Southern Ohio Trip Nets 7 State Birds - August 23-25, 2024

Since moving to the southeast I’ve been looking for an excuse to get back to Kentucky to fill some gaps in my state list.  Then in late summer of 2023 I began to notice lots of good birds being reported at the Falls of the Ohio - a wetlands area in the Ohio River near Cincinnati.  I finally had my excuse to go birding in KY!   And although birding at the Falls could be my prime reason to return to KY, I could always try for other new state birds en route or nearby.  Plus, while I’m in the area I could cross over into Ohio and bird the southwest part of that state as well.  I last birded in OH in 2017 and that state total was at 228.  That meant I had lots of gaps in that state list too.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get my plans together early enough to make the trip in 2023, but there was always next year.

As Summer 2024 progressed I started to plan my KY and OH trip in earnest.  First of all, I scheduled my trip for the third week of August which historically was the week with the greatest number of targets for me at the Falls of the Ohio (based on eBird bar charts).  Then with the help of several local KY experts and lots of hours on eBird, I found 16 potential KY state birds in the region.  My eBird research revealed 7 reasonable targets on OH, 4 of which were late breeders, while the others were either waders or shorebirds.  But in order to pursue several of them I’d have to drive almost all the way north to Columbus, which was farther than my original plans. 

Planning the trip around the late summer peak times at the Falls of the Ohio meant that local breeders might be difficult to find so late in the breeding season.  But with recent reports for most of the breeders, I tried to stay optimistic. 

Given the timing of the trip for the breeders, I hoped for perhaps 9 new KY state birds plus 3 new birds in OH.  Though maybe I was being too optimistic.

This blog post summarizes the OH portion of my August 2024 trip, starting with Day 4 of the trip.  My previous post summarized the KY part of the trip.

Day 4 – August 23

I started the day birding in Louisville, KY, with my last stop being the Falls of the Ohio.  But since the Falls were quite slow, I didn’t stay there long and as a result, I finished the KY portion of my day earlier than expected.  So with extra time on my hands, I changed my strategy for that afternoon to bird a couple spots on tomorrow’s OH itinerary.  If I was able to find my targets, that would give me more time tomorrow for other stops.  And if I missed those target birds today, I could always come back for a second try tomorrow.

My first OH stop of the day was the GilmoreMetroPark in the northern Cincinnati suburbs where an adult and 2 juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Herons had been reported for some time.  Plus just the day before an Olive-sided Flycatcher was reported at the park, giving me a second target to pursue.  I arrived at the park mid-afternoon and after a short walk reached the overlook at the South Pond where the Herons were most often reported.  I had a Green Heron there on the far side of the pond, but no Night Herons.  I birded along nearly the entire edge of the pond finding 4 more Green Herons, but not my target.  I guess I’d have to come back the next day for a second try for this one.

Next I headed to nearby Cattail Marsh at the park to try for yesterday’s Olive-sided.  On my way I passed by an extensive brushy area that was bathed in the hot afternoon sun so I quickly made my way through the area.  That is until I heard a song that I instantly recognized as one I had played the previous day in KY – Bell’s Vireo.  That’s a really rare bird in OH, and one that had not popped up on any of my OH Needs Alerts.  The bird kept singing so I taped it for ID purposes using the Merlin app.  However, Merlin was calling it a Blue Grosbeak.  I know Blue Grosbeak songs well and this bird wasn’t a Blue Grosbeak.  Perhaps since Merlin knew my location it wasn’t even considering Bell’s Vireo as an option since it would be a rarity.  My tape of the bird in question is in my Bird checklist here –   ebird.org/checklist/S192514134    I was certain of my ID and very excited to have found a rarity.  Here’s a picture of the extensive brushy area where the Bell’s Vireo was calling from.

After hearing the Bell’s Vireo for several minutes I moved onto Cattail Marsh to look for the Olive-sided.  There were lots of tall dead trees and snags surrounding the marsh but unfortunately no perched Olive-sided.  I then turned my attention to the marsh which was nearly dry, exposing a broad mud flat that looked great for species like Baird’s and Buff-breasted Sandpipers.  I tallied 54 Killdeer, plus some Leasts and one Semi Sand, but nothing better.  Although I missed my 2 targets for the park, at least I found a Bell’s Vireo.

Next it was off to Ceasar Creek State Park in the southeast suburbs of Dayton where a Little Blue Heron had been reported for a couple weeks.  And to sweeten the pot, a Snowy Egret was found at the same spot the day before.  The birds were being seen from 2 different sides of Ceasar Creek - from Young Road which ends at a boat ramp to the west, and Mound Road to the east.  They seemed to be more easily seen from Young Road so I decided to go there first.

As I pulled up to the Young Road boat ramp I saw a couple birders with their scope trained on the wetlands to the north.  I scurried on over to them hoping that they had my targets but no such luck – they too were looking for those white waders unsuccessfully so far.  But then one birder mentioned that the eBird hotspot was not at the boat ramp but a short distance to the south.  Maybe we needed to search from there.  I found a trail through the woods and took a short walk to the south where the trail ended at the waters edge.  And due east, about a quarter mile across the river, was a small marsh and mudflat that appeared to be the Mound Road hotspot. 

I started to scan the area and quickly spotted a medium-sized white wader.  Even at that distance I could see the all dark bill, dark legs, and yellow feet of a Snowy Egret (OH state bird #1).  It’s barely visible on the left of the above picture.  And with a bit more scanning I noticed another white wader, a bit slighter than the Snowy.  And with a dark-tipped pale bill and green legs I confirmed it as a Little Blue Heron (OH statebird #2).

My state bird maps for Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron are inserted below.  The blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen these species in their regular range.  The cross-hatched states are those in their regular ranges where I’ve yet to see them.  The purple-shaded states are those where I’ve seen these species as a rarity.

 

Just before leaving the site we found a Philadelphia Vireo foraging in the brush.  A nice bird but not a new one for OH.

That evening I checked on eBird and found to my surprise that my sighting and ID of the Bell’s Vireo had been quickly accepted - based solely on the song.  (Boy was Merlin wrong!)  Not only that, but it was reported from the same spot earlier in the day.  And with a bit more research I found that 1 or 2 Bell’s Vireos had actually been at this same location since May.  Although I wasn’t the first person to find it, at least it would be an unexpected new bird for my OH list.  But then I started to wonder why it hadn’t popped up on any of my OH Needs Alerts.  A couple clicks later I found out that I actually already had Bell’s Vireo on my OH list from a sighting back in June 2011.  It was still exciting to almost discover it that day.

Day 5 – August 24, 2024

My first stop of the day was at the Huffman Prairie Flying Field at the edge of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton.  This field was used by the Wright brothers in the early 1900’s to perfect their flying machine.  A portion of this field is now managed as a natural prairie, and was home for 2 of my targets – Sedge Wren and Henslow’s Sparrow.  I reached out to local birder Steve Bell who had recently posted observations of both breeding species on eBird to get some advice for finding my targets.  Steve provided great tips on birding the site and excellent maps where he had seen them recently.  So although it was getting late in the year, now with Steve’s help, I was optimistic I’d be able to find my targets. 

Here’s a shot of the prairie when I arrived with the sun rising over the foggy fields.  The one-mile loop trail I would take through the prairie is barely visible in this shot beyond the information kiosk. 

Soon thereafter the fog lifted revealing this lush prairie vegetation.

A short distance down the trail I reached one of the locations Steve had recommended for Sedge Wren.  I stopped and listened for these typically vocal birds, and soon heard a set of chattering calls I didn’t quite recognize.  Merlin identified it as Sedge Wren.  Never one to rely on Merlin, especially given the Blue Grosbeak/Bell’s Vireo issue the day before, I waited a bit longer and one bird eventually came in close to me.  Finally, I had visuals of a Sedge Wren (OH state bird #3). 

I continued around the loop now especially listening for Henslow’s Sparrow.  Along the way I had single Sedge Wrens at two other spots in the prairie, again giving those chatter calls that I don’t think I’ve ever heard from Sedge Wrens.  A couple times I spished up single Savannah Sparrows that briefly got me excited, but they were just Savannahs.  Then finally I heard several “songs” of a Henslow’s not too far from one of the spots Steve had had them (OH state bird #4).  Although I’m happy to now have Henslow’s in 14 states, I still have a long way to go to find this elusive and declining species throughout its regular range.

I had several other possible stops for Sedge Wren nearby, but since I was successful with them at Huffman Prairie I could skip those other stops.  And that gave me extra time to head to the hotspot named “Battelle Darby Creek – Wet Prairie Restoration” close to Columbus.  Although there were no likely new state birds for me there now, the spot formerly had several that would have been new for me, like Common Gallinule, American Bittern, and Buff-breasted Sandpiper.  Maybe I’d get lucky with one of these or find something else.  Again, I reached out to Steve Bell for advice on this new spot, and once again his advice was most detailed and proved to be very helpful.

After a 40-minute drive I reached the parking lot for this hotspot and took the short walk to the wetlands.  It was a nice mudflat surrounded by cattails, and it was full of shorebirds.  There was a nice mix of the regular species there, but no rarities.  I had just found one in the distance that I was trying to make into a Baird’s when all the shorebirds took off.  I looked up and there was a Peregrine passing by.  I waited a while for the shorebirds to return but after 10 minutes the mudflats were still bare.  It was time to move on.  It was a nice stop, but as expected, nothing new.

Next I turned to searches for Eurasian Collared-Doves.  I had 2 possible stops for this species, and even though the reports at both sites weren’t very recent, I was still optimistic.  In my experience with ECDs, once they are discovered at a given location they often stick around for quite a while.  My first stop was in South Charleston where they were reported at grain elevators at the south end of town.  I’ve often found ECDs at grain elevators, so I liked my chances at this spot.

I drove up to the area of the most recent report and found several sets of grain elevators.  Where to start?  

I pulled into the parking lot between two sets of silos and immediately flushed a Collared-Dove from the lot (OH state bird #5).  That was easy.  I’ve seen this species throughout its regular range, and now OH is the 8th Midwest and northeast state where I’ve seen it as a rarity.

My look at the bird as it flushed was pretty brief, so I was hoping to get some better views.  I parked along Woodward Street which ran along the north side of the industrial complex and had numerous shade trees that looked like good perches for the Doves.  Within a few minutes another ECD flew up from the parking lot and landed in one of the tall trees.  But it disappeared in the leaves.  Just then I heard a Dove singing, and eventually located it perched on top of a nearby telephone pole.  Here's a couple digi-binned shots of this cooperative bird.

My last stop of the day was back at Gilmore MetroPark for a second try at the Yellow-crowned Night Herons.  After my failed attempt the previous afternoon (in the heat), I did some more research on eBird and noticed that most of the recent reports were either in the early morning or late evening.  So I checked into my hotel early that afternoon and delayed my try for the Herons till after dinner. 

I had a nice picnic dinner at a shaded picnic table at the park, then started my walk to South Pond at 6:15.  As I got to the overlook I noticed a wader perched on the far side.  Did I have my bird, or was it another Green Heron?  Then with a quick binocular view it was easy to see I had the adult YCNH.  Delaying my search until late in the day must have done the trick.  Check out the Wood Ducks photo-bombing this shot of the Heron.

Day 6 – August 25, 2024

I had just one target for the last day of the trip – Broad-winged Hawk.  There were reports of nesting Broad-wings at numerous sites around greater Cincinnati earlier in the summer, though in most locations there were just one or two sightings.  The exception seemed to be an area in the southwest corner of OH called Shawnee Overlook, where there were numerous reports going back to the spring at a couple trails.  I chose to hike the Little Turtle Trail since it had the most July and and August reports this year.  Though with just 3 reports the last 2 months you couldn’t exactly say that Broad-wings were common there.  Ironically, during my working days, I had a project site just a couple miles from Shawnee Overlook which I visited many times though didn’t bird at the Overlook.

The Little Turtle Trail made a 2-mile loop through nice mature deciduous woodlands.  About a mile along the trail I very fittingly found this little (box) turtle crossing the path. 

Another half mile along I started to hear a number of species typical of dense deciduous forests including Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and multiple Acadian Flycatchers.  I said to myself that the only species I was missing was the Broad-wing.  And just a couple minutes later I heard the first of several high-pitched calls of a Broad-winged Hawk (OH state bird #7).  I just need this species in 4 more states in its regular range.

It’s always great to end your trip by finding your last target!

That gave me 7 new OH state birds – an excellent result given that I expected just 3.  And that brings my OH total to 235.   

Now a bit of a postscript regarding the significance and context of my OH total –

Early in my birding career I set a goal to see at least half of the birds on the official state lists of each state in the Lower 48 and DC.  The genesis of this goal comes from the American Birding Association (ABA).  Back in the day, the ABA would publish your state totals but only if you had observed at least half of the total ever recorded in that state.  The ABA last published birders’ totals in this way in 2011.  Later they went to a digital format where all your totals would be published without any threshold.  And of course, eBird has taken that approach as well.  But my goal remained – to be able to meet the ABA reportable threshold in each state.  And in 2023, with a birding trip to Oregon, I reached my lifelong goal of being reportable in each of the Lower 48 states plus DC. 

As of 2011 the ABA reporting threshold for OH was 211, meaning the total state list was twice that total or 422.  I had 228 on my OH list at the time so I was safe at 17 over the threshold.  Or was I?  You see as new birds are added to a state list, the threshold increases as well.  As of December 2023 (the most recent update on the internet), the official OH state list had increased by a whopping 28 birds in just 12 years, bringing the total now to 450 (http://ohiobirds.org/resources/official-ohio-ornithological-society-bird-checklist/).  Though it’s not clear if that total includes hypothetical species that are typically excluded from these calculations.  That means the threshold has increased by 14 to 225.  And before this year’s trip I had dropped to being just 3 over the new threshold.  At least my new OH total of 235 is now 10 over that latest threshold.  Though if OH continues to add new birds at their recent pace that may not keep me above threshold for long. 

18 Statebirds in Washington, “Reportable Plus 15”, November 2016 – Part 2 of 2

I was really excited when a business trip to Seattle was scheduled in November 2016 giving me another opportunity to bird in the Pacific Northwest.  My WA statelist was 251 which was 3 over the old ABA reportable threshold, defined as half of the state total.  But with a little on-line research, I found that the WA statelist now stands at 511 – a whopping 15 higher than the total when the ABA threshold was calculated back in 2011.  Dividing 511 by 2, the present threshold would be 255.5.  WA is a great example of why I’ve revised my goal to be at least 15 over the old ABA threshold in each state, or “Reportable Plus 15” as I call it.  In fact, maybe Reportable Plus 15 may not be enough to keep me over threshold for long in WA.  In any case, I wanted to add at least 12 to my WA statelist to get to 15 over the ABA threshold.

Now comes the planning.  Although I had a pretty good WA list already, I expected I would have realistic possibilities for new statebirds throughout the state.  I was thinking of adding at least a couple vacation days to my trip which would allow me to get to most any portion of WA except for the far eastern end.  But now I needed to decide if I should I go east into central WA for inland targets, stay in the Cascades for mountain targets, or head to the coast especially for waterbirds and the like?  I compiled a list of targets for all these areas, and came up with pretty significant lists of possibilities in each region.  Then I set up a Needs Alert in eBird and found that not only were most of my targets being seen, but several pretty extreme rarities were being seen in Neah Bay, which is at the northwest tip of the Olympic peninsula.  The reliable Neah Bay rarities included Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Dickcissel, Ruff, numerous Palm Warblers, and as many as 6 Tropical Kingbirds.  With some more research I found that Neah Bay is quite notorious for vagrants in October and early November.  So even if these rarities weren’t still around in 3 weeks when I got to WA, others might take their place.  Plus there were several more regular targets being seen in the area as well, especially on seawatches. 

The last key factor was that I had planned to take a summer trip one year to eastern OR to work on my statelist there.  On that trip I had also planned to add a day or two in eastern WA to fill gaps in my WA list.  My targets on that eastern WA trip included several of my central WA targets of this November trip, as well as many of my targets in the Cascades.  And of course few if any of my coastal targets would be possible in eastern WA.  This was enough to help me make my decision – I would take the coastal route on this trip, especially hoping for some nice WA rarities. 

With a couple tweaks just a day before my trip started, my planned itinerary was to start on the afternoon of Day 1 pursuing two stakeout shorebirds in the Seattle area, then bird the last couple hours of the afternoon at Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park.  On Day 2 I would spend the entire day in Neah Bay trying to chase after all those landbird rarities and to do an extended seawatch.  Birding Day 3 would start in southwest WA in Westport for a stakeout Bar-tailed Godwit and nearby Snowy Plover, and then near Ridgefield NWR for Red-shouldered Hawk and Sandhill Crane.  Finally, I had a late morning flight out of Seattle on Day 4, which would give me a couple early morning hours near Seattle to fill any last remaining gaps in my list. 

With that itinerary I estimated that I might be able to add 8 birds to my WA list.  Though it would be great to add 12 to reach my Reportable Plus 15 goal.

This post summarizes Days 3 and 4 of my WA statebirding trip.  The previous post summarized Days 1 and 2, when I ended with 11 new WA statebirds.

Day 3 – Southwestern WA

My plan for Day 3 was to start at the Westport Marina to try for a Bar-tailed Godwit that had been in the area since August.  The Bar-tailed Godwit had been reported mixed in with a large flock of Marbled Godwits in the marina.  Although there were few details on the eBird reports, luckily I was able to connect with a most helpful local birder who gave me great details.  He mentioned that the Godwit was most frequently seen perched on the jetty or a floating dock in the Westport Marina.  However, that was only at high tide.  At lower tides the birds would disperse to feed, and the most recent sightings were of the Godwit feeding at Bottle Beach, more than 3 miles from the marina.  Not only is that a huge area to look for a foraging bird, but the most recent report was 2 weeks earlier.  And the most recent report of the Bar-tailed at the marina was almost a full month ago.  But the local birder suggested it was likely no one had looked for the bird recently, so not to worry about the recent lack of reports.

Needless to say it seemed like my chances of finding the Bar-tailed were higher if I could find it perched with the flock of Marbleds in the marina.  Unfortunately the tides weren’t on my side – high tide was at 5:16 AM, and sunrise wasn’t until 7:07 AM.  So by the time there was enough light to look for the bird there would be sufficient mudflats for the flock to be out feeding.  My best hope was to get there at first light in hopes that the flock was still sleeping in the marina.  Since my hotel in Neah Bay was a 3 ½ hour drive away, that meant yet another white-knuckle pre-dawn drive on rainy, dark, and twisting roads.  I left my hotel at 3:45, and luckily it only rained part of the way on the drive.  Good thing I’m a morning person.

I arrived at the marina just after 7, and began my walk out to the end of Float 21.  My birding contacs said to hope that there were no boats blocking my view across the water.  But the floating dock was full of boats, including 2 very large fishing boats at the end.  To reach the end of the dock I had to very carefully maneuver around ropes that were tying the boats to the dock.  I was able to see around the bow of one of the fishing boats to the rocks to the northeast, but saw no Godwits at all.  Then I got to the stern of that boat and looked to the southeast and spotted the flock of Godwits all sleeping on a distant floating dock.  The good news was that I had an unobstructed view of the flock.  Now I needed to pick out that one Bar-tailed in a tightly packed group of 300 or more Marbleds.

I set up the scope, again avoiding the ropes, and almost instantly spotted a bird that looked like it was paler below that the others – the key field mark at this distance.  I zoomed in to try to get a closer look, but then the dock started rocking back and forth.  Did I say it was a floating dock?  It wasn’t as bad as setting up a scope on the deck of a boat, but almost.  Finally I got a good view and I was able to see the Bar-tailed Godwit standing at the edge of the flock of Marbled Godwits - paler below, and a bit smaller than the others (WA statebird #12).  I got this phone-scoped photo – not bad given the distance and the rocking of the dock.

WA was my 3^rd state for this species – I’ve seen it in MA also as a rarity, as well as in AK as a breeder.

Not a minute after I took that photo a gull that was also perched on the dock walked through the Godwits, waking all the birds, and causing the Bar-tailed to walk to the middle of the flock.  At that point the smaller Bar-tailed completely disappeared from view.  I thought I would just wait for it to walk to the edge again, but then seconds later the entire flock took off, not to return.  Boy was I lucky – if I had arrived just a few minutes later the bird would have either been obscured, or the entire flock would have been gone.  Not to mention if the target bird had roosted anywhere in the flock except the edge closest to me it would likely have been invisible the entire time.

With 12 new WA statebirds that meant I had reached my Reportable Plus 15 goal.  And I still had a lot of birding ahead of me.

I had given myself a couple hours to bird the area looking for the Godwit, so I was nicely well ahead of schedule.  So I turned my attention to what other birds might be in the marina, and quickly spotted a sleeping flock of Aechmophorus grebes.  Clark’s was a remote possibility, so I thought I’d give it a try since these birds were quite close.  With a quick binocular scan I noticed one bird was paler than the others.  Could my luck continue?  I continued to watch this bird until it woke up raising its head.  The face was paler than the couple others nearby, but not pure white.  Then I focused on the bill – it was bright yellow; much paler and brighter than the others.  I worried a bit about the face not being completely white, but when I looked at the field guide I realized the pure white face was for a bird in breeding plumage; the paler but not white face was good for a non-breeding bird.  And the bill fieldmarks were perfect.  It was an unexpected Clark’s Grebe (#13).  That’s was one that would have been a bit more likely if I had taken the inland option on this trip, though even then not very likely.  I’ve now seen Clark’s Grebe in almost all of the states in its regular range.

Next I was on to Grayland Beach State Park to try for Snowy Plovers.  Although that might sound like a promising opportunity, in reality I was quite skeptical about finding this target.  In the several weeks leading up to my trip there had been no reports of this species at all.  It was only when I started doing research into older reports that I found the State Park could be a possible spot for Snowy’s.  The most recent report was more than a month old, and specific locations weren’t provided in most of the eBird reports.  But fresh off a successful search for this species in coastal OR a couple months earlier, I decided to give it a try.  Plus I was ahead of schedule, and now had quite a bit more time than the 2 hours I had originally allotted to search for this species.

I parked at the north end of the State Park, and started my walk south down the beach.  Although signs said it was OK to drive on the beach, I didn’t want to take any chances about getting my rental car stuck in the sand.  Plus I thought I’d find more birds by walking instead of driving.  I targeted the higher portion of the beach complete with bits of shells and driftwood, which is the typical habitat for Snowy’s.  Along the way I encountered a nice mixed flock of Canada, Cackling, and Snow Geese, along with a few Dunlin, foraging in a freshwater pond at the upper edge of the sand.  And there were a few mixed flocks of Sanderlings and Dunlins down at the surf.  But no Plovers. 

As I kept walking south down the beach I had to cross a pretty deep stream that was cutting its way through the beach to the ocean.  I only got a little wet.  But then I came to a larger one that seemed a bit too deep to cross.  I couldn’t realistically go any farther south (unless I changed footwear), so I set up my scope to look farther down the drier part of the beach.  Once again I didn’t see any Plovers.  Then I scanned toward the surf and I could see a small group of Sanderlings feeding in the distance near the mouth of this stream.  Then I noticed two birds a bit farther from the flock, though still close to the surf.  I zoomed in and they looked like they could be Plovers.  I walked down to the beach and got closer views of 2 Snowy Plovers foraging in the wet sand (#14).  I was surprised to see them so close to the surf.  I got this phone-scoped picture of one of the birds which was banded.

I checked by GPS and I was 1.3 miles south of the parking lot.  Still ahead of schedule I turned my scope toward the ocean to do a bit of a seawatch.  But after a few minutes of seeing almost nothing passing by, I called it quits and headed back.  Luckily the weather had improved dramatically so it was a nice walk down and back.

My next planned stops were about a 2 ½ hour drive south and east to try for Sandhill Cranes and Red-shouldered Hawks.  (I’m never proud of my carbon footprint on these trips.)  Both birds had been reported regularly at Ridgefield NWR, though the Cranes were reported in only small numbers.  However much larger numbers of Cranes were being reported a short distance to the north at Woodland Bottoms.  Plus there was one report of a Red-shoulder there as well.  So since I was ahead of schedule, and Woodland Bottoms was on the way to Ridgefield NWR, I figured I would stop there first.

While on the road of course I always keep my eyes open for birds that might be along the way.  At one point I stopped for a large flock of Cackling Geese in a wet pasture.  And at that same location I spotted a raptor perched up ahead on a telephone wire.  It turned out to be just a Red-tail not its smaller cousin.  But the prize along the way was in the small town of Raymond.  As I slowed for a red light a small Accipter flew right in front of the car – it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk (#15).  Although this is quite a common species nationwide, it has been an elusive one for me in several states.

 
I eventually rolled into Woodland Bottoms in the early afternoon hoping to find Sandhill Cranes.  This is a flood plain of the Columbia River, with many acres of farm fields.  The suggested strategy to find the Cranes is to drive the roads in the area in search of which field the birds happen to be feeding in at that time.  As I drove into the northern part of the area I quickly spotted numerous raptors feeding low over the hayfields.  And then I noticed an occasional Great Blue Heron out in the fields which initially grabbed my attention, but I couldn’t turn them into Cranes.  I then climbed the road up to the top of the dike and headed north in the general area where the one recent Red-shouldered Hawk had been spotted.  I pulled over to scan the fields from this higher vantage point and as I rolled down my window I heard a bugling Sandhill Crane (#16).  I found a flock of 95 in the field a short distance away feeding with a flock of about 200 Ring-billed Gulls.  WA was my 36^th state for this species, including several states in the east where it is expanding its range.

 

I continued to search for Red-Shoulders in the trees lining the river but with no success.  Though I did end up with a nice raptor tally otherwise – 6 Red-tails, 5 Harriers, 4 Ketrels, and 1 Rough-leg.  Plus I spotted a flock of 9 Great Egrets out in one of the pastures.  There must have been shallow drainage ditches out there that attracted all these waders.

Next I headed a short distance to the south to try for Red-shouldered Hawk at what I hoped to be their more reliable location.  Initially this species wasn’t even on my target list, as the maps in the field guides indicated that the western race of this species didn’t get any farther north than OR.  But they showed up in a number of my eBird Needs Alerts, almost always at Ridgefield NWR.  And although they were reported at multiple eBird locations, the “epicenter” of these sightings appeared to be the River S area and the auto tour route there.  Though since most sightings were of just 1 bird (occasionally 2 or 3), this certainly wouldn’t be a slam dunk.  But with lots of time on my hands I figured I would just keep driving the auto tour route until I found one.

The tour route was full of cars, mostly either folks out for a drive in the nice weather or photographers with their long lenses trying to catch a photo of tame waterfowl close to the road.  I on the other hand was scanning the trees in the riparian woodlands nearby for a small perched raptor.  In the first half of the drive I spotted several Red-tails and some hunting Harriers, but no Shoulders.  Then I reached the southwest part of the loop that drove right through a stand of trees which I suspected might increase my chances.  And sure enough I soon spotted a small perched raptor in the distance that turned out to be an immature Red-shouldered Hawk (#17).  A bit farther along I spotted likely the same bird perched in the woods right along the road.  I got this backlit photo holding my phone up to my binocs.

I’ve now seen Red-shouldered Hawk in all of the states in its regular range – both the eastern races and now the western elegans race. 

With some time on my hands I first turned my focus to trying for Swamp Sparrow in the wetlands along the road.  But like my efforts the day before at Neah Bay, again I had no luck.  Though I did have a couple small groups of Sandhill Cranes here along the way.  Then I spent some time studying the numerous Cackling Geese – I love hearing their higher pitched calls.  I got this phone-binoc shot of this most cooperative flock (of the minima race I believe) right along the road.

I still had a couple hours before sunset and decided to take a short walk in the Carty Unit of Ridgefield NWR which the guides mentioned was one of the few locations in WA where you could find White-breasted Nuthatch of the Pacific aculeata race.  Although I already had White-breasted Nuthatch on my WA state list, those are inland birds of the tenuissima race.  There is talk about splitting this one into multiple species someday, so perhaps aculeata might be a separate species worth banking for now. 

I took the short walk from the parking lot over the train tracks to the riparian and oak habitat on the other side to start to look and listen for Nuthatches.  One of the first birds I had there was a calling Red-shouldered Hawk in the distance.  Good thing I didn’t have to worry about Blue Jays imitating their call out here (or do Scrub Jays imitate them as well?).  A slow walk through the oaks yielded numerous Scrub Jays, and a number of Woodpeckers.  And each time I heard tapping I tried to track down the source to see if it might be a Nuthatch – but the best bird I could find was a Red-breasted Sapsucker.  At one point heard a pair of Scrub Jays calling, and a White-breasted Nuthatch joined in.  Not the most satisfying observation but good enough to bank an aculeata White-breasted Nuthatch.  As I drove out of the area toward my hotel another Sharpie flew by – a nice way to finish the day.

I ended up with 6 new WA statebirds on the day – I had thought only the Crane and Red-shoulder would be likely additions so this was much better than I expected.  Another great day of birding!

Day 4 – Greater Seattle in Route to the Airport

With a late morning flight I had a couple hours of early morning birding time available on Day 4.  But since my hotel the night before was a 2 hours to the south of the SEATAC airport (with no traffic!), I would likely need to limit any stops I would make to somewhere in the greater Seattle area.  My original plan was to look for Surfbirds in downtown Seattle.  But I saw this species as a bit of a surprise at Neah Bay, so it was no longer a target.  I had a feeling I was fresh out of species to chase after within my narrow time and geographic window – a victim of my own success perhaps.  But I decided to check the eBird Needs Alert one last time, and found recent reports of a Snowy Egret south of Seattle.  The bird was first found feeding in a flooded field near the town of Orting 3 days ago, and re-found 2 days ago, though there were no reports the previous day.  I had a feeling that might mean the bird had moved on, but since I had no other targets to chase, and the spot was roughly on my route to the airport, it was worth a shot.

The eBird reports gave excellent micro-directions to the location – a flooded field between Orville Rd. and a set of soccer fields just south of Orting.  I arrived at the location about 30 minutes before sunrise hoping the see the bird quickly and then continue to the airport.  After all, despite the low light conditions an all-white wader should be pretty obvious.  But there were no waders in sight.  And worse than that, the flooded field where the Egret had apparently been feeding had pretty well dried out.  I waited a bit longer but still had no target bird.  One report mentioned the bird had flown off to the northeast, so I drove around a bit in that direction, found some drainage ditches and a runoff retention pond that could be suitable habitat, but still no waders of any type.  I then drove a short distance to the south to continue to search the road-side drainage ditches, but came up empty again. 

It was just about time to head off to the airport, and I decided to make one more search at the soccer fields.  As I pulled into the parking lot I noticed a white spot in the field in the distance.  Could it be?  I put it in my binoculars and it was the Snowy Egret (#18).  It must have just flown in.  Not only was this another eBird rarity, but also a review species for the WA rare bird committee.  The bird was most cooperative, and I got these two phone-binoc shots of the bird.

What a way to end the trip!  I even made it to the airport in time despite miserable rush hour traffic.

The Trip by the Numbers

I had a total of 122 species for the trip, including 18 new birds for my WA statebird list.  Needless to say that was way over the 8 additions I hoped for when planning the trip.  That gives me 269 in WA, which is 21 over the old ABA threshold.  WA is now my 39th state where I’ve reached my Reportable Plus 15 goal – I have 6 others that are over the threshold though not 15 over.  Of the 18 birds I added only 4 are possible on that future eastern WA summer trip, meaning there is still a lot of statebird potential in eastern WA.  Then again, maybe I don’t need to take an eastern WA trip now that I’m now safely Reportable Plus 15 in WA.

Although ordinarily the highlights of my statebirding trips are related to reaching new levels in my statelists, for this trip the key highlights were all the rarities I was able to see, some of which I found on my own.  These included 12 birds for which details were required in eBird –

• Pink-footed Shearwater – found on my own
• Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel – found on my own
• Snowy Egret – stakeout, WA review species
• Bar-tailed Godwit – stakeout
• Red Knot - stakeout
• Prairie Falcon – found on my own
• Tropical Kingbird - stakeout
• Palm Warbler - stakeout
• Prothonotary Warbler – WA review species found on my own, 4^th WA state record
• Common Yellowthroat – found on my own
• Harris’s Sparrow – stakeout (but not new for my WA list)
• Orchard Oriole – WA review species, 1 found on my own and 1 stakeout

 A truly remarkable trip!