Looks like the morning in your eyes
- Claire Stuyck
- Feb 20, 2018
- 2 min read
In an attempt to get a break from the snow we ventured south to Port Townsend, Washington. It's a sleepy town surrounded by peaks and water. It's been awhile since I've lived in the Pacific Northwest and it was good to spend time on the soft ground under towering trees. It took just one song of the Pacific Wren and the brief punctuation of a calling Varied Thrush to let me know I was exactly where I wanted to be.
Armed with a scope, binos and a goal to reconnect with the PNW, the adventure began. We made our way all over the peninsula and put the scope to good use looking for seabirds in the surf. The good weather that greeted us on day-one did not last and deteriorated into windy, cold and snowy weather. Despite these challenges we joined the who's-who of birders in the area for a morning of birds and unexpectedly constant snow. It's always exciting to meet birders who live in other places, especially those that have made it their longterm home. Sharing the richness of experiences over time is an incredible learning opportunity. The leader of our birding trip has the largest yard list in the state of Washington (only a few shy of 200!), and another top-notch birder lived in Alaska for over 30 years! What a cool crew!
We chose Fort Flagler to bird our last day away. Adding an unexpected twist to our day, our tripod broke 30 minutes into our birding morning. Most people would have put the scope away. Instead we precariously balanced the scope on shoulders, knees, rocks, driftwood, stumps...or anything we could find to extend our visual reach. It was worth ache and skeptical looks of other beach goers to watch guillemots, murrelets, scoters, and cormorants bobbing in the water. We still had several misses in our day. Maybe it was the scope or just bad luck, but we weren't both able to see Common Murres or auklets. A trip to southeast Alaska ought to remedy that!
At the close of our time in Port Townsend, WA we saw 69 species and added 40 to our 2018 list. We even added a few lifers! Where do we stand now? You'll have to stay tuned in to see...
American Coot
American Crow
American Kestrel
American Robin
American Wigeon
Anna's Hummingbird
Bald Eagle
Belted Kingfisher
Black Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
Brant
Bufflehead
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Common Goldeneye
Common Loon
Common Raven
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Double-crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Dunlin
European Starling
Fox Sparrow (Sooty)
Gadwall
Glaucous-winged Gull
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Great Blue Heron
Greater White-fronted Goose
Greater Yellowlegs
Hairy Woodpecker
Harlequin Duck
Herring Gull
Hooded Merganser
House Finch
Killdeer
Lesser Scaup
Mallard
Marsh Wren
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Pacific Wren
Pelagic Cormorant
Peregrine Falcon
Pigeon Guillemot
Purple Finch
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Red-necked Grebe
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruddy Duck
Sanderling
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Steller's Jay
Surf Scoter
Varied Thrush
Western Grebe
Western Sandpiper
White-crowned Sparrow
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