May 12th - Cowlitz County, Toutle to Saint Helens

THIS whether the Big Days happen
or not, is half of the fun

Boy, I look at a May day during these years, and my brain always turns to the idea of a Big Day. I sat down and looked at the possibilities in Cowlitz and mapped out like. . . 200 birds worth of possibilities! Once I had a route semi-planned in my head, I checked in with some of the Cowlitz folks, and they pointed out that the Columbia is high, so shorebirding has been poor. It's. . . amazing, honestly, how slow this has been to sink into my brain. 

So, brain. . . there are dams on the Columbia River. . . *nod nod*. . . and they can let water go through. . . or hold it behind the dam. . . *blink. . . blink. . . *. . . so sometimes there's more water, or less water. 

*pause*

"Well, but. . . if there's more water, it just goes out into the ocean, so it gets like *level*, right? Like sea *level*. . ."

"No brain, that's not how it works."

It may take a while for this to fully sink in. I have to say, in general, the folks who bird in this corner of the state are very pay-attenchical. They seem to know what the weather is going to be like (the Seattle area just seems so predictable, especially during Novembruary. . . I get a little lazy about it), which way the wind is blowing, and what that means for birds/comfort, and what roads are being logged (handy to know if you don't want your blissful morning of birding to be ruined because you got flattened by a logging truck). It's interesting to just see this normal routine of understanding the local conditions at work. 

Our morning stops: 1. Seaquest State Park. 2. Canal Road (via Sightly Road) 
3. Signal Peak, but we missed it. 4. Harry Gardner Park

So, I put my list aside, and thought of where I might want to focus my birding. I had my friend Kevin Black joining me from Vancouver - on a morning reprieve from caring for a newborn. Those were the conditions he'd be keeping an eye on that morning!

We both had goals coming in: I was sitting at 107 for the year in Cowlitz, and 148 for my life list. My goals for the year are mostly mapped out in the "Bad Math" section. The Big Goal for the year is to see 150 species of birds in all four counties (Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania, Wahkiakum) in 2023. Getting the life lists to 150 along the way is kind of nice - that way, even if something keeps me from finishing out the year, it's not a complete bust. And once 150 is done for the year, I'd love to try to push them all as close to 175 as possible! 

Kevin was at 138 for his life list, and. . . having grown up in Cowlitz. . . thought this year would provide some good opportunities to head out birding with me to get his life list over 150 as well. He sent me his needs list for the county, and I slapped together a bingo sheet. It never got printed, but it was still nice to have a dirty dozen birds in mind as target species. 

Seaquest State Park

Hey Tim, why are the pictures more in focus 
all of a sudden. . .?
Because I was today years old when I learned
"A" on my camera is not "autofocus"
It's "Aperture"
True. Story.

I rolled in at 6 and was expecting Kevin at 6:30. Immediately, I heard Pacific-slope Flycatchers, Hutton's Vireo, and Western Tanager - all birds that he needed. The flycatchers and the tanagers were also new for my yearlist (108 and 109, respectively). Kevin missed all but the tanagers but picked them all up later in the day. We also got Red Crossbills (110), which have seemed like a tough find this year, as well as the first of many Brown-headed Cowbirds (111) for the day. Brown Creeper (112) was a species I'd missed through the year, but today they were plentiful and loud. 

I did a stroll along the nearest trail before Kevin arrived, taking it out to the water. There had been a Green Heron sighting here the day before. It's not an entirely easy species to find in Cowlitz, so I thought I'd give it a try. No luck there, but there were plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Yellowthroats, and Marsh Wrens. 

Canal Road

We left my car in Toutle and went up Canal Road - an area I've been to a few times this year, but a new place for Kevin. On our way in, along Sightly Road, we were listening to passerines with the windows down when I heard a distant Northern Pygmy-Owl (113)! We stopped and got out of the car, and Kevin got on the bird as well. This corner was really birdy, with Wilson's (114), and Black-throated Gray (115) Warblers. We heard our first Swainson's Thrush (116) calling softly from cover, as well as Warbling Vireos (117). 

We were about to head further up the road, when a truck pulled up next to us, rolling the windows down. 

"Hi! Are you from around here."

Hooboy. . . this question got my guard up a little. Kevin let the driver know that he had grown up in the County. I was hoping that put us in the clear, but it turns out my worries were unfounded. This guy was a local who just wanted to share his love of nature with others. He filled us in on the wild horses up the road, the morels and shaggy mane he was foraging for that day, the Great Horned Owl nesting in his backyard. We chatted for a good few minutes before parting ways - I made sure to grab his number just in case Great Horned Owl turns out to be a nemesis bird this year!

Douglas Squirrel

Further up the road, we pulled at a marshy area where I'd had Virginia Rail. We tried for it to no avail, and then tried for Sora as well. At first it was just Marsh Wrens and Northern Pygmy Owls (there were two now), but we did eventually get a call from a Sora (118). Yellow Warblers (119), and Black-headed Grosbeak (120) called from all around us as well. We enjoyed watching the nesting Tree Swallows, which lined the road. We continued up to a culvert that had been noted as a good warbler spot. From that spot, we got more of the same warblers, as well as Common Yellowthroats and Yellow-rumped Warblers. 

Most ducks had left the building at this point, but we did find Common Mergansers, a couple of Canada Geese, as well as some late American Wigeons. 

After taking a look at the wild horses, we zipped back to my car. I grabbed some of the food out of it, and we started following the printed out directions to Signal Peak. 

We didn't get to Signal Peak

Somewhere along the way, we missed a turn, but it mattered almost not at all. We found a lot of great birds along the way. At one of our early stops, we listened to Sooty Grouse (121), MacGillivray's Warbler (122), Orange-crowned Warbler, and a surprising Hermit Thrush (123). Evening Grosbeaks (124) did a flyover - my first of year in *any* county, and we got our third Northern Pygmy-Owl of the day as well. 

The other mountain was out too - Mount Rainier

Further up, we started to hear Black-townsmits Warblers. I call them this, because the songs do seem to have a little bit of overlap. . . to be fair, the road to Signal Peak (or at least the area, because who knows when we left the road to Signal Peak) has far more pure Hermit Warblers, and not many Townsend's Warblers to hybridize and confuse things. But still, we were able to get on a bird that sounded good for Hermit Warbler. With some patience, we finally got some great views of the bird, and Kevin even got a few pictures. 

eBird Checklist - 12 May 2023 - 98649, Toutle US-WA 46.28751, -122.56847 - 34 species

Hermitty Warbler

And then. . . jeez, from my look at the Hermit Warbler, I saw yellow on the breast, which I think identifies it as a hybrid with Townsend's Warbler. I thought that with the whole list of field marks - yellow face, grey back, white below with no streaking, etc - that if you had at least one from each type of warbler, that you were outside of the Warbler Purity Laws of 1897. So. . . based on the picture, we pulled it off of the list. From all accounts, the hybrid zone for this species is shrinking. I'm hoping I can see some pure ones during the year. I'm definitely in the right part of the state for it!

Western Tanagers confused me for a bit. I got pretty darned excited as I saw birds perched on some snags doing some odd acrobatics. I eventually got on them and unequivocally saw that they were "just" tanagers. What fun to see a familiar bird doing something unfamiliar! In the same area of snags, we got  House Wren (125), and Canada Jay. 

We also at one point got a raptor in flight. Kevin believed it was a Merlin, whereas I believed that I needed a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I. . . am not completely sure that he understood his role as a birding friend, as he blah blah blahed about what falcons looked like and took *pictures* of the bird. So. . . if I don't get a Sharp-shinned Hawk this year I just wanted to make sure everyone knew why! 

Sha. . . fine, it's a Merlin :D I do wish that I'd watched to see if it "looked
like it was migrating. This might not be a bad spot to be in the fall. . . 

Right around there, we excitedly started our drive to the summit. . . and dead ended, turned around and saw the signal towers on an adjacent peak. :D  But we had found the Hermit Warblers, picked up some grouse, and other fine birds. At this point, we thought Kevin's life list total was at 149 (it may have been 150 at the time - shame on us, we may have gotten caught up in just enjoying the birds and the scenery!). At any rate, I turned to him and told him: 

"American Dipper. . . if you take this car down the hill to the Harry Gardner Bridge right now. . . you will obliterate your record. . ."

This. . . is funny if you've seen The Big Year. In either case, one bird is one bird. But you know what. . . we were in the mood for obliteration, so logic went out the window! (also, this may have been a way to get Kevin *back* to his wife and kiddo, whereas in the movie, Owen Wilson goes chasing after a Snowy Owl, ditching his wife on a day when they were doing fertility treatments). Down the hill we went, still carefully and curiously trying to figure out what turn we'd missed!

Harry Gardner Park

We parked and looked one way from the bridge. We moseyed over and looked the other way from the bridge. No dippers. Just a distant Spotted Sandpiper. Then we thought of looking *under* the bridge, why not. Down a short trail, and boop! American Dipper!

Kevin's 150th bird seen in the county (126 for my yearlist). We watched it shaking what its dipper momma had given it and then diving off in search of . . . larvae? I think they eat larvae. They're nearly the only birds that use river rapids as their primary habitat, so whatever they're eating, there's no competition to speak of. On the way back to the car, a tree full of silent passerines got our attention. My best guess is that 80 degrees takes all the songsterness out of a bird. We had Warbling Vireo, Western Tanagers, and possibly some warblers in the tree - foraging around without a sound. 

We parted ways at this point, more than content with the amazing morning of birding we'd had. 

But not *too* content

Common Raven - another bird from my
your-camera-thinks-that-mountain-is-cool
series

Kevin went down-hill and I went up. I was kind of excited to hit some of the spots below Mount Saint Helens. It's interesting, there's like. . . Mount Saint Helens National Monument. Pay for your pass, have fun looking right into the crater. These other spots are just outside of MSHNM and did not require that pass. 

It's quite a drive up! I had almost forgotten this, but the view of the mountain coming closer and closer is a good bit of fun. You keep thinking "OHMYGAWD I have to take a picture here!!" and then ten minutes later, you have a better view. This mountain, on just about this day 43 years ago, erupted. That was a Sunday, and I remember going out to get the paper on Sunday morning. . . and I just knew something was off. I wasn't a birdwatcher at the time, but that is my best guess. I wish I could go back and see if my 8-year-old self was used to the morning chorus of birds without noticing it. . . and then didn't hear it that morning. 

For clarity, this was in Yakima, which I think it's fair to say was the first major city to get dumped on. Amazing to thing that the absent mountainside in front of me was partially deposited inches deep in the form of ash on my childhood home, and *everyone's* home in town. I spent weeks playing in the ash - scooping it up to make mountain ranges with all of the local peaks. The news had been filled with journalists and scientists stepping through each of those peaks and explaining which ones were active and which ones weren't. What a crazy time. 

Barrow's Goldeneyes - Coldwater Lake

Okay, but I eventually got to Coldwater Lake. Right out of the car, I added bird 127 - a Hammond's Flycatcher. I was pretty happy with this, although the birds of interest were waiting up on the lake. I actually came across someone with a BHL (big honkin lens) up there to look for the same birds: Barrow's Goldeneyes. These ducks spend their winters out with all of the other ducks, here and there in the state. Summer rolls around, and many of the ducks head north to cool off. Barrow's Goldeneyes head to higher elevations. 

As soon as I could see a good bit of the lake, I started scanning. Nothing. I walked farther, and realized how much of the lake had previously been out of view. I scanned again. Nothing. I kept going to a spot where the boardwalk takes you almost to the middle of the dang lake. Nothing. I sat, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the cool breeze for a bit, listening to birds from the shore, including MacGillivray's Warbler, a Sooty Grouse, and a nice surprise - Northern Rough-winged Swallow (128), letting its staccato fart sound fly as it skimmed the water. 

We (because I'd pretty much teamed up with the other man at this point) continued up and around the corner, finding a goldeneye pair tucked back by a little boat launch. (129). 

After getting some good shots, we briefly got distracted by a hummingbird. I'm still wondering about it. . . as it was a fairly silent bird. Rufous Rattles, Anna's Zips had always helped me with the local hummers. The fact that I didn't hear either from this bird, means A) it was a Calliope Hummingbird, or 2) I just didn't hear the bird. I suppose 2 was more likely, but I do wish I'd been able to stay with the bird, which zipped out of sight before any of this processing happened. 

Hummocks Trail

Just a short way up the road is the trailhead for the Hummocks Trail. Admittedly, I was taking in the scenery and the birds, so I have to sheepishly include this from Wikipedia: 

In geology, a hummock is a small knoll or mound above ground. They are typically less than 15 meters in height and tend to appear in groups or fields. Large landslide avalanches that typically occur in volcanic areas are responsible for formation of hummocks. Wikipedia

Sooty Grouse!

Although, I suppose since it's from Wikipedia, this is not reliable information at all, so. . . yeah, just don't believe the information above! It was likely crafted by eruption-deniers. . . right? :D I do appreciate the 8 billion situations in which one might be concerned about information gained here, but on agenda-free/less complex topics. . . I'm just fine with it. 

And yes! Now that I've read this. I agree that I was surrounded by hummocks. Up a hill, down a hill, past a marsh. Rinse, lather, repeat. The first bit of fun was not a new bird for the year, just a new experience with a familiar bird. I've heard Sooty Grouse booming 7487639472 times (source - wikipedia), but never actually seen one whilst it has been booming. At one point, a bird sounded close. Very close. So I stopped, scanned, and eventually found this guy booming from deep shade below a conifer. 

As I continued, I added Chipping Sparrow (130). There were many juncos that tried to imitate them, but when you get a Chipping Sparrow, it's a Chipping Sparrow. They take that dry insect-like call, and just drawwww it out more than a junco might. Fun find. I was hoping for Nashville Warblers as well, but maybe it was just getting a little warm. I know I worked up a little bit of a sweat by the time I was done!

Townsend's Solitaire

 And I had one more bird - it was a nice little surprise - a Townsend's Solitaire. I don't know why, but they end up baffling me at least briefly the first time I see them in a given year. This one posed on a branch with Saint Helens as a nice backdrop.

And that was bird 132 for the day. So this is the funny part - something I usually just fix, but. . . I missed a bird in here somewhere. When I figure it out, I could go back and change every . . . single. . . number in this post, but transparency does have a certain beauty. Found it! Black Throated Gray Warbler - first heard and seen while we were talking to the guy about mushrooms, horses, and owls. 

I started down the hill, taking nearly every side road on the way down, with dreams of Western Bluebirds and Olive-sided Flycatchers. There had been a sighting of a Bay-breasted Warbler around here back in 2006, and nearly every one of those sightings included Western Bluebirds. Apparently, 17 years of growth is enough to convert bluebird habitat into something else! 

Dinner in Longview, and I checked my email for the first time all day. The blessings and the curses that come from having a flip phone. :)

"Hey Tim, I see you haven't responded in this thread. What are your plans for tomorrow?" 

Oh no! 

I skimmed through the thread and found that half of the foursome who had been ready to do a Wahkiakum County Big Day the next day had come down with viruses. That included Andrew, on whose property I had planned to camp, in hopes of hearing some owls (Barred, and an outside chance of Northern Pygmy). 

I got in and shot some emails around, and Kyleen - another member of the foursome, offered to put me up in her guest cottage (which she has just finally readied to be a rentable experience! Her website would not be a bad place to contact her about this). 

I hopped back in the car, made a stop at the Longview Sewage Lagoons (Purple Martin - Cowlitz yearbird #133), and another stop in Cathlamet to pick up some "Thank you for giving me a bed for the night" smoked salmon from River Mile 38 Brewery. Here, I picked up a new Wahkiakum bird - Vaux's Swifts calling over the marina. (Wahkiakum yearbird #116!)

(Note - after pulling the Hermit Warbler from the list, it's actually 132. I. . . feel like there was an error in the tallying somewhere, but eBird has kept good track!)

Eirinikos Grove

The path to the guest cottage - Eirinikos Grove

Gaston! He feels just as floofy as he looks

What a neat little spot! I should highlight some things from a birding point of view first. This patch of trees here, including a nice mix of pines and cedars among others, is one of the largest (*the* largest?) such patch on Puget Island. As such, owls love it. She has a pair of Great Horned Owls and a Barn Owl right there on the property year-round. The Barred Owl is more hit or miss, but still not an uncommon sighting. She knows the property intimately, so she was able to point out the trees that were more likely to hold owls. 

Inside the guest cottage

Kyleen informed me that the name comes from Greek, and that it means "peaceful". She liked the theme in general and noted that it fit with all of the Mourning Doves and Eurasian Collared-Doves that live in the grove. This got me thinking about the whole name-your-home thing, because Andrew (up the road a ways outside of Skamokawa) had named his home "Alcyon Farm". I haven't asked him directly but was just doing a search; It appears that the alkion bird (something like a kingfisher) is also a symbol of peace/placidity for its ability to fly calmly over turbulent waves. There ya go! Peacefulness abounds in Wahkiakum. O Come All Ye Hippies! :)

I got to meet Gaston, who is in a first place tie with 99 percent of the dogs in the world as the friendliest therapy dog. I also got to meet the chickens, who on a normal (announced) visit would be helping to provide the "and breakfast" during your stay. As Kyleen was talking to me, I kept thinking that I was hearing Purple Martins. As I was moving my things into the cottage, I kept thinking that I was hearing a Hutton's Vireo. I as so groggy from a full day of birding in the sun (and I'd been up since 4. . . ), so neither of these leads were pursued. 

If I stick to the plan, I'll need this. . . 
when I'm like 80 :)

I got oriented with the amenities in the cottage, got a much-needed shower, and got plugged into the wifi. I poked at a few emails but was really making a beeline for sleep. 

I closed my eyes listening to the evening chorus of birds drifting in with the cool breeze through the screened windows. Outside temperature would suit me just fine after a day that had reached 90 in some places. 

I woke up around 3 to the sounds of the Great Horned Owl pair hooting back and forth (117). I smiled, flipped to my other side and drifted back to sleep. Why not try for Barn Owl? From both Kyleen and Andrew, I'd gotten the impression that anyone who needed a Barn Owl in Wahkiakum could go to "The Barn". Fair enough. Why not try for Barred? I had a sense that I'd be around Barred Owls at other times in the year. If one wanted to call tonight, it would be welcome, but I'd occasionally try to call one myself. 

Day 17 was a productive one! Kyleen and I had made some plans to walk the property, and then to hit a few quick stops together in the morning. 

I Slept.

Day 17 in the books!

Post-script here. When writing these, it's always a challenge to note the birds in the order I found them. Add to that, there were shared checklists with Kevin and I, so some may have been a little out of order. Add to that, the Hermit Warbler was removed as I wrote AND I added Dusky Flycatcher, based on a whole mess of other sightings, and a recording I'd captured on the Hummocks Trail. . . so we're at 133 for Cowlitz. Added on this trip: