Good morning birders, twitchers, twitchy birders, bitchy twirlers, and anyone looking for a respite from politics (if the latter, then don’t read the conclusion).
My wife and I spent two weeks in June in Washington and Canada. Although it was mostly a hiking trip — I had to inflict one more round of abuse so I could get my money’s worth out of last week’s knee surgery — I did keep my eyes and ears open for colorful chirpy things. I ended up with a memory card filled mostly with the PNW’s most common backyard birds — but at least four were lifers for me!
We started on the Olympic Peninsula, hitting the major sites in the national park. We spent most of our time in the gorgeous temperate rainforest on the west side of the peninsula:
Our only organized birding excursion was a morning walk at the Dungeness River Audubon Center in Sequim, WA. Fortuitously, we passed through town on the morning of their weekly guided walk. Thanks to our wonderful guide and fellow birders, this was a fruitful morning. For starters, I finally photographed my first bald eagle:
I saw my first black-headed grosbeak in more than 20 years:
I also discovered where my goldfinches go when they abandon Texas every spring, just as they are beginning to turn yellow:
Other birds included a hairy woodpecker:
violet-green swallow (lots of them, actually):
spotted towhee:
song sparrow:
quail:
and a brown creeper:
Before heading to Canada, we stayed at a guesthouse in the hills above Port Angeles. Its beautifully landscaped grounds brought a variety of avian life, including a gazillion robins, a nuthatch that eluded my camera, and lots of juncos:
This black-throated gray warbler was a lifer for me:
as was this red-breasted sapsucker:
I also saw a Wilson’s warbler:
Black-capped chickadees are a relative novelty to me, even if they are indistinguishable (by sight) from my Carolina chickadees:
I hadn’t seen a bushtit since I was young enough to giggle at its name:
Ok, it’s time for an alpine lake interlude. After a delightful few days in Vancouver, we spent a week in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains — mostly Banff and Jasper national parks. Banff is famous for its lakes, including Lake Louise:
and nearby Moraine Lake, where we spent two sunsets hoping for some good light. Neither night brought much color, but on the second night you could at least see all of the peaks:
I liked the aura of the foggy night as well:
A popular hike from Lake Louise ascends to Lake Agnes, which rewards hikers with a rustic tea house and this view:
Some of the trails were closed because of bear activity. Indeed, we saw six (!) wild bears, including the cover photo and this roadside grizzly:
Though Banff’s lakes are more famous, Jasper has some pretty ones as well. An efficient way to see several of them is on the Valley of the Five Lakes trail, which is just what it sounds like. Each lake is of a different depth, and thus a different shade of blue or green:
Jasper’s best-known lake is Maligne Lake. We got caught in a minor hail storm while kayaking on it:
Although we didn’t see many birds in Canada, two species of aggressive alpine birds were abundant. While I was photographing it, this gray jay swooped down and stole my sandwich off our picnic table.
The Clark’s nutcrackers had similar manners:
We did some additional birding in Calgary at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Magpies were abundant:
. . .as are waterfowl like this merganser:
I think this is a clay-colored sparrow (corrections welcome):
This unusual bird made an appearance at the site as well:
Speaking of incongruity, I’d like to conclude by plugging my new book, Evaluating Media Bias, which comes out this week. It’s a short, intellectually rigorous but broadly accessible primer on the shortcomings of the American political press, aimed at politically active, news-consuming citizens (you) and college undergrads. You can find the table of contents and first few pages at the “look inside” feature on the Amazon page.
Thanks! Please share your birding pics and experiences from the week.