Well then...
...At this point, if it's not a breeder or extirpated, it's on my list of targets the rest of the way out. I have a massive weekend coming up:
Saturday October 17th: Boat trip around Hartstene, trip to Theler, pheasant hunt, quail hunt, maybe another search for birds in a secret location. Busy day.
Sunday October 18th: WOS field trip. I'm bringing a car of people up into the Olympics, down Hood Canal to the mouth of the Skokomish. Two other trips are blanketing the county. We meet at lunch and figure out what we need to chase!
So here is the list taxonomically of the possibilities for the rest of the year. I'm at 174 birds, and the record for Mason County in a year is 179, so it's totally in reach!
Geese: Ross's Goose (code 5), Emperor Goose (code 6? never been seen)
It's the right season for these birds, so it's just a matter of hitting Hunter Farms and Theler and keeping an eye out for interesting geese.
Tundra Swan: They were here earlier in the year. I have a hunch that these are more common than their code 5 implies. Skokomish River Valley all the way up to the delta.
Ducks: Eurasian Wigeon (2), Blue-winged Teal (3), Cinnamon Teal (2), King Eider (5), Long-tailed Duck (3), Ruddy Duck (3).
The wigeon is going to happen. I just need to keep looking, and I'll actually be surprised if it doesn't happen on the next trip. The teals... there is a chance I'll get them this weekend, and then the chances are probably dried up. Someone saw them in the last week on Cranberry Lake! I am getting the feeling that November, of all seasons, is going to be the one where I get in a kayak and paddle across Hood Canal to look through the ducks for a Long-tailed. Ruddy Duck is like a phantom. I have no idea where to look, but that trip could get me one. The Eider is impossible, but would be possible at the Skokomish Delta.
Game birds: California Quail (4), Wild Turkey (5), Ring-necked Pheasant (2)
I'll be checking for the quail at Sanderson and the pheasant in like... three places now. Hurley Waldrip Road, Mason Lake and Theler Wetlands. Throw Hunter Farms in there. The turkey isn't happening. I couldn't imagine seeing any that I could county, even if they were out there in the past. No solid credible leads.
Loons and grebes: Arctic Loon (5), Yellow-billed Loon (5), Clark's Grebe (5)
All unlikely, and two of them possible products of optimism. On a scale from one to ten, my general comfort with identifying a Yellow-billed Loon is pretty good, maybe an 8 to ten depending on distance. Clark's Grebe would range from 3-7 depending on the grebe itself and the distance. Arctic Loon... like zero. Fingers crossed for the loon. An area I haven't properly studied is Case Inlet and Oakland Bay, the big bay that runs right up to Shelton. I'll have it on my rotation if I can squeeze it in.
Pelicans, herons and whatnot: Brown (5) and American White (5) Pelicans are both possible, and I feel like the trip I'm leading Sunday would be as good a time and area as any. American Bittern is a frustrating one in this count for a lot of birders. I guess it can be there year round, and I think the area around Kamilche should be decent. Maybe a November trip to Skookum Inlet Natural Preserve (with boots... large boots) would give me a good chance to find this code 4 bird. The white egrets, Great, Snowy and Cattle are all code 5. Great Egrets... they'll be properly moved in given a couple years! I wouldn't be surprised by one nearly anywhere. Cattle Egrets would be a fun new state bird. They will be one of the reasons for checking farmland. Black-crowned Night Heron (5) could basically show up wherever Bitterns could... right?
Raptors: Northern Goshawk (4), Red-shouldered Hawk (5), Swainson's Hawk (5), Rough-legged Hawk (4) and Golden Eagle (5).
I think it's late to put Broad-winged Hawk in there, but it brings up the whole theme of raptor migration. It's happening! We are on the tail end of it for sure, so the birds that migrate earlier have become very unlikely, but my trip in the mountains next Sunday will include some time looking up. The goshawks are one of those that could show up any time. Golden Eagles are more possible on the northern end of the county, I think, but have also been seen near Church Creek. Rough-legged Hawks fall into the same category as Cattle Egrets above. They are a reason to head out to Matlock perhaps, and to check the other farmland I've been watching so carefully.
Coot-ish things: American Coot (1), Sandhill Crane (4) Sora (4)
The first was seen at Lake Isabella in the last week, and cranes have been heard this month migrating overhead, including a Mason sighting. A little late for the cranes, and it's just getting good for the coots. I was told there was a hard freeze that would have scared off some of the coots last winter, so I'm hopeful on them. Sora is still a good shot for this trip coming up. I think we have had Virginia Rail in.. 4 or 5 places in the county now, so it makes it possible to try those spots again.
Shorebirds: American Golden-Plover (5), Pacific Golden-Plover (5), Willet (5), Ruddy Turnstone (5), Black Turnstone (4), Red Knot (5), Sharp Tailed Sandpiper (5), Sanderling (4), Rock Sandpiper (5), Pectoral Sandpiper (5), Red-necked Phalaraope (4), Red Phalarope (5)
Tough all the way around. The Pectoral and the Red-necked Phalarope are the ones I'd wager on. The former will be looked for on Saturday, after which time it becomes less likely and Red Phalarope becomes more likely through the rest of the year. There are a lot of them here that I think of as Alki Birds. And... come to think of it, I don't see Surfbird in there. So that's the next new shorebird that will get added in the county, by the way. Maybe I'll find some rocky shoreline in Mason and it'll have half of the birds listed.
Parasitic Jaeger (3). Yeah... a little late on this one, but it's not toooo late. One was seen at the Skokomish Delta a few weeks back, but it could be seen on Saturday or Sunday for me. They've been seen regularly in King County this week.
Alcids: Common Murre (2), Ancient Murrelet (5), Cassin's Auklet (5). All possible, I suppose, on the boat trip I'll be taking, but a bit early for Ancient, which has only been seen once anyway.
Gulls and Terns: Black-legged Kittiwake (5), Sabine's Gull (5), Franklin's Gull (5), Heermann's Gull (5), Glaucous Gull (4), Common Tern (4).
Looking for black heads on all gulls these days, and for the classic coloring of a Heermann's of course. Common Tern is a bit late, but not impossible on the boat trip, and Glaucous would be later... I think?
Owls: Snowy (5), Spotted (3), Short-eared (5)
I'll have fingers crossed for a spottie in dispersal, but I won't cross them hard. Snowy or short-eared would be more likely, oddly enough. Theler seems as good a place as any for either, which means they'd likely be found by others if they do show up.
Woodpeckers: I'm going out on a limb and saying I'm not going to get any woodpeckers. Acorn and Three-toed are on the county list (and the idea of three-toed in the high Olympics in Mason is mmmm... but my ankle didn't go there). Lewis' Woodpecker isn't on the county list yet, but I would expect it (or an Acorn for that matter) to show up at that Oak Patch near Camp Spillman.
Flycatchers: Western and Eastern Kingbirds are code 5. I like Tropical better, but it's not on the list. Say's Phoebe is on the list at a 5, but a Black or Eastern would be just as likely, I suppose. I actually like George Adams hatchery for a Black Phoebe... I'll have to think of other spots. That's tough. Basically, the like ponds with structures.
Corvids: Black-billed Magpie (5), Clark's Nutcracker (5), Blue Jay (not listed) My money is on the Nutcracker to be seen before the other two. They're in the Olympics and drop down from the mountains in the winter months. Maybe not a super cold winter, though, so...
Little teeny birds: Mountain Chickadee (5), White-breasted Nuthatch (5), Rock Wren (5) Canyon Wren (not listed). All pretty unlikely, but my imagination would have these showing up at a feeder in Shelton, at the Oak Patch, at Lake Cushman, and... okay I don't have any ideas for Canyon Wren. Even Sunnyside Road would be a stretch. I'll say Sunnyside Road.
Thrushes: Mountain Bluebird (5), Townsend's Solitaire (3)
Bluebird would be random and welcome. The Solitaires have been seen in Clalllam in the last week, so they'd be possible down this way, I figger. Roads have been pretty clear.
Lapland Longspur (5) and Snow Bunting (not listed) A little late for the longspur, but not a lot late. The Snow Bunting is going to show up at the mouth of the Skokomish, so I'll go get that by kayak in November.
Warblers: Only thing I would expect at this point that I haven't seen already isn't on the list yet: Palm Warbler. Wouldn't that be swell?
Sparrows: American Tree (5), Swamp (5), White-throated (4), Harris' (5)
Hunter farms, the Skokomish Valley and Theler seem like the best bets here, but I wonder if any other little corners like Hurley Waldrip might have good sparrow patches. Swamp! That's got to be Theler, I suppose, although that's another where I like the back side of the George Adams Hatchery. My other thought is to have one of the local papers run a story, and have them include wanted posters for these guys.
Blackbirds: Rusty (not on the list), Common Grackle (5), Western Meadowlark (3), Yellow-headed Blackbird (5)
I've got to pay more attention to those blackbird flocks. Theler, Hunter Farms, Skokomish Valley. Basically those sparrow spots.
Finches: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (5), Pine Grosbeak (5), White-winged Crossbill (5)
I'll keep ears open for the first two especially when I head up high on Sunday. I so wish I had made it up higher on Mount Stone, but that mountain was ouch.
So there's my whole hand on the table. Nearly all the birds I'm missing. At least now when I find them, it'll look like I was expecting them!
No comments:
Post a Comment