A Birder's Life for Me

Happily, the Cracker Barrel CEO has not messed up our favorite eatery in Stanley, Idaho.  And, the pancakes are a far sight better too.

The Sawtooth Mountains were just starting to emerge from the clouds and fog as the storm front left the area a few hours before we did.  We missed a nice day in the Sawtooths as we made our way to Yakima, WA.

The Pronghorn Antelope bedded down in the photo above aren't particularly noticeable.  This is a better look at them at home on the range.  They are usually very skittish.  Getting a decent shot before they take off is not easy.   Yes, they took off after this shot.

Our planned activities at Mount Rainier National Park were a complete bust because we didn't have a timed entry reservation for the area we wanted to bird in.  And, there were absolutely no parking spaces at the Visitor Center.  And, many of the pullouts were closed because of the roadwork being done throughout the park.  Thoughts of hitting the park on our way back to Boise have been dashed because the roads in the eastern half of the park are closing in September for road destruction.

I have always said, why would anyone want to pay $2.88 per gallon of gas in the Carolinas when they can pay $4.59 or more in Washington?  We haven't seen these numbers since we were in California.  Oregon's prices are equally as bad.  $4.99 for regular unleaded is the highest price we have seen so far.  Anyone seeing a 'cause and effect' trend here?

The bird species count is at 67 for the trip with 7 new for 2025.  All seven are lifers for me.  Photos have been hard to come by because of the long distances the seabirds are from shore and because of the perpetually gloomy, cloud cover and rain sprinkles that effectively turn everything into dull gray-tones.

We did manage to stumble upon about 1,200 Marbled Godwits roosting at the Tokeland, WA marina.  And, yes, there is a cannabis dispensary in Tokeland.  It seems to be the only place that has been built there since the 1980's.

The Common Murre is one the seven new lifers observed on the trip.  This shot is from over 100 yards away.

The other six lifers include Glaucous-winged Gull, Black Turnstone, Wandering Tattler, Bar-tailed Godwit, White-winged Scoter, and Red-throated Loon. 

We're hoping for better looks at some of these birds over the next couple of days as we work the Oregon coast between Astoria and Newport.