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Sunday, September 4, 2022

 

I'm ba-a-a-ack again.  My second round of covid was worse than the first one.  My symptoms were never worse than a moderate cold, but I felt lethargic and sick for almost a week.  I didn't leave home, so I didn't do any birding.  On Thursday, I started my September list with three birds here in our yard - Steller's Jay, Feral Pigeon, and American Crow.

 

I finally tested negative on Saturday morning, but I didn't feel up to going out birding yet.  Today I tested negative again, and I ventured down to Juanita Bay Park, which is less than ten minutes from home.  I couldn't call up a Golden-crowned Kinglet near the parking lot, so I walked out on to the east boardwalk.  I saw a couple of Anna's Hummingbirds along the way, and at the end of the boardwalk, I soon added Mallard, Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, American Coot, and Canada Goose.  I spotted a Pied-billed Grebe, and then a couple of Belted Kingfishers.

 

I backtracked and walked over to the west boardwalk.  An Osprey flew in to the platform out in the bay, but I didn't get anything else I needed.  I took some pictures of Wood Ducks.  Here is a male Wood Duck in his non-breeding plumage.

 

Here's a female Wood Duck.

 

I also got a distant picture of a male Wood Duck that was in the process of changing from non-breeding plumage to breeding plumage.

 

I didn't add anything else on my walk back to my car, and again I couldn't call up a Golden-crowned Kinglet near the parking lot.  I drove across the road to the fire station road.  I heard a Virginia Rail call there, and I spotted a Northern Flicker, but that was it.

 

I went home for lunch, feeling pretty beat.  I was preparing my lunch, and on my way out to the garden to pick some cherry tomatoes, I saw a couple of Dark-eyed Juncos.  An American Robin flew up from the garden, so that one went on my September list, too.  Then there was a little feeding flock of chickadees, and I added both Black-capped Chickadee and Chestnut-backed Chickadee to my list.

 

So, I added 18 species to my September list so far this month.  17 of those were repeaters.  I still have 190 species this year.

 

I was surprised how tired I felt after my small exertions today.  I guess that it takes a few days for full strength to come back after a covid infection.

 

 

Monday, September 5, 2022

 

Today I drove up to the Edmonds area to look for birds.  I stopped at my quail site in Woodway, but I didn't see or hear anything interesting.  Next I drove to the Edmonds waterfront and looked along the breakwater for a Brown Pelican, an uncommon bird here, but one that has been seen there for the last few weeks.  No luck with that, although one was reported this morning there.  I did add Heermann's Gull to my list, but nothing else.

 

I went over to the Edmonds Marsh and walked a little, but all I got there was European Starling and Killdeer.  After that I parked and walked out on the fishing pier.  I added Glaucous-winged Gull, but nothing else.  It was a very slow day, and I wasn't getting any pictures, either.

 

I drove up to Sunset Avenue and used my scope.  I added Pelagic Cormorant and Double-crested Cormorant easily.  Eventually I saw three Pigeon Guillemots and a Rhinoceros Auklet.

 

My last stop was on Ocean Avenue, north of downtown Edmonds.  I used my scope to look northwest, and I saw a couple of dozen Western Grebes, way out there.  That was my final September bird of the day.

 

I added 10 species to my September list, and now I have 28 species this month.  Six of those were repeaters, and now I have 23 repeaters this month.  It's a very slow start to September, and the whole month looks to be slow as well.  I have lots of medical appointments and I'm getting a late start on things.  I was stronger today than yesterday, but I still don't feel like I'm back to 100% after my battle with the coronavirus.  I don't have any particular symptoms, but I feel weak and I don't have any stamina.  I'll continue to take it easy while I get my strength back.  Sorry about the lack of pictures today.  It wasn't the kind of birding that yields pictures.

 

 

Tuesday, September 6, 2022

 

Today I went out to the Snoqualmie Valley on my monthly hunt for American Dipper.  My first stop was the Redmond Retention Ponds.  I picked up Greater Yellowlegs there, and here's a picture.

 

There were some Green-winged Teal, and I needed that one, too.  Here's a picture of a Green-winged Teal.

 

As I was leaving, I noticed a single Northern Pintail, too, another one I needed, so I took its picture.

 

I drove out into the Snoqualmie Valley and saw Barn Swallows a number of places.  Here are a couple of pictures of Barn Swallows.

 

 

 

Across the road from those swallows was a single Cedar Waxwing.  As I drove away from there, I saw four Turkey Vultures circling high overhead.

 

As I approached Sikes Lake, there was a male American Kestrel on a pole.  The light was all wrong, but I managed to get this mediocre picture of the male American Kestrel.

 

At the farm across the river from Chinook Bend, there were a number of swallows on wires and flying around.  Again the light was terrible, I was looking right up into the sun, but I took some pictures, anyway.  Here is what I think was a female Violet-green Swallow, another one I needed.

 

Here's a male Violet-green Swallow.

 

Here is another swallow.

 

I don't know what species that was.  It doesn't seem right for anything except a first year female Tree Swallow, but I'm not sure enough of that to count it.  Here is another swallow.

 

The only thing I can think that might be is a Bank Swallow.  I saw Bank Swallows at that location a few weeks ago, and others have also reported them there this summer.  It seems like the faint band across the upper chest should be darker for a Bank Swallow, but I don't know what else it could be.  I'm going to count it as a Bank Swallow, although I'm far from sure about it.  I suppose it could be a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, but the white cheek and chin isn't right for that.

 

I moved on into the town of Carnation and went to the "old" feeder house.  There were Band-tailed Pigeons in the trees, but I didn't get any decent pictures.  Here are some American Goldfinches at a feeder.

 

There was nothing else around there, so I drove to the "new" feeder house in Carnation.  The sunflowers in the yard have grown so much that most of the feeders are blocked from view now.

 

There was one little channel through which I was able to get this picture of a Band-tailed Pigeon, the only one I saw there.

 

I also added Red-winged Blackbird to my list, and here's a picture.

 

I also saw a scruffy looking male House Finch for my list.

 

Next I picked up a sandwich at the deli in the Carnation Market.  Then I drove to the bridge over the Tolt River, on the south side of Carnation.  I walked down by the river looking for American Dipper, but I didn't find one.  After that I drove down the west side of the Snoqualmie River to Fall City.  At the pond south of Jubilee Farms, I was trying to call in a Common Yellowthroat (I failed) when I heard

an odd bird call.  It sort of sounded like a woodpecker drumming, but not quite.  It was a knocking sound, like someone knocking on a hollow core door.  Four quick knocks, with a little longer time between the third and fourth knock.  I couldn't imagine what it was, so I fired up the Merlin bird sound identification app on my phone.  It said the call was a Common Raven.  I played the raven calls in my bird app, and sure enough, that's exactly what it was.  As I was standing there playing the various raven calls, a Common Raven flew out of a tree across the pond and flew off.  I don't believe that I have ever heard that raven call before, or if I did, I didn't realize what it was.  The interesting thing is that that is a place where I have seen and heard ravens before, and I was watching and listening for them.

 

So, with Common Raven on my list, I moved on to the bridge over Tokul Creek, up the road to Snoqualmie Falls from Fall City.  I couldn't find a dipper, so I drove down the road and ate half my sandwich in my car.  Last month I had missed getting a dipper there, and when I went back after eating my lunch, I found one.  I was hoping that would happen again today, but no such luck.  I even ate the second half of my sandwich while standing on the bridge and watching for dippers, but still no luck.

 

So, I gave it up and headed for home, figuring I would have to return this month to get my monthly American Dipper.  As I drove back into Carnation, I decided to stop again at the Tolt River bridge.  This time I hit it lucky, and a dipper was standing on a rock under the bridge in the deep shade.  Success!  I walked down the slope to the rocky river bed and was able to get within about 15 feet of the dipper.  The shade was so deep that pictures were difficult, but here is my best effort at a picture of the juvenile American Dipper.

 

I headed for home and didn't get anything else after that.  It was a successful day, though, because I got my September dipper.  I added 16 species to my September list, and now I have 44 species this month.  Twelve of them were repeaters, and now I have 35 of my 70 repeaters.  I still have 190 species this year.

 

 

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

 

Before I get into today, I'd like to make a correction to yesterday's report.  My birding buddy Hank pointed out that the swallow I called a Bank Swallow yesterday looked more like a juvenile Tree Swallow.  I looked it up, and I agree with him, so I'm changing my list and spreadsheet to Tree Swallow, instead of Bank Swallow.  I saw other swallows yesterday that I though looked like Bank Swallows, but I don't have any good pictures of them, so I won't count that one for this month.  I needed Tree Swallow, so it doesn't change my numbers.

 

Today I had a lunch appointment up in Everett, and I went up early to check out the Everett Sewage Treatment Plant.  I kept trying to call up a Marsh Wren or a Common Yellowthroat, but I failed.  I'm sure they are both there, but at this time of year, birds aren't very responsive to playback.  I guess they aren't defending territories or looking for mates at this time.

 

Ducks are starting to come back from migration.  The most common species there today was Northern Shoveler.  Here is a Northern Shoveler, one for my list.

 

Here are two Northern Shovelers.

 

I happened to notice one American Wigeon in with the shovelers, and I got this distant picture of another species I needed for September, American Wigeon.

 

I was glad to see about a half dozen Ruddy Ducks, too, another one I needed and was due to come back.  They were too distant for pictures.

 

I drove to the end of the road, and I spotted a Merlin in one of the big dead trees where I have seen falcons before.  It turned out there were two Merlins.  Here are some distant pictures of Merlins, a species I hadn't seen since March.

 

 

 

That was it for today.  The tide was out at Port Gardner Bay on the Everett waterfront, and I didn't see anything there I needed.  I added 4 more species to my September list, and now I have 48 species this month.  Three of those 4 species were repeaters, and now I have 38 of my70 repeater species this month.

 

 

Thursday, September 8, 2022

 

I didn't feel like a big birding outing today, so I went over to the Redmond Retention Ponds to see what was going on there.  There were five birders already there, but not much around.  I spotted a couple of ducks that I thought were Cinnamon Teal on the pond, and I got these two pictures of them.

 

 

Here's a picture of the two of them with a Northern Pintail on the right.

 

Teal are difficult to tell apart, but I was pretty sure these were Cinnamon Teal because of the bills.  When I enlarged the head of the bird in the middle of the last picture, I could see the red eye of the bird.

 

Male Cinnamon Teal look like female Cinnamon Teal when they are in eclipse or non-breeding plumage, except they have a red eye.  I think this is a male Cinnamon Teal in eclipse plumage.  The eye might not look all that red to you, but I see red in it, and I am calling it a male Cinnamon Teal in non-breeding (eclipse) plumage.

 

I didn't see anything else I needed there, so I moved on to the Redmond Watershed Preserve, up the hill.  I played Brown Creeper and Pacific Wren songs and calls as I walked in the woods.  Eventually I saw both species, presumably called in by the songs I was playing.  The Brown Creeper stayed up much too high in the dark forest to get a picture, but I got one incredibly blurry picture of the Pacific Wren that showed up.  It was very blurred due to the low light and the very slow shutter speed necessary - 1/6 of a second at ISO 800, and the camera was hand held at 60X zoom.  It's amazing that I could get a picture at all.  It took a long time to auto-focus, while I tried to stand still.  Here is the picture with all the blurring.

 

Just to show what my image processing software can do, here is the same image processed to remove most of the motion blurring.

 

Okay, it is still a terrible picture, but it is much clearer than the uncorrected image.  For 1/6 of a second, hand held while free standing, it is not that bad.

 

After that I went home.  I was only out there about an hour and a half, and most of that was driving, but I had all I wanted today.  I think I might still be recovering from my bouts with covid.  I added 3 species to my September list today, and now I have 51 species this month.  Two of those were repeaters, and now I have 40 repeaters this month.

 

 

Sunday, September 11, 2022

 

I had felt under the weather for a couple of days, but today I felt well enough to go out looking for birds.  I went up to the Edmonds area, and my first stop was my California Quail spot in Woodway.  No luck with that, although I did add Spotted Towhee to my list.  I moved on to the Edmonds waterfront.  An immature Brown Pelican was on the south jetty, so I added that one to my September list.  I took pictures, but the bird had its head tucked under its wing, so they aren't very interesting.

 

I drove up to Sunset Avenue, but the only one I saw that I needed was a distant Brandt's Cormorant on one of the ferry dock pilings.  I drove around to Ocean Avenue, and there was nothing there.  I don't know where all the sea birds were, but they sure weren't showing themselves this morning in Edmonds.

 

I made one more stop at my quail site on my way home, but all I got was an immature White-crowned Sparrow.

 

It was a very slow hour or two of birding, and all I added to my September list were 4 species, to bring me to 55 this month now..  Two of them were repeaters, and now I have 42 repeaters this month.  It isn't going to be a good month.

 

 

Monday, September 12, 2022

 

Today I went up to Marysville to look for California Scrub-Jay at Jennings Memorial Park.  I walked around, but all I saw or heard were Steller's Jays.  Eventually, I threw out some peanuts for a Steller's Jay.

 

I threw some more peanuts, and I had three Steller's Jays eventually, along with a squirrel.  Then a California Scrub-Jay showed up from somewhere, and I took pictures as I threw out more peanuts.  Here are some shots of my September California Scrub-Jay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I got tired of that and was out of peanuts, I drove to Port Gardner Bay on the Everett waterfront.  There weren't any shorebirds around, but I added Ring-billed Gull and California Gull to my list for the month.

 

I added 3 more species to my September list today, to bring me to 58 this month.  Two of them were repeaters, and now I have 44 of my 70 repeaters this month.  My month continues to be very slow, and it isn't likely to get much better, with all the medical appointments I have this month

.