So here are the code 1-2 birds I have left:
Code 1 birds ("easy" birds, although it can be funny how that turns out!)
1. Common Nighthawk
2. Orange-crowned Warbler
Almost there! The Orange-crowned are a bit of a puzzle, but I'm hopeful that we will cross paths. These would put me at 168.
Code Two birds: These generally take a little bit of planning, but that planning will usually result in finding the bird in question, especially if that planning means multiple attempts!
1. Blue-winged Teal (These may have to be seen in the fall - there were May sightings, but none recently)
2. Cinnamon Teal (Where do they go?? Migrated through in spring, and there are few/no fall records - only a small handful of breeding season records)
3. Northern Pintail (I had seen no reports on these until a recent report from a boat on the way up to Stehekin recorded 30 of them! They are supposedly very local birds, so hopefully I'll be able to catch them up there.)
4. Dusky Grouse
5. Sooty Grouse (I know both of these grouse could be possible in some locations, so I'm going to work hard to spend time in areas where there ranges do not overlap, as identification may be a bit tricky otherwise)
6. Western Grebe
7. Northern Harrier (Haha.. very funny... where are you guys hiding... seriously???)
8. Least Sandpiper
9. Herring Gull (hoping late in the year is better for gulls than early in the year was)
10. Caspian Tern
11. Northern Pygmy-Owl
12. Black Swift
13. Vaux's Swift
14. Lewis' Woodpecker
15. Willow Flycatcher
16. Northern Shrike (missed it! will have to try when winter months return)
17. Clark's Nutcracker
18. Brown Creeper
19. American Pipit
20. Bohemian Waxwing (see shrike)
21. Savannah Sparrow (Not a clue. I've tried Burch Mountain and Oklahoma Gulch, but neither turned one up for me. Another puzzle, although of all places, it looks like they might be findable at... Washington Pass?? We shall see!)
22. Lincoln's Sparrow (I'll look in high elevation this summer, but they seem to explode in September with sightings nearly anywhere.)
So if I "just" find all of these, along with the code 1 birds, I'd be at 190. I've taken 47 code 2 birds off of this list so far this year, including a couple tricky ones! It will be interesting to see which one or two give me trouble through the end of the year. As the whole needs list shrinks, some of these will be birds I plan around - others I'll be patient for.
Code 3 birds - Birds that are seen annually, but are not as easy to find as code 2's. These are tough birds!
1. Pacific Loon (I may miss this one as a spring migrant, so I'll be hoping for them on the Columbia in mid-October to mid November)
2. Tundra Swan (also more likely as a fall migrant now, with an even smaller window. I felt luck to find Trumpeters back in January on the Columbia!)
3. Eurasian Wigeon (missed one early in the year. Fingers crossed for the fall.)
4. Harlequin Duck (Icicle Creek and some other high elevation streams have these guys breeding. It will take some planning and persistence, but they'll be out there.)
5. White-tailed Ptarmigan ("Sahale Arm" comes up for Chelan County, with several sightings along a ridge surrounding a lake. There are also some spots down in the Enchantments, which might fit with a search for the Harlequins. This would be a life bird for me!)
6. Eared Grebe (missed some by a day, darn it. Although they do breed in Eastern Washington, that does not include, to my knowledge, anywhere in Chelan. Fall migration - fingers crossed)
7. Northern Goshawk (year round and in Chelan, it can be just about anywhere, although high elevation clear cuts are classic habitat for them. I won't try to find one. Hopefully one will find me.)
8. Rough-legged Hawk (winter bird that I missed. For this one and goshawk, the fall migration might be productive up on Chelan Ridge)
9. Sandhill Crane (my best shot just passed with spring migration)
10. Western Sandpiper (probably fall migration)
11. Greater Yellowlegs (I'll miss the spring migration, and will hope for fall. This is sounding far too familiar!)
13. Bonaparte's Gull (May and October, apparently. I'd take any gull)
14. Glaucous-winged Gull (winter birds - maybe next winter, yeah?)
15. Black-chinned Hummingbird (not a clue - hoping for feeder reports, honestly)
16. Anna's Hummingbird (same deal, obviously in winter, they would be easier to pick out! Other species will largely clear out by October)
17. Red-breasted Sapsucker (another Lake Wenatchee target, although they will also be mixed in with Red-naped and hybrids for the months to come)
18. Black-backed Woodpecker (excited for this search as well - recent burns on either side of Lake Chelan should be drivable by my next trip)
So the code three birds would bring me to... 208. Now, I'm not expecting to find all of these. No way! So far in four trips, I've found 27 birds at code 3 or higher. If I pick up 2-3 on average in the trips to come, I could even miss some of the code 2 birds (which I certainly will!) Nearly 30 other species of shorebirds and gulls alone have wandered into Chelan, and there are a handful of code 4-5 birds (Spruce Grouse, Broad-winged Hawk, Boreal Owl, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch and White-winged Crossbill) that I'll be making efforts to find as the summer moves along and the hiking gets a little more snow-free.
Thankfully, some of these overlap with other birds I'm looking for. For example, in September, I plan to hit the Hawkwatch, which has possibilities for Rough-legged, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged Hawk and Swainson's Hawk, although not all at the same time. A trip to the county line may bring me Black-backed Woodpeckers and Dusky Grouse, while also holding the possibility of Spruce Grouse.
I'm reeling a bit from the 50+ birds I added in May - still have to work out the plans for June and July, although I know at least some of it will be with the kiddos, as all of us have the summer off. There are definitely some attempts I'll make to clean up on some of the breeding birds (Willow Flycatcher at Stevens? Black-chinned at feeders? Savannah Sparrow and Lewis's Woodpecker, but where?).
I'm leaning more and more towards a hike from Stehekin to Washington Pass in July, and I'm *really* liking the idea of another "blanket" trip in October - getting a field trip set up with groups covering different parts of the county in the morning, then meeting up to share notes a little after lunch, with the afternoon free to chase down good sightings from the morning. With so many possibilities along the Columbia, at the parks in Wenatchee, and at the few shorebird spots in the county like the Cashmere STP, I'm hopeful that this could turn up some good birds.
So that's where it all sits! If you have any thoughts as the year goes along, please drop me a message!
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