Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I birded Grays Harbor Co., despite the weather which
included isolated moderate to heavy rain/sleet showers at times, with mostly
to partly sunny skies, moderate late morning to late afternoon wind, and
dense morning fog in the Elma area. We encountered a total of exactly 100
species for the entire day, with the main highlight consisting of an adult
male TUFTED DUCK at the northwest corner of the Hoquim STP at 3pm, as it
foraged, preened, and rested with both species of scaups, as it could
possibly be the same bird, being now a full adult, along with a cleaner
appearance, and a full tuft, than the bird present in March 2000, as that
bird was a first year bird, being drabber in coloration, with a apparent
shorter tuft.

As noted before, issolated showers were apparent throughout the day, but we
still managed to locate some notable species, as noted below at given
locations.

We started the day at 7am along Middle Satsop Rd., and adjacent West Satsop
Rd., accessed off of Hwy.12, at the Brady Exit, where we drove about 6 miles
to the Mason Co.line, before turning back, as foggy conditions persisted. We
were able to locate appropriate habitat for Mountain Quail, in future
attempts for us in Grays Harbor Co., in an old clearcut surrounded by heavy
thickets of Scotch Broom, and Salal, and other thick vegetation. A list of
the most notable species that we did encounter included:

1 pair of WOOD DUCKS
1 calling BLUE GROUSE
65 Common Snipe in a single localized flock
1 HERMIT THRUSH
1 Common Yellowthroat
1 WHITE-THROATED SPARROW

At 9am we made a fairly quick drive of Brady Loop Rd., where the fog began
to lift at some locations, as the only major highlight included 2 female
AM.KESTRELS, as waterfowl numbers compared to last weekend were considerably
lower, as migration is apparent.

At Montesano at least 1 OSPREY was noted at the annual nesting location,
viewable from Hwy.12

Next, at a marshy wetland between MP 45 and 46 on the north side of S.R.105,
just west of Aberdeen, up to 22 GREATER YELLOWLEGS were tallied, as they
foraged and roosted along the marshy edges, viewable from the road. Further
west between MP 37 and 38 along S.R.105, across from the Oceanspray
Cranberry building there was a great diversity of birdlife, just after a
recent shower, as we were able to scope the flooded fields, and observe the
following highlights:

2 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE
(4)2 pairof CINNAMON TEAL
3 Turkey Vultures
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
34 GREATER YELLOWLEGS
10 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS
8 Common Snipe

At 10:45am, we were at Bottle Beach, where the single ROSS' GOOSE was noted,
as it still remains at Ocosta, between MP 35 and 36, along S.R.105, as it
associates with smaller races of Canada Geese, including both "Cackling",
and "Dusky" races, among larger forms nearby. The sky began to clear more,
eventhough dark clouds were nearby, as we walked out to Bottle Beach at
incoming high tide, as shorebird numbers were much lower than last weekend,
evidence of migration, with the following notable species observed:

60 Black-bellied Plovers
2 Sanderlings
270 Dunlin
3 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS
1 Western Meadowlark

Our furthest west destination included Westport, where we birded Westhaven
S.P., and the Westport Marina areas at high tide, as few species were
observed, but we did encounter a few notable species that included:

7 HARLEQUIN DUCK
36 Black Scoters
1 Merlin
32 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, including 1 winter adult bird at the enclosed
marina area.

At 3pm we arrived at the Hoquim STP, where the first bird we noted, as we
scoped the northest corner of the sewage pond was the adult male TUFTED
DUCK, where it was observed mainly with the scaup flock, consisting of 48
Greater Scaup, and 23 Lesser Scaups, before ir swam alone out into the windy
portion of the pond, as it began to dive for food, and become more active.As
the threat of nearby rain clouds increased we quickly birding, as we located
a few other highlights including:

78 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE
3(2 males,1 female) CINNAMON TEAL
3 LEAST SANDPIPERS
1 BONAPARTE'S GULL

Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net