December 8, 2019 - Black AF Scoter

It was raining lightly and 48º when I got up around 6:45 a.m.  I had been going over my birding records, and just realized that I hadn’t “twitched” a Black Scoter for the year (!).  Now that I’m attempting to “compete” with a few other birders across the country to remain in the eBird “Top Ten” for the number of species seen this year, I need to pick up a few species that I missed.

All right.  I don’t need to see these birds.  But, as long as I’m enjoying Birding as a fun hobby, it would be fun to see the species.  So, I decided this afternoon to drive north to Manchester State Park on the Kitsap Peninsula.  There is usually a moderately large flock of Scoters that winter in the Rich Passage between there and Bainbridge Island, and I should be able to pick out a few Black Scoters from among the numerous Surf Scoters.

I drove up to Hood Canal, making a quick stop at Twanoh State Park to scope the calm water along the park’s 3,200-foot shoreline.  Winter is always a good time to view Barrow’s Goldeneye here.  These birds can be told from the Common Goldeneye by the crescent-shaped, rather than round, patch at the base of the drake’s bill.  The female in mid-winter has a bright yellow bill rather than a mostly-dark one.

Twanoh Creek flows through the park, and gets hundreds or thousands of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) returning to spawn annually.  The fall run peaks in the stream in mid-November, and at this time of year, there is little to be seen besides the spawned-out carcasses.

Each hen salmon will lay about 2,500-3,000 eggs, which hatch out the following March.  The young fry move toward the salt water within a month of hatching to begin feeding and growing for 3 or 4 years in the Pacific Ocean, when they return to begin the cycle again. 

The sign here cautions people to not walk in the stream and crush the live salmon eggs buried in the gravel. Leaving the park, I made a quick stop in Port Orchard to check out the water birds from Etta Turner Park, and finally arrived at Manchester State Park at 3 p.m. 

The M/V Kaleetan is one of the Washington State Ferries, and can carry up to 144 cars, seen here on the route from Bainbridge Island to Seattle and back.  Having only an hour of good light left, I walked out to the point and scoped the birds in Rich Passage until the “sunlight” faded from the sky.  

The area once called Middle Point, now Manchester State Park, was established in 1900 as a satellite to Fort Ward which is located on Bainbridge Island across Rich Passage. It was created to protect the Bremerton shipyards by operating a minefield in Rich Passage.

The U.S. Navy operated Middle Point until 1958, when it was decommissioned.  A number of gun emplacements were planned throughout Puget Sound to protect the fleets and shipping from our several enemies.  Spanish.  Imperial Russian.  Japanese.  Take your pick.  Gun Battery Mitchell remains, having never been fitted for the 3-inch rapid fire rifles at the center of its design.  In fact, the guns were never delivered.

Most of the Scoters were on the Fort Ward side . . . ‘way too far off for photos.  But after staring through the spotting scope at the little black specks on the other side of the Passage, I finally got views of a couple Black Scoter drakes, with little orange knobs at the base of their bills, and a female with a pale ‘cheek patch’.  You’ll have to take my word for it . . .

It was a crappy view, but was the 608^th species I’ve seen this year.

Skokomish Delta eBird Checklist is Here

Twanoh State Park eBird Checklist is Here

Etta Turner Park eBird Checklist is Here

Manchester State Park eBird Checklist is Here

 

 

March 14 - Theler Wetlands and Twanoh State Park

It was mostly cloudy, and 34° F when we got up this morning.  I drove up to the Theler Wetlands in Belfair, Washington to join the Tacoma Audubon bi-monthly bird walk there.
The usual walk route starts by passing through the Environmental Studies area, then out to the estuary boardwalk.
The recent heavy snows, now melted, have flattened the cattails at the edge of the estuary marsh.

The cattails are usually 4 feet tall . . .

But, there is still plenty of habitat for the Marsh Wrens.

Although the morning was cool, signs of Spring are in the air, as testified by the Pussy Willow flowers along the Tahuya River dike.

Willow Catkins

The walk goes along the river, then loops back past the Salmon Center, home of the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group.  The center maintains a small farm with llamas, chickens,

I presume that the llamas have 'educational value'

Chickens are birds, too!

and Muscovy Ducks.  While this species of duck is “countable” in Florida and Texas, the birders here can only appreciate them as domestic fowl.

Not "ABA Countable" here in Washington

We do have wild birds to watch.

Ravens are always a welcome sight

All optics are pointing skyward

The group then returns along yet another boardwalk (yes, many of the walking trails in western Washington are wet . . .)

Keeping our feet dry

This section of the trail uses “floating tire pilings” to support the walkway.

A good use for old tires?

The Theler walk ends at noon, and there is a ‘countdown’ to ensure that the eBird species count is correct.  This is a great group, and I highly recommend joining them for the guided walk, led by Faye Hands and John Riegsecker of ABC Bird Club, Tahoma Audubon Society.  The Public is welcome on the second and fourth Thursday of every month.  Meet at the Theler Community Center parking lot at 8 a.m.

Is Faye laughing at John, or just her usual cheerful self?

On the way home, I decided to drive down the Hood Canal on Highway 106 and stopped at Twanoh State Park and scope the birds there.

The Park is Open! It's just one of the parking lots that is closed in the Winter.

I looked through the flock of Surf Scoters, hoping to find a Black Scoter in the flock, but to no avail.

Surf Scoters, Greater Scaup, and Barrow's Goldeneyes

Twanoh State Park is touted as a “… picture-perfect, 188-acre park and beach in the Pacific Northwest, with pebble-filled beaches, warm, dark waters, and dense foliage all around, both it and the water are brimming with wildlife, since its dedication as a state park in 1923 …”  There are campsites, and the picnic area has 3,167 feet of saltwater shoreline on Hood Canal. The name of the park derives from the Native American Twana tribes, currently known as the Skokomish Tribe, who made their home in the area.  Hood Canal is actually a "canal" in name only:  Hood Canal is in reality a "fjord"; a long narrow body of water open to the ocean and bordered at one end by steep cliffs or hills.

A Mew Gull surveys the Canal

Some of the signage is confusing.  One sign warns that shellfish harvesting is closed on this beach, due to pollution.

Yet another sign notes that the beach is open for harvesting oysters, which I believe are still considered to be “shellfish” . . .

 

Another sign on the same sign board notes that it’s just “Clam Season” that is closed.  I think I won’t take any shellfish from here until this gets sorted out.

 

A creek comes in here, which supports a small run of fall chum salmon.

Salmon streams aren't always big rivers . . .

Old Washington Dept. of Fisheries sign

Visitors are warned to not walk in the stream to protect the redds (salmon nests).

 

Along the stream bank were a couple of Varied Thrushes.

Female "Alaska Robin"

Along with the usual crows, robins, kinglets, chickadees, and juncos,

"American/Northwestern" Crow - the taxonomy here is still in flux

"American" Robin in the Pacific Northwest

"Oregon" Junco in Washington

I heard a bird call, turned out to be from this Hermit Thrush which is not all that common a species in the Winter, and is always fun to see.

Hermit Thrush as a water bird

Theler Wetlands eBird Checklist is Here

Twanoh State Park eBird Checklist is Here