Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I birded along portions of the same route as yesterday
in Pacific and Grays Harbor Cos.,mainly attempting to gain photographes of
the adult EMPEROR GOOSE, but with NO luck again today. The Emperor Goose was
again observed in the same vicinity than yesterday, BUT accessed from a
better vantage point on Camenzind Rd., which is accessed from the south side
of S.R.105, just east of MP 3. The road hosts several homes along the
dirt,muddy road, but it overlooks the vast,open fields to the west, which
host good numbers of geese. The Emperor Goose was seen briefly from this
location at 12:30pm with 12 Greater White-fronted Geese and associating
Canada Geese, then moved to an area out of our visibility along a canal,
where it is believed this bird remained with other geese. We checked the
area in which we observed the Emperor Goose yesterday, but did not locate
the bird, as well as checking the original location along Hwy.101 between MP
50 and 51, only to find the bird from Camenzind Rd. at 12:30pm upon further
searching. Weather throughout the day was very favorable even more so than
yesterday with mostly to partly sunny skies the entire day,making birding
conditions very pleasant.

Our main highlight of the day was 7 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS(4 males, 3
female)along the eastern portion of Brady Loop Rd. at 3:45pm, which were
originally found by Steve and Jan Watson of Chehalis who we were fortunate
to run into at Tokeland earlier in the day. They observed 6 birds on their
visit in the morning at the same vicinity as we did, then we met them during
our visit to Brady Loop Rd. on our way home only to count 7 birds. The birds
were very active foraging along fenceposts and along or in exposed corn
stubble fields west of the main road, as well as a at least three birds
observed looking for possible nestsites within 1 open barn, but it is
believed the birds may linger for a few days then continue on to more
suitable and stable nesting grounds. It is possible that if the birds found
nesting cavities within the area, such as nestboxes they could breed, but
this area probably wouldn't hosts breeding bluebirds due to their scarcity
of this species in the area and high abundance of other cavity nesters in
the general vicinity such as Starlings, Tree and Violet-green Swallows and
House Sparrows that would most likely chase the bluebirds away.

Our second highlight of the day was up to 3 TREE SWALLOWS with 18 Barn
Swallows at the Schouweiler Rd./Chehalis Wildlife Area wetland(west of
Elma), being our first personal Tree Swallows of the season, but we kept the
possibility of encountering them today, as in 2001 we observed 12 Tree
Swallows at this same location on the 10th of February. This location seems
to be a very good spot in finding early swallows with our our personal
season firsts' of Tree and Violet-green Swallows for 3 years in a row.

The wintering adult female BAR-TAILED GODWIT was again observed at the same
general location than yesterday along S.R.105 at MP 14.8 amongst 580 Marbled
Godwits at 1pm(incoming tide)on our way to Tokeland.

A list of our most notable previous and additional highlights that occured
at selected times and locations follows:

Madrona Beach Rd./mouth of Perry Creek(Mud Bay),Thurston Co.
10:05am(outgoing tide) 16.3 feet

24 Greater Yellowlegs
110 Dunlin

S.R.105 at MP 3.5 to MP 4,Pacific Co.(PA) 11:20am-11:30am

4 Trumpeter Swans
12 Greater White-fronted Geese

Hwy.101 at MP 50.8(west of South Bend),PA 11:50am

17 Greater White-fronted Geese

South Bend,PA

18 Lesser Scaup
6 Ruddy Ducks

Camenzoid Rd.(accessed from S.R.105,west of Raymond),PA 12:30pm-12:50pm

1 adult EMPEROR GOOSE
12 Greater White-fronted Geese(previously observed)

S.R.105 at MP14.8,PA 1pm-1:05pm(incoming tide)

1 adult female BAR-TAILED GODWIT
580 Marbled Godwits
34 Dunlin

S.R.105 at MP 16(mouth of Cedar River),PA 1:10pm

14 Trumpeter Swans

Tokeland,PA 1:15pm-1:50pm

1 adult Peregrine Falcon
17 Black-bellied Plovers
1 Semipalmated Plover
2 Greater Yellowlegs
12 Willets
3 Whimbrel
48 Long-billed Curlews
64 Marbled Godwits
228 Western Sandpipers
147 Least Sandpipers
420+ Dunlin
28 Long-billed Dowitchers

Midway Beach Rd.,PA 2pm-2:40pm

25 Snowy Plovers
27 Sanderlings
3 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler

Brady Loop Rd.,Grays Harbor Co.(GH) 3:30pm-4:40pm

16 Tundra Swans
1 male Eurasian Wigeon
1 Rough-legged Hawk
3 Western Scrub Jays
7 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS
4 Western Meadowlarks

Hwy.12 at MP 16.1(east of Keys Rd.),GH

2 Trumpeter Swans
2 California Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
6 Thayer's Gulls
1 Varied Thrush(flying over)

Schouweiler Rd./Chehalis Wildlife Area wetland,GH(accessed from Hwy.12)
4:30pm-5pm

3 Tundra Swans
3 Virginia Rails(heard only)
1 SORA(heard only)
3 TREE SWALLOWS
18 Barn Swallows


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net