I enjoy being almost anywhere there are birds to be seen and at almost any times that work well for seeing them.  The nature observer aspect of birding is challenging and rewarding – and to repeat – enjoyable.  But there is definitely a part of my personal make-up that responds to the chase, the hunt, the planning and execution that comes with targeted pursuits – in birding and in other activities.  Having goals has always been a part of my life – some attained and many more not – and even if attained – finding new ones or changing the old ones to find something new or something more or better – defining that differently than perhaps someone else would – but in a way that works for and has meaning for me.

As I have written earlier, this is not going to be a Big Year in Washington – been there, done that, loved it – but now I want and need to look more to other aspects of my life, other people, other activities and other needs.  BUT…I cannot imagine a birdless year and I still want the organization, thrill, enjoyment and sense of accomplishment that comes with setting, pursuing and hopefully meeting goals.  Not the single goal of a Big Year but of several others – arbitrary perhaps but tied to numbers that at least provide some perceived unique quality – because they have two zeroes at the end – multiples of 100 and somehow that makes them more “special” to me and maybe to someone reading this post.  I have set a lot of Double Zero goals for the year.

An earlier post outlined how I hope to reach one of those Double Zero goals – the one with a 3 and two zeroes – seeing 300 species in Washington this year – a far cry from earlier true Big Year pursuits of up to 365 species in a year – but respectable and motivating.  My last post included the realization of one of my other Double Zero goals – the 200 goal – finding life species number 200 in Kittitas County – accomplished with the observation of an Anna’s Hummingbird at the Hyak feeders at Snoqualmie Pass.   That last post dealt mainly with 4 Edmonds birders looking for some rare birds in Yakima County and in the process observing almost 90 species for the day.  This post is about pursuit and attainment of the first of the Double Zero goals – the 100 goal – finding at least 100 species in Washington in a single day.  It was set as a goal some months ago, but the success of that trip with my Edmonds friends motivated me to get out and give it a try this past Saturday.

Even though I think some additional stops and focus on that earlier trip might have gotten us to 100, this time I would be on my own and thus would not have Steve’s knowledge, Frank’s great ears, Ann Marie’s good eyes (and stellar record-keeping),  and also we had seen some really good birds on that earlier trip that were not guaranteed this time.  So in planning my pursuit I decided to repeat most of that earlier route but adding some new spots that would increase the odds of hitting that magical 100 species.  First and foremost that meant some close to home birding in hometown Edmonds – particularly at the waterfront where there would be the chance of birds not possible east of the mountains.

On a whim, I made a first stop at Yost Park – less than 1/2 mile from my house.  Maybe I would get lucky and hear the morning serenade of the resident Barred Owls even though it was now way past breeding season and the only Ebird report of one there this month was from June 3.  My whim was immediately rewarded at 4:40 a.m. when the song of a Black Throated Gray Warbler greeted me as soon as I opened the car door.  It was a species not seen in that 90 species day.  Another new bird came almost as quickly – a Brown Creeper with its high pitched call notes.  I figured both Pacific and Bewick’s Wrens should be around and short plays of their songs resulted in both – coming up to the low growth near the parking area.  It had not yet been three minutes and I already had 4 new birds.  Could an owl be added as well?  It took a single call to answer the question.  I do a reasonably good “Who cooks for you” call and this one immediately brought a response and the Barred Owl flew from its roost near the tennis courts immediately over my head and then, chased by American Crows, down onto a tree in the forest below.  The Crows continued to harass it, and the Owl continued to call for the 10 minutes I remained there.  A Downy Woodpecker made an appearance as I got back into my car (another bird missed on that previous trip). A Great start!!

Yost Park Barred Owl – A Good Omen

Yost Park was a spur of the moment add – and a bare 15 minutes into the day, I was already at 14 species.  Next was a stop at the Edmonds waterfront hoping for seabirds.  Unfortunately the tide was very high and the birds relatively few, but I easily added Heerman’s and Glaucous Winged Gulls, Pigeon Guillemot, Belted Kingfisher and Caspian Tern – 4 of which were not possible elsewhere on this day.

Heerman’s Gull

The last planned stop was the Edmonds Marsh.  On a mini-scouting trip there the day before I had Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren, Killdeer and Purple Martin – none of which were seen on that previous trip.  No Purple Martin this time but the others were immediately heard and there were three other swallows species, a Great Blue Heron and both Mallards and Gadwalls – neither species a sure thing elsewhere.  I had now been birding about an hour and had seen 35 species – 14 not seen on the previous trip.  Time to head east.

As in the Edmonds Birders Go East trip, I made my Eastern first stop at Snoqualmie Pass.  The place was alive.  I heard an Olive Sided Flycatcher as soon as I got out of the car and then quickly added Swainson’s Thrush, Yellow and Townsend’s Warblers,  Pine Siskins, Rufous Hummingbird, Chestnut Backed Chickadees, Northern Flicker and Brown Headed Cowbird.  Eleven new species for the day and one more that had not been seen on the previous trip.  A quick stop at the Hyak Hummingbird feeders again added Anna’s Hummingbird, Nashville Warbler, Willow Flycatcher,  Evening Grosbeak, and Common Raven.  Nothing new from the earlier trip but now I was at 50 species – half way there.

Evening Grosbeak

My next stop was to be Bullfrog Pond – a favorite place and one not visited on the previous trip.  As usual Bullfrog Pond delivered well.  37 species were seen in the hour spent there including 18 new for the day and 5 that had not been seen on the earlier trip (Williamson’s and Red Breasted Sapsuckers, American Dipper, Gray Catbird and White Breasted Nuthatch).

Gray Catbird

On to another favorite place, the nearby Railroad Ponds in South Cle Elum – also not visited before.  Thirty-one species were seen – 9 more new for the day and two not seen previously (Purple Finch and Bank Swallow).  A special observation was an adult Pileated Woodpecker feeding a juvenile.

Pileated Woodpeckers

Purple Finch

The day count was now at 77 – three quarters of the way there – with lots of birds new from the earlier trip – looking good but many of the great birds from the last trip were not guaranteed – part of the fun.  An Osprey on I-90 made it 78.

On that earlier trip, we had not spent much time looking for Shrub/Steppe birds.  I decided to bird Durr Road on this trip to look for some.  It was a good decision – only six species seen but 5 were new for the day and two – Vesper Sparrow and Sage Thrasher had not been seen on that other trip.  83 species and counting.  By the way – great views of Mt. Rainier and the Stuart Range – always enjoy them and this time I remembered to take pictures.

Vesper Sparrow

Views from Durr Road – Mount Rainier and the Stuart Range

The next couple of hours repeated the previous trip – Umptanum Road with a stop at the parking lot for the Umptanum Falls trail, North Wenas Road with a stop at Bluebird Box 7 to look for the Calliope Hummingbird and then to Maloy Road hoping the Least Flycatcher remained and to the Wenas riparian area hoping the same for the Indigo Bunting before heading on to the Wenas Campground area.

Nine species new for the day were added before getting to Maloy Road with the only new one from before being a Cooper’s Hawk.  But no Chukars or Townsend Solitaire this time – so two misses.  Now at 92 species – more than seen on the entire previous trip – thanks primarily to those early Edmonds birds.

Western Tanager

The Least Flycatcher was che-bekking loud and clear at Maloy Road – even had a peek-a-boo view but did not try for a photo considering myself fortunate to get one on the earlier trip.  On the way in to the Wenas Riparian area to look for the Indigo Bunting, I had a fun sighting of both an Eastern and a Western Kingbird within maybe 30 feet of each other on a wire.  Both were new for the trip and the former had not been seen on the earlier one. Now at 95 species.

Eastern and Western Kingbirds

When I got to the Indigo Bunting spot, two birders were looking into the Cottonwood where we had seen it before.  I heard it singing and with some joint effort we got decent views (No. 94).  Another birder arrived and we got him on the bird, too.  I shared directions to the Least Flycatcher, and then proceeded to the Wenas Campground.  It was pretty slow there in the rising heat of the day, but I added another 6 species for the day and had now hit that “magical 100 species”.  The only species not seen from the earlier trip was a Gray Flycatcher.  Before we had heard Red Crossbills and this time I got a photo of one – although I had misidentified it as an odd colored House Finch when I first saw it.  A pair of Black Headed Grosbeaks were particularly photo worthy

Red Crossbill

 

Male and Female Black Headed Grosbeaks

  

On the way back out, I stopped again for a last look at the Indigo Bunting and tried to lure it in with playback.  I was now closer to the yellow gate and could hear it singing.  No response.  On a whim, I tried the Lazuli Bunting call, and the Indigo Bunting immediately flew right at me and perched up for a good photo.  Hmmm?

Indigo Bunting

This trip had originally had multiple goals – 100 species for the day but also importantly a try for Black Backed and Three Toed Woodpeckers at Bethel Ridge.  I had located nests for each there in years past but had seen neither this year on two tries.  Paul Baerny had both last week and I had his directions.  Brian Pendleton was already there looking for those species.  I was optimistic.  Getting there included the road past Wenas Lake and through good agricultural habitat and a stop at Oak Creek Canyon (as on the previous trip).  Surprisingly perhaps, the trip down Longmire Road produced the only Black Billed Magpie and American Kestrel of the trip.  There were Canada Geese on Wenas Lake and my only California Quail nearby plus my first Western Meadowlarks and Brewers Blackbirds.   I was now at 106 species.

At Oak Creek Canyon I got my biggest and most pleasant surprise of the trip.  About a quarter of a mile in, a medium sized flycatcher flew down form the uphill area to my right and into the canyon.  It had a grayish head with a crest, was pale yellow below with a reddish tinge to the tail and a distinct ASHY THROAT.  I saw another one later.  These were my first Ash Throated Flycatchers of the year.  They had been reported from the Canyon earlier but I had looked for them and missed them twice including on our Edmonds Goes East trip.  I figured they had departed and had no thought that I would see one – in fact stopping there only for the Lewis’s Woodpecker and a Lazuli Bunting (which I had somehow not yet found) plus a hope for White Throated Swifts – seen here on that earlier trip and maybe Canyon or Rock Wrens.  No Swifts or Wrens, but I had two Lewis’s Woodpeckers, a Lazuli Bunting and remarkably those Ash Throated Flycatchers.  Now at 109 species.

Ash Throated Flycatcher

I got to Bethel Ridge much later than I had planned and should have tried earlier.  It was hot and mostly quiet.  No Black Backed Woodpecker, and unlike the previous trip – no White Headed Woodpecker.   As I got up to the area with the big burn towards the top near where the Three Toed Woodpecker had been seen, I saw a Woodpecker fly onto a tree trunk and my hopes soared.  Hard to be disappointed with a beautiful male Williamson’s Sapsucker but it had one toe too many.  Just before that I had my only Clark’s Nutcracker for the trip (and only my second of the year).

Clark’s Nutcracker

Williamson’s Sapsucker

At that point I heard a familiar voice – Brian Pendleton was there with spouse Darchelle.  They had looked for hours for the Three Toed Woodpecker without success.  We joined forces and found beautiful wildflowers, views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier, Hairy Woodpeckers, Rock Wren, Townsend’s Solitaire and Hermit Thrush – but no woodpeckers with three toes.

Hairy Woodpecker

Townsend’s Solitaire

Rock Wren

Mt. Adams

Wildflowers

The five new for the day species brought the total to 114.  Clark’s Nutcracker and Hairy Woodpecker were not seen on the previous trip.  I had seen many elk and deer throughout the day including a very clumsy elk calf.  Coming down from Bethel Ridge, I came upon two striking bull elk with sizable racks.  I checked them out and they checked me out and they kept grazing.

Elk Calf

Elk Cooling Off

Bull Elk

Back on Highway 12 on the way home, I stopped at Trout Lodge hoping for the Black Chinned Hummingbird that had been reported from the feeders there – no luck.  Later I had a Common Merganser on the Tieton River so my “Biggish Day” total was 115 species.  Maybe some day I will try a true Big Day and add stops, limit time at various spots, bird at night and hope for great luck.  I am sure that 145 species are possible even in late June.  Probably more are possible earlier – maybe many more either time.

None of my goals are noteworthy to anyone but me but maybe my stories of attempts to reach them recall attempts to reach different goals by others.  I think in fact that it is the collecting of “stories” as much as it is the collecting of bird observations that makes birding so enjoyable to me.  My goals help organize that collecting process – give order to the pursuits.  I have now accomplished two of my Double Zero goals for the year.  I am getting closer on some others and future blog posts will recount the stories that come from those quests – whether successful or not.

Species Seen June 24, 2017
1	American Crow	Edmonds		59	Red-breasted Nuthatch	Bullfrog Pond
2	American Robin	Edmonds		60	Red-breasted Sapsucker	Bullfrog Pond
3	Bald Eagle	Edmonds Marsh		61	Red-naped Sapsucker	Bullfrog Pond
4	Barn Swallow	Edmonds Marsh		62	Red-winged Blackbird	Bullfrog Pond
5	Barred Owl	Yost Park		63	Turkey Vulture	Bullfrog Pond
6	Belted Kingfisher	Edmonds Waterfront		64	Veery	Bullfrog Pond
7	Bewick’s Wren	Yost Park		65	Warbling Vireo	Bullfrog Pond
8	Black-capped Chickadee	RR Ponds		66	White-breasted Nuthatch	Bullfrog Pond
9	Black-headed Grosbeak	Wenas Riparian		67	Williamson’s Sapsucker	Bullfrog Pond
10	Black Throated Gray Warbler	Yost Park		68	Yellow-rumped Warbler	Bullfrog Pond
11	Caspian Tern	Edmonds Waterfront		69	House Finch	Cle Elum
12	Common Yellowthroat	Edmonds Marsh		70	House Wren	RR Ponds
13	Dark-eyed Junco	Edmonds		71	Pileated Woodpecker	RR Ponds
14	Downy Woodpecker	Edmonds Marsh		72	Purple Finch	RR Ponds
15	European Starling	Edmonds		73	Pygmy Nuthatch	RR Ponds
16	Gadwall	Edmonds Marsh		74	Bank Swallow	So. Cle Elum
17	Glaucous Winged Gull	Edmonds Waterfront		75	Dusky Flycatcher	RR Ponds
18	Great Blue Heron	Edmonds Marsh		76	Red-tailed Hawk	RR Ponds
19	Heerman’s Gull	Edmonds Waterfront		77	Mountain Chickadee	RR Ponds
20	House Sparrow	Edmonds Waterfront		78	Osprey	I-90
21	Killdeer	Edmonds Marsh		79	Brewer’s Sparrow	Durr Road
22	Mallard	Edmonds Marsh		80	Mountain Bluebird	Durr Road
23	Marsh Wren	Edmonds Marsh		81	Western Bluebird	Durr Road
24	No. Rough-winged Swallow	Edmonds Marsh		82	Sage Thrasher	Durr Road
25	Pacific Wren	Yost Park		83	Vesper Sparrow	Durr Road
26	Pigeon Guillemot	Edmonds Waterfront		84	Eurasian Collared-Dove	Umptanum Road
27	Rock Pigeon	Edmonds		85	Mourning Dove	Umptanum Road
28	Song Sparrow	Edmonds		86	Say’s Phoebe	Umptanum Road
29	Spotted Towhee	Edmonds		87	American Goldfinch	Wenas Road
30	Steller’s Jay	Yost Park		88	Calliope Hummingbird	Wenas Road
31	Tree Swallow	Edmonds Marsh		89	Cedar Waxwing	Wenas Road
32	Violet-green Swallow	Edmonds Marsh		90	Cooper’s Hawk	Wenas Road
33	Virginia Rail	Edmonds Marsh		91	Western Tanager	Wenas Road
34	Western Wood-Pewee	Yost Park		92	Yellow-breasted Chat	Wenas Road
35	White-crowned Sparrow	Edmonds Marsh		93	Least Flycatcher	Maloy Road
36	Brown-headed Cowbird	Snoqualmie		94	Eastern Kingbird	Wenas Riparian
37	Chestnut-backed Chickadee	Snoqualmie		95	Western Kingbird	Wenas Riparian
38	Northern Flicker	Snoqualmie		96	Indigo Bunting	Wenas Riparian
39	Olive-sided Flycatcher	Snoqualmie		97	Gray Flycatcher	Wenas Campground
40	Cliff Swallow	Snoqualmie		98	Pacific-slope Flycatcher	Wenas Campground
41	Rufous Hummingbird	Snoqualmie		99	Red Crossbill	Wenas Campground
42	Swainson’s Thrush	Snoqualmie		100	Bullock’s Oriole	Wenas Campground
43	Townsend’s Warbler	Snoqualmie		101	American Kestrel	Longmire Road
44	Willow Flycatcher	Snoqualmie		102	Black-billed Magpie	Longmire Road
45	Yellow Warbler	Snoqualmie		103	Brewer’s Blackbird	Longmire Road
46	Pine Siskin	Snoqualmie		104	California Quail	Longmire Road
47	Anna’s Hummingbird	Hyak Feeders		105	Western Meadowlark	Longmire Road
48	Common Raven	Hyak Feeders		106	Canada Goose	Wenas Lake
49	Nashville Warbler	Hyak Feeders		107	Ash-throated Flycatcher	Oak Creek Canyon
50	Evening Grosbeak	Hyak Feeders		108	Lazuli Bunting	Oak Creek Canyon
51	American Dipper	Bullfrog Pond		109	Lewis’s Woodpecker	Oak Creek Canyon
52	Brown Creeper	Bullfrog Pond		110	Clark’s Nutcracker	Bethel Ridge
53	Cassin’s Finch	Bullfrog Pond		111	Hairy Woodpecker	Bethel Ridge
54	Cassin’s Vireo	Bullfrog Pond		112	Hermit Thrush	Bethel Ridge
55	Chipping Sparrow	Bullfrog Pond		113	Rock Wren	Bethel Ridge
56	Gray Catbird	Bullfrog Pond		114	Townsend’s Solitaire	Bethel Ridge
57	Hammond’s Flycatcher	Bullfrog Pond		115	Varied Thrush	Bethel Ridge
58	MacGillivray’s Warbler	Bullfrog Pond		116	Common Merganser	Tieton River