Washington                                    

Washington Rare Birds

Sanderling - Ocean Shore, WA When you think of those little sandpipers that rush down to the waterline to quickly poke their beaks in the sand, only to rush back up the beach before they get swamped, you are probably thinking of these guys. They have a very light, plain gray look in the winter and can be found on every sandy beach on just about every continent. In the summer they are found north of the arctic circle in the rusty red, checked plumage that keeps them hidden in the ground cover. This photo was taken at the breakwater as you enter Grays Harbor on the Ocean Shores side. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
Sanderling - Ocean Shore, WA
White-headed Woodpecker - Wenas, WA This was the male White-headed Woodpecker that I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Northwest of Yakima, Washington. I had already been once to the location in a previous year with no luck along any part of the dirt road. I had resigned myself to finding one of these uncommon woodpeckers this day by finding a mixed flock of nuthatches and chickadees. Sure enough I heard the flock some distance away from the road, but patiently waited for them to come my way. I was rewarded some 20 minutes later with a look at this male some ways up the pine trees. Within the next ten minutes, the bird was foraging on the trunks of the trees next to the road within 10 feet of the ground. Not 10 minutes after that the bird flew across the road and to my surprise, a female White-headed Woodpecker showed up on the same tree chattering to each other. One bird was a lifer, but two put a cherry on top. You can tell the difference between the two from the red patch on the back of the male's head only. Michael W Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
White-headed Woodpecker Male - Wenas, WA
White-headed Woodpecker - Wenas, WA One of my latest life list birds is this beautiful and unusual female White-headed woodpecker of the west coast pine forests. I tried once to find these small woodpeckers with no luck. I have heard it said that they follow along in mixed flocks with White breasted and Red-breasted nuthatches, Mountain and Black-capped chickadees. The play here was to drive down the forestry road with the windows down until I heard one of these flocks. About an hour into the drive the tell tail nuthatch and chickadee songs were coming from a patch of pines across a farmers field. Patience paid off and the flock slowly may it's way to the road. In fact a second flock showed up from the other direction and sure enough they both had a woodpecker each. The first had a male that came in very high in the trees, but I was very excited to catch a glimse. after 15 minutes he made his way to the base of a tree that was very close to the road. Little did I know it was to chatter at this female that was behind us. I followed them for another 20 minutes and they both flew in separate directions with their respective mixed flocks. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com
White-headed Woodpecker, Wenas, WA
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Northern Hawk Owl - Brewster, WA
Heermann's gull - Point Wells, WA During an excursion to see a Swallow-tailed gull, one of the rarest birds to make it to the Washington Coast, I was able to capture a couple of birds I dont usually see. This Heermann's gull is in fall molt but in full breeding plumage they are a striking bird. The red beak and the white head set it apart from any other gull in North America. There were over thirty of these birds resting on the pier at Point Wells. These bird breed in Mexico and make their way north along the coast. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Heermann's Gull - Edmonds, WA
Sanderling - On a very windy day, a lone Sanderling was picking his way down the beach on the Drayton Harbor side of the Semiahmoo Peninsula. This birds feathers were pretty roughed up and you could tell they were ready to molt but flight feathers look crisp. These are the lightest of the winter peeps here along our shoreline and are extremely hard to see especially in the white froth blown up at the tide line. Their latin name, Caldris alba, translates to white sandpiper. Michael Klotz - www.TheBirdBlogger.com Picture
Sanderling - Semiahmoo
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Red-breasted Nuthatch - Wenas, WA
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Horned Lark - Mansfield, WA