Subject: birds so far Olympia & vicinity
Date: Aug 2 11:30:05 2002
From: John Churchill - jchurchi at wvu.edu


Hi All,
First let me thank everyone who contacted me off list to send me information. I didn't

get a chance to thank any of you individually. I did get a lot of useful info.

So far I picked up 5 life birds in this order:

GW-Gull from the airport shuttle
NW-Crow olympia water front (getting out of the shuttle)
CB-Chickadee
N. Pygmy Owl - heard only but I'm counting it anyway (BVD)
Cassin's Vireo
Spotted Owl (this morning) adult and begging juvenile

Also on Tuesday I had ...
Virginia Rail and Great Horned Owl at Nisqually NWR. Western and Least Sands here too. Ran

into Dave Hayden (sp ?) here who showed me around a bit and gave me some good information

(thanks !! Dave).

Wednesday morning at an area just off of North 101 on some logging roads off of Old Olympic

Hi-way that Dave mentioned to me I also had (in addition to 2 of the ones mentioned above as

being added to my life list) ...

Red Crossbills
Purple Finches
BT-Gray Warblers
OC Warblers
PS Flycatcher
Willow Flycatchers
Wilsons Warblers

I haven't seen any Cormorants other than Double Cresteds here in the Olympia Waterfront

area. I am hoping to be able to pick up Pelagic and Brand'ts at some point.

I will be leaving early tomorrow morning and work is all done so I'll be birding (dawn -

dusk +/-) for the next 3.5 days. I'll probably go to Westport Sat Am and then work around

Grays Harbor birding Bottle Beach, John's Island and Grays Harbor NWR and then most of the

afternoon in Ocean Shores (seems like too much for one day ?!!?). Then I'll drive to the

Neah Bay area and go out with Puffin Adventures at Noon on Sunday. I'll spend most of

Sunday in the Olympic Forest and maybe go to Rialto Beach. All of Monday and Tuesday am are

still up in the air. I won't have emil (after today) until I return to WV Tuesday night /

Wednesday am when I'll post my results. If you have any last minute advice it'll have to

get to me within the next 4 or 5 hours. Thanks in advance.

Targets for the next 3.5 days:

any and all possible alcids !!!
GC-Rosy Finch
Blue Grouse
Black Oystercatcher
Black Turnstone
Surfbird ?
Mew Gull
FT Storm Petrel
Leach's Storm Petrel

J.B.