January: Snohomish (2 trips)
Jan 2: Birds 1-30 Edmonds Waterfront
What a fun bit of birding. I made it up on a day when a fair number of birders were chasing a sighting of a Palm Warbler. I struck out on that bird, but what a great opportunity to start the year saying hello's to so many familiar faces.
1. Brant
2. Canada Goose
3. Harlequin Duck
4. Surf Scoter
5. Black Scoter
6. Bufflehead
7. Common Goldeneye
8. Barrow's Goldeneye
9. Pied-billed Grebe
10. Horned Grebe
11. Red-necked Grebe
12. Western Grebe
13. Rock Pigeon
14. Anna's Hummingbird
15. Pigeon Guillemot
16. Rhinoceros Auklet
17. Mew Gull
18. Glaucous-winged Gull
19. Pelagic Cormorant
20. Double-crested Cormorant
21. Great Blue Heron
22. Bald Eagle
23. American Crow
24. Black-capped Chickadee
25. Bewick's Wren
26. American Robin
27. Dark-eyed Junco
28. White-crowned Sparrow
29. Song Sparrow
30. Yellow-rumped Warbler
Not a surprising bird in the bunch, I don't think! Edmonds is a great place to stop for winter birds.
Jan 15th Snohomish Owling, etc. (birds 31-77)
This was a fun trip out to the Sultan Basin with Josh Adams and a handful of other Snohomish County birders. Owls were our primary target, although for me, it was neat to explore a part of the county I'd never really visited. Josh had a spot where he was expecting Northern Saw-whet, and Great Horned is never too unexpected, I suppose. A Northern Pygmy Owl after the sun came up was the real surprise of the bunch. Hutton's Vireo was another nice bird for January.
31. Great Horned Owl
32. Northern Pygmy-Owl
33. Northern Saw-whet Owl
34. Belted Kingfisher
35. Red-breasted Sapsucker
36. Hutton's Vireo
37. Steller's Jay
38. Chestnut-backed Chickadee
39. Golden-crowned Kinglet
40. Red-breasted Nuthatch
41. Pacific Wren
42. Varied Thrush
Then we made our way to Hierman Wildlife Preserve, where we also picked up some good water birds:
43. Trumpeter Swan
44. Gadwall
45. American Wigeon
46. Mallard
47. Northern Pintail
48. Green-winged Teal
49. Ring-necked Duck
50. Wilson's Snipe
51. Red-tailed Hawk
52. Pine Siskin
53. Spotted Towhee
At this point, I split with the group, and went to Marine Park in Everett to try for some more saltwater birds. I had not really walked the area much before! A Greater White-fronted Goose was the highlight here.
54. Greater White-fronted Goose
55. Black-bellied Plover
56. Killdeer
57. Dunlin
58. Ring-billed Gull
59. Western Gull
60. Herring Gull
61. Iceland Gull
62. European Starling
63. House Sparrow
64. House Finch
Marysville was my next stop, including Jennings Park, where a Great Egret had been seen through the winter, as well as the Marysville Sewage Ponds, where California Scrub-Jay was my target.
65. California Scrub-Jay
66. Eurasian Collared-Dove
67. Hooded Merganser
68. Great Egret
69. Downy Woodpecker
70. Northern Flicker
71. American Goldfinch
72. Red-winged Blackbird
The last birds of the day were on the way home:
Silver Lake (Everett)
73. Redhead
74. Greater Scaup
75. Lesser Scaup
76. American Coot
Homeacres Road (Everett)
77. Western Meadowlark.
February 4th: North Snohomish County (birds 78-90)
The North end of Snohomish County has some amazing farmland and wetlands, ponds, fields, and estuaries. I also spent some of my childhood in the Seven Lakes Area (Shoecraft, Ki, Goodwin, Crabapple, Martha, Howard, and Loma... I only had to look up the last one!), and did a little birding in this area, where I've helped on past Christmas Bird Counts.
Lakewood (town)
78. Marsh Wren
79. Lincoln's Sparrow
80. American Kestrel
Lake Goodwin
81. Ruddy Duck
Thomle Road - Stanwood
82. Snow Goose
83. Eurasian Wigeon
84. Rough-legged Hawk
85. Merlin
86. Brewer's Blackbird
Eide Road - Stanwood
87. Northern Harrier
88. Short-eared Owl
89. Peregrine Falcon
90. Golden-crowned Sparrow
February 19-21 Finally Yakima! (Birds 1-78)
Yakima County is home to my parents and one of my siblings. It is also home to a huge number of bird species, and a robust birding community who works to find them all each year! I started the trip with a few birds on Highway 12 coming down from White Pass: Gray Jay and American Dipper. My destination was the Popoff Trail in Yakima, right along the Yakima River. A Harris's Sparrow had been seen there (found it!), and I had hopes of seeing Bohemian Waxwings as well (got those too!).
1. Canada Jay (I'm not correcting Gray Jay above, ha!)
2. American Dipper
3. Canada Goose
4. Northern Shoveler
5. Gadwall
6. American Wigeon
7. Mallard
8. Common Merganser
9. Pied-billed Grebe
10. Rock Pigeon
11. Red-tailed Hawk
12. Northern Flicker
13. Downy Woodpecker
14. Black-capped Chickadee
15. Pacific Wren
16. Bewick's Wren
17. European Starling
18. Cedar Waxwing
19. Bohemian Waxwing
20. House Finch
21. Dark-eyed Junco
22. White-crowned Sparrow
23. Golden-crowned Sparrow
24. Harris's Sparrow
25. Song Sparrow
26. Spotted Towhee
27. Red-winged Blackbird
28. Yellow-rumped Warbler
It is hard to imagine a more interesting pair of people to join for some birding than I did on the 20th. Andy Stepniewski and Eric Heisey and I met up for an amazing morning of birding. I don't think any of us were born within two decades of each other! But I was looking for people ready to help me hunt down some birds, and as noted earlier - there is no lack of enthusiasm in Yakima.
I grabbed a Wood Duck at the pond at the cemetery in Terrace Heights, and then met up at Andy's home. His feeder had not one, but two White-throated Sparrows visiting! We made stops in Granger, and then in the Toppenish NWR to start our day. Great Horned Owls in a tree, and an early Sagebrush Sparrow on a snowy roadside were the highlights.
From there, we went to Fort Simcoe for scrub-jays and Lewis's Woodpeckers, then to Reservation Memorial Park, where we had a little Northern Saw-whet Owl tucked into a tree.
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| Beautiful morning |
29. Wood Duck
30. California Quail
31. American Robin
32. Fox Sparrow
33. White-throated Sparrow
34. Cackling Goose
35. Green-winged Teal
36. Eurasian Collared-Dove
37. Mourning Dove
38. Killdeer
39. Greater Yellowlegs
40. Double-crested Cormorant
41. Great Blue Heron
42. Bald Eagle
43. Belted Kingfisher
44. American Kestrel
45. Say's Phoebe
46. Black-billed Magpie
47. American Crow
48. Common Raven
49. House Sparrow
50. Northern Harrier
51. Peregrine Falcon
52. Brewer's Blackbird
53. Tundra Swan
54. Northern Pintail
55. Ring-necked Duck
56. Lesser Scaup
57. Common Goldeneye
58. American Coot
59. Great Horned Owl
60. Northern Shrike
61. Sagebrush Sparrow
62. Western Meadowlark
63. Townsend's Solitaire
64. American Goldfinch
65. Lewis's Woodpecker
66. California Scrub-Jay
67. Northern Saw-whet Owl
68. Long-eared Owl
69. Golden-crowned Kinglet
My final day included a trip out to Black Rock Valley in the morning, a trip with my folks to wine country in the afternoon, and a pass through Yakima Canyon on the way home.
Black Rock Valley
70. Sharp-shinned Hawk
71. Rough-legged Hawk
72. Merlin
73. Horned Lark
Buena Pond
74. Bufflehead
Selah Butte
75. Hooded Merganser
76. Golden Eagle
77. Prairie Falcon
78. Canyon Wren
March 19th - West Snohomish County (birds 91-118)
I made this trip with Adrian Lee from King County, and came home at the end of the day with two life birds! One was a Rusty Blackbird which was a target species for the trip. The other was a Black-legged Kittiwake seen in Puget Sound from Edmonds. We made a good run all the way down from Stanwood to Edmonds. Early in the morning, we had either a Short-eared or Long-eared Owl at North Creek Park in Bothell. Later in the day, a singing Fox Sparrow was a nice surprise. I feel like I don't get to hear them sing all that often. Lincoln's Sparrows fall in that category as well, I suppose.
Boe Road was full of swans and Snow Geese - feeling much like Skagit County in that regard.
Bothell area:
91. Virginia Rail
92. Cinnamon Teal
93. Northern Shoveler
Pine Ridge Park
94. Band-tailed Pigeon
95. Sharp-shinned Hawk
96. Pileated Woodpecker
97. Hermit Thrush
98. Fox Sparrow
Edmonds
99. Red-breasted Merganser
100. Pacific Loon
101. Common Loon
102. Brandt's Cormorant
103. Black-legged Kittiwake
104. Bonaparte's Gull
North View Park (Everett)
105. Common Merganser
106. Savannah Sparrow
Jennings Park (Everett)
107. Violet-green Swallow
108. Bushtit
109. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Tulalip Bay
110. Black Turnstone
111. Spotted Sandpiper
112. Red-throated Loon
Boe Road - Stanwood
113. Tundra Swan
114. Greater Yellowlegs
115. Tree Swallow
116. American Pipit
Thomle Road (Stanwood)
117. Common Raven
Norman Road (Stanwood)
118. Rusty Blackbird
Not a bad start to the year, with 118 species and already two life birds right there in the county next door!
April 9-10 Yakima County (birds 79-117)
Another nice trip out to see my folks. April is an amazing time to be in Eastern Washington! The sage birds start rolling in, as well as a few specialty shorebirds. Wintering birds are still around as well. I left very early, and was able to start with a trip to Black Canyon, where I picked up Vesper Sparrow and Ruffed Grouse, among other birds.
I continued from here to the far East end of the county at Priest Rapids Dam. This straddles Grant and Yakima Counties, so I did my first drive to the far side of the dam. There are a few good pullouts along the drive over, and on the other side, so I did add some good birds there, including 8 Red-breasted Mergansers!
I aimed to get back into the Yakima Valley via Highway 241, which has some nice sage habitat. Long-billed Curlew and Sage Thrasher were definitely the highlights of that stretch! I went right to Toppenish NWR from there (always productive), and finally to Kerry's Pond along the Yakima Valley Highway for shorebirds (Snipe, Dunlin, Stilt), and plenty of ducks.
Black Canyon
79. Ruffed Grouse
80. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
81. Vesper Sparrow
Priest Rapids Dam
82. Greater Scaup
83. Red-breasted Merganser
84. Western Grebe
85. Ring-billed Gull
86. Cooper's Hawk
87. Cliff Swallow
Highway 241
88. Long-billed Curlew
89. Sage Thrasher
Toppenish NWR
90. Snow Goose
91. Ring-necked Pheasant
92. American White Pelican
93. Osprey
94. Violet-green Swallow
95. Rock Wren
Kerry's Pond (Yakima Valley Highway)
96. Cinnamon Teal
97. Redhead
98. Black-necked Stilt
99. Dunlin
100. Wilson's Snipe
101. Tree Swallow
102. Brown-headed Cowbird
103. Steller's Jay
On the following day, I headed out of town via Ellensburg Pass, wanting to get more of the Ponderosa Pine Species. It's really a nice drive, and I never regret the little bit of time lost using this Yakima-Ellensburg route! I added Sooty Grouse, among other birds, and was floored when I found a Great Horned Owl sitting in plain view along the road!
North Wenas Road (Ellensburg Pass)
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| Say's Phoebe |
104. Sooty Grouse
105. Rufous Hummingbird
106. Turkey Vulture
107. Hairy Woodpecker
108. Mountain Chickadee
109. Red-breasted Nuthatch
110. White-breasted Nuthatch
111. Brown Creeper
112. Western Bluebird
113. Hermit Thrush
114. Cassin's Finch
115. Red Crossbill
116. Pine Siskin
117. Savannah Sparrow
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| Great Horned Owl - Ellensburg Pass |
April 15th - Snohomish County (birds 119-123)
Full disclosure... I can hardly remember this trip! This is the danger of splitting time between counties, and having one of them so close. It made it far too easy to run off to Snohomish County at the drop of a hat! Picked up a few of the welcome-to-spring birds, and some Wood Ducks.
Brier
119. Rufous Hummingbird
120. Osprey
Lake Stevens
121. Common Yellowthroat
122. Wood Duck
123. Hairy Woodpecker
May 6th - Snohomish County (birds 124-140)
Great trip up with my son to do some hiking in the Sultan Basin. We made stops here and there to look and listen for birds on Tualco Loop Road.
Tualco Loop Road
124. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
125. Barn Swallow
126. Cliff Swallow
127. Purple Finch
Sultan Basin Road
128. Sooty Grouse
129. Pacific-slope Flycatcher
130. Warbling Vireo
131. Canada Jay
132. American Dipper
133. Evening Grosbeak
134. MacGillivray's Warbler
135. Yellow Warbler
136. Black-throated Gray Warbler
137. Townsend's Warbler
138. Wilson's Warbler
139. Western Tanager
140. Black-headed Grosbeak
May 21st - Snohomish County (birds 141-153)
I focused my efforts along the waterfront on this trip, following on some leads for good birds all the way up the Salish Sea in Snohomish County.
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park
141. Marbled Murrelet
142. California Gull
143. Caspian Tern
Forest Park (Everett)
144. Western Wood-Pewee
145. Brown Creeper
146. Swainson's Thrush
147. Cedar Waxwing
Blue Stilly Park
148. Bullock's Oriole
Port Susan Bay, TNC reserve
149. Sora
150. Purple Martin
Leque Island - Eide Road
151. Blue-winged Teal
152. Wilson's Phalarope
153. Brown-headed Cowbird
May 27-28th - Yakima County (birds 118-137)
Gray Flycatcher was definitely the target bird for this trip. I had never really done any hiking around the famed Wenas Campground. It was great to do a nice big circle, and I picked up a LOT of birds along the way. Cowiche Canyon was on the way out of town.
Wenas area
118. Western Wood-Pewee
119. Hammond's Flycatcher
120. Gray Flycatcher
121. Western Kingbird
122. Eastern Kingbird
123. Warbling Vireo
124. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
125. House Wren
126. Chipping Sparrow
127. Brewer's Sparrow
128. MacGillivray's Warbler
129. Yellow Warbler
130. Wilson's Warbler
131. Western Tanager
132. Black-headed Grosbeak
133. Lazuli Bunting
My folks' place on Yakima Avenue:
134. Vaux's Swift (nesting in the chimney!)
Cowiche Canyon
135. Barn Swallow
136. Yellow-breasted Chat
137. Bullock's Oriole
June 11th - Snohomish County (birds 154-161)
This was a run up to Darrington to chase a sighting for a Gray Catbird. What a great trip though! I also stopped at a bar in Snohomish along the way back and chatted with a couple who offered a spot near Whitehorse for camping. They had some owls on the property, so I was excited to give it a try down the road!
Darrington
154. Mourning Dove
155. Willow Flycatcher
156. Red-eyed Vireo
157. House Wren
158. Gray Catbird
159. Red Crossbill
160. Chipping Sparrow
161. Orange-crowned Warbler
Before my family moved to Yakima, we lived in Snohomish County, and I remember the beautiful wild appeal of the Mountain Loop Highway, and the peaks - Pilchuck and Three Fingers, that we'd see from that area.
June 18th - Snohomish County (birds 162-165)
Highway 2
162. Black Swift
163. Vaux's Swift
164. Turkey Vulture
Wallace Falls
165. Hammond's Flycatcher
July 1st - Yakima County (birds 138-164)
This... was a magical little trip. Owls, woodpeckers, and an Indigo Bunting, which is a fine bird for the state. Nearly fifty species on Bethel Ridge Road, and a stop at the Tieton Airstrip Marsh where I got to see a Sora walking in plain view.
Bethel Ridge Road
138. Flammulated Owl
139. Barred Owl
140. Common Nighthawk
141. Williamson's Sapsucker
142. Red-naped Sapscuer
143. American Three-toed Woodpecker
144. Black-backed Woodpecker
145. Olive-sided Flycatcher
146. Dusky Flycatcher
147. Pacific-slope Flycatcher
148. Cassin's Vireo
149. Clark's Nutcracker
150. Mountain Bluebird
151. Swainson's Thrush
152. Evening Grosbeak
153. Lincoln's Sparrow
154. Nashville Warbler
155. Townsend's Warbler
Tieton State Airport Marsh
156. Sora
157. Spotted Sandpiper
Clear Lake
158. Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Tieton River from Highway 12
159. Harlequin Duck
160. White-throated Swift
161. Veery
Wenas Area
162. Chukar
163. Swainson's Hawk
164. Gray Catbird
165. Indigo Bunting
July 9th - Snohomish County (birds 166-168)
This was a targeted chase for a few birds.
Canyon Park Wetlands
166. Green Heron
River Meadows County Park
167. Bank Swallow
Oso Loop Road
168. American Redstart
August 5th - Snohomish County (birds 169-172)
Oh the lure of shorebirds! but I didn't add too many interesting ones on this trip. Just a little loop around the south end of the county.
Edmonds Marsh and waterfront
169. Least Sandpiper
170. Common Murre
171. Heermann's Gull
Fobes Road
172. Eastern Kingbird
August 19th - Snohomish County (birds 173-175)
Better luck at the Everett Sewage Lagoons
173. Long-billed Dowitcher
174. Semipalmated Sandpiper
175. Western Sandpiper
August 25th - Snohomish County (birds 176-177)
Went up for a hike to try for the "easy" ptarmigan at Gothic Basin. Not a bad hike for a rare bird, although I found none. The night before, we camped at this magical private spot near Whitehorse, and had owls in the night.
176. Barred Owl
177. Barn Owl
September 3-4th Yakima County (birds 166-181)
This was great. Nice migration and clean-up run through Yakima. I hit Leech Lake on the way over, coming across Yakima County birder Denny Granstand, who I'd not met before. Camped and did a morning trip to Darland Mountain before joining Eric Heisey for some migrant traps. The next day, I left via Wenas Lake, where I picked up a nice bunch of shorebirds.
Leech Lake
166. Barrow's Goldeneye
Darland Mountain
167. Orange Crowned Warbler
Sunnyside-Mabton Boat Launch
This spot had hundreds of migrants.
168. American Bittern
169. Black-crowned Night-Heron
170. Common Yellowthroat
Grandview area
171. Solitary Sandpiper
Cherry Hill below Granger
172. Black-chinned Hummingbird
173. Anna's Hummingbird
174. Virginia Rail
175. Purple Finch
Wenas Lake
176. Baird's Sandpiper
177. Least Sandpiper
178. Western Sandpiper
179. Long-billed Dowitcher
180. Lesser Yellowlegs
North Wenas Road
181. Pygmy Nuthatch
Last bird for the year in Yakima!
Fall - Snohomish County
I was pretty content at this point, but a Swallow-tailed Gull was definitely something worth chasing! This was a bird discovered right along the King/Snohomish line. I only had a chance to see it in Snohomish. Later in the fall, a Cackling Goose near the town of Snohomish was the last hurrah:
178. Swallow-tailed Gull
179. Cackling Goose.
Interesting that these two counties both landed near the same number. As I have said numerous times, being split between two counties was in some ways unsatisfying. As I've gone through and added the bird sightings, I mean... these were amazing places, and I got some *great* birds. But it was almost too efficient? I never really had to dig for birds. Didn't have to scour all of the corners of these counties. I left a lot of places, and a lot of birds on the table.
I will not say I regret the year, however! It sometimes takes explorations like this to focus in on what we're doing and why!
