Avian Ecologist

Lifer Tally So Far (Including “Maybes”)

Glaucous-winged gull Heermann’s gull Swallow-tailed gull Chestnut-backed chickadee Steller’s jay Bushtit Pomarine jaeger Common murre Northwestern crow Black oystercatcher Black turnstone Rhinoceros auklet Marbled murrelet Pigeon guillemot Mew gull Surfbird Vaux’s swift Pacific wren Hutton’s vireo black-throated gray warbler Pacific-slope flycatcher Possible lifers: swift spp., northern Pygmy-owl?

George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

We’re headed here tomorrow! Here’s the checklist with seasonal probabilities for the month of September; font sizes reflect relative probability of seeing the species. Pacific loon yellow-billed loon Clark’s grebe Pacific golden-plover Wandering tattler Bar-tailed godwit rock sandpiper ancient murrelet western screech-owl northern pygmy-owl black swift red-naped sapsucker red-breasted sapsucker Hammond’s flycatcher ash-throated flycatcher Cassin’s […]

In Canada, Without Cell Data Connection

We’re reverting to a more primitive age of birding: one without real time alerts or info, that requires trip planning and carrying paper guides. Here, it’s especially fun to get back to these ways because there’s so much new to see. We have general ideas of what we’re looking for (and thus what habitats to […]

East Sooke park

At the end of the day, we saw a Pacific wren along the Pike Rd. trail. At the same time, we heard what we identified as Vaux’s swifts by call overhead. Further down the trail, we saw a Pacific hairy woodpecker. On the way back, we may have heard a northern Pygmy-owl. It sounded exactly like a northern saw-whet owl […]

Birding Victoria: Spots & Bird Lists

waterfront… wandering tattler rock sandpiper If we want to find a skylark… island view nursery spots along Hwy 17: central Saanich bulb fields Victoria international airport Rocky Point Bird Observatory black-headed grosbeak Cassin’s vireo Hammond’s flycatcher Race Rocks tattler western gull black-legged kittiwake ancient murrelet rock sandpiper Pacific loon Laysan albatross sooty shearwater Other birds […]

Kubota Garden

As we walked some of the trails we heard the harsh calls of Steller’s Jays and got our best looks yet of the trip! Then, as we were leaving we saw what we’re identifying from its display as a rufous hummingbird; it was not a lifer for either of us but cool to see again […]

Discovery Park

Today, my parents joined us for a day of hiking and sightseeing. We got great looks at lifer chestnut-backed chickadees and Steller’s jays. As for “not lifers but neat west coast birds,” we got really nice looks and listens of Bewick’s wren and some good glimpses and a few calls from a spotted towhee. We […]

Swallow-Tailed Gull!

When we first arrived in Seattle and picked up our rental car, we went to Alki beach for lunch. I saw my lifer Glaucous-winged gulls, insofar as we could tell. There were many “Olympic type” gulls but several that looked like pure glaucous-winged gulls to the eye. We chased an ABA code 5 that showed […]

Planning for Birding in Seattle this Fall!

My boyfriend and I will be joining my parents on vacation to Seattle in Sept! (Species in bold are things we may have a good chance of seeing given the timing of our visit.) As it turns out, my parents are interested in birding with us too! I’m not sure how far they’ll want to go, […]

Why Reputation Matters in Birding

Now we’re getting into a little bit of a sticky topic: how and why your reputation as a birder matters, and what it has engendered in birding! Birding is an “honor-based” hobby. That means that no one else can tell you you didn’t see something if you say you did. However, this is where the […]