4/09/2023   East-slope Efforts with Liam and Andy  (link to here)
After failing again to find either White-throated Swifts or Lewis's Woodpeckers east of Natchez on Hwy 12, we drove up the Wenas Valley and determined again that Red-naped Sapsuckers have not yet arrived. Andy continued with us up to Ellensburg Pass and succeeded in spotting the Black-backed Woodpeckers he had tentatively heard there a few days earlier. While he and Liam were searching for woodpeckers Darchelle and I lingered just east of the pass listening for Sooty Grouse. Eventually I heard one call twice but Darchelle, who was listening about 50 yards down the road, did not hear it so I still wonder if maybe what I heard was a phantom. If so, it was a remarkably clear phantom.
On our way home we detoured up to Liberty and drove three miles up FR 9712 L+ on rain-soaked ice to look for our first of the year Williamson's Sapsuckers. We found them. For us they were the 16th new year bird of the trip, making it difficult despite our numerous misses to argue that the trip was a failure. Liam added a few more birds than we did because his last trip to southeastern Washington was back in January. He certainly helped us find more birds than we might have otherwise but I think for him, the opportunity to hang out with Andy was probably the real highlight of the trip.

4/10/2023   Black-headed Gull #232  (link to here)
More rain this morning. According to the proverb intermittent precipitation is expected this time of year but I'm tired of the overcast and rain nonetheless. We were both tired from our trip to Eastern Washington as well. We went to bed before 11 and did not get up until after 10. In the morning the swelling in my feet had sufficiently subsided that I had ankles again.
We had lingered in the kitchen over our late coffee and breakfast until well after noon so I had only been on the computer for an hour or two when Darchelle announced that the Black-headed Gull was currently loafing off Redondo Beach. Raphael was watching it through his scope at that very moment. When the gull, which is probably the same bird we saw nearby during the first week of April last year, was first discovered yesterday afternoon Darchelle and I resolved that we would not chase it unless we had a pretty good chance of seeing it. This afternoon after a few minutes of deliberation, we loaded ourselves into the car and tackled an hour of southbound traffic in the rain to chase the gull. So much for resolve. After my experience last year I did not expect to see the gull but I was not getting much done on the computer so I figured I might as well go out for a ride.
I did see the gull this time, thanks to Raphael's assistance. He was still there when we arrived, standing under the pier L+ peering through his scope. At my suggestion Darchelle parked down on the concrete boat launch ramp and walked over to Raphael to view the gull through his scope before setting up ours. I sat in the car for about 20 minutes and watched them watching the bird, which was too far out on the water for me to see. Darchelle brought the scope back to the car and both she and Raphael tried to position it so I could see the bird through it. When that didn't work we suggested that Raphael put his phone up to the eyepiece of the scope as if he were digiscoping so that I could see the image on his phone. That worked and I got to watch the Black-headed Gull swimming back and forth with a Bonaparte's Gull while Raphael captured it all on video. I felt inordinately grateful to him for his help.
Darchelle, suspecting that Liam and Elizabeth would be on their way, texted that we were at Redondo Pier watching the bird but that it appeared to be heading towards Saltwater State Park so Raphael was on his way over there hoping for a better view. Liam wanted to join Raphael but Elizabeth insisted that they check in with us first since we were actually on the bird. That proved to be a good decision. They both saw the bird with us then we all drove over to Saltwater State Park L+ and searched in vain for it for another hour, proving the truth of the adage that "a bird that you see through someone else's scope is worth two that you fail to find on your own".

4/13/2023   New Phones  (link to here)
Today was ALS clinic day. We drove over there after waking up late and foregoing coffee almost entirely to meet with about half of the normal staff, it being school vacation week. Everyone with children was out of the office and those who were left had little news to offer us. My breathing has declined, I told them, but just the same I might like to reduce the inspiratory pressure for daytime use to make talking easier. The new respiratory therapist wasn't familiar enough with the Astral 150 to make that change, so we'll have to figure it out ourselves. My legs are getting weaker so transfers are getting scarier but the only solution, a Hoyer lift, is not portable. Actually there is another option, to get a van into which we could load the power chair, though at this point I doubt I can control the power chair with my foot as originally planned. So no, not really any solution that will allow us to continue getting out as we have been the past couple of years.
Darchelle rewarded us with takeout from Plum Bistro - Mac 'n Yeast, a burger and a taco, all three delicious. We ate in the car then drove up to the Verizon store but Northgate to replace my dead Samsung S7. $830 later we walked out with two iPhone 14s. It was the prospect of being able to operate the iPhone with my voice which persuaded me to switch to Apple after all these years. Unfortunately my imperfect diction proved unequal to the task but I can at least originate a call by voice, even if I can't hang up.
Useful tips for using the iPhone: Based on this Internet speed test, our Internet speed (via Ethernet connection) on the DSL network was about 840 Mbps for download and 890 Mbps for upload. The 5G network, at 300 Mbps for download and 20 Mbps for upload, is significantly slower but perhaps still fast enough? The 5G network is also cheaper, $25 per month rather than $65.

4/21/2023   Whimbrels  (link to here)
We may not be doing a big year in Washington state this year but we are also trying not to miss too many species so when David P reported a good-sized flock of Whimbrels in Arlington yesterday we drove up there at our earliest convenience, which was this morning. They had been just west of the freeway on 7th Ave NE in a recently tilled field of Swiss Chard and it didn't take long for us to determine that they were still there. Maxine and Diane also showed up to look for a Vesper Sparrow, rare in the county, which had also been reported on 7th Ave. Maxine spotted it briefly but neither she nor we could relocate it. Unrelated but of interest, Maxine, though mostly recovered, is still testing positive for Covid. Both she and we attempted to maintain distance but were not always successful.
Giving up on the sparrow, we drove west on Hwy 530 checking pasture puddles for a Solitary Sandpiper. We were not successful but we did find another 60 Whimbrels on Miller Road, along with one of the most bleached-out Glaucous-winged Gulls I have ever seen.

4/23/2023   SOSA, SORA and other news  (link to here)
Today we returned to Arlington to try again for the Solitary Sandpiper (SOSA) after hearing that Anne-Marie W had seen it yesterday afternoon. I was not excited about the prospect of sitting all afternoon in the car waiting for a bird that might not show up but went along with the plan anyhow. We brought food and decided we could configure the camera while we waited. When we pulled up to David's driveway around noon the bird was not present in its puddle, or so we thought. We had been waiting about 10 minutes when to my surprise, the bird suddenly appeared. Neither of us had seen it fly in. I told Darchelle "There it is!" at the same time as her phone rang. It was David calling to tell us that the bird had been in the puddle since before we arrived and he was concerned that we might give up and leave without seeing it.
Darchelle took photos while the bird stalked around its puddle plucking small red creatures out of the water and swallowing them, then took more photos while the bird stood almost motionless on the far shore for 15 minutes, or maybe longer; we don't know because we got tired of waiting for it to get active again.
After an unproductive stop at the ever difficult-to-locate 12th St marsh where the grass has grown too tall to allow birding from the car, we navigated over to Homeacres Road and Ebey Slough where both a Sandhill crane and a Sora (SORA) had been seen earlier in the day. I waited in the car while Darchelle found and photographed the Sora (I heard it), then the I spotted the crane while we were visiting with Steve P who had just driven up to look for it. The crane was not new for the year for us (though it was my 197th Snohomish County bird), but the SOSA and SORA were, and the Sandpiper in particular is a bird we would not see most years if we did not specifically target it.
Yesterday was Sabbath. We watched church since we were home. It was a good show, featuring a performance by a choir from Loma Linda and a sermon by the youth director of the conference urging the church to adopt (spiritually speaking) their young people. Most people who join the church make the decision to do so between the ages of 4 and 14. They subsequently tend to leave the church during significant life changes - graduating from high school, starting college, graduating from college and becoming parents. If the church intentionally connects with people in those stages of life, maybe they won't leave. It is an important message, affecting the ultimate survival of the institution.
Biological species decline and go extinct if they fail to reproduce. Human communities including churches likewise need to replace members who leave or die so they appropriately concern themselves with strategies to promote member retention and replacement, but that was not the thought I was left with. What I wondered about after the sermon was the relative member retention rates among conservative and liberal sides of the church. In particular, does a conservative Christian worldview tend to promote or inhibit retention of young people. I don't know the answer to that, and at this point I don't care too much either way, but it is an interesting question.
Also interesting was the new series on Netflix which we stayed up too late watching. The Diplomat, combining political intrigue with relational drama and witty dialogue, is very difficult to put down. Sadly, we have only three episodes left and I may not live long enough to see Season 2, not yet announced but potentially dropping in summer of 2024.

4/26/2023   Road Trip
Between April 26 and June 5 we drove across the country and back again to visit family and friends and to see as many birds as we could along the way. We spent 41 days on the road, drove 8953 miles, traversed 20 states, saw or heard 295 species of birds and spent a bunch of money. Here is our account of our trip.

6/12/2023   Cle Elum  (link to here)
Another rare warbler, a Magnolia this time, turned up in Cle Elum yesterday. We learned about it from Cara and drove over to look for it as soon as she verified that the report was legitimate. It took us a while to find the correct location, a vacation home in a patch of pine forest L+ with an understory of tall bushes and a diverse community of birds which unfortunately no longer included the warbler. I sat in the driveway monitoring my visual slice of the landscape while Darchelle searched the neighborhood. The day grew warm and the birds grew quiet. A chipmunk scolded me from a pile of logs on the far side of the driveway. Two orange butterflies squabbled over an opening between the bushes. A yellowjacket sniffed around my bare ankle, left, returned and left again, this time for good. After about five hours, so did we.

6/13-15/2023   Orcas Island  (link to here)
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6/16/2023   Washington Pass  (link to here)
Leaving Orcas this morning, Sally and family had decided to head straight home so we decided, since we were already an hour north of Seattle, to run up to Washington Pass L+ where an American Three-toed Woodpecker had been excavating a nest hole in a snag right next to the trail out to the overlook. Darchelle found the woodpecker immediately and mosquitoes found me immediately after she got out the car to photograph it. Deterred by the bugs, I stayed in the car while Darchelle pointed the woodpecker out to me.
On our way out of the parking lot I spotted a plump reddish bird at the top of a tall snag. Darchelle got binoculars on it and identified it as a Pine Grosbeak. It flew before she could get a photo of it so I was unable to confirm her ID. The color had seemed a bit orange to me, so although we counted it for the year I retained a nagging suspicion that it might have been a Robin. Darchelle was probably right and in any case, we would see another five months later in Neah Bay.
On our way home we paused at a park in Darrington to watch two Black Swifts gliding overhead. Species #305 and our only sighting of the year.

6/18/2023   Reunion  (link to here)
Darchelle's folks spent Sabbath with us after Orcas, leaving just in time to make room for Daniel and Caroline who flew up to Seattle to consolidate Daniel's wine collection and of course, to visit. This evening David came over and Daniel and Caroline fixed dinner. Caroline prepared fresh pasta and Daniel broiled salt-rubbed King Salmon for the pescavores and herbed tofu for the vegetarians. The salmon was amazing, creamy, translucent and sweet inside a savory crust. The Fremont 2014 barrel-aged Abominable Ale, while perhaps not the best beverage to accompany salmon, was probably one of the best stouts ever brewed. Daniel had been saving it for a special occasion.
We all ate dinner in the Jungle Room with our plates in our laps. I don't remember what we talked about; perhaps it doesn't matter. We were together.

6/22/2023   Tiffany Meadows  (link to here)
Of the resident land birds we can reasonably expect to see in Washington this year, we are missing only three - Spruce Grouse, American Goshawk and Boreal Chickadee. All three can be found along a one mile stretch of forest road between Freezout Pass and Tiffany Meadows in Okanogan County north of Winthrop. Knowing we would be fortunate to find even one of those species, we headed up there today anyhow on an outing made more appealing by the prospect of picking up the Indigo Bunting which Joel B-P discovered a few days ago in Marblemount.
Tiffany Meadows is too far from Seattle for a day trip so we booked a room at the Mazama Inn +, a place we have not tried before because we usually stay at the Mazama Ranch House +. I do not recall why we did not stay at the Ranch House, or even in Winthrop, but the Inn worked out well for us and the price was reasonable. At least that is how I remember it as I write about it now, six months later and without the benefit of Google's timeline since location tracking on my phone was apparently turned off during the second half of June. Wait, I just checked and we actually did stay in Winthrop, at The Virginian +. It would be after our visit to Hart's Pass in mid-September to see hear Boreal Owls that we would stay at the Inn at Mazama. As at the Inn, our room at The Virginian was panelled with pine and un-memorably comfortable
Maxine chased the Indigo Bunting a day or two before us and reported that it was singing about a half mile down a fisherman's trail from the parking lot at the Marblemount boat launch L+. We found the trail to be wide and generally smooth singletrack and the bird to be singing from the tops of young firs and alders in a large meadow along the trail. The song was distinctive but not enough different from nearby Lazuli Buntings that we were willing to count it without visual confirmation so Darchelle parked me along the trail before tackling the tall grass in a quest for photos. She was gone a long time but when the bird returned and perched right over my head I figured she would not be far behind. She had still not obtained a satisfactory photo so she and another birder who had in the meantime joined me resumed their pursuit of the bunting while I continued to monitor the situation.
On the way back to the car we paused to ponder the mystery of water gliding over the bleached cobbles of a pellucid tributary of the Skagit. Solids I can understand, their interlocking atoms obstructing intrusion of alien matter and particulate energy alike. Gasses I can imagine, their dancing molecules cloaked with invisibility yet courteously allowing strangers to pass unimpeded. Liquids though I cannot fathom. Themselves formless, they depend on gravity, constraining solids and occasionally inertia to loan them a shape which, once borrowed, is immediately abandoned in favor of another. They invite piecemeal intrusion, welcoming solid and gas alike into solution while vigorously resisting unanticipated penetration by either one. They fall, they flow, they seep, they percolate; resisting partition they (I'm thinking particularly of water now) persistently coalesce into a single massive individual extending from the depths of ocean and earth to the tops of the tallest trees and the trickles of the smallest alpine rivulets. Of that enormous Water, our tributary is just one uninterrupted yet perpetually moving part. But I digress.
Five hours later we crested Freezout Pass L+ and resumed birdwatching. The long drive up from Winthrop had not seemed quite as long as usual. The potholes pockmarking the paved portion had not seemed as predatory and the rocks interrupting the roadbed below the pass had not seemed as rugged. As on past trips Rogers Lake failed to produce a Spruce Grouse though we did encounter an interesting mammal on our way up - a little skunk. It was cute, at least at a distance. Something about its eyes, not to mention its upraised tail, rendered it less cute at close range. Cuter than the skunklet was the Snowshoe Hare perched on top of an old campfire ring near Rogers Lake.
About two miles north of Freezout Pass where FR 39 passes through a mature stand of Lodgepole Pine we stopped to look for Boreal Chickadees. We had them at that exact spot in 2020 and about a quarter mile up the road last year. This year they called from back in the trees in response to our playback but did not come in for photos. What did come in, but not for photos, was an American Goshawk. It rocketed across the road about 100 feet ahead of us, sailed down a semi-open gully to our left and was gone. I shouted when I saw it and Darchelle caught a glimpse of the big blue-gray bird before it disappeared. "That was no raven!" we agreed.
We continued out to the height of land past Tiffany Meadows campground where, in the distance somewhere down in the burn, we thought we might have heard a Northern Hawk Owl calling. Darchelle wanted to go look for it but I was unwilling to let her wander off into the burn alone so close to sunset with no cell signal so we settled for telling Liam about it, since we knew he would be coming up to look for the chickadees in a few days. He did come up and found both the chickadees and the goshawk but I don't think he looked for the owl.

6/23/2023   Douglas & Chelan Counties  (link to here)
With only one missing year bird left to chase on dry land between now and fall migration, we turned our attention to county birding today. As of this morning, Darchelle was 18 species short in Douglas County and 26 species short in Chelan. As of this evening, she has 104 in both. I already had over 100 species in both counties but padded my numbers a bit as well.

6/28/2023   Dusky-capped Flycatcher  (link to here)
We haven't done much birdwatching in the past week, though we did run up to Sedro Wooley yesterday afternoon to chase a suspected Dusky-capped Flycatcher, initially reported as an Ash-throated. The bird was first discovered the previous morning but the photos in the checklist showed a Myiarchus too yellow below to be an Ash-throated so Joel B-P drove out there first in the morning and heard the high-pitched descending calls of a Dusky-capped but was unable to spot the bird in the dense foliage of the willows and alders from which the calls appeared to be emanating. He was still looking for it when we arrived around 7:30 PM. Elizabeth and Liam, who had first notified us about the sighting, had arrived about an hour before us and they, along with several other big names in Washington birding, had joined Joel in the unsuccessful effort to find the flycatcher. We visited in the parking lot for a few minutes before everyone else left except for Elizabeth and Liam, who stayed to help us search until sunset. I thought I heard. it at one point but Liam spotted a flycatcher in the same area and pronounced it a Willow. I still wonder if he was on the right bird because the call I heard was a better match for the rarer species. In any case, we drove home feeling ambivalent about the prospect of returning in the morning should Liam and Elizabeth, who were spending the night in order to search again at dawn, succeed in finding it. To my relief, they did not.

6/30/2023   Packwood  (link to here)
We drove down to Packwood this morning to go birdwatching in the mountains south of town and successfully picked up the 2 species Darchelle needed to put her securely over 100 in Lewis County. The sun was warm, the sky blue and the air clear, affording beautiful views of Mount Adams from the upper reaches of the North Fork Cispus River drainage. That valley still has quite a bit of a old growth forest, mostly Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir and Pacific Silver Fir, and was one of the last strongholds of Spotted Owls in the state. Unfortunately recent surveys indicate that the owls may no longer being present. Songbirds were mostly silent, perhaps because we did not get up there until after 1PM, but butterflies, particularly Tiger Swallowtails, seemed more common than usual, dancing in the sunlight as they defended their patches of Cow-Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) and Mountain Golden-Pea? (Thermopsis montana) along the roadsides.
Because we had anticipated returning to town late in the afternoon, we had booked a room at the Cowlitz River Lodge +. Although pricey at $200 the room was clean and quiet, but for me the toilet was inaccessible, the bed too soft and the pillow too hard. We've had better luck at their sister property the Crest Trail Lodge + but unfortunately there was no room at that inn.

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