On Oct 22 I left home on what is planned to be my longest trip away from home to date. Both my daugter and my son are expecting the birth of their first child, so my first grandchildren, in San Isidro de el General during this visit, and I’m excited to be here, be supportive, and to meet my grandchildren.
The trip started with an Uber to Seatac, and a flight to San Jose via Houston on Oct 22. This travel was uneventful, and despite travelling with lots of stuff for grandbabies I got to the Hampton Inn near the San Jose airport with all my luggage, my virtual SIM card working, and got a good sleep. The next morning I got a taxi to the Avis car rental plfor heading to Jean’s place in Tinamaste to await my first grandson’s birth.
Each morning except today (thunder and heavy rain this AM) I got out foor a morning walk and birding, and had fun. The area is near a small river, RIo Uvita, from the foothills into the Pacific, and there are a good number of undeveloped lots and small family farms, so birds of fields and open areas were easier to see and ID. The dirt road leading from the costal highway to the entrance to their dead end street runs beside a river, with several wet fields. There is a short road to look at the river, often with local women washing clothes in the early AM when I visited, and interestingly on rocks in the river good numbers of Black Vulture seemed to roost for the night.
Overall though nothing really unusual sighted, I did manage one new Costa Rica bird, an Eastern meadowlark.
Here are a few photos: Eastern Meadowlark Melodious Blackbird I find pigeons here really tough to ID, but am pretty sure this is a Pale-vented Pigeon Orange-crowned Parakeets are one of the most common parokeets here, but getting a good look, forget about a photo have been tough. Here is one that cooperated. Roadside Hawks are very common here.
Today I moved to the guest cabin my daughter Jean and her husband Alan have constructed at their home in Tinamaste, and am pretty much settled in there. I get to christen the cabin, as I’ll be the first person to sleep there. It’s pretty cute and I’m feeling comfortable.
Tomorrow we go to San Isidro to visit the family farm, for Jean’s prenatal visit, for lunch and to get a few things to make the cabin complete. Maybe a little birding in the early AM and at the family farm.
Lark Sparrow photo by Ken on Monday.
Last weekend Ken Brown, Bruce LaBar and I headed for Neah Bay early Saturday morning, getting there a little before 10 AM. After getting our reservation permit at the Makah Mini-mart (now $20./ year and still a great bargain IMO) we started by birding the town. First stop was at the Wa’adah community area where it was very quiet, almost no passerines. Then to the greenhouse area where we managed to find a single Lapland Longspur and did a bit of a seawatch, without anything unexpected. From there we spent most of the morning around town, and at the jetty area. Neah Bay is a place birders hope for vagrants, and we really struck out in that regard. In the later afternoon we birded Backtrack road, Butlers, and the Wa’atch Valley areas, all without much exciting.
We stayed at the Hobuck Beach cabins. The larger ones have three queen beds, one downstairs in a bedroom, and two upstairs in a loft area up a steep ladder with narrow steps, and a very low ceiling (can’t stand up at all) but otherwise quite comfortable. A good kitchen, and we heated up the meals Marian prepared, Saturday a tortilla casserole, salad, chips and salsa. Appreciated by all. We went back out for some unsuccessful owling, Bruce needed GHOW and Ken and I needed N. Saw-whet Owls for our Clallam County list, but no luck.
Sunday was another sunny very nice day, and we started at the Cape Flattery observation deck, drizzle early, but cleared later. Modest nunbers of distant Sooty type shearwaters, a couple of Humpback whales, lots of Black Oystercatchers, and the expected gulls, cormorants, scoters, Rhinoceros Auklets, etc.
The rest of the day around town with the same low variety of species, and we hiked Hobuck Beach in the afternoon. Overall a dearth of vagrants, but Ken and I added Wood Duck to our county list. Spaghetti for dinner, watched the Dodgers beat San Diego TV, and an early bedtime.
Monday brought rain, news of a Lark Sparrow at Adrianne A’s place in the Hobuck Beach Road housing area at her feeders. Bruce contacted here, got permission, and we staked out her backyard feeders after a late start due to heavy rain, about 8:30. After the owner put out fresh seed on the concrete back entry and a half hour wait, the Lark Sparrow showed up and gave great looks for all of us. A county bird for all 3 of us. Out one vagrant for the weekend. Lark Sparrow photos by Ken
The rain persisted, and we spent the rest of the day travelling and birding the Sequim area in the rain shadow there, hoping for the Lesser Black-backed gull, but no luck.
Overall a nice trip, good fellowship, but a bit disappointing bird-wise. Here is our eBird trip report
HUtton’s Vireo
After hanging at home this morning, helping Marian get off to visit friends and family to the north for the weekend while I go to Neah Bay with Bruce and Ken, I got out for a morning walk and some birding at Swan Creek County Park about 11 AM. It was starting to clear, after a foggy early morning, and though not terribly birdy was a nice walk. I was trying to get a photo or two to try to sketch a bird from. I read Amy Tan’s book THe Backyard Bird Chronicles, and was impressed by her sketches and journaling. I decided to by the book by her sketching mentor, John Muir Laws, and give sketching a try on my upcoming trip to visit Jean and Brett. While I’m waiting for grandbabies to be born in Costa Rica I expect to be spending a lot of time on decks with great close up and repeated views of some cool birds, so what better way to pass the time than trying my hand at sketching. Anyway, my hope was to get a photo from which to try my first sketch. The Hutton’s Vireo above was my best to try. Other cool things were stumbling on a Cooper’s Hawk so close I didn’t fit it all in the frame, and if flew before I could zoom out of adjust the exposure properly. Cooper’s Hawk
Jean called while I was walking and she is doing great, having a food prep day with a close friend to prepare some freezer meals for after the baby comes, and to get ready for a gathering of friends in a baby shower like event they call a blessing. Sounds cool. Dark-eyed Juncos
Overall a nice morning walk.
Ken Brown, Bruce LaBar and I met at 6 AM yesterday to go on our more-or-less annual pilgramage to see our FOY birds that are most easily seen in eastern WA. I chose this day because we could all go, and because the weather looked promising. As we got over the Cascades about 7:30 it was clear that the weather was going to cooperate, and as we got to our first stop for sage species though still chilly, there was almost no wind (rare for this wind-farm area) and the sun warmed things up. Sage Thrashers were singing in all directions, and we also added the expected Brewer’s Sparrow and hoped for Vesper Sparrow both singing and perching in view for us. Sage Thrasher Vesper Sparrow
One of the cool things about birding in the spring in wide open areas is that the birds there have big loud songs. At our next stop, the Wild Horse Puget Sound Wind Farm HQ, Sagebrush Sparrow was no exception, as were Mountain Bluebirds, Say’s Phoebe and more thrashers and Brewer’s Sparrows. Sagebrush Sparrow
From here we worked our way along the Old Vantage Hwy to Vantage. Along the way we stopped to see the Great Horned Owl on a nest at a cliffside area, and then on to the Gingko boat ramp, where Rock Wrens were singing, but we missed Canyon Wren.
From here we headed to the County Line Ponds. At County Line Ponds the American Avocet and Black-necked Stilts were easily seen, but the highlights for us were large flocks of Sandhill Cranes calling and flying overhead, an immature Golden Eagle on a utility pole, singing Horned Lark, and great studies, thanks to Ken’s expertise, of the Gambellii subspecies of White-crowned Sparrow. American Avocet Golden Eagle we studied to exclude young Bald Eagle. Golden Eagle easily confirmed when it took flight. White Crowned Sparrow, Gambelii subspecies.
From hgere on to Othello, where very few blackbirds were to be found, though we added Yellow-headed Blackbird we dipped on Tricolored. FOY Cliff Swallows, that nest in numbers under bridge there were FOY for all of us, and we looked over the vast flocks of Cackling Geese, finding one Greater White-fronted but no rarities. Shorebirds were overall absent. (Killdeer and Black-necked Stilts were there).
We enjoyed the weather, the Mariner’s game on Ken’s phone, and our company as we crossed the Columbia NWR to the Moses Lake area for FOY Clark’s Grebe before heading home. On any trip there are some cool finds. As Bruce drove, Ken spotted this nesting Great Horned Owl from the back seat, and we circled back to enjoy looks. Not the one (or maybe 2) owlets in the nest.
When the Mariner’s saved their terrible road trip from total disaster with a 10 inning 6-1 win our smiles were cemented for the ride home.
I think Bruce and Ken both had 15+ FOY species for the trip (I went to Yakima last month, so had a few of these) and one more great day birdng with friends is in the book.
Marian and I had a nice vacation in a friend of Marian’s Big Pine Key home from Jan 21 until Jan 31, and it was very quiet and pleasant. Overall cooler than last year, and quite windy at times. We visited Key West one day, and a couple of beaches nearby other days, but overall I birded locally a bit each morning, and we relaxed a lot. Binged on a couple of Prime series, and read a lot. Yellow-headed Caracara
Jan 31 I dropped off Marian, and that afternoon I headed north to Oleta River State Park, where for a few weeks an ABA first (accepted by the Florida Bird Records Committee, not yet by ABA) Yellow-headed Caracara has been seen. It has seemed to develop a pattern of a morning visit to fish cleaning areas, and in the afternoon, after things at the picnic area quiet down, stopping by the Pelican Pavilion Picnic Area to look for scraps. I got there about 2:45 and waited. At about 5:03 I spotted the caracara come in low over the beach, and three birders, including me, got great looks and photo ops for about 20 minutes.
Amazingly, after picking up Bruce that night, spending a day with Mariah Hryniwich and her spouse and partner Luis who took us out for a great day of briding, I took Bruce back and the bird gave a repeat performance on the next day.
On the day with Mariah and Luis we got several exotics, Spot-breasted Oriole, Red-masked and Mitred Parakeet, Orange-winged Parakeet (not yet listable), along with Limpkin and several other cool species. It was fun to be with Mariah and Luis for the day. Spot-breasted Oriole. This bird was spotted as it flew in overhead by Bruce and Mariah. Orange-winged Parrot
After getting the Caracara we headed north, spent the night in North Ft. Lauderdale, had a great dinner at a Jewish kosher deli for hummus and Mediterranean food, and a nice night at a the Fairfield Inn and Suites, we headed north to have a nice walk, but no Nanday Parakeets, at Loxahatchee NWR, before ticking Florida Scrub Jay at Jonathan Dickinson SP. A long drive back to Miami, then overnight and at the airport to head to Barranquilla, Colombia for a week of birding.
Two American Aligators were directly below the observation deck at the Blue Hole on Big Pine Key, FL.
Marian and I left Cocoa, FL on Thursday, Jan 18th and visited Epcot Center, a place that can be decribed as a nice place for a walk where you spend a lot to park to be able to pay a lot to enter where you can spend a lot for mediocre food and on Disney Brand merchandise. Anyway, it was a pleasant day. On the walk around the center pond we saw the various “country demonstrations”, had some Tex-Mex food, and visited a few exhibits with rides.
That night we stayed in a nearby area with more “entertainment park” stuff, and headed south. We made a very nice stop at Loxahatchee NWR, where we spent a couple of hours walking on the marsh trail, Purple Galinule, Yellow-throated Warbler, Sandhill Cranes being the birding highlights, and then on to spend two nights in Miami Beach. We splurged on a hotel right in the middle of the tourist area, the Esmé, a tiny room but nice place. Overall good food, a nice beach, and it was nice to show Marian the place. Anhinga
From there we drove down to Marian’s frineds place in Big Pine Key, where we will be staying for about 10 days before I head back to Miami for a couple of days of birding before the Santa Marta’s in Colombia with Bruce LaBar and Gene Revelas.
Today was very windy here, so I found shelter in a place called the “Blue Hole” where I found a small warbler flock with a Black-and-white Warbler and an American Redstart with the many Yellow-rumped and one Palm Warbler.
A nice afternoon walk to No Name Key was surprisingly without waders.
Good birding.
Aptly named Roseate Spoonbill
The week leading up to our trip to Florida was one with several phone conversations with my brother Bill and his wife Carol whom we planned on visiting for the first few days in Florida. He had just had a PRP (platelet rich plasma) injection in his arthritic knee, and we having a terrible reaction with swelling and lots of pain. He was going to be unable to pick us up in Orlando, so we arranged the day prior for a one-way car rental, but about 15 minutes prior to my 3:05 alarm was to go off to get ready for our Lyft to Seatac Bill contacted me to know that he now had a cough and tested + for Covid. An abrupt change in plans, as I changed the car rental to a 5-day rental with a drop off in Marathon Keyca where we planned our second stay of the trip. Wood Stork
We drove to Cocoa, Florida for a couple of days near Cape Canaveral, the Kennedy Space Center, some local birding and to watch the Space X launch this evening. The night went as planned, and this morning we got up and headed to Merritt Island NWR where 4 adult American Flamingos have been seen most days since being blown in by Hurricane Idalia. We got to the Haulout Canal location, and easily saw the flamingos about a mile away by a small island. Easy to see, but difficult to ID for sure (Roseate Spoonbills are also bright pink) but a friendly birder gave us a scope view to confirm the ID. ABA lifer for me, lifer for Marian, and a nice start to the day. We got even better views, and I taught two visiting birders how to digiscope, for them and then for me!
The rest of the day was exploring. The highlight was the Merritt Island–Black Point Wildlife Drive. A fabulous 6+ mile auto loop, with getting out of the car allowed, and great looks at most of the possible waders. Wood Stork about to land. White Ibis with Roseate Spoonbill in the foreground.
White IbisTri-colored HeronSnowy EgretRoseate SpoonbillsSuperimposed Roseate Spoonbill and White IbisReddish EgretGreat EgretAmerican Kestrel (stuck out tongue or prey?)
Wood Stork
From there we went to Titusville for very nice Mexican for lunch, where I got online to learn that the planned launch at Kennedy was postponed until tommorrow (windy?) and we birded a bit and came back to our hotel for some rest and dinner.
Tomorrow maybe Epcot if we have the energy.
I different, but very nice start to the trip
Pierce County listing for me this year has not been a priority, and so the year end is near and I’d yet to successfully chase or find my own Black Phoebe in the county this year, although several have been seen. Recently on has been reported at the Sha Dadx Wetlands in Fife, not far from home in Tacoma, and so I’ve made a couple of trys in the last week. Finally today, despite moderate fog, the bird was calling loudly over the pond in the middle of the wetland. I got a recording, although no visual. It seemed to be moving around the edges of the pond, and visibility was obstructed by the bushes.
Marian and I were staying at our Lake Forest Park cabin after returning from Orcas Island and Thanksgiving with her family on Saturday, and I was pleased to here that the Black-and-White Warbler was still being seen at Green Lake in Seattle on Saturday. Marian had plans to decorate the cabin with her grandsons on Sunday, and so I took the chance to chase the BAWW. I got to Green Lake about 8:10 AM, and was surprised that there was not a birder in sight as I located the Bath House (now a theatre) and the described area for the bird. I spent the first hour or so looking all over, with no luck. Around then birders started to arrive; a relief that I was in the right place. We looked all around, and a couple of birders I know, Bruce LaBar a good friend from Tacoma and a guest on episode #3 of the podcast, and Alex Patia who was also a guest on episode #91. We continued to search, and after a while I followed Alex well south of the usual area. He continued to look, and as I walked back toward the bath house area I saw about 4 birders intently looking and taking photos of a tree right in front of them. I was hopeful, and hurried to their location, to be rewarded with great looks at the warbler. It was doing the BAWW thing, creeping along branches and the trunk of trees, like a nuthatch or creeper but more on the horozontal limbs. No camera, and elusive to digibin attempts, but still a really great WA state first for me. After great looks, putting the word out to Bruce and others via the WhatsApp King County thread, I headed back to see Marian. She was ready to head home so we headed south just as word got out about a Tuften Puffin at the Dune Peninsula park near our home.
I drove home, and Marian agreed to come with me to Dune as it was nearing dusk. I got there, after communicating with Bruce that the puffin continued to show, and on arrival the Tufted Puffin was close enough to see bare-eyed. I got great looks, digiscope photos, and also great looks at 3 very close in Ancient Murrelets. Overall a great day for lifers in WA for me.
Route in Ferry County
Today I broke away from Marian’s condo at Lake Chelan to get up to Ferry County in hopes of finding the last 11 species there I needed to give me at least 100 species in each of Washington’s 39 counties. The day really depended on finding ducks, as they were the “low hanging fruit” in mid November that I hadn’t seen in Ferry. That really depended on whether the fresh water was still open, and I knew it was nearing time to freeze. Yesterday I had the idea to reach out to Donna Bragg, a birder I’d met at some point on one of Ken’s trips to this area, but didn’t have a contact of any sort. I asked Ken, no help there, and so asked Google. I got a phone number easily, and tried to text her. Whoops! A land line, so no luck and so I did the old fashioned thing and called. Tom, her husband answered, and Debbie is away on a birding trip, but he reached out to her, who reached out to a local birder, and so after a few calls I learned that the water is open here still! Big thanks to the Bragg family for going above and beyond.
A lingering Marsh Wren at the Rail Trail Wetland north of Curlew Lake
As for the day it went great. A mostly overcast but dry and mid-40’s with only moderate wind day, so I left Manson at 5:45, drove across the Waterville Plateau to Grand Coulee, crossed the river, took 155 to Peter Dan Rd across to Hwy 21. About half way across to Rte 21 I entered Ferry County, and promptly saw a single Wild Turkey, not a species I needed. The rest of the day was spent driving south on 21 to the Keller Ferry, the back up to Republic, then on to Curlew Lake, and then across Hwy 20 and Sherman Pass to Colvile where I’m spending the night at the Comfort Inn.
Birding highlights were:
-First Ferry lifer was a Northern Shrike in a utility wire, the first of at least 3 seen today.
-Bufflehead in a small backwater on the road back to Keller Ferry (several more seen later in the day)
-Pacific Wren, heard when I stopped to see a bird on a wire that was a Song Sparrow, but with pishing it came out for a good look.
-At a roadside pool off 21 were 6 Green-winged Teal and a Lesser Scaup, both seen again later.
-Finally a Mallard in an algae filled wet area again off Hwy 21. (many later)
-A little later I stopped to watch in awe as a Ruffed Grouse slowly walked across the road. Photo through the windshield
-The Republic STP worried me at first, as the two easily visible ponds were pretty empty, but walking back to the back pond gave a lot of ducks, including 95 Northern Shovelers and several Common Goldeneye, bringing me to 98 species by noon of day 1. There were also Mallard, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Green-winged Teal, and an Northern Shrike there.
-From here I drove straight to the Rail Trail Wetland north of Curlew Lake. I can’t wait to put this site into BirdingHotspots.org as e-bird’s hotspot pin is at the Rte 21 end of the trail where I had to cross a creek on a fallen tree to access the trail. At the W. Curlew Lake Rd end is a good parking lot, toilet, and easy access. The trail though is great and is the top eBird hotspot in Ferry by species, and traversed a large shallow pond and extensive cattail marsh, and ends at the north end of the lake where by the parking is a nice tressle-turned walking bridge to look at the lake. There I added American Wigeon and #100 for Ferry Common Merganser, along with a loudly singing Marsh Wren, and on the lake from the tressle Red-necked and Western Grebe to end the lowland part of the day’s list at 103. I was having so much fun I forgot to have lunch, so about 3 PM Iad stopped at Curlew Lake SP, closed so I just ate quickly and headed back to cross Sherman Pass on Hwy 20. A few quick stops used up the last of the light, adding only Steller’s Jay at Sherman Pass on a snowy walk to the parking area. Sunset came early
Beyond Burger and fries at Zip Drive-in for dinner, and now to figure out what’s left for tomorrow.
After a night at the Comfort Inn, I was out before daylight to try for a couple of Stevens County birds at dawn. I headed for two places I’d never been, the mouth of the Colville Rived and Colville Flats, two pretty beautiful spots I realize. The Mouth of the river was pretty, but really few birds, so after a false stop at the recycling center (nothing at all) I headed for the Colville Flats where I added 4 new county birds, Herring Gull, California Gull, Western and Horned Grebes. It’s a pretty place but I made it a quick stop.
From here I headed back to Ferry County and at the Kettle River Campground I lucked out at 4 Trumpter Swans (alert birds) flew in to the wetland. Two American Coots were there too and an Evening Grosbeak was calling regularly, though not seen.
Trumpeter Swans at Kettle RIver Campground
From here I finished my loop around the county, heading south along the river on Inchelium Road, and then across Silver Creek Road to Rte 21, in and out the Swawilla Basin Road (learning the west end is impassible, and back home across the same route I cI decided not to explore this road.
ame. The highlights were a single Ring-billed Gull along the river, finally Hairy Woodpecker on Silver Creek Road, several stops to put up a NOPY toot and getting nice flocks of chickadees, Pygmy and Red-breasted Nuthatches and eventually a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets. At Swawilla Basin I finished strong with a huge flock of California Quail, a small group of White-crowned Sparrows, and a sub-adult Golden Eagle, bringing my Ferry County list to 113. Golden Eagles seem to be in the most beautiful places.
What’s next?
