A jump start to 2021 WA year list. Weather has been obstructive, but despite that I feel like I’ve had a pretty decent jump start to my WA species list in the3 new year.
Marian and I started the new year on New Year’s Day, after a quiet stay-at-home New Year’s Eve virtual dance party. We started at Garfield Gulch, the area immediately east of our condo, where at the walking trail beside the park a Barred Owl swooped right over Marian’s head as I was looking the other way, so she had the first bird of the year and I missed it. Not to fear, a pair of BAOWs responded to a recording at the lower end of Puget Park immediately to follow, though my first species of the year was a calling Pacific Wren before the owls.
We tried for Northern Saw-whet Owl at the Rhododendron Park area of Pt. Defiance, where one was calling a few weeks ago, but no luck as the sun started to rise about 7:45. We did see 54 Varied Thrush flush from the roadsides as we drove out through the park along with a few juncos.
Maybe the birding highlight of the day was a pair of Long-tailed Ducks bobbing in the waves at DeMolay Spit, right after we had Wood Ducks hiding in the wooded wetlands of Adam Tallman Park in Gig Harbor on the way to Fox Island. All 3 loons, and all 3 cormorants, and a decent variety of water birds were present, but we missed Common Murre and Harlequin Duck there. The Harlequin Ducks were easily seen though at Purdy Spit along with Barrow’s Goldeneye.
There were 4 male Eurasian Wigeon at Titlow lagoon on the lawn, and we headed east to get some inland birds. Ruddy Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes, Lesser Scaup and American Coots were at 56th Street where a nice neighbor showed us that the lock on the gate is for looks, it is really open. Remote Control miniature boat operators ruled Levee Pond, but Golden-crowned Sparrows were in the brambles along with an Orange-crowned Warbler.

Both swans, two blackbird species and the expected American Kestrels along with hoped for but not expected Northern Harrier and 3 calling Virginia Rails wrapped up the day as the skies opened and we quit a out 3 PM.
Saturday was my day to help on the Gray’s Harbor CBC with Bruce LaBar, Will Brooks, and Laurel Parshall. The weather was impossible, and we made a brief try anyway, birding only from 8:20 to about 11 AM before we all except Will bailed. Western Gull, Sanderling, Peregrine Falcon, Herring and Iceland (Thayer’s) Gulls were the primary FOY birds for me.
Sunday Ken and I did our usual Kitsap side of the Vashon CBC. The wind was high and it was raining early, so I didn’t go to try help with owling and met Ken at the Purdy Park & Ride at 7:45. We birded the usual course all day, ending at Black-jack valley area about 4:45 PM as the sun set. We did pretty well considering rain all morning. Highlights for me were 15 calling Tundra Swans as a fly-over, Purple Finch and Mourning Doves at Burley at feeders, Greater Scaup in good numbers on Long Lake, along with pair of Red-breasted Sapsuckers at a homeowners pond just off Hwy 16. I finished the day with 96 species YTD.
Today it was really rainy in the AM, but Marian and I decided to go to the American Lake Camp Murray Boat Ramp hoping for Redhead and Canvasback. As we drove in Marian exclaimed that maybe we were lucky as a huge flock of ducks was right in front of the boat ramp, and not hiding in the cove out of sight. She was right, and we easily had 5 Redheads, 4 males and a female, along with at least 28 Canvasback and a big flock of Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup, and a few mixed Common Goldeneye and Bufflehead. This was a really big Pierce count of Redhead. Back at home I added Dunlin and Black Turnstone along with Yellow-rumped Warbler to bring the year list to 103. It is always startling to see how easy the first 100 species goes, and then how relatively slow it gets until spring migration after that.
Well, maybe if the weather and my energy holds up I’ll try a drive to SW WA tomorrow hoping to put together a relatively big week to start the year.