February 10th - New Roads, New Spots, One New Bird

Taking care of business

One of the beauties of freelance writing is that I can do it from nearly anywhere with wifi access. I woke up, checked email, and realized that my owling plans were a no-go. They weren't extensive plans - just hoping to find my first Barred Owl of the year. But deadlines are deadlines! So, I worked out a few last items on a science assessment, reviewed a few curriculum pieces, and watched the sun start to light up the fog outside of my room at the Pitchwood Inn. 

I'd finished the previous day with 115 birds on my year list in Pacific County - a February total that I was pretty happy with! Goals for the year? 220 is the number I am going to go all out for (and in all likelihood, miss - a fact that my sense of humor will weather just fine), 200 species for the year would be a lot of fun, very doable, and would make a good statement about how birdy the county is. Bottom lines are out there too! For the last decade (and for another decade, if God is willing and the creek don't rise) the goal has been to have a 150-species year in every county in the state. 20 down, 19 to go. 

I also have other life list goals - 150 species in every county is a goal I could have reached yeeears ago if I wasn't doing this other silly pursuit! 175 is another long-term goal. I point out these goals because my life list in Pacific was at 149 (!). Exciting to think that even the simple beginnings of this year could bring me to that milestone. 

I just needed one new bird.

But first I just needed breakfast

Hope I spelt this right

I drove out of Raymond, wrapped up with my writing for the morning, and feeling pretty productive. But good lord I was hungry. I drove right past the Raymond MacDonald's. Yes... there is an ease and comfort and affordability to a Sausage McMuffin with egg meal... so it does check some boxes! But I'm not just out here to find birds. I want to get to see more of the people and places. With some work, and a little asking around, I ended up finding the Yellow Deli.

...

If you know nothing of the place... hey, me either Dear Reader. Me.. either. In fact, up there where I typed, "I ended up finding the..." that's where I stopped, before typing "Yellow Deli" and dove into the rabbit hole. 

And now, I get punished for my choices. I choose to do this thing where I don't just talk about birds, and sometimes it comes around to bite me in the butt. Fun fact - the Yellow Deli is kind of a cult. Nope, it's a cult. I'm watching more of this YouTube series from "Reckless Ben", who got in and infiltrated this cult and... it's as culty a cult as one could ever want to be out there culting. And they believe in like... all the bad things one would expect. OR all of the good things that Yeshua has taught us, depending on your point of view! lol goodness. 

Carob... because chocolate is on 
the long list of things
that these folks don't like

What is the most likely outcome of this little PSA? Whether it's dropping in to have a spelt waffle... or a loved one deciding that it might be great to join the movement. Nope. Run, friends. Run! I had a nice waffle, nice enough conversation (I was the only customer that morning), and a nice stroll through the various organic products in their extensive gift shop area (I left with soap). I was surprised at the time that this little deli in this little town was connected to another Yellow Deli on the east coast. I was interested in the free barn calendar which described the Yellow Deli story.

Nothing threw me off as odd at the time. Small processing pauses with almost every comment or question I had with the guy behind the counter, but... I've been around far too many people to automatically categorize it as "odd".

I did have one fun moment during breakfast, as the guy from behind the counter looked out at the water and noted, "Wow... look at that tide." I looked out, saw... nothing of interest. The water was neither high, nor low, and I could tell he saw me not seeing. "That boat?" He pointed out to a small motorboat out in the river, "See how fast it's moving? Its motor's off." 

Across the Willapa River

And then I could see it. I'm really interested to find out how much more I see after a whole year visiting the coast. I have the distinct feeling that understanding the movement of water is going to matter quite a bit as I try to find birds. Good lord. I'm hoping to attempt some kayaking this year. I'd better start noticing things before I put a boat in the water with me in it. 

I ordered up a Rueben to go, got out the door to start my birding for the day. 

South Bend-Palix Road

I'd looked into this road quite a bit! There were a fair number of species that I thought I could pick up here, including Sooty Grouse in spring and summer. I wish I had gotten here earlier in the morning, but hey... if wishes were fishes. Being there earlier may have brought me more singing, although I did get to hear plenty of Hutton's Vireos - one of the highlights of this whole trip. Who knows what else may have been singing. A morning chorus in February isn't much. I may just be too trained to get out when the birds are singing!

I stopped here and there along the road (which, incidentally, turned to gravel very quickly). Each time, I'd try having a little talk with Northern Pygmy Owls. This was in part to get a better feel for where they could be found in the county. On that point, it was a success! I did get one returning a call. The other goal was to call in other birds. Townsend's Warbler? Red-breasted Nuthatch? No luck on either, but I did finally get a call from One New Bird - A Canada Jay (116!). And there it was - the 150th bird for my life list in Pacific. One of several goals (large and small) complete.

Canada Jay, before I threw popcorn out onto the road

I had grabbed a bag of popcorn from my bar's popcorn popper at the end of the night on Saturday, thinking that this would be good for chumming for gulls. The previous day, I had stood on the beach, where I tossed out a handful of popcorn. The 50 gulls on the beach stood unaffected, watching the idiot throwing popcorn on the beach. They'd likely had their fill of crabs, clams, and fish. I wasn't needed. The Canada Jay ... I just figured that any Canada Jay is required *by contract* to come down to a human hand if that hand had food in it. 

So, there I stood, optimistically, for a minute. I tried just spreading it around on the ground. 

Canada Jay - after I threw popcorn out on the road

I fished out the list of Amazing Birding Ideas from my pocket and drew a firm line through "popcorn". I made other stops along the way, with no new birds. I drove as if I expected a Sooty Grouse to be on the road around the corner at any moment. Good practice, if nothing else. There was no shortage of gravel. I couldn't quite figure out why this wasn't Ruffed Grouse habitat. A puzzle for another day. Both of these grouse - the only gallinaceous birds (upland game birds) truly present in the county - were going to be a challenge. 

And this is part of why I enjoy this little puzzle every year. It's a LOT of puzzles. Some of these puzzles would resolve themselves easily - like the Spotted Sandpiper and Barrow's Goldeneye that I'd found the day before. These birds were expected at a location, and they were found nearly immediately. Grouse (along with another hundred birds) would be puzzles. 

The road eventually became paved once again, and dropped down into this amazing meadow. 

There were Mallards. There was a Belted Kingfisher. There just was no evidence of anything more interesting. And it felt like an interesting spot! I couldn't figure out why this beautiful space didn't hold more interesting birds. Whenever I run into puzzles like this, I remind myself that Northern Harriers don't eat meadows, they eat rodents. And here, I kind of did get stuck, because rodents do eat grasses. I stared out across this vast meadow and wondered if this particular grass suited no particular species of rodent. And again, maybe I'm not understanding something about tides.

Here at home, don't think I haven't been watching YouTube videos on water voles and digging into GoogleMaps. This may have borne fruit: 

This matches what I saw

This... is the same location on "Map" view, rather than "Satellite"

The first thing that got me was the contrast between what I saw, and what Google Maps was showing me. Are ya under water or not? Well, the answer is sometimes! And this became an interesting little rabbit hole. Or vole hole, as it were. ChatGPT and all of that AI mumbo jumbo upsets me when it is used for creative endeavors, such as writing, art, music composition... But just out of curiosity, I shot it the address and started asking questions about rodents and owls. 

Not the best picture but look at them legs! Long-legged Fly (this is a *family* of flies)

Man... I don't know about anyone else, but AI liked this spot for Short-eared Owls. With a little bit of querying, it got into the hours when Short-eared Owls hunt, and the tide conditions that have higher rodent activity (likely Townsend's Vole, apparently). And then I asked if there was a day in March when those hours might best coincide. March 22nd looks like my sweet spot. 

five or six questions into the process...

I can't say I won't throw other questions out there in the future. I will still continue to research tirelessly, and email five different people to explore all five angles on the same question; But in cases where it's 10D chess, I'll let Chat have a go at it. I stopped short of having it tell me how to detect voles, or how the wind speed and direction can affect flooding of that meadow. 

Lynn Point Road

Goodness. When I was sitting down and mapping out my trip, this was one place that I figured would be gold for me. It appears to be birded regularly by someone who undoubtedly lives along the road, so maybe there is a little bit of sampling bias here, but I still had hopes for some woodland species (Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Townsend's Warbler) and open habitat species (Peregrine Falcon, Red-shouldered Hawk, Western Bluebird, Northern Shrike, White-throated Sparrow), and maybe even waterfowl (American Coot, Northern Shoveler, Wood Duck). 

American Kestrel

I passed fields that were wide open with lots of perches for raptors. Scanning the fence lines, I found nothing bigger than a blackbird. There were plenty of them - Brewer's and Red-winged Blackbirds, and American Robins littered across the fields. I passed little sloughs where one might hope for some of the ducks mentioned above, or a surprise like a Canvasback. Most were empty, although I did pick up some Common Mergansers in a couple peek-a-boo views. 

Pileated Woodpecker

I passed a trail that I may need to explore later down the road, but my late start on the day had me anxious about heading off on a walk. I continued further, and learned that this road dead ends at a private gated driveway. I turned back around, finding a pull-off in this wooded area to look for some of those woodland species noted above. Two birds that I'd needed for this trip were Pileated Woodpecker and Hutton's Vireo. I'd already picked them up on the first day of the trip, but it was still nice to come across them here. 

On the way back out, I drove up "New Washington Road". Nothing on the sign told me that this was a driveway. . . but it sure felt like a driveway. Now, I really do want to get a good look out here for bluebirds, likely in March, but I'm still a little uncomfortable about it! 

Bay Center

Boy... this wasn't much of a stop. It was a lot of time sitting in a single spot, eyeballing some Black-bellied Plovers. I am on the lookout for the off-brand plovers - Pacific Golden-Plover or American Golden-Plover (among other rarer plovers!). My general sense is that I don't spend enough time picking through some birds, so this little exploration had a simple total of two steps. 1) Find the differentest looking Black-bellied Plover I can find. 2) Find all the reasons it's a Black-bellied Plover. 

This really just came down to looking for black "armpits". When a Black-bellied Plover raises its wings, there are dark marks under the wings that are not seen on the aforementioned golden-plovers. I'll even say with some honesty that I never found these pits on the bird I stared at! Along the way, I was able to just study the bird and get a better idea of the structure and coloring of all of these plovers, going back and forth between field guides and scope views. 

It was nothing but a Black-bellied Plover, but this did not at all feel like a waste of time. Just getting to focus on this group of birds in the guide was a good bit of practice. Hopefully I'll have chances to find both golden-plovers down the road, and I won't be caught flat-footed! 

No other stops on the way home, outside of nap stops and a stop to eat my Rueben sammy. 

It'll be interesting, trying to put together a good March plan! I want to catch some birds before they slip away, take advantage of good peaks for things like Brant and Western Bluebird, and always... always... get me some owls. 

Stay tuned!!

Brown Creeper - Lynn Point Road

February 9th - Raymond-ish

Super Bowl!

Odd Fellows Cemetery

I'd actually enjoyed the first half of the Super Bowl at the bar where I host karaoke - popping in to catch up with some people, and watch the halftime show before heading down to Raymond the night before. I decided to stay at the Pitchwood Inn - I'd had a meal there on a previous trip, and I at least knew the wifi was reliable. I needed to do some work during the trip, and this would let me keep up with deadlines.

But during the day, it was going to be birding. Working towards the goal - to see as many birds as I can in Pacific County this year, with monthlyish trips. I suspect that this year, it's going to be a very hard "ish". I made an extra January trip and still feel like there are places in the county that I haven't been to, or needed to get back to for further explorations. I had come into February with 104 birds for the year. That counted as a *fine* start to the year. Outside of my home county (King), I'd never started a year with over 100 species in a county in January. 

The nice thing about having so many birds knocked off is that it allows for a little more focus. Just a little! 104 birds that I wouldn't have to plan around, but there were still so many on my needs list. 

Before leaving on the trip, I decided that enough of these birds were forest birds to warrant starting in the forest. Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Hutton's Vireo, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Townsend's Warbler, Canada Jay, Ruffed and Sooty Grouse, Purple Finch, and Barred Owl. Those were some of the ones near the top of the list. Some might have been findable from a patch of forest near a beach, but it seemed like the right call to just do a long hike through some forest and see what I could find. 

Odd Fellows Cemetery

What a ghostly and beautiful morning! I followed my GPS from Raymond, up and out of town to Odd Felllows Cemetery. There is parking at the entrance to the cemetery, and I started by simply walking the path around the graves under the moonlight and conifers. I called for Barred Owl but came up empty. It's fine... it's.. well but I did figure that February would be a good time. Barred Owls are kind of always down to have a chat, and my calls have usually been well received. But come March, I want to shift to Western Screech-Owl habitat for my owling. And I'd rather not be freaking out the poor lil guys with Barred Owl calls!

The sky dropped a few more sprinkles on me as I walked the loop. It had rained during the night, and I was expecting more. But the sprinkles didn't last. I started picking up some of the usual birds - some chickadees, some Song Sparrows, and some Varied Thrushes - especially spooky in the cemetery! Once I finished the loop, I looked around a little confused. I had gotten email directions for birding this area from Allison, a WDFW biologist and Raymond resident. But I don't get emails on my phone. 

Yep! Perfect time to revisit one interesting reality about my birding. I am running around without a smartphone! My little flip phone handles calls and texts, and that's all I need it to do. In situations like this, it just means reading emails carefully, and jotting down any information that would be crucial and difficult to remember. But here I was. . . looking back at the loop I had just walked, wondering if I'd missed a trail.

Robins

Map courtesy of the Washington 
State Dept of Natural Resources

I looked up the road... nodded... and just started walking up the road. Just around the corner, I found the gate. The road to the cemetery actually ends just around the corner. Everything beyond the little gate is a walkable, finite set of trails heading into. . . into what? The "foothills of the Willapas" is what I typed at first, but aren't all of the Willapa Hills foothills? The wimpiest segment of the Coast Range, they get no higher than 3116 feet - Boistfort Peak, over in Lewis County. 

The Willapas are almost completely under private ownership and have been logged into oblivion. In planning out the year, this was an area that I thought might warrant extra efforts to explore. Some areas are accessible with paid permits through companies like Weyerhauser or Rayonier. But as I made my way past the forested trail and entered the clearcut above, I wondered how necessary that might be. 

There was a lot of space up here to be explored, and Allison had noted several good species, such as Pileated Woodpecker, Common Nighthawk, Northern Pygmy Owl, and Ruffed Grouse, that could be found on these trails. Very early into the clearcut, I got the first new bird for the trip - Purple Finch (105). It was just a flyover with the distinctive wet "jip" call, and these birds are going to be easy enough when they are singing in spring. But hey. . . nothing wrong with adding to the tally!

The next addition was Hutton's Vireo (106). These birds are around all year, but they can be difficult to detect in winter. They're just not as vocal as some of the other year-round birds. But February is a fun time for Hutton's Vireos. They start singing in this month, and it's well before nearly any other species arrive during migration. On this particular morning there were easily a half-dozen heard as I explored, with one of them popping out just long enough for a picture. 

A Pileated Woodpecker (107) also called in the distance, its crazy jungle call unmistakable. I tried calling for Northern Pygmy-Owl, not because I needed it, but in hopes of getting a response from a Canada Jay, or one of the other birds on my list. It was so comfortable on these trails, and there were many points where I could just stop and point the camera at some place where sunlight was playing interestingly with fog, hills, and trees. 

I'd asked my son - if I could make him a calendar this year, what would he want? His response - anything that plays with light. So I'm keeping my eyes out during this whole year!

I eventually had my fill. I knew there were other stops to make, and some of the other birds I was looking for were not making appearances. I found the side trail where I'd been told the Ruffed Grouse liked to hang out. I made a note of it, and I could well imagine the little chicken-cousins down on the trail picking at gravel, some morning after a good rain. 

On the way back to the car, the forested section got me one more bird - Brown Creeper (108) calling from some hidden tree, "Pleeeease look in the treeees!" it called loudly. I tried to oblige, but other trees were obscuring the little guy. I got to the car and headed for the airport on the North side of Raymond. 

But first!

In the back of my mind, I remembered that "Raymond City Park" was a place where Spotted Sandpiper had been seen, and not infrequently. It was kind of a tough species to find, relative to other code 2 birds, but still, I didn't figure I'd remember how to get to the park... if that was even its real name! I mean, that's such a generic park name, and I may not have believed it until I saw the sign on the side of the main drag: "Raymond City Park". So, I quickly turned in!

I walked to the little dock, and a Spotted Sandpiper (109) flushed, flying across the channel to a little perch on the water. I fumbled for the camera and got it up just a little too late. But here you go - this is where there used to be a Spotted Sandpiper!

Ducks out on the water, but not the Northern Shovelers, American Coots, or Ruddy Ducks that I needed, so I continued towards the airport. 

California Scrub-Jay

Willapa Bay Airport

I had a few ideas for targets here at the airport. Scanning through some of the geese, I quickly found one of the important targets, Greater White-fronted Goose! (110) 

This would not have been a difficult target either way. They are common enough, and show up in droves in the spring. BUT, this meant that the only geese I'm missing are Brant (out in the saltwater) and two very white geese: Ross's and Emperor. So my birding was going to be a little easier in that regard - no real reason to scan carefully through a flock of Canada's or Cackling Geese. Brant are geese I'll find in very different places, and white geese will stand out in a typical flock. It's funny how little things like that can affect a year like this! 

I drove the main drag south of the freeway. It gives some nice views of the fields, and I scanned around for raptors in treetops, hoping for a Rough-legged or Red-shouldered Hawk. Bingo!

When I don't edit

When I do - Rough-legged Hawk

111! I watched this hawk for a bit, gradually coming a little closer to get better looks. It did eventually fly, giving me a chance to catch it at quite a few different angles. 

After getting a full fifteen minutes and more of views, I decided to move on to the Airport Road north of the freeway. I got no new birds here. But again, I had many chances to look for missing ducks. I came across some sparrows (all Golden-crowned, no White-throated), and some ducks (Common Goldeneye and Scaup, but none of the other missing ones). And no American Coots... not. a. one. 

October... Mason County... 2015
Upon finally finding a #$@& coot.

Coots... where to even start. They are everywhere in King County right now. I walk with my daughter at Coulon Park in Renton, or with her at Green Lake in Seattle - huuuundreds of American Coots. It would be trivial to scoop one or ten of them up, throw them in the back of my car, release them in Pacific County, and have my American Coot for the year. Now... yeah, that bird would not be countable, but don't think I haven't mentioned this to my daughter on our walks. Even mentioned it to the coots. Because for whatever reason, they are wicked hard to find along the coast. Not big fans of saltwater, I suppose, although they're not flat-out allergic to it. But... it won't be the first county where I have struggled to find these little sons-a-guns.

Headed towards the car (parked precariously at the roadside) I got another early spring visitor, a single Tree Swallow (112) flying overhead.

Tokeland

I had so many shorebird dreams when I got to Tokeland... but the tide was out. Like, way out. I could see farrrr off to the left, a sandbar held probably hundreds of Dunlin and other small peeps. No Whimbrels, no Curlews. Out in the water at a distance, I could see Surf Scoters and Common Loons, and the ever-ubiquitous Buffleheads. And then, closer in, this little guy swam into view.

Barrow's Goldeneye! (113) This bird had been seen earlier in the week. As a code 4 bird in the county, it was exciting for me. As a bird that's common enough in other counties, even adjacent ones, it wasn't exciting enough to bring in a lot of people to see it during that week. But there it was. I looked out at the water, expecting some kind of answer. My brain answered for it, "Don't like the tides? Come back later!"

West of Tokeland

More shorebird thoughts, and more emptiness. I tried the Old SR 105 road, which leads to a nice view of North Cove, and some rocks where Black Turnstones and Black Oystercatchers had been seen recently. Nope. Nope. Never mind my dreams of Rock Sandpipers, Surfbirds, and Ruddy Turnstones. All had been seen in this area before, but gosh that water moves a lot. I kept going up 105 and pulled in at Warrenton Cannery Road. 

A little alarming to be placed 
in the ocean

One gull species in particular had been seen out here recently - Thayer's Gull. Well, Iceland Gull, if we're being proper. Thayer's Gulls are a subspecies of Iceland Gull, and are mostly sprinkled around the state in small numbers. I was happy to see a pile of gulls on the beach when I arrived. It seemed like many birds were showing up immediately or not at all for me today!

The first bird I got on was a Thayer's. And, good lord, I've been doing homework to get to this point! Juvenile and immature gulls do not look quite like adults. They start out brown - gradually molting into adult plumage over the course of 2-4 years, depending on the species. In Pacific County this year, I just figure that there are going to be some rare gulls coming through. I figured it would make sense to strap in and really learn what the usual gulls look like in other plumages, rather than just relying on adult gulls. 

Add to that, Thayer's are kind of a process of elimination species. 

1. Does it have black primaries? No? It's not a Glaucous-winged Gull. 
2. Does it have yellow legs? No? It's not a Short-billed, Ring-billed or California Gull.
3. Does it have a really dark mantle? No? It's not a Western Gull. 
4. Does it have a light iris? No? It's not a Herring Gull. Probably a Thayer's.

This all ends with a look at head shape. Herring Gulls just have a mean look to them. That light iris, heavy bill, and slightly squared off head all contribute. Thayer's Gulls are just more dove-like in appearance. Rounded head, darker iris, and a more petite bill. Bird number 1 was a brown-on-the-way-to-gray version of this: 

So, I had added Thayer's Gull (114)! One of the first times I have ever added a year bird by looking closely at a juvenile bird. This one was probably a second-year bird, with the scapulars (shoulders) and coverts (next feathers down) looking gray, and the rest looking brown. The next bird I found was one that may be easier in future months - a California Gull (115). Yellow legs, and a bill that includes a little black, and a little red. As with the Greater White-fronted Geese mentioned earlier, I really scored here. I can scan gull flocks and try to find new species by looking for things that really stand out. 

Oddly enough... another Thayer's Gull. The yellow Iris here and dark 
patch on the bill threw me off, but everything else tracks: 
Pink legs, dark primaries, medium-dark back, and a dove-like head

Remaining gulls: 

Code 1: Heermann's Gull - distinctive gull with a nearly red bill - usually smudgy looking

Code 2: Bonaparte's Gull - small gull with a black head seasonally

Code 3: Sabine's Gull - another small, black headed gulls. Another reason to look at lil guys. 

Code 3: Glaucous Gull - In adult plumage, a gull with clean white primaries. So these would be standing out as well. 

Code 4: Franklin's Gull - drop this in with Sabine's and Bonaparte's - all more likely in migration.

Code 5: Black-headed Gull, Laughing Gull - see Franklin's

Code 5: Slaty-backed Gull, Black-tailed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull - All dark backs.

So... I can look for Glaucous Gulls, Heermann's Gulls, small gulls with black heads, and larger gulls with dark backs. This speeds things up when scanning through a flock of gulls!

On my way out, I saw a Horned Lark (!), and a second. They flew before I could shoot them, but here again is a picture of where a bird was a moment earlier. 

And folks... I went back to the rocky spot - nothing. I went back to Tokeland... and the tide seemed pretty high "all of a sudden". But still no shorebirds. Worse! Rain. It finally decided to drop some on me. So, I figured it was fine time to get some dinner and settle in. 

Pitchwood Inn and Alehouse

Settling in meant dinner, and it meant attending to some work. I actually made some good progress, had good dinner, and had an interesting conversation about Manhattans with the bartender. When my father was living, he and Mom would occasionally whip up a batch of Manhattans - Canadian Whiskey, Sweet Vermouth, a splash of maraschino cherry juice, and the scantest imaginable amount of bitters. Over the years, once I'd passed through my wine phase, and my later IPA phase, I ended up eyeing cocktails more and actually enjoy making a good Manhattan. 

Wish I could remember
where I took this one!

On a previous visit to the Pitchwood, with the same bartender, I confirmed that it wouldn't be shaken as I ordered it. It was not! It was, however, on the rocks. So, this time I worked to get it dialed in. She had also served it with orange peel garnish, in part because the only cherries they had were maraschino. These days, it's pretty easy to find other cherries out there that are better than maraschinos! But I asked for them anyway, partly from nostalgia. Partly because any cherry sitting in a drink for a while will come out tasting just fine. 

We talked birds a little too as the bar was closing up, and before I made my way back to my room. Apparently, she and some friends had banded together and decided to tackle some "old person" hobbies. Knitting had already made its way into the younger circuit (my daughter even knits), so they decided to do some birdwatching. From the sounds of it, after much research and some effort, they were able to find exactly one species of bird: Bushtits. They called this a major success and ended their birding journey. I found this to be hysterical. :D

Off to bed with 115 species in the bag, ready to get some more writing and more birding in the next day.