Birders-

Today I birded Thurston and Pierce Counties with Steve Mlodinow and Bill
Tweit.

1st stop was a feeding gull flock with about 500 birds in a field at the
corner of Waldrick Road and Old Highway 99 North of Tenino. It was mostly
made up of GWxWEGU hybrds with some pure GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS, at lear 4
THAYER'S GULLS, several WESTERN GULLS, and at least 1 HERRING GULL.
Next stop was along the Wier Prairie along Rainier Road. Highlights here
were 6 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, and that was about it. Otherwise pretty dead as
there were hunters about training dogs and model airplanes being flown...

We stoped at a prairie in Pierce County north of Roy without much luck here
aswell, highlight being an adult COOPER'S HAWK flying away from us with a
freshly caught STELLER'S JAY in its talons. It left a group of about 40
very nervous STELLER'S JAYS in its wake, probably all very glad it wasn't
them that got taken by the Coop!

After a lunch stop in Spanaway... we headed to Gog-le-hi-ti and the Tacoma
Tideflats, where at the rendering plant we imediately spotted a juvy
GLAUCOUS GULL flying in the air, and later studied it quite closely on the
roof top among several dozen THAYER'S GULLS,including many more juvenile
birds than I have seen there at prior visits this winter. We also got some
good studies of very trashed 2nd and 3rd year HERRING GULLS among a good
number of adults.

We also stopped at the end of Portland Avenue along the waterfront, where we
had a hybrid HERRING X GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL. and a very pale 1st winter
THAYER'S GULL, all white tertials, looked close to a Kumlien's Gull except
primary tips were a little dark and it had a nicely contrasting secondary
bar in flight, contrasting with the rest of the wing.

Well thats about it, I did have a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER as I was driving
home from Bill's house, always nice to see them.
Good Birding
Ryan

*********Ryan Shaw************
****7108 Blue Jay Court SE****
****Lacey Washington 98503****
******Home (360) 491-1804*****
******Cell (360) 789-6750*****
******rtshaw80 at home.com*******

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