Mindful Birding Missive: 17 September 2026
Dear Bird Friends,
 
Six bird people met at Otis Perkins Day Park on a bright, calm morning. We were immediately attracted to bait balls of small fish just under the surface that had attracted huge flock of gulls and seabirds. Most numerous of the seabirds were Rhinoceros Auklets with their dark gray, stocky bodies. Closer to shore, we could see their wings flare out as they dove. Auklets swim with their wings. Smaller black and white Marbled Murrelets are similar to auklets in general shape, but smaller. 
 
On the tall snag-topped fir behind us, in bright light, a Eurasian Collared-Dove perched on high, while below, Red-winged Blackbirds called. Atop the rose hedge by the parking area, a Song Sparrow in medium-browns called chit notes. 
 
As we started walking Bayshore Road, an American Pipit flew in to land on the beach. A bit smaller than a robin, their tawny colorings are subtly distinctive. Pipits "wag" their tail up and down. Another beachcomber was the even smaller Savannah Sparrow, paler brown than the Song Sparrow; yellowish eyebrows noticeable at close quarters. 
 
Killdeer roamed the shoreline, double black breast bands prominent against white undersides. Much smaller Western Sandpipers with longer, thinner bills and less bold coloring sometimes joined their larger cousins.
 
Two species of cormorants dove in the channel or flew overhead: more slender, overall darker Pelagic Cormorants (which nest prominently at the Anacortes ferry landing) and the larger, large-headed Double-crested Cormorants with pale yellowish throat pouches and bills. 
 
Odd "whinny braying" calls coming from far out in the channel turned out to be Red-necked Grebes, necks now fading from summer breeding brick-red. Grebes are strong aquatic divers with dagger-like bills.
 
Hundreds of gulls called loudly from the bait balls, but were hard to identify with distance, commotion, and varied plumages. At present, California Gulls (black wing tips) are moving through in large numbers and Short-billed Gulls (also have black wing tips) are arriving for the winter. Also likely are our resident Glaucous-winged Gulls (all gray and white). Gull identification is tricky and takes lots of practice as many species are similar and all take a few years to mature, so have many stages of immature plumage. It gets easier in the winter when there are fewer species!
 
(Click on the links to be directed to each underlined species on Cornell's All About Birds web guide.)
 
Other birds observed: Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot.
 
The next walks will be on Tuesday, October 6 & Thursday, October 15. Outings are limited to 6 people for a quality experience, so please sign up early at the library or by emailing Beth@LopezLibrary.org
 
With gratitude and wonder for birds,
Beth

Recommended Resources
Among the Birds: Field Notes from Cascadia
by Lyanda Lynn Haupt

A delight for devoted birders, curious nature lovers, and casual backyard watchers alike, from two beloved local talents.
Cornell Lab's All About Birds

An amazing free resource from Cornell University. A field guide online plus articles, Live Cams, Courses, and more. Look up each bird we saw to see multiple photos of each species, including male/female/immature, perched/flying images, as well as food, nesting, behavior, and conservation information.
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
by Jon L. Dunn

National Geographic's iconic, best-selling guide for birders and birding enthusiasts of all levels includes unique subspecies maps never before seen in a field guide; extensive migration information overlaid on species maps; field-mark labels on all artwork; text updates with new species; reorganization reflecting taxonomic changes in the bird community; organization, readability, and increased page count.
Peterson field guide to birds of western North America / : Includes Birds of Hawaii
by Roger Tory Peterson

"A new edition of the best-selling field guide, with 25 all-new plates covering the birds of Hawaii"
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America
by David Allen Sibley

Now completely revised and updated, the authoritative guide to over 700 birds of the American West from renowned birder, illustrator, and New York Times bestselling author David Sibley Compact and comprehensive, this guide features 715 bird species, plus regional populations, found west of the Rocky Mountains. Entries include stunningly accurate illustrations--more than 5,046 in total--with descriptive captions pointing out the most important field marks. Each entry also includes the most current information concerning frequency, nesting, behavior, food and feeding, voice description, and key identification features. This improved edition includes: - Updated habitat, description, behavior, and conservation text for each species account and all family pages.- New and revised illustrations of species and regional forms.- New design featuring species accounts in columns, allowing for better comparison and more illustrations and text.- Current taxonomic order and up-to-date common names.- All maps revised to reflect the most current range information.- More species and rarities included. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America contains more than 652 updated maps drawn from information contributed by 110 regional experts across the continent, and shows winter, summer, year-round, migration, and rare ranges.