Sunday, December 17, 2023

Two Extreme Rarities (and Almost a Lifebird) in Central Tennessee, November 25, 2023

Early on the morning of November 25th I received this notification from the Tennessee birding Facebook group – “Ancient Murrelet at Chickamauga Dam”.  I wasn’t quite sure where Chickamauga Dam was, but Ancient Murrelet would be a lifebird for me so I might be interested in a chase.  It turns out that the dam is close to Chattanooga, some 3 ½ hours from home.  My normal one-way maximum statebird chase distance is 2 hours, and sometimes I’ll stretch it to 2 ½ hours for a really good bird.  But this would be a lifebird, so I guess I could justify more time on the road to go after it.  That is if it was reasonably reliable.

With a bit of eBird research I found out that the bird was first discovered the previous day, and was seen by many.  But with the long driving time I decided to wait for it to be spotted again on the 25th before I headed out.  In the meantime, I looked at my TN Needs Alert to see if there might be other potential statebird targets in that region.  Sure enough there was a semi-reliable Limpkin just 30 minutes away and not too far off my route to and from home.  So now I had 2 targets to pursue – I just needed to get confirmation that the Murrelet was still around.

As of 9 AM on the 25th there were just negative posts from the TN Facebook page.  There were lots of birders looking for the Murrelet, but they were coming up empty.  But just as I was about to write it off as a one-day wonder I noticed a post on Facebook that the Murrelet had been re-found.  It took me a bit of time to get myself ready, but finally at 10:30 I was out the door.  The chase was on with cautious optimism that a lifebird awaited me.

Shortly after getting on the road I noticed my travel time had increased to over 4 hours.  It turns out there was major construction on I-40 in western NC, reducing the road to just 1 lane each way.  Even though I was able to use some back roads to avoid some of the backup, I still had added more than 30 minutes to my route.  And then when I neared Knoxville I started to see signs to expect backups due to football traffic – the University of Tennessee is in Knoxville and it turns out a home football game was about to start.  That added even more time.  And then when I was just about 30 minutes away from the dam there was another backup – a tractor trailer had caught fire and was burning on the shoulder.  Now my 3 ½ hour drive had become a 5-hour drive.  But it would be all worth it if I got that lifebird.

As I neared Chickamauga Dam I checked recent reports and most said the Murrelet was feeding quite cooperatively near the dam.  It had apparently moved from the nearby boat ramp area where it had mostly been seen the day before.  So I headed right to the parking lot at the dam.  As I pulled in I noticed 2 birders walking toward their cars.  I flagged them down and found out that the bird was not presently being seen at the dam, but likely had returned to the boat ramp.  As we headed back to the cars I mentioned something like a lifebird was worth a 5-hour drive, and the one birder mentioned he was surprised it was a lifebird for me.  Hmm…  That started me thinking whether I had actually seen this bird before out west.  But there was no time to research my lifelist - my chase wasn’t over yet.

I quickly got back in the car and drove a short distance to the boat ramp lot where I spotted this group of 25 or more birders at the water’s edge.  This looked promising.

I arrived at the end of the boat ramp and the birders directed me to look to the left.  There was the Ancient Murrelet not more than 50 feet away floating near the shore.  Over the next 15 minutes it actively fed and swam in that same general area.  Interestingly, there were some large oak leaves floating on the water nearby, and it was hardly larger than the leaves.  I was able to get this phonescoped photo of the bird, complete with one of those floating oak leaves in the background.


While watching the bird I heard a photographer lament that the lighting wasn’t good.  To which another birder responded – “would you rather take pictures of a Mallard in good light or an Ancient Murrelet in bad light?”

I didn’t stay too long because I still had the Limpkin to pursue.  Plus I was way behind schedule given all the backups.  But as I walked back to my car I started thinking again whether the Murrelet was actually a lifer or not.  I pulled up my lifelist on eBird and there was the Ancient Murrelet already on my list.  I had actually seen this species in Alaska (on both of my trips there), and as a rarity on a pelagic trip out of California.  I was confusing this with the Long-billed Murrelet, another alcid that rarely shows up on inland lakes, which would have truly been a lifebird.  Another senior moment I guess.  I wouldn’t have made the long drive if I had realized it was just for a couple possible statebirds – even though the Murrelet was a first record for TN. 

But now I was off on a Limpkin chase.  This had been an amazing year for vagrant Limpkins throughout the east, and this Limpkin was being reported sporadically feeding near a bridge over a small arm of Chickamauga Lake.  After a quick 30-minute ride I arrived at the bridge and parked nearby.  This part of the country has been under an extreme drought and all the water bodies were extremely low.  Here is a picture of the wetlands upstream of the bridge – there was a huge amount of potential muddy habitat for a Limpkin to feed in. 


It was time to find a brown bird in an all-brown background.  And oh by the way, it was about the size of a lot of those brown rocks now exposed by the low water levels .  I scanned the area below the bridge and found a nice flock of Ring-billed and Bonaparte’s Gulls, plus a few Killdeer, but no large brown wading birds.  Then I checked upstream of the bridge and found no birds at all.  Was the Limpkin search going to be more difficult than the search for the Murrelet?  I went back to the downstream side and scanned more slowly, but still no target bird.  Then I returned to the upstream side and noticed some movement in the water in the distance.  There was the Limpkin wading in the middle of the little stream of water that remained.  Here’s a digi-binned picture of the bird without zooming in – it really blended in with its surroundings.

And here it is heavily cropped.

My statebird map for Limpkin is inserted below.  I’ve seen Limpkin in FL which is the only state where it is regular (shaded in blue).  And now TN is my 3rd state (shaded in brown) where I’ve seen it as a rarity.


That was certainly a most successful day, despite all the driving.  In hindsight, I guess I’m glad that I hadn’t remembered my lifelist correctly or I wouldn’t have been able to add these 2 extreme rarities to my TN statelist, which now stands at 258.

Sunday, December 3, 2023

Saltmarsh Sparrow On My Statelist Once Again, Kiawah Island, South Carolina, October 27, 2023

I’ve birded the southeast Atlantic coast for many years; in fact for many decades.  Much of my coastal birding time predates the split of the Sharp-tailed Sparrow into Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows.  So when the split occurred I simply had Sharp-tailed Sparrow on my statelist for each of the Atlantic coastal states.  Unfortunately, back then I did not look close enough at the sparrows to note the differences, so I have no idea if I saw either one or both species in a number of states.  And both species are present on the southern coast at the same time of the year, so the timing of my past trips doesn’t help me to determine which species I may have seen.  So for a while, I arbitrarily put Saltmarsh Sparrow on my state list for a number of coastal states. 

I partially clarified this situation for SC on October 20, 2022.  My wife and I had taken a vacation to Kiawah Island on the SC coast and of course I added in some birding time.  I had received a tip to try for these marsh sparrows near high tide, since the high water levels flush these skulking birds from the marsh grasses.  I headed to the extensive Spartina marshes near the bridge onto the island to try for the sparrows, arriving right at high tide.  I was lucky enough to spot a Nelson’s of the Atlantic race that day.  Over the next 30 minutes I flushed 2 Seasides and no less than 5 other smaller, lighter colored sparrows, but all flew deep into the marsh and dropped in without perching.  Undoubtedly all were Saltmarsh or Nelson’s, but none cooperated enough for a definitive ID.  As a result, I added Nelson’s to my SC statelist and took off Saltmarsh.  I’d have to wait for a future visit to try for Saltmarsh Sparrow. 

That next opportunity came in October 2023 when we once again took a fall vacation on Kiawah Island.  And I once again planned to head to the Spartina marshes near the bridge onto the island to look for those skulking sparrows.  My first try was the high tide the evening of the 25th.  I was successful in flushing 10 sparrows from the perimeter of the marsh, but unfortunately all were Seasides.  I felt like I had my system to spot these marsh sparrows down pretty well.  I just wasn’t finding the right species.

I had one more chance to search for my target bird the last morning of our trip with a high tide near sunrise.  Little did I know that the high tide that day was exceptionally high due to the full moon.  When I arrived at the marsh I was shocked to see nearly the entire marsh underwater.  In this picture what looks like open water is actually flooded dense Spartina marsh grasses.  And the tide was still rising!


I climbed down the bank of the entrance road and stood ankle-deep at the edge of the marsh – a spot that was far out of the water at other high tides.  My plan was to try to work the normally dry shrubs along the road embankment which was the only vegetation in the area that was above the water level.  It was still too dark for any positive IDs, so I just stood at the edge waiting for sunrise.  Soon I started to see a number of individual small sparrows flying out of the marsh to the vegetation in front of me to get out of the flooding.  I was cautiously optimistic.

When I thought it was finally light enough to be able to identify the sparrows, I started playing a few Saltmarsh call notes, and instantly got Seaside Sparrows to come out and perch just a few feet in front of me.  At one point I had 10 Seasides in view at once in a small bush, most giving pretty good views.  But still no Saltmarsh (or Nelson’s for that matter).  Then I finally noticed one bird with an orange face.  The bird had fine flank and chest streaking, and only a faint orange wash below.  I had my target Saltmarsh Sparrow.  Later I counted 11 more Seaside’s in another bush.  Even though I covered a very small area I had 21 Seasides.  Surprisingly, I only no other Saltmarsh or Nelson’s.

And now that I confirmed Nelson’s the previous year, I could finally add Saltmarsh Sparrow (once again) to my SC statelist - #302.

I’ve now seen this species in all the states in its range along the Atlantic coast except cross-hatched Georgia (see my statebird map below).  My experience with Saltmarsh Sparrow in GA is like that in SC – I saw “Sharp-tailed” Sparrows there years ago, and have seen Nelson’s more recently but not yet Saltmarsh. 


 


Wednesday, November 22, 2023

American Flamingo, Cape Romain NWR Bulls Island, SC, October 24, 2023

The tropical system that would become Hurricane Idalia formed just east of the Yucatan peninsula on August 27th.  The system then meandered in the waters off western Cuba for a couple days before moving north into the Gulf of Mexico on August 29th.  Idalia rapidly intensified into a major hurricane with sustained winds near 125 mph when it made landfall in the FL Big Bend area.  Idalia continued northeast through the southeast US, passing through FL, GA and SC, and eventually moved off the coast of SC just south of the NC line on the 31st as a tropical storm.

Windblown birds will often get displaced by tropical systems, especially storms that form in the tropics.  And just as anticipated, Idalia was responsible for a number of displaced storm birds.  But few would have anticipated the single key displaced species for which Idalia would become known.    

On September 2nd this most surprising post came across the NC Rare Bird Alert chat –

“Ten flamingos at Pea Island in South Pond!!”

Flamingos!  A whole flock of them!  On the Outer Banks of NC!  Although escaped birds are always possible, surely a flock of birds must be wild.  And immediately I started to wonder if they could have been displaced by Idalia.  Soon thereafter came a report of 2 Flamingos on the SC coast at Bulls Island in the Cape Romain NWR, which were discovered on September 1.  I’ve only seen wild Flamingos once before – a flock of 16 at least a mile away off the Everglades at Snake Bight Trail on December 8, 2008.  So I would have loved to go chase after both the SC and NC Flamingos.  But the SC birds were at least a 5 hour drive and boat ride away, and the NC birds were even farther requiring a 7-hour drive.  So I would just have to pass on these ultra-rarities.

Often birds displaced by tropical weather systems only stay a short time before trying to head back “home”.  But both the SC and the NC birds continued at their new locations throughout September and into October.  And during that time more Flamingos were spotted at out-of-the way locations throughout the east including in PA, MD, VA, KY, OH, IN, TN, WI, KS, AL, and throughout FL.  A few of these had been banded in the Yucatan Peninsula, confirming the wild nature of these birds, just in case there was any lingering doubt as to their origin.

As Idalia was forming in the tropics, my wife and I made reservations for a vacation at the end of October at Kiawah Island on the SC coast.  As the Flamingo reports started to come in, I briefly wondered if the SC Flamingos might stick around until our vacation.  But surely the Flamingos would be long gone nearly 2 months after Idalia passed through.  Sure enough on September 3rd one of the Bulls Island birds disappeared, leaving just one bird behind.  But reports of that bird continued on a nearly daily basis well into October.  Finally, as our vacation neared it was time to add a trip to Bulls Island to the trip itinerary.  With a bit of research, I found information on the ferry service that takes you to the island, Coastal Expeditions, and made a reservation for October 24th.  Now I had to just hope that the Flamingo would continue to stick around.

I combed through all the recent reports and it seemed that the Flamingo was always being seen in Upper Summerhouse Pond.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that Upper Summerhouse Pond is actually a pretty large lake, with several peninsulas and coves.  As a result, only a portion of the lake is visible from any one vantage point.  Sometimes the bird was close to shore, most recently along the dike on Turkey Walk Trail.  But other times the bird was spotted at the far end of the lake a quarter mile or farther away.  I figured I just needed to be thorough in my search and I would hopefully be successful.

The 24th finally arrived and I was out the door of our rental house bright and early.  After an hour ride I pulled into the parking lot for the Bulls Island Ferry.  As I waited for the ferry’s departure I checked eBird one last time - the last report from Bulls Island was from the 19th and the Flamingo was indeed spotted that day.  I started chatting with the boat captain and he said it was spotted by one of his passengers on the 23rd.  I was cautiously optimistic.

As we winded our way through the channels in route to Bulls Island I reflected on my last trip to the island.  It was back in May 1977, 46 years ago, when I got species like Sandwich Tern and Purple Gallinule as lifebirds.  This time I wasn’t looking for a lifer, just a much rarer addition to my SC state list. 

After disembarking from the ferry I headed right to the Upper Summerhouse Pond.  Along the way I passed through some very nice woodlands that were quite birdy.  But I didn’t stop, not only because I was on a Flamingo hunt, but also because the mosquitos were thick and hungry!  As I arrived at northwest corner of the pond I did a quick binocular scan but did not see my target bird.  Then a more detailed scan with my scope came up empty.  But I wasn’t too concerned – I was only able to see a smaller portion of the pond from this location and there were still several more vantage points to check. 

I took a short walk down the dike on the Turkey Walk Trail until I got to a break in the vegetation affording me a view of the main pool.  Once again I did a binocular scan and then a more detailed scan with my scope.  But to no avail.  Far in the distance at the southern end of the pond I recognized a row of power poles that were in the most recent photos of the bird, but there was no Flamingo there today.  Which was good news I guess because if so, the bird would have been more than a quarter mile away.

So it was on to the next vantage point near the northeast corner of the main part of the pond.  Distant scans of the perimeter of the pool still came up empty.  Now I was really starting to worry.  Would I be the first person to miss the long-staying Bulls Island Flamingo?  There were still a couple other vantage points I could check, but they would require longer walks and subject me to a lot more mosquitos. 

As I stood there trying to decide my next course of action, I noticed a bit of movement just beyond the thick vegetation at the edge of pond quite close to me.  I took a couple steps to get a slightly clearer view of the area and there was my target bird – an American Flamingo!  The bird was no more than 50 feet away!  I slowly took a couple more steps up the dike until I reached an opening in the vegetation and got tremendous views of the bird.  Here are a couple phonescoped shots.


I watched the Flamingo for the next half hour actively feeding by immersing its entire head under the water.  That was quite different from what I’ve seen in zoos when they would only barely put their bills under the water surface to feed. 

I’m glad I didn’t have to wait any longer to get to Bulls Island.  As it turns out my report of the Flamingo was the last one on eBird.  So instead of being the first birder to miss the Bulls Island Flamingo, I was the last one to see it. 

American Flamingo was #301 for my SC list, and my 541st photographed species in the ABA region.

And now for a postscript for seeing birds displaced by tropical systems –

I’ve had a pretty good track record of seeing rarities displaced by tropical storms and hurricanes.  These include –

Hurricane Katrina – August 2005 – TN – Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, numerous Laughing Gulls – Pickwick Dam

Hurricane Earl - September 2010 – MA - Sabine’s Gull and South Polar Skua, First Encounter Beach

Hurricane Irene – August-September 2011

MA – White-tailed Tropicbird, Sooty Tern, and 2 Jaeger sp. - Quabbin Reservoir in Central MA

VT – Sanderling – Connecticut River in Vernon

RI -– Brown Pelican, Parasitic Jaeger, Sooty Tern - Moonstone Beach

ME - Black Skimmer – Pine Point

Hurricane Arthur – July 2014

MA - Sandwich Tern - Plum Island

ME – Royal Tern - Hills Beach  (both on the same day)

And now I can add the American Flamingo in SC after Hurricane Idalia.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Limpkin, Mountain Creek Park, Catawba County, NC, August 26, 2023

There had been quite a number of sightings of Limpkins throughout the southeast in the summer of 2023.  This species is not generally prone to vagrancy.  But this year, it was apparent that some type of post-breeding dispersal was occurring similar to what happens with other waders.  Unfortunately, all the reports were quite distant from home, including several in central NC and a couple in central TN. 

But then I noticed a Limpkin report from Catawba County on August 25.  The bird was seen at Mountain Creek Park a bit northwest of Charlotte about a 2-hour drive from home – within my self-imposed driving limit.  I could chase after it the next day, but some of the local Limpkin reports were one-day-wonders.  So it sure would be nice to know that the bird would stick around before I made the trek. 

As it turns out my birding friend Bill Hooker was also interested in pursuing this bird to add it to his Catawba County list.  He was able to relocate it on the 25th, and went back on the morning of the 26th and found it again quite easily.  Bill passed along his suggestions to find the Limpkin – set up your scope on the fishing pier and scan the islands and small mudflats a short distance away.  Although the bird was sometimes seen in the open on the flats, it seemed to prefer perching somewhat obscured in low branches in front of the right most island as you look out from the pier.  With that great advice I was all set and headed off for Mountain Creek Park.

I arrived just after 1 PM in the heat of the day – my car thermometer said the outside temperature was 100 degrees – yikes! 


I quickly made my way to the fishing pier, which thankfully was partially shaded.  I did a quick scan of the island to the right but came up empty.  Then with my scope set up in the shade I searched that right-most island more closely but could not find the Limpkin.  Slow scans of the flats and remaining portions of the islands were unsuccessful as well, with the best find being a Pectoral Sandpiper. 

This was going to be a challenge.  If I was going to be successful, I would need to just settle in and keep doing frequent scans of those islands.  About a half hour after I arrived I heard the unmistakable calls of a Limpkin coming from the shoreline a short distance away.  But the calls were a little too good – it was another birder playing tape. 

Then a half hour later I finally got the break I needed – I noticed a large brown bird flying from the back of the right island towards the flats.  With a quick scope view I had my Limpkin!  I was able to get a couple quick phonescoped shots as it briefly walked out in the open.


A few seconds later it walked into vegetation toward the left and disappeared.  It was in view for maybe just 60 seconds.  I remained there for another hour hoping to get better views but it never re-emerged.  I guess a 1-minute distant view over 2 hours would have to be good enough.

Limpkin was #323 for my NC statelist.  And now NC is my third state, after FL and SC, for this expanding species.

 

As a postscript – just a couple weeks after the Mountain Creek Park sighting a Limpkin appeared at Jackson Park only 15 minutes from home.  I saw this bird on September 9, which certainly was much more cooperative than the one in Catawba County.  I could have saved myself a 2-hour drive if the Jackson Park bird had shown up a couple weeks earlier.


Monday, September 4, 2023

Flock of Swallow-tailed Kites, Bluff City, Sullivan County, Tennessee, August 23, 2023

It was August 22nd and we were well into what I call “The Summer Doldrums of Birding” – a period where the breeding season is over, and migration isn’t yet underway.  Unfortunately, that lasts nearly 2 months here in the mountains of western NC.  Luckily, it’s good birding the remaining 10+ months of the year.  I hadn’t had a new statebird, let alone even tried for one, since coming back from my Oregon, Idaho, and Washington trip in June.

Even though it was a slow time of the year I decided to check my eBird Needs Alert for Tennessee on the off chance that there might be something to chase after in the eastern part of the state.  As is usually the case, most every listed species was being seen in the central or western part of the state.  But then I noticed some reports of Swallow-tailed Kite from Sullivan County.  First of all, I didn’t even know I needed STKI for TN – thank goodness for eBird Needs Alerts!  Then I thought I remembered that Sullivan County was near the northeast corner of TN.  And sure enough a quick search on GoogleMaps showed the site to be 1 hour 55 minutes from home - just within my self-imposed 2-hour driving limit for chases.

Now I had to determine if my target was reasonably reliable to justify the chase.  There were nearly daily reports recently of up to 5 birds along Chinquapin Grove Road, with reports going back to August 6th with up to 8 birds spotted.  That was all good news.  But, there were no reports from the 22nd.  Since the spot was not a hotspot I couldn’t tell if anyone looked for them unsuccessfully that day.  I tried to overlook the lack of reports writing it off simply as most of the local birders who wanted to see the Kites had already done so by then.  The out-of-range Kite flock was old news of sorts.  At least that’s what I told myself.  Based on the Kites’ history at the site I assumed they were reliable enough to make a run to TN to give them a try.  I was free the next morning - the chase was on!

Kites aren’t typically up and about until mid to late morning, so I figured there was no need to leave the house too early.  I was out the door at about 6:45 which had me rolling into the area where the Kites had been seen at 8:40.  The site turned out to be an active cattle ranch, with grazing pastures in all directions.  A few reports mentioned seeing them across the road from a red barn, which was pretty obvious when I pulled up.  So I decided to park along the road right at the barn and set up my scope to look roughly northeast over the fields opposite the barn.

I didn’t see any Kites when I first arrived, but I wasn’t too worried since it was likely still too early for them.  Though I kept scanning the skies just in case.  At about 9:30 I saw the first Vultures soaring nearby.  There were several reports of the Kites soaring in Vulture kettles so I scanned the Vultures closely, but to no avail. 

Then at 9:40 I spotted a raptor flying nearby quite low – without even a binocular view I knew it was my target Swallow-tailed Kite.  Then 3 more followed it.  All 4 birds landed at the top of a tall sycamore tree about 300 ft away just across the road from the barn and proceeded to preen for the next 15 minutes.  I was able to get these phonescoped shots of some of the perched birds.


Very striking birds!  And certainly worth the chase to get this rarity for TN.  Swallow-tailed Kite was number 256 for my TN list.  

My statebird map for this species is inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Swallow-tails in their regular range.  Blue cross-hatched AL is the last state in its regular range where I’ve yet to see this species. And now I’ve seen Swallow-tailed Kite in 2 states where it is a rarity (TN and NC shaded in brown).


 \

 

Sunday, July 2, 2023

Washington Portion of the Northwest Sagebrush Country Trip, May-June 2023

In January 2016 an armed group of protesters seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon.  By the time the occupation was over in February 2016, there was a considerable amount of destruction of the refuge facilities, resulting in closure of the headquarters facilities for months.  Unfortunately, I had planned a summer 2016 birding trip to the sagebrush country of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and southern Idaho to include a lengthy stop at Malheur NWR.  But given the issues at Malheur I shelved those plans and headed to Alberta and British Columbia that summer instead. 

But my interests in birding eastern OR, eastern WA, and southern ID continued as this was the last large section of the Lower 48 that I had not yet birded.  And a new part of the country for me would equate to considerable statebirding potential.  So after further delays first due to moving, and then due to Covid, I finally got around to scheduling the OR/WA/ID sagebrush country trip for the summer of 2023.  Plus I added a short side-trip to the South Hills of ID for Cassia Crossbill.  I reached out to birding friend David Donsker who often joins me on these trips, and he agreed to come along. 

After considerable research on-line especially on eBird, and with invaluable advice from a number of local birders, I set up an 11-day itinerary from May 24th to June 3rd, starting in southern ID, then into eastern OR, next into southeastern WA, then back to ID for flights back home.  Plus I reached out to long-time WA birding buddy Blair Bernson for his advice.  He also helped me connect with local expert birders Mike and MerryLynn Denny and Phil Bartley who provided excellent advice to bird southeastern WA.  Given the potential statebirds in the area I hoped to add perhaps 12 new birds in WA.

But simply adding a lot of statebirds wasn’t my only objective for the trip.  Years ago, the ABA allowed you to report your totals for a given state only if your total exceeded half of the total number of species ever recorded in that state.  Early in my birding career I had set a goal to be able to report my totals to the ABA in each of the continental 49 states.  Eventually I exceeded those thresholds in each state except one – OR, for which I exceeded the threshold on this trip.  Although those ABA reporting thresholds no longer exist, they still represent a logical set of standards to strive for in each state. 

But the state totals inch up over the years as new birds are added to the official state list.  As a result, I set a somewhat arbitrary goal of being 15 over those old ABA thresholds (I call it “ABA plus 15”).  I started the 2023 trip with 267 species in WA, 19 over the old ABA reportable threshold of 248, and 4 over my ABA plus 15 threshold of 263.  But WA has added so many birds to its state list in recent years that as of October 2022 the official state list has risen to 522.  Half that total is 261 – simply being 15 over the old ABA threshold may not be enough to stay over half the state total for much longer.

So adding enough WA birds to stay comfortably above half their state list was a secondary objective for this trip. 

This blog post presents a summary of the WA portion of the trip.  My previous posts briefly summarized the entire trip and detailed the ID and OR portions.

Day 7 – May 30 - Drive to Walla Walla

My initial plan was to have Walla Walla as our home base for most of our WA birding.  While there we would stay at the home of a good friend of David’s, Alan Peterson.  But since my first birding spots were to the west in the Tri-Cities area, we decided that I would make those stops on my own after dropping David off at Alan’s house.  On Day 7 of our trip, after a morning of birding in northeastern OR, we arrived in the Walla Walla area mid-afternoon.  I then dropped off David and was off to WE Johnson Park in Benton County to meet up with Blair.  This spot was suggested by Blair because of the potential to see Black-chinned Hummingbird at private feeders adjacent to the park, and Yellow-breasted Chats in the park nearby. 

But even before I left Walla Walla I spotted my first WA statebird – a Swainson’s Hawk flying along the roadway.  My statebird map for this species is inserted below.  Blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this western species; the cross-hatched states are those in its regular range where I’ve yet to see it.

When I arrived at the park Blair was waiting for me at the edge of the private yard with lovely gardens and most importantly a pair of hummingbird feeders.  Just minutes before I arrived he had both a Black-chinned at the feeder and a Chat perched prominently in the park next door.  Now we just had to wait for them both to return.  We waited a while for the Hummer but with no luck, so we decided to take a short walk into the park.  And after a few minutes we started to hear a Chat though it was being bashful and never popped out into the open (WA statebird #2).  WA was my last western state for this species – I just need it in a couple Midwest states near the northern edge of its range.  And I’ve seen it in 4 New England states shaded in brown as a rarity.

With that one out of the way we headed back to the yard and continued our vigil for the Black-chinned.  After a while with no activity we thought about calling it quits.  And then we noticed the homeowner had come out to her front yard and we struck up a conversation with her.  She invited us into her back yard where we could have a better view of the feeders while standing in the shade on that hot day.  And within just a few minutes we had a female come to the feeder and nearby flowers (WA statebird #3).  And a couple minutes later a male arrived and proceeded to go through its elaborate “U” shaped courtship display.  Quite amazing to watch and glad we waited.  Here’s a picture of part of the gardens with the Black-chinned perched at the top of the bare snag with the park in the background.

Afterwards we made a feeble attempt to try for Grasshopper Sparrow and Chukar seen nearby last year, but realized the locations given in eBird weren’t sufficiently detailed.  So we decided to call it quits for the day and we’d meet up again the next morning.

Day 8 – May 31 – Benton County and Tri-Cities

I was on my own on my first stop of the day in excellent sagebrush habitat south of Rattlesnake Mountain in Benton County.  Phil had given me great advice for finding my targets at this location, and I mapped out a route through the sagebrush to get to all the suggested spots.  I started there pre-dawn along Rotha Road on the off-chance that I could run into a Poorwill reported there in previous years, even though Phil said they were no longer possible there.  I should have listened to Phil as I struck on the Poorwills though I had 24 individual Horned Larks sitting on the road in front of me – couldn’t turn any of them into a resting Poorwill.  I also heard numerous Common Nighthawks overhead.  Plus, in the light of my headlights 3 different Lark Sparrows flushed from the roadway (WA statebird #4) – a nice bird for a nocturnal list.  WA was the last western state where I still needed this species, though I’ve seen it in 8 eastern states as a rarity.

It was now closing in on sunrise so I drove to the Rothrock Rd. parking lot hotspot where Sagebrush Sparrow is quite regular.  While I waited for the sky to brighten I got this nice picture of the sun about to rise over the sagebrush.

I then positioned myself at the eastern edge of the parking lot and listened for my target Sparrow.  I just had to wait a few seconds before I started to hear a Sagebrush Sparrow singing (WA statebird #5).  And within a couple minutes I could hear 3 different birds singing from throughout the sea of sagebrush.  Although I was able to add this species to my lists in all 3 states I covered on this trip, I still need it in 4 other western states.

Next I tried walking along the grassy shoulder just north of the parking lot for Gray Partridge but this species continued to elude me. 

I went back to the car to warm up a bit (temps were in the low 40s – 50 degrees colder than yesterday’s high) thinking I had now seen all my potential statebirds that I could in this habitat.  But then I started to wonder why I needed Sagebrush Sparrow in WA but not Sage Thrasher.  Since this was my first time birding in this habitat in WA I bet I needed Sage Thrasher as well.  Luckily I had just enough cell reception to allow me to pull up my WA statelist on eBird and sure enough I was missing Sage Thrasher.  Good thing I realized this before leaving.  I quickly pulled up Phil’s e-mail and noticed he suggested the swails around the intersection of Crooks and Franks Roads as a possible spot for the Thrasher.  I drove over to Phil’s suggested spot and had no sooner gotten out of the car when I could hear a Sage Thrasher in song (WA statebird #6).  Once again luck was on my side to add this species to my WA list.  Here’s the lush vegetation from which the Thrasher was singing.

It was now time to connect with Blair and the Denny’s who agreed to show me around for the morning in the Tri-Cities area.  So I started my drive south out of the sagebrush and had only gone a couple miles when I noticed a sparrow perched on a bush near the road.  I pulled to a stop and found it to be a White-crowned Sparrow, the only one of the trip.  And then I heard another singing Sagebrush Sparrow.  While I was trying to track down the Sparrow I heard some “chuck” calls behind me.  I turned just in time to see a Chukar crossing the road behind me (WA statebird #7).  That was a most unlikely spot for a Chukar with no exposed rocks in the area.  Another lucky find, and the 5th state where I’ve seen this species.

Now I was truly leaving and set off to Hood Park in Walla Walla County to meet Blair and the Denny’s.  We weren’t planning to bird there, but while waiting in the parking lot I spotted an Eastern Kingbird in the distance, the first of many (WA statebird #8).  I’ve now seen this species in each state in its range except for NV.


Our first stop with the Denny’s was the Peninsula Unit of McNary NWR.  Our key birding spot there was a small peninsula that afforded good views of the Columbia River.  My key targets here were Terns, with Forster’s being the most likely and with outside chances for Common and Black.  We were able to quickly find a small group of 7 Forster’s Terns perched together in the distance (WA statebird #9).  WA was the last state in which I needed Forster’s Tern in its regular range across the US.


We were also able to pick up several Caspian Terns, but no other small terns.  We stayed at this spot for about an hour, picking up 37 species including a rare male Common Goldeneye, before heading off to our next stop.

And that next spot was an eBird hotspot known as the Tyson Blood Ponds.  These “ponds” are at the edge of a very large cattle feed lot, which apparently accept wastewaters generated from slaughtering the cows.  Although the pond appeared to be solid, the gray material is actually fats floating on the surface.  Not surprisingly the area was rather aromatic. 

We didn’t stay here long, but were able to quickly pick up 2 Black-necked Stilts likely breeding here (WA statebird #10), along with an Avocet.  Just one more state to go in the Stilt’s regular range, though I’ve seen it in 5 states in the northeast as a rarity. 

Our next stop was the Port of Walulla with more views of the Columbia River.  Here we picked out both Clark’s and Western Grebes, and more Caspian Terns, but found no new target birds.

Then we took a short drive south along the river to a steep cliff face to look for White-throated Swifts.  Mike Denny mentioned to look for them flying in one of the gaps between two parts of the cliff and sure enough there they were, flying among the Violet-green Swallows.  Although that wasn’t a target bird for me in WA, I needed it for my OR list.  Just a few days earlier I had an unsuccessful search for White-throated Swifts on a very similar cliff south of Malheur NWR in OR.  Ironically the Swifts we were looking at were only about a mile from the OR stateline.  Statebirding is like that sometimes…

Next we were on to another hotspot in McNary NWR called Millet and Woodland Ponds.  The Denny’s had a Wilson’s Phalarope there 2 days earlier, so I was hopeful we would be successful with that target.  We parked in the small parking lot for the site and began to walk through some cottonwood and riparian vegetation toward the ponds.  One of our first birds was a Common Nighthawk perched on a horizontal branch – always a nice find.  Then a short distance ahead a small bird flew in to feed on some grasses just a short distance away – it was a Lesser Goldfinch (WA statebird #11).  WA was my last state in which to see this species in its regular range.

When we arrived at the wetlands we all scoped from numerous angles but could not come up with a Phalarope.  Perhaps it was feeding back in the brush out of view.  Though we did find 6 species of dabblers and a couple more Stilts.

It was now lunchtime and we had pretty much covered all the possible locations for my target statebirds in the Tri-Cities area.  And it was time for the Denny’s to move on, so I thanked them for all their help for our morning searches.

What to do next?  I had thought that the locations we birded that morning would take all day to cover, so I had quite a bit of free time on my hands.  Blair mentioned that a Wilson’s Phalarope and a rare White-faced Ibis had been recently seen at an eBird hotspot named Para Ponds.  Plus Tricolored Blackbirds are possible there.  With a bit of eBird research I found Para Ponds and reports of as many as 4 Phalaropes as recently as 2 days earlier, and both the Ibis and Tricolored Blackbirds were last seen 3 days earlier.  It was only about an hour’s drive to get there, and I had spare time and statebird potential, so I was off to Para Ponds.

Para Ponds are located in a broad area of wetlands just north of the little town of Othello in Adams County.  Just after coming through the town the road descended down a pretty considerable hill into the valley and the wetlands beyond.  I parked on the shoulder at the edge of the Ponds and started my search.  On my first scan I hoped for a large dark wader but just found a Great Blue and a couple Great Egrets.  Then a quick scan of the mudflats just netted a Spotted Sandpiper and a few Killdeer.  This was going to be difficult…

Over the next hour I viewed the ponds from as many different angles as possible, but couldn’t come up with any of my targets.  There were a few dabbling ducks in the ponds, but considerably less waterfowl than in the previous checklists, so I wondered if water levels had dropped enough that the Phalarope and Ibis were no longer interested in this spot.  I was getting ready to leave when a Blackbird flew by just a few feet away.  Even without binoculars I could see that it had a bright white band on the shoulder and there was no red visible – it was a male Tricolored Blackbird (WA statebird #12).  Later I found another make feeding along the water’s edge, and then came upon a flock of 5 males on another bank, along with a flyby female.  Here is a distant photo of several on the shore. 

I’ve now seen Tricolored Blackbird in each state in its regular range, including in isolated colonies in OR, NV, and now WA.  That’s quite a nice range expansion for a species that was once thought to breed only in CA.

After looking at the Blackbirds I spent more time searching for my other targets but still came up empty.  Little did I know that another birder would see a Phalarope there that evening.  Ugh…

My last realistic statebird target of the day was Wild Turkey.  There were numerous eBird reports of Turkeys throughout the Walla Walla area so I was cautiously optimistic.  But Turkeys can be difficult to find since there aren’t often specific locations where they are very reliable.  But the Denny’s mentioned that they are often seen at the Whitman Mission National Historic Site near Walla Walla.  That was right on my way back to Alan’s place and reconnecting with David so it would make for an easy stop.  I arrived at 4:30 and went into the visitors’ center to see if anyone had suggestions for finding Turkeys at the park.  One of the park employees said that the Turkeys are most often seen there at sunrise and sunset, and that she had seen them most anywhere in the park.  I took a quick stroll around without seeing any Turkeys, so I headed out to get dinner and come back later that evening.  Unfortunately, I still came up empty.  Maybe I’ll be luckier at dawn the next day.

Day 9 – June 1 – Biscuit Ridge Road

David and I had one key stop this day, and that was to bird our way up Biscuit Ridge Road.  We left Alan’s place around sunrise and as we walked toward the car we could hear a Wild Turkey gobbling (WA statebird #13).  That was easy – I shouldn’t have spent so much time looking for them the previous day.  I just need this species in 5 more states across the country.

Fresh from finding one new gallinaceous bird for my statelist, we reminded ourselves that Alan sometimes sees Gray Partridges on his property.  As we headed down the hill through Alan’s property we paused briefly at the hedgerow where he often sees them, then continued very slowly down the hill watching the grasses nearby.  And just then we spotted the head of a Gray Partridge sticking up above the grass (WA statebird #14).  We continued to watch it walk slowly along feeding on seeds at the top of the blades of grasses.  And just a couple minutes later it walked back into the grass and was once again out of view.  Here’s the grassy field the Partridge was walking through.

WA is only the 6th state where I’ve seen this elusive species.

And then as we left Alan’s property we heard a California Quail calling and saw a Pheasant on the road side – that gave us 4 gallinaceous species in less than 5 minutes!  Then just a mile away we passed by this flock of Turkeys in a farm field.  I really shouldn’t have stressed so much over this species!

After a short drive we reached the base of Biscuit Ridge Road where our two key targets were Veery and Green-tailed Towhee.  We started our climb up through scattered houses often tucked into nice riparian habitat.  We kept our ears open for Veerys but couldn’t make frequent stops among all the houses.  Then a couple miles uphill there was a break in the houses with some nice riparian habitat nearby so we made this one of our first key stops.  And sure enough we soon heard a couple singing Veerys (WA statebird #15).  Nice to fill in the northwest portion of my statebird map for this thrush one might think of as an eastern species.


 As we continued uphill we heard quite a number of singing flycatchers, most notably 3 different “Western” Flycatchers.  Although the songs sounded the same to me, Merlin repeatedly ID’d 2 of them as Cordillerans, and 1 as a Pacific-slope.  Many birders in the region don’t agree with the 1989 split of these species given the similarities between their songs and plumage, particularly in southeastern WA.  Plus there is a proposal for the AOU to re-lump these 2 species later in 2023.  As a result, I decided to enter all 3 as Pacific-Slope/Cordilleran Flycatchers in my eBird checklist. 

We were some 9 or 10 miles up the road when we ran into a couple of other birders heading upslope as well.  They too were looking for Green-tailed Towhee, in their case for their year lists, since this was just about the only spot to find them in all of WA.  They had seen the Towhee here before, and knew their preferred habitat as isolated patches of thick brush on grassy slopes high up on Biscuit Ridge.  Luckily they let us join them on their search, and we followed them for several miles while the road entered into nice Ponderosa pine habitat.  But our target was the Towhee, so we passed by the pines and pulled over in a spot where the slope below us to the southwest was grass-covered but had patches of thick brush.  At our first stop we had no Towhees, but did find this mother bear and two cubs in the distance.

We drove a bit farther up the road and stopped at areas of similar habitat.  And this time we had success, hearing at least 1 and maybe 2 singing Green-tailed Towhees singing below us (WA statebird #16).  One was singing from the brush in the middle of this picture.  And the scenery was nice as well!


We also had a MacGillivray’s Warbler that perched up nicely in the distance long enough to get this phonescoped photo.

On our way back down the ridge we birded the Ponderosa pine habitat and had species like Red Crossbill, Cassin’s Finch, and Red-breasted Nuthatch.  Plus we were treated to more nice scenery of the valley below us to the west.


We left Biscuit Ridge Road about 11 AM and once again had spare time on our hands.  So we decided to take a drive north to Harder Spring in Franklin County where a colony of Tricolored Blackbirds were breeding.  This spot turned out to be an isolated oasis consisting of a wetlands covered in cattails and surrounded by riparian vegetation.  As soon as we arrived we spotted numerous blackbirds flying between the wetlands and the desert.  Upon closer look nearly all of these turned out to be Tricolored Blackbirds foraging out in the sagebrush desert to look for food to feed their young.  I wondered how sustainable a colony of this size could be, not only since the parents had to fly so far to find food, but also to have to look for that food in the desert vegetation.  Must be a tough existence.  In any case, we got good views of both the females that were darker than female Red-wings, and the males with their white-trimmed shoulder patch that only occasionally showed any red plumage.  We also ran into an Olive-sided Flycatcher perched in a tree at the oasis.  A nice way to end our day and to end the WA portion of the trip.

Conclusion

The WA portion of our trip featured 112 species, most importantly including 16 new statebirds, much better than the 12 I hoped for.  That brings my statelist to 283, now 35 over the old ABA reportable threshold of 248.  With the official WA statelist at 522 as of October 2022, the new threshold for half of the total would be 261.  Looks like I’ll stay over the threshold of half the statelist total for some time to come. 

Here is a link to my eBird Trip Report for the WA portion of our trip –

WA Portion of 2023 Trip - eBird Trip Report

Many thanks to Blair Bernson, Phil Bartley, and Mike and MerryLynn Denny for all their help on so many of our searches.  And thanks to Alan Peterson for allowing us to stay at his home, not to mention creating habitat on his property for the elusive Gray Partridge.