Hello Tweets,

Today Rolan Nelson, and my mother and I birded the Ocean Shores area,
including visiting Brady Loop Rd. to and from destinations, as we normally
do. The main highlight of the day was a MANX SHEARWATER observed from the
base of the Ocean Shores Jetty from 9:45am-10am, as we observed the bird
foraging 2-3 yards offshore with a spotting scope and binoculars. The bird
was first noted flying loosely with a small feeding seabird flock, north of
the jetty, then it would occasionally land on the water, then fly again very
close to the water surface allowing great views of it's black and white
plumage, being solid black above, and white below, with the white on the
throat extending over to the ear, and white underwing linings, and being
clearly smaller and more delicate than the few nearby Sooty Shearwaters, as
the contrast is very diagnostic and striking with appropriate lighting
conditions. This sighting was our personal best observation of this species,
as all the other sighting have also come from this exact location in past
years from July-September, but were much briefer. Hopefully more sightings
will occur in the near future. Our biggest disappoinment for the day was
extremely low numbers of shorebirds at ALL locations.

Weather conditions throughout the entire day at Ocean Shores were mostly
cloudy with ocassional sunbreaks, with improving conditions by late
afternoon, but the onshore flow quickly settled back in after 4pm, turning
mostly cloudy skies, but areas east of Aberdeen remained clear and sunny on
our way home, but were cloudy in the morning. Winds remained very light
throughout the day, but increased on our way home at inland locations.

We started out at Mud Bay/Madrona Beach Rd. at 6:30am(incoming tide), where
a flock of 9 Bonaparte's Gulls, and 27 Greater Yellowlegs were noted, before
we headed west to Brady Loop Rd. West of McCleary low clouds began to
greatly increase all the way to Ocean Shores, but a quick stop at Brady Loop
Rd. at 7:15am produced the adult RED-SHOULDERED HAWK that was briefly seen,
before it flew west along a densely alder-lined creek.Other notable species
at Brady Loop Rd. during our morning visit included:

1 female Green-winged Teal
2 female Cinnamon Teal
5 Least Sandpipers
3 Long-billed Dowitchers

At 8:30am we arrived at the Hoquim STP, where a extensive check of the main
sewage pond produced a few notable waterfowl species, along with 2 imamture
Spotted Sandpipers, including:

5 female Green-winged Teal
1 female Northern Pintail
2(1 eclipse male,1 female)Northern Shovelers
2 female Blue-winged Teal
6 female Cinnamon Teal
1 pair of Ring-necked Ducks
2 male Greater Scaup
1 female BUFFLEHEAD
1 female COMMON GOLDENEYE

Next, at Cyber Lake, south of Ocean City State Park(S.P.) along S.R.115 we
all noted the remaining flock of 50 GREATER YELLOWLEGS that also hosted 2
Long-billed Dowitchers, as they all roosted on the wooden bridge over the
lake,visible from the main road, but accessed by a small woodland trail.

At 9:15am we checked the Ocean Shores Golf Course, where a quick check of a
recent good shorebird pond, produced 3 Long-billed Dowitchers, but should be
checked more regularly throughout the fall. Next, we arrived at the Ocean
Shores Jetty at 9:40am, where our first quality bird almost upon arrival was
the Manx Shearwater, as we birded until 11:15am with a fairly extensive walk
to the end of the jetty and back with the following highlights:

3 Red-throated Loons
5 Pacific Loons
12 Sooty Shearwaters(very low numbers)
3 Brandt's Cormorants
1 Brown Pelican
22 White-winged Scoter(including one male that was injured on the beach at
the base of the jetty)
35 Surf Scoters
4 Wandering Tattlers
4 Ruddy Turnstones
7 Black Turnstones
1 immature Spotted Sandpiper
62 Surfbirds(47 nonbreeding birds, 15 alternate breeding plumaged birds)
11 sanderlings
2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS(observed at the base of the jetty along the sandy
shoreline, then later on the upper beach tidal line, with the Sanderlings)
230 Heermann's Gulls(increasing numbers)
1 Black-legged Kittiwake
2 Marbled Murrelets

At 11:30am we checked the Ocean Shores STP, and the western edge of the
Ocean Shores Game Range(area immediately behind the sewage ponds), where the
only highlights consisted of:

2 female RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS
1 adult Peregrine Falcon(Tundra race)
1 Black-legged Kittiwake

We drove north of Ocean Shores for a few hours to the towns of Ocean City
and Copalis Beach along S.R.109, after 12pm(incoming tide), where our first
stop was made at the Ocean City beach access, where we took a short walk
north of the parking area along the beach, where 2 Whimbrel, and 160
Sanderlings were noted. Later, we arrived at Griffiths Priday S.P. at
Copalis Beach at 2pm, where good numbers of roosting gulls, and terns, with
minor shorebird flocks were noted along the immediate shoreline, as we
crossed the canal to approach them for closer observations from the "dead
end", just west of the restrooms, where highlights included:

1 juvenal Bonaparte's Gull
330 Heermann's Gulls
210 California Gulls
1 Western Gull
10 Black-leeged Kittiwakes
7 COMMON TERNS
125 Sanderlings
1 BAIRD'S SANDPIPER

We arrived back at Ocean Shores were our main stop was made and spent at the
Ocean Shores Game Range at 3pm, where we made a fairly extensive walk of the
sandy spit at incoming tide, then back, but shorebird numbers were extremely
low at this location, as they wwere at other sites, as we previously
mentioned, with the last main flock or "wave" noted on the 9th according to
Scott Rea, who we managed to meet again upon our arrival to the game range
earlier during the day. We birded until 4:45pm at the game range in search
of any increased shorebird movements, but NO such luck, with only small
flocks present during our visit, with a few highlights that included:

5 Red-throated Loons
4 Pacific Loons
3 Common Loons(1 breeding plumaged bird, 2 in nonbreeding plumage)
18 Brown Pelicans
1 juvenal Peregrine Falcon(Peale's or Pacific Race)
43 Black-bellied Plovers
64 Semipalmated Polvers
2 SNOWY PLOVERS(1 adult
3 Whimbrel
1 MARBLED GODWIT
2 Surfbirds
1 Sanderling
13 Short-billed Dowitchers