Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant

 Birders are a weird bunch. We got to places and do things that a "normal" person would never, like waking up before dawn in the winter, driving across the state and back in one day, and going to some wacky locations like a dump or water treatment plant in the name of seeing birds. In the past I have gone to a dump to (unsuccessfully) look for Tamaulipas Crows, and I've been to a few water treatment plants in my brief birding career. In fact, these plants can be amazing birding locations. The tanks can hold a variety of shorebirds and ducks, and the property usually sits on some forest as well. 

Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant is one of the best, if not the best place to bird in Dallas. It's a massive property that has a wide variety of habitats, which is evident by the whopping 261 species that have been reported there. Rare birds are seemingly reported weekly, and it is one of the few places in Dallas county where you can see Wood Stork, Prothonotary Warbler, Bald Eagle, and Crested Caracara. There is one con, and that is access. You can't access it unless you gain permission, but that list is usually updated quarterly. 

No identification necessary

I finally got access starting September 1, but Washington and a major exam for work kept me indoors until last Saturday. Even then, I had to officiate a wedding that afternoon so I couldn't stay long. Matt Duross gave me a tour of the property, which he said is 15 square miles. I had a good omen at the beginning with Pileated Woodpeckers flying overhead, a county bird for me. We started out on some tanks just by the administration building that were full of shorebirds. Peeps were everywhere and we got excellent side by side looks at Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. A Red-necked Phalarope had been seen here for a week, which would have been a Texas bird, but it was not to be found. Oh well, I saw them in Washington and at the clip rare birds show up here I'll likely get another crack at one next spring.

We continued to a field that was full of White and White-faced Ibises, more than I've ever seen. As we drove on we got excellent looks at Northern Harrier and a few Red-tailed Hawks, but our biggest prize was a pair of Crested Caracaras, possibly the only place in Dallas to see them. I have not seen them in a while, and they looked stunning in the clear sky. 

Crested Caracara

We went and looked at some empty tanks that were full of swallows, which are extremely hard to ID when they are flying in swarms. These tanks were just on the edge of the property, which borders a hunting and fishing club that offers no access. Matt said he has seen Wood Storks, very scare in Dallas County, flying over in season. I wish I had been here a few weeks prior! We drove along the levee past the nesting spot for Prothonotary Warblers on our way to the main event of the morning.

Bald Eagles don't need an introduction. But a lot of people have never seen an eagle, Bald or Golden, and underestimate their size. I've seen them up close in Maine and I've watching them soar along the Kenai River in Alaska during the salmon run and it is absolutely breathtaking. Most recently I saw one at Cullinan Park in Sugar Land as a speck in the sky. Seeing one is supposed to be a special occasion for me. But to see one in Dallas was something I thought to be very rare. I was wrong. There is a nest at Southside, and they are almost always there. You can also see them at John Bunker Sands, but to my knowledge those are the only 2 places one can expect to find them.

Anhinga

We ended up seeing not one, but two Bald Eagles sitting on power lines that allowed for extended views. We also had an Anhinga on the pond when we stopped to look at them, another county bird. We didn't spend a ton of time because my introductory tour was still not over. Our last stop was a massive pond in the center of the property. There were tons of pelicans and ducks, including Ring-necked, a county bird for me. We had a curious family of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks with ducklings, which seems to be super late in the year for them. Matt got eyes on a Bank Swallow, which is a fantastic find. He pointed it out to me just in time to get a good look at it, and then a Tree Swallow flew into view. I was beyond pumped, as Bank Swallow is a Texas bird for me. The last big find as we left was an American Avocet, a county bird.

Ring-necked Ducks and American Coots

I saw all of the plant, but didn't have time to explore it in depth. And yet I still saw 47 species, which is probably double what I was expecting. It'll only get better as migration progresses, and I can't wait to get back when I have more time and don't have to rush home to officiate a wedding!

Washington Birding: North Cascades National Park

I had no time to waste after the pelagic trip. It was about 3:30 and I had to get on the road. Westport is in the southwest corner of the state, and my next stop, Mount Vernon, was across the peninsula and about an hour and a half north of Seattle. 

My original plan was to head to Mount Rainier, but given the holiday weekend I was told it is nearly impossible to get to certain places because it's the place to be for Seattle residents. Instead I opted to go to North Cascades, a more remote and less popular park. That meant birding info was hard to come by, but the views looked gorgeous and my goal is to visit every national park, so it would be perfect.

North Cascades National Park

I wanted to get to high elevation places, and unfortunately the Sahale Arm that I originally planned on doing was not an option due to road conditions. However, I found the Sourdough Mountain Trail, an 11.2 mile trail that gains 5,100 feet of elevation. It was going to be tough, but it was supposed to be worth it. The parking along Diablo Lake was pretty birding, with Vaux's Swifts dive bombing to get sips of water. Stellar's Jays were calling in the trees as I began my ascent.

This was physically the hardest thing I've ever done. Outside of Sooty Grouse and Pacific Wren there was minimal birding done because I was just focused on the hike. The views at the fire lookout were so worth the grueling hike, it's just hard to bird when you're pouring sweat and breathing heavily. Great hike, but not the best trail if you want to bird.

Views from Sourdough Mountain

The next day was more of a birding day. I made a longer drive to the Blue Lake Trail, which is technically in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. This trail is the highest rated on Alltrails, and at 5 miles round trip it would much easier on my body. It was colder than the previous day and I was at a higher elevation starting. It was amazing. Stopping frequently to soak in the views allowed me to hear a host of birds. Stellar's Jays were very noisy, which are always fun to see. The black and blue for some reason really captivates me, but my attention was quickly diverted when I heard a woodpecker. The dense forest worked against me, and I almost gave up thinking that it was likely a Hairy Woodpecker. I was so glad to be wrong, at the base of the tree was one of my more sought after birds, American Three-toed Woodpecker! 

Townsend's Warbler

This was pretty surprising because I've typically heard you find them in areas that are burned by wildfires, but there weren't any burned out trees. This is another bird that I always wanted to get a chance at because they're also typically found at high elevations, and if you can't tell by now I prefer birding up in the mountains. An entire different world of birding opens up, especially once you get west of the Rockies.

The trail opened up to a park that offered outstanding views of the mountains, and there was a lot of bird activity. White-crowned Sparrows flitted below while Mountain Chickadees foraged up in the trees above. I got really hyped over a few Townsend's Warblers that were likely migrating south. They look pretty similar to Black-throated Green and Golden-cheeked, but are exclusively found on the West Coast. 

Blue Lake

Even without the amazing birds, Blue Lake is one of the better hikes I've done. The views are outstanding and the hike is not difficult at all. Also the lake looks like something you'd find in the Alps, and I ended up laying on rocks around the lake to soak in the view. In early September there was still snow on the ground! 

I ended the day by walking Trail of the Cedars, a short trail that winds through the forest. I had a bird in mind, American Dipper. The trail winds along the green Skagit River, which looks unlike most rivers in the country. It's loud too, but in a very peaceful and relaxing way. Newhalem Creek which, empties into the Skagit, had perfect Dipper habitat, being really shallow but full of rocks and pebbles. I crept along the creek seemingly silent, each splash drowned out by the flowing water. It didn't take long to flush one, and it was extremely cooperative. With the sun sitting low it was time to go to dinner and make camp.

American Dipper

It is worth mentioning that my campsite was one of the better camping experiences that I've had. Cedars tower over you and the smell is overwhelming in a positive way. You don't see too many people because of the way the campsites are arranged, so it feels really peaceful. I slept with the rainfly off and was almost kept awake by the bright moon and stars. Not a bad problem to have. 

I really didn't want to go home, but I had to the next morning. I stopped at Discovery Park in Seattle and was rewarded with great views of mostly the same birds, but I did add Pileated Woodpecker and a ton of Golden-crowned Kinglets, the latter of which I only had seen once before in terrible lighting. A few of the gorgeous Anna's Hummingbirds were out, their purple heads glowing in the sunlight. These were the best views I ever had of one. This is the spot to go to in Seattle, I just didn't have enough to fully bird it. It was an unseasonably warm day by Washington standards and wildfires in the area kept the air hazy, but it did nothing to take away from the outstanding views of the Puget Sound. 

I finished the trip with 21 lifers, exceeding my goal of 20. The pelagic was mind blowing, and 2 days of hiking was not enough for the Cascades. I know Rainier and Olympic get lots of love, but it was shocking to see so few people in comparison to the visitation North Cascades gets. If I could do it over again I would have rented a different car so I could get up Cascade Pass and try for Gray-crowned Rosy Finch and White-tailed Ptarmigan, but I'll at least get a chance for the former in December. Time to start planning for the Everglades in 2 weeks!