April has been awfully busy, friends and neighbors, and it may just happen that I don't make it over to Mason County this month! For the first time in eons, my spring break landed at the same time as the kids, so we took a week to drive down to Disneyland (oh yes we did!). California and Oregon were wonderful, and it was fun to hear birds that were on their way north (Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Cliff Swallow, Wilson's Warbler), birds that are always a little less common up here (Red-shouldered Hawk and Acorn Woodpecker) and a few new birds (California Towhee and Nuttall's Woodpecker). We even had some shorebirds - Whimbrel and Black Oystercatcher in Northern California, and Willet at Santa Monica Beach. It was a fun non-birding trip, and my family has encouraged me to cool my jets a little. So, probably no posts until May,
The missed birds haven't been too many... that I know of... haha, but it will be nice to get back in May when new birds have really flooded in. I walked my own neighborhood park here in Renton today, and added some year birds to my lagging King County year list - a half-dozen Black-throated Gray Warblers, a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, a ridiculously loud Pileated Woodpecker that pulled people out of their house to investigate the jackhammering, and a Hermit Thrush that pulled out a new vocalization that I hadn't heard before!
So I missed April in Mason, but I figger there are much worse things to miss. My daughter was the main supporter of the dad-ain't-going-birding plan. Tonight she asked "Why is it still light if it's almost 8?" and I remembered that there will be some big big days to come!
Hang in there y'all, and go find me some birds to chase!
-Tim
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
April
Plan of attack for April
My mind gets confuzzled as I start thinking about plans at this point. Some things, thankfully, have been simplified, but there are still a lot of bird in the hand or Code 3 bird in the bush decisions to make. A few examples:
On the one hand...
...Big days will take me around to a lot of different habitat. Especially as new species roll in, the odds of me finding new ones will increase. The more species I find, the faster my plans can focus.
On the other hand...
...On a big day I would be looking for loons, grebes and cormorants, but there are no common loons grebes or cormorants that I haven't seen this year! I could run into something crazy while looking at the salt water (Long-tailed Duck comes to mind, but even a Northern Shoveler or Eurasian Wigeon comes to mind), but the time might be better spent focused on some of the bird families that I haven't seen much of (game birds come to mind, where I only have 0.5 species - a lightly clucking Mountain Quail)
On the one hand...
...some species are just now arriving, and I want to go after them early, for all of the reasons mentioned above regarding big days. Getting species added faster frees me up and narrows the focus faster.
On the other hand...
...some species have a small window, and might not even be a sure bet. Many of the shorebird species are more common in fall than spring, but I'd hate to miss a rare one that simply stopped by at a good muddy spot that I didn't check!
On the one hand...
...some places are simply going to have a lot of birds. I will probably not find a month where it doesn't make sense to go to Theler. The variety of habitat there is amazing, and it's situated in a way that makes it a good stopover for weird birds coming through.
On the other hand...
...there are other people birding the popular spots, and it might be possible to follow up on amazing sightings, which would let me spend more time exploring the county properly. I keep looking at the maps, especially little areas that I worry I won't get to. I just want to see all of it! Is that a problem? :D
On the one hand...
...there are opportunities to join field trips, and these invariably have people that I learn things from, are led by people that have done their research, and provide more eyes and ears to catch birds that I might miss. I may not have had Eared Grebe, Merlin and Green Heron, for example, if I hadn't been on a field trip!
On the other hand...
...Sometimes the freedom to make the agenda for the day is going to make it easier to find more birds in a day.
So... I'm without a concrete plan at the moment. That doesn't mean I'm not excited for April! I'm sure that in the end, I will spend long hours developing a sound plan, and then I'll promptly chuck it on a whim. Here are the things that are on the menu for April, at any rate. I know I can't have everything on the menu, but I'll do what I can!
Farmland
Hunter Farms, Egypt Valley, and the Skokomish River Valley have quite a few bird possibilities that would lure me out to check fields and sparrow patches: Cackling Goose, Ross's Goose, Northern Harrier, Sandhill Crane, Sora, Western Kingbird, American Pipit, Lincoln's Sparrow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Western Meadowlark and American Goldfinch, not to mention swallow and shorebird possibilities!
Shorebird hotspots
Theler, Belfair State Park, the Skokomish River Mouth and Kennedy Creek are highest on my list (although there are a few sightings of shorebirds from other spots along Hood Canal). I am feeling like I have the tide thing dialed in pretty well. A rising tide of about 10 has been good at Belfair and Kennedy Creek, and any time of day should be fine for looking through fields. I was surprised at first to see that high tide hits Kennedy Creek an hour or more after it hits Theler, but it makes sense if you think about how much farther the water has to go through Puget Sound before the tide reaches Kennedy Creek! It's tempting to make two single trips to the county instead of a whole weekend, if only to catch different cusps of the shorebird migration.
Hartstene Island
Whether it's scoping from the south end, kayaking or boating around the south end, or working through some of the clear cuts and edges (for Chipping Sparrow and later House Wren, perhaps), I know I need to get back here. Alcids are tough in the county, but a morning run to the south end should give me a lot of birds to look through! I think I've mentioned before that the afternoon kind of kills the chance to look over distant birds as they are backlit.
Sanderson Field
Vesper Sparrow and Horned Lark have nested here. California Quail have been heard from the fairgrounds adjacent to it. Northern Harrier and Ring-necked Pheasant have been seen here on recent trips, and Chipping Sparrow in years past. I'm tempted to walk some of the ugly trails lined with Scot's broom to try to turn up some of those species, and to get into some wild areas without being too far from Shelton.
Kennedy Creek and the Southern edge of the county
The creek itself looks good, and I also want to get into the trails and powerline cuts along the south end of the county. Gray Jays have been found in there, and House Wrens are possible later in the year. There are a few interesting game bird reports: California Quail and Wild Turkey. Those may turn up nothing, but I think a proper big year should include searches for species like that.
Mountain Quail Mary's place
Mary Hrudkaj has graciously opened her property dozens of times to people asking her about Mountain Quail. I almost feel like it would be a weird year if I didn't ask. It's a good thing my MOQU is only a 0.5!
Lake Cushman
I'm getting itchy to get up to high elevation. Gray Jay, Ruffed Grouse, Sooty Grouse, Hermit Thrush and an interesting summer sighting of a Spotted Owl all have me wanting to head up. The early flycatchers may be possible here and/or on the way down.
Coot hunt
Maybe the timing is wrong now... who knows! But Little Skookum Inlet was mentioned by a fisherman as a place he's seen them. Nahwatzel is still there, and maybe I just need to bribe someone to take me out on their boat onto the lake. Who knows. Stupid coots! :D
Still Waters Farm
Ruffed Grouse and Mountain Quail are still there as possibilities, and the habitat is great for some of the early flycatchers and warblers. Knowing that they have Band-tailed Pigeons at their feeders frequently is also a plus! Even if they had nothing but starlings there, this would be a good stop.
Well, I've left places out. I think maybe Hamma Hamma is the next worth mentioning, as I think it may have better chances for Marbled Murrelet, but that's already a lot on the menu! It will be interesting to see where I actually end up!
Want to help??
Find some good stuff for me!! I'd be happy to hear reports from any of these areas on any of these birds. To be honest, Ruddy Duck, Northern Shoveler and American Coot are the ones I want the most, just because I just can't seem to figure them out. They should be around, but... ugh. Shoveler has been seen near Alderbrook, and Ruddy Duck has been reported at Theler and on Mason Lake. Any follow up on those sightings would be swell!
My mind gets confuzzled as I start thinking about plans at this point. Some things, thankfully, have been simplified, but there are still a lot of bird in the hand or Code 3 bird in the bush decisions to make. A few examples:
On the one hand...
...Big days will take me around to a lot of different habitat. Especially as new species roll in, the odds of me finding new ones will increase. The more species I find, the faster my plans can focus.
On the other hand...
...On a big day I would be looking for loons, grebes and cormorants, but there are no common loons grebes or cormorants that I haven't seen this year! I could run into something crazy while looking at the salt water (Long-tailed Duck comes to mind, but even a Northern Shoveler or Eurasian Wigeon comes to mind), but the time might be better spent focused on some of the bird families that I haven't seen much of (game birds come to mind, where I only have 0.5 species - a lightly clucking Mountain Quail)
On the one hand...
...some species are just now arriving, and I want to go after them early, for all of the reasons mentioned above regarding big days. Getting species added faster frees me up and narrows the focus faster.
On the other hand...
...some species have a small window, and might not even be a sure bet. Many of the shorebird species are more common in fall than spring, but I'd hate to miss a rare one that simply stopped by at a good muddy spot that I didn't check!
On the one hand...
...some places are simply going to have a lot of birds. I will probably not find a month where it doesn't make sense to go to Theler. The variety of habitat there is amazing, and it's situated in a way that makes it a good stopover for weird birds coming through.
On the other hand...
...there are other people birding the popular spots, and it might be possible to follow up on amazing sightings, which would let me spend more time exploring the county properly. I keep looking at the maps, especially little areas that I worry I won't get to. I just want to see all of it! Is that a problem? :D
On the one hand...
...there are opportunities to join field trips, and these invariably have people that I learn things from, are led by people that have done their research, and provide more eyes and ears to catch birds that I might miss. I may not have had Eared Grebe, Merlin and Green Heron, for example, if I hadn't been on a field trip!
On the other hand...
...Sometimes the freedom to make the agenda for the day is going to make it easier to find more birds in a day.
So... I'm without a concrete plan at the moment. That doesn't mean I'm not excited for April! I'm sure that in the end, I will spend long hours developing a sound plan, and then I'll promptly chuck it on a whim. Here are the things that are on the menu for April, at any rate. I know I can't have everything on the menu, but I'll do what I can!
Farmland
Hunter Farms, Egypt Valley, and the Skokomish River Valley have quite a few bird possibilities that would lure me out to check fields and sparrow patches: Cackling Goose, Ross's Goose, Northern Harrier, Sandhill Crane, Sora, Western Kingbird, American Pipit, Lincoln's Sparrow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Western Meadowlark and American Goldfinch, not to mention swallow and shorebird possibilities!
Shorebird hotspots
Theler, Belfair State Park, the Skokomish River Mouth and Kennedy Creek are highest on my list (although there are a few sightings of shorebirds from other spots along Hood Canal). I am feeling like I have the tide thing dialed in pretty well. A rising tide of about 10 has been good at Belfair and Kennedy Creek, and any time of day should be fine for looking through fields. I was surprised at first to see that high tide hits Kennedy Creek an hour or more after it hits Theler, but it makes sense if you think about how much farther the water has to go through Puget Sound before the tide reaches Kennedy Creek! It's tempting to make two single trips to the county instead of a whole weekend, if only to catch different cusps of the shorebird migration.
Hartstene Island
Whether it's scoping from the south end, kayaking or boating around the south end, or working through some of the clear cuts and edges (for Chipping Sparrow and later House Wren, perhaps), I know I need to get back here. Alcids are tough in the county, but a morning run to the south end should give me a lot of birds to look through! I think I've mentioned before that the afternoon kind of kills the chance to look over distant birds as they are backlit.
Sanderson Field
Vesper Sparrow and Horned Lark have nested here. California Quail have been heard from the fairgrounds adjacent to it. Northern Harrier and Ring-necked Pheasant have been seen here on recent trips, and Chipping Sparrow in years past. I'm tempted to walk some of the ugly trails lined with Scot's broom to try to turn up some of those species, and to get into some wild areas without being too far from Shelton.
Kennedy Creek and the Southern edge of the county
The creek itself looks good, and I also want to get into the trails and powerline cuts along the south end of the county. Gray Jays have been found in there, and House Wrens are possible later in the year. There are a few interesting game bird reports: California Quail and Wild Turkey. Those may turn up nothing, but I think a proper big year should include searches for species like that.
Mountain Quail Mary's place
Mary Hrudkaj has graciously opened her property dozens of times to people asking her about Mountain Quail. I almost feel like it would be a weird year if I didn't ask. It's a good thing my MOQU is only a 0.5!
Lake Cushman
I'm getting itchy to get up to high elevation. Gray Jay, Ruffed Grouse, Sooty Grouse, Hermit Thrush and an interesting summer sighting of a Spotted Owl all have me wanting to head up. The early flycatchers may be possible here and/or on the way down.
Coot hunt
Maybe the timing is wrong now... who knows! But Little Skookum Inlet was mentioned by a fisherman as a place he's seen them. Nahwatzel is still there, and maybe I just need to bribe someone to take me out on their boat onto the lake. Who knows. Stupid coots! :D
Still Waters Farm
Ruffed Grouse and Mountain Quail are still there as possibilities, and the habitat is great for some of the early flycatchers and warblers. Knowing that they have Band-tailed Pigeons at their feeders frequently is also a plus! Even if they had nothing but starlings there, this would be a good stop.
Well, I've left places out. I think maybe Hamma Hamma is the next worth mentioning, as I think it may have better chances for Marbled Murrelet, but that's already a lot on the menu! It will be interesting to see where I actually end up!
Want to help??
Find some good stuff for me!! I'd be happy to hear reports from any of these areas on any of these birds. To be honest, Ruddy Duck, Northern Shoveler and American Coot are the ones I want the most, just because I just can't seem to figure them out. They should be around, but... ugh. Shoveler has been seen near Alderbrook, and Ruddy Duck has been reported at Theler and on Mason Lake. Any follow up on those sightings would be swell!
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