[bitterntwisted]

Spent the day preparing for my trip to Seattle in 3 weeks time - my first Nearctic birding experience. (Previous trips to the US were in the wilderness years of not briding so I only saw TV, RTH, RSH, grackles and Ring-billed Gulls) I've made up an excel checklist with rankings and the following came out my 25 most wanted, all of them would-be-lifers.

Does anyone think I've missed a bird I really have to track down? And do some of the species seem daft / impossible / dross to those familiar with birding Washington?

1. Varied Thrush
2. Harlequin Duck
3. Rufous Hummingbird
4. Bald Eagle
5. Lazuli Bunting
6. Say's Phoebe
7. Common Nighthawk
8. Tufted Puffin
9. Heermann's Gull
10. American Kestrel
11. Greater Sage-Grouse
12. Mountain Bluebird
13. Pied-billed Grebe
14. Calliope Hummingbird
15. American Redstart
16. Burrowing Owl
17. Belted Kingfisher
18. White-tailed Kite
19. Spotted Owl
20. Surfbird
21. Yellow Warbler
22. Acorn Woodpecker
23. Black-chinned Hummingbird
24. Rhinoceros Auklet
25. Bullock's Oriole

Graham

[lmans66]

What time of the year are you planning on being in WA? .... I see by the type of birds you are after that you will be in varied locations for sure. Some of those like the Puffin, Grouse, Kite...you will have to be here at the right time or do some pretty good sitting and waiting for. For get the Herrmann's Gull .... How about the curlew or an American Pelican...or Townsend's Solitaire or tons of shorebirds.... Again, time and location in WA will help.

[bitterntwisted]

I'll be there April 29th to May 10th, which I know makes several of these very unlikely, for example Heermann's Gull (which I think is very pretty for a gull)

I'm staying in Seattle but doing a four or five day trip in a loop out to Eastern Washington, exact itinerary still being worked out. I have the "Birding Washington" guide plus the excellent info at the Seattle Audubon site... http://www.seattleaudubon.org/birdweb/browse_birds.aspx

I never liked Pelicans much and have seen four similar species, (although Brown Pelican is cool) Maybe I should appreciate the Solitaire more but it doesn't look like a headturner in photos. The shorebirds I haven't seen are mostly winter vistors (Surfbird, Rock Sand, Black Turnstone) and most of the rest of the shorebirds of WA turn up in Europe. The curlew, though, would be cool - I had it around #30 but maybe should be higher.

Graham

[J. Moore]

Hi Graham,

Here's a link to a Washington state bar chart from eBird: http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?repor...y=8&continue=t

It gives you seasonal occurrence and abundance patterns for Washington state species. But it's also much more than a traditional bar chart! Click on the name of a species that interests you, and you'll be taken to a map of Washington state with balloons indicating where the species has been reported (yellow balloons indicate sightings within the last 30 days). You can also adjust the time frame to limit it to sightings from this year only, as well as sightings from certain counties (Seattle is in King County, for example). If you click on a sighting, you can get the name of the location, and if you zoom in you can see the location with street details.

Hope this helps,
Jim

[bitterntwisted]

Now that, Jim, is pretty neat!

Thanks,
Graham