It would be impossible to think of a birding trip to South Florida without thinking of the Everglades.  Everglades National Park was founded in 1947, the same year I came onto Planet Earth.  It is a World Heritage Site that comprises over 1.5 Million Acres – more than 2,500 Square Miles – of primarily wetlands.  There are two basic seasons – the wet and the dry.  The Everglades conjures up images of thousands of birds perched on every Mangrove and flying all about.  To the extent that is true, it is only true during the dry season.

We were there at the beginning of the wet season and there sure weren’t many birds.  Although this was noticed elsewhere in South Florida as well, the mental image of the bird thick Everglades was so far from our reality, that I have to admit to a great disappointment.  As will be apparent later in this post, this day had my very most favorite experience of the week – sufficient to justify any birding trip.  And there were some birds, including some good ones, but just not much to write about.  While all of South Florida is flat, flat, flat, the Everglades seem to define that characteristic.  Visually just not much of interest with mile after mile of Mangroves and low lying land.  We drove over the lowest “Pass” in the U.S. – Rock Reef Pass – Elevation 3 Feet above sea level.  It seemed like we drove many miles on the same road and then came to Dwarf Cypress Forest – Elevation 4 Feet above Sea Level.  Did I mention “FLAT”.

 

If most of the Everglades trip was disappointing, the start of the day was exactly the opposite.  As will be seen in another blog post (I am not doing them chronologically), our first day in South Florida had included a  rarities chase at Crandon Park, near Miami on Key Biscayne.  I will not detail that here except to say that in addition to a couple of other great birds, we had chased and missed a Bahamian rarity – a Western Spindalis.  I don’t know what a Spindalis is, but it was formerly called a Stripe Headed Tanager and since most Tanagers are pretty striking, one would expect a good looking bird.  Before heading south to the Everglades, our guide Paul Bithorn took us back to Crandon and we began the search again.  I was the lucky one that first spotted the Western Spindalis in the thick brush and was able to get a photo with only a few branches in the way.  Probably the rarest ABA bird for the trip, it was a welcomed Lifer for both Frank and me.

Western Spindalis – Crandon Park

At Cutler Bay on our way to the Everglades, we had another sought after species.  Not rare here, but definitely not in the Northwest, many Cave Swallows darted about by and under a bridge.  Too far and too active for any great photos, but still a new ABA photo bird for me.

Cave Swallow

The heat and humidity increased as we got into the Park.  I believe it was the hottest day of the trip with the temperature reaching 95 degrees and the humidity was not far behind.  One bird that was at least easy to see was a crow – and here, many if not most of the crows were our familiar American Crow as opposed to the Fish Crows that were seen on the coast around Miami.  The Fish Crow appearance was a little different but as Sibley suggests, the only reliable way to distinguish them is by voice.  To me that was pretty easy to do.

American Crow and Fish Crow

Where we found some hardwoods or pines we found some birds.  These included Brown and Great Crested Flycatchers, Gray Kingbirds, Catbirds and a few Warblers.  I was happy to get my first ABA photo of a Pine Warbler.

Brown Crested Flycatcher

Gray Kingbird

Pine Warbler

And another welcomed find was a Brown Headed Nuthatch.  Before leaving for Florida, I had visited the Northern Pacific Railroad Ponds in South Cle Elum, Washington.  I had Red Breasted, White Breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches on that visit, so this made it a Nuthatch Grand Slam.  It also provided another ABA Photo Lifer.

Brown Headed Nuthatch

A little later we finally found a much sought after bird of note.  We saw a soaring hawk that was very white below and seemed fairly small.  We had seen numerous Red Shouldered Hawks but this was different.  It proved to be our first Short Tailed Hawk of the trip – a Life Bird for Frank and a photo for me.  BUT…unfortunately as I was editing and transferring photos, I somehow deleted this photo.  We saw other Short Tails later in the trip in central Florida but we were not able to stop on the roads to get photos then so I borrow an internet photo here.

Red Shouldered Hawk

Short Tailed Hawk (not my photo)

I was not aware of it at the time, but when I got out of the car to get a photo of the Short Tailed Hawk my hat had blown off and was not with me when I returned to the car.  It was not until many miles later at Flamingo that I realized it was gone when I looked to put it on as we stepped out to look at some shorebirds – finally some shorebirds as they had been missing until then.  It was only then that Frank recalled that he had seen it on the ground – oh well too late now.

Shorebirds in Florida were found on the wrack line and not on mudflats – or at least that was our experience until much later in the trip.  At Flamingo we found several species with the best – at least for us being a Wilson’s Plover.  I had seen a very rare one in Washington in 2012 at Grayland Beach State Park and gotten good photos, but this was still a welcomed find.  At the same area we also had Least and Western Sandpipers, a Black Bellied Plover, a Spotted Sandpiper and Sanderlings.

Wilson’s Plover

We also found what at one time was called a Great White Heron and was considered a separate species.  Now it is recognized as the white form of a Great Blue Heron.  If the ABA changes its mind and splits it off, I will have it covered.

Great Blue Heron – White Form

The Flamingo “Visitor Center/Primitive Campground” is a particularly depressing part of the Park.  It was devastated by a recent hurricane and it does not look like any dollars have gone for restoration.  People may pay attention to such things, but fortunately birds do not.  In fact it is one of the most likely places to find Shiny Cowbirds – a Life Bird target for both Frank and me.  There were maybe two dozen Cowbirds at Flamingo.  No shining males but Paul was pretty certain that one drab darker all brown bird with a somewhat pointy bill was a female Shiny Cowbird.

Shiny Cowbird Female

Then the highlight of the entire trip happened as we were leaving Flamingo.  We spotted a Swallow Tailed Kite soaring to our left.  We had seen one the day before, but as I jumped out of the car, I could not have planned what followed any better.  The Kites ( a second one appeared as well) put on a spectacular aerial display swooping up and down and circling us and then sailing right near me, coming within no more than 30 feet.  I kept the lens on it as best I could and kept the shutter snapping.  I probably took 100 pictures, so the odds were good that some would come out.  I include many here and you can be the judge.

Swallow Tailed Kite

 

Although I had seen a Swallow Tailed Kite on my trip to Florida 39 years ago, I of course had no photo and getting one was maybe my number one goal for this trip.  I was overwhelmed by this experience – simply as good as it gets just to watch these graceful birds in flight.  The pictures were way beyond expectation or even dreams.  We would see others later on our trip – including one group of 4, but nothing came close to this encounter.

When I finally got back into the car after the love affair with the Kites, I felt a little pain on the top of my head.  Having no hair there, I ALWAYS wear a hat either for warmth or for protection against sunburn.  In the blazing sun that day, being hatless meant sunburn – it did not take long – and it recalled that I had stupidly lost my hat.  We had to retrace steps and pass the area where it had come off.  Paul was optimistic that it would still be there.  I was much less so.  But sure enough as we approached the area, there was a small object on the side of the road – I was united with my hat – a hat trick of sorts in the Everglades.  In Hockey a Hat Trick is when one person scores three goals in a game,  I guess we could count the Short Tailed Hawk, the Shiny Cowbird and the magnificent Swallow Tailed Kites as three scores and our Hat Trick here in addition to my hat reunion.

The Lost and Re-found Hat

Time to head home.  Nothing new and spectacular along the way back but as we passed by a place at a marina where fishermen often clean their catch, Paul said we should look for a Black Crowned Night Heron.  Sure enough, one stood by patiently waiting for a fish head or something.  I could not pass up that photo.

Black Crowned Night Heron

Had it not been for the Swallow Tailed Kite display I would have had to count the Everglades as a low point of the trip – pun and double entendre intended.  We had added some birds to the trip list and I got some new ABA photos, but I was not sad to leave the Everglades and the heat and humidity,  It was nice to have my hat back on my head when I did.  And pretty hard to beat starting the day with a Stripe Headed Tanager – oops I mean Western Spindalis – as well

This Florida Post is going to be about my day birding in Dry Tortugas National Park.  The Dry Tortugas are a collection of  seven small islands and some coral reefs.  They are about 70 miles west of Key West, the southernmost of the Florida Keys.  Accessible only by seaplane or boat, on April 29, we took the Yankee Freedom ferry across open ocean to the Tortugas and docked at Garden Key which is home to Fort Jefferson, built in the 19^th Century and abandoned now.  The Tortugas are very popular with snorkelers and of course birders primarily as a migrant trap and for seabirds.  On this visit migrants were relatively few but seabirds were plentiful, and despite rougher than normal seas, it was a great visit.

I had visited the Tortugas early in my birding days – exactly 39 years to the day prior to this visit. I did not keep detailed notes in those days, but saw many of the specialty birds at that time.  Back then, photography was not part of my birding life so I had looked forward to this trip to relive old times, to see familiar and hopefully new birds and to take lots of photos to move closer to goals of 700 species seen in the ABA Area and to get photos of at least 600 of those species seen.  Prior to leaving for Florida, my totals stood at about 675 and 530 respectively, so there was much work to do.  This voyage was expected to help a lot.

Key West is a bustling, crowded tourist and beach town with some beautiful older sections and too many new and to me mostly tacky areas.  It was good to leave and to immediately be on the alert for birds.  Nothing extraordinary on the way out past hundreds of boats and some very expensive homes.

Key West Marina

A “Nice” Key West Home

Initial seabirds were limited to some Double Crested Cormorants, Least and Royal Terns, Laughing Gulls and Magnificent Frigatebirds.  They all had been seen earlier on this Florida trip and the latter was a new ABA Life Bird and new ABA Photo.  Actually I am sure I had seen them on my earlier visit to South Florida, the Keys and Tortugas in 1978, but I had not recorded that.  I took some photos including of a flock of birds on the seawall across from the ferry as we left and only later discovered that there were several Black Skimmers in the group.  This was the only time they were seen and my photo was the only record.  A little further out but still within Key West, more terns flew by.  I thought they might be Roseate Terns but they were all Sandwich Terns.  Once hitting open waters, we hoped for Shearwaters, but for the entirety of the crossing, it was only a few birds here and there – all the same species seen on departure.

Magnificent Frigatebird

 

Black Skimmers and Royal Terns

Things changed dramatically, however, once we neared the Dry Tortugas themselves – with Fort Jefferson a landmark in the distance.

First View of Fort Jefferson

At first we saw a few Sooty and Noddy Terns and more Sandwich Terns flying by, and then as we passed by tiny little Hospital Key, we saw some larger white birds with black wing tips, on the sand and in the air.  These were Masked Boobies.  I had seen some on my 1978 visit but again no photo and since I had heard that they were pretty scarce and distant, I had hoped for but not expected a photo this time.  One guide said that this was the closest the ferry had come to them in his experience.  There were 50+ Boobies and photos were ok.

Masked Boobies on Hospital Key

Masked Boobies in Flight

Sooty and Noddy Terns nest on Bush Key immediately adjacent to Garden Key and they are present in the thousands – I heard there might be as many as approaching 100,000 altogether.  As we got closer to our landing dock, they started showing up in greater and greater numbers.  As we were pulling in to the dock, a number of small white birds with very long tails flashed by.  In my (our?) excitement and inexperience, I thought they might be Tropicbirds because of the long tails.  A single Tropicbird would have been possible but extraordinary.  These were Roseate Terns – one of my most sought after species.  I had seen a single bird at the Pine Point Beach Jetty in Maine in 2015, but it had been a terrible view at great distance and certainly no photo.  My photos taken as we docked were “good enough” and certainly showed that the birds were not Tropicbirds.  There would be much better views later as there were more Roseate Terns than usual.

Thousands of Terns at Bush Key

Roseate Terns as We Docked (Sadly Not Tropicbirds)

We arrived at the island at around 10:30 a.m. and the ferry would leave at 2:30 p.m.  It hardly seemed like enough time, and I wanted to go everywhere at once. Garden Key is small, and birding is mostly in the Fort or just outside of it at the north and south coaling docks or looking out to the tern colonies and open sea.  In April and early May, the hope is that large numbers of very tired migrating birds will have “fallen out” of their migratory path and arrived exhausted at this speck of land to rest up and then continue their journey north.  It is possible to see hundreds of such birds in the few trees within the Fort, coming to the single fountain or even on the ground, too tired to fly or hide.  We did not have such a “fall out” so our search for migrants focused on the few trees and the fountain.  Although some seabirds might fly by just once and thus be missed if you were not watching specifically for them, the odds were that most would be around longer and seen at many times.

Welcome to the Tortugas

After a few moments taking photos of the abundant Sooty, Sandwich and Brown Noddy Terns, I headed into the Fort hoping for tired birds everywhere.  As I said, such was not the case, so after a quick walk around, I concentrated attention at the fountain and adjacent trees.

Sandwich Tern

Sooty Tern

Brown Noddy Tern

I will spare you a blow by blow, minute by minute, chronological accounting.  Birds came to the fountain and stayed – or left- and returned – or did not.  Sometimes they would disappear into the trees and then return or sometimes they would just disappear.  Other birds came in and we wondered from where as we had not seen any fly in from outside or above.  All were welcome, and although there were no new ABA Life birds, good light and good proximity provided many photo opportunities – including new ones for my Life Photo list.

Birds at the Fountain and Environs

Scarlet and Summer Tanagers and Indigo Bunting

Yellow Warbler

Northern Parulas and Palm Warbler

Ovenbird

Swainson’s Thrush

Dickcissel

Northern Parula Warbler

Indigo Bunting

Magnolia Warbler

Scarlet Tanager Male

Scarlet Tanager Female

Summer Tanager

Cape May Warbler

Cape May Warbler and Blue Grosbeak Female

While the show at the fountain was rewarding, after a while it was time to do a seabird watch and hopefully get some good photos.  As will probably be stated several times in my Florida blog posts, one of the big surprises was that only a single gull species was recorded.  There were Laughing Gulls in many locations but no others.  Such was not the case for terns, especially here at the Tortugas.  I wanted photos of many of the tern specialties but there were only two two Lifer possibilities:  Bridled Tern and Black Noddy Tern.  The former was a reasonable probability but the latter was a remote chance.  Among the thousands of Brown Noddy Terns, one would be fortunate to find even a single Black Noddy Tern.  Individuals had been seen recently, but not on the majority of trips.  I ran into Washington Birder Randy Knapp at the Fort.  He had been out two days earlier and had seen a Black Noddy at the north coaling station later in the day and it was visible only by scope from atop the Fort looking down on the dock wall.  I was hopeful but not optimistic.  Good photos of the other possible terns were there for the taking, and I was really hoping and optimistic about finding a Bridled Tern.  Long visits to both the South and North coaling Docks provided photos of the more common terns but no Black Noddies or Bridled Terns were found.

My favorite photo is the one below which shows a Royal Tern at the top of the piling and then from left to right below a Brown Noddy Tern, a Sandwich Tern and two Roseate Terns.

Brown Noddy Tern

Roseate Terns (Can you tell that there are three?)

As the title to this blog states – “One Good Tern Deserves Another and Another and Another”.  I doubt there are many places in the U.S. where you can find 4 tern species on a single piling.  But wait there is more – flying in the vicinity of this piling were numerous Sooty Terns and Least Terns (the Another and Another add-ons to the title).  If there had been more space on the piling, maybe five or even six species might have been in the photo.

Least Tern

Sooty Tern

Back to the other possibilities.  The photos of the Brown Noddy, Roseate and Sooty Terns were new, but I really was hoping for a lifer as well.  One of the nice things about birding in a group is that there are many eyes and observations can be shared.  Some of the best eyes in our group belonged to Tom Keegan, a relatively new but excellent birder from Idaho.  Especially in denser foliage, Tom was often the first to actually see a bird.  He had found some Bridled Terns at the North Coaling Station.  I was just leaving the South Coaling Station and saw him walking briskly my way.  He had come to tell me that some Bridled Terns had come in and I rushed over to find Randy on them with his scope.  That provided a lifer view and with some maneuvering I was able to get some decent photos even though they were quite distant.  I found Frank Caruso and he got to them and thus added ABA Life Bird #699!!

Bridled Terns

This was now tern species #7 for the trip – #8 if you counted the Black Skimmers.  And others were at least possible.  In addition to the very rare Black Noddy Tern, other possibilities are Common, Black, Elegant, Caspian, Forster’s and Arctic Terns. All are found in Florida and I think even at the Tortugas.  I have seen and have photos of all of those (except the Black Noddy) as they can all be found in Washington unlike any of the others.

Back to the Fountain hoping that more birds may have come in.  Nothing new but somehow the Palm Warblers seemed to have multiplied and there were as many as 8 seen at the same time.  The dearth of warblers was probably the biggest disappointment on the trip.  As many as 20 species was possible and we had fewer than 10 on this visit.  A Worm Eating Warbler had been seen by others but missed by me.  It would have been a new photo but not a life bird.  So back outside and now those additional eyes paid off again.  Maybe not quite as keen-eyed as her husband Tom, but still very very good, Beth Waterbury found the bird of the trip – a perched and very visible Antillean Nighthawk.  We had missed them at the Key West Airport the night before where we might have heard one and seen its profile in the darkness.  But in the heavy wind that night, neither was a real possibility.  So this was not only a great find for “ticking” a new ABA Lifer but OMG it was very easy to see and photograph.  Best yet it was ABA #700 for Frank and there were high fives all around.

Antillean Nighthawk

It was now getting late and our last efforts were to look down on the Coaling Dock from atop the Fort hoping that the Black Noddy would return to what was apparently a favored roosting spot.  It was so windy that there was concern that we could be blown off the Fort.  More realistically, the wind made it very hard to stabilize the spotting scope that Tom used diligently in the search.  We tried for about 30 minutes and then it was time to get back on the boat and return to Key West.  We had been told that the crossing would be “even rougher” on the way back.  There was still hopes that an Audubon’s Shearwater might fly by the boat.  The passage was indeed quite bouncy which made viewing anything more difficult.  In fact there were several falls and near falls.  No shearwaters were seen.  My only other open ocean (pelagic) birding trips have been on smaller boats devoted to bird watching.  On those trips, birds were chased or chummed in.  This was a “get there and return” trip only so no efforts to find or follow birds.  I wonder if shearwaters would have been found on a pure birding trip.  Here it would just be luck and we had none.  A single shearwater had been seen on a trip earlier in the week.  Maybe some day I will get one on a pelagic trip in Florida or North Carolina.  Some day…

Two life birds and lots of good pictures – an excellent trip.  Unlikely that I will make that trip again and definitely no way that another 39 years will pass until the next time.

And just because, I am adding this photo of our party when we returned to Key West – well not really!!

There will be several blog posts about my trip to South Florida.  This entry starts things off with an overview and then others will be more focused about segments of the trip or special bird groups or stories.  First some personal birding history and context.

I have been birding now off and on for 47 years, starting way back in law school days in 1970 in Palo Alto when I was 23 years old.  How is that possible?  I don’t feel that old, but pretty soon I will be 70 and the math then says 47 years.  Wow…  I first birded in California and then had great Eastern U.S. birding in Maryland and Delaware during an externship in Washington D.C. in 1972.  I moved to Seattle 1973 and explored our state’s diverse habitats and wonderful birds.  As I became more serious and found others to share the experience, the lure of birding meccas like South Texas and Southeast Arizona resonated strongly.   I traveled to South Texas in November 1975 and added great birds like Green Kingfisher and Brown Jay among many others.  There were then lots of new birds from two trips to Southeast Arizona in December 1976 and then again in June 1976.  Such fun.

Green Kingfisher – First Seen in 1975 – Photo from 2013

Thanks to a ridiculously cheap airline deal from now-defunct Eastern Airlines, in April 1978, I joined three Seattle friends on a trip  that included a return to South Texas and then my first visit to South Florida – the Everglades, the Keys and the Dry Tortugas.  Fabulous birding with lots of specialties and when the trip was over, my ABA List stood at 545 species.  (And that Airline promotion where you could go ANYWHERE in the Eastern Airlines route system for a total of $299 so long as you did not retrace any segment – also allowed my first international as we visited the Asa Wright Center in Trinidad.)

Asa Wright Nature Center Trinidad

Over the next ten years other commitments and interests diverted me from serious birding although there were some great birding days add-ons to international trips that were for business or vacation.  Great birds in Hong Kong and Argentina and Japan and Jamaica but no more trips within the US to add ABA birds.  And of course, this was before personal computers, cell phones, Ebird and digital photography.  How different it is today.

Life and birding changed greatly with the addition of two great kids and birding was at best sporadic.  A vacation trip to Jamaica with them in 1997 added almost 100 worldwide species but the focus was not birding.  Then nothing for 5 years.  A trip with my daughter to Hungary allowed me a half day of birding in 2002 added another 50 species.  The kids were getting older now and I took my first “mostly birding” international trip – to Australia – in 2003. Over the following dozen years I traveled to and did some (or lots of) birding in Brazil, Kenya, Belize, India, Peru and South Africa.  There was lots of birding in Washington starting again in 2011 but in the 29 years from that Eastern Airlines extravaganza until then, I had added a grand total of 29 birds to my ABA Life List – essentially one a year.  By contrast I added more than 1500 species to my World Life List during those years – not to reach a goal – just enjoying birds in some wonderful places.

Galahs – Australia 2003

Hyacinth Macaws – Pantanal – Brazil 2005

Hoopoe – Kenya 2007

There would be more international birding after 2011, but that was when interest was refocused onto birding in Washington, spurred by Dennis Paulson’s terrific Master Birder Class through Seattle Audubon and the advent of Ebird and Tweeters and digital photography.  In the beginning of 2010 my state list for Washington was barely 200 species.  That quickly changed and especially after a State Big Year in 2013 and a Photographic Big Year in 2015 that list more than doubled.  One result is that it has become harder and harder to add new state birds – maybe it was time to pursue other challenges…like improving my ABA List and taking photos of as many ABA Birds as I could including all of those birds in Texas and Arizona and Florida from those many years ago.

That is the introduction – albeit a very long one – to this Florida trip.  After trips to Texas,  California, Colorado and Alaska and all that Washington birding over the past few years, I had gotten my ABA list up to just under 670 species and I had photos of almost 540 species.  I set a goal of getting to that magical 700 ABA list and to 600 ABA species with photos.  The biggest opportunities for additions to both lists would be return visits to Florida and to Arizona.  Birding pal Frank Caruso was also looking to add to his ABA list – hoping to get to 700 himself – which would require adding about 20 species.  He had not birded much in South Florida, so he was eager to go there – and to Arizona as well.

I found a trip to the Keys and the Dry Tortugas offered by the Tropical Audubon Society out of Miami and also got a referral for an excellent guide in the area, Paul Bithorn, who had guided Ann Marie Wood a couple of years ago.  And coincidentally, Paul was a co-leader on that Tropical Audubon Society trip.  Arrangements were made and we were set to go.  A red-eye flight to Miami arriving early on Tuesday April 25th, bird with Paul for 2.5 days then off to the Keys on Friday the 29, to the Dry Tortugas on Saturday the 30th and then back to Miami with them on May 1st.  Two more days with Paul heading north to Central Florida and then a day on our own to clean up whatever had been missed in the Miami area before heading home.

Paul Bithorn – Florida Guide Extraordinaire – at Tomb of Leslie Nielsen

Although I would do it differently if planning it again, the trip was great.  It is hard to imagine two places as different as South Florida and Western Washington.  Both areas suffer from way too much traffic, but that may be the only similarity.  South Florida is hot and humid – temperatures were in the mid 80’s to the mid 90’s and humidity was always over 90 percent.  I don’t see how anyone can live with that day to day.  We may have rain in Seattle but it is spread over months.  South Florida has even more rain but mostly in concentrated downpours (often accompanied by thunder and lightning).  On our last day in Central Florida, it rained for many hours, often so hard that vision was almost zero.  I would guess there was more rainfall in that 4 hour period than we get in Seattle in our wettest month.

And of course the ethnic mix is completely different.  Paul thought that 75-80% of the population is Latin American.  Sometimes it appeared that English was the second language with Spanish everywhere.  A few Asians but almost nothing compared to our many ethnic Asians and South Asians here in Seattle.  Restaurants reflect that difference.  In both places there is an abundance of water and boats.  In South Florida, there is the open ocean and numerous canals and channels.  We have our lakes and the Sound.  We fish for Salmon.  They fish for a great variety of salt water species including Dolphin (Mahi Mahi), Redfish, Marlin and many others.  We each have our crabs and each are expensive at restaurants wherever.  Architecture is very different.  Seattle is both more traditional and more modern with hardly any stucco which is common in Florida.

The topography is starkly different.  Florida starts out flat and gets even flatter.  Forget mountains, there aren’t even any hills.  Especially away from the water on the coast, I found it endlessly boring.  And the plant life is completely different as well.  Many exotics, lots of flowers and mangroves and more mangroves.  Some pines and some hardwoods but completely different from our Northwest Forests or even the hardwood forests of the East or the Cottonwoods and such in Eastern Washington.  And of course the animals and the birds are very different as well.  Reptiles and amphibians are plentiful: lizards, frogs, turtles, snakes, crocodiles, anoles, iguanas and the iconic alligators abound and we saw many.  We saw a few deer (endangered Key Deer) but there are no elk or mountain sheep or goats or moose.

Most importantly for us the birdlife is very different.  Washington and Florida have similar numbers of species on their official state lists with Florida having maybe 20 more.  There is of course some overlap but even a quick count suggests there are about 170 species seen in Florida that are either not seen in Washington or seen almost never.   Somewhat fewer birds in Washington but not seen in Florida.  It is the Florida specialties – especially those in South Florida attract birders from all over the U.S. and the world.

And the birding scene in Florida is in flux as escapees that are colonizing, climate change and more and more birders are coming up with more and more species.  There is always the possibility of strays from the Bahamas or Cuba and it is expected that some races such as the Cuban Yellow Warbler will join more and more exotic species as recognized by the AOU/ABA.  We spent a lot of time with Paul looking for exotics – some already ABA countable and others likely to be recognized by the ABA in the future.  In essence, we wanted to stockpile some of these exotics in anticipation of that future day of recognition.

Cuban Yellow Warbler

Not every species was seen by each of us but altogether Frank and I had just under 190 species seen including 15 exotics.  Extreme rarities included Bahamian species like Bananaquit and Western Spindalis and rarer or less common specialties included Black Whiskered and Thick Billed Vireos, Antillean Nighthawk, Snail Kite, Spot Breasted Oriole, Red Whiskered Bulbul, Common Hill Myna, Shiny Cowbird, Bridled Tern, Short Tailed Hawk, Florida Scrub Jay, Mangrove Cuckoo, Egyptian Goose, Gray Breasted Swamphen, Red Cockaded Woodpecker, Limpkin, Cave Swallow and White Crowned Pigeon.  I got pictures of  all of them except the Thick Billed Vireo.  We missed the Fork Tailed Flycatcher and Bahama Mockingbird that were seen in the area while we were there.  We also missed Audubon’s Shearwater and the very rare Black Noddy Tern on our Dry Tortugas trip.  Our success ratio was higher than expected – due to good luck, hard work and excellent guiding by Paul.

A real highlight was Frank getting his 699th and 700 ABA birds on the Dry Tortugas when he saw first a Bridled Tern and then an Antillean Nighthawk.  Both were new for me as well.  For the trip I had 18 Life Birds and 42 ABA Life Photos.  We did well.

The highlight of the trip for me was a breathtaking interaction with a pair of Swallow Tailed Kites at the Flamingo visitor area in the Everglades National Park.  I had seen a Swallow Tailed Kite on m visit in 1978 and we had seen others earlier in the trip, but this was special as one of the Kites flew by us and circled us for a good 5+ minutes often coming within less than 30 feet of me and my camera.  A couple of times it was so close that I could not focus for a photo.  I probably took more than 50 photos during the encounter, two of which are shown below.  (As an aside I took almost 8000 photos so odds were that at least some would be ok and many will be included in the blog posts to follow.  Of course many are not very good (or even worse than that) and those have already been deleted.)

I am still not sure of what and how many blog posts will follow.  Definitely one on the Tortugas and another on the Everglades.  Probably one on the exotics and another that is either a catchall or maybe two – one on specialties and one on our trip North.  This was another trip where there was the combination of good birds, good places and good people.  That is what it is all about.

Swallow Tailed Kites in the Everglades

 

What I should be doing is writing blog posts about my recent trip to South Florida.  I got back late on Wednesday night last week – well actually early on Thursday morning and started sorting and editing the more than 8000 pictures from that super trip.  Eventually – soon I hope – there will be several posts about that trip, but since it is always nice to come home and after all, it is May when migration is in full swing and that brings many favorites back to Washington.  AND I needed to do some scouting for a trip I will be leading to some favorite spots near Cle Elum next week as part of the Yakima River Valley Birdfest.  So I headed East on Saturday to see what was around in anticipation of that trip and well, yes, to see some new birds for the year.  Birders (listers?) often refer to these new birds as “FOYs” – First of Years, and after a good start in some of the scout trip spots, I ventured much farther afield and there were many FOYs to be had.

First a brief aside.  As I think I have mentioned in an earlier blog, 2017 is NOT going to be another Big Year – of any kind – not of species seen or photographs taken, or raptors during a birthday year etc.  The past five such years have been great, but have both taken a toll and have taken time and attention away from other parts of my life that now need and are getting it.  That said, there was always an excitement, a passion and an accomplishment in doing those years, and this weekend’s adventure reminded me of some of that.  I am by no means a terrific birder – my vision is too poor and although I have good ears, my brain does not well process and recall the songs and call notes of enough birds to be anywhere as good as many others – probably many of you reading this post.  BUT I am very good at the planning, logistics and persistence needed to do such years.  And probably a bit lucky as well – and that all works for me – and finds lots of birds.  With that background, here is the story of May 6 and May 7, 2017 – lots of FOYs included.

The initial plan was to leave early and check out potential Birdfest spots including specifically Bullfrog Pond  just west of Cle Elum and then the Northern Pacific Railroad Ponds in South Cle Elum.  Both “hotspots” are bird rich and come alive during migration.  They have appeared in many blog posts before.  Additional planning was vague, but there were lots of possibilities for either that day or maybe a second day depending on how things went.

There was snow and near freezing temperatures on Snoqualmie Pass as I went over around 6:00 a.m.  It cleared immediately east of the Pass and the promised sunshine looked like a reality.  I turned onto Bullfrog road at Exit 82 and as I crossed the bridge over the Cle Elum River, I noted that the water was high – making it unlikely to find a Dipper.  And such was the case.  When I got out to scan the river, I also noted that it was cold and breezy.  Maybe it would be too early for the birds to be active, one of the things I wanted to check in anticipation of the upcoming field trip.  When I parked at the pullout just east of the pond, it was pretty quiet and that concern was confirmed.

Leading a field trip is fun but also with a lot more pressure than just birding on one’s own – even if the reason for the latter is a chase of a much wanted rarity.  There is always the fear that the birds won’t be there, especially the ones that you want the group to see.  I saw a couple of Swallows, heard a distant Northern Flicker and watched a couple of Red Winged Blackbirds, but where were the Warblers that I was counting on?  Some Canada Geese flew by, but it was s-l-o-w!!  I walked down towards the river – good habitat along the way and maybe a different angle would produce Dippers.  Again very quiet, and again, no Dippers.  My fingers reminded me how cold it was as well.  Then I heard a bird song and I immediately thought Warbler – but which one?  There were lots of candidates and most were on my want list – both for the trip and for my own personal records for 2017.  I pulled out my phone and went to my I Bird Pro app to check the possibilities.  There it is!!  On my second try, I recognized the same song I had heard in the field and now all I had to do was to find the singing MacGillivray’s Warbler to confirm the ID and also to add the first target bird for the trip and record my first FOY.

MacGillivray’s Warbler (FOY #1)

The light wasn’t great, but the bird was cooperative and the all-gray head and partial eye ring was easy to note to distinguish it from the similar looking Nashville Warbler.  Bingo!!  And now another one was calling across the path.  I had been there 20 minutes – enough time to have things heat up – literally and figuratively.  And now there were more birds, too.  And more songs that I knew were different but not sure what was singing them.  First a Yellow Rumped Warbler and then I heard a very soft fairly high pitched chip note – quite distinct from the harsher notes from either the Yellow Rumps or the MacGillivray’s.  I was hoping for a Nashville Warbler, and my phone app seemed to confirm it and then when a bird responded immediately and flew into view, its complete eye-ring and yellow throat firmed the ID and the hint of red on the crown was also viewable.  This was a different kind of FOY – I guess I would have to call it a FOYP – First of the Year Picture – as I had seen one earlier at the Willow Creek Fish Hatchery in Edmonds before I left for Florida, but was not able to get a photo.  It was another of the target birds that I hoped to be able to have for the group, so a pleasing find for two reasons.

Nashville Warbler (FOYP)

Now I was hearing songs and chip notes from several directions and found more warblers of all three species.  I had been heading back to the start of the path and was hoping for something new there.  Over the pond Swallows were more active suggesting that there were more insects around – good for the warblers as well.  Another song,  This one I actually remembered, the “sweet, sweet, sweet” of a Yellow Warbler.  An immediate response to a single playback and there he was darting around the brush before finally posing for a photo.  Another FOY and another FOYP.

Yellow Warbler (FOY #2)

And now another familiar sound – who is that tap tap tapping on that pole?  A Sapsucker, but which one?  On April 11, I had visited Bullfrog Pond twice and had first a Red Breasted Sapsucker and then a Red Naped Sapsucker.  Both are good birds that I hope will be found on the field trip, but the real prize would be a Williamson’s Sapsucker – new for me for the year and I consider it a real beauty.  I have seen one at Bullfrog Pond in the past, but not this time.  It was a Red Naped – distant but good enough for a photo – which I had not gotten on the last visit.  Not going to share the photo, however, as I later had one closer at a different part of the area and that photo is shown here.

Red Naped Sapsucker (FOYP)

Feeling much better about prospects for the upcoming field trip, I moved over to the more wooded area near the restrooms (locked) north of the pond.  It was here that I found the Red Naped Sapsucker in the photo above.  There were other goodies, too, all announced by song.  The first was the short up and down phrases of a Vireo.  I guessed Cassin’s and was correct.  It never came out into the open so I got a terrible photo, but it was another First of Year species and photo.  Quickly thereafter I heard the mellifluous call of a Wren – not Bewick’s or Pacific, but the more expected House Wren, a species that had been targeted but missed on the earlier visit, so another FOY and FOYP.

Cassin’s Vireo (FOY #3)

House Wren (FOY #4)

Then another familiar (but not specifically remembered) call.  I looked in the direction of the notes and quickly found the brilliant yellow, black and red of a Western Tanager.  It was joined by at least one other and maybe several all of which flew off – just after I was able to get my photo.  I include that picture but since it hardly does justice to the beauty of this species, I have added another from an earlier encounter.

Western Tanager (FOY #5)

Western Tanager from June 2015

Just before leaving I heard another promising song – actually the flight notes of a group of Evening Grosbeaks.  Just a quick flyover for FOY #6 but no photo.  I often had them in South Cle Elum, where I was heading next, and hoped this was an omen.  But first a last Bullfrog present.  Two Chipping Sparrows flew in to feed close by.  I had seen one earlier in Skagit County but had missed them even expected on my earlier trip to Bullfrog Pond.  This was a welcome FOYP.

Chipping Sparrow (FOYP)

I made a quick stop across Bullfrog Road opposite the Pond.  Some of this area is private although very accessible private property, so I will not take the group there (probably) but I did add a FOYP of a Brown Headed Cowbird.  Altogether there had been 31 species at Bullfrog Pond.  I hope we will have similar results next week.

I won’t go into much detail about the visit to the Northern Pacific Railroad Ponds or my drive around South Cle Elum – both favorite places covered in many earlier blogs.  I had 26 species – including 13 new ones for the day.  Same warblers as at Bullfrog Pond and also the always sought after (and always cute) Pygmy Nuthatches and Mountain Chickadees.  No Pileated Woodpecker, but maybe next time.  The only FOY was a singing Black Headed Grosbeak found in South Cle Elum.

Black Headed Grosbeak (FOY #7)

It was barely 10:00 a.m.  I will add some stops for the group next week and will have to decide whether to go to some Ellensburg spots or maybe up into the Teanaway valley.  I decided to check out the Woodhouse and Ringer Loops just south of Ellensburg and then head down Canyon Road and try the Umtanum trail.  First though a stop at the Cle Elum Bakery – I will poll the group next week to see if that interests them as well.

Both stops were disappointing.  The first was just a drive by, so not surprising, but I had expected good birds at Umtanum.  There were lots of hikers and it was then near midday, so maybe that is why.  I added 10 new species for the day with the best being both White Throated and Vaux’s Swifts.  The latter was FOY #8 with a terrible picture which I include here.

Vaux’s Swift (See the pale rump.) FOYP

Later there should be Yellow Breasted Chats but that will be for another blog post.  Still not sure if I will bring the group here next week – probably not if the birding wouldn’t be better, but that is hard to predict.  In any event, my homework was now done and it was just past noon.  Where to next?  Bethel Ridge is a favorite place to bird – probably still a bit early, but I decided to give it a try anyhow.  If nothing else I would know conditions for a later trip – the concern being the amount of snow we have had this year.  I made a first stop at Oak Creek Canyon along the way and found a dozen or so Lewis’s Woodpeckers but not much else.

Birding was slow at Bethel Ridge and I was not able to get all the way to the top because the snow closed the main road about 6 miles in.  BUT…there were some great birds among the few encountered.  The first was a beautiful male Williamson’s Sapsucker at the lower corrals area.  I first heard its drumming and then its raucous “chy-ack” call.  The drumming allowed me to track it down and get a decent photo.

Williamson’s Sapsucker FOY #9

In the same area I also had several empidonax flycatchers.  One was a Dusky Flycatcher (dee-hick call, round head and small bill with eye-ring) and another was a Gray Flycatcher (yellow lower mandible and longer bill – wagging tail down).  FOY #10 and 11.  The best bird and biggest surprise was a very rapid fly by at almost eye level of a Northern Goshawk just about milepost 5.  Just in front of the car, there was no time for photo, but size, long tail and large white supercilium made the ID clear.  Some day I will get a male perched for a photo.  FOY #12.

Bethel Ridge Snow

By the time I got back to the Highway, it was approaching 4:00.  I was still energized and decided to backtrack and try Toppenish NWR.  Unfortunately, when I got there the gate was closed.  I figured it would be a good spot for Western Kingbirds among others, but not to be.  By this time it was clear that I was going to stay the night somewhere and continue to bird the next day.  I headed first to County Line Ponds planning to stay in Othello and then the next day to look for a Burrowing Owl and then bird Para Ponds and Potholes.  Along the way I finally found a photo friendly Swainson’s Hawk and then at the County Line Ponds found a pair of Black Necked Stilts and a pair of American Avocets.

Swainson’s Hawk (FOY #13)

American Avocet (FOY #14)

I had seen so many Black Necked Stilts in Florida that I forgot that it was a new bird for the year in Washington and did not even take a photo.  But it was FOY #15 for the day. Othello has always been a great area for findable and photographable Burrowing Owls. Ebird reports showed one near the intersection of Lee and Lemaster Roads.  Even though it was getting late I decided to try for then and go back in the morning if I could not find it.  Nearing the Burrowing Owl area, finally a Western Kingbird.  As I neared the place where the owl had been reported, the sun was going down and I saw two cars on this remote road just pulling away about 1/4 mile away.  Sure enough when I got to that spot, there was a very visible Burrowing Owl – scowling at me as I got out and took his photo.

Western Kingbird (FOY #16)

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Burrowing Owl (FOY #17)

I got the last room at the Othello Quality Inn and crashed for the night.  It had been a great day – good indicators for my upcoming field trip.  I had 17 new birds for the year in Washington and a similar number of first pictures.  Not too hard to find new birds since spring had finally arrived and I had missed two weeks while away in South Florida.  I was looking forward to an early start the following morning at Para Ponds.

The motel made breakfast available early – 5:30 a.m. which allowed for an early start – aided by the now early sunrise.  I was at Para Ponds at 6:15 and the early arrival meant much less traffic than usual but unfortunately not traffic free.  I immediately found a small flock of blackbirds and was able to identify 4 as Tricolored Blackbirds (FOY #18) before a truck rumbled by and sent them all off. Lots of Tricolors have been reported at the Ponds recently and I would guess that more were of this species with epaulets of only red and white – no yellow present.  But they scattered beyond viewing range and did not come back, so I will never know.  There were numerous very noisy Yellow Headed Blackbirds in addition to some Red Winged Blackbirds and some Brewer’s Blackbirds further along the road. My photo of a Yellow Headed was my First of the Year Photo although I had seen one earlier in Snohomish County.

Yellow Headed Blackbird (FOYP)

There were many other birds in or near the ponds including a single Spotted Sandpiper at the far end bobbing at the shore, a flyover Black Crowned Night Heron and several Bank Swallows – all FOYs – #19, #20 and #21.

Bank Swallow (FOY #21)

I had not gotten enough sleep in Florida and certainly had re-adjustment troubles since returning.  There had been lots of driving the day before and even with the adrenaline of the good birding, I was pretty tired.  I decided to head towards home with a stop at Potholes and then hit the Shrub Steppe and skip other potential spots to bird.

When I go to Potholes, I always bird Lind Coulee as it has been a great spot for Clark’s Grebes.  I saw more Swainson’s Hawks and Western Kingbirds along the way and when I arrived at Lind Coulee, I saw a large black and white grebe just off the bridge at exactly the spot where I had seen a Western Grebe and Clark’s Grebe together in years past.  This time it was just a Western Grebe, but when I drove the dirt roads north I found three grebes together.  At least one was a Western but at least one other was a Clark’s Grebe, the white surrounding the eye and the brilliant yellow-orange bill apparent.

Clark’s Grebe (FOY #22)

Time now to go for my “can’t miss” FOY for the trip – a Forster’s Tern at Potholes SP.  Well things do not always go as planned.  There had many reports of multiple Forster’s Terns at Potholes recently.  I have had them there on many occasions – although I have missed them also.  The Park was mobbed, dozens of boaters and campers, and very busy boat launch areas – where I usually find the terns. I found none at either spot.  Very unhappy, I decided to try the trees at the main park ground hoping for something to assuage my feelings of disappointment.  As soon as I arrived I heard the whistles and rattles of a Bullock’s Oriole.  It was easily found but a bit buried in a tall tree right over head.  A second Oriole was giving a chert call in another tree.  Finally one was enough in the open for a photo – bright orange in the sunlight.

Bullock’s Oriole (FOY # 23)

Something else was singing as well.  It was a “warble” but not a warbler.  I guessed Warbling Vireo and played the song.  An immediate response confirmed the ID, provided a photo op and yet another FOY.  A small flycatcher came into the same tree. It sang briefly – a Hammond’s Flycatcher I later determined – and I zeroed in for a photo.  But not for the first time and definitely not for the last time either, I could not get the camera to focus with foliage in and around it and I could not get a photo before it flew off to trees to the south where I could not follow it.  FOY #25.

Warbling Vireo (FOY #24)

With re-heightened spirits I decided to give the terns another go.  From the main boat launch and way out I could see a single white bird that at least appeared to be flying like a tern instead of a gull.  I did not have my scope and it was way too far for a photo, but it finally came in sufficiently close to confirm a tern with a black head and long bill – not a Bonaparte’s Gull which was another possibility.  Not a satisfying look at a Forster’s Tern, but especially after seeing 6 tern species in Florida, it was nice to add this FOY – #26 for the trip.

There was still a long way to go before getting home and luck had been with me so much that there was no expectation of any new birds.  I thought my only hope was to maybe find a Chukar near Vantage where I have had them before on Recreation Road.  I also had not gotten a photo of a Sage Sparrow this year, so maybe that was a possibility.  No Chukars on the hills by the boat launch on Recreation Road, but two Lewis’s Woodpeckers were a nice surprise.  I thought I would try the Canyon at the top of Recreation Road where Black Throated Sparrows used to be found and where Yellow Breasted Chats nested last year.  Too early for the latter and the former have not been there for several years.  I tried anyhow and was rewarded with my last new bird of the year – FOY #27 for the trip, Lazuli Buntings – at least three males and a female – the former brilliant in the sunshine.

Lazuli Bunting – FOY #27

I continued along Old Vantage Highway and had almost all of the Shrub Steppe Birds – Sage Thrasher, Brewer’s and Vesper Sparrows, Say’s Phoebe and Mountain Bluebirds.  A single Sage Sparrow sang at the top of a hill across from and east of the Corral (Whiskey Dick), but he stubbornly refused to come to me despite playing every song and call note I could find.

I considered heading up the Teanaway Valley looking for Wild Turkeys, but I was well past tired and headed home.  Traffic was bearable – just barely and certainly no complaints about the weather.

It had been a great trip – good birds on the scouting trip and then 27 new Washington birds for the year with almost as many new first of year photos.  Altogether, I had seen 101 species – far more than I expected.  I may be way behind totals by the first week of May for some previous years (by more than 50 more by now in 2015 for example) – but no complaints at all.  I have not yet been to the Coast and have not been on a pelagic trip.  Hopefully those trips are ahead, but there are other priorities to attend to.  First off is to have a great field trip next Saturday.  If somehow that produces another FOY or another FOYP – so much the better.

Given the weather this year, the title “A Sprinkling of White” might well suggest a blogpost involving snow.  Especially in Eastern Washington where we were yesterday, this has been a year with lots of snow, closing roads, limiting access and affecting habitat and birding.  This factoid is representative:  “The normal year to date snowfall as of April 12 in Ellensburg is 20.7 inches.  At 36.5 inches, the year to date snowfall as of April 12, 2017 is 176.3% higher than the normal.”  I first visited Bullfrog Pond just west of Cle Elum on March 16th this year.  There was two feet of snow on the ground and the pond was essentially frozen solid.  Moving on to the Northern Pacific Railroad Ponds in South Cle Elum, conditions were similar and the plowed snow was piled so high, I could not see the ponds from the car.  Ann Marie Wood and I revisited those areas yesterday and there was no snow and surprise, surprise the birding was much better.

But this post is about white in a different sense – although the absence of snow meant that we could join friends Bill and Deb Essman and their all terrain jeep and get to beautiful spots in the hills behind Ellensburg that would not have been accessible on that snow laden earlier date.  This post is about good times and some birds we saw including some special ones with LOTS of white – some that were targeted and some that were complete surprises.

It was really cold when we got to Bullfrog Pond just before 7:00 a.m.  No snow and little wind, but 26 degrees felt colder.  We were hoping to find Sapsuckers and Chipping Sparrows and maybe a Sora.  When we heard the rattling call of a woodpecker, we thought it was a good start – but not a sapsucker, instead a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers.  Good views but not our target.  I thought I had heard a House Wren and took a photo of what I thought might have been the bird – but checking at home, the photo was of a Nuthatch.  The song I had heard was not a Nuthatch but without the visual, my FOY House Wren will just have to wait.

Hairy Woodpecker

Birding was slower than expected (hoped for) and we had a complete strikeout on targeted birds, so we headed off for stop number 2 – the Northern Pacific Railroad Ponds in South Cle Elum.  We were greeted by a pair of Hooded Mergansers and numerous Tree Swallows and then headed to the Pygmy Nuthatch spot.  This is the “go to location” for this species in Washington for me and they showed quickly and well, as we had close-ups of at least 5 Pygmy Nuthatches – four in one tree ten feet away at one time – Ann Marie’s first of the year.  A bonus was a Mountain Chickadee – also a FOY for her and one of three Chickadee species seen on this trip.

Hooded Mergansers

Pygmy Nuthatch

Mountain Chickadee

We moved on to another favorite spot on the road to the Fish Hatchery.  More woodpecker sounds and this time we had our quarry – well not quite…  We had hoped for a Williamson’s or a Red Naped Sapsucker.  This one was a Red Breasted Sapsucker, the one that is common in Western Washington but is found here as well. We also had a little Downy Woodpecker.  Numerous Yellow Rumped Warblers in spectacular breeding plumage also put on a show; and on the way out, we had Pine Siskins also showing off their breeding plumage.

Red Breasted Sapsucker

Yellow Rumped Warbler

We called Deb and told her we were on our way and then raced west on I-90 towards Kittitas.  Almost 24 miles later, speeding along at 75 mph, a patch of white caught my eye in one of the side ponds of the Yakima River along the freeway.  As birders, our brains become programmed to notice something “different” – a field mark, a movement, a shape, a form.  Even though the look was very brief and somewhat blocked by vegetation, my brain had somehow registered “White Pelican” – unexpected at this time or place.  It took at least 200 yards to stop.  With no state patrol in view, I backed up that distance and we got the confirming look and photo of an American White Pelican – another FOY for Ann Marie and also her first in Kittitas County.  Our first meaningful “sprinkling of white”.

American White Pelican

I have written about Bill and Deb Essman before (see for example wordpress.com/post/blairbirding.wordpress.com/5372 ) and won’t embarrass them by doing so at length again.  BUT I have to use Ann Marie’s words – they are wonderful company, knowledgeable, gracious, giving and fun, fun, fun!  And they have jeeps that can go places most of us can only dream of visiting – including the wild canyons north of Ellensburg/Kittitas and they visit them often and know every twist and turn and also where some really good birds can be found.  Their rural home is surrounded by birds at their feeders and their yard list is a staggering 100+ including both a Common Grackle and a White Winged Dove!!!  But this day, we were leaving that yard and heading up into the dirt roads of the hills to find a “guaranteed” White Headed Woodpecker that they had seen on two recent visits to a distant and very hard to reach spot in a burned area.  So off we went.

Passing through farmlands on the way, we kept our eyes open for Long Billed Curlews.  Steve Pink and I had found a pair in the area two weeks ago (See wordpress.com/post/blairbirding.wordpress.com/13409) but none this time.  But what a consolation prize when I spotted a gorgeous Wilson’s Snipe on a pipe sitting in perfect sunlight.  Steve and I had two on that earlier visit also – but a miserable photo op.  This one could hardly have been better.  We saw and heard more Snipe later but this one was worth the price of admission.

Wilson’s Snipe

Time to start climbing – and leaving the pavement as we headed up Parke Creek Canyon.  We picked up a Great Horned Owl on its nest and saw some expected birds even if in lower numbers than usual.  Lots of Mountain Bluebirds, some Vesper Sparrows, lots of Western Meadowlarks and Horned Larks, a couple of Cassin’s Finches and a brief look at a Townsend’s Solitaire. Surprisingly few raptors and no Western Bluebirds, but we had another beautiful Wilson’s Snipe.

Mountain Bluebird

Vesper Sparrow

Townsend’s Solitaire

The area was beautiful as we went in and out of fields, sage, trees and had vistas of mountains, windmills and shrub steppe.  As usual, I forgot to take scenery photos, so I only have the pictures that are in my mind.  The road got rougher and rougher but we never felt in danger or ill at ease as Bill masterfully handled each rut, bump, rock and incline.  After almost 2000 feet of vertical gain, Deb said we were approaching the spot where they “guaranteed” a White Headed Woodpecker.  It was a thicket of burned trees – victims of one of the big blazes last year.  We had already seen many burned pines and lots of trees that had been snapped in half by high winds that had followed some of the fires.  Woodpeckers love burns – we were ready – but the first looks were not fruitful.

Of course it was Ann Marie that first spied the White Headed Woodpecker.  I could not get on it and worried as she and then Bill said it had flown off.  I got out of the jeep and began the chase over fallen trees, avoiding Elk droppings and some mud as I headed north.  Then – there it was – in a tree just ahead – another “sprinkling of white” – a female White Headed Woodpecker climbing the trunk of the tree just ahead of me.  Some quick photos, and the Essman’s were good on their guarantee (and Deb sighed a sigh of relief).

White Headed Woodpecker

Don’t even think of trying to get to this spot in a regular vehicle – it would be a long walk out when you got stuck.  And definitely don’t think about trying the “back up” spot that the Essman’s had in reserve and was further up in case this spot had not panned out.  But we had no need to go further.  A not so good photo of a singing Cassin’s Finch without the slightest bit of red, and then we were off.

Cassin’s Finch

Off meant we were going up and over the Whiskey Dick Wind farm to come out on Old Vantage Highway to continue our search for Shrub Steppe birds.  Bill never looked at a map, and Ann Marie and I never had a clue where we were as there were left and right turns that were ignored or taken as we moved forward.  Bill and Deb regaled us with stories of their journeys into these hills, often in snow and in very cold conditions and often coming out in areas that were familiar to us, but we could not imagine were accessible via these challenging back roads.  We made it to the Quilomene (or Whiskey Dick) Corrals and immediately had singing Sage Thrashers.  Later we also had Mountain Bluebirds, Sagebrush, Brewer’s and Vesper Sparrows, and a pair of battling Say’s Phoebes.

Sage Thrasher

Brewer’s Sparrow

As on other visits to this area, we then headed off to Recreation Road and Rocky Coulee hoping for Rock and/or Canyon Wrens.  This time, however, we found none.  We were working against a schedule but figured there was time for a trip across the Columbia and then up to Frenchman’s Coulee looking for more “sprinklings of white” – White Throated Swifts to be specific.  That was the plan but as is often – and thankfully – the case, there was a surprise – a “different sprinkling of white” as we spotted a Great Egret in a little pond just before the turn to the south to get to the Coulee.  A county first for Ann Marie and Deb and always a welcomed find.

Great Egret

It was unexpectedly slow at Frenchman’s Coulee with the White Throated Swifts being the only species seen or heard.  We had great looks for maybe two seconds as they sped past us (they are after all called “Swifts”) including the eponymous white throats – another sprinkle for us.  Now time to get Bill back for an appointment so we headed west for the first time.

Hugs and goodbyes and many thank yous and then Ann Marie and I headed off to see if we could find some more good birds.  We searched in vain for Long Billed Curlews but got a nice view of a Merlin on Hungry Junction Road.  We headed up the Teanaway Valley where I ALWAYS find Wild Turkeys – well except this trip.  We found a “different” raptor that may have been a Red Tailed Hawk or maybe a Swainson’s Hawk.  I will run the poor photo by some experts and see what they say (and may come back to this blog post). Time to head home via Cle Elum and a last stop at Bullfrog Pond to see if we could find something new to end the day.

Merlin

And fitting on this day was a final “sprinkling of white”.  At Bullfrog we went to a somewhat different area and quickly heard a “squeal” that I was pretty sure was a Red Naped Sapsucker.  I played that call on my phone and it seemed an exact match – and then immediately a sapsucker flew right overhead in response to the call.  I thought it was going to land in a nearby tree but it kept going and was too far away to find.  It did not return or reply to more attempts to call it in, but when I played the drumming for a Red Naped, we again heard the squeal and then later similar drumming.  I did not have a great view as it flew overhead, but there was just enough “sprinkling of white” to differentiate it from its Red Breasted cousin.

Red Naped Sapsucker (from this location in 2016)

No traffic or rain coming home.  Lots of sunshine in Eastern Washington and lots of good birds this trip.  Most importantly lots of good times with some great folks.  That’s what it is all about.

Ebird has been a wonderful addition to the birding community in many ways – making organizing, preserving and sharing information on a personal, community, national and international level much easier.  It is a very powerful analytical tool as well allowing birders and researchers to compare and contrast our data and that of others over time and from place to place.  This blog post compares data from my Ebird reports from various trips to Kittitas County from March 2016 and March 2017.  It in part updates two posts from last year and my post on my previous trip to the area on March 16 this year.  That was covered as part of “Birding in Dibs and Dabs over Miles and Miles” (posted on March 18, 2017).  The two earlier posts from 2016 visits were: “Kittitas County Birds – Changing Experiences in March” (posted on March 28, 2016) and “Kittitas County March 5, 2016″ (posted on March 6, 2016)

Last year I visited the area three times in March – once on a scouting trip for a later Seattle Audubon trip, then on the trip itself and then again on March 30 with Brian Pendleton that included going further east.  This year I went there on a very windy day and when there was still a lot of snow in the Westernmost part of the county on March 16 and then I returned with Steve Pink last Friday, March 31st.  Comparing results on of the trips for the two years trips provided a fun opportunity to use some of that Ebird power.

Combining all observations from 2016 and 2017 results in a list of 103 species.  Interestingly, there were almost the same number of species seen in each of the years: 71 in 2016 and 72 in 2017 even though there was one fewer trip in 2017 and one of the 2017 trips had only 40 species.  With a total of 103 species seen, there obviously were unique observations one year that were not seen in the other.  There were a total of 42 such unique species observations. Of these only six were from this year:  California Gull, Hairy Woodpecker, Long Billed Curlew, Savannah Sparrow and Wilson’s Snipe.  Photos of many of the species seen (in either year) have already been included in the earlier blog posts.  I am adding some from the most recent visit on March 31st below.

Sage Thrasher

Brewer’s Sparrow

Say’s Phoebe

Vesper Sparrow

Loggerhead Shrike

Long Billed Curlew

Pileated Woodpecker

Turkey Vulture

Rough Legged Hawk

Osprey

Although I am not a “County Lister” per se, Ebird does keep track of observations by county and my Kittitas County list stands at 199 species.  I hope to return to one of my favorite birding areas in the State soon and get that 200th species.

This is my second blog post in two days and certainly was not planned.  It just popped into my head after a very fun day chasing (and finding) the Rusty Blackbird that was being super-cooperative at the Fred Meyer parking lot in Bellingham, followed by a close encounter with grebes and loons at the Blaine Marina.  After so much rain, it was finally sunny today, making for better photos and particularly highlighting the bright red eyes of those grebes and loons and thus the blog topic.  I have to, and will, include a sidebar about the Rusty Blackbird, but those red eyes got to me and I started thinking of all the birds with those sparkling eyes.  More birds probably have black or yellow or orange eyes, but why do so many have red ones.  I will do some research or maybe some reader of this blog knows the answer, but for now, this post will recount some Redeye experiences from today and then catalog some of my photos of other birds with red eyes that are very cool birds.

But first the Rusty Blackbird.  It was discovered by Noah Sanday at the Fred Meyer parking lot in Bellingham on Thursday. Rusty Blackbirds are seen in Washington every year but are uncommon and usually uncooperative.  They are generally loners in large flocks of other birds that are black – European Starlings, Brewer’s Blackbirds and/or Red Winged Blackbirds.  Hard to pick out at all, they are even harder to photograph because they disappear into the flocks and the flocks themselves are always reordering themselves and often skitterish.  Just when you get on the Rusty Blackbird, the whole flocks takes off and even if they return to the same spot, the Rusty is in a totally different spot and you have to start the search all over again.  The Whatcom County bird was special not only because the location was so accessible but because it was associating with very few other birds – often with just two more – and it was very confiding – remaining unfazed even when surrounded by very interested birders.  It moved back and forth between the Fred Meyer’s lot and the Costco lot across Bakerview Drive but it had been seen consistently for three days.  My only good photo of a Rusty Blackbird in Washington was at Crescent Lake in early February 2015 and I was looking forward to another.

Rusty Blackbird – Crescent Lake – February 4, 2015

Ann Marie Wood and I arrived at the area around 8:00 a.m. and drove both lots and saw only a couple of Starlings and a single Brewer’s Blackbird.  At first we also saw no other birders, but then we saw Paul Baerny with a cup of coffee.  He had arrived 15 minutes before us and had also driven both properties without success.  We split up with promises to call if any of us found the blackbird.  About 10 minutes later, Paul called and he had the bird.  It was on the parking lot ground near Fred Meyers and we raced over to join him.  It was feeding on some salt with two Brewer’s Blackbirds, easy to find, easy to approach and easy to photograph.  Hurray!!  We watched it for 20 minutes and within that time more birders arrived and all they had to do was to find us – an easy way to find the bird.  As repeated often in my blog posts, it is not always this easy, but it sure feels good when it does.  Many more people saw the bird throughout the day.

Rusty Blackbird – Bellingham – March 19, 2017

It was only 9:30 and the weather was great.  My friends Melissa Hafting and Ilya Polyaev had great views of Eared Grebes in the Blaine Marina on Saturday and were heading back there today.  We decided to join them there and look for the grebe – not rare but not common and if close by, unusual and a good photo op.  This begins the transition to birds with red eyes.  We found two Eared Grebes among the far more numerous Horned Grebes and the red eyes of each species were striking indeed.

Eared Grebe – Blaine Marina – March 19, 2017

 

Horned Grebe – Blaine Marina – March 19, 2017

Continuing the Redeye journey, there was also a very cooperative Common Loon in breeding plumage – very photo friendly – red eyes blazing.

Common Loon

 

There were also Pied Billed and Red Necked Grebes in the Marina but they have dark eyes.  We did not see the other Washington Grebes – Western and Clark’s and guess what – they do have red eyes.

Clark’s and Western Grebes (Lind Coulee)

We also visited nearby Semiahmoo Spit where we had more Horned Grebes and Common Loons.  We did not see them there today, but it is a good place for both Red Throated and Pacific Loons – and yes you got it – they, too have red eyes.

Red Throated Loon

Pacific Loon

Never seen there but another loon with red eyes is the Yellow Billed Loon – included in an earlier blog post this – the one up close at Rosario Head.

Yellow Billed Loon

With today’s loons and grebes in mind and with those red eyes so prominent, I wondered about other birds with red eyes.  Not going to include stories for each one (at least not now), but a quick search of my photos came up with lots of other birds – including many, but not just water birds, that have those bright eyes.  Here are photos of ones I came up with.

Wood Duck

Canvasback

Spotted Towhee

Eastern Towhee

Phainopepla

Bronzed Cowbird

White Winged Dove

Red Breasted Merganser

Cinnamon Teal

 

Sora

Virginia Rail

White Tailed Kite

Eurasian Collared Dove

Rock Pigeon

White Faced Ibis

American Coot

Black Crowned Night Heron

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

Red Eyed Vireo

I have not looked at my photos from outside the U.S. and I am sure I have missed some birds in the U.S. that have red eyes, but I was surprised to find this many.  Maybe it is a stretch to go from Rusty Blackbirds to red-eyed birds but I think it does take some red to make rusty and in any event it is my blog and I get to do what I want.  Mostly I wanted to include the Common Loon and Eared Grebe photos from today.  I could have stopped there but it was fun to broaden the scope.

Most importantly, it was an excellent day with great birds and – finally – some great weather.

After what has seemed like months, there was to be a break in the weather – at least for one day – and NO rain (or snow) was predicted for Thursday March 16.  I had nothing on the calendar for a few days and I have always enjoyed finding the Shrub/Steppe birds as they return to the sagebrush, so I set out early for a trip to central Washington with the possibility of extending the trip for another day depending on how it went.  While there were certainly some target birds, mostly this was going to be revisiting familiar places and just enjoying the time out.  Oh yeah…I also had hopes of seeing some Sandhill Cranes.

Even at 5:15 a.m. there is too much traffic, but the trip down I-405 was not too bad and there seemed to be nobody else on the road once I hit I-90 going East.  Snowing or not, getting over Snoqualmie Pass has been a big problem of late, with many closures and delays for avalanche control.  No problems today and I was at my first stop – Bullfrog Pond – just as there was enough light to see.  But there was tons of the snow on the ground so not much in the way of bird life or of access.  There was no snow there at this time last year.  I had hopes (dreams) of a very early Red Naped Sapsucker, which I have had there in April but I settled for three other woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker and Pileated – none close enough for a decent photo.

On these trips, I head next for the Northern Pacific Railroad Ponds in South Cle Elum.  Not as much snow as when I visited last month and the ponds were not frozen.  And no surprise, much better birding.  The “target” here is the aptly named little Pygmy Nuthatch which nests in the area.  When I got to the right spot I immediately heard their high pitched piping call and located several birds including one going into and out of its cavity nest.  When two came in pretty close I was able to get a nice photo.

Pygmy Nuthatch

On the road to the fish hatchery, I coaxed in a beautiful Mountain Chickadee (also reliable here) but despite its fervent singing I could not get a White Breasted Nuthatch to come in for a photo.  I was happy to capture the sparkling red eye of a Spotted Towhee though.

Mountain Chickadee

Spotted Towhee

There was still too much snow to access a favorite feeder spot in South Cle Elum where I usually find Cassin’s Finches and often Evening Grosbeaks, but I did find a few Cassin’s Finches high up in a tree near the old railway station, directly into the sun so a photo will have to wait.  Trying to lose some extra pounds, I did not stop at the Cle Elum Bakery and settled for some coffee before heading off to Ellensburg to look for a California Scrubjay that has been hanging around near Second Street.  About this same time last year, we visited the campus of Central Washington University (a short distance away) where we had a Townsend’s Solitaire, Red Crossbills and a single White Winged Crossbill.  Those birds were not back, but finding the Scrubjay was a nice substitute.

California Scrubjay

Now it was time to visit the sagebrush or shrub steppe area.  I was expecting to find Western and Mountain Bluebirds, Say’s Phoebes and Sagebrush Sparrow and hoping to see Loggerhead Shrike, Sage Thrasher, Vesper Sparrow and maybe even a Brewer’s Sparrow all of which I have seen in the area by this time.  I first went south on Umptanum Road out of Ellensburg where the Bluebirds were almost guaranteed and where up on Durr Road I had seen most of the other birds.  There was still some snow around (not on the road which was pretty muddy and wet) but the wind was picking up, and that never helps.  I easily found numerous bluebirds where the efforts of many in putting up and maintaining nesting boxes has been very successful.  I also had several Say’s Phoebes but no other birds of note. The only birds on Durr Road were Dark Eyed Juncos and another Mountain Bluebird.  There were lots of House Sparrows on the beginning of Umptanum Road with a couple seemingly very interested in one of the nest boxes.

Mountain Bluebird

Western Bluebird

House Sparrow at Nest Box

Not finding any sparrows was disappointing, but they were more likely along Old Vantage Highway, so I was still optimistic heading off to favorite spots there.  However, the wind picked up and either that or my poor birding resulted in finding almost no birds anywhere in the area.  One Mountain Bluebird and again some juncos and that was it.  I met two other birders at the ranger house stop and they had a similar experience – nada. I missed Canyon Wren and Rock Wren at the Rocky Coulee site, so a complete bust.  Undaunted (mostly) I continued on to my favorite Canyon Wren spot about 8 miles down Huntzinger Road.  The wind continued pretty strong and the best I could do was a singing Rock Wren deep in the Canyon that would not come in to playback – unusual.

Now what?  Although it was possibly a bit early, I thought I would try for Sandhill Cranes in the Othello area.  Maybe I went to the wrong spots (many of them) or maybe it was early, but I found no cranes and spent a lot of time looking.  It was decision time – head home with meager success for the day or commit to a second day and concentrate on points south.  I chose the latter and began the long drive to Fort Simcoe where I knew I would find Lewis’s Woodpeckers, and then after staying somewhere in the area head off to Lyle and then over to the Clark County refuges where I figured I would find the cranes and have a reasonable chance for Wilson’s Snipe and Red Shouldered Hawk.

Fort Simcoe State Park is a wonderful spot – especially when there is nobody else there.  This was the case when I arrived -probably because the Park was closed.  Fortunately it was ok to walk in past the gate and I had a couple of Lewis’s Woodpeckers almost immediately.  My favorite spot for them is Oak Creek Canyon where they are often perched on snags at eye level.  Here they are usually high up in the oak trees, so the challenge is to get one lower, unblocked by branches and with the sun in the right place.  It took some doing, but there are so many woodpeckers (I saw at least 15 and probably several times that many throughout the park), that eventually I got some good photos – really a beautiful bird.

Lewis’s Woodpecker

Overnight accommodations are limited in the area and I eventually found an ok place in Goldendale.  I awoke to a heavy frost on the car and a nice sunrise.  If only that weather had continued.

Sunrise Scenery and a Silhouetted Windmill

  

Usually when I head off on a bird trip there is a set itinerary and a tight schedule (luck dependent).  It was pretty obvious from the preceding day’s experience that there was a lot of freelancing, and since I had no commitments and am not trying for a giant list this year, I thought I would try some new territory before heading to Lyle.  Russ Koppendreyer had reported seeing some Bonaparte’s Gulls at a park off Roosevelt Ferry Road in eastern Klickitat County.  I keep track but am not a driven/dedicated County Lister, so seeing one in Klickitat County was no big deal, but why not try something new. So I headed off east on Highway 14.  It is pretty country – but also BIG country and I had not realized how far east I was to travel.  When I got to the place, there were no Bonaparte’s Gulls, but there were some other birds I had not seen in Klickitat County before, and as I was leaving I heard a staccato call and then a chorus that I thought might be a Lesser Goldfinch.  My hunch proved right as there was one on a distant wire across an uncross-able field.  So that was a big bonus.  I added a lot of new birds for the county (mostly waterfowl) and enjoyed the journey – although I was again a bit off on timing.

I headed back west along Highway 24 to Lyle and then went to the Balch Lake area hoping to find an Acorn Woodpecker.  With varying amounts of effort, I have always found this species there.  It took a lot of doing but I again found one near where I had three last year on Tuthill Road.  I did have at least three Lewis’s Woodpeckers in the area and several Flickers and I wonder if maybe these species are out-competing the Acorns.  Now I was off to Ridgefield Refuge – back to Highway 24 and the beautiful Columbia Gorge.  Sometime I hope to spend many days there exploring – really a beautiful area.  Along the way, passing a rock face near the Crawford Oaks Trailhead, I saw some swallows that I thought might be Cliff Swallows, my first of the year.  I pulled over and discovered they were just more Violet Green Swallows – which I saw in the many hundreds over the two days.  The habitat looked good for Canyon Wren and I got one to respond from way up on the cliff face.  Truly a favorite song.

Now the rain really started in earnest, and the remainder of the day was going to be wet and even wetter.  I decided to forego Steigerwald NWR and headed to Ridgefield.  It was pouring the whole trip including my time there along the Auto Tour of the River S Unit.  The refuge is engulfed in water, higher than I remember in the past.  Great for waterfowl, not so much for the birders.  A pleasant surprise was a pair of close by Cinnamon Teal near the start of the route.  There were hundreds (thousands?) of ducks and geese with Cackling Geese and American Coots most obvious.  Also Violet Green and to a lesser degree Tree Swallows everywhere.  A real shortage of raptors but I did have a close beautiful view of a Northern Harrier and a very distant and rainy view of a Red Shouldered Hawk.  There were no visible Snipe or Cranes and the only good passerine was a single Savannah Sparrow.  The rain made viewing difficult at best but the at least 6 Nutria seemed unfazed.

Cinnamon Teal

Cackling Geese

  

Violet Green Swallow

Northern Harrier

I had seen Sandhill Cranes at the River S Unit many times in the past so that miss was a disappointment – maybe just too much water.  I remembered posts about flocks in the Woodland Bottoms – an unfamiliar area but since it was not far away, I gave it a try.  As I was speeding to a site reported on Ebird, I glimpsed a large group of “Great Blue Herons” in a field along the road – of course they were the targeted Sandhill Cranes and were close and photogenic.  Interestingly when I returned to the spot after searching elsewhere, maybe 15 minutes later, they had all disappeared into some newly planted vines/bushes.  Had they been there originally I would have missed them.  Altogether I found 4 flocks with a total of at least 300 birds.  Very cool.

Sandhill Crane (in the rain)

Time to head north but it was clear that I was going to hit rush hour.  No other options in the rain, so I headed off.  The rain was horrible and the spray from autos and especially trucks was blinding.  Around Olympia the traffic got very bad and came to a crawl.  Rain or not, I decided to detour to Nisqually NWR still hoping for a Wilson’s Snipe and maybe an American Bittern.  There was but a single car in the parking lot when I arrived and I saw nobody else while I was there.  Again very wet conditions (flooded fields and raining hard) so almost no passerine activity.  Hundreds of Violet Green and some Tree Swallows, but the big surprise was a single Northern Rough Winged Swallow (very poor photo) – the earliest ever for me by 9 days.  Definitely no Bitterns or Snipe and nothing else of note.

Northern Rough Winged Swallow

It was now about 5:30 p.m. and the traffic was backed up so far from the northbound on ramp for I-5 that I decided to wait and get a bite at one of the road side “restaurants”.  It being St. Patrick’s Day, the preferred Bar and Grill was so busy, I could not even find a parking space so I settled for the other.  Too many calories of not too good food, but finally I saw that the traffic was at least moving.  It took 30 minutes to go the first 6 miles but then it mostly cleared (until Tacoma) and I was actually home before I thought I would be – even though pretty late.

This was a disjointed trip that often deviated – in approach and results – from whatever little planning there had been.  I ended up seeing a lot of new birds for the year (and for both Klickitat and Skamania Counties).  I had seen some of the expected birds and missed others and had some surprises.  Basically there were dibs and dabs of this and that and even with the rain, a very fun time.  It is nice not “needing” to see any particular species but still nice when some that are enjoyed are seen according to plan or otherwise.  A recurring thought during the trip was just how much open space there is in our state and in our birding areas.  The area along Highway 97 for example is vast and I imagine infrequently birded – at least compared to areas closer to population centers or birding hotspots.  When I was at Russ’s Roosevelt Ferry Road spot, I looked across the Columbia, and Oregon seemed very close.  Maybe not there but at some other such spot on the Columbia and further west, just maybe someday a Wrentit will finally show up in Washington.  Maybe one already has and we have just not been there at that remote unbirded spot at the right time.

To go or not to go that had been the question.  Melissa Hafting, my good friend and birding resource extraordinaire had been campaigning for me to come up to British Columbia yet again to see some new rarities that were being seen near Victoria on Vancouver Island.  As chronicled in my earlier blog “Chasing…Chasing…Chasing” on January 12^th this year, Steve Pink and I had ventured to Victoria and were successful (and fortunate) to see the Purple Sandpiper there on Kitty Islet.  Also as detailed in that post, we had not been successful in finding any Skylarks nor the Red Throated Pipit that had been there a few days earlier.  Just like on that trip, I wanted the possibility of at least two new life birds or life photos to justify the time and expense.

The Skylarks still beckoned but even though I also just wanted to see Melissa and bird with her, I needed a second target to justify the trip to Vancouver Island.  That opportunity arose when two Pink Fronted Geese had appeared and were being seen regularly.  Although I had seen these very rare geese last year in Boston over Thanksgiving Holiday, I did not have a photo so I was now happy to make the trip.  Frank Caruso was also interested – not for the geese, but for the Eurasian Skylarks which would be a new ABA bird for him and was missed by the two of us last year when we made a successful visit to find the visiting Redwing – an extreme rarity – a life bird for both of us and a new photo for me as well.  Jon Houghton was also interested in these same birds and was up for the trip.  BUT – there were complications.  One was that the geese were seen regularly – and then disappeared.  A second was that the weather continued to be miserable – decreasing the chance for finding and certainly for photographing the birds and also decreasing our enjoyment.  When the geese were refound – this time an hour north of Victoria, and the weather looked good for Friday – we made tentative plans.  BUT – another complication – the geese disappeared from their new location in Duncan.  With just the single opportunity, I was not willing to make the trip and Jon and Frank agreed.

Step back a moment – as the plans for a trip to B.C. were riding that roller coaster, a good bird showed up much closer to home.  At about 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8, I got a call from Steve Pink who was looking at an adult Glaucous Gull at the Everett Marina.  I had seen and photographed Glaucous Gulls in Washington before, and I had even seen one already in 2017 on my return from the Red Flanked Bluetail trip to Lewiston, ID.  But I did not have a photo this year and this was an adult which I had not seen before, so I raced up there and arrived in time to get a photo – and then five minutes later, the gull flew off – heading north.

Glaucous Gull at Everett Marine Park March 8, 2017

All of the Glaucous Gulls I had seen before were first cycle birds – appearing much different – almost entirely white and with a dark tip on their pink bills.  My first photo of one was at Swallows Park in Asotin County on March 14, 2015 and I had made that long drive primarily to get that first ever photo.  That sighting seemed to open the door for more sightings and photos as I discovered one near Monroe two weeks later and then found yet another on April 2^nd. In fact when I had seen an earlier photo of the Everett bird, I thought there had been a mistake because the adult looked so different.

Glaucous Gull – Monroe – March 2015

  

The rest of the story and the reason for the digression is that the next morning, Frank and Jon searched for the Glaucous Gull for several hours and never found it – perhaps a portent of things to come.  While they were searching I got a message from Melissa that not only had the Pink Footed Geese been relocated but now there was an Iceland Gull that was being seen regularly and easily in Parksville – another hour north of where the geese had been refound.  And to add to the appeal of a trip, the Redwing that Frank and I had seen the previous year was now being seen regularly and more easily than in the previous year.  So in addition to the ever possible Skylarks, there were three additional draws.  The weather looked good for the next day and it was not hard to recruit Jon and Frank.

Iceland Gull in Parksville

The plan was to leave Edmonds at 4:00 a.m., pick up Melissa near the ferry terminal in Tsawwassen at 6:40 and be in line by 6:45 – an hour ahead of the 7:45 departure for Nanaimo.  All worked smoothly – actually too smoothly.  We had no traffic, clear weather, and no wait at the border (where yet again the Canadian border guard was friendly and efficient) so we arrived 45 minutes ahead of schedule.  And the ferry was not even half full, so we could have arrived even a half hour later and been fine.  A 5:15 a.m. departure would have been a lot easier on us, but adrenalin is a good substitute for rest, no problem.

It takes almost two hours to get to Nanaimo.  It was mostly a boring, but easy trip across smooth open water with very few birds seen.  Guy Monty, a gull expert, who had discovered the Iceland Gull met us at “the spot” but there were NO gulls on the field at all. Uh-oh.  But Guy said he had seen it yesterday in the gull flocks in the Bay so we would search there.  There were a zillion gulls in the bay – maybe two zillion.  They gather for the herring roe which were being deposited by unseen herring on the sea grass in the shallow water.  I will not go through all the details, but we really did see thousands of gulls – of many species (Thayer’s, Glaucous Winged, Herring, California, Mew and even a single Bonaparte’s) – in front of us at the first spot and then at 4 more spots nearby.  There were gulls everywhere – but no Iceland Gull.   Iceland Gulls are quite rare in the Northwest.  Frank had seen several in New England and I had seen a single one before, but no picture.  Jon had hopes of seeing them in Iceland when he visits later this year, but he might be too late for them there, so this was a major disappointment AND instead of the 30 minutes originally planned, we had spent two hours and were now behind schedule.

Gulls Were Everywhere in Parksville

The good news was that Melissa had gotten word that the Pink Footed Geese had been seen that morning – not in Duncan – but back in the Victoria area.  So we set off for the two hour trip.  Each traffic light (and there seemed to be an endless supply) was a frustration, but with Melissa’s expert guidance, we arrived at a parking spot at Blenkinsop–Lohbrunner Road East and headed off on the trail to the bridge from which we hoped to see the geese.  After a short while we could see other birders down at the bridge with cameras and scopes focused on what surely had to be our quarry.  Indeed they were looking at the Pink Footed Geese but the view was through a very thick bramble of shrubs – good enough for identification but hardly for the good photo that I had hoped to get. If necessity is not the mother of invention, then certainly passionate desire is.  The geese were grazing on a grassy field that was blocked by the vegetation but there was a gate (locked, high and not passable) that was adjacent to the trees.  Some other birders had tried for a view from that spot and could not see the geese.  I think this was because the geese were grazing on the other side of a rise and the rise hid them from the perspective of the gate – BUT – the gate was attached to a high wooden fence – maybe 6 feet tall.  I climbed the fence and then sat atop of it and had an unobstructed view and got the desired quality photos.

Pink Footed Geese – Blenkinsop–Lohbrunner Road East – March 10, 2017

 

Before the trip had begun, I had expected the Iceland Gull to be the most likely and easiest of the birds to find and the Pink Footed Geese to be the hardest.  What do I know…  Now we were off to try for the Redwing.  Melissa had said it was much more cooperative this year, and a birder we met at the goose site said he had this morning and that it was singing.  But alas birds have minds of their own.  Already running late, we ran into heavier than expected traffic to go the short distance to the Redwing stakeout.  And when we arrived at its favorite holly tree, another birder was already there.  He had failed to see it for the previous 20 minutes.  We waited – and waited – and waited – no luck.  A very photo friendly Chestnut Backed Chickadee and a Ruby Crowned Kinglet were the only birds that cooperated for us.

Chestnut Backed Chickadee

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

I was admittedly getting very concerned about having sufficient time to find the Skylarks even though Melissa thought they were a sure thing.  Finally, just as we started to leave, Melissa saw a thrush-like bird fly over head and disappear into nearby trees.  So back we went and spent another 20 minutes hoping for an appearance.  But it did not appear for us and we headed off to try for a Skylark.  This was especially disappointing for Jon since Frank and I had seen it the previous year and it would have been a life bird for him.  Unfortunately the time spent without success looking for the Iceland Gull and the long drive and the traffic compromised our efforts.

Redwing (from 2016)

We first tried for the Skylarks at the Airport – where Melissa “always” had them and where some had been seen and heard that morning.  Nothing.  We tried another area near the airport – again nothing.  It was getting darker and colder and we only had time for one more spot – the Saanichton fields.  Steve Pink and I had tried those on our visit without success.  Our group walked the road along the fields without success.  At one point, a Western Meadowlark flushed up from in front of us.  We had no clue it had been there as it was hunkered down in the grass.  Shortly thereafter many more birds flushed and then more again.  The light was now pretty bad and it was hard to get a look.  All or maybe all but one had the distinctive broad white tail corners of Meadowlarks.  I thought I saw one without that field mark and Melissa thought she had a pretty good look and that one of the birds was probably a — Skylark.  But we could not get the birds to be still, nor to get a good look – so no Skylarks yet again.

Of course we were disappointed not to see the Iceland Gull or the Redwing or a Eurasian Skylark.  We had only seen one of four targets.  At first blush that sounds like a poor trip, but such was not the case.  Originally we were ready to go if there was only a chance to see the Pink Footed Goose and a Skylark.  My calculation was that with two possibilities, there was at least a reasonable chance at getting one – and if I could only get one, then I would have chosen the Pink Footed Goose.  The Iceland Gull became a major plus but our trip planning to try for that probably not only added a lot of wear and tear but also cost us precious time that if spent differently might have resulted in seeing both the Redwing and the Eurasian Skylarks.  BUT it was definitely worth a shot.  That is the nature of birding for targets – no guarantees and things change.  We visited a lot of good places and had great conversations about birding trips of the past and in the future.  I got far better looks and photos of the Pink Footed Geese than I ever expected.  Some day I will photograph a Skylark and someday Frank will see one.  I may never photograph an Iceland Gull, but I bet Guy Monty will find one next year, so who knows.  It was great to meet him and it was as always great to spend time with Melissa.  I hope that she is by my side when that Skylark is finally captured by my camera.  And I know that there will be many times in the future when we will see rarities – in B.C. or in Washington again.  I look forward to those days.

I know this is a different kind of blog post, but particularly at a time when so much of the country is divided into “us” and “them”, maybe it is in order.  In an earlier post, I shared some moments from a trip by Brian Pendleton and me to look for a Northern Mockingbird that had been reported frequently from a residential area in Kirkland essentially as follows:  When we arrived at the designated address in Kirkland, I parked in the driveway behind one of the cars, with the intent to knock on the door (the owners had been described in many reports as very friendly) and ask if they had seen the Mockingbird and if we could take a look.  (However) As soon as he got out of the car, however, Brian exclaimed “There it is!”  Our Northern Mockingbird was perched in the open on a small tree at the adjoining home. It took off to the south.  We followed and found it in a tree three homes away.  It then flew back to the north and as we started to retrace our steps, we saw another fellow walking towards us.  I wondered if maybe my car was parked behind his and was either blocking his way or at least needed an explanation.  This turned into one of those fun intersections on a birding trip.  Brad was the owner of the house next to where the holly bush was located.  He led us to the house with the holly and into the back yard where the Northern Mockingbird was conveniently perched completely in the open on a wire directly above us and next to said holly tree. We also had a great talk with Brad about hunting, ducks, construction (he is a contractor) and birds and birders. Really a good guy – a perfect host for visiting birders.

The Kirkland Northern Mockingbird

What I did not add at the time was that Brad not only was good company and an expert guide in this case, but when we talked about hunting and conservation, he reached into his well stocked freezer and gave each of us some Mallard breasts.  How cool was that!!  Well last night I got to find out just how cool it really was.  Lynette and I had a chance to cook up the wild duck breasts.  It was an amazing dinner.  Part of the fun was to research all of the recipes for wild game and duck breasts in particular.  I am not a hunter and as best I know, I have never had any wild game and am unfamiliar with a very extensive library of recipes – simple and complex – for duck and many other meats.  We found some that were closer to the complex side but manageable.  I will not go into the details, but we chose three dishes:  young asparagus – steamed and then flavored with sesame oil and sesame seeds, Shiitake mushrooms sauteed in butter, shallots and garlic and the main fare of duck breasts with a sauce that was a reduction of home made black raspberry jelly and some other little touches.

Simmering Wild Duck Breasts

Young Asparagus in Sesame Oil (Sesame Seed Garnish Later)

Shiitake Mushrooms

The Finished Meal

We had read that wild duck tasted a lot like steak and while cooking it certainly looked like that.  The taste was very similar as well – tender and flavorful and the reduction was a great compliment.  It was a great meal – appearance and taste.  Not that I will probably repeat culinary posts very often (ever?) but the meal frankly is worth such mention and wild duck is highly recommended.  But the purpose of this writing is to get back to a theme of many of my posts and of my birding life.  My birding inserts me in situations where there is always the chance for great birds, great places and great people.  Rarely does a trip not include at least one of those, and at the best of times, I get all three.  The Kirkland Mockingbird was a great bird in not such a great place but with the real highlight being the great intersection with Brad – a hunter not a birder.  As I said at the start, our vision is too often of two worlds – ours and theirs.  But the inescapable truth is that it is ONE WORLD – and that world and each of us would be better if we all spent more time finding common ground and value in each other’s perspectives and passions.  Sure, there is the need for all to follow our passions responsibly and respectfully but we are not alone.

There are many wonderful birders AND wonderful hunters out there, just as there are some of each that are not so great.  The early birders like Audubon were collectors who killed the birds to get specimens for identification and study.  Digital cameras have changed that it many ways and in that sense I hunt birds daily but shoot them with the camera only – adding to that kind of collection.  Hunters often are a major source of funds for preservation of habitat where I find my birds and there is a clear benefit to hunters and birders alike.  Hunters are often active in important conservation efforts shoulder to shoulder with birders.  Ethical hunters gather their spent shell casings and have moved away from lead shot.  Maybe they will someday move to copper bullets instead of the lead ones that do much harm to scavengers including the California Condor.  They will do so much more readily if we can come together rather than battle one another.

Meeting Brad and sharing the Mockingbird and then stories together was a highlight of that day.  I will fondly remember that and last night’s wild duck meal for a long while and it will always remind me to find room for others as I pursue my own passionate course.  Really leaves a good taste to do so…   Thanks Brad.