The loaned camera from John Harris really was a life saver, but it was hard to put the loss of my own camera out of mind.  I could not stop blaming myself for failing to pack the back up.  I worried about the repair cost and time but moreso photos and particularly good photos had been such an important reason for this trip and my good camera was a big part of those hopes.  It had already become clear that the approach of this tour was not going to make getting good photos easy, and now it was going to get harder.

Now there was another problem.  The original plan had been to visit California Gulch that night to search for Buff Collared Nightjar.  We had heard horror stories about vehicles getting stuck in flooded roads on the way there, so travelling that challenging road in the dark was out.  This was a big disappointment as the Nightjar is found nowhere else and would have been an ABA Life bird.  It was also a potential problem for another important bird for the trip, Five Striped Sparrow.  I had seen one 40 years ago, but it would be an important life bird for Frank Caruso (and most of the others on the trip) and definitely a new ABA Life Photo for me (now also complicated by the camera issue).  Losing both the Nightjar and this sparrow would have been a big loss.  Our leader came up with another way to get to California Gulch – at least in the daytime.

Early the next morning we headed for California Gulch via Arivaca and Warsaw Canyon. Along the way we had Botteri’s and Cassin’s Sparrows and then our first and only views of the much sought after Montezuma Quail.  A tough photo through the van’s windshield (especially as I was four rows back), but still a welcomed addition to my ABA Photo (and year but not Life) lists. (Note that all pictures going forward are with the much appreciated loaned SX50).

Botteri’s Sparrow

Montezuma Quail

There is simply no way to be sure to find these quail.  We were in good habitat many times during our travels and they just did not cooperate (the same would be true later for Scaled Quail).  I have several friends who have spent many hours looking for/hoping for this bird in Arizona and were unsuccessful. So these were a good find.

We continued on via Ruby Road and reached the beginning of California Gulch and could go no further as there was a torrent raging down a usually dry wash.  In keeping with those aforementioned horror stories, there was a Chevy Suburban stuck in what was now a stream.  We heard of one group that spent a whole night trapped before being rescued.

Abandoned Stuck Chevy Suburban

The road in had been terrible – a big jolt every few feet magnified by the van’s poor suspension and springs – but at least we had made it this far.  Was it going to be far enough?  Would we find the Five Striped Sparrow?  There was a bit of confusion at the start and we were told we would wade across the stream to search for the Sparrow.  One other person from the group and I did so only to learn that plans were changed and the try for the Five Striped Sparrow would be done downstream first.  Wet shoes are not my first choice, but I had had enough foresight to remove socks so not a big deal as we waded back across and went downstream.  I think it was Frank and his great birding ears that first heard the call of what turned out to be a Five Striped Sparrow – a much wanted new Life bird for him.  We got fairly good looks at it across the stream.  Were I on my own, I would have worked closer for a good photo, but that was not in the cards with the group.  (And yes, I know I am whining, but it is my blog and I am also being honest.  Especially after the long ride in the back of the uncomfortable van and the unnecessary wade across the stream, the initial good feeling of at least finding the bird (not hard in the Gulch) was moderated by wanting a better photo – and yes with MY camera setup. )

Five Striped Sparrow

 

On our return towards Nogales, we saw some Pronghorns in the Grasslands and added Rufous Crowned and Grasshopper Sparrows to our sparrow list for the day.  We also had some Rock Wrens, another Yellow Billed Cuckoo and more Black Tailed Gnatcatchers. 

Rufous Crowned Sparrow

Complaining aside, any day that includes both Five Striped Sparrow and Montezuma Quail should be considered a good birding day.  But it just did not feel like it.  The poor photos of the Sparrow and Quail only reinforced the feeling of loss of my own camera.  They also reminded me how the approach of this tour was not what I would have preferred or how I would have (should have?) approached things and gone on my own – and that was surely brought home with the long and hard ride at the back of the van.  And truth in blogging, a big challenge in my relationship had developed a few days before I departed home and was almost constantly on my mind.   All of this continued to weigh heavily on me.  If John had not been so kind in lending me his camera, it really would have been very tough to continue the trip.  I may well have chosen not to.

But then a really good thing happened.  It was our arrival at the Casa de San Pedro Bed and Breakfast.  The Casa de San Pedro is in Hereford, Arizona not far from Sierra Vista (sometimes called “Sorry Vista”) and pretty close to the Mexican Border.  It is a perfect home base for exploration of the many bird filled canyons of the Huachuca Mountains.  It is a place that I would love to visit – even without the birds.  Owners Karl Schmitt and Patrick Dome bought the property in 2002, relocating from the Northwest.  Their love for the place and for its guests is evident in every detail and in every word and action.  It is also evident in their extraordinary breakfasts – reason enough to stay with them.  Do not go if you are on a diet – as the quantity is second only to the quality.  We were going to be there three nights and it could not have come at a better time.  The only problem would be not having enough time to actually enjoy the place itself as we would be off to those Huachuca Canyons and environs every day.

Casa de San Pedro (the photo does not do it justice)

Breakfast at the Casa de San Pedro (this photo does do the food justice!)

Pool at Casa de San Pedro

Yes I would have enjoyed just being at this beautiful serene place, but there were birds to see.  Indeed some were seen right there at the Casa.  Great Horned Owls greeted us each morning and beautiful Vermillion Flycatchers were readily found.

 

Great Horned Owl

Vermillion Flycatcher

After a lovely night at the Casa and a superb breakfast, we left the next morning to go to Fort Huachuca to get security clearance so that we could look for Elegant Trogons in Huachuca Canyon.  The processing was not too bad and we readily found the trogons in the Canyon – hearing their almost bark like call first.  We found a pair at a nest and then two more.  We also had Dusky Capped Flycatchers and more Sulphur Bellied Flycatchers.

Elegant Trogon

 

Elegant Trogon at Nest

Trogons may well be the most sought after and representative bird of Southeast Arizona – great to find them so readily.  Afterwards we moved on to Garden Canyon still on the Fort property.  A large Western Diamond Backed Rattlesnake was a highlight along the way.

Western Diamond Backed Rattlesnake

 

In Garden Canyon our best birds were several Buff Breasted Flycatchers.  I had seen them before 40 years ago and frankly had forgotten about them when thinking about this trip.  Plain but beautiful.  After a too-short respite back at Casa de San Pedro, we visited Mary Jo Ballator’s Ash Canyon B & B with its many hummingbird feeders and the delightful Mary Jo.  There were many Anna’s Hummingbirds but the great treat was a male Lucifer’s Hummingbird.  This had been high up on my want list for the trip – a new ABA Life Bird.  I could not get the perfect photo but was thrilled with the ones I did. Mary Jo was a wonderful and knowledgeable hostess.

Lucifer Hummingbird

On the way to and from Mary Jo’s there seemed to be Lark Sparrows everywhere – but not easy to get good photos of this species that I see regularly in Washington.

Great Horned Owls greeted us again the next morning at the Casa where breakfast included the best pancakes I have ever had.  Following breakfast I got a good photo of a Gila Woodpecker (seen frequently during our trip and a new ABA Life photo for me.)

Gila Woodpecker (This photo is earlier in the trip and I forgot to use it in the first part of this post.  I may go back and edit later.)

We were now off to Reef Campground near the top of Carr Canyon.  A Tufted Flycatcher had been seen there regularly and was a prized bird.  On the way up we had our first Scott’s Oriole of the trip.  It was frustrating not to be able to get this ABA Life photo from the van and I probably committed a faux pas by opening the side door to at least try for a shot and it flew off.  Later a second one was seen elsewhere on the trip – but again I was blocked by the van and never even got a look.  It is just the nature of things traveling in a van and why I do not think I will go on this kind of trip again.  EVERYONE was cooperative and we rotated seats but there are just too many severe visibility (and photography) limitations.

The search for the Tufted Flycatcher was frustrating.  We got to the campground about 5 minutes after one had been seen well by the many birders already there.  We remained for at least 60 minutes and relocated it only to have it fly off – before many in the group got any look at all.  Seemingly it would go quiet and then go on a feeding frenzy with quick movements from place to place – covering far more territory than I would have expected.  The group split up and kept looking.  Catherine Bland and I were further afield than the others and we had very good looks in the open in a couple of spots as it kept moving.  I grabbed a quick photo (the best I would get) and then went to tell the others.  [If I had focused only on a photo for me, I probably would have done better, but that is not the etiquette for the group – and everyone really was good about helping everyone get on birds and I had certainly benefited from others earlier and would again.]  Of course it flew off.  Eventually after persistence everyone got to see this very rare bird.

Tufted Flycatcher (If only I could magically remove the branch…)\

There were also some Buff Breasted Flycatchers in the area and this time there was no interfering branch and there was excellent light – bingo a very nice photo.  The two birds are similar but also very different.  Note the two very different bills for example.  Also in some views the tuft of the Tufted Flycatcher was very noticeable.

Buff Breasted Flycatcher

Some of us also found a couple of Brown Creepers of the distinctive Mexican albescens subspecies.  These may be split off as a separate species someday.  We saw others later in the tour.

Brown Creeper (definitely not my best work…)

We bounced our way back down yet another challenging road and then visited the Beatty’s feeders in Miller Canyon.  A number of great hummingbirds have been seen here in the past including my much sought after White Eared Hummingbird (last seen here in June).  We had a single male Broad Tailed Hummer and I missed a Costa’s but otherwise nothing different.

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

We got back in time for me to do some laundry at the Casa in their top line machines (everything about this place was really superb).  Then the following morning after yet another wonderful breakfast, we met Ron Beck and Dorian Anderson for the steep hike up Hunter Canyon to look for Rufous Capped Warblers.  This was Ron’s home turf and he was terrific.  Some other birders staying at the Casa had tried for and missed the warblers the preceding day.  Ron made sure that we didn’t.  We heard their very quiet calls and got a look not quite at the top.  A few of us continued up with Ron and got even better if fleeting looks and then came back down again for a last look.  This was an ABA Life bird for everyone and was one I had not counted on (but hoped for).  It is a Mexican specialty that is found primarily in this canyon.

Rufous Capped Warbler

We never got a real look but this was the only place on the tour where we had Woodhouse’s Scrubjay – their calls distinctive upslope and just barely seen as they flew away.  I had added this recently split species to my life list on my Colorado trip last year and got a photo then (shown here).

Woodhouse’s Scrubjay (from Colorado trip in 2016)

We headed back to the Casa de San Pedro sadly to check out.  It gave us another gift as John Harris spotted our only Bronzed Cowbird of the trip on a feeder.  We said our goodbyes and headed off towards the Chricahuas.

Bronzed Cowbird (ABA Life Photo)

Leaving for the Chiricahuas we passed through a wetland that added a number of species to our trip list.  In the grasslands we also found an adult Lark Bunting and I was able to get a photo from the back.  Not a particularly charismatic bird, but it was important to me as the only ones I had ever seen were in Presho, S.D. in 1970 on my drive out to California – before I had become a birder but it was distinctly remembered.

Lark Bunting

We also had a pair of Chihuahan Ravens.  They were once called White Necked Ravens and as the wind blew some of their feathers, my photo captured some of that white – something I had never seen before.

Chihuahan Ravens

Our new “home” was the Portal Lodge – a far cry from the Casa de San Pedro.  Barely a two star motel, but safe and well located and probably the only place available for us to stay.  Food was available at the Cafe next door, so convenience ruled the day.  The next morning, before breakfast we visited grasslands in both New Mexico and Arizona and found Curve Billed, Crissal, and Bendire’s Thrashers.  The latter two were ABA Life Photos.

Portal Lodge

Curve Billed Thrasher

Crissal Thrasher

Bendire’s Thrasher

We also heard some Scaled Quail – our only ones of the trip – but diligent searching (repeated the next day) failed to produce a visual.  Fortunately I had good looks and photos of them from my 2016 Colorado trip.

After breakfast and seeing the only Javelina of the trip, we headed up into the Chiricahuas with our main target being Mexican Chickadees – another Life bird for Frank.

Into the Chiricahuas – A Beautiful Place

Javelina

There had been some question as to whether we could get to the right habitat because the main road had washed out at Turkey Creek.  Just as we arrived at the trouble spot we saw a road grader – which conveniently had just finished regrading the road and we passed through without any trouble. Just above Onion Saddle we found some Mexican Chickadees – not great views or photo ops (at least compared to the usual experience with the very similar Black Capped Chickadees back home) – but very welcomed.

Mexican Chickadee

Returning to Portal we visited Maya’s feeders and had our first Blue Throated Hummingbirds of the trip including a female on a nest.  This picture is from the next day at the Southwest Research Station which was a bit of a disappointing experience for me.  Throughout the trip we were told we would find the Blue Throated Hummingbird at the station’s feeders.  I expected a lengthy stay.  Instead the group focused on butterflies (nothing against them but not really interested).  I had finally gone on ahead and grabbed a quick photo of a hummer on a feeder thinking there would be a chance to improve on it, but instead we were going to move on without any visit to the feeders.  Hmmmm?  Glad I took the one shot.

Blue Throated Hummingbird

It was time to move on – heading back to Tucson for a final dinner and then a departure the following day.  On the way we stopped at Twin Lakes in Wilcox where we had a number of shorebirds including my first Baird’s Sandpipers for the year.  A real treat followed with a stop at St. David’s where our leader knew it might be possible to find a Mississippi Kite.  Frank was the first to see it on a fly by.  I missed that one.  We then did a U-turn and we got out of the van just in time to see the Kite disappear.  No photo and I debated whether I could even count it.  We waited hoping it would fly by again.  It did not.  I walked down the road a couple hundred yards and found one perched in the open.  Everyone got great looks as it flew out and then returned to the perch several times.  This time there was a photo – another ABA Life photo for me.

Mississippi Kite

This would be the last new bird for the trip, the year and for my Life Photo List – a wonderful way to end.  We had a fine dinner at the Four Points Restaurant at the Sheraton across from the Hampton Inn next to the Tucson Airport.

Despite some disappointments and some mismatches for me in terms of how I most like to bird, it had been a very successful trip in most ways.  All told we had seen 180 species.  Of these 6 were new ABA Life Birds, 52 were ABA Life Photos and 72 were new ABA birds for the year.  The Life Birds were Black Capped Gnatcatcher, Lucifer Hummingbird, Rose Throated Becard, Tufted Flycatcher, Rufous Capped Warbler and Mexican Whippoorwill.  They brought me to 690 ABA life birds.  I probably cannot reach the magical 700 mark this year.  But the Arizona photos did put me over 620 ABA Life Photos getting me well past my goal of 600.  I had expected (hoped for?) more new year birds and now stand at 488 ABA birds for the year.  500 should be reachable for the year but with more work than I thought would be necessary after the trip.  I may have to take another trip I guess.

When I got home I took my camera in to see what was wrong.  I got the bad news a couple of days later.  The contacts were corroded and I was told it would cost more to repair it than to get a new one.  Ouch!!  I have ordered one from Amazon.  Maybe I won’t take another trip after all.  Sigh…

Some Scenery Shots

Similar to my trip to South Florida earlier this year, Southeast Arizona was a repeat of visits long ago – forty years ago in fact.  The two earlier visits, one in December 1976 and one in June 1977 had been early in my birding life (and life in general I guess) and were full of great birds and excitement as visits to one of the great North American birding Meccas should be.  With friends and with some locals but without guides, I had been fortunate to find most of the Arizona specialties.  In those days, however, photography was not even a dream and I had no pictures of any of the great birds.  This trip was intended to hopefully add some new ABA Life birds, lots of new ABA photos and even more new ABA birds for 2017.

Although the vast majority of my birding has been on my own or with friends, I have been fortunate to have been on several tours with well known birding tour companies, and this was the case on this trip joining friend Frank Caruso as I had done in South Florida and participating in the “Second Spring” tour offered by WINGS Birding Tours.  The timing seemed right – August 1 through August 10 – as did the itinerary visiting such iconic places as Mount Lemmon, Madera Canyon, the Huachucas and the Chiricahuas.  The bird lists from previous trips were impressive and suggested that I would find many birds needed to add to all of those aforementioned lists.  Even though most of those birds were seen, it was probably not the best trip for me to take given my specific wants, needs, approaches and quirks – not the best fit for the tour realities and approach – especially as related to photography.  That does not take away from the success of the tour and its quality in most ways at least on the surface and from the perspective of other’s and there were many great moments.  The rest of this post will  be about those good moments without time spent on the mismatching elements.

I have talked about or hinted at some goals for 2017 in earlier posts. Major progress towards three important ones was hoped for on this trip.  Based on Ebird reports and reports of this WINGS trip in previous years, my early analysis for the trip suggested that there was the possibility of adding up to 13 ABA Life birds (some pretty remote), as many as 62 ABA Life photos and as many as 92 new ABA Birds for 2017.  Some species simply did not cooperate this year, as Sinaloa Wren, Plain Capped Starthroat and Aztec Thrush did not reappear in 2017 and the last White Eared Hummingbird sighting was 6 weeks before we arrived.  Road conditions precluded us trying for Buff Collared Nightjar. So that really left only seven new “Lifers” and we were able to find six of them: Mexican Whippoorwill, Tufted Flycatcher, Rufous Capped Warbler, Rose Throated Becard, Black Capped Gnatcatcher and Lucifer Hummingbird – missing the Berylline Hummingbird and Flame Colored Tanager which were both seen by others while we were in the area.  As it turned out another lifer – a Yellow Green Vireo – was also seen while we were in Arizona – the day after we had been in the same spot finding (with great difficulty) the Rose Throated Becards. The looks or photo ops for some of these birds were not terrific, at least in this group setting, but life birds are getting hard to come by and I was happy for those that we had, especially the Rufous Capped Warbler which was expertly found by a local excellent birder, Ron Beck, who joined us specifically to find this rarity in Hunter Canyon.  I had not expected to get the Warbler although I had expected seeing the Tanager, and not doing so was a major disappointment offset by finding the warbler – so it goes.

Rufous Capped Warbler – Hunter Canyon – August 7

Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains was a wonderful way to start our trip as the species changed as we climbed in elevation and the habitats and birdlife changed as we did.  Included in the more than 50 species we saw on our visit were Arizona specialties like Grace’s, Red Faced, Olive and Virginia’s Warblers, Yellow Eyed Junco, Painted Redstart, Mexican Jay, Greater Pewee, Bell’s and Plumbeous Vireo and Zone Tailed Hawk. We also saw Canyon Towhee’s and both Broad Tailed and Broad Billed Hummingbirds in the lowland area.  All were new for the year and new ABA photos – although in a theme to be repeated often during the trip, views were often too fleeting or distant for much quality.  I had seen all of these species here on my earlier visit.

Grace’s Warbler (ABA Life Photo)

Olive Warbler (ABA Life Photo)

Yellow Eyed Junco (ABA Life Photo)

Red Faced Warbler (ABA Life Photo)

Virginia’s Warbler (ABA Life Photo)

Zone Tailed Hawk (ABA Life Photo)

Painted Redstarts (ABA Life Photo)

It was cool in the mountains and no rain fell on us.  One of the oddities of the trip was that while I was gone, the Seattle area experienced a real hot spell and there were days in Arizona where temperatures were actually lower than back home.  In August yet – go figure.

After Mount Lemmon we returned to the Hampton Inn in Tucson (comfortable, convenient and very nice folks) and went on to Madera Canyon after dinner for some early night birding.  At dusk we heard and then called in a Mexican Whippoorwill – my first life bird of the trip.  Quick visuals as it flew very close to us but no chance for a photo.  A bit later we had a response from a pair of Whiskered Screech Owls which obliged us by flying to an overhanging branch right over us.  A third was heard and briefly seen.  We also had at least one Common Poorwill calling in the distance (apparently a surprise).

Whiskered Screech Owls (ABA Life Photo)

The following morning started with a visit to see a pair of Burrowing Owls we had not located the day before and then continued in the lowlands and Green Valley before returning to Madera Canyon.  Along the way we found a female Costa’s Hummingbird, Black Throated and Rufous Winged Sparrows, and an Antelope Jackrabbit.  I had been frustrated the previous day hearing but not finding any Bell’s Vireos.  Today was better as I found a Bell’s Vireo on a nest.  We had great looks at some Black Tailed Gnatcatchers and a less than great look at a female or juvenile Black Capped Gnatcatcher – but good enough to see the tail pattern that allowed the identification of Life bird #2.

Costa’s Hummingbird

Black Throated Sparrow

Antelope Jackrabbit

Bell’s Vireo on Nest (ABA Life Photo)

Black Tailed Gnatcatcher (ABA Life Photo)

Black Capped Gnatcatcher (ABA Life Photo)

We found some Cassin’s Sparrows and also at Florida Canyon we had a pair of Northern Beardless Tyrannulets – cooperating for photos and a Varied Bunting, a brief look at Yellow Billed Cuckoo and our first Lucy’s Warblers.

Northern Beardless Tyrannulet (ABA Life Photo)

Varied Bunting (ABA Life Photo)

Yellow Billed Cuckoo

Lucy’s Warbler (ABA Life Photo)

Then we were back in Madera Canyon watching the many hummingbird feeders.  Nothing super exotic – lots of Black Chinned and Broad Billed Hummers and a couple of Anna’s and then we had our first Rivoli’s (formerly Magnificent) Hummingbirds.  We also had our only Arizona Woodpecker for the trip.

Black Chinned Hummingbird

Broad Billed Hummingbird (ABA Life Photo)

Rivoli’s Hummingbird (ABA Life Photo)

Arizona Woodpecker (ABA Life Photo)

Full disclosure has to include that I bird better and enjoy it more when I am birding alone or in a very small group.  But the many added eyes and ears with a bigger group is often helpful and all of the participants in this group contributed in that and other ways throughout the tour.  I was especially grateful for the good eyes and ears of many in finding some tough birds – in addition to good spirits.  But the resources in this birding paradise are not limited to members of one’s own tour group.  Especially in places like Madera Canyon, there are many others around – drawn by its great birds.  I followed one of these folks across the street from the Madera feeders and we quickly found some Sulphur Bellied Flycatchers, another SE Arizona specialty and this time I was able to alert the rest of our group and they joined in.

Sulphur Bellied Flycatcher (ABA Life Photo)

Especially since our Comfort Inn accommodations in Green Valley were just “okay”, it would have been nice to have stayed at the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon (where I had stayed on that trip so many years ago).  While there we had really good looks at a number of Mexican Jays and also learned that the Elf Owls that had nested in the area were still being seen – a fact that would prove valuable that evening.

Mexican Jay (ABA Life Photo)

After another good dinner, we headed back to Madera Canyon finding several Lesser Nighthawks enroute.  At Santa Rita Lodge, our guide played the Elf Owl call and perhaps because I wanted the photo so bad, this was a rare time when I first spied a bird – as the owl came into the open just ahead of us.  Not a great photo but no mistaking this little guy.  It was a new ABA photo for me and made up for a major disappointment in my South Texas trip in 2013.  Our guide had saved a visit to a known Elf Owl nest in a cactus for the end of the day – but it was a no-show.  I think the guide had felt almost worse than we did.

Lesser Nighthawks (ABA Life Photo)

Elf Owl (ABA Life Photo)

The next morning took us to Tumacacori National Historic Park where we met Will Russell and Matt Brooks from the WINGS office in Tucson.  We were also joined by Dorian Anderson , a very interesting guy who in 2015 had done a “Bicycle Big Year”.  Dorian was critical in finding Rose Throated Becards along the Santa Cruz River.  Our views were distant and fleeting and it took a couple of hours, but we did see this species – Lifer #3 for me.  I got a terrible photo but was happy for anything.  (I later learned that a group that came the next day found the Becard’s nest and not only got good photos but also found a Yellow Green Vireo which would have been a lifer as well.

Rose Throated Becard

[Nope – too poor to really include my photo.  🙂 ]

Afterwards we headed towards Nogales and Patagonia.  We found our first Gray Hawk and at the famous Roadside Rest near Patagonia, we found a family of three Thick Billed Kingbirds which we viewed after one of our picnic lunches.

Gray Hawk (ABA Life Photo)

Thick Billed Kingbirds (Adult and Juvenile) (ABA Life Photo)

Before arriving at our fabulous next place to stay, the Casa de San Pedro B and B, we stopped at the Paton’s Hummingbird feeders and among others had our only Violet Crowned Hummingbirds.  We also had our only Inca Dove in the Paton’s yard.

Violet Crowned Hummingbird (ABA Life Photo)

Inca Dove (ABA Life Photo)

Just as it had been cooler in Arizona than at home in Seattle, it had also been wetter as Seattle was continuing a record dry spell.  There had been rain a couple of times during our trip and at the Paton’s yard there was more.  Maybe it was because of this or maybe it was already in the works, but disaster struck for me as my camera went – DEAD!!!  The Canon 7D is supposed to be essentially almost waterproof – certainly highly resistant.  The last thing I had decided not to take as I packed for this trip was a back up camera.  Given the broken binoculars experience on the Florida trip I had packed a spare pair of bins but I already had too much stuff and just decided that there was no way the camera would fail.  Not so.  95% of the reason for the trip was to get photos, so this was a very very low moment.  We were only 3 birding days into the trip and I had no camera.  Depression was an understatement.

Deep Breath – Pause – Consider Alternate Plans A, B, C and D.  Maybe a few tears.  Definitely a few swear words.

Alternate Plan A was to order a new camera from Amazon and have it expressed to me.  At best this would take three days and it would be yet another spare camera at home.

Alternate Plan B was to ask Lynette to go to my condo and get the camera that was sitting out – the one I had decided not to take – and have her express mail it to me.  That would probably take two days and I was not real sure where the battery charger was etc.  (Besides the condo was not exactly spiffy clean…)

Alternate Plan C was to see if I might at least take a few photos with another trip members camera – fall far short of my trip goals but get some photos (I already had 33 ABA Life Photos – but was hoping for almost that many more ahead.)  At best this would be awkward.

Alternate Plan D grew out of Alternate Plan C and was one of those beautiful life moments/happenings.  All of the tour participants were really good folks – varying priorities and skill levels and backgrounds and experiences.  Many in the group took some photos, but nobody was really into the photography and three of the others were in fact using the same camera that I would have brought as my backup – the Canon SX50.  John Harris, a now retired professor from Mills College was one of the three.  He was great at finding birds (and mammals and reptiles and plants) and definitely was taking photos, but he came to my rescue and allowed me to use his camera – taking pictures for both of us.  Not what I had planned or expected but very much a saving act of kindness.

John Harris – later at the Portal Lodge

There are lots of good folks in the world – and I would bet a higher than usual percentage in the birding community.

There was now light in the tunnel and we were off to the wonderful Casa de San Pedro Bed and Breakfast for three nights – our base of operations for forays into the Huachuca Mountains.  We had seen 100 species on the trip – 3 ABA Life Birds and the 33 ABA Life Photos and 40 new ABA Year Birds.  This is a good place to close Part I and the Casa de San Pedro will be a good place to start Part II.

At 6:40 P.M. tonight, Rick Tyler posted that he was looking at the Solitary Sandpiper that Houston Flores had reported earlier this afternoon at the retention ponds north of Perrigo Park in Redmond.  I had never even heard of Perrigo Park and was completely unfamiliar with the area (as soon became obvious).  What the heck, it was a beautiful night and Solitary Sandpiper was on my want list for the state this year.

By 7:25  p.m. I had pulled into the Park’s parking area and started looking for ponds.  I met some nice folks who had never seen any ponds.  I saw no ponds – not even any water.  Some really nice play fields though.  So I emailed Rick and asked him to call as I needed help.  If I had paid attention to Houston’s Tweeters post, I would have saved myself some trouble and looked north of the park as opposed to all through it and then to the south (the other north?).

Rick called and clarified the situation – the ponds are actually just north of 95th before you make the turn onto 196th to get to the Park itself.  I was now almost a mile away.  I jogged back to the car and drove to the right spot.  I quickly found the ponds and in the smaller pond, I quickly found the Solitary Sandpiper exactly where Rick had found it about two hours earlier.  The light was already dimming (what happened to that longest day on June 21st with sunlight past 10:00??!!) and I only had my point and shoot camera – but I got a fun photo.  No mistaking this identity.

Solitary Sandpiper

This was a new species in Washington state this year.  This meets another goal (admittedly arbitrary) for the year.  Goal 1 was 100 species in one day.  Goal 2 was my 200th County bird in Kittitas County.  Goal 3 was 300 species in the State of Washington for the year.  This Solitary Sandpiper is it.

I am one away from goal number 4 (hopefully to be written up later this year) and in 5 days I leave for Arizona where I hope to meet goals 5 and 6 and just possibly get within striking distance of goal 7.  Stay tuned.

Solitary Sandpiper – Another Photo

 

 

I got a message from my Canadian birding pal and info source extraordinaire Melissa Hafting, that a Horned Puffin had been reported from Smith Island in Puget Sound.  After numerous exchanges and some research it was determined that a single Horned Puffin had been seen by a research group surveying the Island’s Tufted Puffin population and that a primarily whale watching company out of Bellingham had trips scheduled to Smith Island on the following weekend.  I have seen Horned Puffins in Alaska and had organized a boat trip a few years ago to chase one that had been reported in the Sound.  That trip was unsuccessful so Horned Puffin remained as a coveted new State of Washington species.  The boat trip from Bellingham was long and was not focused on finding a Horned Puffin or any other birds.  There did not seem to be a high probability of success and I had other calendar obligations, so I decided to forego the attempt.

Horned Puffin – Off Adak Island Alaska – May 2016

But Horned Puffins remained on my mind.  Then on the evening of July 19th, I got a Rare Bird Alert from Ebird of an observation by Jonathan Scordino: “(Horned) Puffin observed with rhinoceros auklets inside the outer breakwater at Neah Bay. There is a post (telephone pole size) sticking up out of an area with new rocks in jetty in general vicinity of puffin. Puffin had two dark points coming up above eye, white face, darker bill tip than rest of bill, and a black band around neck when observed in flight. My friend has photo on his phone that is suitable for identification and I can upload it when he sends it.”    As written in my earlier blog post, two special birds were cool coincidences (Red Necked Stint and White Winged Dove – at wordpress.com/post/blairbirding.wordpress.com/17102). Was this going to be great bird karma again?  One way to find out – follow Rule One and “Go Now”!

It was now after 10:00 P.M. so as close to “now” I could get would be to take the 6:20 Edmonds ferry the next morning and as I had done so often last year – get to Neah Bay.  I sent Steve Pink an email with the news of the Horned Puffin and told him my plans.  “Let me know if you want to go”.  I figured he was likely in bed which is where I was headed, but maybe he would rise early and see the message and at least have the chance to go.  But there was no return message in the morning, so I boarded the ferry alone and I was off.

It is about 130 miles to Neah Bay from Edmonds but time for the ferry and to navigate many twisting roads especially near the end makes it an almost three hour drive.  I was on the Boom Road – the long rock jetty/breakwater that protects the harbor by about 9:10.  I had hoped to see other birders – with the Horned Puffin already in their sights.  No such luck.  As it turns out and it would be thus the whole day – I was alone.  The weather was a bit overcast with rain threatening.  I looked for the “post/pole” mentioned in Jonathan Scordino’s report but could not find it.  I was at the end of the road and was not about to walk out on the jumbled boulders of the breakwater.  There were lots of birds out in the harbor.  Would my scope reveal one of them to be the prize?

The first birds seen were Scoters – both White Winged and Surf.  Then I found Rhinoceros Auklets – a couple closer in and then more and more and more further out.  In groups of 3 or 4 and in long rafts of as many as 50 birds, there were hundreds of them.  The harbor was relatively calm as the tide was coming in, but still with the distance and some chop, it made it hard to search through them for a Puffin.  But after maybe 15 minutes of scouring every group, there was one bird that was – different – a very distinctive white face and – YES – a very large parrot like colorful bill.  With the full magnification of my scope at 60x, I could conclude: “IT WAS HERE!!  This had to be the Horned Puffin.”  I watched it in the scope for many minutes and it would disappear and reappear as the raft reformed its order and when even a small ripple would bring the puffin behind a rise in the water and out of scope view.  It was frustrating but exhilarating as each subsequent view confirmed the identification.  Even with the power of the scope, it was not a great view, but I wanted to try for some kind of photo.

I abandoned the scope and raised my 100-400 mm lens.  Which raft was it again?  There were several.  In the dim light and at the distance and with the darkening effect of looking through the camera, I could not find the Puffin among the many Rhinos.  Back to the scope and as all of the rafts had moved, I repeated the search and it seemingly had disappeared.  This is when having other birders is especially helpful as many eyes are far more effective.  I kept looking and refound the raft with my white faced bird.  Again a move to the camera failed to work.  Maybe I was looking in the right spot, maybe not.  I had not just imagined it, but the birds were just too far out and seemingly getting further away.  It was now past 10:00 a.m. and I wondered if the show was over.  It started to rain and I retreated to my car.

My observations had all been on the harbor side, east of the jetty.  When the brief squall passed I returned to the road and I was hearing calls from the other side and now they got my attention.  Marbled Murrelets were seemingly in family groups and the young ones were calling for food.  They swam in closer and closer and I got nice photos – if only the Horned Puffin had been so close.

Marbled Murrelets

I remained at my post and watched a Bald Eagle fly over, more Scoters, some Pigeon Guillemots, more Murrelets, and over and over scanned the many Rhinoceros Auklets hoping for another view of the Horned Puffin.  No luck.  At 11:15 I had been on watch for almost 2 hours.  Something needed to change.  It was getting close to high tide and maybe that would make a difference.  There is a Coast Guard station in Neah Bay.  A Coast Guard boat came into the harbor heading into the area where so many Rhinoceros Auklets continued.  They scattered.  Some flew north and east – out of or at least to the outer edge of the harbor.  Some others returned to the area they had just vacated and others flew closer towards me and the jetty.  As a small group landed maybe 100+ yards away, some white flashed in my binoculars.  I tried to get my scope on them but they were diving and bucking around in the chop.  I got a quick look at one with a white face and that parrot bill.  Finally the Horned Puffin was not buried in a large raft.  But it was still distant and hard to track.  Instead of using my “good camera and big lens”, I switched over to my “old camera”, the Canon SX that had stood me well for so long and which had a much greater magnifying power – if only I could find the bird in the chop.

I had it.  I lost it.  It bobbed up.  I had it.  It bobbed again and I lost it.  I took photos as quick and as best I could, but one of the big problems with this camera is that you cannot take photos in rapid succession. I would either get lucky or miss it entirely – and at best at this magnification, it was not going to be a clear picture.  But oh how I wanted one.  This continued for another 10 minutes or so and then this group of Rhinos and the Horned Puffin were gone.  I looked at my pictures and a couple looked “promising” but I would have to wait until I could get them onto the computer, use my pitiful Photoshop skills and – be lucky.  I watched for another 30 minutes – nothing.  I had good enough views to be sure of the ID and to “count” this new state species.  Maybe that would have to suffice.

I took a break and headed up the Wa’atch Valley and then up onto Bahokas Peak hoping for some Sooty Grouse.  It was very quiet – almost birdless.  Time to go home?  I had to try the jetty one more time.  On the way out there was a gathering of Bald Eagles, Northwestern Crows and some Turkey Vultures.  There must have been something in the rocks to scavenge.  The weather had changed and now there was good sun and the Eagles made for good photos.

Juvenile Bald Eagles

  

Back at the end of the jetty road, I returned to the scope.  Nothing was close and if anything, although the rafts of Rhinoceros Auklets continued, they were even further out.  In the middle of one, there was the barely discernible alcid with a white face – the Horned Puffin was still there now at after 1:00 P.M. but no more photo ops at that distance.  I left.

On the jetty I had wondered if a closer view might have been possible from some of the marina areas.  Behind the Warmhouse Restaurant I saw the dilapidated former dock that was now a bit scary to walk but I gave it a try.  There were lots of Pigeon Guillemots very close, a Purple Martin flew overhead, and I could still make out some Auklet rafts but they seemed to be moving out of the harbor.  What if I had started there earlier?  And I also noticed the “post/telephone pole in front of the new rocks at the jetty”.  Jonathan Scordino must have first discovered the Horned Puffin from this vantage point.  I took photos of the Guillemots and then called it a day – time for the long trip home – greatly pleased but worried about the photo.

Two men were bringing in a small fishing boat to a marina dock.  Would a boat trip get me close to the Horned Puffin (if we could find it at all)?  Could I convince them to try?  I will never know the answer to the first question as the amount of money required to interest them in taking me out was more than I was willing to risk.  So home it was.

Pigeon Guillemot

Epilogue

I had posted my find on Tweeters and Ebird.  I advised Steve Pink and some others that the Horned Puffin was still present.  When I got home I went through all my photos and could only come up with one that was even ID quality – magnified almost beyond use.  I also put together an area map that showed where I had been, where I had seen the Horned Puffin and then the dilapidated dock behind the Warmhouse and the distant post/telephone pole.  I shared that with many others also.  In the following days MANY birders made the long trek to Neah Bay and also found the Horned Puffin. Carol Riddell figured out a way to rent a boat and it took her and several others out into the harbor for fantastic photos – wish I had figured that out.  After seeing her photos I was tempted to return but that rational thinking overcame that quickly.

The Map

As I wrote in a post last year Neah Bay is a gift that just keeps on giving.  Within less than one mile of the same jetty that had given me my Horned Puffin, I have also seen these amazing birds:  Dusky Capped Flycatcher, Brambling, Rustic Bunting, Orchard Oriole, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher,  Tropical Kingbird, Harris’s Sparrow, Clay Colored Sparrow, and Rose Breasted Grosbeak.  Charlie Wright found a Red Legged Kittiwake there (which three of us chased and missed the next day). Not much further away, I had seen Tufted Ducks, the famous Eurasian Hobby, my only Washington Cattle Egret, heard a Lucy’s Warbler, and saw a Hooded Warbler.  I have also missed a Dickcissel and a Prothonotary Warbler found by others in the same area.  Every one of these birds is a great species in Washington and most are extraordinary.

It’s a terrible photo – but it’s a Horned Puffin —– in WASHINGTON!!!

 

I am going to try to mesh two different stories here and it might not work so well, but doing so at least makes sense to me.  On July 6, Barry Brugman posted a plea for ID help on Tweeters, our local birding listserv.  He had found a “different shorebird” at Canyon Park Wetlands and after checking his photos and various guidebooks concluded that it was a Baird’s Sandpiper – probably.  He asked for others to review the photos and share their thoughts.  At first I concurred as at least in one photo the wings seemed quite long and it appeared noticeably larger than the Least Sandpipers with which it was keeping company.  This was pretty early for a Baird’s Sandpiper but there are exceptions to most rules especially as to when a species might first appear in migration.

I communicated my feeling to Barry, and he replied that he had a number of other responses to the same effect.  I shared the photo with birding pal Steve Pink and Steve thought that the faint stripe over the eye and absence of buffy color suggested instead that the bird was more likely a Semipalmated Sandpiper.  I looked at some of Barry’s other photos and my various field guides and started leaning towards that conclusion as well.  The best way to find out I figured was to go to the Wetlands and see for myself.  Especially since I had not yet seen either a Semipalmated Sandpiper nor a Baird’s Sandpiper this year, it was a no-lose decision.

I arrived at Canyon Park early the next morning and found the small flock of shorebirds that included 7 Least Sandpipers and another that now looked much shorter winged and somewhat smaller than I had concluded from the earlier picture.  The dark legs, straight bill and overall color and pattern confirmed that it was indeed a Semipalmated Sandpiper.  Steve may not always be right – but he usually is.  Glad to have him as a resource.

Semipalmated Sandpiper – Canyon Park Wetlands, July 7, 2017

Baird’s Sandpiper for Comparison (Midway Beach August 20, 2015)

I returned home, submitted my checklist with photos to Ebird, shared the info with Barry and Steve and then began work on a photo project organizing Washington bird photos in a Word document.  It was a laborious task as I had to select the best photo of each species and organize it in taxonomic order – no real way to short circuit the process.  Having almost 400 such species in my photos, it was going to take a long time – days.  I made progress and then put it away planning to return to the project the next morning.

And so I did.  By about 10:20, I had worked my way mostly through the shorebirds – the largest species group for me in Washington.  I had included my photos of Semipalmated and Baird’s Sandpipers as well as one that became very important – the Red Necked Stint that I had seen with George Pagos at Bottle Beach on July 22, 2013.  No more than three minutes after I had added the photo of the Stint and noted how poor it was, a message appeared on Tweeters from Ryan Merrill.  He and Adrian Lee were looking at a Red Necked Stint in breeding plumage at Crockett Lake on Whidbey Island.  It was barely 10:30 a.m.  I was sitting at the computer in my robe and had not yet showered,  I decided immediately that I had to follow Rule 1 for any chase: “Go Now!” – I advised Steve Pink of the find and he was an immediate co-conspirator.  He advised Ann Marie Wood and she was in also.  Not more than 30 minutes later – dressed and showered,  I had picked up Steve and got Ann Marie at the 128th Street Park and Ride and we were off.  It being a beautiful Saturday, we decided to take the longer route across the top of Whidbey Island and then down to Crockett Lake rather than risk a two hour wait at the much closer Mukilteo Ferry.

Red Necked Stint at Bottle Beach July 22, 2013

The good news was that when we arrived at Crockett Lake – about 90 minutes later, and drove towards the Southeast end, we saw three birders standing at the lagoon’s edge with scopes out.  The bad news was that just as we arrived to join them (Ryan and Adrian and another), all of the shorebirds took off and flew away.  The Stint of course had been in the flock – had we really arrived two minutes too late??? Nope – Ryan found the bird about 125 yards away and we got scope views to at least confirm the ID for each of us – a new life bird for Ann Marie.  The even better news was that for the next 10 minutes, the Red Necked Stint worked its way back towards us and with the sun at our back, we had fantastic views and great photo ops.  At times the bird was less than 35 feet away.

The Stint is Out There Somewhere

Red Necked Stint – Crockett Lake – July 8, 2017 – a Much Improved Photo

 

How great that Ryan and Adrian had found this very rare bird, that they had communicated its presence so quickly, that they remained at the spot and that the bird had remained for us as well!!  Over the next 90 minutes many other birders appeared on the site and got similarly terrific views.  Then just as another Edmonds birder, David Poortinga arrived, a Peregrine Falcon swooped over the water and scattered all of the shorebirds.  It had a pretty cool battle with a Northern Harrier which was fun to watch – but for the new arrivals, this was bad news.  Steve, Ann Marie and I left after another 10 minutes or so.  Later we learned that the Stint had returned to the same favored area and David got a great look at his life bird!

The coincidence was that I had just included that previous Red Necked Stint photograph in my project (now of course replaced with this far better one).  Interestingly though there were also many Semipalmated Sandpipers in the area and then the next day two Baird’s Sandpipers were found there as well.  Over the next several days, the Red Necked Stint remained in the same general area and was probably seen by more than 100 grateful birders including ones who flew in from Arizona and who knows where else just to see this Siberian species.

That was the first coincidence with two new birds for the year.  Another was coming soon.  It has been a great pleasure to get to know Bill and Deb Essman from Ellensburg/Kittitas.  We have shared great birding, fishing and jeeping times together.  On July 11, just a few days after the Stint trip, I was telling Deb about my Flammulated Owl experience near Liberty and she was telling me about a pair of Three Toed Woodpeckers they had discovered on Table Mountain.  Bill was also hankering for some fishing on the Yakima River so we agreed that I would come over and look for the Woodpecker and take Deb up to my Flammulated Owl spot (a life bird for her) and that Bill and I would go fishing the following day.  You ready for coincidence number 2?

Not more than 15 minutes after having worked out my visit to them, I got an Ebird alert that a White Winged Dove had been seen at a private residence in Selah, Washington – a bit more than an hour from where the Essmans live.  Some detective work determined that the Dove was coming to a feeder at the residence of Kevin Lucas – an excellent birder in the area and a birding acquaintance so I sent him an email inquiring about the possibility of a visit.  He very graciously responded with an invitation for the next morning.  Since I had plans to stay over for fishing, I could not drive anyone else, but I notified Steve and Ann Marie and they notified David.  I had seen (briefly and without any photo possibility) the White Winged Dove that had visited Butler’s Motel in Neah Bay, but it would be a new state bird for all of them – something hard to do for Steve.

I arrived at Kevin’s a bit after 8 on Wednesday the 11th.  His wife had seen the Dove earlier in the morning before she left but he had not seen it come down to the feeders yet – its normal activity.  About 15 minutes later, Steve, Ann Marie and David showed up.  We watched and waited and had a great visit with Kevin – marveling at his set up for taking photos and movies through his scope and also learning of his tracking activities including from a small plane.  But the Dove was a no-show.  Kevin took matters into his own hands and somehow managed to find the White Winged Dove perched in the close by large Sycamore tree – a favorite roost.  We all got good looks and decent photos – even with a branch partially in the way.  We also had a great look at a female Black Chinned Hummingbird that was almost too close to get in focus.

White Winged Dove

Black Chinned Hummingbird Female

A California Scrub Jay also made an appearance.  No longer rare in Yakima County, but not an everyday bird either.  Kevin made us all feel welcome and the White Winged Dove was a real treat.  I understand that many others have been to Kevin’s after us and the Dove put on a better show – but certainly we were thrilled with our views.  Depending on how a couple of “officially” non-countable birds are treated, this photo was species 400 in Washington.  But just to be “official” I am going to wait for one more to claim that distinction.  It is special for me in another way, though.  I am trying to get photos of every species I have seen in Washington.  Since some real rarities were seen many years ago before I began taking photographs, I don’t believe I will ever be able to reach that objective, but since this was one of those “seen but not photographed” birds on my list, I am getting closer.

So the White Winged Dove is the third great bird for this post.  It is also the second of the coincidences as well.  As I mentioned above, I first learned of the White Winged Dove observation barely 15 minutes after finalizing my plans to see the Essmans.  The coincidence is that Deb Essman had a White Winged Dove in her yard – and took a photo of it in June 2002.  There had been a couple of earlier historical records of White Winged Dove in Washington and a few more after that but having set the trip to come to the area and visit Deb moments before seeing the Ebird post for Kevin’s White Winged Dove certainly made an impression on me – another coincidence.

The fourth great bird also involves the Essmans as I followed their excellent directions to a spot far up Reecer Creek Road to the huge burn area on Table Mountain and hiked out on a jeep trail to look for their American Three Toed Woodpeckers.  The area is spectacular.  It is high above the Ellensburg valley at an elevation that Bill said is over 6000 feet.  Incredible views and beautiful flowers and scenery.  The fire burned many thousands of acres and the burned timber is a stark reminder of the danger and destruction from our too common wild fires.  But even the burned trees have their own silent beauty and there are already signs of rebirth as some young trees are emerging.

I did not find the pair of Three Toed Woodpeckers that joined the Essmans on their picnic lunch, but in the exact area that had been described to me, I found a single American Three Toed Woodpecker drumming in its unique patterned way in a grove of trees that had been spared by the fires.  It was my first record of this species for Kittitas County and my first for this year – number 298 in Washington.  So in this single day, I got much closer to two of my goals for the year – 300 species in Washington (for the year) and 400 species photographed in the state (lifetime).

American Three Toed Woodpecker – (Earlier Photo)

But this already long day was not over.  At 8:30 p.m. I met Deb Essman and her friend Lana in the town of Liberty to try for night birds, especially a Flammulated Owl.  Per my previous blog post, I had located a Flamm here the previous week and came as close as I ever had to getting a photograph before two jeeps roared down the road and I had to move my car and myself and the owl that had been oh so close was afterwards oh so gone.  It had seemed to really like the spot and I was hoping that we would find it there again.

As I had done the previous week we drove to the top of the road and waited as the skies darkened.  It was after 9:30 when we heard our first Common Nighthawk and then got a visual as it flew over.  It was particularly fun to hear it “booming” several times.  Perhaps thirty minutes later I heard a distant Common Poorwill and then we all briefly heard what was probably the single hoot of a Flammulated Owl, but it would not respond or repeat so we dismissed it and moved on.  Slowly we worked our way down towards the spot where I had the interaction with the Flammulated Owl the previous week.  We heard more Nighthawks and then at least two more Poorwills, one of which called incessantly.  We arrived near “the spot” and parked – out of the way this time – and listened.  We were just above where I had the owl and there were two sharp calls from below – at the spot itself.  They were the alarm calls of a Flammulated Owl – almost cat-like.  We moved down the road and then began to hear first the single hoot and then the double hoot call of the Flamm.  There was no mistaking it.  We sparingly used playback and got calls in response but on this night the Flamm was just not going to move.  We remained another half hour and the little owl tooted intermittently and a Poorwill called continuously.  No photo tonight, but this was a life bird for Deb and Lana.  Very cool indeed.

When I saw Bill the next morning (not a whole lot of sleep for me after the owling and return to my motel) I asked if his wife had told him of her owl.  “She woke me up and was still high from the experience”.  Big smile on my face – that’s what it is all about.  Ryan had shared “his” Red Necked Stint.  Kevin had shared “his” White Winged Dove and the Essmans had shared “their” American Three Toed Woodpeckers.  Now I had somewhat returned the favor by sharing “my” Flammulated Owl.  Those possessives are only indicators of the observers who found the birds – there is no ownership.  I understand that in some birding communities, people do not share their experiences – keeping them for their own competitive reasons.  How sad and how wonderful that such is not the case here (again thank you Ryan, Kevin and Deb) – or at least usually so (and if someone reading this understands what I mean …well shame on you…)

For each of the last 6 years, I have made an annual pilgrimage to Pend Oreille County which has become not only a reliable spot for some special species but also just a favorite beautiful place in Washington.  The special birds are Bobolink, American Redstart, Red Eyed Vireo, Black Chinned Hummingbird and Northern Waterthrush.  All can be found elsewhere, but being able to reliably see all of them within a few miles of each other is a lister’s dream and a major reason for the trip.

These are great places to go in late May through late June for the shear diversity of species, the specialties and the beautiful scenery.  My visits have ranged from fantastic to fantastic plus plus plus.  The first visit was on June 9, 2012 on a WOS (Washington Ornithological Society) Trip led by Terry Little.  Terry knows every birdy spot in the county and he took us to all of them.  We had an amazing 114 species in our 10 hours of birding covering 100 miles.

The next year on June 5, 2013 George Pagos and I visited the area concentrating around Calispell Lake with Jon Isacoff – another expert who knows every spot and every bird.  In just 3 hours, we had 76 species on a gorgeous day.  The following year on June 18, I visited it alone and in 2015, Brian Pendleton and I visited the area on June 3rd.  Last year was another solo trip on June 16.  The weather was not as good and the species count was smaller, but the specialty birds cooperated.

This year my visit came later – July 1st – so I wasn’t sure if the birds would still be there or found as easily as some would be finished breeding and there would be less territoriality and accompanying singing.  My first stop was on McKenzie Road in Usk where the uncut high grass is home to a small population of Bobolinks.  I had barely reached the first field when I heard the Bobolink’s whistling, warbling, gurgling song.  One perched in the open for a so-so photo.  I continued around the bend in the road to Cusick where a Bobolink was much more photogenic.

Bobolink

I then went south to Westside Calispell Road birding in general but specifically looking for some of the specialties.  I had seen American Redstarts and Red Eyed Vireos earlier this year so even though I saw and heard both, I did not work hard for photos.  Although there were many species of birds along my route perhaps due to the late date, they did not seem as active and responsive as in earlier visits.  Red Eyed Vireos were in the same tree I had them on a previous visit but even though they would sing, they remained high up in the foliage.  The same was true with the American Redstarts in another specific spot where I had them last year.  The Northern Waterthrushes at the Bridge were also actively singing but they darted about in the open for brief seconds only – disappointing for photos – okay for listing.  I include pictures of those species from previous visits and another blog post.

Red Eyed Vireo

American Redstart

Northern Waterthrush

Before getting to the Waterthrush bridge, I stopped at a small house with a hummingbird feeder that I had first seen on an earlier trip.  At least one male and one female Black Chinned Hummingbird were visiting.  It was private property so I did not go real close but I did get some OK shots.  As I was taking pictures a young man came out of a small house across the street and approached.  It is always potentially uncomfortable when taking photos near private homes, but this turned out to be fun.  He was the great grandson of the owner of the house with the feeder and many other relatives lived on adjoining properties – the original family homestead from early in the last century.

Black Chinned Hummingbird Male

Black Chinned Hummingbird Female

Not as many species as on earlier visits – largely because I had a long way still to go for other areas and was not real thorough but also because there just were not as many waterfowl as before and particularly there were not any Black Terns – a species I had missed the day before and hoped to have found at Calispell Lake.

Once during each of the last three years, I have stopped at Hafer Road in Stevens County on the way to Pend Oreille.  It is less than a mile long but it has proven to be one of the birdiest stretches of road for me – a must visit each year.  This was the case this year as well, even though I am writing out of order and covering it later.  In the past two years, in addition to just great birding in general, targeted species on Hafer Road have been Clay Colored Sparrow and Least Flycatcher.  Earlier reports this year had observations of the former but not the latter.  Fortunately I had seen Least Flycatchers in several places but the previous day I had failed to find a Clay Colored Sparrow on Stroup Road near Medical Lake where I have had them the last two years so this was a much wanted bird here.  There was concern however, because on the previous day a group of very good birders from the Tacoma area had visited Hafer Road and failed to find any Clay Colored Sparrows.  Uh-oh.

I had spent the night in North Spokane so I was less than an hour from Hafer Road.  An early start got me to the turn off onto the road at 5:30 a.m.  I immediately went to the grassy uphill field where I had Clay Colored Sparrows the past two years – no go.  But there was a second weedy field just a bit downhill and when I got there I immediately heard the buzzy song of the Clay Colored Sparrow – success!!  The sun was not high enough for good light on the field and the sparrows were not real close. They responded to playback but unlike in other years, they would not come close in for a visit and photo.  I was sure there were two birds and thought there might be some juveniles as well, but I could not get a good enough look for that ID.  (Photo from another visit.)

Clay Colored Sparrow (Hafer Road 2015)

Overall I spent about 90 minutes on this little stretch of road.  I had 42 species there including both Eastern and Western Kingbirds, Bank Swallows, a Sora (calling from the wetland below), a Black Chinned Hummingbird, Bullock’s Oriole, Say’s Phoebe, and a flock of 17 Wild Turkeys among others.  In the past three years, all told I have had 66 species here – an amazing spot.

Western Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird

Wild Turkeys

California Quail

A nice add on to this day was that Bruce Labar noted that I had reported Clay Colored Sparrows – which the group he was with had missed the day before.  I gave Bruce the specific location but told him that while they had been singing when I arrived at 5:30 a.m., they had stopped by 6:00.  I don’t know what time they revisited the spot the following morning, but they found 5 Clay Colored Sparrows there just where they were supposed to be – a life bird for some in the group.  Hafer Road had delivered yet again.

Afterwards I went to Pend Oreille County as described above and then returned to the Spokane area including another try for Black Terns – this time at the southwest end of Sprague Lake.  They were distant (except for one) and I did not have a scope, but I did find four – my only ones for 2017.  I ended that night doing a feeder watch with Jim Acton hoping that the male Rose Breasted Grosbeak that had been coming each day would return.  It did not that evening although it did the next two mornings (rats!!!) but Jim is a terrific birder with great stories about a lot of rarities he has seen over his many years of birding.  It was still a lot of fun.

Here are the birds seen at Hafer Road the past three years.

Hafer Road Birds 2015-17
American Coot	Cinnamon Teal	MacGillivray’s Warbler	Song Sparrow
American Goldfinch	Clay-colored Sparrow	Mallard	Sora
American Kestrel	Common Raven	Merlin	Spotted Towhee
American Robin	Common Yellowthroat	Mourning Dove	Tree Swallow
American Wigeon	Eastern Kingbird	Northern Flicker	Turkey Vulture
Barn Swallow	Eurasian Collared-Dove	Northern Rough-winged Swallow	Vesper Sparrow
Black-billed Magpie	European Starling	Pied-billed Grebe	Violet-green Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee	Fox Sparrow	Pygmy Nuthatch	Western Kingbird
Black-chinned Hummingbird	Gadwall	Red Crossbill	Western Tanager
Black-headed Grosbeak	Gray Catbird	Red-breasted Nuthatch	Western Wood-Pewee
Brown-headed Cowbird	Great Blue Heron	Red-tailed Hawk	Wild Turkey
Bullock’s Oriole	House Finch	Red-winged Blackbird	Willow Flycatcher
California Quail	House Sparrow	Ring-necked Duck	Wilson’s Phalarope
Calliope Hummingbird	House Wren	Ruddy Duck	Wilson’s Snipe
Canada Goose	Killdeer	Savannah Sparrow	Yellow Warbler
Cedar Waxwing	Lazuli Bunting	Say’s Phoebe	Yellow-headed Blackbird
Chipping Sparrow	Least Flycatcher

July 2, 2017 – This was a VERY GOOD DAY!!  The day before I had been birding in Pend Oreille, Lincoln and Spokane Counties and another blog post will share some of that experience – also a good day – but not as good as this one.  A prelude and then three separate fun experiences – each deserving of its own post – but each is pretty short so I am doing three mini-posts as part of this one.  But first – the prelude.

Prelude – A Night Bird in the Daytime

I had spent the night in Ritzville and for the first time in a while, I delayed departure in the morning until after the breakfast that was included in the rate.  I was heading to the Blue Mountains east of Walla Walla and would have preferred to get there not long after dawn, but I was already tired from too many miles.  Fortunately breakfast was available early and I was on the road by just after 6:15 a.m.  This brought me into Washtuchna just before 7:00 a.m.  A remote spot for sure, it has been a great place for rarities in migration.  Too late (or early) in the year for that now, but a fun surprise was waiting for me.  It was already 68 degrees in perfect cloudless sunshine.  As I drove through town a medium sized bird with long pointed wings flashed in front of me.  My first thought of American Kestrel was quickly replaced with a most positive identification of a Common Nighthawk when it banked right in front of me and the two white wrist bars flashed in the sunlight.

I pulled over, got out of the car and got my best photos ever of a Common Nighthawk in flight including the only one I have showing the tail splayed out showing the black and white terminal bands. I had seen them in the daytime before – but never this early in the morning.  It  sure seemed like a good omen for a great day.  Definitely a great prelude!

Common Nighthawk – Flight Shots

  

PART I – “When You Come to a Fork in the Road – Take It…”

This famous statement is generally attributed to Lawrence Peter Berra – better know as Yogi Berra.  He said he used it in giving Joe Garagiola directions to his home.  I decided to take this advice when I came to the end of Coppei Road just south of Waitsburg, WA.  The fork I chose was the North Fork Coppei Creek Road instead of the South Fork.  I had birded both in the past but my primary target this morning was a Green Tailed Towhee and I had seen them on this road before, so the choice was clear.  It is easiest to find this secretive bird earlier in the year when it is singing which it is not supposed to be doing now.  But its preferred habitat of a brushy slope with a rose like bush is a good place to start and I went to the exact spot where I had seen one before and immediately heard the Towhee’s buzzy trill and there went that supposition.  I tried some playback to see if I could get the bird to come into the open and closer to the road.  A second bird responded and the two continued to sing.  One flew from one buried hiding spot to another giving me a quick view, but that was going to be it.  I was still a very happy birder as it was not a given that a Green Tailed Towhee would be found.

Green Tailed Towhee (same area in 2015)

This was a great start.  Would my good fortune continue and another special bird of the area be found?  That would be the Great Gray Owl – now dispersed from its nesting sites so not likely but I had to continue the route and try.  No Great Gray Owl but I did have a “great owl” experience.  Birders often use the call of the Northern Pygmy Owl to bring in other species  – small birds that seek to mob the little owl – a united line of defense and a communication to all around that this little predator is in the neighborhood.  I had been seeing or hearing lots of birds as I continued up the North Fork Road.  I found a good spot that was full of bird song and pulled over.  Time to try the Pygmy Owl trick.  WOW!!  Birds responded immediately and more and more kept coming in.

It was an absolute riot – by far more individual birds and more species than I have ever had respond before – to wit:  8 Black Capped Chickadees, 2 Calliope Hummingbirds, 1 American Robin, 2 Cassin’s Vireos, 2 Western Tanagers, 2 Cassin’s Finches, 3 Chipping Sparrows, 2 Red Breasted Nuthatches, 1 Dark Eyed Junco, 2 Golden Crowned Kinglets and 2 Yellow Rumped Warblers.

Nine of the Eleven Species that Responded at Once to Northern Pygmy Owl Call

  

 

 

 

In its own way it was one of the most fun and enjoyable experiences I have had birding – 11 species and at least 27 individuals.  (Of course I would have traded them all for a single Great Gray Owl.)  I continued to bird in the area for a while and then it was time to move on – and that leads to Part II.

PART II – Around and Around and Around We Go…

Leaving the Blue Mountains I continued on past Walla Walla on Highway 12 and turned north on Nine Mile Road hoping to find a Ferruginous Hawk.  I have seen them on a nest on this road in the past and they had been reported there on Ebird.  When I got to the nest site, no hawks were in sight.  I did see several Lark Sparrows in addition to many dozens of Horned Larks (and some other sparrows) and my photo of the Lark Sparrow was my first for the year.

Lark Sparrow

I had a vague memory of another possible nest site further up the road and headed in that direction.  This is a very dusty gravel road, remote and rarely traveled.  So I was surprised when I saw another car approaching with a trail of dust behind me.  This same type of thing will play out in Part III of this post later – with a far different result.

The driver was a birder, an excellent one – Matt Bartels.  It was not the first time that I have met up with him unexpectedly in the field.  I drive insane amounts during the year in my birding pursuits.  What is a number that is “insane times two”?  That is probably how many miles Matt drives each year on his County Listing pursuits.  And now we were about to add some more miles together as he had “definite” info on another nest site – which he said was a little further up the road.  Since my info was a vague memory and his was specific, I deferred and followed him – getting buried in dust.  This is only the short hand version but we continued up Nine Mile Road for more miles than I thought were to be traveled.  Two large birds flew up out of the grass and at first I thought Ferruginous Hawk, but instead we had two juvenile Great Horned Owls – siblings sticking together.

Great Horned Owl

We stopped and checked directions on Matt’s computer.  “This way”, he said “and I guaranty we will find them”.   So we thought we had crossed Johnson Road but somehow turned onto it and then onto Touchet North Road thinking it was Dodd Road.  But it wasn’t.  So we stopped again and at the next intersection, this time we did go onto Dodd Road – except this time it was actually Sims Road.  After a while, I thought something was off, so we checked again and made the correction, retraced steps and this time really were headed to Dodd Road via Gluck Road.  Again Matt said, the nest tree was at Gluck Road and Britton Road “and I guaranty we will find them”.  Plucker Road did lead us to Gluck Road – and an intersection with Britton Road – but being completely disoriented – which way to turn?  We decided to try left and again Matt gave the guaranty – this time for MANY Ferruginous Hawks.  By the way, we had seen NO trees anywhere along the way.  We had seen some nice Swainson’s Hawks on some power poles as we had approached Britton Road and then not too far off, we saw some trees – it HAD to be the place – and thankfully it was.  A single bird was perched and it was our targeted Ferruginous Hawk – then another hawk flew over and relatively close – and a few minutes later a third one flew by – much lighter than the first two – although all were the light morph forms.  When Matt guarantees something – you can count on it – well usually – and also usually on a more direct path.

Swainson’s Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk Perched

Ferruginous Hawks in Flight

I promised Matt I would tell the story in the blog and now I have – and it was great to see Matt and the hawks were certainly there – and it was Washington species number 294 for the year – so definitely ok to see miles and miles (and extra miles) of wheat fields and gravel roads.  As I said in the beginning, this was a very good day.

Part III – “Close, Oh So Close”

The plan now was to bird some more spots in the area and then head north.  I had to be in Leavenworth the next morning so I thought I would stay in Cle Elum and bird the Liberty area that night looking for owls and woodpeckers.  I added some new birds for the trip but nothing unexpected or exciting and reached Cle Elum around 6 to check into the motel (getting the last room available) and then eat some fast food.  I have had good luck and good birds in the Liberty area but was particularly now interested in a Flammulated Owl – maybe even a photo op.

Flam’s would not be possible until it was dark so for the first two hours, I drove the main road through and then up from the town of Liberty – more dust for the car.  A White Crowned Sparrow was my first for the trip and there were many Chipping Sparrows and Swainson’s Thrushes.  Not too far from the town I heard a Great Horned Owl hooting.  Tanagers, Vireos and a number of Warblers were heard or seen. Pewees and other flycatchers were also found including one with a very long tail continually flicking its tail up.  Not a good look in the failing light and no calls so I am not going to attempt an ID.  I heard and then saw a couple of Townsend’s Warblers – again new for the trip.  Around 9:30 I heard my first “night bird” – a Common Poorwill in the distance.  A little later I heard the “peent call” of a Common Nighthawk and then another Poorwill.  I began playing the two-toot call of a Flammulated Owl as much to remind myself as to attract an owl.  No response but about 15 minutes later, with the memory of the call fresh, I was pretty sure I heard one off in the distance.  It was getting dark and it was time to get serious.

My approach is to stop every 1/2 mile and listen and play the call.  If no response I move on for anther 1/2 mile and try again.  As I approached the 4th stop (coming down) I heard a Poorwill and stopped in the middle of the road.  There had been no cars seen in the previous 2 hours and pull-offs were hard to come by, so I did not think much of it.  With the Poorwill still calling in the distance I heard an unmistakable two note call of a Flammulated Owl.  Not real close – but not real far either.  I started calling and it kept calling as well.  Without me seeing it in flight, the call that had been on the left side of the road (downhill side) stopped and then started up again on the right side – uphill – a little closer.  Then it was on the downhill side again – and closer still.  This continued for 20 minutes and now it was definitely very close.  Using my spotlight, I scanned the two close trees on the downhill side that were right next to the road and I was sure I was going to find the owl and I had my camera ready.  It was the closest I had ever been and this owl was the most responsive I had ever had.  I have wanted this photo for SOOOOO LONG.  And then…

Just as earlier when I saw a car coming up on me in the remote area when I was looking for the Ferruginous Hawk, in the distance I saw the lights of a car coming down the road toward me.  It was maybe 1/2 mile off but there was going to be no way for it to get by without me moving my car.  I could take a chance and hope it was a birder who would stop (if only it was Matt again!!!) and continue to try for the owl.  But it could just as easily be some crazy roaring down the road and I could be in danger.  I flashed my spotlight to warn the oncoming vehicle and then decided I  had to move my car.  I found a spot to just barely pull over enough for another car to come by.  It was maybe 30 yards down the road.  The other car came roaring by – slowing a little but definitely not a birder.  Then a second vehicle came.  Maybe three minutes had passed since I was within moments of getting that prized look and photo.  And the owl was still calling – but it was now way down the valley.  I tried playback again.  Now there was no movement.  I repeated and repeated again – nothing.  I waited five minutes – still nothing.  I was left to wonder what would have happened if I had been off the road, or if there had been no other car, or if it had come 30 minutes later.  I will never know.  I could either cry or laugh.  I decided to laugh – close, oh so close would have to do.  I will be back and will try again.

Flammulated Owl – Sadly Not my Photo

It had been a very long and a very good day.  Saying it again – great places, great birds, great people – got them all and a couple of good stories as well.  Sign me up for more.

And an added note:  earlier I heard another series of hoots that I am sure was an owl.  It was closer to Liberty than the top of the road.  I could not make a positive ID but it was more similar to Spotted Owl than anything else.  There are Spotted Owls in the area.  I had found one at a “secret spot” in the area in 2013.  Maybe it was – maybe it wasn’t.  Certainly not going to report it or count it.  But when I go back – I will keep listening.

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

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

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

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

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

Yost Park Barred Owl – A Good Omen

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

Heerman’s Gull

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

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

Evening Grosbeak

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

Gray Catbird

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

Pileated Woodpeckers

Purple Finch

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

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

Vesper Sparrow

Views from Durr Road – Mount Rainier and the Stuart Range

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

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

Western Tanager

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

Eastern and Western Kingbirds

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

Red Crossbill

 

Male and Female Black Headed Grosbeaks

  

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

Indigo Bunting

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

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

Ash Throated Flycatcher

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

Clark’s Nutcracker

Williamson’s Sapsucker

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

Hairy Woodpecker

Townsend’s Solitaire

Rock Wren

Mt. Adams

Wildflowers

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

Elk Calf

Elk Cooling Off

Bull Elk

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

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

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

My last blog post dealt in part with the logistics ahead for reaching one of my 2017 Birding Goals – observing 300 species in the State of Washington.  I still have that big Eastern Washington trip ahead, the one that I said would likely add 10-12 new species for the year.   Since writing that however, I have had the occasion to make two shorter trips into Eastern Washington and both forays have involved some of my Edmonds birding buddies and both have added some new species in Washington for the year and both have been fun.

The first was an evening foray to Robinson Canyon just west of Ellensburg.  It has been a good spot in the past to find Common Poorwills and Common Nighthawks.  No Nighthawks had been reported from there yet in 2017, but these voracious bug eaters were just arriving in Washington and new reports had been showing up in Ebird from elsewhere so I thought the chances were good.   Common Nighthawks can often be seen (or more likely heard) during the day, but the best time seems to be at dusk, and the Common Poorwills are also likely just as the skies darken as well, so the plan was to arrive at the Canyon around 8 and hopefully find both birds.  Entrance to the upper Canyon is through an unlocked gate and my first good find that night was at that gate.

As I was pulling up there was another car stopped at the gate and someone was opening it.  Small world, it was Steve Pink – one of the Edmonds birders – and who featured prominently in my previous blog.  He was there with wife Connie – also hoping for the same two species.  Just before arriving at the gate, I thought I had heard the familiar “pe-ent” call of a Nighthawk but it was distant and faint so not a for sure observation.  Not too long after parking at the end of the road, we began hearing first Western Wood Pewees and then unmistakably the call of the Common Nighthawk.  They often fly high in the sky and it can be difficult to locate them, but in this case, there were at least three birds and we finally found them flying almost directly overhead – even if quite high in the sky.  If you look real hard at the ID quality only photo, you can even make out the white “wrist” bands on the wings – definitely not my best photo. (A better photo from last year adjoins it.)

Common Nighthawk

  

And then as it got darker, we began to hear the repetitive “poor – will” call of our main quest – the Common Poorwill.  They roost up on the Canyon’s rocky slopes and once one starts calling there can be a veritable chorus.  We heard at least a half dozen.  With luck, you can often find one on the road, their eyes reflecting the light from your car’s headlights.  I left first and unfortunately had no birds on the road.  Steve and Connie left 10 minutes later and did find one Poorwill on the road. (The picture is mine of one on the same road last year).

Common Poorwill

Common Poorwills and Common Nighthawks are taxonomically pretty closely related and belong to a group of birds often called “goatsuckers”.  Here is probably way more information than you would ever want to know about the origin of that terminology and application to these species (and others).  Goatsucker is

“based on a superstition that goes back well over 2000 years. They (Goatsuckers) all have tiny beaks that open to reveal an impressively large mouth used to catch flying insects, and they are active mainly at night. Their nocturnal habits made them mysterious, and their bizarre appearance required an explanation, and as early as the 300s BC Aristotle wrote about the trouble these birds could cause with goats. Four hundred years later not much had changed, and in 77 AD Pliny passed along the prevailing wisdom:  The Caprimulgi (so called of milking goats) are like the bigger kind of Owsels [Thrush]. They bee night-theeves; for all the day long they see not. Their manner is to come into the sheepeheards coats and goat-pens, and to the goats udders presently they goe, and suck the milke at their teats. And looke what udder is so milked, it giveth no more milke, but misliketh and falleth away afterwards, and the goats become blind withall. (from the 1601 translation)

It’s not clear how many people ever believed this. It sounds like Pliny may have had some doubts, and the superstition faded away centuries ago. We still use the name but the “goatsuckers” eat nothing but flying insects and have no interest in, or effect on, goats.”  (from the SIBLEY GUIDE)

Just so you know, no goats were seen in the Canyon by any of us.

During the following week, Ebird reported that both a Least Flycatcher and an Indigo Bunting were being seen regularly in the Wenas area.  I was pretty sure I had heard one of the former on an earlier trip to Umptanum/North Wenas Road but had not seen it.  They are uncommon in Washington although seen usually at recurring locations each year.  Indigo Buntings are quite rare and generate lots of interest (and chasing) in the birding community.  I had one open day on my calendar and figured a chase was in order, especially if it would also provide some good birding company.  Ann Marie Wood, Steve Pink and Frank Caruso were all game and available, so off we went on June 16.  Four birders from Edmonds (close enough Ann Marie) heading East…

On trips east, a first stop is often the summit at Snoqualmie Pass – a chance for restrooms and the possibility of something good at the hummingbird feeders there.  No hummers there, but when we drove a bit further east (most importantly into Kittitas County) the Hyak feeders were alive with hummingbirds.  West of the Cascades, we have both Rufous and the much more plentiful Anna’s Hummingbirds. the latter often overwintering sustained by feeders and non-native plants.  East of the Mountains, Anna’s Hummingbirds are generally quite uncommon or even rare.  I had not realized that this applied even the few miles east of the Summit at Hyak, and thus when we saw two Anna’s among the two dozen or so Rufous at these feeders, I was quite surprised and very pleased to find that they were my first record of this species in Kittitas County.  More notably, it was the 200th species I had seen in Kittitas County – thus fulfilling one of my goals for 2017 – to bring that county list to 200.

We decided to take the shorter route to get to Wenas by going up over Umptanum Road to North Wenas Road and then first to Maloy Road where the Least Flycatcher had been seen before doubling back a mile to try for the Bunting.  I have birded this stretch many times including often this year and it is always a treat – many bluebirds and sparrows as well as flycatchers, thrashers, warblers and others.  We stopped a few times and saw a number of species, but did not “work” it hard since we were on a mission.  At one stop I head a “chucking sound” up on one of the hills.  We never got a look, but the calls were from at least a few Chukars – new for the year.  I made sure we stopped at Bluebird Box #7.  It is a go-to spot for Calliope Hummingbird.  Two weeks earlier I had seen one briefly but not gotten a photo.  This time, the hummer was more cooperative.

Calliope Hummingbird at Box #7

Directions for the Least Flycatcher were pretty specific – in the Aspen Grove on Maloy Road before the bridge over Wenas Creek.  I pulled over when I saw the bridge about a hundred yards ahead and there were Aspens south of the Road.  As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear a faint “Che-bek, Che-bek” call – the Least Flycatcher was there, but it was distant – at least 50 yards in and up in the Aspens.  We tried to lure it to us and it did not seem to want to move at all.  We were going to settle for an identification as “heard only”, but for whatever reason the bird decided to fly in to a last attempt with our recording and it was in the open for split seconds, here and there, flying back and forth across the road.  I timed its brief perch in the open right once and got an ok photo.  It is the smallest of the Empidonax flycatchers and the call and that noted size made the ID certain.

Least Flycatcher

Now we were on to try for the Indigo Bunting.  Those directions were just as good – “at the yellow gate at the Wenas Riparian area”. As we neared the gate, another car was coming towards us.  Was it a birder?  Had he seen the Bunting?  Or was this going to be a shared disappointment?  The license plate “Osprey” answered the first question in the affirmative.  When he turned around and came back to us, he gave an affirmative on the second as well — BUT — after he had observed the Bunting, it had flown off over the hill and was perhaps gone – forever…Uh-oh.  The birder was Denny Granstrand – one of Yakima’s finest – a completely reliable source.  We drove the two cars to a good pull out area just past the gate and started to search.  After a few moments I was attracted by a song back up the road that I thought might be our guy.  I am not good at bird song.  That is Frank’s domain.  But I had earlier played the Indigo Bunting song to familiarize myself with it and this sounded good.  It continued but it was hard to get a spatial sense…until that is we went a little further, and there it was out in the open in a dead cottonwood.  Poor light meant poor photos, but an unmistakable bird and we were feeling pretty good.  Then, just as Denny had said before, it flew off across the road and up the hill.  Satisfied we went back to the car and loaded up to leave.  As we drove past the dead cottonwood, there it was again on its favorite branch – singing away.  As an aside, another Edmonds birding friend, Jon Houghton visited the spot two days later and found the Bunting on the same branch.  (A better photo is included – my first Indigo Bunting in Washington – from Steigerwald NWR in June 2014).

Indigo Bunting (Wenas June 2017)

Indigo Bunting (Steigerwald June 2014)

We continued into the Wenas Campground hoping to add some woodpeckers and more flycatchers, but it was not very birdy and we picked up only a few new species for the day – nothing exciting.  Our total was around sixty species so far but our success in finding both special targets, Indigo Bunting and Least Flycatcher plus adding the Chukars and Calliope Hummingbird (and my Kittitas County Anna’s) meant it had already been a great day.  It was still early so what next?  I felt we had time to go to Oak Creek and a short while on Bethel Ridge where we would hopefully find some good woodpeckers and just maybe an Ash Throated Flycatcher.

At Oak Creek, it took some doing to find a Lewis’s Woodpecker.  Only maybe five – the fewest I have ever seen there – and not as close as usual – still a gorgeous bird.  More of a disappointment was that we did not find any Ash Throated Flycatchers.  I had not been able to look for the one at Marymoor Park, so if I still need/want one, I may have to go to Klickitat County later.  Now on to Bethel Ridge.  We would not have a lot of time, but good to share some of my past experience and hopefully find something new – particularly some woodpeckers.

Lewis’s Woodpecker

Oak Creek Scenery

After hearing a number of Swainson’s Thrushes and Veeries earlier in the day, I was pleased to hear and recognize a Hermit Thrush at one of our stops about midway up the road.  Not uncommon in Washington, but I had not found one earlier when they were at lower elevations, so this was my first for the year,  (It was also our seventh thrush species for the trip as earlier we had Veery, Robin, Swainson’s Thrush, Western and Mountain Bluebirds and Townsend’s Solitaire.  Unfortunately we did not see any Varied Thrushes or we would have had all of the Washington thrush species.)

Now it was time to leave and as we approached the bottom of the road, we saw someone with a tracking antenna off to one side.  We wondered if he was a birder/researcher.  I pulled ahead a little bit to both observe him and also to “take one last look”.  This proved a good move as serendipitously, Steve Pink saw a White Headed Woodpecker on the side of a conifer immediately adjacent to the road.  We were able to get out and get photos.  The fellow with the antenna noted our activity and came over and we told him it had been a White Headed Woodpecker and he took off to track it after it had flown.

Later when photos were checked at home, we noted that the Woodpecker was banded and Ann Marie sent the photo on to Jeff Kozma – who is a researcher in Kittitas and Yakima Counties – and who was the fellow we had seen.  Ann Marie got this information back after he identified the bird as one in his study.

White headed Woodpecker

“Ann Marie, We know a lot about that bird. His transmitter is still functioning and we visit him every 2-3 days. He was banded as a nestling last summer in Tieton Meadow, 1 mile upslope, making him the shortest-distance disperser in our research.

He is a carrier for avian malaria, which can be deadly though he has survived for 1 year despite infection. His infection may explain his sedentary lifestyle – we can’t be sure. He was unsuccessful in attracting a mate this spring, so was unable to nest this summer.

We have tracked his paternal side for 3 generations. His father was hatched in Rattlesnake Creek in 2014. Unfortunately, his maternal side is completely unknown which is pretty common. We’ve never been able to track a female-line for more than 1 generation. The females tend to be more mobile than the males.”

What a great way to end a great day.

As the trip ended we counted up all of the species seen that day and came to just under 90.  Since we had no shorebirds or gulls and only two duck species and we really had not tried for numbers, that was pretty darn good.  When I got back to Bellevue, I added a couple of species of Swallows a Mallard and two species of Chickadee, so I am pretty sure I was over 90 and know we could have hit 100 with targeted effort.

Great birds, great places and great people – the ever present recipe for a wonderful day!

Ann Marie, Frank and Steve

   

(Now at 282 Species for 2017 in Washington and counting…)

My last blog post shared some experiences and photos from my first visit to the Washington Coast this year including a pelagic trip out of Westport.  Even though I am not doing any form of a Washington State Big Year in 2017, I do have a modest goal of seeing 300 species and since I report all of my observations on Ebird, I have a continuous self report that keeps me aware of my totals as I go. On Thursday morning May 18 before embarking on that trip to the Coast, my Washington Year List stood at 234 species.  In the previous four years when I had done some form of a Big Year in the state the totals ranged from a low of 251 species to a high of 290 species – an average of 275 species.  So IF I were doing a Big Year this year, I was seemingly way behind previous attempts.

Species in Washington as of May 17th
2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
251	286	290	278	234

But as is almost always the case in comparisons of any kind and certainly ones with experience based numbers, it is just not that simple.  For example, in each of those previous years, by May 18, I had already visited the Coast and done a Pelagic trip – birding ventures sure to add many new species.  Doing a Big Year includes several different approaches to “birding”.  There is first the general activity of covering a lot of different habitats at different times and just spending time in the field.  Then there is “reactive birding” – chasing “needed” birds as they come up whenever and wherever they come up.  As I am sure I have stated in some earlier blog, Rule Number 1 for a chase is “Go now” as often the birds stay briefly and just do not wait for you to try to see them at your convenience.  Rule number 2 is “If you fail to follow Rule Number 1, then you cannot whine about missing a bird – it’s your own fault.”

As important as those two aspects are to a Big Year, probably the most important part is excellent informed planning on where to go when – the logistical planning to get to the right spots at the right time when needed birds are most likely to be there.  As much as I have enjoyed the general birding and the chases, it is the logistical planning and execution that I have enjoyed most and have been most successful at doing – making it possible to get the large totals I have been able to accumulate in each of those years.

Back to this year.  Not striving for the Big Year, it has not been imperative to chase every new and exciting bird nor to include some trips (to the Okanogan for example) that have been a part of each previous Big Year pursuit.  But while the goal this year is far more modest, 300 species is by no means easy and it does require that logistical effort to find birds at likely spots and at the times that they are going to be there.  Looking forward on that May 18th morning and knowing that the Coast and a pelagic trip were close at hand, it was time to do the logistical planning that would enable me to reach 300.

So…on May 18th I headed to Camano Island to find a Wild Turkey and other species.  I had missed this species on an earlier trip there and had looked for it and failed to find one on a Teanaway Valley trip earlier in the year – where they are almost a gimme.  English Boom on Camano Island is also a guaranteed spot for Purple Martins by mid May, and there was the possibility of a new bird or two at Eide Road.   When I got to Hanstad Road, a tom turkey was strutting on a grassy lawn – a good start.  Even better was that when I got out of the car to take a photo, I heard the plaintive song of a Swainson’s Thrust – another new bird for the year.

Wild Turkey

On to English Boom, but on the way I heard one of the most recognizable of bird calls.  An Olive Sided Flycatcher was calling for liquid refreshment – “Quick three beers” – and there it was on a nearby tree branch.

Olive Sided Flycatcher

English Boom delivered as always as Purple Martins were at most of the gourds, well into their mating and nesting and posing for photos.

Purple Martin

I had hoped for two new species and now had doubled that.  Would luck hold at Eide Road – well only a little as I did find some Blue Winged Teal but no shorebirds.

The previous blog recounts the trip to the Coast and the Pelagic Trip with a stop off at Capitol Forest where I had first of year Hermit Warbler, Pacific Slope Flycatcher and Sooty Grouse.  Those were both general birding experiences and logistical requirements to get to my intended total by year end.  At the end of that trip with the Camano birds, by the end of day on May 20, I now had 264 species for the year.  The chart looks different a couple of days later.  Might even be good for a Big Year try, but that was not the plan AND there were birds I had not tried for in the right season and would not likely to be added later anyhow.  There was still going to be a lot more work to do to even reach that 300 number.

Species in Washington as of May 20th
2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
251	286	290	278	264

Back to logistics.  I knew I had a big trip to Eastern Washington coming up in late June but that was not going to be enough to get to 300 even with good luck.  I was hoping to avoid a second pelagic trip in the Fall so I now needed to plan that Eastern Washington trip carefully, add a species or two here and there and combine a couple of chases and some good luck.  And another twist was that I was balancing a more substantial social and non-birding schedule than in previous years, so the challenge was to find ways to include some spots to visit that would “kill (see) two birds with one stone” for example.  A first opportunity to do that was the next week at the off leash area at Marymoor Park.  We took Bailey for a walk and found the Pectoral Sandpiper that had been located in the mud adjoining that area the day before and also had my first Willow Flycatcher of the year out amidst the dogs.  (I did not bring a camera and the phone proved incapable of a viable photo.)  Similarly the next day we chose to visit Paradise at Mount Rainier – great scenery, a picnic and yes a couple of new birds – Gray Jay and Clark’s Nutcracker – logistics!!

What next?  A chase of course – hoping for the Golden Plovers that had been seen at Eide Road.  Unfortunately chases are not as reliable as good logistics – no Golden Plover – but the bonus was that there were two Wilson’s Phalaropes and a fun photo op for a flock of Blue Winged Teal in flight.

Wilson’s Phalaropes

Blue Winged Teal (6 of 18)

The total was growing but that is what has to happen in May – always the best month to add new species as migration brings in both migrants that continue on and those that will be breeding in Washington as well.  But there was now only one more day in May – time for a “logistical chase”.   The Newhalem Agg Ponds are a known spot for American Redstarts.  I was counting on seeing some at Calispell Lake in Pend Oreille County on my big Eastern Washington trip later, but a “bird in the hand is better than one in the bush” as it is said.  Steve Pink was interested in visiting that area so it would be fun and a great chance for me to visit places I usually do not and which Steve knows very well.

We had a great trip in beautiful weather.  First Steve took me to a new spot – the Whitehorse Trail where we found Red Eyed Vireos – another bird I could count on at Calispell Lake but my first in Snohomish County and my first in 2017.  Later we found numerous American Redstarts at the Agg Ponds and also had the bonus of a drumming Ruffed Grouse – a species that I could not count on later in the year so very much appreciated.  It was a new county bird for Steve in Whatcom County – important to him.

American Redstart

That was the last new bird for the month bringing me to 272 species for the year.  Again let’s look at the comparison with previous years.  I had added 40 species in the two weeks from May 17th.  On the surface it looks like another big year possibility, but I had made my target list for the rest of the year and getting to 300 seems pretty reasonable but even that is going to take work .

Species in Washington as of May 31st
2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
286	290	305	278	272

June has been far less productive than May every year but especially with a long Eastern Washington trip ahead, I am optimistic.  I have very specific stops planned along the way that should put me in good shape but some new shorebirds better show up and that second pelagic trip may be a necessary.  And of course I have not yet been to Neah Bay and that could make all the difference.

I have been out once in June – chasing a Scissor Tailed Flycatcher that was reported by a single observer on Umptanum Road – no luck on that one, but I did add five species – all ones that were planned for on my upcoming trip to Eastern Washington in late June.  The five were Least Flycatcher, Calliope Hummingbird, Lark Sparrow, Veery and Gray Catbird.  I was only able to get a decent photo of the Catbird, so when I see them again later, I will hope for those pictures.

Gray Catbird

Now I am at 277 species.  How do I get to 300?  Logistics, chases and luck.  Here is how I see the breakdown (and I will report back in another blog later to see how it went in reality.)   10-12 new species in Eastern Washington trip that will include Calispell Lake, Spokane County, the Blue Mountains and the Cascades.  5 or 6 more shorebirds.  3-4 new species at Neah Bay.  5-10 miscellaneous.  And if need be another pelagic trip in the fall that should be good for another 5-6 species.  And then there are a lot of “ifs” – if there are surprises, if I go to Salmo Mountain, if I go the Okanogan and some species show up well (and early).  In a really good Big Year, you need all of these things to go well – the upper ranges of possibilities to be found, some unexpected rarities to show up, a second (or even a third pelagic trip) and all the “ifs” to happen.  Those seemingly small differences can add 30 or 40 or even 50 species.  Some others are doing Big Years this year – I wish them well.  I have a big trip coming up for Arizona and may do some more ABA area birding as I have some goals for the ABA area this year – but that will be another blog post – or two – later.