39 Counties: Little trips I might have left out...

Eight Spotted Skimmer - King County
(Dragonflies have been easier than birds lately...)

School has started back up again, and there are a few trips left for the year:
Island and Jefferson Counties at the end of the week coming up. I've been to both, but haven't quite hit 39 species of birds in either.
Douglas and Chelan - Some time in October, especially to finish Douglas, but it would be great to find a ridge in Chelan with some raptors still migrating through.
Franklin County - in November. This will be a bigger trip, because I kind of need to swing through Skamania on the way... and pop up to Adams... and get a couple more in Benton... That will be an interesting little swing, but it should be enough to wrap it up and get me to 39 species of birds in all 39 counties for the year.
December: Is there just in case.

While gettin ready for school to start, and during the whole summer, there were some little forays into other counties that didn't quite make it into the blog:

Another walk at the Theler Wetlands in Mason County with the kids in June (added some swallows);

A hike up Green Mountain in Kitsap County with my son and nephew in July (a few flycatchers still calling);

A visit to my brother in Snohomish County in July (Turkey Vultures!);

A faculty retreat in Kitsap County along Agate Passage (Common Loons, but no Greater Yellowlegs, which are almost always there during that time of the year);

A family hike at Deception Pass State Park (on the Skagit side - Black Oystercatcher was the highlight, and we did zip through Whidbey Island, so I touched the 39th county for the year... almost there!);

There have been a lot of little trips to try to catch some life birds without working toooo hard (Sportco ponds in Fife, where I have missed Baird's and Semipalmated Sandpipers, and several spots along Puget Sound where I still can't seem to find any Common Terns).

Last night, I also got out to Thurston County, doing a little chasing, as someone had posted a report for a Ruff, a Whimbrel, and Baird's Sandpipers (any would have been life birds), and a Pectoral Sandpiper (would've been new for the year). It was a beautiful evening, and I ran into several other birders out there, but the sunset arrived before the tide had receded enough.

Here's a smattering of pictures from some of those trips:

Vaccinum Parvifolium: Wild Red Huckleberries
The tastiest berry that the most people don't know about. Or so I believe.
Green Mountain: Kitsap County