It should get exciting with migration coming! There are a few birds that will be leaving for sure, and that includes a lot of the birds on my last Birds for Thought post (Bullock's Oriole, Red-eyed Vireo, Lazuli Bunting). It was fun that at least one of those birds - the Black Swifts - showed up for me.
So outside of the Code 1-3 birds, what birds am I hoping might pass through?
California Quail: Still holding out hope for this one. I'll give the tree farms north of Shelton another look - although they wouldn't be going away, so this might be a search for later in the year.
Brown Pelican: Well, it could be a White Pelican too, but they are both code 5 birds - I just see that Browns appear to be moving this time of year, so the odds might be a little higher of stumbling onto one. I'll keep checking out the saltwater in Hood Canal, especially.
American Bittern: They also seem to be moving according to the abundance charts. I might not travel as far and wide looking for them as I did in June, but they will still be worth keeping an eye out for.
Northern Goshawk: I almost included Golden Eagle here too, but I don't think I'll be at a good enough elevation or rocky enough area to expect much of anything. Goshawks could show up any time!
Sora: Especially when we get to mid-late August. Possibly at Theler.
Solitary Sandpiper: A code 5 shorebird - I may have to hope for some flooded fields to increase my chances here, but Theler and Kennedy Creek could easily have one show up.
Black Turnstone, Ruddy Turnstone, Wandering Tattler, Willet: These four are all code 4/5 birds, some of which might be more likely than others, but all of which would be more likely in slightly rockier areas, I figure.
Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper: These peeps all seem to be coming through on the early end of migration rather than the later end, so any could show up (and Semipalm already has!). It's going to mean looking through flocks of peeps all the more carefully... something I suck at.
Pectoral Sandpiper: As above, but they are just so much bigger - should be easier to pick out, and they are a little bit later - should be laaaaate August into September.
Red-necked Phalarope: This is one of the main reasons I would like to get into the south sound during August. These guys are in Puget Sound, and at a code 4, should be findable. It may be that they are annual, but just hang about in inconvenient places. So much birding in Mason is simply done at Theler... it will be interesting to get out there and see what this end of the sound holds. Parasitic Jaeger is a code three bird that I figure would be easier down here as well, along with Murres (code 2) and Auklets (code3). This season should give some good overlap where all of them could be found!
Sabine's Gull, Franklin's Gull, Heermann's Gull: All possible in this window, and a little easier for me than, say... a Glaucous Gull.
Common Tern: My eyes are open, but these are better in September and seriously on the decline in Puget Sound, I had thought. They are listed at a code 4, so I need to be ready for these little guys to show up. Again... Puget Sound more than Hood Canal is my understanding of where to try for them.
Western Kingbird: I've had these in King County in the fall - a rare thing, but possible! I think earlier in the season there could be Eastern migrating through as well.
Bank Swallow: I'm pretty dialed in on the calls for these guys, so I'm ready to fight through the cryptic juveniles and maybe find a migrant Bank Swallow this fall. Tough to find by field marks alone, so the calls should help me find candidates.
White-breasted Nuthatch: Ha! Impossible, but I'll look in the oak patch on Tahuya anyway.
Tennessee Warbler: Of course! Right? I'll just pretend we are in Washtucna and look carefully at those warblers as they come through. This is the season to find weird ones, and this would be one of the most expected weird ones.
Vesper Sparrow: I think someone had a migrant recently. Eyes and ears open for these guys even though they didn't nest this year.
Yellow-headed Blackbird, Western Meadowlark: Each has made a brief appearance this year. The Meadowlarks, I just realized are a code three! Should be findable, but I may need to be at Theler a bit more - not a problem with the shorebirds coming through.
Pine Grosbeak: I have one more trip to Olympic National Forest to look for Ruffed Grouse and whatnot. I think this may be as good a possibility as any of the code 4-5 finches.
So the wish list has changed! But it should still be an interesting time to look for birds!
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