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 only have a few days left in the county!
November 11, I will be making a most-of-the-day trip over and doing the search for California Quail in earnest, then hitting a few must-hit spots. Probably the Skokomish River Valley, Hunter Farms, mouth of the Skokomish, Twanoh, Theler, and Belfair.
December: Two days. Just like every month! I wonder if they will be planned trips or chases. How do I even approach it from here???
So here is the list taxonomically of the possibilities for the rest of the year. I'm at 180* birds (the asterisk coming from an almost certainly uncountable pheasant!), and I'm left hoping for a couple more legitimate birds to make the record a little more solid. I'm pretty sure that there is not a single bird left on the list that I would "expect"
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. One even showed up early in November at Theler! I made a run for it and missed the sucker. Arrgh! :D
Ducks: Cinnamon Teal (2), King Eider (5), Long-tailed Duck (3), Ruddy Duck (3).
The teal is probably not a real possibility, but some stick around. Funny that an eider showed up just one county over in the last few weeks in Pierce County! Cara Borre and I probably have a boat trip ahead of us, and will cross our fingers for some of these at the mouth of the Skokomish if we can get there.
Game birds: California Quail (4), Wild Turkey (5),
I've got a little walk ahead of me at Sanderson. It's about time! From the edge of the airport, a trail heads back, and I've been putting off this walk for months, figuring I'd eventually run out of other things to look for. California Quail have been seen in this area and I will hope they weren't a temporary phenomenon. 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).
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 check farmland, and the reason I spent time around Matlock last week. I'll hope the Skokomish River Valley is not flooded this time around.
Coot-ish things: Sandhill Crane (4) Sora (4)
Bummer not to have found them already. Sora is the only bird that I had seen in Mason previously but not this year. Sandhill Cranes were seen in October. I don't think either will show up, but I'll try for Sora if I pass good habitat, and I don't think I'd walk by a Sandhill Crane!
Shorebirds: Willet (5), Ruddy Turnstone (5), Black Turnstone (4),Sanderling (4), Rock Sandpiper (5), Red Phalarope (5)
This list shrunk quite a bit. I'm just down to the birds that I might expect to see at places like Alki in Seattle... except that there aren't places like that in Mason that I know of! The exception in there is Red Phalarope, which could be found out in Hood Canal, I figger.
Parasitic Jaeger (3), Pomarine and Long-tailed Jaeger (6).
Yeah.... probably not, but if I'm looking at gulls, I'll keep my eyes open. These are in here just so I remind myself to be ready to figure out what kind of jaeger I've got. It will be a disaster if I get one of these, as I've only seen Parasitic in my life.
Alcids: Common Murre (2), Ancient Murrelet (5), Cassin's Auklet (5).
Fingers crossed, but some people who have been watching them think that there have been fewer Common Murres in the sound this year. Hood Canal has never been great for them, but it'll be where I keep an eye open. The only record this year was in August from Potlatch.
Gulls and Terns: Black-legged Kittiwake (5), Sabine's Gull (5), Franklin's Gull (5), Glaucous Gull (4)
Or a Slaty-backed, for that matter. Looking for dark heads and dark mantles and working from there. I have this awful feeling that I would miss a Glaucous Gull.
Owls: Snowy (5), Short-eared (5)
I've given up on Spotted Owl for the year, as they would be making their way back to home territories. The others are possible at Theler especially. I'm sure that Snowy will be showing up in advance if it's going to show up at all! Some signs say this will be a good year, so I actually am expecting Snowy Owl to be as likely as anything this year.
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)
Probably not.
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 here soon. ha.
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), 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), Yellow-headed Blackbird (5)
I'll pay at least a little attention to those blackbirds. 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!
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