Pacific Northwest Trip ~ January 7-8, 2013

At 3:00 AM, I drove to Philadelphia International Airport and flew to Seattle, Washington with a stopover in Salt Lake City, Utah. I got the rental car at around 4:00 PM. I had planned on heading northeast to Revelstoke, British Columbia to see a Brambling that was being seen every day there, but heavy snows were predicted for the area and the route there would involve driving over mountain passes. Since winter tires and chains were required in that case, I changed plans and headed south on I-5 towards California where a Falcated Duck had been seen in December. The duck had not been reported for a few weeks after heavy rains hit the area, but I was hoping that would change, plus I had never been to Oregon. I headed the 10+ hours down I-5 through Washington into Oregon (the 48th state that I've visited) and on down into northern California, hitting heavy fog in the Mount Shasta area. I parked at a rest area just north of Williams at about 2:00 AM and slept for about 5 hours.

At daybreak on the 8th, I drove over to Colusa National Wildlife Refuge to the spot where the duck was most often seen. Unfortunately, the whole area was enshrouded in fog, limiting sight range to only about 75 yards. The duck was nowhere to be found among the Greater White-fronted Geese, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, and American Coots. A few Black-necked Stilts were present. In the surrounding area, I found Killdeer, Northern 'Red-shafted' Flicker, a Black Phoebe, small flocks of Bushtits and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Marsh Wren, and a California Towhee. A drive around the 'Auto Tour Route' revealed Pied-billed Grebe, Great Egret, White-faced Ibis, Cinnamon Teal, Gadwall, Redhead, Bufflehead, Red-shouldered Hawk, Virginia Rail, White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Western Meadowlark.

Red-shouldered Hawk at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, California.

With little hope of the fog lifting, I headed back up I-5 towards Portland, Oregon. I eventually left the fog in the Central Valley region and climbed up into the mountains framed by clear blue skies. The 'Castle Crags' rock formations were interesting.

'Castle Crags' rock formations near Castella, California.

A Common Raven was present at a Mount Shasta viewpoint along I-5.

Snow-capped Mount Shasta was an impressive sight.

Mount Shasta from I-5 near Castella, California.

Mount Shasta from I-5 near Dunsmuir, California.

Amazingly, about twenty miles farther north, I found myself back in fog once again.

Along I-5 near Yreka, California.

Eventually, the fog thinned out as I re-entered Oregon, drove most of the way through the state, and got a motel near Tigard, south of Portland.

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Pacific Northwest Trip ~ January 9, 2013

I drove into Portland and spent most of the morning in light rain at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area. A walk down the wooded section of the Interlakes Trail produced a few pockets of birds. These included good numbers of Ruby-crowned Kinglets with a few Golden-Crowneds mixed in, Black-capped Chickadees, Bushtits, a Bewick's Wren, a few Townsend's Warblers, Spotted Towhees, and Varied Thrushes, and at least a dozen 'Sooty' Fox Sparrows.

Varied Thrush at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, Oregon.

'Sooty' Fox Sparrow at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, Oregon.

The two lakes and smaller pools of water produced Pied-billed Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Bald Eagle, American Coot, and Western and Glaucous-winged Gull.

From here, the plan was to pick up Devich Farbotnik at the Seattle Airport, continue north to Vancouver Island, spend the night in Courtenay, and look for the Citrine Wagtail the next morning. Dev's flight was supposed to arrive at around 2:00 PM, but he called and told me that his plane in Philadelphia was delayed because of mechanical problems, causing him to miss his connection in Phoenix. He eventually got put on a later flight that didn't get him into Seattle until 10:15 PM. As a result, I ended up spending several hours napping in the car near the airport until he arrived. Since the last ferry left Tsawwassen, British Columbia at 10:45 PM, we ended up sleeping a few hours at the ferry dock, waiting for the first crossing at 5:15 AM.

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Pacific Northwest Trip ~ January 10, 2013

We took the Tsawwassen ferry over to Nanaimo, Victoria Island where we drove north to the Comox area. We walked out the dirt road to look for the Citrine Wagtail. According to the local birders present, it was unseasonably cold for the area and, because of that, many of the wet and muddy areas the bird was seen at were frozen. There was also a pretty steady 20-mph wind that made things feel a lot colder than that. We spent the entire morning looking for the bird. We decided to take a short break in Courtenay to get some lunch and warm up. A Bald Eagle was perched in a tree near where we parked the car.

Adult Bald Eagle along the Courtenay River on Victoria Island, British Columbia.

We returned to the wagtail spot for the rest of the day. While hoping for the wagtail to show, an immmature Bald Eagle passed by pretty close.

Immature Bald Eagle at the wagtail site near Comox on Victoria Island, British Columbia.

Many Trumpeter Swans moved in and out of the fields at the spot.

Trumpeter Swans at the wagtail site near Comox on Victoria Island, British Columbia.

A Trumpeter Swan at the wagtail site near Comox on Victoria Island, British Columbia.

Other birds seen there included Golden-crowned Sparrow and Northern Shrike.

A Golden-crowned Sparrow at the wagtail site near Comox on Victoria Island, British Columbia.

A Northern Shrike at the wagtail site near Comox on Victoria Island, British Columbia.

Near dusk, we gave up and checked out the numerous waterfowl at the mouth of the Courtenay River, which included several Eurasian Wigeon. A "Sooty" Fox Sparrow was in the brush along the bank.

A "Sooty" Fox Sparrow along the bank of the Courtenay River near Comox on Victoria Island, British Columbia.

We got a motel in Courtenay and decided what our plan of attack would be for tomorrow.

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Pacific Northwest Trip ~ January 11, 2013

Since it was predicted to be even colder than yesterday and the flooded areas where the wagtail had been feeding would be frozen, we decided to leave the area and look for Sky Lark and Brambling since Dev hadn't seen a Sky Lark and I'd never seen a Brambling. We left at around 4:00 AM and drove to the Saanich Peninsula. We searched the fields just south of North Saanich for a few hours but could only come up with Dark-eyed 'Oregon' Juncos and White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows.

Adult Golden-crowned Sparrow along Wallace Drive near North Saanich, British Columbia.

A short drive north put us at the Swartz Bay ferry dock for the 11:00 AM crossing. We left the ferry at Tsawwassen and headed over to the Deltaport Causeway where a Baikal Teal had been seen the day before. On the south side, there were hundreds of Dunlins and Black-bellied Plovers.

Just one portion of the large numbers of Dunlins and Black-bellied Plovers along the Deltaport Causeway near Delta, British Columbia.

What was really surprising was the Black-bellied Plover in full breeding plumage that Dev found among the masses.

A Black-bellied Plover in full breeding plumage in January(!) along the Deltaport Causeway near Delta, British Columbia.

The north side of the causeway held many Green-winged Teal, but if the Baikal Teal was there, we couldn't pick it out among them. An adult Bald Eagle perched atop a tower there.

A Bald Eagle along the Deltaport Causeway near Delta, British Columbia.

From the causeway, we headed north and stopped at a Vancouver backyard where, after a short wait, I saw my 'life' Brambling. It spent most of its time hiding among the thick brambles, so I considered myself lucky to be able get these documentary photos.

A first winter male Brambling in the backyard of 868 West 17th Avenue in Vancouver, British Columbia.

An Anna's Hummingbird, 'Sooty' Fox Sparrows, and Golden-crowned Sparrows were also seen there. At sunset, we headed back south to a Seattle motel near the airport where we spent the night.

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Pacific Northwest Trip ~ January 12, 2013

After the short early morning drive to the airport, we dropped off the rental car with 2,013 more miles on it. After takeoff, I managed to get a couple photos of Mount St. Helens.

Mount St. Helens, Washington from the plane with Mount Hood, Oregon just to the left in the background.

Mount St. Helens, Washington from the plane.

Although we missed the Citrine Wagtail, I did manage to get one 'lifer' among the 83 species for the trip. The real upsetting thing was finding out that a Red-flanked Bluetail had been discovered only two days later about four miles off a highway exit that we had passed on the way back to Seattle. Ugghhh! Sometimes the birding 'gods' aren't with you.

More photos can be found in my California Photo Album, my Oregon Photo Album, and my British Columbia Photo Album.

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Pacific Northwest Trip - January 7-12, 2013

1) Greater White-fronted Goose
2) Snow Goose
3) Canada Goose
4) Trumpeter Swan
5) Mallard
6) Gadwall
7) Green-winged Teal
8) American Wigeon
9) Eurasian Wigeon
10) Northern Pintail
11) Northern Shoveler
12) Cinnamon Teal
13) Canvasback
14) Redhead
15) Ring-necked Duck
16) Common Goldeneye
17) Bufflehead
18) Common Merganser
19) Ruddy Duck
20) Common Loon
21) Pied-billed Grebe
22) Double-crested Cormorant
23) Great Egret
24) Great Blue Heron
25) White-faced Ibis
26) Turkey Vulture
27) Northern Harrier
28) Bald Eagle
29) Red-shouldered Hawk
30) Red-tailed Hawk
31) American Kestrel
32) Peregrine Falcon
33) Gyrfalcon
34) Virginia Rail
35) American Coot
36) Black-bellied Plover
37) Killdeer
38) Black-necked Stilt
39) Dunlin
40) Ring-billed Gull
41) Mew Gull
42) Western Gull
43) Glaucous-winged Gull
44) Rock Pigeon
45) Anna's Hummingbird
46) Belted Kingfisher
47) Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker
48) Downy Woodpecker
49) Black Phoebe
50) Northern Shrike
51) Black-billed Magpie
52) American Crow
53) Northwestern Crow
54) Common Raven
55) Black-capped Chickadee
56) Bushtit
57) Brown Creeper
58) White-breasted Nuthatch
59) Bewick's Wren
60) Marsh Wren
61) Golden-crowned Kinglet
62) Ruby-crowned Kinglet
63) Varied Thrush
64) American Robin
65) European Starling
66) American Pipit
67) Townsend's Warbler
68) California Towhee
69) Spotted Towhee
70) 'Sooty' Fox Sparrow
71) Savannah Sparrow
72) Lincoln's Sparrow
73) Song Sparrow
74) White-crowned Sparrow
75) Golden-crowned Sparrow
76) Dark-eyed 'Oregon' Junco
77) Snow Bunting
78) Western Meadowlark
79) Red-winged Blackbird
80) Brewer's Blackbird
81) Brambling*
82) House Finch
83) House Sparrow

(*) denotes 'life' bird.

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