End of summer - Running Tally and needs list

Just to mix it up, I'll put the needs list at the top this time.  My brain enjoys the puzzle that the remaining birds present far too much to have them pushed to the bottom.  The current tally for the year, however, is 185.

Code 1 birds  ("easy" birds - and I've found all of them, although I'd say Orange-crowned Warbler, for example, was a challenge!)

Code 2 birds:  (These birds generally require some planning, but the planning usually results in finding the target bird, especially if multiple attempts are made)

1. Blue-winged Teal - These will disappear.  Migrants may show up in any of several good spots in September and October.  One was seen at Fish Lake in August)
2. Northern Pintail - Apparently the best months of the year for these are October and November, so I'll hold onto some hope for this tough bird.
3. Least Sandpiper - Missed them in May... July.. August.. I'm running out of time, but there should be some around in September, mayyyybe October.  Lack of mud has been an issue at the Cashmere STP
4. Herring Gull - eBird shows a big spike at the end of October and the start of November.  One was already seen in August.
5. Caspian Tern - Early September will be my last chance for these.  There have been two sightings on the southern end of the county on the Columbia River
6. Northern Pygmy-Owl - These appear to be possible year-round. It may take a focused effort indeed.
7. Lewis's Woodpecker - September or bust, I think.  There's a spike in early September where migrants show up all over, which means the usual haunts may not be productive.  Darn.
8. Northern Shrike - October until the end of the year.
9. Brown Creeper - Year round - there have been plenty of sightings this year.  Keep trying.
10. Bohemian Waxwing - possible in late October, with higher possibility as the year closes out.
11. Savannah Sparrow - there appears to be a migrant push for these in September, and some lingering into October.  I could look again at Washington Pass when I head up for the Hawkwatch

With all of these birds, I'd be at 196, but... with code 2 birds, there's going to be a few that have you pulling your hair out.  I'm running out of time on a few of these, which would leave a long list of code 3 birds I'd need to find.

Code 3 birds:  (These birds are seen annually, but are a bit harder to find than the code 2 birds.  Timing, luck, planning and persistence just mean a better chance of finding them, not a guarantee of finding them)

1. Pacific Loon - Annual on the Columbia River, best in October and November
2. Tundra Swan - Possible from October through the end of the year
3. Eurasian Wigeon - These return in October.   I'd be surprised if I didn't find one hanging around Wenatchee.
4. White-tailed Ptarmigan - I will not be making another attempt at this bird this year.  I had one focused effort with a 12 mile hike into good habitat, and just didn't find it this time around.
5. Eared Grebe - These should already be returning and should be around for most of the fall, but not all the way into December. I can't just wait on them.
6. Northern Goshawk - While they can show up just about anywhere, September is their peak migration time.  I'm hoping one of these (or something even more unusual) will fly through.
7. Rough-legged Hawk - They start returning in October, and have a pretty late migration peak, but I am unlikely to run out to Chelan Ridge that late in the year, as it would spend a lot of good daylight hours for a bird that might be found elsewhere in the county.
8. Sandhill Crane - September and October migration could bring them overhead or to attractive stopovers.
9. Western Sandpiper - Early September or I've missed them.  Their migration ends sooner than Least Sandpipers.
10. Greater Yellowlegs - Migration is underway for them and continues through October
11. Bonaparte's Gull - These have a migration peak in October-November
12. Glaucous-winged Gull - There appear to sightings from September through the end of the year, with a slight peak that matches Bonaparte's
13. Red-breasted Sapsucker - Year-round.  I think having the Red-naped out of the county as they head south for the winter will help with the ID at the very least.  There have been a few hanging out in a large area around Leavenworth/Lake Wenatchee
14. Black-backed Woodpecker - These are year-round birds, although sightings drop off in colder months, perhaps due to limited access to their habitat.

So the Code three birds above are almost all still findable this year.  With all of the Code 2 and 3 birds, minus the Ptarmigan, I'd be at 209 for the year.    At this point, I'm not assuming that I will get all of the Code 2 birds, and I just want to be in places where I have good opportunities to see birds from both lists.

What else?

The thing is, those are not the only birds that will come through!  Even during the summer, I found a pair of code 4 birds:  American Three-toed Woodpecker and Gray-crowned Rosy Finch.  There's more than a few birds I may try to find.  There are quite a few possiblities, but I'll try to whittle it down to ten, just arbitrarily

1. Snow Goose - October through November (and why not make it a Ross's Goose, which would be a life bird?)
2. Surf Scoter - October through November on the Columbia (and for that matter, White-winged is about as common, and Long-tailed Duck not far behind)
3. Great Egret - September through October.  I like the odds on this one out of all the code 4's.  They are becoming more common in the state every year, it seems.
4.  Broad-winged Hawk - I'm heading to the Hawkwatch during the peak of their migration.  Fingers crossed!  While I'm there, my eyes will also be open for Swainson's and Ferruginous as well.  The odds on any of them individually are small, but there's a good enough chance that I'll find a good hawk in Chelan, given the timing.
5. Long-billed Dowitcher - as with the hawks, this is one of many birds that would be possible if they just get some good mud going somewhere in Chelan.  No need to list all of them.
6. Common Tern - September migrant.  Add Parasitic Jaeger and Forster's Tern to the possibilities.
7. Barn Owl - there have been a couple of spots around Wenatchee and Leavenworth where they have been sighted.  I think this is the owl I'm most likely to find, although Boreal and Long-eared are also possible, or *any* of the others I'm missing:  Short-eared, Northern Hawk-Owl, Great Gray or Snowy!
8. California Scrub-Jay - There was a sighting near Wenatchee that I'm hoping will pan out.
9.  American Tree-Sparrow - Or Harris's or White-throated or... jeez even the possibility of a Clay-colored between now and the end of the year means that there's a chance I'll add a sparrow to the year list.
10.  White-winged Crossbill - This one might be a stretch as there's nothing to indicate that we have an invasion year, and it seems that July and August are the months where those invasions happen.  It's just been such a good year for finches.  I think I have all of them that have been seen in Chelan besides this, unless Hoary Redpoll has been seen...

So there we go - other birds to look for.  Of course other crazy birds including scads of warblers and other birds like Northern Mockingbird or Blue Jay enter the realm of possibility, but who would know which ones to expect!  Any of the ten birds above would be extremely welcome.  Any would be welcome, none would be a complete shock in Chelan county.

So let's call it 34 target birds, and I need 15.  We'll see how it goes!

And here's the year list by date: