March 9 ~ Birding Semiahmoo

Last weekend we headed off island to run some errands. I thought it would be a ferry ride like any other, but it turned into a very memorable one: after 18 years of riding these ferries regularly, I finally saw orcas from the ferry! And not once, but twice on the same trip!

T124As outside of Friday Harbor

T123s near Blakely Island

While I'm glad that drought is finally broken, I have to say it's actually not so great to see whales from the ferry, because of course the ferry keeps going while I would rather stay and watch!

After getting our errands done, we had enough time to make a visit to one of my favorite regional birding spots at Semiahmoo. As hoped for, we saw a lot of birds, some of them new to the year list, and the icing on the cake was the beautiful evening light.

Common loon

We got a scoter hat trick, seeing all three species there (surf, white-winged, and black).

Black scoters - far away, but awesome because they are uncommon to see. Cameo appearance by a few brant!

White-winged scoter

On our drive we saw multiple pairs of bald eagles at nests - it's that time of year! This one perched on top of the tower at the end of Semiahmoo Spit and was calling to another bird (presumably its mate) flying above it.

It took a little longer than expected to add black-capped chickadee to the photo year list, but I finally got a photo of one. We've only got chestnut-sided chickadees on San Juan Island, and while I've seen several other black-cappeds, there was never a chance to photograph one without the "hand of man" for this year's challenge.

Two of my hoped-for species for the trip to Semiahmoo did not disappoint: greater scaup and brant.

As the light was fading it was getting time to head back for the ferry, but it was hard to leave with scenes like this:

Semiahmoo Spit

Just a couple more photographs before warming up in the car, for good measure:

Killdeer

Northern pintail in flight

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!

A Week Without Whales (But With Moths, Birds, Flowers....)

The Resident orcas headed back out to the open ocean last Sunday night, and there haven't been reports of them since then. While the boats in the area have had chances to see transient orcas (there were Ts right off Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver yesterday!), humpback whales, and minke whales, those of us on shore have turned our sights to other creatures. It's been another beautiful late spring week and there's been a lot to see!

Monday while picking up my lunch near the Friday Harbor Airport I was thrilled to see my first chipping sparrow (162) of the year. I had gone out to several places I've seen them in years past looking for this species, but without luck. Then, later the same afternoon, I saw one from the office at work. Amazingly, I think, my bird list for species seen at work in 2013 is approaching 40 species.

Also at work that day I found another cool moth. We had the ceanothus silk moth a few weeks ago, but this time it was an eyed sphinx moth (Smerinthus cerisyi). It took me a while to ID it because in most of the field guide images it has its hind wings extended showing the "eyes" it flashes to scare predators. I guess I wasn't scary enough.

Wednesday I went down to Fourth of July Beach and did a COASST survey. As per usual, no stranded sea birds, but I did turn up a respectable 28 living species in the hour I was there. Northern rough-winged swallows, cedar waxwings, a gadwall, American goldfinches, and a few surf scoters were on the list, but the most cooperative when it came to taking pictures was a pair of killdeer. I've never seen a killdeer jump before, but that's just what this one was doing as it went from log to log:

Thursday night after work we headed out to Lime Kiln for another sunset. The colors were a bit more subdued than some other recent ones but it was still a beauty:

For some reason we've gotten in the habit of seeing how many of these four species we can find on every trip to the west side: killer whale, harbor seal, bald eagle, black oystercatcher. Only once this year have we gotten all four! On Thursday evening we only got one - bald eagle - but that was okay because it flew right past the crescent moon, giving it bonus points:

On Friday afternoon we went for a walk at Third Lagoon at the south end of the island and saw and heard another 23 bird species. Some highlights for me were a pair of hairy woodpeckers that looked like recent fledgling and also a pair of band-tailed pigeons, not a species I see too often here on the island. At the edge of the lagoon a line of colorful kayaks were laid out on the gravel:

On the drive back to town I had to stop at the pull out above South Beach to take some photos of the California poppies that have just exploded into bloom all over the hillside there:

I wonder what sights this weekend will bring?

Jackson Beach Variety

Yesterday morning I went to Jackson's Beach, and while nothing was very abundant the variety of life I saw was amazing. Here's a sampling....

One of the 15+ killdeer:


Raccoon footprints:


A surprisingly large grasshopper:

There was a dead harbor seal pup in the surf which I reported to the stranding network, but I spared you the photo of that. Instead, here is a beached moon jelly:

An adult bald eagle:

There were about five different species of wildflower in bloom, but this is one I don't recognize and wasn't able to immediately find in the field guide. Any ideas?