Hello Tweets,

Dave Hayden, and my mother, and I birded the Ocean Shores area, as my mother
and I have done in the last two weeks, with the weather mainly consisting of
high northern winds to strong gails at times throughout the day, within the
Ocean Shores area, being moderate at times, but still rather constant, and
isolated showers, with partial clearing at times. The best highlight was a
GYRFALCON, which was our last bird of the day, being at the northern access
of the Ocean Shores Game Range, where we walked the Salicornia fields,
mainly in search of other notable species, including late lingering
shorebirds and Lapland Longspurs, which we did not see.

Throughout the day we encountered several other highlights at several main
locations we visited, despite the winds, as I will mention at each site. We
started at the Hoquim STP, where I located a single 1st year FRANKLIN'S GULL
with 5 BONEAPARTE'S GULLS. Other notable highlights at this location
included:

57 CANVASBACKS
78 Greater Scaups
63 Lesser Scaups
14 Ruddy Ducks
26 Ring-necked Ducks
87 Northern Shovelers
34 Gadwall
1 Western Gull
128 Mew Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
18 California Gulls
1 Peregrine Falcon

We headed west to Ocean Shores, and we arrived there by 9am, where our first
stop was at the Ocean Shores Golf Course, where we observed 2 GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE. At the Ocean Shores S.T.P., we located 4 more
GR.WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, along with a single "Cackling"Canada Goose, and 1
THAYER'S GULL with 2 Herring Gulls. A walk down to the inner cove of the
game range, produced :

4 HARLEQUIN DUCKS
3 BRANDT'S CORMORANTS
5 Herring Gulls
3 THAYER'S GULLS
67 California Gulls

At the surrounding area of the O.S.Marina, we scoured the Scotch Broom
thickets in search of any passerines, but due to the winds found almost no
songbirds, but were able to hear at least 2 PALM WARBLERS calling from the
thickets, north of the marina, and oberved the female REDHEAD, and a single
RED-NECKED GREBE, being the only noteworthy species in the same vicinity. We
walked the Damon Point Rd. to the "pond", where the following notable
species were noted:

5 Black-bellied Plovers
1 Greater Yellowlegs
2 Black Turnstones

We then walked north across the main road to the large grassy field,
surrounded by minor Scotch Broom field, where Dave and I located 5 WESTERN
MEADOWLARKS, and a single well oberved PALM WARBLER, that was pursued, as
the wind allowed minimal, but brief looks,at first, until we followed the
warbler to a lone pine, where the bird seemed more tolerable of our
presence, before taking of again. 13 Sanderlings were also noted foraging
along the north shoreline, as we headed back, before we walked the outer
Ocean Shores Game Range, where we braved the constant winds, as we walked
west along the outer beach, but were able to encounter a single AM.GOLDEN
PLOVER at close range, which is getting quite late for this species, but a
few manage to linger quite late at coastal locations. Other notables
included:

1 Red-throated Loon
16 Black Scoters
7 Herring Gulls
2 THAYER'S GULLS
14 California Gulls
2 Black-bellied Plover
1 Dunlin

At Bill's Spit, we encountered excellent numbers of gulls at approaching
high tide, with a impressive numbers that we have never encountered at this
location, which we looked mainly for shorebirds, but were greatly surprised
at huge roosting gull flocks, including a winter adult GLAUCOUS GULL, being
the best gull, and a different bird than we found on the 29th, as that bird
was a third-winter gull, not a winter adult. Gull numbers consisted of:

2,850 California Gulls
3 Western Gulls
145 Glaucous-winged X Western Gull Hybrids
7 Glaucous-winged Gulls
27 Herring Gulls
5+ THAYER'S GULLS
230 Ring-billed Gulls
88 Mew Gulls

A few notables species at this location were:

1 EURASIAN WIGEON
7 Black-bellied Plovers
43 Dunlin
18 Sanderlings


Good Birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net