Birding Skagit County

After several birding trips on San Juan Island didn't result in any new species to our year list efforts, it was time to head off island and take advantage of a sunny (if chilly) winter weekend day. Skagit County is always a pleasure to bird in the winter, and it did not disappoint! In six hours we turned up nearly 50 species.

Our second bird of the day was a peregrine falcon - no complaints there!

64th bird species photographed this year - peregrine falcon

As hoped for, the raptors were everywhere, and for a while it seemed as if there was a new species to stop and observe around every bend in the road....

American kestrel (65)

Northern harrier (66)

Rough-legged hawk (67)

Taking flight!

Another rough-legged hawk

One species that was still a "big miss" on my photo year list was a red-tailed hawk - it had become a bit of a running joke, as Jason added it on day one and I always seemed to be on the wrong side of the car or it would take flight as soon as I lifted my camera, etc. I thought I might have to use this shot, which does at least show some field marks:

But luckily near the end of the day, after several others flew away before I could snap a photo, I finally came across this cooperative fella (or lady):

Red-tailed hawk (72)

Most water was still frozen, which put a bit of a damper on the waterfowl and shorebird front, but sure made for some beautiful landscapes:

And there were still hundreds of trumpeter swans and thousands of snow geese in the flats:

Trumpeter swans in front of the Olympic mountains

Snow goose (73)

Snow geese in flight after a hunter fires a shot

It was the bald eagles that stole the show, however. We started counting early and tallied over 100 for the day, including some fantastic looks...

A quick way to boost the count - more than 15 in one tree!

Lots of aerial acrobatics as an adult chased a juvenile out of its territory

Even as daylight dwindled all too early, we kept snapping photos in the dusk...

Killdeer

At the Anacortes ferry landing I was hoping for a ring-billed gull, but was happy to take the photogenic mew gulls.

Surprisingly there were more than 10 great blue herons roosting with them on the dock pilings - haven't seen that in this location before!

By the day's end I had added 12 new species to my photo year list total, and more than that to my overall year list. We heard a Virginia rail, though weren't able to see it or photograph it, though a couple of our friendly competitors in Vancouver, BC have gotten great shots of this species this year! We also flushed an American bittern but I wasn't quite quick enough on the trigger to get a identifiable shot of one. Also, I was surprised not to see any short-eared owls! But I guess that's what keeps us going back, isn't it? :)

So as of today I've got 88 species on the year list and 76 species on the photo year list - still keeping that 85% ratio going! I just love how much I've been out taking photos as a result of this challenge so far, and seeing what everyone else is turning up has been just as fun!

Kicking Off the 2013 Year List

Snow fell on New Year's Eve, and as the sky dimmed for the last time in 2012 we gathered our usual friends and family for our last day of the year festivities. Game playing was interrupted shortly before midnight when someone spotted movement on the deck outside. It was a raccoon - the first one my parents have ever seen in their yard. Closer inspection showed it to be a raccoon with a story to tell - he had a gash on his nose and was missing his tail. We could only imagine what might have happened to him.

Just like last year, when I awoke on New Year's Day I added the same first species to my year list without opening my eyes as I heard a Steller's jay (1) in my parents' yard. I went downstairs and ate a bowl of cereal in front of the sliding glass door overlooking the beautiful, snow-dusted landscape, every bough and branch looking like it had been dipped in ice. I added seven more species to the list, most of them the same ones that made up my first ten species from last year: black-capped chickadee (2), mourning dove (3 - was 30 last year), chestnut-backed chickadee (4), red-breasted nuthatch (5), dark-eyed junco (6), spotted towhee (7), and song sparrow (8).

We took off towards Saint Helens, passing ten species with the American crow (10) and adding a few others on our way to the Honeyman Road loop that goes through Scappoose Bottoms. Along the way we had to stop to take a few pictures not only of birds but of the snowy landscape, too:

The reservoir on Honeyman Road had at least 50 tundra swans (16) on it, a species it was nice to add so early and one that wasn't present when we had visited shortly before. Just down the road from the swan overlook was my first red-tailed hawk (17) of the year. My camera settings weren't quite right when it took flight, but I like the result in this photograph anyway:

The rough-legged hawk wasn't in his usual corner, so we thought that might be a big miss. There were other raptors around, however, including a bald eagle (20), several American kestrels (21), and a northern harrier (23). Kestrels are often quite skittish, but this one didn't move when we slowed the car down below it. It wasn't until I looked at the photo that I realized he was clutching a mouse, with blood on his beak and feathers and dripping down the pole. Such is the life of a bird of prey:

We found the rough-legged hawk (24) further down the road form his usual hang out - yay! The rest of Honeyman Road turned up our first bunch of waterfowl and three gull species, with some highlights being half a dozen Wilson's snipe (28) and a small flock of sandhill cranes (29).

The weather was crisp but it was time to get out and walk part of the Crown-Zellerbach trail. The Ross' goose from a few days before was no where to be seen, but in its place were six snow geese (35) with a huge flock of cackling geese. More of the regular wetland species were added here, most notably a Virginia rail (42) that responded to a played vocalization, one or two marsh wrens (43), and a lone cinnamon teal (46). There weren't as many sparrows and small birds in the blackberry bushes, perhaps due to all the people out walking their dogs and enjoying the sunny first day of the year. One dog walker even stopped and asked to take a picture of us crazy birders for the county webpage. Several others stopped to share their own bird sightings with us, even if it was just "a flock of 50 starlings". It's always nice to get others to think about the birds they've seen!

We drove along Dike Road next where the highlight was a male Eurasian wigeon (51), a species that eluded both me and my dad last year. From there it was a short drive to Sauvie Island, where the first stop was to enjoy a pair of peregrine falcons (54) perched in perfect lighting:

Last year, I didn't add peregrine falcon until #218 in October. These two were on adjacent poles, and then one flew to join the other, setting up this great photo op of a pair of falcons, each facing different directions:

It was hard not to stop and take another picture of the same photogenic cows, especially because of the flock of Brewer's blackbirds (55) in their field.

The next pasture over were some very strange looking llamas. They're carrying quite the load of wool, which looks so unkempt as to be growing its own layer of moss of algae:

From there it was on to the Reeder Road observation blind. The duck composition had changed quite a lot from a few days before, perhaps in part because of all the hunting that was going on nearby. We actually saw one guy across the marsh shoot and then wade out to net a duck or goose, the poor thing still struggling as he made his way back to shore. It was interesting to have lots of bird watchers with scopes and binos on one side of the lake and hunters with guns poking through blinds right across the way on the other side. Most of the birds were American coot, and gone from what we could tell were the ruddy ducks, but we did re-find the redhead (58) and canvasback (59), as well as a single female bufflehead (60) and some lesser scaup (61).

With getting a later start than planned and taking our time everywhere we went, we realized we weren't going to cover nearly as much ground as we had originally planned for January 1. Still, without traveling nearly as far as we did last year, we equaled last year's first day of the year total by about 2:30 in the afternoon. Next up was Rentenaar Road, where we had seen the Harris' sparrow on the 29th. It looked like lots of other birders had the same idea, as the road was busy from end to end. As we pondered what it was about this particular dirt road edged with blackberries that so attracted sparrows, we saw dozens of golden-crowned and white-crowned sparrows (63). All in all, we only turned up four of the seven sparrow species from a few days before. We managed to turn up two Lincoln's sparrows (64), but no Harris' sparrow for us that day.

By this time the annoying cold that has greeted me this new year was beginning to take its toll on me, so we started to head home. On our way off the island we picked up double-crested cormorants (65) as expected, but didn't see any of the hoped-for mergansers along the Multnomah Channel.

As we reviewed the first day of birding, we agreed the peregrine falcons were the highlight, but were surprised that fox sparrow hadn't made it onto the list - last year it was #10 for me. On our way home we went by a patch of bushes where we had seen a pair of fox sparrows a few days ago. They hadn't been there in the morning, but amazingly to me, there they were in the afternoon (66). Just like the rough-legged hawk and so many other birds, they astound me with their site fidelity. Since we were so close we returned to the rough-legged hawk area, a spot known to some birders as Owl Corner. While the rough-legged hawk had returned to his usual perching tree, there were no short-eared owls or any other kind of owls to be seen patrolling the fields.

That proved to be it for day one, but with an improvement of five species over last year, I was pleased enough. I perhaps paid for being out and about so much with a cold coming on, as I proved to be totally down for the count today and further birding plans had to be postponed. The only species I added on day two were evening grosbeaks (67) and varied thrushes (68) that came to my parents' feeders, seen comfortably from under a blanket on the couch. I hope to still get in a trip to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge before I leave, and hopefully seek out a couple of the rarer birds reported in Portland recently on the way there.

A Great Day's Birding in Skagit County

First a note: yesterday while walking to town to watch the Superbowl at the local watering hole I saw my first fox sparrow (116) of the season!

Last week a couple of great birding reports came through on Tweeters, the Washington birding listserv, about sightings in Skagit County, which is just over on the mainland from here. I was inspired to get over there and see if I could find some of the great species they had been seeing, and the first day I had a change to do so was today. Last night I drew out a map of the target places I wanted to visit, and I was ready.

I get a bit made fun of for my not-to-scale hand-drawn birding maps, but they help familiarize me ahead of time with places I'm not used to birding and are a simple reference throughout the day....so they work for me! :)

I woke up in the morning to the sound of a Pacific wren singing in the pre-dawn light, which I took to be a good omen for the day. On the ferry ride over I spotted all the expected species including mew and glaucous-winged gulls, common murres, pigeon guillemots, pelagic cormorants, two rhinoceros auklets, and a single common loon.

I was especially keen to look for the rock wren that had been reported near Burlington, so we (my boyfriend came with me) headed straight there. While looking for it, we saw a displaying male Anna's hummingbird, a flock of bushtits, and three bald eagles soaring above. Then, after about 5-10 minutes, there it was, perched right on top of a boulder!

The rock wren (117) is a rare species to get west of the Cascades as it tends to prefer more arid habitat. I've only seen this species once before, in 2002 at Malheur in southeast Oregon, so it was a real treat to see it again.

Just a block away from the rock wren was a cattail marsh, and I got a Virginia rail (118) to respond almost immediately to the call I played. This was based off another great tip from a birder who had seen the rock wren, and because of his report I recorded the Virginia rail call on my cell phone last night. I don't have a very fancy recorder/playback ability, but it was good enough to get the rail to call back! I couldn't believe it!

What was also neat about the rock wren/Virginia rail area was that it was a really industrial part of town. It's not the ideal place to go birding in terms of beauty, but it's pretty cool to see so many great species living there right among all the industry.

Next up we went north on Old Highway 99 to Pomona Grange County Park where I quickly found one of the American dippers (119) that had been reported. The old mixed forest was pretty quiet besides, but it was amazing to see the variety of deciduous and coniferous trees that grew all together there.

I drove down Bow Hill Road through Edison and had to pull over along Bayview/Edison Road when we spotted no fewer than 20 bald eagles hanging around the same small stand of trees. I've read about the eagle congregations near the Skagit River but this was the first time I've seen so many in one place. Here's ten of them, all sub-adults:

It was an active area, with several eagles, red-tailed hawks, and northern harriers flying about nearby. These three adult bald eagles perched right together were one of the most impressive sights. The eagle count for the day, by the way, ended at a whopping 73.

After I could finally turn my attention away from the eagles, I noticed a flock of golden-crowned sparrows and this ring-necked pheasant, one of two males that was hanging around in the area:

With a squall looming on the horizon, it was time to move on towards Samish Island, but we stopped along the way at the Samish Unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area where a couple of other birders had scopes set up. They were generous enough to let us take a look at the pair of short-eared owls (120) they had found acrobatically flying around in the distance. While looking through their scope we also found a rough-legged hawk (121), our only one of the day. There was a lot of raptor activity around with more bald eagles and harriers around as well.

Our time admiring the raptors was cut short by the downpour, so it was on to Samish Island. Looking up towards Samish Bay it was pretty quiet except for a few red-breasted mergansers, surf scoters, and bufflehead. Maybe everything else took refuge from the rain. Bay View State Park was similarly quiet.

There was more activity, however, at the Padilla Bay Shore Trail trailhead, where there was a flock of green-winged teal, a few northern pintail, and a singing western meadowlark. There was also a single house finch and several song sparrows in the brambles. 

As we headed south of Highway 20 we started seeing more and more trumpeter swans, with a few tundra swans mixed in. By the end of the day I wouldn't be surprised if we saw nearly a thousand swans. Here are a couple of the tundra swans, distinct here with the small yellow marking at the base of the bill, which isn't always there (and isn't always visible when it is there if they're too far away!):

We stopped in La Connor to pick up a snack, but weren't able to locate the wild turkeys that they regularly see there. (It's debatable how wild they are, anyway.) There wasn't much to see on Valentine Road, but down on Rawlins Road on Fir Island was a pair of northern shrikes and also a large flock of snow geese (122) in the distance. The snow geese were absent a couple of weeks ago, but seemed to have returned in force, perhaps because the hunting season is now over. There was another large flock in a field north of Fir Island Road. Also nearby was this American kestrel. Between rain showers, there were many raptors attempting to dry out, like this kestrel with his tail fanned:

I had stopped at the Fir Island unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area before, but just learned there is another public access to the reserve off of Wylie Road. The area down there was very muddy and flooded, but I heard and then we were able to locate the black phoebe (123) that has been seen there over the last couple of weeks. Another rare find for this area, and I was very glad to have found it!

Before heading back to run a couple errands and head for the ferry home, there was one other place I wanted to stop just east of Fir Island where snow geese had been reported. I found them a little further south than they were the other day - just south of Johnson Road this afternoon - but there were thousands of them. A few of them were close enough to the road for photographs, unlike the other two flocks we saw:

The sights and sounds of a large flock of snow geese are so impressive I decided to try and capture a short video clip of it. While I was filming, the flock all of a sudden became alert and then took flight as a bald eagle came right through them. They circled around as the eagle chased them. What an amazing wildlife spectacle. Check it out - the eagle is visible at a couple points during the clip.

It's a bit hard to see the geese when they get further away in flight due to the video compression to post on the web, but you get the idea.

The last sighting of note for the day was a tagged red-tailed hawk just south of Exit 226 on I5 while we were heading back north. It had a blue marker on at least its left wing, which appeared to be marked with an "I" or a "1". I'm going to try and figure out who I can report the sighting to, like I did with K5, the red-tailed hawk near the Portland airport earlier this year.

Overall, a fantastic day's birding. More than 50 species were seen (49 in Skagit County plus a few more from the morning ferry), and seven year birds were added to the list. I had a list of about 10 potential year birds for the day, and decided I would be very happy finding 3 of them - so 7 of them was real treat, especially because after the rock wren first thing in the morning I proclaimed the day a success and said everything else on top of it would just be a bonus!

P.S. Since it's Monday, I thought I would share a brief update about Flex the gray whale, who I posted about last week. After his tag didn't transmit for 5 days they thought it had fallen off, but then he resurfaced (pun intended) nearly 300 miles west of the north end of Vancouver Island. He has continued his trajectory south since then, passing the Washington coast and heading into Oregon, approximately 15 miles offshore. When weather permits they are going to attempt to relocate him by boat. Read this week's update and see his updated map here. Is he going to Baja??

Year List: Kickin' It Up A Notch

First up, a little bookkeeping to do on the year list. Before leaving New York I added the house finch (42) and hairy woodpecker (43). Then from the train I saw most of the same species I saw on the way east, including the ring-necked pheasant (44), though I missed adding the black-billed magpie. During the last morning on the train in the Columbia River Gorge, a stretch that was dark on the train ride east, I added double-crested cormorant (45), great blue heron (46), western grebe (47), and common merganser (48).

Now that I'm back to a part of the country where the temperatures are well above freezing, there is far more bird activity. With my year list sitting below 50 species halfway through the month of January, it was time to increase my efforts a bit and add some birds to the list, especially if I have any chance of making my goal of 100 species before the end of the month. So yesterday was a full day of birding!

We started out in north Portland where while my dad (who is keeping a year list for the first time this year) was running a couple of quick errands I saw my first glaucous-winged gull of the year (49). A stop at Vanport Wetlands turned up a red-winged blackbird (50), a flock of bushtits (51), a green-winged teal (52), ruddy ducks (53), northern pintail (54), and the first of many western scrub-jays (55) for the day. The nearby Force Lake was pretty quiet, though I did find a pair of pied-billed grebes (56), a flock of golden-crowned sparrows (57), and a single female hooded merganser (58).

Driving to our next spot I saw a flock of Brewer's blackbirds (59) and a northern flicker (60). The black-crowned night-heron (61) that I added to the 2010 year list on Christmas Day was still in its same tree along the Columbia River, this time joined by two others. A lady that came by walking her dog said that the numbers of night-herons usually peaks in late February with as many as 16 of them being seen roosting in the trees. That would be an awesome sight!

Black-crowned night-heron in North Portland

A little further down the river at Broughton Beach we found five killdeer (62) and a pair of horned grebes (63). There was also a western grebe, and multiple huge flocks of lesser scaup. Where pull-outs were available to scan the flocks in detail, we weren't able to turn any of the scaup into the coveted tufted duck.

Our major stop for the day was Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in southern Washington, a refuge that has a great auto tour that's perfect for rainy days like yesterday. As expected, I immediately added some of my missing waterfowl to the list, including northern shoveler (64), gadwall (65), ring-necked duck (66), and American coot (67). Despite the weather, the refuge was very active, and it was one of my slowest circuits ever of the auto tour route as we kept stopping to admire species like purple finches (68) and a patrolling northern harrier (69).

Pair of American coot at Ridgefield NWR

The yellow-rumped warbler, now split into two species, is our only reliable winter warbler, and while I just missed the Audubon's warbler (my dad got to add it to his list!), I did see the Myrtle warbler (70):

Myrtle warbler at Ridgefield NWR

There were lots and lots of hawks at Ridgefield, but despite seeing some that looked a little bit "different" we couldn't determine for sure that any of them were anything but red-tails, with the exception of the one northern harrier we had seen earlier. We got to see a wide variety of color morphs, though, ranging from very light to very dark - potentially even the Harlan's morph that has been reported there lately, though the lighting wasn't great for picking out plumage details. Here is one of the red-tailed hawks just taking flight:

Red-tailed hawk taking flight at Ridgefield NWR

While we weren't able to turn up a rough-legged hawk or anything like that, we did see several bald eagles and this stunning and amazingly cooperative American kestrel:

Male American kestrel at Ridgefield NWR

The end of the auto tour route at Ridgefield turned up a ruby-crowned kinglet (71), a flock of cackling geese (72), and a lone great egret (73).

After a stop for a bite to eat in Vancouver, WA we drove the Old Lower River Road which goes through some farm country and always seems to turn up something interesting. Yesterday was no exception: first I found a common teal (74) among some green-winged teal in a marsh, and then our patience of carefully examining every hawk finally paid off in the sighting of a red-shouldered hawk (year bird 75, NA life bird 341)!!! When I spotted it, the hawks was perched deep in a tree and while I could tell it was different the field marks were hard to see. (Though I did say, "Whatever it is, I've never seen a bird like that before!") It then took flight, and while we only got a brief glimpse it was enough to confirm the ID. It was very orangey overall, and we saw the reddish shoulders and white crescents near the wing tips when it was in flight. A very cool find!!

The clouds made for an early dusk, so before we reached the end of the road it was starting to get too dark to bird. The last species added for the day was a flock of half a dozen sandhill cranes (76) in one of the farm fields. Overall, it was a very successful day with 28 year birds and a life bird to add to the books!

Next up, more birding in the Portland area as I try to catch my year list up to Dave, who at last check was at 90, and my dad, who was sitting at 82.