friday, March 11, 2022

Today I went over to Marymoor Park, in nearby Redmond. I had a list of 12 species I needed that had been seen there yesterday, and others were also possible. Last night I reviewed my March list and found that I had forgotten to add two species that I have seen many times this month. They are both so common that I guess I just kept assuming that I had already listed them. The first one was Dark-eyed Junco, which I see in our yard every day. I saw some at Marymoor today, and here are pictures. First, here is a male Dark-eyed Junco.

Here's a female Dark-eyed Junco, which has a much lighter colored hood.

I had been playing Lincoln's Sparrow songs, and the juncos flew in. A couple of Spotted Towhees showed up, too. I had remembered to count that one this month, but here is a picture.

The other species I had overlooked flew in, too, and here is a picture of a Song Sparrow, now on my list officially.

I never could attract a Lincoln's Sparrow, and I didn't hear or see the pheasant, Lonesome George, either. I did spot an excellent one, though, a Northern Shrike. Here are a couple of distant pictures of the Northern Shrike.

A little later, I was driving back across the park, and I spotted the shrike again, in a different place.

I drove to the west parking lot for the dog park and walked along the slough. No kingfisher or any of the other birds that had been seen yesterday that I needed. I got a couple of pictures of a Fox Sparrow, though.

Great Blue Herons were occupying the nests along the slough. Here is a shot of the rookery.

Here's a closer shot. I count over 60 nests there, and I didn't see any that weren't occupied.

Almost all of those nests will have 1 to 4 young herons in them in a month or so. I don’t know if there are eggs yet or not.

At one point, I sat on a bench and watched a female Common Goldeneye diving in the slough. Here's a picture of her.

At another point in my walk, I heard a bird calling repeatedly, and it turned out to be a Bewick's Wren. Here are a couple of pictures.

It was a disappointing outing, in that I only got one of the 12 species that the group yesterday had seen (the shrike), other than the two overlooked species, which didn't really count. At least the one I saw, Northern Shrike, was an excellent one to get. The shrike plus the two overlooked species brought me to 100 species this month. We have one more dry morning, and then the rains come back. It is going to be a wet week, but maybe there will be some dry spells in the midst of the showers. Both of my overlooked species were repeaters, and now I have 63 of my 70 repeaters.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Today was nicer than I had expected it to be, and I drove up to the Woodway/Edmonds area. On the way, as I drove through Kenmore, I spotted the rare (for this area) Glaucous Gull that I saw there last month. I had thought it had moved on. Here are some pictures of the second winter Glaucous Gull.

I hadn't expected to get that one this month. My next stop was Deer Creek Park, in the town of Woodway. I played Brown Creeper songs in the parking lot, and one flew in to the trunk of a tree right in front of me. Here is a picture of the cute little Brown Creeper, blending in with the tree trunk.

I moved on to my quail site, and a truck was again parked in the driveway of the house with feeders. I didn't have a lot of hope, but I sat and listened for a short time, and by golly, a California Quail showed itself briefly. It turned and scurried away, but here is a terrible picture of it disappearing into the bushes.

Another one showed itself, or maybe the same one, and again, I got a picture of it as it disappeared.

Then one ran from the feeder area, past the truck, and I got it as it was heading into the bushes, too.

So, they are terrible pictures, but I saw California Quail for the month.

Next I drove to Kayu Kayu Ac Park. I was hoping for Harlequin Duck, but all I got was a number of Short-billed Gulls out on the water. At least it was one for my list. After that I drove to the Edmonds fishing pier. I didn't see anything I needed, but I took a few pictures. Here is a female Bufflehead.

A Red-necked Grebe had caught something.

Here's the Red-necked Grebe swallowing whatever it had caught.

A pair of Surf Scoters was close to the pier, so I took pictures of them. The male is the black one with the colorful bill.

I drove up to Sunset Avenue and looked around, but I didn't see anything I needed, and I took no more pictures. Likewise at Ocean Avenue. I headed for home, but I stopped once more along Bothell Way and looked out over the lake, hoping to maybe see the Blue-winged Teal that had been reported there yesterday, but no luck with that.

I added 4 more species to my March list today, and now I have 104 species. Two of them were repeaters, and now I have 65 of my 70 repeaters this month. Now we are in for a rainy week.

Sunday, March 13, 2022

The storm that came through last night fizzled out, and today turned out to be partly sunny, with no rain. I went down to Juanita Beach Park and looked for the Mandarin Duck, but had no luck. I decided to go over to Marymoor to look for birds, but on the way I stopped and checked the Washington Dashboard for notable birds reported to eBird today, on my phone. Surfbird was reported up at Edmonds, where I had been yesterday. The Surfbirds were reported to be with Black Turnstones, as they often are. Both of those species are about to migrate out of here, and I had thought I had missed them both this month, so I turned around and drove up to Edmonds.

I parked and went out on the fishing pier. Belted Kingfisher had also been reported there this morning, but I missed that one, as I had yesterday. Out on the pier, I soon found the Black Turnstones and Surfbirds, feeding on the breakwater that protects the small boat marina. The conditions for pictures were absolutely terrible, with the bright sunlight coming right at me, from directly behind the birds. As a result, my pictures are really terrible, but I took a lot of them anyway, because I was so glad to get both species. Here are some really mediocre pictures of Black Turnstones (at least two) and Surfbirds (at least three).

First, here is a Surfbird.

Here is a Black Turnstone.

Here are two Surfbirds.

Three Surfbirds.

Again, here are the three Surfbirds.

Here is a single Surfbird.

I decided I had enough Surfbird pictures, and I started to concentrate on Black Turnstones.

Here is a Black Turnstone and a Surfbird in the same shot. Surfbirds are supposed to be a little larger than Black Turnstones, and I think you can see that in this picture.

Here is another shot of one of the Black Turnstones.

Here's a Black Turnstone and two of the Surfbirds.

Here are two more pictures of a single Black Turnstone.

Finally, here is the only picture I got of both Black Turnstones.

After that I went up to Sunset Avenue, and today I managed to spot three Harlequin Ducks in the distance - two males and a female. I needed that one, I was happy to get it. Nothing else today, though

I added 3 more species to my March list today, and now I have 107 species this month. It is getting pretty difficult to add new ones, but a few species are due to return from migration still this month, so I'll keep on looking. We have at least two days of rain, though, to get through first.

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

No birding yesterday. Today I went over to Marymoor Park. I drove to the viewing mound and went up on it to look around. I couldn't call up a Lincoln's Sparrow, and I didn't see the pheasant or the Say's Phoebe that had been reported there recently. Eventually, a couple of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, my first of the year, flew past. I went back to my car and drove to the model airplane field, but got nothing there. On my way back from there, I spotted the Northern Shrike, fairly near the viewing mound. I had that one already, but it looked like it might be close enough for pictures, so I parked and went back up on the viewing mound. The shrike had moved on, but in a few minutes, I saw it flying, and it landed fairly close. Here are a couple of pictures of the Northern Shrike.

It flew off, and a minute or so later, I saw a bird fly into a different tree, still fairly close. It turned out to be a meadowlark, another one I already had, but I took a couple of pictures, anyway. Western Meadowlark.

We had a rain shower at that point, but after it passed, I drove over to the west parking lot and walked along the slough a bit. No kingfisher, but there were swallows flying around, over the slough. There were at least a couple of dozen of them, but all I could identify were more Violet-green Swallows, no Tree Swallows or Barn Swallows.

That was it for today. All I added was Violet-green Swallow. Now I have 108 species this month and 132 species this year. I still have 65 of my 70 repeater species this month. Tomorrow is supposed to be dry, and I hope to drive up to Skagit county and over to north Whidbey Island. A Black Phoebe has shown up at Wylie Slough, and I hope it will be around tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Today I drove up to Skagit county and then to north Whidbey Island, across the Deception Pass bridge. I had three target species - Black Phoebe, Long-tailed Duck, and White-winged Scoter. In addition, there were about a dozen possible bonus species I could theoretically find, although most were long shots.

My first stop was Wylie Slough, but I couldn't find the Black Phoebe that seems to have returned after an absence of a couple of months. I saw a couple of swallows as I arrived, but I couldn't tell if they were Violet-green Swallows (which I had already) or Tree Swallows (which would be new for the year for me). By the time I got out of the car to try to get a good look at them, they were gone.

Having dipped at Wylie Slough, I drove to north Whidbey Island. I stopped at four sites along what I call the West Coast of Whidbey Island, from Joseph Whidbey State Park to Libbey Beach. I saw Long-tailed Ducks at each stop, and I saw one male White-winged Scoter at the West Beach county park overlook. I didn't see any of the three bonus saltwater species I could have gotten.

At that point I turned back, heading for home. On the way across Fir Island, I drove into Hayton Reserve and took pictures of the Bald Eagles at the nest there.

Back at Wylie Slough, I again dipped on the Black Phoebe. I wonder where it was today. I walked out on the dike trail, to the bridge, but the only thing of interest I saw was a lot of Greater Yellowlegs. There must have been 20 or 25 of them spread out across the shallows. Here are some pictures of Greater Yellowlegs, a species I already had this month.

That was it for today. I was disappointed not to get Black Phoebe or any of the bonus species, but at least I knocked off my last two sea ducks for the month. I added two more species to my March list, and now I have 110 this month. I'm not going to get very many more, unless I go across the mountains to Kittitas county, which I might very well do. I realized today as I was driving to and from the West Coast of Whidbey Island that it is about the same amount of driving time as going over the mountains to Kittitas county. I could get 8 to 12 more species this month, if I go over the mountains, so I am very tempted. It could be either a day trip or an overnight trip. The later in the month I go, the more birds I am likely to see, so I have time to think about it and plan. Most of the time, the weather is better over there, too.

Thursday, March 17, 2022

I had seen a report of a semi-rarity (for this area) up in Edmonds yesterday evening, so I headed up there this morning, to see if it stuck around. At the Edmonds Marsh, I looked from one platform and didn't see it. When I went back to my car, to move it closer to the other end of the walkway, a woman asked me what that bird was, in the tree nearby. It was a Great Blue Heron, standing in a nest. I hadn't ever seen Great Blue Herons nesting at the Edmonds Marsh before. Here is a picture.

The bird moved around a bit, and then it flew to the next tree. Here it is, taking off.

It turned out that there was a second Great Blue Heron in the nest.

The second heron stuck out its neck at one point, and flared its feathers.

The original heron then came back to the nest, carrying a stick for the nest. You can see the stick in the bill of the bird on the right.

I guess they were still building their nest. It will be interesting to see if they are successful.

Meanwhile, the semi-rarity was still unfound. I went to the other two platforms and at the second one I spotted the quite uncommon EURASIAN TEAL (or COMMON TEAL, as it is called in Britain). Some authorities consider it a subspecies, rather than a full species. It is very similar to Green-winged Teal, which is an American species. Here is the Eurasian Teal.

Here it is with a female (as far as I know, there is no way to tell if the female is a Eurasian Teal or an American Green-winged Teal).

The significant thing is the horizontal white stripe on the wing, and the absence of a vertical white stripe on the shoulder. Here is an American Green-winged Teal. Note the lack of a horizontal wing stripe and the presence of a vertical white shoulder stripe.

I made the decision a few years ago to consider Eurasian Teal as a species, so I count them in my lists that way. It was a new species for me for 2022. The last time I saw one was in February of 2020. I didn't see one in 2019 or 2018, so that gives you an idea how uncommon they are around here. Two times in five years. I guess that Eurasian Teal do breed in the Western islands of Alaska, near Siberia, and this one presumably made its way south from there.

I drove up to Sunset Avenue and looked for the three seabird species I still need this month, but didn't find any of them. A Spotted Towhee was singing, though, and I took this picture of him.

There is a walking lane along the bluff on Sunset Avenue, and someone had placed little Ukrainian flags along the path, maybe 50 feet apart. Here is one of them, flapping in the breeze.

I drove up to Ocean Avenue and took this picture of a Brant, which is a small sea goose.

I saw a lot of Black Scoters today, maybe 8 or 10 of them. I had it already, but it is a good species, not seen in many places. Here is a male Black Scoter.

Here is a female Black Scoter.

Finally, here is a picture of a pair of Black Scoters.

After that, I headed home for lunch. After lunch, I was out in the garage and heard a bird call. At first I thought it was a Northern Flicker, but then I realized it wasn't quite right for a flicker. It called again, and I realized it was a Pileated Woodpecker, an excellent bird that I didn't have yet this month. I got my binoculars out of the car and found it at the very top of a tall fir tree in our front yard. My camera was downstairs in the house, but I rushed and got it. Unfortunately, the woodpecker had moved on by the time I got back. I had gotten a good look at it, though, and it went on my March list.

So, I added 2 more species to my March list today, and now I have 112 species this month so far. The Eurasian Teal brings me to 133 species for the year. I still have 65 of my 70 repeaters.

Friday, March 18, 2022

Today I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, and I went to Tulalip Bay before that. There had been a quite uncommon (around here) Ruddy Turnstone there for the winter, and I had seen it a few times. I had thought it was gone for the summer, but then people saw it for the last two days, and I decided to try for it today. I didn't find it. I saw a couple of Black Turnstones and some Black-bellied Plovers. I had Black Turnstone already, but Black-bellied Plover is a repeater that I hadn't seen yet this month, so at least I got something good. No pictures, sorry.

The addition of Black-bellied Plover to my March list brings me to 113 species this month and 66 of my 70 repeaters.

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Today I went down to Juanita Bay Park to look for Mandarin Duck, Belted Kingfisher, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and Tree Swallow. None of them was likely, but I gave it a shot. As it turned out, I didn't see any of them. There were very few ducks on the lake, and although I saw swallows, they seemed to all be Violet-green Swallows, which I already had.

The male Red-winged Blackbirds were looking for mates, calling and displaying, so I took some pictures of them. Here are some Red-winged Blackbird pictures.

Later I saw a bird that I wasn't able to identify. Here are pictures of the mystery bird.

The bill is finch-like and light colored, the breast and head are plain, and there seem to be a couple of wing bars. In this next picture, you can see that the tail is split.

Here is one from a little different angle.

My best guess would be American Goldfinch, but it just doesn't seem to have the shape or the look of a goldfinch.

Anyway, nothing for my lists today. I remain at 113 species for the month, 66 repeaters, and 133 for the year.

Monday, March 21, 2022

I had to stay home this morning for a workman to come, but this afternoon I went down to Juanita Beach Park (across the bay from Juanita Bay Park) to look again for the male Mandarin Duck, called "Mandy" by locals, I understand. This time I got it. It was pretty far away, much too far for good photos, but here is a record photo that shows it, more or less. In the middle of the picture, the colorful male Mandarin Duck.

Swimming behind him, on the left, is a female Wood Duck. People have been saying that Mandy has been hanging around with a female Wood Duck lately. It would be really great if they breed and raise young ones. I would like to see what they would look like. I don’t know if the two species can interbreed or not, but they are closely related, so it is possible.

While I was looking around with my scope, I noticed a river otter on a floating sign, across the bay. Here is a very distant shot of the river otter.

On my way back to my car, I spotted a bird fly into a tree. It was a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a species I already had this month. It proceeded to fly out from the tree repeatedly, hawking flying insects, and then it would return to the same tree. Here are some pictures of the Yellow-rumped Warbler.

This next picture is an example of what you get when you are just a fraction of a second too late in taking the picture. I like it partly because it is different and partly because it shows the bird's yellow rump.

Here's another shot that shows the yellow rump.

That was it for me today. I went home after that. I added Mandarin Duck to my March list, and now I have 114 species this month. I still have 66 of my 70 repeater species, and I have 133 species this year so far.

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

There has been a mega-rarity (for North America) reported for almost a week now, in the nearby town of Lake Forest Park. I hadn't gone looking for it before because it sounded like it was moving around a lot, and I thought the neighborhood it was in was one with little parking. Some things changed, though, and yesterday it sounded like it was sticking to one particular back yard pretty regularly, and it turned out to be a street with plenty of parking. The person who lives in that house is the woman who originally reported it, I think, and she was being very welcoming to birders. I decided to go for it this morning.

I found the house, only about 16 minutes from home, and I parked. I could see birders coming and going, and I asked if the rarity was being seen, and I was told yes. There were 7 or 8 birders there when I got there, and people kept coming and going. I had just missed seeing the bird, I guess (the usual story when you are looking for a rarity in a particular spot). I joined the group of birders on the side of the house, looking at the back yard. After about ten minutes, some people saw it, but the spot where it was turned out to be blocked from where I was by some branches. Eventually, after about 20 minutes, I spotted it on the far side of the yard, about 40 feet away, maybe. I had a great five second binocular view of the female RED-FLANKED BLUETAIL (LIFER!), and it moved off. The bird never stayed anywhere for long, the light was poor, and with people waiting who hadn't seen it, I moved out to make room for others, without trying for a picture. Here is a picture of a female Red-flanked Bluetail that I stole from the internet - NOT MY PICTURE.

I'm showing the picture to save my readers from searching for it online themselves. IT IS NOT MY PICTURE.

Red-flanked Bluetails breed across the Eurasian continent from Siberia to Finland, in the summer, and they winter in southeast Asia, from Japan south. This one either got across the straits to Alaska and migrated south, or hitched a ride on a ship, to get here. It is the first record on eBird of this species since 2019, in North America. There are a handful of reports up and down the west coast before that. That's my second lifer this year, which is amazing. The first one was the Whooper Swan.

So, with that lifer under my belt, I headed north to Everett for a lunch appointment. I stopped at the boat launch on 10th Street, in Everett, to look at gulls. I didn't find either of the ones I needed (Herring Gull and Western Gull), but I saw my first California Gulls of the year in their summer plumage. In the winter their legs are more green-gray, rather than yellow, and their heads would have dark smudging on them. I had the species this month, but I liked the clean summer plumage look, so I took pictures. Here is a California Gull in summer plumage.

Here is the second California Gull in summer plumage.

Here are two pictures of the two California Gulls together.

That was it for today. The Red-flanked Bluetail brought me to 115 species for March, 134 species for 2022, 197 species for King county, 289 species for Washington State, 563 official ABA species in the US (not including Hawaii), and 612 ABA species in the US (including Hawaii). It also brought my overall, worldwide life list to 1177 species. Whew, that's a lot of numbers.

Friday, March 25, 2022

Yesterday I went over to Marymoor Park, but I didn't get any pictures. There were several dozen swallows swooping around over the slough, but the vast majority were Violet-green Swallows, which I already had this month. I did manage to pick out 4 or 5 that I thought were TREE SWALLOWS, a new species for me this year.

Today, Friday, I went back to Marymoor Park. Today I stopped first at the rowing club and walked up and down the road there. I didn't see anything I needed or get any pictures. I drove around to the main part of the park, and my first stop there was the community gardens. I saw some sparrows on the ground, so I parked and got out to take pictures, hoping to find a Lincoln's Sparrow or maybe even a White-throated Sparrow. The only ones I saw were White-crowned Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, and a couple of Song Sparrows. Here is a White-crowned Sparrow.

Here is an immature White-crowned Sparrow.

Here's a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

While I was taking those pictures, I heard what I thought was a pheasant call, just once. I went looking for it, and while looking, I found a couple of male Tree Swallows at one of the nest boxes. That was good, because it "insured" my call of Tree Swallow yesterday. Here are some pictures of the male Tree Swallows.

So, that was a nice distraction, but I was still looking for the pheasant. I finally found him, and I took pictures, of course. Here is the Ring-necked Pheasant, Lonesome George, who has been hanging around Marymoor park for at least a couple of years.

He was remarkably approachable, and ended up about 6 or 8 feet away from him, while I kept taking pictures.

Here's a close up shot of his head, showing the complicated feather patterns. Check out the dark blue "ears", which you can aso see in the previous picture.

I think it is interesting that I only got the pheasant today because I had gotten out of my car to take pictures of the sparrows. If it hadn't been for that, I would have been gone by the time the pheasant called, and I wouldn't have seen it today.

Eventually I dragged myself away from there and walked along the slough, hoping to see a kingfisher. I gave that up after a while, and I drove over to the east parking lot for the dog park, which is near the viewing mound and the East Meadow. I walked down the west side of the East Meadow, looking for a species that had been reported to have been singing there yesterday - the first one of the year at Marymoor Park. I soon spotted my first SAVANNAH SPARROW of the year, and it was singing again today.

It was out in the meadow, and you aren't supposed to walk in the meadow, so my pictures are kind of distant.

I stopped one more time on my way out of the park, and I walked around the mansion. I didn't see anything else or get any more pictures.

For yesterday and today, I added 3 more species to my March list, to bring it to 118 species now. Two of those species (Tree Swallow and Savannah Sparrow) were new for the year for me, and now I have 136 species in 2022. I've decided not to go over the mountains this month, so I'll be lucky to get to 120, but I do have a few to look for still.

Saturday, March 26, 2022

I put together a custom route today, to take me to several places where I could look for particular birds. My first stop was the parking lot at the boat launch at the end of 10th St in Everett, to look for Herring Gull. I had no luck with that one, which wasn't surprising since they are uncommon around here. Next I drove to the little wetlands on 12th St NE, just north of the Everett sewage treatment plant. I was hoping that the Long-billed Dowitchers that had recently been reported there would be around. This time I got lucky, and there were about 20 Long-billed Dowitchers roosting there. Here is a distant picture of some of the Long-billed Dowitchers, an excellent one for my list.

After that I drove to Tulalip Bay, in search of a kingfisher. I didn't see one on my first pass along the west side of the bay, but on my way back, just as I was almost done, I heard one. I looked and saw it fly in to a piling. Here is a distant picture of my repeater Belted Kingfisher for March.

I was quite happy to have two species for the day, but I really wanted to get Black Phoebe, so I drove up to Wylie Slough, in Skagit county. Last year Black Phoebe was fairly easy there, even though they are quite uncommon around here in general. It was easy enough to get last year that I put it on my 70 species repeater list for this year. Unfortunately, after our big snow and deep freeze at the end of December, no Black Phoebes had been reported at Wylie Slough for two and a half months. One showed up again a couple of weeks ago, so I had hopes for today. I drove back and forth along the entrance slough, but didn’t see one. I parked and hung out in the area around where they have nested for the last couple of years, and eventually one flew in and I had a brief view. I ate my lunch there, and the BLACK PHOEBE, my first of the year, kept coming back. My pictures aren't great because it kept landing high in trees, with the brigth cloudy sky behind it, but here they are.

Here's an interesting shot of it taking off.

In this next shot, the Black Phoebe is calling.

At one point, it flew up to the nest, but didn't actually land there. I suspect it is looking for a mate. Here is one last shot of my first Black Phoebe of the year.

With three species under my belt, I was really feeling good, but then I spotted a hummingbird at the top of a little tree. It was hard to make it out with the bright sky behind it (it just looked black), but I used my camera to take pictures, and I was able to determine that it was a male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, my first of the year. Here are a couple of heavily processed shots of it with the bright sky behind it.

I was standing there congratulating myself on getting four species today, when a bird shot across the sky in front of me. The size, color, and shape were right; it had pointed wings, like a falcon; and it flew incredibly fast - I thought about it, and it could only have been a Merlin, my first one in March. Five species! Wow.

I headed for home then, but I drove around Fir Island a bit on the way, to look for Turkey Vultures, mainly, but it is quite early for that species to be back. I didn't get anything else I needed, but I took more pictures. Here is a Red-tailed Hawk.

There was a huge flock of thousands of Snow Geese along Polson Road. I was glad to see they are still around. I hope a few will still be around in a week, so I can get that species for April. Here are some Snow Goose pictures.

Here are some Snow Geese coming in for a landing. They remind me of big cargo jets in a strong wind.

The ones with dark feathers are immature birds, hatched last year in the far north. Here is an immature Snow Goose that is just starting to molt into its adult plumage.

Here's another immature Snow Goose that has progressed further with its molt. You can see the white feathers that are gradually replacing the dark ones. It's bill is turning orange, too, like an adult's bill.

As I drove on from where the Snow Geese were, I saw some swans. Most of the swans have already headed north, but I hope some stick around for my April list.

Just before I got to the freeway, I spotted another Red-tailed Hawk and pulled in to take pictures.

There's nothing special about that picture, but then the bird took off, and I got this one, which I rather like.

That was it for today. I put 16.7 gallons of gas in my car at 4.239 per gallon, and I drove down the freeway to home. I drove 130 miles today and got 25.2 miles per gallon, per the car's computer.

I added a whopping 5 species to my March list, and now it stands at 123 species. That's a respectable total considering I didn't go over the mountains or across Puget Sound this month. I could add one or two more, if I get lucky. Belted Kingfisher and Black Phoebe were repeaters, and now I have 68 of my 70 repeater species. The two repeaters I missed this month are Bonaparte's Gull (which would have required a trip across Puget Sound to Point No Point) and Cedar Waxwing (still possible, but they have been really thin on the ground this winter around here). Black Phoebe and Rufous Hummingbird were new for the year, and I have 138 species this year now.

Tuesday, March 25, 2022

Today I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, and I went up early to look for birds. A stop at the Everett sewage treatment plant didn't get me Peregrine Falcon, as I had hoped (but not expected), and there wasn't anything I needed at the little wetlands on 12th St NE, either. At the 10th St. boat launch parking lot I did find a Herring Gull, though, and I needed that one still this month. Here is the Herring Gull, with its yellow eye, pink legs, and black wing tips.

Here is a close up of the yellow eye, which is the main way I distinguish Herring Gull from other gulls of similar size with pink legs and black wing tips.

I used to think of the black at the back end of gulls as the color of the tail, but this gull has a white tail. The black wing tips look like the tail when the gull is at rest. Here is the Herring Gull preening, showing its black wing tips and white tail.

I looked around for Ospreys, but it is still a week or so early for them to be returning to this area. I had seen mention of the Great Blue Heron rookery at that location, and I have been looking at it for the last two or three weeks, as the herons have been congregating there. I hadn't realized in past years that it was there, and I don't know how long it has been. It's nice because the nests are not only pretty close, they are at eye level, unlike most Great Blue Heron rookeries, which are usually high in trees. It will be quite interesting to watch the nests as the youngsters grow up. I estimated that there are at least 30 or 40 nests there, on old pilings. Here are a few of them.

Here are more pictures of the Great Blue Heron nests, with some of the birds sitting on eggs (presumably) and others just standing around.

I'm looking forward to watching the nests as the youngsters hatch and grow. There will be 1 to 4 chicks in each successful nest, and they get as big as the adults before they fly off and take care of themselves.

That was it for today. I added Herring Gull to my March list, and now I have 124 species this month. I still have 68 repeaters this month and 138 species this year. I might very well not get any more this month, but we will see.