Post by JeffOver on Jan 3, 2009 17:53:00 GMT -8
Hi all,
I decided to take the last day of holidays today to do some birding. After some deliberation, my Mom and I settled on Birch Bay State Park near Blaine, WA.
Trip Length: 6 1/2 hours
Trip Area: Prest Road to Birch Bay State Park, WA
Weather: Occasional flurries; chilly
Number of species: 39
We started out at 9:30 a.m with a Bald Eagle on Prest Road, as well as a Song Sparrow on the overpass. A Rough-legged Hawk on the sign just after the Prest Rd on-ramp (westbound) was a nice addition, and a first for me this season. ;D It was still there when we came home at about 3:45 p.m. Several Red-tailed Hawks and more bald eagles along the highway were also a welcome sight.
My Mom spotted a pair of swans, presumably Trumpeter Swans, flying around the Vedder canal area. Before hitting the Sumas border crossing, we managed to add Northwestern Crow, Glaucous-winged Gull (okay, I have to admit, I'm just claiming it was glaucous-winged, it could have been .... ??) and Rock Doves.
Once in Washington, we added Oregon Junco and an American Kestrel on a power line. Our last two birds before our destination were Great Blue Heron and Brewer's Blackbird.
At the park, we decided to check out the water first. All three scoters were present, with Surf Scoter being the most plentiful, followed by White-winged Scoters and then Black Scoters. Brants were also common, but I was happy to see them for the second time in my life. Several Harlequin Duck pairs were a treat to both of us, and Common Goldeneyes were interspersed throughout the groups of waterfowl. Ring-necked ducks (they could have been male scaups, though I thought their bellies were not white enough for scaups) hung out mostly with the brants, while Buffleheads dotted the water here and there. Greater Scaup blended in for a while until the easier species had been identified. Later on, I hesitatingly identified a Horned Grebe, but without a scope I was reluctant to say for sure. However, several more of the same species allowed for extended looks that, along with Sibley's, more or less convinced me that it would be a horned grebe rather than an eared grebe. One more look at the water before we left for home yielded a Common Loon and a distant but identifiable Long-tailed duck.
Harlequin Ducks
On the other side of the road running along the ocean, we spotted quite a few Mallards in the creek with three American Wigeon enjoying the party. Later on in the same spot, we found three Hooded Merganser. Not sure if the wigeons actually morphed into mergansers, or if all this snow was simply getting to us. Darting into the small trees across the road was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and two House Sparrows also flew chattering into the trees.
Heading back up to the camping area, I managed to get a Golden-crowned kinglet, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch briefly in my binos. Close to the gatehouse, a large flock of juncos passing through kept me alert for other birds mixed in among them, including a Spotted Towhee. I heard Black-capped Chickadee, and a pair of what sounded like angry Robins had me anxiously scanning the evergreens for an owl or hawk (to no avail). A male Red-shafted Northern Flicker loudly announced itself on our way back to the shoreline.
After a brief visit to the water again (I included the species above), we took a short trail close to the gatehouse that led to the edge of a marsh. A small hawk flying through the trees excited us, but after failing to find it we had to resign ourselves to saying "either/or"--either a sharp-shinned or a cooper's hawk. We heard several Winter Wrens as well as kinglets, but we didn't stop to look for them as it was cold, and we were really hoping for something easy like a pileated woodpecker (lots of evidence of them). Near the end of the trail, I commented to Mom how surprising it was that I hadn't found any brown creepers yet, seeing as the habitat was ideal. About 30 seconds later, the sounds of kinglets and other small birds stopped us in our tracks. At least two Brown Creepers kept us hopping for a minute or so until they finally settled on one trunk. One of those tiny winter wrens also briefly showed itself. As we moved on, I said to Mom, "It's surprising we haven't seen a barred owl yet, seeing as the habitat is so ideal." It didn't work.
Our way home was uneventful, other than a Red-winged Blackbird along with a couple of brewer's blackbirds in the same place I saw the first one.
P.S. Cliff, the binos worked great!
I decided to take the last day of holidays today to do some birding. After some deliberation, my Mom and I settled on Birch Bay State Park near Blaine, WA.
Trip Length: 6 1/2 hours
Trip Area: Prest Road to Birch Bay State Park, WA
Weather: Occasional flurries; chilly
Number of species: 39
We started out at 9:30 a.m with a Bald Eagle on Prest Road, as well as a Song Sparrow on the overpass. A Rough-legged Hawk on the sign just after the Prest Rd on-ramp (westbound) was a nice addition, and a first for me this season. ;D It was still there when we came home at about 3:45 p.m. Several Red-tailed Hawks and more bald eagles along the highway were also a welcome sight.
My Mom spotted a pair of swans, presumably Trumpeter Swans, flying around the Vedder canal area. Before hitting the Sumas border crossing, we managed to add Northwestern Crow, Glaucous-winged Gull (okay, I have to admit, I'm just claiming it was glaucous-winged, it could have been .... ??) and Rock Doves.
Once in Washington, we added Oregon Junco and an American Kestrel on a power line. Our last two birds before our destination were Great Blue Heron and Brewer's Blackbird.
At the park, we decided to check out the water first. All three scoters were present, with Surf Scoter being the most plentiful, followed by White-winged Scoters and then Black Scoters. Brants were also common, but I was happy to see them for the second time in my life. Several Harlequin Duck pairs were a treat to both of us, and Common Goldeneyes were interspersed throughout the groups of waterfowl. Ring-necked ducks (they could have been male scaups, though I thought their bellies were not white enough for scaups) hung out mostly with the brants, while Buffleheads dotted the water here and there. Greater Scaup blended in for a while until the easier species had been identified. Later on, I hesitatingly identified a Horned Grebe, but without a scope I was reluctant to say for sure. However, several more of the same species allowed for extended looks that, along with Sibley's, more or less convinced me that it would be a horned grebe rather than an eared grebe. One more look at the water before we left for home yielded a Common Loon and a distant but identifiable Long-tailed duck.
Harlequin Ducks
On the other side of the road running along the ocean, we spotted quite a few Mallards in the creek with three American Wigeon enjoying the party. Later on in the same spot, we found three Hooded Merganser. Not sure if the wigeons actually morphed into mergansers, or if all this snow was simply getting to us. Darting into the small trees across the road was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and two House Sparrows also flew chattering into the trees.
Heading back up to the camping area, I managed to get a Golden-crowned kinglet, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and a Red-breasted Nuthatch briefly in my binos. Close to the gatehouse, a large flock of juncos passing through kept me alert for other birds mixed in among them, including a Spotted Towhee. I heard Black-capped Chickadee, and a pair of what sounded like angry Robins had me anxiously scanning the evergreens for an owl or hawk (to no avail). A male Red-shafted Northern Flicker loudly announced itself on our way back to the shoreline.
After a brief visit to the water again (I included the species above), we took a short trail close to the gatehouse that led to the edge of a marsh. A small hawk flying through the trees excited us, but after failing to find it we had to resign ourselves to saying "either/or"--either a sharp-shinned or a cooper's hawk. We heard several Winter Wrens as well as kinglets, but we didn't stop to look for them as it was cold, and we were really hoping for something easy like a pileated woodpecker (lots of evidence of them). Near the end of the trail, I commented to Mom how surprising it was that I hadn't found any brown creepers yet, seeing as the habitat was ideal. About 30 seconds later, the sounds of kinglets and other small birds stopped us in our tracks. At least two Brown Creepers kept us hopping for a minute or so until they finally settled on one trunk. One of those tiny winter wrens also briefly showed itself. As we moved on, I said to Mom, "It's surprising we haven't seen a barred owl yet, seeing as the habitat is so ideal." It didn't work.
Our way home was uneventful, other than a Red-winged Blackbird along with a couple of brewer's blackbirds in the same place I saw the first one.
P.S. Cliff, the binos worked great!