December 3, 2019 - The Missing Emperor

Now that I’m attempting to remain in the eBird “Top Ten” list of species seen in the ABA Area (North America north of Mexico), I realize that there’s another birder (Charlie Bostwick from Georgia) tied with me for 10^th place!  Well, shoot!  Up until now, I hadn’t been in competition with anyone but myself during this Peregrination year, and my focus was on seeing “Life Birds”.

Sigh . . . an adult Emperor Goose has been seen just across the Columbia River in Oregon, on Sauvie’s Island.  Since I’d not seen this species yet this year, I made the drive down I-5 and crossed the Columbia River at Longview, stopping en route at the old Trojan Plant to sort through several hundred Cackling Geese near the roadway for anything odd or interesting.

The Trojan site was developed by PGE as Oregon’s only commercial nuclear facility in the early 1970s.  Vocal opposition to the plant, as well as evidence of shoddy construction, finally led to its shut-down in 1993 after yet another leak of radioactive water.  The plant was decommissioned soon after, and the structures were finally torn town in 2006.  The former grounds provide habitat for birds, now, as well as being operated as a park.

With just the ‘usual suspects’ at Trojan, I arrived at Sauvie’s Island headed north out Reeder Road toward the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area operated by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.  You’ll see the island’s name as Sauvie or Sauvie’s; and pronounced “Saw-vees”.  My Grandfather had, many years ago, met members of the old family, and told me they pronounced their name “Soo-vey”.

I always stop to scan through the goose flocks for birds that have been banded and marked by waterfowl managers, as I’d been paid to do so while working for the US Fish and Wildlife Service back in the Willamette Valley during the 1980s.  While enumerating geese back then, there would be dozens of plastic neck collars to read.  Now, looking through a thousand birds might yield a few collars - hopefully close enough to read one.

I did read a few collars on Cackling Geese, and one on an adult Snow Goose.  As with a bird band you find on a window-killed robin or a sparrow your cat brings in, if you can read the plastic neck collar on a goose, you can (should!) report the number to the Bird Banding Laboratory.

Another benefit of slowing down to look for marked birds is that one can sometimes find the ‘odd duck’ (in this case, a goose . . .) among the members of the flocks.  Here, a “Blue Goose” joins the “Snows”.  The “Blue” goose is a color phase of the Snow Goose, and is relatively common in the Central Flyway, but is uncommon in the flocks here in the Pacific Northwest - indeed, throughout the “West”.  The blue-phase and white-phase were considered separate species until 1983, but were “lumped” following genetic studies.

Every once in a while, an eagle would pass over and the flock would become airborne.  Sometimes, they seemed just to flush and re-settle for no discernible reason.

Oregon Birders Bill Tice and Steve Nord let me know that a Vesper Sparrow had been seen today along Rentenaar Road, just north of where we were, as well as an intermittent Black-and-White Warbler along Walton Beach.  They were going to look for the Vesper, so I gave up on endlessly scoping through the goose flocks, and opted to follow them to the sparrow site.  I’d seen many individuals of this species through the year, but it’s always nice to see one in western Oregon or Washington.  Sadly, I’d let my camera battery get low, and it ‘died’ before I could get a photo of the Vesper . . .  Thank goodness, Bill and Steve got decent photos.

Darkness comes in the early afternoon in the Pacific Northwest in December, so I headed toward home, having ‘dipped’ on the Emperor Goose.  But, there’s more opportunities before the end of the year, so “Hope Springs Eternal.”

Trojan Plant eBird checklist is Here

South Sauvie Island eBird checklist is Here

Sauvie Island Reeder Road eBird checklist is Here

Sauvie Island WA Observation deck eBird checklist is Here

Sauvie Island Rentenaar Road eBird checklist is Here

February 15 - New Mexico

I woke at 5:45 to a cloudy 49° morning, and had a cup of coffee and ate an apple for breakfast.  I drove east on I-40 to the Tijeras exit, then took Highways 14 and 536 to Sandia Crest, getting there around 9 a.m. by following the snow plow and sanding truck.  My goal there was to find a flock of Rosy-Finches.The crest is at 10,678 feet elevation, which made for short breath for this boy, who normally lives at sea level!

Elevation 10,678 feet (3,255 meters)

The morning was mostly clear, but just at freezing, with a bit of a west wind.

There was a great view out across Albuquerque

I walked around the Sandia Crest House, and found where they have been setting out seed, with only a few Mountain Chickadees coming to the feed.

I walked over toward the radio towers at the crest, but saw no birds there.

 

After about a half-hour, another car showed up, with birder Nancy Moore from Boise and her daughter (Jenna – grad student at UNM doing a genetic review of the Coraciids) who were also looking for the finches.  Another couple from Michigan showed up as well, with the same intent.  We had to be careful around the crest, because of the icy trails.

 

We were watching a feeder just above the parking lot, and had about given up hope, when a flock of nearly 60 finches came swirling in, with most disappearing around the back of the buildings from us.

I did get a good view of two birds that perched briefly on the roof, and they were both Black Rosy-finches.  We all spent a while longer waiting for the birds to come to the upper feeder area, and had a couple finches come to the deck of the building, but then dropped back down the steep slope.

I got a decent view of a Brown-capped Rosy-finch, but it didn’t stick around for photos.  Finally, I got a decent shot of one of the Black Finches.  I waited around until about 11:30 hoping for the finch flock to return, but to no avail.

Lifer Black Rosy-finch

I dropped back down the mountain, stopping at the Triangle Grocery in Cedar Crest to buy some travelling food.  Then, I headed down the highway to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.  This is a 57,330 acre unit with a Visitors’ Center and a couple of auto tour routes, besides having a number of trails.

I stopped at the Center to enquire about a Winter Wren that had been seen there a few days ago.  Somehow, I have missed seeing - or at least recording - Winter Wren since I was working at Horicon Refuge in Wisconsin back in 1978.  So, I thought that this might be an opportunity to ‘tick’ the species before I go east later in the year.  The folks gave me good directions to where it had been seen, along the North Auto Tour route.  I didn’t make it far at first, because this Refuge provides feeders at the center, and in their cactus gardens.

I spent a bit of time strolling and sitting, and enjoying the birds here.

White-winged Dove

Brewer's Sparrow

Harris' Sparrow

Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow

At the auto tour route, there was a traffic jam of people watching a large flock of Snow Geese.

Only a few of these were the “Blue Goose” color morph, which are more common to the east.

I found, through the telescope, a few Ross’ Geese mixed in the sea of white.

The North Route, is what they used to call the “Farm Route”, as the road goes past the agricultural fields.  The Refuge plants corn and other crops to feed the birds through the winter.

I spent ‘way too much time on the loop, at first just looking - unsuccessfully - for the wren, and then just being mesmerized by the thousands of Sandhill Cranes

and the other wildlife.

I left at dark, and it was too late to go south, so I went back to Socorro and checked into an “America’s Best Value Inn” for $50.  The room was clean, and well-lit, but the promised Internet connection was terrible.  At least it didn’t cost extra . . .

Sandia Crest eBird Checklist is Here

Bosque del Apache Visitors’ Center eBird Checklist is Here

Bosque del Apache north auto tour eBird Checklist is Here

January 7-8: First Chase - Fieldfare

There has been an ABA Code 4 Fieldfare just outside of Salmon Arm, British Columbia since December 16^th - having been found there on the Christmas Bird Count by Roger and Nan Beardmore with Peter and Sharon Lawless.  Since one of my goals this year is to “tick” 75 Life Birds, I was getting a late start on attaining that goal, and this is my First Chase of the year.

I left Olympia at daybreak, and immediately ran into traffic in town, in Tacoma, in Seattle, and in Everett.  A drive that should take a little over an hour and a half took about three and a half.  Perhaps it is time for the Legislature and Dept. of Transportation to seriously consider light rail from Olympia north?  Or, better yet, from Vancouver to Vancouver!  Getting commuters off the road would save them, businesses, and the Public untold millions in saved time and improved productivity, and in the reduction in use of fossil fuels.

I made it to the US-Canada border at Sumas, and got through with no difficulty, and stopped to look at a flock of swans near Abbotsford.

Trumpeter Swans below Sumas Lake

This area is productive farmland, and supports a fair amount of wintering birds.  But, it must be a dim shadow of the habitat that was here before the draining of the lake and marsh in 1924.

I continued north and east, over the Coquihalla, which can be challenging during a winter storm but wasn’t too bad today, and arrived at Salmon Arm at dark.

The next morning, it was -7° C as I headed south along the Foothills Road toward the neighborhood where the Fieldfare has been seen.  The scars from the big 1998 wild fire still showed on the surrounding hills.

Sunrise over the Salmon River valley

I settled down at the corner of Krick and Kernaghan Roads to watch the mountain ash trees.

Soon, the American Robins began to arrive to feast on the fruits, which are technically a small pome, rather than a berry.

American Robin

Red-shafted Flickers joined the robins at breakfast.

Red-shafted Flicker

Finally, at 8:10, I saw a robin that wasn’t a robin on the far side of one of the rowans.  But, it wasn’t giving much of a view.

Poor view, but it's NOT a Robin . . .

I was loath to get out of the car (did I mention that it was -7° C?) to avoid spooking the birds.  Finally, the bird shifted its position and gave me decent views for about a half an hour.

Fieldfare Turdus pilaris

Like an American Robin, only more exotic!

This is a fine-looking visitor to North America

Eventually, the Fieldfare flew off to the east with some of its robin cousins, and I eased my way back on Krick Road to watch a large flock of American Goldfinches at a neighbor’s feeders.

On my way out of the neighborhood, I stopped at the bridge over the Salmon River, where an American Dipper was swimming and diving in the icy waters for its breakfast

There was ice in the river, but the Dipper didn't seem to mind . . .

The drive home was fairly uneventful, although I chased a flock of what were likely Bohemian Waxwings across the valley east of Kamloops, without getting a good view of them to confirm the species.  I’ll look for them later this month when I’m birding in the Okanogan Valley.

I was wondering whether Trump’s Government Shutdown would impact the Border Crossing at Sumas, but breezed through with little difficulty.  The CBP employees’ group supported Old Orange Hair, so it’s kind of ironic that their paychecks will be delayed until the government resumes paying its employees.  Thank goodness, the Fieldfare didn't have to go over a wall or through Customs.


My last birding stop was at dark just south of Mount Vernon, where a flock of Snow Geese were feeding along a farm road.  There were quite a few juvenile birds in the flock, indicating good reproduction last year on Wrangell Island.

Skagit County Snow Geese

Abbotsford eBird Checklist is Here
Krick Road eBird Checklist is Here

Salmon River eBird Checklist is Here

Skagit Snow Goose eBird Checklist is Here

December 26 - Shut Down - But Not Shut Out

Every Wednesday at 8 a.m., Refuge Volunteers lead a bird walk at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.  I arrived at the Refuge a little before Eight, only to find the gate locked, and I thought that perhaps the notice that the NWR would remain open to the public was incorrect.

But, the gate is on a timer, set to open at “Sunrise”, which was 7:58 a.m. today at this latitude, and it swung open for us right on time. 

With Ol’ Orange-Hair throwing his tantrum and having shut down the 25% of the Government that was not yet funded, the staff at the Refuge were busy ‘mothballing’ the place, locking offices, securing equipment, and posting signage to inform the American Public who don’t deserve this Political Travesty.  What a bunch of ....

In all, 16 folks joined the walk this morning, all pretty happy to be birding, and we set off in a light rain to see what could be seen.

The rain kept a lot of the passerines under cover, which somewhat diminished our species list, but the rain let up a bit later in the morning.  Trying to see wet woodpeckers against wet tree trunks and limbs is always challenging

Wet Red-breasted Sapsucker

Wet Downy Woodpecker

But the waterfowl don’t mind a little rain.  We had a pair of Snow Geese fly in

 

All-white Adult Snow Goose - showing the dark "grin patch" on its pink bill

The immature Snow Goose has a lot of gray in its plumage

and a few dozen Canadas

Big Honkers

mixed in with the Cackling geese and dabbling ducks

Hen Northern Pintails 
Great Blue Herons seem likewise dismissive of precipitation

The wealth of wintering waterfowl, combined with the run of Winter Chum Salmon in the Nisqually River, draw a lot of Bald Eagles to the place.  We didn’t see quite as many as last week, but it’s still nice to stand in one spot and see over two dozen eagles!

Immature Bald Eagle

A 15.61-foot high tide at 8:52 a.m. was ebbing toward a +6.56-foot low water at 2:51 p.m., so the die-hards amongst us continued out on the Estuary Boardwalk during high water, but it was a mud flat when we came back.

The mid-high tide affords pretty good views of gulls and shorebirds,

This "Olympic Gull" is lunching on a piece of Starry Flounder

Western Sandpipers are fairly uncommon here in the Winter

But they often come in close to the boardwalk

The Least Sandpiper is the World's Smallest Shorebird - and has yellow legs

as areas to perch are limited at this water level.

Glaucous-winged Gull watching the River Run By . . .

On the way back to the Visitors’ Center, the skies opened yet again.  We ‘dipped’ on seeing the Great Horned Owl, as well as several other expected birds, like Fox Sparrows, etc., but the worst day birding is better than the best day working.  I hope to see you at the Refuge one of these Wednesdays.

Nisqually eBird Checklist is Here