Misc birding, flight home (June 27-28)

My last two days in Washington revolved around Ryan and Evie's wedding festivities. On the morning of the 27th I leisurely made my way from Wenatchee to Poulsbo for the wedding that afternoon. My only stop to bird came in Tacoma to quickly check for that Slaty-backed Gull. Again, nothing.

mountain stream

We all had a blast at the wedding last night. Not much sleep was had, which is a sign of a great time.

Puget Sound sunrise

The next day I had some time to kill before my evening flight. I decided to check out a few places around Puget Sound I had not birded before. Some were worth the time, others were not. I did not add many new species for the trip, though I did finally run into a Red-breasted Sapsucker.

your typical moist lowland forest around Puget Sound

I decided to give one final effort for the Tacoma Slaty-backed Gull, this one much more extensive. I radiated out from the place it had last been seen, checking rooftops and parking lots for roosting and nesting gulls. The possibility of finding the first North American breeding attempt outside of Alaska was intriguing enough to motivate a search. My hunt in this area was fairly exhaustive. Sure, there were certainly nesting gulls that were not visible from public roads. But I think I did the best I could without trespassing onto industrial property.

Other than United leaving my luggage at my connection in Newark (I am starting to realize why United Airlines is so poorly rated), the return trip was fine. I only wish I had another week to explore further. I would have liked to spend 2-3 days scouring the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Cape Flattery to Sequim, take a pelagic or hop aboard a fishing boat for a day, and definitely take a few more days in the Cascades. So many options, so little time.

Already looking forward to a return visit this fall with CAS (join us on this trip; for more info click HERE).

 - Nick

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