Hey tweets, We joined the slogging troops of birders out at Ocean Shores
yesterday, too, and saw some of the same things that others saw, missed
quite a bit, and saw some unique things of our own. Ain't birding great? It
can make you feel stupid and smart at the same time.

We arrived at the jetty about half an hour after the Sullivans left. No
brant, no shearwaters. We did see 3 light-morph FULMARS (or maybe the same
bird three times), no dark-morphs. The bird(s) did not exhibit bounding
flight, but each was spectacular nonetheless. My surfer/physicist husband
said no bird could have bounded too much in the light south winds, but ours
did do its best. Showing a kind of Vaux's swift-like stiff curve to the
wings, it skimmed along the surface of the water when no waves were present
and surfed the wave face when sets came through. It was inspiring to see
such a wonder of nature, so wild and free and so at home in a powerfully
raging environment. We were shouting and jumping for joy, so much so that a
beachcomber below the rocks thought we were involved in some kind of
life-and-death rescue of boaters in trouble. We had to tell him we were
just nutty birders acting normally.

Also on the jetty were a couple of SURFBIRDS and a ROCK SANDPIPER. The
light was poor because the rocks were in shadow, but the rock sandpiper
characteristically looked like a surfbird who has decided to become a New
York model: skinnied down and pulled tighter and taller.

At the Hoquiam STP we saw numerous ducks, naturally. The most notable were
a scruffy CANVASBACK and an elegant NORTHERN PINTAIL. But the best sighting
at the ponds was along the road leading to the airport. The alders were
stuffed so full of PINE SISKINS there was hardly room on the branches for
any more. We estimated a flock of more than 5,000. It was a truly
spectacular sight when something spooked them and they came pouring out of
the forest in a river of beating wings and chirping. That whole area was
really jumping: an agitated NORTHERN HARRIER repeatedly yelled at and
chased a REDTAIL; there were two EURASIAN WIGEONS at Bowerman mixed in with
the Americans; and a mixed flock of LINCOLN'S, GOLD-CROWNED, SONG and
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. We ended the day with steak eaten in front of a
glowing fireplace at the airport cafe. A day like this can keep one's
spirit going for weeks and weeks afterward. - Connie, Seattle

csidles at isomedia.com