neilpa

Pretty sure all the terns are Black Noddy, brown are much less common outside of a few isolated spots. The second photo has a couple of Great Frigatebirds flying in the background.

A not strictly birding book that I read recently and would recommend is The Beak of the Finch. Pretty sure it’s been recommended elsewhere on the forum.

I read this book after Connor recommended it a while ago and also enjoyed it.

I picked this book up from a used book store when I was first getting into birding. It’s interesting to read about the various spots but I wish it was less US focused.

A Barred Owl right outside my bedroom window yesterday. Assumed it was the resident raccoons when the crows started going nuts but found this guy instead.

I’d highly recommend Discovery Park if you have most of the day. It’s the best birding spot in the county and also just a gorgeous park to explore on Puget Sound. If I didn’t have a new baby at home I’d offer to show you around there. Wish I could be more helpful for the trip to Anacortes but the last time I did that drive I wasn’t a birder. You could email the WA tweeters mailing list for recommendations. Folks on there should have more tailored advice than going off the Audubon bird loop guide.

Common Redpoll and Short-eared Owl flyover

Northern Saw-whet Owl

The live feed page has a massive comment thread including updates from project representatives. This one from yesterday is interesting

Reading through this thread gave me semantic satiation for the word common. (Totally had to look up the term for that phenomenon)

Black Swift - Not much to look at but they only show up when it's overcast

Blue Grosbeak in Redmond, WA. Only the 3rd state record https://ebird.org/checklist/S113282874 I wasn't nearly as lucky with my pics 😭

@blackburnian suggested Peregrine Falcon in the other thread for the first one. I could get behind that ID Not sure I want to wager a guess for the second bird

Don’t leave us hanging, what’s the consensus?

Marbled Godwit https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/317379021

Common Myna

Hooded Merganser Don't recall if I used this one for H too, but it's one of my favorite pics

TIL the greater Vancouver area is the one place on the west coast where Least Flycatchers are actually in range. I would've otherwise defaulted to pac-slope like your friend based on location.

#60 - Common Nighthawk Random and unexpected flyover that I wouldn’t have noticed if not for the call I didn’t recognize. Also my 250th state bird.

Good reminder, totally forgot about that field mark.

I also passed 200 species for the year earlier this week and now sitting at 203.

birdie #12: 🟥🟥🟩⬛⬛⬛

#357 - Ash-throated Flycatcher! Twitched for another lifer this afternoon.

Off to a great start 😭 birdie #10: 🟥🟥🟥🟥🟩⬛

#356 - Forster's Tern! Rare bird for our county, last record was 8 years ago.