Sleepless in Seattle - dream yr update (long)

GREGORY.B.MILLER@bge.com
Mon, 17 Aug 1998 14:52:07 -0400


Howdy all!

   Ahhh!  Much better.  Got all my targets save South Polar
Skua and one in the bag a little early, Cassin's Vireo.
Somewhat surprising was the total lack of Cassin's Auklets
(a CA target, but was certainly possible here).  Year list
is now at 677.

Additions:

   Crested Myna
   Vaux's Swift
   Cassin's Vireo
   Xantu's Hummingbird
   Black Swift
   Pink-footed Shearwater
   Black-footed Albatross
   Sabine's Gull
   Chukar
   Gray Partridge
   Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Other goodies:

   Blue Grouse
   Red-breasted Sapsucker
   Chestnut-backed Chickadee
   Rufous Hummingbird
   Olive-sided Flycatcher
   Baird's Sandpiper
   LAYSAN ALBATROSS
   Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
   Leach's Storm-Petrel
   Long-tailed Jaeger
   Pomerine Jaeger
   Northern Fulmar
   Sooty Shearwater
   Rhinocerus Auklet
   Tufted Puffin

   On the road from SEA-TAC airport by 1:30am on Thursday.
Dozed off after being awake for 24 hrs.  Wakened to myself
saying outloud, "Well, it's not a Thayer's" (Ha!  Where did
this come from?) as I swerved back onto the highway.
Startled and exhausted I succumbed to a roadside rest and 1
1/2 hrs sleep in my comfy economy rental.  Up at 5am, it was
already twilight.  I boogied on up to Richmond, BC to meet
birding friend, Mike Toochin (fellow Attuvian).  At least, I
was hoping he was my friend when I knocked on his door at
5:45am! <grin>  At his suggestion (and my body's plea), I
allowed myself two more hrs of delightful slumber.

   I called and made arrangements to go see the Xantu's
Hummingbird.  We headed out to catch the ferry to Gibsons.
En route, we did the old 5-minute pitstop and got the
lister's quick tick on Crested Myna (#667).  Thanks Mike!
We were on a roll--or so I thought.  About 3/4 way, Mike's
truck broke down.  We had to get it towed across town.
Rough.  A crimp in my tight schedule.  Fortunately, we were
able to finagle a way to get my rental car for some late
afternoon birding.  We drove up Mt Seymour and saw several
Vaux's Swifts (#668).  Forests on the whole, however, were
very quiet.  I visited the famous shorebird area at Iona in
the evening.  Good numbers of peeps, with several Baird's,
but little else.

   Out the door at 6am on Friday, Mike and I headed toward
the ferry again.  The 40-minute ferry ride was rather
birdless.  In another 20 minutes we were at the Xantu's
Hummingbird locale.  I was met with a negative report.  The
hummer had not been seen the last 2 days until 6pm.  Oh,
well.  I followed my on-going philosophy:  Put yourself at
the right place and be diligent.  Birds were singing all
around the treed areas surrounding the yard.  Fitzbew.
Willow Flycatchers were everywhere.  Zheeeeeeeup.  Pine
Siskins.  Chick-a-dee-dee.  Chestnut-backed Chickadees were
coming to the seed feeders.  Tsick-tsick-tsick.  Rufous
Hummingbirds were coming in to the sugar water.
Cheerup-Chiree.  Cassin's Vireo (#669).  I was excited as I
watched yet another year bird.  Birds were all over.

   My wait was not long for the target.  The female Xantu's
Hummingbird (#670) came in to the upper feeder at about
8:45am for about a 20-second visit.  The bird was beautiful.
 The exhileration was sweet as I took in the combination of
the bird's rarity as well as its pretty coloration.  The
tiny green sequins on its back were tinged with a goldish
hue, giving the green a much warmer look.  The rufous in the
tail was a complement to its beauty.  The combination of its
black mask and the large white eye-stripe was strongly
reminiscent of White-eared Hummingbird.  The entire bill was
decurved and visible with the naked eye.  It's wingbeats
appeared to be a little slower than the Rufous Hummers, and
the call notes were much softer and less frequent.  We
stayed and watched the hummer come in for 3 more visits.  We
finally pulled ourselves away from this pretty setting and
hustled to catch the 10:20am return ferry.  We waited in a
long line, but finally made it.

   We birded up Cypress Bowl stopping and looking and
listening often for Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Black
Swift.  We found a single Olive-sided Flycatcher and a bonus
bird, female Blue Grouse right along side of the road.  We
stopped as I ogled the bird just 4 ft outside my passenger
window.  Impressive.  Again, the forests though pretty, were
very quiet.  I enjoyed many of the pullouts with spectacular
views of the islands in the distance.  I breathed in the
fresh, thin, high-mountain air of the Pacific Northwest.  It
really was breathtaking!

   I left Richmond, BC at around 6:30pm.  I had a good 5-7
hr drive ahead of me to reach Westport, WA, depending
greatly on the Seattle rush hour.  Fortunately, I left late
enough to miss the biggest mess.  It was twilight as a
peach-colored, full moon loomed over the horizon.  It was so
clear and the moon so bright, that it was easy to make out
that mighty, snow-covered, purple majesty, Mt. Ranier in the
evening light.  What a treat to partake of this grand
setting!

   I arrived in Westport, Washington, at 12:30am, only to
find the city motels entirely filled.  No vacancies
anywhere.  After searching, I drove the half an hour back to
Aberdeen for the night.  I hit the sack and promptly fell
asleep.  Three hours later my wake-up call sent me through
the ceiling.  By this time, the short nights were catching
up with me.  I felt pretty foggy.  In addition, the road to
Westport had spotty fog, too.  5:20am.  I did not have much
time to spare.  A bird flew across the road in front of me.
I squinted up through the top of my windshield, desperately
trying to make out any details.  Though groggy, I processed
what I had seen.  Size of a small nighthawk.  A small
nighthawk?  It wasn't registering.  Thinner wings.  Thinner,
*stiffer*, wings.  All dark.  Quick wingbeat.  Within a
couple seconds the second bird crossed the road, this one
closer to the car.  "Black Swift!", I exclaimed outloud to
myself.  #671...

   To me, this was another personal milestone.  671 was the
number that Kenn Kaufman had reached during his big year.
Much more information is available now, of course, flying
across the country sure is easier than thumbing, and don't
forget the extra 20-30 species we have now due to splits.
But it meant something to me personally anyways.  My dream
is coming true.  I am seeing all these birds and going to
all these places myself.  I'm not reading about someone else
doing it.  I'm actually there!!!  I rubbed my eyes in
disbelief at my most recent addition.  Ha!  Maybe I *should*
by a lottery ticket!

   At the dock on Saturday morning, I boarded the Monte
Carlo.  This was the famous Terry Wahl Westport pelagic
trip.  Kenn Kaufman had taken a Westport pelagic 25 years
ago during his big year in 1973.  I was full of eager
anticipation.  The seas were calm as we motored out from the
harbor.  Soon I was seeing Pigeon Guillemots, Rhinocerus
Auklets, and Sooty Shearwaters.  And more Sooty Shearwaters.
 In fact, they were everywhere I looked.  Near.  Far.  In
front of the boat.  Behind the boat.  Seeing *any* birds on
a pelagic trip is more fun than waiting.

   A couple hours out we saw our first Pink-footed
Shearwater (#672).  I was impressed how much these birds
reminded me of Cory's Shearwaters off the East Coast.
Another hour and I saw my first of many Black-footed
Albatrosses (#673).  It always sends chills up and down my
spine when viewing the swells on the horizon and the huge
long-winged form of an albatross arcs above the horizon
line.  Today was no different.  My eyes bulged wide open and
my voice exclaimed excitedly, "Albatross!!!".  I love those
birds.  Soon we came upon my favorite gull:  Sabine's Gull
(#674).  In fact, there were 7 of them with one immature.
Now I'm drooling.  This is *such* a strikingly beautiful
bird.  Oh, my...and close enough to see the yellow-tipped
bills, too.  I think I held my breath to watch them as they
passed.  Awesome!

   Northern Fulmars were all around the boat this far out,
both light and dark phases (and some in-between, too).  And
then we found the bird du jour--a Laysan's Albatross.
Although not a new bird for the year (Attu), seeing one sit
on the water at fairly close range is a most exciting
experience.  And it's a great bird for the lower 48, too!
As we made a wide sweeping turn to head back, we all got
good looks at an adult Long-tailed Jaeger and a Tufted
Puffin.  Closer to shore we found many more Rhinocerus
Auklets and an adult, light phase, Pomerine Jaeger.  What a
good day out!  Drove to Olympia, WA for the evening.

   I allowed myself to sleep in until 7:30am on Sunday
morning.  I got to Evergreen St College by 9:00am at a
location for Pacific-slope Flycatcher.  All was quiet this
morning, however.  Not wanting to waste any time, I headed
for Ellensberg, WA to check the airport for Gray Partridge.
I found it quite overgrown and unfortunately, pretty
difficult to find anything.  Nothing was calling in the
early afternoon either.  I birded the surrounding area for a
couple hours in hopes of being able to nix my plans to drive
to Boise, ID.  Finally, I made the 1/2 hr drive East to the
little town of Vantage and checked along the Columbia River
for Chukars.  If I got the Chukar, I would head back to
Ellensberg for Gray Partridge.  But I found no Chukars
either.  It's great habitat.  There's just lots of it and it
was the wrong time of day, too.

   I followed the voice of my inner birder against the
desires of my sleep-deprived body.  Onwards to Idaho.
Boise, that is.  Land of the wanted "chickens".  500 miles
later, I arrived after dark in a different timezone, bought
a map, and checked into a motel.  After checking my location
and finding the location of the birds on the map, I laughed
that I was so close.  How could I have known?

   I'm out the door Monday morning at 6am.  It's still too
dark to ID a bird.  I stopped for gas and a snack.  My
directions for the "chickens" are almost two years old.  I
found them on an old trip report from Joe Morlan's trip to
see the Siberian Accentor.  I did not have the newest
ABA/Lane Guide for Idaho to verify it.  Anxiously, I headed
South of the airport on Orchard Ave which finally turned
into Gowen Rd.  I followed the directions.  Right on
Pleasant Valley and right again on HolliLynn.  Done.  Ok.
Look for the new subdivision.  Hmmm.  That could look a lot
different in a couple years.  But I soon came upon a likely
area.  I checked the time.  6:30am MST.  I looked up again
and saw a group of birds on the right.  12 Chukars!!! (#675)
 In the next yard on the left were several families of
Chukars, 21 birds in all, with quite a few juveniles!
Around the big bend I found many more Chukars.  Down the
hill on the right, coming out of the field and right into a
yard was a family of 8 Gray Partridges! (#676).  I found 60+
birds inside of 15 minutes.  All were Chukars except for the
single family of partridges.

   I drove back to the motel, checked out, and drove the 550
miles back to Everett, WA for the evening.  A flat tire near
Seattle was quite an inconvenience.  Coupled with the 1100
miles in the past 2 days, my back was bothering me again.
Even so, I slept lightly.  I knew I *had* to get up early
for any chance at hearing a Pacific-slope Flycatcher on my
last full birding day.  And my destination was at least an
hour's drive.

   I managed to arrive about 7:30am at my target area, the
Skagit River valley along US Rt 20, just West of the North
Cascades National Park.  I birded for 2 1/2 hrs, stopping
10-15 times in good habitat along the river, but without any
success.  Totally exhausted and at the end of my target
stretch of road, I stopped at a reststop just past Rockport.
 After checking the area briefly, I laid down on the bench
of a picnic table.  The reststop was an idyllic spot.  The
area was nestled between the tall, green mountains with the
faint smell of pine present in the fresh air.  My picnic
table was under a large, shady, maple.  The constant sound
of the easy-flowing, pale, blue river lulled me into a deep
slumber.  I slept for 1 1/2 hrs.

   Pu-weet.  I heard the high, thin, clear call with a
rising inflection at the end.  Pu-weet.  I *am* dreaming I
thought to myself.  I must really be tired.  Pu-weet.  It
called again.  This time my eyes bulged open immediately.
My heartbeat quickened as I listened intently.  Pu-weet.  I
was incredulous.  The Pacific-slope Flycatcher (#677) was
right above me! (This has to be as good as any big fish
story you've ever heard!).

        I noted that this call sounded quite a bit more like the
     Cordilleran Flycatcher than the Pacific-slopes I heard last
     year in California.  It was two distinct syllables instead
     of just one. I likened the difference last year to myself as
     the difference between saying two words (Cordilleran) and
     it's single-syllable contraction (Pacific-slope).  I assume
     the differences in calls further North must run closer
     together, making true identification next to impossible.
     This bird's call sounded to me to have the same cadence as
     saying a hurried "Bopeep" (the character of Mother Goose
     fame).

        I enjoyed the afternoon in North Cascades National Park,
     returning to Seattle for the evening.  The flight home on
     Wednesday was uneventful and long (as always).  I vowed to
     myself that it would not be long before I returned to this
     beautiful area again...

     Greg Miller
     Lusby, MD