Running Tally and Needs List

Here we go again!

This will be one of the most interesting years I've done. Most of the time, when I do single counties, they are under-birded counties (as Pacific County is!), but I've never stepped into one where the potential species total is quite so high. Some of the easiest birds are going to be tough (I think. . . although my thoughts going into a year are hit or miss), and some difficult birds are going to be easy. Just. . . in the sense that Pacific County has far more code 4 birds and code 5 birds than your typical under-birded county. Here's the list! And we're going into the 4s and 5s this time. 

Code 1 Birds (73 of 90 species seen)

These are birds that are listed as "Common". I'd hope to find all 90 this year without too much planning.

January gave me 55 of these species! I was fortunate to get a complete day of gorgeous weather, and the birds definitely showed up.

Second January trip landed me 5 more of these. 

February - Spotted Sandpiper. Phew! One of the toughest code 1s. Along with four other code 1 birds.

March was an excellent month here. New birds rolled in (Violet-green Swallow, Rufous Hummingbird, Orange-crowned Warbler, Turkey Vulture), and I was able to find some other birds that had been tough to find (Common Murre, Brandt's Cormorant, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Goldfinch). I love that this list has gotten so short so early!

1. White-winged Scoter 
2. Black Turnstone 
3. Short-billed Dowitcher 
4. Heermann's Gull
5. Common Tern (182nd most seen bird - 0.527% of trips)
6. Sooty Shearwater
7. Brown Pelican 
8. Western Flycatcher
9. Warbling Vireo
10. Barn Swallow 
11. Cedar Waxwing 
12. Swainson's Thrush
13. Savannah Sparrow 
14. Brown-headed Cowbird 
15. Common Yellowthroat
16. Black-throated Gray Warbler
17. Wilson's Warbler

Not much to say here! I should get all 90. As always, it will be interesting to see if the code matches my experience. There are two species I flagged - Bushtit and Spotted Sandpiper. It would not be the first time that Spotted Sandpipers gave me trouble! Bushtit doesn't have me quite as worried.(Got it! 1/14) Spotties are one of those birds that are "everywhere... and nowhere...", a description given to me about Ruffed Grouse in Mason County. Everywhere and nowhere birds are the worst.

Common Terns. . . there are many code 3 birds, some code 4 birds, and even a code 5 bird seen more frequently than Common Terns.

Code 2 birds (34 of 63 birds)

"Uncommon" is the descriptor here. I tend to phrase it this way: Code 1 birds = hard not to find. Code 2 birds = not hard to find. Code 3 birds = hard to find. I think it means that any Code 2 bird is not hard to miss, potentially, if you're not specifically looking for it. I do not expect to have that experience with Least Sandpipers this year! But do note the puddle ducks on the list. This is a salty county, so I am ready to hunt down some freshwater to find some of those 2's. 

January, as noted, gave me at least one clear, beautiful day. So, I got 20 of these birds on my first trip. None of these have me nervous... yet. :) Peregrine always does. They always seem to be on my short needs list near the end of the year! But some other birds (Sharpie and Coopers, Lincoln's Sparrow) have also been trouble for me in other years, so I don't mind having them cleared off of the list.

Second January trip took six more birds off of this list. (Ring-necked Duck, Black-legged Kittiwake, Pacific Loon, Herring Gull, California Scrub-Jay, and Hermit Thrush)

February: Greater White-fronted Goose, Iceland Gull (one of the tougher 2s!), Pileated Woodpecker, Brown Creeper

March: Northern Shoveler, Band-tailed Pigeon, Whimbrel, and Barred Owl. Not bad, but... gosh it hurt to see that a pelagic trip had wandered into Pacific County and knocked off some of these birds! Onshore birds that I'd hoped to find were Wood Duck and Brant. 

1. Brant
2. Wood Duck
3. Ring-necked Pheasant
4. Vaux's Swift
5. Ruddy Turnstone
6. Red Knot
7. Surfbird
8. Pectoral Sandpiper
9. Lesser Yellowlegs
10. Parasitic Jaeger
11. Rhinoceros Auklet
12. Bonaparte's Gull
13. Caspian Tern
14. Black-footed Albatross
15. Fork-tailed Storm Petrel
16. Northern Fulmar
17. Buller's Shearwater
18. Pink-footed Shearwater
19. Osprey
20. Red-breasted Sapsucker
21. Peregrine Falcon
22. Olive-sided Flycatcher
23. Willow Flycatcher
24. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
25. Cliff Swallow
26. Yellow Warbler
27. Townsend's Warbler
28. Western Tanager
29. Black-headed Grosbeak

Some of the birds in here that are listed as lower frequency seem to be semi-pelagic birds - things like Parasitic Jaeger, Black-legged Kittiwake. Is semi-pelagic a term? I made it up. They're seen at shore they're seen on pelagic trips. I have never been on a pelagic birding trip in my life. This will be interesting! There will be new storm-petrels, shearwaters, and albatrosses on my life list by year's end!

Pheasant is being scratched from the list. On eBird, it's listed as introduced, so I'll leave it uncounted. 

Yaknow... Hermit Thrush... Lincoln's Sparrow... Merlin and Peregrine Falcon...Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks... These are all ones that may have also given me trouble in the past. I'll keep 'em on my radar!

In a normal one of these years, I might miss one or two of these birds. I'd really like to close out the 2s this time! That would make 153 birds, together with the code 1 birds. 150 for a year is the goal in this decades-long project that is taking me to every county in the state! So, there's some optimism here.

Code 3 birds (20 of 62 species)

As noted above - hard to find. 

January felt like a great start on these birds (12)! I made many of them targets (more so than the code 2 birds), and this plan seemed to pay off. Owls (Northern Saw-whet and Great Horned) aren't always good targets in January, but the weather was amazing, and I had success at nearly every stop. American Dipper was a great one to get out of the way, Willet and Snowy Plover - I knew I was going to the right places, and they just showed up for me. 

The second January trip landed me four more - Anna's Hummingbird, Gadwall, Northern Pygmy Owl, and Mourning Dove.

February - Rough-legged Hawk and Canada Jay

March - Western Bluebird, and American Pipit.

1. Cinnamon Teal
2. Canvasback
3. Harlequin Duck
4. Black Scoter
5. Ruddy Duck
6. Ruffed Grouse
7. Sooty Grouse
8. Common Nighthawk
9. American Coot
10. Sandhill Crane
11. American Golden-Plover
12. Pacific Golden-Plover
13. Long-billed Curlew
14. Baird's Sandpiper
15. Semipalmated Sandpiper
16. Wandering Tattler
17. Red-necked Phalarope
18. Red Phalarope
19. South Polar Skua
20. Pomarine Jaeger
21. Long-tailed Jaeger
22. Marbled Murrelet
23. Cassin's Auklet
24. Sabine's Gull
25. Glaucous Gull
26. Arctic Tern
27. Leach's Storm-petrel
28. Short-tailed Shearwater
29. Manx Shearwater
30. American White Pelican
31. American Bittern
32. Green Heron
33. American Barn Owl
34. Western Screech-Owl
35. Western Wood-Pewee
36. Hammond's Flycatcher
37. Northern Shrike
38. Purple Martin
39. Evening Grosbeak
40. Lapland Longspur
41. White-throated Sparrow
42. MacGillivray's Warbler

There's such an interesting mix of birds here...

First, you have the birds that may have no business being code 3 birds: Willet and Anna's Hummingbird stick out. Birds that are the 48th and 50th most commonly seen species in the county, respectively. They're like... a nice bit of brain sugar, anyway. "Oh my gosh, I just found a code 3 bird!!"

There's more of the pelagic birds. I can't even tell you the number of birds I typed and said "that'd be a lifer. That'd be another lifer..." It's a lot. 

Owls! People don't go to Pacific County to go owling. I am going to Pacific County to go owling. May not be as many breadcrumbs to follow, but the owls are out there! Barn Owls though... goodness, I have missed them in many years. Western Screech is waaaay down on the frequency list, but it does have some sightings in recent years.

MacGillivray's Warbler is not a code 3 bird. :D I mean... I am sure that it is infrequently seen, but in my head, a lil trip up into the Willapas, go find a clear cut, boom, MacGillivray's. Shaking hands with a Western Bluebird, I'd suppose.

And a small number of these will come down to persistence (grouse) and timing (Sandhill Crane). I wonder if some of them may come by kayak? Who knows!

I'm going for all of them! In a typical year like this, I might get 80 percent of them. I hope I can push that up! 80 percent of them would be 48 birds. 90 percent is more like 54-55. . . OR we can just go with nice round numbers: What if I had a clean 200 species between the code 1, 2, and 3 birds? 

The county year list record? 220. So, two higher-coded birds each month could put me over that tally. And in a county where there are so many higher-coded birds, I think this becomes interesting!

Code 4 birds (2 of 52 birds)

These are birds that are not seen annually, but that have a pattern of occurrence - 5+ observations over the years. 

In January, my focus was on getting a lot of species, and especially going after some code 3 birds. My one code 4 bird was an Eared Grebe. Likely the best candidate for a code 4 bird to become a code 3! But I was happy to have one very close to me at the Tokeland Marina to allow for pics and a confident ID.

February - exact same spot. Tokeland Marina! A Barrow's Goldeneye had been previously sighted and stuck around for me. 

1. Emperor Goose
2. Tundra Swan
3. Blue-winged Teal
4. Redhead
5. Long-tailed Duck
6. Clark's Grebe
7. Black Swift
8. Sora
9. Black Oystercatcher
10. Bar-tailed Godwit
11. Hudsonian Godwit
12. Ruff
13. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
14. Stilt Sandpiper
15. Rock Sandpiper
16. Buff-breasted Sandpiper
17. Solitary Sandpiper
18. Wilson's Phalarope
19. Ancient Murrelet
20. Parakeet Auklet
21. Horned Puffin
22. Tufted Puffin
23. Franklin's Gull
24. Elegant Tern
25. Laysan Albatross
26. Short-tailed Albatross
27. Murphy's Petrel
28. Mottled Petrel
29. Flesh-footed Shearwater
30. White-tailed Kite
31. American Goshawk
32. Red-shouldered Hawk
33. Snowy Owl
34. Spotted Owl
35. Short-eared Owl
36. Gyrfalcon
37. Tropical Kingbird
38. Western Kingbird
39. Say's Phoebe
40. Cassin's Vireo
41. Mountain Chickadee
42. Northern House Wren
43. Northern Mockingbird
44. Townsend's Solitaire
45. Snow Bunting
46. Chipping Sparrow
47. Swamp Sparrow
48. Yellow-headed Blackbird
49. Bullock's Oriole
50. Palm Warbler
51. Hermit Warbler

Wowzer, what a list. Again, the House Wren? EZ PZ. It'll be riding on the back of a MacGillivray's Warbler, up in the foothills. Nobody in their right mind would bird up in the Willapas, right? It's not high-elevation birding, per se, and so much of it is being actively logged. So, I'll be popping up there and finding some of these birds. And a Yellow-breasted Chat (down in the Code 5's). :D

13 of these birds are ones I've never seen. Many of those, again, are pelagic birds. Birds where my "planning" will be "go on a pelagic trip or two". Some of them may involve some chasing - should a mockingbird show up, I have no doubts that it would be chased, reported, etc. And others may take planning, patience, persistence, like Short-eared Owls. I have no doubts that there are a couple of them in the county right now, but one has to be looking at the right time!

Code 5 birds (1 of 99 birds)

Why list them?? I am about as likely to find a brand-new bird to the county as some of the ones on this list. But it helps my brain to type them out - a reminder of what to keep an eye out for. In some cases, they may actually be birds that are increasing in abundance in the county. 

In January, I found a Black Phoebe, although that is a bird that is seen fairly frequently now. It's just a recent arrival as this species extends its range northwards. Will likely be a 2-3 in years to come. 

1. Tufted Duck
2. Wild Turkey (??)
3. White-winged Dove
4. Costa's Hummingbird
5. American Avocet
6. Eurasian Dotterel
7. Wilson's Plover
8. Mountain Plover
9. Upland Sandpiper
10. Bristle-thighed Curlew
11. Great Knot
12. Curlew Sandpiper
13. Gray-tailed Tattler
14. Thick-billed Murre
15. Scripp's Murrelet
16. Red-legged Kittiwake
17. Black-headed Gull
18. Lesser Black-backed Gull
19. Slaty-backed Gull
20. Black Tern
21. Forster's Tern
22. Arctic Loon
23. Yellow-billed Loon
24. Wilson's Storm-Petrel
25. Northern Giant-Petrel
26. Hawaiian Petrel
27. Magnificent Frigatebird
28. Cocos Booby
29. Snowy Egret
30. Black-crowned Night-Heron
31. Western Cattle Egret
32. White Ibis
33. White-faced Ibis
34. Golden Eagle
35. Swainson's Hawk
36. Burrowing Owl
37. Long-eared Owl
38. Lewis's Woodpecker
39. Acorn Woodpecker
40. Red-naped Sapsucker
41. Prairie Falcon
42. Eastern Kingbird
43. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
44. Fork-tailed Flycatcher
45. Gray Flycatcher
46. Dusky Flycatcher
47. Eastern Phoebe
48. Red-eyed Vireo
49. Loggerhead Shrike
50. Blue Jay
51. Clark's Nutcracker
52. Bank Swallow
53. White-breasted Nuthatch
54. Pygmy Nuthatch
55. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
56. Rock Wren
57. Canyon Wren
58. Gray Catbird
59. Brown Thrasher
60. Sage Thrasher
61. Mountain Bluebird
62. White Wagtail
63. Pine Grosbeak
64. Cassin's Finch
65. Redpoll
66. White-winged Crossbill
67. Lesser Goldfinch
68. Chestnut-collared Longspur
69. Rustic Bunting
70. Black-throated Sparrow
71. Lark Sparrow
72. Lark Bunting
73. Clay-colored Sparrow
74. Brewer's Sparrow
75. American Tree Sparrow
76. Harris's Sparrow
77. Vesper Sparrow
78. LeConte's Sparrow
79. Yellow-breasted Chat
80. Bobolink
81. Orchard Oriole
82. Hooded Oriole 
83. Rusty Blackbird
84. Common Grackle
85. Great-tailed Grackle
86. Ovenbird
87. Northern Waterthrush
88. Black-and-white Warbler
89. Nashville Warbler
90. American Redstart
91. Northern Parula
92. Magnolia Warbler
93. Blackpoll Warbler
94. Black-throated Blue Warbler
95. Summer Tanager
96. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
97. Lazuli Bunting
98. Painted Bunting

Oh... so not even 100 birds? C'mon Pacific County, try a little! What can one even say about this list?? I need to...

Go get the Yellow-breasted Chats that are certainly dotted all over the hillsides now. Maybe. And a Black Phoebe? 

Learn my plovers and stare really hard at them. 

Go on a pelagic or two. 

Sparrows and Warblers - that's like... 20 of the birds on this list. And the implication is that there is probably some sparrow or warbler that is NOT on this list that could show up for the first time - Hooded Warbler? A wildly lost Grasshopper Sparrow? I've got to get dialed in on the sparrow patches of Pacific County, and I likely need to spend a lot of time craning my neck upwards at Leadbetter Point, listening, and trying to get pictures through the leaves.

Over 40 birds in here that I've never seen in the state. I'm very aware of my state list...my life list may include some of these that I've forgotten, from trips to North Carolina, California, or Florida. Should be an interesting year!!

Running Tally

1. Snow Goose (3)
2. Cackling Goose (1)
3. Canada Goose (1)
4. Greater White-fronted Goose (2)
5. Trumpeter Swan (3)
6. American Wigeon (1)
7. Gadwall (3)
8. Eurasian Wigeon (3)
9. Mallard (1)
10. Northern Pintail (1)
11. Green-winged Teal (1)
12. Ring-necked Duck (2)
13. Greater Scaup (2)
14. Lesser Scaup (2)
15. Surf Scoter (1)
16. Bufflehead (1)
17. Common Goldeneye (2)
18. Barrow's Goldeneye (4)
19. Hooded Merganser (2)
20. Common Merganser (1)
21. Red-breasted Merganser (1)
22. Pied-billed Grebe (1)
23. Horned Grebe (1)
24. Red-necked Grebe (1)
25. Eared Grebe (4)
26. Western Grebe (1)
27. Rock Pigeon (2)
28. Eurasian Collared-Dove (2)
29. Mourning Dove (3)
30. Anna's Hummingbird (3)
31. Virginia Rail (3)
32. Black-bellied Plover (1)
33. Killdeer (1)
34. Snowy Plover (3)
35. Semipalmated Plover (2)
36. Marbled Godwit (1)
37. Sanderling (1)
38. Dunlin (1)
39. Least Sandpiper (2)
40. Long-billed Dowitcher (2)
41. Western Sandpiper (1)
42. Wilson's Snipe (1)
43. Spotted Sandpiper (1)
44. Willet (3)
45. Greater Yellowlegs (1)
46. Pigeon Guillemot (2)
47. Black-legged Kittiwake (2)
48. Short-billed Gull (1)
49. Ring-billed Gull (1)
50. Western Gull (1)
51. California Gull (1)
52. Herring Gull (2)
53. Iceland Gull (2)
54. Glaucous-winged Gull (1)
55. Common Loon (1)
56. Red-throated Loon (2)
57. Pacific Loon (2)
58. Pelagic Cormorant (1)
59. Double-crested Cormorant (1)
60. Great Blue Heron (1)
61. Great Egret (2)
62. Northern Harrier (2)
63. Sharp-shinned Hawk (2)
64. Cooper's Hawk (2)
65. Bald Eagle (1)
66. Red-tailed Hawk (1)
67. Rough-legged Hawk (3)
68. Great Horned Owl (3)
69. Northern Pygmy Owl (3)
70. Northern Saw-whet Owl (3)
71. Belted Kingfisher (1)
72. Downy Woodpecker (1)
73. Hairy Woodpecker (2)
74. Northern Flicker (1)
75. Pileated Woodpecker (2)
76. American Kestrel (3)
77. Merlin (2)
78. Black Phoebe (5)
79. Hutton's Vireo (1)
80. Steller's Jay (1)
81. California Scrub-Jay (2)
82. Canada Jay (3)
83. American Crow (1)
84. Common Raven (1)
85. Black-capped Chickadee (1)
86. Chestnut-backed Chickadee (1)
87. Tree Swallow (1)
88. Horned Lark (3)
89. Bushtit (1)
90. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
91. Golden-crowned Kinglet (1)
92. Brown Creeper (2)
93. Bewick's Wren (2)
94. Pacific Wren (1)
95. Marsh Wren (2)
96. European Starling (1)
97. American Dipper (3)
98. Hermit Thrush (2)
99. American Robin (1)
100. Varied Thrush (1)
101. House Sparrow (1)
102. House Finch (1)
103. Purple Finch (1)
104. Red Crossbill (1)
105. Pine Siskin (1)
106. Fox Sparrow (1)
107. Dark-eyed Junco (1)
108. White-crowned Sparrow (1)
109. Golden-crowned Sparrow (1)
110. Song Sparrow (1)
111. Lincoln's Sparrow (2)
112. Spotted Towhee (1)
113. Western Meadowlark (3)
114. Red-winged Blackbird (1)
115. Brewer's Blackbird (1)
116. Yellow-rumped Warbler (1)