Sand In My Shoes

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Part 1

We had a great start to the trip thanks to Doug and Lisa. We spent Sunday afternoon and night at their house and had a fabulous dinner. Doug offered to watch our car for the duration of our trip. All we had to do was to take a limo to the airport in the morning. Our flight was at 9:30am so there was no rush.

Click on the photos- each one is actually a slideshow.

In the morning we got up early and walked out on a pier near the hotel. There were early morning swimmers and surfers here and there. We checked out the local park and ticked off some local birds, most of them introduced species, and then found ourselves near the Honolulu Aquarium. It was nice, compact building, with very nice displays of local sea life. Little Pig really enjoyed it!

Later that afternoon we walked south along the row of hotels and shops. There were hawkers along the way for everything from face cream to cruises. We stopped at one spot offering tours of Oahu. It was with smaller buses than the Greyhound size that you saw a lot of but more substantial than the little trolleys that gave an overview of the city area. So we booked a full day tour for the next day. Our guide, Eddie, took us on a very informative tour around the island. He is one half Hawaiian and grew up in the area now being developed as multi-million dollar mansions. He pointed out Jackie Chan’s home, visible from the street, and others, like Barak Obama’s home, which were more secluded. He was especially fond of pointing out the famous surfing locations and included stories of famous surfers and their adventures. He offered surfing lessons to anyone who would show up at the beach at 5:30am- only 1$ per hour! The tour included stops at the Dole Pineapple Plantation (we saw mostly the gift shop) and later the beautiful Waimea Botanical Garden.

What’s a visit to Waikiki without a glass-bottomed boat tour? This was a one hour spin out into the ocean looking for sea turtles, dolphins, fish and anything else of interest. Again, the guide was informative and there were lots of references to Gilligan’s Island and Magnum, P.I. We saw some fish and turtles, no dolphins. The other tour we passed was a group of snorkelers. Another highlight was lunch after the tour. The guides recommended a few Hawaiian restaurants that were not geared toward tourists. We walked to the restaurant and took the bus back to the hotel.

We got back to our hotel and switched rooms to the one that the tour had booked for us. We relaxed before going to “The Deck” for the dinner with the other tour participants and our guides, Chris and Mandy. We knew Chris from a tour we did last year. Mandy is the Hawaii bird expert that we were meeting for the first time.

Stay tuned for more episodes!!!

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We couldn’t have done it without you!

Dinner at Trattoria Stefano

Jim and Donna, Mom and Dad

Fun at the Beach

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We had a great time visiting Jessica, E, Max and Briana. We arrived on Thursday afternoon. We had a nice chili dinner and then went to watch E play softball. It was a beautiful evening.

Friday morning Dad, Jessica, Nola and I took a walk through the neighborhood. We ended up at the edge of a stone quarry. Old equipment was parked there and looked like it hadn’t been used in years. We had a nice bird list, including hearing the Prothonotary Warbler. Dad went back again the next day and found it and took a picture.

Dad and I took a trip to the World Food Market (formerly Sahara Mart). We found all sorts of goodies. They had a great selection of gluten-free items and NA beer. I was excited. That evening we ate at the Trojan Horse and then walked down the street to The Comedy Attic. They had a great show-I’m not sure I had ever been to a comedy club before. It was nice that Briana could join us.

We got home in good time and all climbed into bed so we could be ready for the big day. Max had to be at school by 9:00 but we came later, getting in our seats in the gym for the 9:30 start. Just think Pomp and Circumstance.

Briana came over with her cat Gigi and we relaxed for the rest of the day. Jessica put out a tasty charcuterie board at lunchtime and later we had a serious cook-out with all the trimmings. We spent a lot of time lounging in Jessica’s front yard watching for hawks. We got Turkey Vultures, Black Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk.

We had decided to drive home on Sunday, thinking we would miss some traffic. Our strategy worked. There were many fewer trucks and less traffic in general. Before leaving Jessica made some awesome Dutch Babies for breakfast. Great with blueberries!!

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The morning of the 14th was standard Washington weather-cool and foggy. Our first stop, at 7:40 am was La Push, located along the coast, within the Quileute Indian Reservation. The scenery is beautiful, with huge rock formations rising from the ocean floor.

We walked about a mile, seeing the expected birds, including this Bald Eagle.

We stopped at other spots along the coast, finding gulls, scoters, loons and cormorants. At the Kalaloch Campground we got good looks at the Surf Scoter.

Alex had promised some sight-seeing today, so he turned off the highway and took us to see the world’s largest spruce tree.

At about 1:30 we stopped at the Hoquiam Sewer Treatment Plant to view the ponds. Alex set his scope down, looked through it to adjust it and found he was on the bird of the day, the Eurasian Wigeon. It is much like the American Wigeon but is a rufous overall rather than having a green and cream-colored head. This individual seems to stay with his American cousins.

We made a few stops here and there and finally arrived at Westport Marina.

Here we found 650 Marbled Godwit. These are sandy brown shorebirds with very long pink and black bills. They do everything together. Alex was hoping to find a similar bird, the Bar-tailed Godwit, among them but it wasn’t there.

We called it a day and went to the small grocery store to buy snacks for tomorrows pelagic tour. We were all a little nervous about getting seasick so we were buying all of the ginger products we could find. I even made ginger tea to put in the water bottles. Dad had a prescription motion sickness patch that he applied well in advance of our early morning departure.

Sep 15, 2022 – Westport Seabirds Pelagic to Grays Canyon

We arrived at the docks promptly at 6:00 with our snacks and ginger products. The pelagic tour leader, Bill Tweit, wrote such an accurate summary I decided to include it here. I will insert photos that we managed to take. Even with calm seas the boat was in constant motion so photos are imperfect.

Westport Seabirds Pelagic
Thursday September 15, 2022
Summary written by Bill Tweit

Great birds, great marine mammals and smooth waters added up to a highly memorable Westport Seabirds pelagic trip onboard the Monte Carlo on September 15. Most of the participants were on a Wildside Nature Tours, led by Alex Lamoreaux and Chris Brown, and a few other birders joined. Numbers in parentheses are the totals for the day.

Birds were generally numerous all day, beginning with large strings of Common Murres (1433) a few miles offshore, mostly still flightless adult males and chicks drifting north after the young had fledged from their Oregon colonies. Two Common Terns (5) were being harassed by a Parasitic Jaeger (32), giving us a preview of the abundance of jaegers for the day.

We also saw the first of many Humpback Whales (28), while we were still in the nearshore area. After the trip, we learned that one of the Humpback Whales was CRC-19155, of the Hawaiian breeding population. Many groups of Red-necked Phalaropes (134) flew past our bow heading south. We saw migrant waterfowl in flocks all day, mostly Northern Pintail (172).

Further offshore, as we neared the 50 fathom line (300’ depth), the first large groups of Sooty Shearwaters (5180) appeared and Sabine’s Gulls (245) began to be seen frequently. They were accompanied by numerous Parasitic Jaegers and a few Pomarines (16), by the end of the day we had recorded near record numbers of Parasitics. In this area, as we watched a dark bird harassing a Sabine’s Gull, we realized that this dark bird was not another jaeger, but instead was a Peregrine (2) trying to capture a Sabine’s Gull. The pursuit, with amazing dives and twisting evasions, moved closer to us as we watched, and eventually was directly over us for a few moments before moving off to an unknown end since we lost track of them. Pink-footed Shearwater (331) numbers began to increase at this point, and the first Short-tailed Shearwaters (607) were detected.

We were headed for the area where the shrimp trawlers were fishing, and as we neared them three South Polar Skuas (13) made an appearance providing good views of both light- and dark-bodied birds.

Although the trawlers were not attracting many birds, we enjoyed the numbers of birds in the area.

The first Black-footed Albatross (8) and Northern Fulmars (24) were also found in this area, just south of Grays Canyon. Single Buller’s Shearwater (11) and Arctic Tern (3) appeared briefly. The numbers of marine mammals in the area kept us scanning the horizons for telltale splashes and blows. Four species of cetaceans were in this one area: 1 Humpback Whale, 7 Dall’s Porpoise (38), 20 Pacific White-sided Dolphins (982), and a large but distant group of about 150 Northern Right-Whale Dolphins sped past us (170).

As we turned to catch up with them, a single alcid on the water caught our eye, an immature HORNED PUFFIN. A very cooperative bird, it sat for us as we circled it, with cameras frantically clicking. Unfortunately, stopping for the puffins meant we lost track of the dolphins. This is the first Horned Puffin for Westport Seabirds since 2011!

Since we were already south of Grays Canyon at this point, we headed southwest into deeper water, going from 400’ depth to almost 2000’ in just a few miles, to see if we could catch up with the speedy dolphin gang, no luck on that score. Small groups of flying Cassin’s Auklets (96) began to appear over the deep waters of the canyon, and one pair on the water afforded good views, which the Red Phalarope (1) that flew past did not. Once we were well over the deep waters south of the canyon, we stopped to chum but the little bit of wind that we noted when we stopped quickly dissipated, so the effectiveness of the chum was low as success depends on a breeze to carry the scent. It did attract a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel (20) and a couple of albatross circled us, attracted either by the chum or the crowd of birders. Even still, we enjoyed watching the passing birds as we drifted silently without the boat engines running. A nearby Northern Fur Seal (2) seemed relatively undisturbed by our presence. Our attention was drawn to a Parasitic Jaeger engaged in aerial acrobatics, when we realized it was after a small passerine, likely the American Pipit we had heard overhead just a few minutes earlier. Soon up to three Parasitics were chasing the poor passerine, and an Arctic Tern began chasing one of the jaegers!

A skua flew by, cast a casual eye at the commotion, and kept going. We don’t know how it ended, but it went on for long enough that it can’t have been a positive outcome for the passerine. Heading back east, as we neared the Continental Shelf, we encountered a massive herd of 800 Pacific White-sided Dolphin and 20 more Northern Right Whale Dolphins. Both dolphins came in to ride our bow wave for a few minutes, while others performed somersaults and other acrobatics nearby.

Once we returned to waters over the shelf, we continued to see smaller groups of dolphins as we headed first for a few more shrimpers that were fishing east of the end of Grays Canyon. Again, we found them relatively devoid of birds but large numbers of shearwaters and Sabine’s Gulls were feeding on bait just inshore of the trawlers, with more dolphins and a couple of lunge-feeding Humpback Whales. A few more Buller’s Shearwaters were with these flocks, providing better looks than in the morning, and we found one area that held large numbers of Short-tailed Shearwaters with great comparisons with Sooty. Amidst all of this abundance, one area held skua, numerous Parasitics, a few Pomarines and one adult Long-tailed (1), giving us the “jaeger slam” in quick succession. This was also the area that held the largest numbers of Rhinocerous Auklets (63) and California Gulls (563), which we had been seeing in small numbers throughout the trip. Three Herring Gulls (3) here were our first of the fall, aside from a lone bird in August.

The excitement didn’t drop off as we headed back to the harbor. First, a group of 9 Pomarine Jaegers on the water marked the end of the great jaeger show we had been enjoying all day. About a half hour out, we came to an abrupt halt to watch a pod of approx. 8 Orca, apparently transients (Bigg’s Killer Whales) of the T-38 group (the matriarch is T-38, born in 1980), as they surfaced and lob-tailed. Reluctantly leaving them, we spotted the last skua of the day much closer to shore than is normal for this species. Then, we were entertained for a few moments by a Savannah Sparrow that came aboard and hitched a ride back to shore. The excitement wasn’t over though, as we neared the end of the Westport jetty, we checked the gulls perched on a log floating less than a mile off the jetties, and were stunned to see a BROWN BOOBY sitting among them. More pandemonium as we circled the log, while the booby sat and posed for pictures.

Finally, back into Grays Harbor, a couple of Harbor Porpoise (2) made it a seven cetacean species day! The last excitement of the day came after we tied up but before we disembarked, as a Peregrine cruised in low and fast, flushing all of the Marbled Godwits (800), which helped us ascertain that the godwit flock held a Willet, but no Bar-tailed.

Our second Peregrine of the day, not a typical pelagic trip! This was a trip that most of us won’t forget anytime soon. As usual, we had the privilege of the superb skippering by Phil Anderson, and his wife Chris as a great first mate. Spotters for the trip were Scott Mills and Bill Tweit, with credit to many of the sharp-eyed birders on board, especially Alex Lamoreaux, Chris Brown, Bob Archer and Eric Heisey.

Marine Wildlife:
“Bigg’s” Orca/Killer Whale
Humpback Whale
Northern Right-whale Dolphin
Pacific White-sided Dolphin
Dall’s Porpoise
Pacific Harbor Porpoise
Pacific Harbor Seal
California Sea Lion
Steller’s Sea Lion
Northern Fur Seal
Blue Shark
Ocean Sunfish/Mola mola

I will add a few more photos of unidentified marine mammals. Keeping the bird ID’s correct was all we could handle!

We had a great day and nobody got sick!

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And then we were Nine

We met our tour guides and the five other participants in a crowded hotel lobby near the airport. This hotel caters to cruise guests also so the lobby was full of luggage and people waiting for transportation to their ships. The birders could recognize each other because we were all using the neon green tags that were sent to us in advance. I stayed there with the luggage while Dad returned the rental car. Finally the guides, Alex and Chris, showed up and we piled into a van. Thanks to us the luggage area in back was full to overflowing. We left the city of SeaTac and drove to Seattle.

Our first stop was Alki, an urban area that juts out into Puget Sound. Our stops are indicated on the map by red flame symbols.

To get there we passed the industrial district at the south end of Elliott Bay. There we saw giant cranes on the docks. In the channels and bay were huge container ships, cruise ships and fishing boats. We parked in a neighborhood and searched for local songbirds. We found a cooperative Rufous Hummingbird and the expected songbirds and warblers.

The beach had a nice selection of west coast birds, including Black Turnstones and Surfbirds.

We traveled north through the city to Discovery Park, a 534 acre natural area. Situated on Magnolia Bluff overlooking Puget Sound, Discovery Park offers spectacular view of both the Cascade and the Olympic Mountain ranges. But all we cared about was birds. We found a lot of land birds, some gulls and a Western Grebe.

After the Seattle tour we drove back south to the airport hotel we started at. This was a good starting point for the next day’s route on the west side of the sound.

Sep 12, 2022 – West Puget Sound & Salish Sea Hotspots

We traveled north from SeaTac, stopping at a few places and only getting the expected land birds and waterfowl. We finally got to the northern two hotspots (flames) shown on the map. Point No Point was named so because this bit of land was hard to see from the deck of a ship and was too shallow and muddy for anchorage, therefore did not qualify as a “point”. The spot included a historic lighthouse and the remaining lens described below.

“On January 10, 1880, the fifth-order Fresnel lens arrived and was installed in the Point No Point Lighthouse. Fresnel lenses capture and direct light by prismatic rings to a central bull’s-eye where it emerges as a single concentrated beam of light. A fifth-order Fresnel lens, used mainly for shoals, reefs, and harbor entrance lights, is one foot, eight inches high, has an inside diameter of one foot, three inches, and weighs approximately 300 pounds. The light at Point No Point, illuminated by a kerosene lamp and 27 feet above grade, was visible for about 10 miles.”

Birds seen at Point No Point included Pigeon Guillemot, Bonaparte’s Gull and Parasitic Jaeger.

The Parasitic Jaeger above is being harrassed by Bonaparte’s Gulls. The Jaeger is a kleptoparasite, stealing food from other species rather hunting for its own. Worse than that, during breeding season on the Arctic tundra, it preys mainly on birds and their eggs. Even when it appears in Waukegan the gulls are on high alert. This bird will harry another bird that has just swallowed prey, forcing it to regurgitate it’s meal. In this case the jaeger finally left, unsatisfied.

The Pigeon Guillemot dives and swims underwater, flapping its wings for propulsion. It catches fish, worms, and crustaceans.

We also had some interesting land birds.

We carried on, stopping here and there at spots the guides had chosen ahead of time. We found more expected birds. We spent the night in Port Angeles.

Sep 13, 2022 – Hurricane Ridge, Neah Bay, & Cape Flattery

The next morning we only had to travel three miles south from the coast to enter Olympic National Park. This first stop was simply a trailhead where we stopped to listen for owls. We were probably too late, at 6:35 am.

By 7:22 am we were in the Olympic Mountains, on Hurricane Ridge. We parked at the Visitor’s Center a spent a while admiring the Olympic Marmot on the slope below us.

We had fun with the Canada Jays, with our guide Alex feeding them weed seeds out of hand.

On the way down the mountain we had to stop for some road work. The flagman was able to tell us right where to stop to see the Sooty Grouse.

From Olympic National Park we headed back north to the coast. We stopped at beaches and jetties along the way. Some of them were familiar from many years ago, however we did not walk out very far on any of them. The highlight was the Wandering Tattler at Neah Bay.

Our last stop of the day was Cape Flattery, “Located in the Makah Reservation, outside Olympic National Park near the town of Neah Bay. The short (¾ miles/1.2 km each way) trail leads through the forest to a viewing platform, perched on a cliff with a dramatic view overlooking the Pacific. Cape Flattery is the Northwest most point on the contiguous United States.”

Actually, after the pleasant walk in the woods there was a very steep and unforgiving staircase down to a small look-out still high above the rocky shore. By now it was getting very foggy and cooler. We were here to see the Black Swift, roosting the nearby sea cliffs and caves. The swifts never appeared but we did get Black Oystercatchers, Surf Scoters and a Pacific Loon, among other species.

Finally, at 6:30, Alex agreed to call it a day. After a supper in a little cafe we drove inland to Forks, WA , to our motel. I was proud of myself for climbing the steps at Cape Flattery and more than ready for a rest.

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Part I

Thursday 9/8/2022

At 8:45 we were getting into the limo on our way to O’Hare. It was a push to get everything squared away with the real estate ladies and leave the house ready for showing. We had Rachel and Matt lined up to check on the house after showings (a commitment made after a nice dinner at Sushi Kushi). We were ready to roll.

The experience of getting from our front door to the SeaTac Rental Car Center went smoothly, with front row seats on the plane and beautiful views of the mountains. At the car rental center they pointed us to a Honda SUV and said “Have a nice time”. We were out of the facility and around the corner before realizing that the smell in the car was not something we could tolerate for three days. Back we went to the rental facility to trade it in for a different car. This was a Kia SUV. Not as nice but not smelly either. Off we went with the rest of the traffic, east and south toward Mt. Rainer National Park and Packwood WA. We got off the interstate and things thinned out considerably. We realized we needed to stop for groceries while there was still a supermarket available. We stopped at the Fred Meyer in Maple Valley. It was a giant store that included everything from groceries to clothing and garden supplies. We got our groceries and planned to go the the B&B for supper. “Do you have the key? Where’s the key?” “There it is, on the front seat!” Oh, boy, we were locked out! Our Toyota doesn’t allow that sort of thing to happen. We assumed all modern cars were so smart. So we called the Avis Road service. In the meantime we sat at a table outside the store and ate grocery store sushi. Finally a guy came and unlocked the car. Back in business. We drove another hour and a half and managed to find our “Cozy Cabin” near the Cowlitz River, in a neighborhood where every other house had a similar A-frame on the property. It was on a very quiet cul-du-sac and we really looked forward to three quiet nights of listening for owls.

Cozy Cabin was named for its tiny space and efficiency. It had everything you needed but nothing extraneous. Everything was condensed into a small space without being overly crowded. There was a queen size bed and we had a very quiet night’s rest. There was no stove top but in the morning Dad made perfect soft boiled eggs in a countertop electric kettle. He planned to repeat the menu for the next morning.

Friday, 9 9 2022

After breakfast we headed back north into Mount Rainier National Park. It was cool and sunny; a perfect day for sightseeing. We stopped at a trailhead parking area and grabbed the last spot. “Wonderland Trail” took us up and over a beautiful slot canyon.

We continued on to the Paradise Visitor’s Center. The trail from the visitor’s center was Dead Horse Creek Trail. It was a popular trail and we saw many hikers geared up for back-country hiking and camping. We took a paved trail that wound through scattered evergreen trees. We gained elevation and found ourselves in an alpine meadow full of flowers. Another hiker approached us, pointing excitedly and crying “Bird!”. It took us a moment to find a grouse foraging in the dense ground cover.

The bird was oblivious to our presence and allowed us to take a lot of photos. We finally realized that it was a Sooty Grouse, a target lifer for the trip!!

We had a picnic lunch at the visitor’s Center and decided to head back to the cabin. It was a long ride and we were ready for a little relaxation after we got there. The Kia we were driving seemed to have an alarm for everything, the most frequent one was the lane monitor. At one point there was a much louder alarm and I couldn’t figure out what it was. Then I looked at my phone.

We hurried to our B&B through the curvy roads. As we passed the turn-off to go east the road was closed and there were six large army vehicles waiting there. As we got closer to the B&B we could see, and smell, clouds of smoke.

We got to the cabin and packed up as fast as we could. We could smell the smoke coming through the neighborhood. There weren’t many people on the roads so we made good time. But where do we go now?

The fire was east of us so we went west to the base of Puget Sound. There was a national wildlife refuge there that could have a lot of shorebirds. We ended up right off Interstate 5 in Lacey, WA, minutes from the refuge. Lacey is the home of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. From the website: “Joint Base Lewis-McChord provides state-of-the-art training and infrastructure, responsive quality of life programs, and fully-capable mobilization and deployment operations for Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.” It occupies a huge area in Lacey.

We had a nice room and looked forward to birding the preserve in the morning.

Saturday, September 10, 2022

We started at the parking lot and walked past some shallow ponds on a boardwalk. The climate here is temperate rain forest. All of the trees had lichens growing on them and there were ferns everywhere. We didn’t find any interesting birds in the water. Further north in the refuge a boardwalk juts out a mile over a vast mudflat. We walked about three quarters of the way. There was not much variety but we did see a lot of Bald Eagles.

We were hoping that this mud would have a lot of shorebirds but all we found were six Greater Yellowlegs. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge was not very productive so we went into town a little ways to Farrell Marsh Park. There was only a tiny place on the side of the road in a neighborhood so we parked the car there and went in. There was a network of narrow trails through dense vegetation. We got a good look at Chestnut-sided Chickadees and I saw a Bewick’s Wren.

This was our last chance to bird alone. Tomorrow we were to join the Wildside Bird Tours group.

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This gull, along with 700 of his friends, has been guarding the Waukegan beach. It’s been difficult to bird the beach without disturbing the gulls or getting in the way of the very vocal Spotted Sandpiper and Killdeer. They seem to have hatched a second clutch and they are very protective of their territory.

Between the dunes there has been a pond stretching the whole length of the beach. This is perfect habitat for the Black-crowned Night Heron and the Green Heron. They can be found early in the morning close to the southern most entrance to the north beach.

The Fourth of July parade was uneventful and mostly boring. Aside from the horses, the best thing was the vintage firetruck.

The city fireworks had been cancelled due to the tragedy in Highland Park, but the neighborhoods west of us provided their own displays. All fireworks have been outlawed in Waukegan but this only reduced the number and firepower we heard by a fraction.

When I got up and went to go birding I realized that the real action was overnight, right in our front yard. As I drove out the driveway I saw a lot of dirt on the driveway right under the magnolia tree. I didn’t think much of it and kept going. A bit later, I thought I needed to investigate more thoroughly. I found the trunk of the tree facing the driveway had it’s bark ripped away and was damaged down to the base. The flower garden was disturbed and my very healthy cactus was gone!! There were tire marks on the neighbor’s lawn that extended through the flower garden and ended at the magnolia tree. There were small plastic and glass shards all over the front yard, especially on the north side on the garden. Finally the neighbors came out and explained what had happened. While we were asleep, a car had spun out of control on Sheridan road, driven through their yard and land with the back of the car crashed into the tree. The police were called, the tow truck removed the car and nobody so much as put a post-it note on our front door. We are still in the process of getting it fixed. This is the second time we had a car in our yard, the second tree damaged and the 7th time a speeding car missed the turn and crashed in this block. We complained to the neighborhood police officer and he said he would try to run s speed check. They are so understaffed that I can’t see that happening enough to make a difference.

I’m sorry to say that the neighborhood news gets worse. The school district has decided to repurpose Lincoln Center as a school for those high school students unable to function in the standard high school environment due to social and mental challenges. Basically, the neighbor said these are the kids who come to school with guns and knives. The district has kept this under wraps and it is already a done deal. Soooo…

We are going to move. As much as we love the house there is really nothing to keep us in Waukegan. Yesterday we looked at a beautiful home in Wisconsin, on the southern edge of Sheboygan. It is very near to Kohler Andrae State Park. It was on a private road and backed up to the Black River. Unfortunately the house was very big and not really what we wanted. But we will keep looking. After talking to our financial advisor we know what price point is feasible for us. None of this will happen in a hurry, so hopefully we can have Feast here this fall.

The next big project is for us to empty the house of as much junk as possible. That will keep us busy for a while!!

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Sunday, May 29 to Wednesday, June 1

We got off to a late start on Sunday, and we had a big day ahead of us. Our route was Kougarok Road which follows the Nome river north and then veers northeast past Salmon Lake and north again to Coffee Dome Trail, home of the Bristle-thighed Curlew. We stopped at various points of interest along the way.

Our first stop was the Nome River bridge. Here we had the usual waterfowl in the river but up on the slope we had our lifer Willow Ptarmigan.

Wilson’s Snipe were everywhere but they were all hidden deep in the brown grass. We continued north on Kougarok Rd. to find the related Ptarmigan, the Rock Ptarmigan, a very similar bird. Another Alaska specialty is the Wandering Tattler, a shorebird that is barred gray overall. That is a bird we had already seen in Alaska on a previous trip but fun to see again.

There was a small campground on the barren shore of Salmon lake. The ladies in the group were all thrilled to find an outhouse! We also enjoyed the lifer Bluethroat. This Alaska specialty is the most colorful bird we saw on the trip. The glaring sun made it hard to capture the bright blue on the throat and breast of this small thrush. It has a beautiful red and black tail but that was also hard to see.

Finally we reached or furthest spot-Coffee Dome Trail. The spot was marked by a stake on the side of the road holding a selection of old hiking boots. The terrain was somewhat difficult. The ground was very wet even though it was the side of a hill. there were little hillocks of grass everywhere with only small spaces in between them. We hadn’t brought our giant rubber boots so I tried to walk on the hillocks. They were very unstable and just collapsed to one side under my weight. Even stepping on the saturated earth was difficult because it was so spongy. One of the other ladies kindly loaned me her walking stick which made the going much easier. The target here was the famous Bristle-thighed Curlew. We were warned that we might have to stand on this hillside hours before it appeared. We were lucky. After twenty minutes two called and flew over the crest of the hill. I didn’t manage to get a photo and was very disappointed. The guide said it probably would be a while before they appeared again and we were a long way (72 mi) from Nome.

It was 7:00 pm as we were approaching Nome. We made a short detour to the Mouth of the Nome River.

We drove out onto the sand to bring us closer to the mouth of the river. There were a lot of shorebirds, mostly Semipalmated Sandpipers and red-necked Phalaropes. But a larger shorebird was by itself in the shallow water. This was the Bar-tailed Godwit. This is a bird we never see at home. Another lifer!! I love shorebirds and wished we could stay there longer but we still had to eat. So we all piled back into the van. Once Rich put it in gear we realized we were stuck in the sand! We all got out and pushed and finally got going again.

After dinner we went out again and saw a bird perched in the distance on a rocky area. This was the same Gyrfalcon that we had seen earlier in the day. Oddly enough, this is a bird we had already seen-in Waukegan at the beach last January.

We made one more stop and finally called it quits. It was 11:00 pm and still very sunny.

Monday, May 30th

There was another Alaska specialty bird we hadn’t seen yet- the Northern Wheatear. In order to see this bird we had to travel north and west on Teller Highway. This is the road with the sinister warning sign as you leave Nome. So off we went.

Today we would get out on the tundra.

There were rocks and boulders scattered everywhere. We were looking for a gray black and white bird probably perched on one of them.

We searched for nesting shorebirds and also got a really close look at the tundra . It looks barren from a distance but up close it is covered with tiny, low growing plants and flowers. When you step on the soil your foot sinks in a little and water squeezes out. There are potholes here and there, presumably where chunks of ice had melted.

This was our furthest point west. On the way back we saw some other interesting wildlife.

Tuesday, May 31

We only had half day left to bird before flying out of Nome. After breakfast we headed east along the shoreline. I had been asking about the Arctic Loon and was assured by the guide that it was only seen very far north, in Barrow, and then it wasn’t easy. He went on describing the bird but I had already discounted the possibility. Suddenly another birder in the van pointed out a loon that fit the description that the guide haad just provided. We stopped, took a lot of photos and discussed the ID points that were visible. The guide assured us it was an Arctic Loon. We were all thrilled. With that, Dad and I had all the North American Loons on our life list. More on this later.

We saw more Musk Oxen, including some young ones.

We finished birding at about 10:15. We were already packed with everything in the van and Rich got us to the airport at 11:30 for a 12:25 flight to Anchorage. The airport was busy with people checking luggage. We had a suitcase. It seemed everyone else had big coolers, presumably packed with seafood or salmon.

Rich had entered all of the birds we saw into eBird and shared the lists with us. All we had to do was check them and remove any birds that he saw and we didn’t. He was pretty good on getting everybody on the bird. Our Flight from Anchorage left at 9:04 pm and arrived at O’Hare the next morning. It was six hours but with all the on board food, etc. I didn’t sleep at all.

There was one small issue when we got home. I got an email from an eBird reviewer in Alaska. My Arctic Loon was really the regular Red-throated Loon after all. Very disappointing! But I’m glad it was corrected. It took forever to go through my photos and I’m still not quit finished.

It’s time to plan our next trip!

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Our flight left O’Hare just after 4:00 pm. During the two hours at the airport I couldn’t help thinking about the birds we were going to miss in Lake County. We had one last look at Waukegan Beach from the air.

It was a nice flight. The flight attendant kept bringing us glasses of sparkling wine. We had a nice view at 9:07 CDT.

We spent the first night in a hotel near the airport. The target bird at this point were the American Three-toed Woodpecker and the Black-backed Woodpecker. They were seen at Hillside City Park, which I imagined to be a tot-lot style spot. I forgot that the city parks in Anchorage are more like Wisconsin State parks. It was beautiful and we had a lot of ground to cover. Anchorage residents were there in numbers, cycling, jogging, hiking and just taking the kids, or dogs, (I think owning a dog is a legal requirement to live in Alaska) for a walk. We did our best but only came up nine species, including a Canada Jay and a Fox Sparrow.

Finally, we headed south to our B & B in Girdwood. The drive was beautiful, following the Turnagain Arm from southern Anchorage to Girdwood, which is indicated on the map by the arrow.

We felt at home in the B & B mainly because we had stayed there last time we were in Alaska. Anchorage had a great grocery store so we stocked up on a few things and settled in. Around the B & B the birding was mostly by ear. The Orange-crowned Warbler sang incessantly.

Where to eat?? You might think salmon would be the go to menu item or even reindeer. But Cajun food?? In Alaska? Right here at the Double Musky Inn.

This was supper club to the max, crazy Mardi Gras stuff everywhere and a gigantic wine cellar. We ate there on the first night, ate the leftovers the second night and went back the third night. You’ll see the cookbook when you come to visit. I am practicing the Double Musky Pie.

We birded along the coast and into the mountains where trails permitted. There was still snow on the trails as we gained elevation so we could only go so far. We returned to Anchorage and finally did get the American Three-toed Woodpecker. It was such a brief view that we didn’t even get a photo. We saw some nice shorebirds, terns, gulls and waterfowl. We had 39 species in all for the Anchorage area, but only one lifer.

It was time to go to Nome. The plane was surprisingly big and full. I realized that there was really no other practical way to get to Nome. The trip was an hour and a half. The Nome airport was a bit like a bus station. When we got in to pick up our luggage, the small area was full of birders and bird guides. Ours was the guy in the yellow hat.

We piled into a passenger van and our guide, Rich, started the birding on the way from the airport to the hotel. We checked in to our hotel and after having dinner at a pizza place, we went out and birded some more. Finally we got to go to bed.

The Nome area does not have a lot of roads. Once you are out of town they are all gravel. At Teller Highway the first road sign is a warning. A more compelling warning was the sight of abandoned vehicles on the roadside at intervals along this highway. Apparently the vehicles had less value than the cost of towing and repair. At breakfast our guide talked to the tow truck driver to find out how far we could go on Teller Highway. We only needed to go 72 miles on that particular road (day 3).

On our first full day, May 28, we took the Council Highway, traveling east along the coast, then heading northeast toward Council. On the coastline we had good looks at waterfowl that are scarce and fleeting in Lake County. We saw Red-throated Loons, Long-tailed Ducks, Mergansers, Scoters, Phalaropes, many gulls, terns and other birds. A lot of waterfowl were distant but we were still able to identify most of them. This is where we realized that maybe the guide didn’t have his bird IDs 100%. We would have to be responsible for our own IDs. Photos are a BIG help.

Speaking of using photos for identification, I got a big surprise when I got home and started editing my photos. In a photo of a group of Long-tailed Ducks, I found a pair of Steller’s Eiders!! A lifer!

Along the road we saw a herd of Musk Ox. They were grazing with their young.

One of the species we looked forward to seeing was the Lapland Longspur. They migrate through Waukegan, at the beach and in farmers’ fields, but they are rarely seen in breeding plumage. It was a treat to see them here. Their hind toe actually has a long claw or “spur”.

After leaving the shore of the Bering Sea and driving inland we got one the the first Alaska specialties- the Eastern Yellow Wagtail. It was near a snow bank and the less exciting American Pipit was in the same vicinity. I kept finding the Pipit and not the Wagtail. But I did finally get a look at it although no photo. Dad got a photo.

We didn’t go into the village of Council. There is a river between the end of the highway and the village roads. The locals cross by boat when the river is high. They just drive through when the river is low and I imagine it is pretty well frozen for a good part of the year. We were heading back to Nome when Rich slammed on the brakes. There was a rocky area next to the highway and at just about eye level from the van was a nest . It was a Golden Eagle sitting on it’s nest!

We had an uneventful drive back to Nome for dinner and another short outing. We all went to bed exhausted.

More to follow.

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53 Days, 1 Wedding, 1 Garden, 175 birds and 8000 miles

Part 1

It’s so nice to look back at E and J’s wedding and remember the fun we had. We enjoyed spending some time getting to know Jesse and Wendy and Matthew. I’m so glad everyone could be there. We’re still waiting for a gift selection. I know you have both been busy seeking public offices. Congratulations to E!!

The day after the wedding Dad and I went chasing a rare bird at nearby Goose Pond FWA in Greene County. The bird was a Whooper Swan. We missed it by a few days. But we did get a Whooping Crane which is a good bird anywhere! After we got home the migrating birds started coming in fast and furious. We were covering Lake County exclusively when a rare bird alert came in for a Garganey in Lake Mills WI. A Garganey is a small duck that wanders in to North America from Europe or Asia. The day we tried to see it was pouring rain. We thought that by the time we drove up to Lake Mills area maybe the rain would diminish. It seemed to actually increase. While in the parking lot we met a guy who had been there very early in the morning and had seen the bird. He had wanted to get photos but the rain prevented that. He told us where it was seen, (the Zeloski Marsh is a big area) and gave us other information. We did some searching but finally decided to call it quits and try again the next day. That evening we looked up the birders who had reported it that morning. We found out that the guy we had been talking to was a published bird illustrator, having contributed to the National Geographic Birds of North America and The Peterson Warbler Guide. Wow!! The next day we took our paper copies of these guides with us when we returned to the marsh, just in case we were to encounter him again and we could have him sign our copies. That Friday was beautiful weather but the Garganey and the artist were both no shows. We met some of the regular Lake County birders there and we got some Wisconsin birds.

From April 23rd, pm to May 22nd we remained in Lake County. As it happened the rare birds came to us. During this time all of the lakefront area had been experiencing a massive hatching of midges. They were creating thick clouds everywhere you went near the beach. The swallows and flycatchers were going crazy! We had a nice visit from Colette and Roger during this time. They did a walk on the beach and were surrounded by midges.

On a Wednesday morning after breakfast I decided to go up to the North Unit of Illinois Beach State Park. Nothing new had been seen lately so I thought it would be a nice quiet place for a walk. There’s not a lot of beach there but the waves had eroded an area north of the weather station and created a new stretch of sandy beach. I watched the newly made beach from a distance and saw about 10 medium sized birds near the water. They weren’t foraging like shorebirds do and I realized that they were all flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds to be specific. But one was different. It was very pale and had a hint of salmon coloring to the flanks and underwing. I did my best to take a picture without approaching the birds so as not to disturb them.

After careful observation I was sure of the ID-a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher! This bird visits only occasionally from it’s usual range in southeast Texas. But it drew a lot of birders from Lake County and Cook County. Having a lot of good birders in one spot led to even more great sightings. One birder found a Blue Grosbeak in his photo of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Next a Swainson’s Hawk was seen. Then a Fork-tailed Flycatcher, even more rare than the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, was reported and also a King Rail. The Cook County birders were getting tired of having to drive up to Lake County continually.

The grassy areas all over the state parks had been very recently burned. The burned grass near the shrubs was of interest to the King Rail and he circled the shrubs hunting for insects. The blackened grass and stems made an interesting background for the reddish brown rail. I crouched down with my camera behind the restroom and he approached me as if I wasn’t there. Snap! I got the shot that would make it to the homepage of eBird!

Migration was in full force. The BirdCast website shows a radar image of birds migrating during the night. Millions of birds were heading our way.

And breeding season had begun. A Robin had built a nest at eye level right next to the parking area at the beach. There was a fair amount of traffic but she seemed to handle it OK.

The next three weeks we worked hard keeping up with warblers, shorebirds, and all the other birds that were arriving daily. By May 22 we were at about 244 year birds including Wisconsin and Indiana. My Lake County list was 239.

The Garden

Doug and Lisa visited for Mother’s Day. Lisa assured me that Doug would be happy to dig up some of the lawn in the back yard. I ordered flowers from a nursery that specializes in Illinois native plants. Unfortunately some of the delivery arrived while we were gone but now everything is planted. Some of the flowers were delivered as bare roots. I think these may have died from not being put in the ground right away. It doesn’t look like much now but I will continue to enlarge it. Thanks again Doug and Lisa for all the digging, for the information on native plants for shade, and the beautiful hanging plant.