Jefferson's Birds and Climbing Journal

This week was one of the coldest weeks on record for Seattle. With over 9 inches of snow and temperatures never rising above freezing, it has been a very snowy week. I spent most of this week with family, sledding and watching movies, but I decided to journey over to Union Bay for some snowy birding.

Yesterday afternoon I saw an email posted to the Whatcom County listserv that there was an American White Pelican in Fairhaven. I had a few hours with nothing planned, so I decided to pack a bag and take a short bus ride down to Fairhaven.

This past week I had my first real birding trip since moving to school at WWU. I decided to make the trip to Semiahmoo Spit, a spit in the Strait of Georgia, less than a mile from the Canadian border. Coincidentally, as I was on my way I saw a report of an American Golden Plover at the spit the day before, which would be a lifer for me. I never found it, even though it was spotted that afternoon in a flock of 800 Black-bellied Plovers, but I doubt I would have missed a flock that big so they must have arrived later.

 Yesterday I climbed Mile High Club, a 7 pitch sport route in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, with Forest. We left Seattle around 6:30 am and after a few wrong turns left the trailhead around 8:45. The first portion of the trail was forested with several creek crossings and cool waterfalls.

 Yesterday I had planned to wake up before sunrise and head down to Union Bay Natural Area, my favorite birding spot in Seattle. I overslept however and woke up at 8:00, I almost decided to bail but I'm really glad I didn't.

I had seen reports of a Wandering Tattler at Alki Beach, so I made plans to head over there. I arrived at the south end of the beach around 6:30 am, right after sunrise. I climbed over the driftwood onto the beach and made my way to where the Tattler had been reported. As I walked down the beach I saw a pair of Harlequin Ducks, a county first, and a Great Blue Heron.

Last Friday I visited the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. My target birds were Semipalmated Plover and Cliff Swallow. It was a quiet start, aside from a flock of Barn Swallows in the parking lot. 

This April I visited Oahu with my dad and younger brother. Despite some hiccups (like my dad losing his wallet at Sea-Tac Airport) we got to Oahu fine. Unfortunately there was a bigger hiccup. In my rush to get going, I had left my camera sitting on my desk at home. I had all my lenses, batteries, and memory cards, just no camera to use them with. With a bit of searching, I was luckily able to find a rental for the week for a very reasonable price and we picked it up the next day. The first day was fairly tame for birds, we got in late and I had no camera so I wasn't very motivated. I did find a pigeon nest on our balcony however. I also saw Common Waxbills, House Sparrows, Common Mynas, Red-Crested Cardinals, Red-Vented Bulbuls, Warbling White-eyes, and the ubiquitous White Tern ( Native ).