Shorter post on this one, and barely any pictures! But I did hope to document a nice day in Jefferson. The kids had given me carte blanche for the day, and I'd come up with this itinerary:
Uncas Road (to chase a rare Red-eyed Vireo); Port Townsend (to walk the town, especially the art installment at Kah Tai Lagoon); Finnriver Cider in Chimacum (cider, dinner, live music). The camera often stayed in the car. It wasn't the... focus... for the day. :D This joke was brought to you by Dad™.
It was nice to head over the Tacoma Narrows, and hear my daughter say what I've thought so many times, "That's a pretty bridge."
It was nice to hear my son sigh contentedly, gazing out at the water as we crossed over the Hood Canal Floating Bridge. I also marked off a square on my bingo sheet.
See, because I'm a poor father, I thought it would be "fun" for the three of us to secretly make bingo sheets with boxes containing actions we knew another person would do. I had gotten in a deep hole early in the day. I drummed along on the steering wheel to one of the first songs we heard on the radio. "Got you." My daughter marked off a square. I shook my head and chuckled, and she marked off another one. "Chuckling? You can't just have chuckling!!" "Arguing. That's three. Thanks, Dad."
It really sucks when your kids become smarter than you. I just wish I'd known when exactly it happened.
But I was certain that my son would be looking out at expanses of water, and he'd let out a contented sigh at some point in the day. He lets the beauty around him affect him. I like that. As he wraps up a composition major, some of his final projects are pieces of music tied to locations, such as forests and harbors. I love that.
Uncas Road
I was here to chase down a Red-eyed Vireo. And to be clear, I don't generally chase birds, but this was more of a serendipitous chase. And from the sounds of it, this would be an easy bird. Red-eyed Vireos are fairly rare on the Olympic Peninsula. In Jefferson County, they are a code 4 bird. This means they're not seen annually but have some pattern of occurrence worth noting - 5 or more sightings. I've found a few of these birds this year (such as the Rock Sandpiper at Fort Flagler in January) and missed others (such as the Sandhill Crane at Short's Family Farm in the spring).
Any of them that I find are just a fine stroke of luck. As noted in the Running Tally and Needs list over on the right side of this page -----> Finding 200 species this year is going to require more than a few of these fine strokes of luck. I'll need to catch at least 4 or 5 more of them this year to really have a chance. Thankfully, there are some real crackerjack birders in Jefferson County, so quite a few good birds have been turned up.
This one was at 922 Uncas Road.
Now hold on. I would never do that. Please understand that this address is the address of a personal home, but ALSO is the parking area for a trail that I'd not heard of before somehow - the Pacific Northwest Trail. Everyone knows all about the North to South trails - the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail. But a trail running from the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park to Cape Alava on the Pacific Coast? I don't know. It's spoken of *less* frequently, apparently enough so that I'd not heard of it!
So, what kind of person puts up with a major trail running through their driveway? I got to find out in spades. As we pulled up, we were first greeted by two signs in front of parking spots. "welcome" and "parking". My son had taken care of sandwiches for the trip. He and I stepped out to munch away, while my daughter ate inside the car. Allergic reactions to insect bites can do that to you.
The homeowner was out nearly immediately. He saw the binoculars and the camera and knew why I was there. "John was here this morning." he told me, assuming I would know who "John" was. I totally know who John is. Never met, but I know *of* John. Jefferson County is kind of that way. The gentleman talked to my son and I about the PNT, telling us also about the Trail Angels, a group that helps in delivering provisions from point to point so that they are ready and waiting for through hikers (among many other helpful, angelic acts).
"Oh! There it is! It sounds like a robin, but just a little more interesting..."
I listened to a Black-headed Grosbeak sing and agreed with the description. A conversation about this started but was sidetracked by a Barn Swallow swooping past us and up into an eave.
As we sat and watched the Barn swallow babies chattering away at their diligent parent, the song of a Red-eyed Vireo entered the conversation. It's a lovely song. Both Cassin's and Red-eyed Vireos give a "preacher bird"-cadenced song. "But did the lord" pause "abandon them" pause "in their hour of need?" pause "No he did not!". This is not by any stretch of the imagination an attempt to capture the phonetics of the songs. Songs have cadence, pitch, phonetics and quality. "Preacher bird" is only there to capture the cadence.
I got on the bird making the calls and found a Red-eyed Vireo. (170 for the year in Jefferson).
It sat on the treetop and sang for quite a while. This was by far the best view I'd had of the species - one that usually hides high in the canopy of trees.
But bird aside, this was an absolute treat. Getting to hear about the trail, and getting to hear about it from ... I don't know how to adequately describe the man. He's the kind of person who is not only excited to see strangers descend on his home but is ready to do anything he can to help them. I think the bird is still there, but honestly, just go out to experience some goodness.
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| The kiddos on the short trail at Uncas Road |
Pit Stop
I just needed the facilities at Anderson Lake State Park. But I found a Willow Flycatcher (171). We get so proud of ourselves at times, as birders. Driving along the road and deciding that you're driving past MacGillivray's Warbler habitat. You hear one singing along the roadside and feel like a genius. A bird whisperer, in all likelihood. But sometimes there's just good birds. I accepted the universe's offer of a new year bird. Nothing clever was done here.
Port Townsend
The first shop we stopped at was Celtic Crossroads. The kids do try to enjoy their Irish heritage. I found a full display with dozens of hats from Hanna's Hats - a company in Ireland that my folks had visited during a trip to Ireland. They had brought a hat for me that my son has now stolen, and a penny whistle that my daughter has similarly claimed. For this visit, they just each grabbed little things with our family name on them. On Father's Day, I suppose there's something to it - the name can be traced back through dads all the way back.
Also, curious stuff. Kind of a relic of the patriarchal history of humankind. I feel like hyphenation had come in to try to address some of that, although in a few hundred years, doing that to preserve all family names could lead to some breathtakingly long names. Conventions aside, it was a nice opportunity to remember Dad.
Continuing farther into town, we got ourselves some ice crem at Elevated Ice Cream, and then stumbled upon a Steampunk Festival in full swing - The Brass Screw Consortium. Interesting to read that this is one of "only three Victorian seaports on the National Registry." My time in the county is so often so bird-focused. I'm glad I got to see some of the wackiness of Port Townsend on this slower trip.
Just a few blocks further from there, and we'd made it to Point Hudson. Good timing for me, as there was a nice roost of gulls out on a spit. Here I found my first (and certainly not my last) Heermann's Gulls of the year (172). I've been spending years in counties that don't get these. I mean. . . yes, I live in King County, but getting out to Discovery Park from Renton is not a chore I regularly complete! So it had actually been several years since I'd last seen a Heermann's. And given that, the plumage differences caught me flat-footed! But yes. . . the really dark gulls are also Heermann's Gulls, Tim. Take a deep breath. lol.
Finnriver Cider
The Cascadians were in to play some jazz. There was a special Father's Day sampler - "Big bold flavors for Dads". Again, I won't tie myself in knots unpacking that, but it was a nice sampler. Add to that, I'd joined the cider club and got a free sampler of six ciders. Thankfully, I had my son there to help! That, and some grilled pizza, and fresh shucked Aphrodite oysters, and my two little hearts that walk outside of my body added up to a lovely finish to the day.
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