Category Archives: Year 8

Summer Solstice Great Gray Owl

Year 8

I left the house a few minutes before 5 am this morning and drove to Sax-Zim Bog. Today is the longest day of the year in terms of sunlight, and I felt after yesterday’s ugly rain and cold, today’s sunlight should be enjoyed! Apparently I was not the only one with this idea as I found a Great Gray Owl exercising its hunting rights in the early morning sun. Given the owl could not have hunted yesterday (owls will not hunting in hard, driving rain), the bird was hungry, out after sunrise, and even willing to put up with the increasing northwest wind. However, I did notice all of its hunting perches were somewhat blocked from the wind … smart owl as it makes hearing mice and voles much easier. (owl hunting video link for email subscribers)

 

Laz the Lazuli Bunting

Year 8

When you visit a new area do you ever have a target bird? Two weeks ago I did not even know that Lazuli Buntings existed. However when I signed up for a birding walk at Seattle’s Marymoor Park, I read some eBird reports for that location which mentioned said buntings. While I did not know about “Laz”, the locals nickname for the bird, I did know buntings are normally pretty birds.

I had fun this morning back at Marymoor Park. The Lazulis were definitely present. What have been some of your target birds? (and the area / habitat).

Western Urban Birding

Year 8

It has been fun to bird in the Seattle area, but has also made me more appreciative for what I have right out the front door at home in northern Minnesota. At home, an hour before sunrise at 4:10 am the dawn song starts with a passion. It’s actually quite noisy in a very pleasant way. Here in Seattle I have to work hard at finding birds … answering these questions:

  • Where is a good park with decent habitat?
  • What traffic concerns might there be?

However using eBird, Google Maps, and park PDF maps the problems may be solved. My first stop was an old Navy base which is now a park and low income housing unit. Not only was it fun to find this Barn Owl, but I had a conversation which was good for me, and an eye opener. At 6 am I talked for over 20 minutes with a local resident, who now was off the streets but had been homeless for five years. I learned she was a nice person who had been down her luck (my assessment). She never complained of poor circumstances during our conversation. As I said, an eye opener for me.

My next park I found a Killdeer Convention in progress!

Finally a day later we are out of the big city in the Cascades. It’s nice to be back in rural America. Right at our motel I found these beautiful Violet-Green Swallows. It was dry and sunny on the East side of the mountains … wet and foggy on the West (the waterfall photograph).