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| Pied-billed Grebe demonstrating that an umbrella is not necessary |
I chose "light drizzle", but . . . just that I labored over the choice is part of what defines us here in the Pacific Northwest. Apparently one of the things that distinguishes our speech is that we have the most varied descriptions of precipitation. And, please know that I did bounce a couple of them around. I was that close to putting "Light rain" in the title, but. . . c'mon it wasn't quite that heavy.
Word-mincing aside, none of it is really ideal for owling! But owling was nonetheless my aim. In a novel departure from my normal big-ish years (in which I run out in January looking for owls immediately), I waited for this February trip to try in earnest for owls.
Cutting it close
The first ferry of the morning leaves Fauntleroy at 4:25 AM. My GPS informed me that I'd be getting there from Renton at 4:27. . . then 4:26 when I made it through that one light. . . then 4:25 with a little creativity. And then. . .
"It ain't left yet. You good."
Yay!
I expect that the ferries will be an interesting factor that will at times be outside of my control. I mean. . . they do have schedules. I fully understand that. But "as soon as I can get there" is sometimes the best I can do. I'd stayed up the night before, pounding the digital pavement with a couple applications in the freelance writing field. So, I just woke up early (in advance of my alarm - a skill I've sharpened, giving me a total of 4.5 sharp skills in my life, give or take a few) got my things together and just made it for the early ferry.
On the other side, I was ready to hit a few places that just seemed like good owl habitat. My guesses here aren't always good. Or it's possible that the owls sometimes just don't like my imitations, but. . . that idea seems a bit far-fetched!
The radio station, as it so happened, was playing "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes. This is officially the song I'll have in my head when I'm trying for Northern Saw-whet Owls now. I think the cadence is just about dead on!
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Northern Saw-whet Owl pins on eBird
Note the blanket of pins on Bainbridge!
There are banding stations out there,
but it gives a nice picture of how
widespread these owls are! |
Banner Forest was one of several stops during the morning. Even at this hour - just short of 5 A.M., a little bit of light traffic added some background noise. This part of Kitsap County is not that sparsely populated. But in between the occasional passing trucks, I tried for some owls, imitating from smaller ones up to larger ones. In this case, I didn't need to go very far up the ladder, as a Northern Saw-whet call got me an alarm response. Content, I went no farther up the ladder, even though the habitat seemed better there for Barred Owl than Saw-whet (but again. . . I'm not an owl. What do I know?).
One of my last stops in Kitsap was at Kitsap Memorial State Park. I'd had Barred Owl here many a year ago. I tried from the campground parking lot and got a Who-cooks-for-you inquiry in response. Two new species for Kitsap! That brought me to 64 for the year - just a shade closer to the end goal of 150 species for the year. And with that, I headed into Jefferson County.
Short's Farm
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| Farmhouses dotting the hillsides at twilight |
Jefferson County has a few Really Good Spots for birding, and this is one of them. I was making my first trip to Short's Farm and arrived a little before sunup. Nautical Twilight melting into Civil Twilight, for you twilight fans. I was a little confused on the parking situation, but I found a donotblockthe gate on Center Road. I pulled in, not blocking it. There was some light traffic, but in between passing cars, I tried calling for owls. Great Horned and Barn struck me as species that would enjoy this open habitat. eBird has only a few pins to support my stricken-ness, although I don't know how often people come owling here.
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| Red-breasted Sapsucker with a little eyeshine from my flash |
I slid through the gate at what must have been the start of civil twilight. It was just light enough to walk. I had my boots on and tromped down the gentle grade of the walking path. Trumpeter Swans became species 74 for my Jefferson year. I'd actually wrapped up January with 73 species, having forgotten to enter Greater Scaup from my trip to Wolfe Properties (or Shine Tidelands? Still up in the air on that one). American Wigeons whistled from the extensive water as well. Somewhere in there, at least a couple Eurasian Wigeon were hiding, although light and distance kept them hidden.
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| I. . . might see a Eurasian Wigeon in here, but I got a better view later. |
Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and Spotted Towhee called from the brambles all around. Golden-crowned Kinglets and Ruby-crowned Kinglets (75) joined them. I do love kinglets. Golden-crowned seem so carefree as they peacefully work their way through a tree. Pish, and they'll come no nearer. Walk closer to them, and they'll not move away. They're just doing their kinglet things. Ruby-crowned Kinglets, on the other hand, seem like they've been down in the basement drinking coffee for about the last four hours. Their mood seems to shift between urgency and panic.
I neared the end of the little walk. . . and at the end of the fence line, it seemed like continuing further would take me into someone's yard. So, I stopped and listened for a moment. Syncopated tapping from a tree got me on a Red-breasted Sapsucker, a species I'd heard but not seen in Jefferson earlier. I turned back and read one of the posted signs now that it was a little lighter. "Watchable wildlife viewing on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays only, through February 10th."
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| Trumpeter Swans, and so. many. ducks. |
Oh! Time to leave.
The sun may have been up, but the clouds... well.. the single massive gray cloud, obscured the view. I texted Steve, a Port Townsend birder who had helped with recommendations, asking about the signs. Apparently, on those other days, the area is open to hunting. The schedule works to keep birders cleared out on days when that hunting is happening. "But they're okay with people birding there on other days. I usually just get a wave."
I watched a Northern Harrier (76) chased by some crows as I wrapped up a call with Steve, then attempted a more informed search for some birds. The Trumpeter Swans had moved north. I followed up the road and found a field with a wide enough pull-off. From there it was easy to scan through them. I eventually found a Tundra Swan (77) that had been reported here through the winter. It would have been hard for me to ID this one as Tundra without the yellow spot. To my eye, then neck seemed pretty long, and remained bent while the bird was feeding. The eye didn't seem significantly separate from the black of the bill. But yellow on the bill is a clincher!
Heading back to another entry road, I followed it down past a home, where it eventually runs right through the middle of the wetlands. Here I was able to find one of the Eurasian Wigeons (78) in my scope, as well as a few Ring-necked Ducks (79).
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Another swan that had my attention - Tundra Swan?? I don't know enough
about marks for juveniles, so I left this one uncounted.
BUT... it's smaller, the neck is pretty straight, the eye seems more separate from the bill, and the
gape is more horizontal, less curved.
BUT. . . lol it's probably a Trumpeter. Online searches confirm that they're kinda like this. |
Breakfast had been 2 dollar gas station coffee, and bagels and cream cheese. I was determined to be more frugal on this trip and was off to a good start in that regard. The ferry was a more expensive option relative to driving, but I liked not being on the road for those miles. I've been running these trips free of tickets or accidents for quite a few years now, so the safety of the ferry has been welcome.
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| An unfortunate end for a swan, a heck of a breakfast for a coyote |
Oak Bay and thereabouts
My next stop was actually north of Oak Bay, at a marina in front of the Ajax Cafe. The water here, from peeking at a map, is the southern end of Port Townsend, which separates the Quimper Peninsula from Indian Island. The cafe, sitting with a few other buildings here in historic Port Hadlock, looks to be a fine dining experience. I peeked in through the windows, enjoying the kitschy decor. I did not find the Barrow's Goldeneyes, but I did add three species during the brief stop: Common Mergansers (80), Western Grebe (81), and the rarest kind of gull, apparently, that I would be finding this winter: any gull that isn't an Olympic or Short-billed! In this case, it was a Glaucous-winged Gull (82), one that passed the eye test, if not the genetic test, at any rate.
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| Mergansers, boats, and grebes |
Then I tried to go to Oak Bay County Park. This, my second attempt, went much like the first. I took 116 to Indian Island, stopped at the little parks along the way (which clearly identified themselves as part of Indian Island County Park). I looked at Oak Bay, with some loons, cormorants, ducks, and grebes at a distance below. But I had a distinct hunch that this was not the right place. Another call from Steve (who had also not found the Barrow's at Ajax), and I got better directions, almost took the wrong turn from the five-way intersection but made it down to the water.
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| Most of my stops for this stretch of the morning |
What a neat spot! A lagoon lined with pickleweed, bringing in plenty of ducks. Later in the year, it will be a hot spot for shorebirds. A little tricky to find, but apparently that may be part of the appeal during the right seasons.
And I met Steve! The holder of the record for a Jefferson County year list (211), I reached out early to get thoughts on a run for 200. On this particular Monday, he had time between errands to explore Oak Bay with me. We caught Common Loons, Surf Scoters, and a Pelagic Cormorant all further out in the water. Greater Yellowlegs (83) gave some tututu calls, although I never did see them (something that will certainly be remedied over the course of the year). And we had gulls!
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Iceland Gull at center - the predominant view we had of it
although we got intermittent views of its bill |
The excitement here was an Iceland Gull (84). Steve slipped in and out of calling it a Thayer's Gull, and that suited me just fine. The gull was in among the other Olympic and Short-billed Gulls, roosting and occasionally popping a head up to knock some feathers around... have a look around... before tucking back in. I had a chance to see the jet black primaries, the bubble gum legs, and the more delicate bill.
Some Lesser Scaup (85) closer in the lagoon were my final addition at this spot. Steve and I also met up at the marina by the Old Alcohol Plant Inn, to try for the Barrow's Goldeneyes there, but. . . as the late, great Pete Fahey loved to point out, "Birds fly." With soggy weather incoming, Steve called it a day, and we made plans to meet the following morning to try for Pygmy Nuthatches.
To Port Townsend
I decided that Kah Tai Lagoon and Point Hudson would be my destinations for the afternoon, so I went up Irondale Road towards Port Townsend. Along the way, a bird popped up on top of a tree that looked like a potential California Scrub-Jay (86), confirmed with a closer look. These birds are still a code 4 (based on the end-of-2023 official lists) but will certainly become a code 3 in the years to come, once they've had enough years of consistent sightings. Even this was not the first sighting in the Irondale area.
The Kah Tai Lagoon was good for a quick stop. I found two species I had hoped to find, American Coot (87), and Pied-billed Grebe (88). They're pretty common here, but things were pretty frozen over when I'd come in January. Virginia Rails live here too, and I tried calling for them to no avail. Stubborn birds. . . maybe I'll get them when it warms up a little!
In my continued commitment to parsimony, I set up at a picnic table in front of the county courthouse (such a beautiful building), pulled out the camp stove, and warmed up some lentil soup. This and some soda bread (my daughter's first attempt at making it - and a successful attempt at that) landed just right on a drizzly morning.
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| To be fair, this is from January, but the same building! |
Errand-running, of course, did not stop Steve from birding. I got a text letting me know that a Barrow's Goldeneye was on the waterfront. I cleaned up, zipped down, and got to the cross streets a few minutes later. 89! They're not at all unusual ducks to find, but they're very local, so it was a nice addition.
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| Barrow's Goldeneye |
From here, I drove up to Point Hudson. I can't say that I've ever birded here! It's kind of easy to follow the main drag in Port Townsend, and not realized that there are streets leading up to the waterfront. Parking takes you right to an overlook of a long stretch of beach. To the left - Point Wilson. Way off to the right, across Port Townsend (the geographical feature. . . gosh I'm going to get tired of typing that out. . . maybe I'll assume my readers can use context?), Marrowstone Island and Fort Flagler. A Yellow-billed Loon had been seen in this general area in recent days, so I sat and scoped.
Immediately, I saw three larger birds making their way directly towards the beach, low near the water. So used to seeing cormorants, loons and ducks moving parallel to the beach, I wasn't quite sure what to expect! Brant (90!). I had to stop and think. . . how long had it been since I'd seen Brant?? With Southwest Washington, Klickitat, and Douglas Counties as my birding locations over the last few years, they simply weren't on the menu.
Scope on the car window, I scanned the more distant waters, looking for the loon. At one point I got on a fast-moving alcid (and thanks to the numerous Pigeon Guillemots, who provided a pace car of sorts to gauge fast and slow). The speed and size pointed towards a murrelet. I saw dark under the wings, pointing towards Marbled (91). The bird landed on the water, too distant to look for field marks, but visible. This, by itself, is a bit of a field mark to help sort out Marbled Murrelets from Ancient Murrelets. Ancients are a load of fun to watch. Often flying in small groups, they'll hit the water and just. . . dissolve into it, diving directly from flight.
As explained above, I've been away from salt-water for a while. That said, I was surprised at how easy it was to identify a Red-throated Loon (92) as one flew by. It was my initial impression, just based on how much white it was sporting. Digging through my field guide, it seemed those impressions were accurate. The white face, especially, was a distinctive field mark. The slender build of the bird also fit. Out of curiosity, I peeked at Western Grebe. They're very different looking in flight, but the most interesting thing I found was that they're about the same size at 27" or so.
And then I tilted the seat back and took a nap. Perfect time to do it, as the tides had a chance to shift. It was now about 1 P.M., and I'd been at this for 9 hours or so! When I woke up, the Brant had multiplied, as the sand bar they were using began to grow. A Black Oystercatcher came in and made a brief stop at the shoreline as well. Gulls increased over time as well, including so many more Olympic Gulls, so many more Short-billed Gulls, and finally something that looked like a good Western Gull (93). They're only a code 2 bird, but. . . gosh there's so much mixing between species out here! I suppose it's to be expected half-way between home - where Glaucous-winged Gulls are more common, and Western is rare - and the outer coast - where Western is more expected.
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At least 95% Western Gull?
Find out on the next Jerry Springer
who the real father is! |
Some of this was from inside the car, some of it from the beach with binocs. At one point, I got the scope on a picnic table. . . yeah, I'm still saving up for that tripod lol. How someone even starts trying to do this without a tripod. . . that's an interesting question.
I took a look at food options there on the water. They were feeling a bit too fine-dining for this particular evening. I really do want to have some nice meals here in Jefferson over the course of the year, but deliberately, rather than just wandering into 30-dollar entrees, yeah? I'd been guided towards gas station cuisine, so I gave it a go. And folks. . . I was tired and hungry. I stopped in at a gas station, and for the life of me can't remember which one. They had a display case full of a dozen or more different sandwiches, and I got one loaded with roast beef on a nice roll, with their own condiment sauce drizzled in. I got it warm and took it to sit down at Port Townsend brewing.
Interesting. . . as I got settled in on a couch here with a sampler of IPAs, I overheard conversations along the exact same lines. Apparently, the Mobil station (the first gas station you hit on the way into town), has excellent Indian cuisine - not an easy find out this way. One person noted that the closest teriyaki for a Port Townsendonian (I'm 100 percent certain that's the correct term) is over in Sequim! Another conversation sprung up from a person hoping to open a food truck (a person who disagreed with their spouse about whether "Twisted" was a good bit of wordplay for someone selling pretzels).
And the pieces just dropped into place. What an interesting dining situation they've got in Port Townsend! As far as I could see, many places (I can't say all, but. . . ) seem to fall in at one end of the spectrum or the other: fine dining, or tiny dining (gas station/food truck). I'm really looking forward to getting this mapped out.
The rest of the talk was about Strange Brew. I was curious about the whole thing. They were talking about Moon Pie Porters, and beer that incorporated. . . jelllyfish?? Apparently, it's a chance for brewers to get creative (for better or worse) and take beer and cider in some non-traditional directions. While most of it is never on its way to mass production, Port Townsend Brewing actually kept one of their previous entries, Yoda's Green Tea Ale, on as a regular tap.
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| Brant |
And dark
It hadn't quite sunk in. . . the conflicts between where I wanted to be for the night, the owling I wanted to do, and where I wanted to be when the sun came up. But I settled on Fort Flagler as a place to sleep. As I rolled into the park, it was already dark, and I had the good fortune of having a Barred Owl (94) fly over the road on my way in. I slept in the car, listening to the pitter patter of a lighter and lighter drizzle on the roof of the car.
