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.

Summary of OR/WA/ID Sagebrush Country Trip, May-June 2023

In January 2016 an armed group of protestors 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 in 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 the Cassia Crossbill.  I reached out to birding friend David Donsker who often joins me on these trips, and he agreed to come along. 

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.  Many years ago 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.  Although those ABA reporting thresholds no longer exist, they still represent a logical set of standards to strive for in each state.  And since the state totals inch up over the years as new birds are added to the state list, 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 249 species in OR, just 10 shy of that old ABA reportable threshold.  So this was certainly a realistic secondary objective for this trip.

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 from Boise.  With pretty good statelists in ID (224), OR (249), and WA (267), my potential for new statebirds wasn’t too great.  I hoped to add perhaps 8 new birds in ID, 28 in OR, and 12 in WA.  Adding just 48 new statebirds was kind of a low tally for such a long trip, even though this was a new part of the country for me.  But for better or worse, I’m at the point of diminishing returns in my statebirding endeavors.

This blog post presents a brief summary of the entire trip.  My next 3 posts summarize the ID, OR, and WA portions of the trip.

Entire Trip Results, May 24-June 3

David and I were able to find 188 species on the trip as we chased after our targets over numerous, diverse habitats across the region.  A total of 67 of these were new statebirds, well over my target for the trip in each state.  That brings my “Total Ticks” (sum of all my state and province lists) to 15,114.  Here’s a summary of the trip by the numbers –

• 21 waterfowl species (not bad for a semi-arid region)
• 7 gallinaceous species
• 10 raptors
• 5 owls
• 7 woodpeckers
• 10 flycatchers
• 6 wrens
• 15 sparrows, and
• 10 warblers (it was out west after all)

Here is a link to my eBird trip report for the overall trip - ID-OR-WA 2023 Trip - eBird Trip Report

ID Trip Results - May 24-25, June 2-3

We found 112 species in ID, 10 of which were new for my statelist.  That brings my total to 234. Notable was a striking Black-throated Sparrow at Oolite Trail in Owyhee County.  Unfortunately, the sparrow’s dry sagebrush habitat isn’t nearly as attractive as the sparrow.

We also saw at least 4 Prairie Falcons at these canyons at Swan Falls Park in the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in Ada County.

A final personal highlight was finally seeing a Say’s Phoebe in ID, this one was at Dedication Point in Ada County.  This sighting was notable because David and I had completed many unsuccessful searches for this species the previous year in the ID panhandle.

Oregon Trip Results, May 26-30, June 2

We tallied 166 species in OR including 41 new statebirds.  That brings my new total to 290, well over the old ABA threshold.  We found 3 rarities – Virginia’s Warbler at Malheur NWR, Boreal Owl at Idlewild Campground in Harney County, and Wood Thrush (only the 6th state record) at Philberg Road in Union County.  We were also able to track down 3 other rarities found by others at Malheur NWR – Least Flycatcher and 2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.  The Grosbeaks were most cooperative, as they fed in the same tree where they were first discovered 10 hours earlier!

Interesting that both species that allowed me to reach the ABA reportable goal (Virginia’s Warbler) and my ABA reportable plus 15 goal (Rose-breasted Grosbeak) were rarities.  It’s nice when it happens that way.

Finally, finding a Black-backed Woodpecker nest in a recent burn next to the Idlewild Campground was very exciting.  Here’s the female just before it replaced the male on the nest likely incubating eggs.

Washington Trip Results, May 30-June 2

We found 112 species in WA, 16 of which were new for my statelist, increasing my total to 283.  Notable were a Gray Partridge in Walla Walla and an out-of-place Chukar in sagebrush in Benton County, nicely illuminated at dawn in this picture.

A final highlight was several Green-tailed Towhees singing from isolated patches of thick brush on slopes below Biscuit Ridge in Walla Walla County – just about the only spot to find them in all of WA.  One was singing from the brush in the middle of this picture.  And the scenery was nice as well!

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!