A couple corrections to the note below:

Subsequent study of literature indicates that the CS Warbler was a
first-year male, which explain the shortness of the chesnut streak. Also,
the Kite site was from just south of the Kitchen Dick ponds, not "just
north."

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com


>From: "Scott Atkinson" <scottratkinson at hotmail.com>
>Reply-To: scottratkinson at hotmail.com
>To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>Subject: CHESNUT-SIDED WARBLER, other good birds in e. Clallam Co (long)
>Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 09:15:49 -0700
>
>Tweeters:
>
>The June 22-23 weekend was a great one for birding in the Sequim area. The
>star of the show was a singing CHESNUT-SIDED WARBLER, unfortunately on
>private land inaccessible to the public, June 22-23. Although I've never
>thought of late June as a particularly good birding time in the wWA
>lowlands, once again I find that you just never know.
>
>The CHESNUT-SIDED WARBLER was heard early on June 22 in a inner marsh area
>of the Graysmarsh property. Although I was not there to conduct a full-day
>survey as I do with Anne Winskie at other times of year, I did have a bit
>of time early both mornings before heading out on family activities.
>
>The bird was loyal to the shrubby area next to a small pond; it sang
>repeatedly as it foraged, especially from a tall Pacific Crabapple (Pyrus
>malus). The first impression of the song is like Yellow for quality, but
>the song is shorter and a bit lower to my ear, and notably ends with a
>rolling pair of rapid triplets. This bird was a bit odd for the species in
>that the crown looked more light green than yellow, and the chesnut streak
>was pretty short and did not extend to the flanks--as if a female, yet as
>far as I've heard, only males sing.
>
>I arranged for Bob Boekelheide to find the bird, he found it on the 22nd,
>Fred Sharpe apparently also saw it with him. When I returned early on the
>23rd the bird was still present. This is a first for CLALLAM as far as I
>know, but by now we must have about 10-12 records for the state as a whole,
>mostly from mid- or late June at riparian sites, but I welcome others'
>corrections/comments.
>
>There were plenty of other interesting birds at Graysmarsh:
>
>Red-throated Loon 1 (6/23, basic plumage, rare in summer)
>Am. Bittern 1 (flyover near warbler spot 6/22)
>Blue-winged Teal 1 (6/22)
>Red-breasted Merganser 1 (6/23)
>COM. SNIPE 1 (heard winnowing at dawn over marsh, 6/23)
>MARBLED GODWIT 6 (public beach access, rare for Grays, 6/23)
>W. SANDPIPER 2 (first returners from AK 6/23, beach)
>HEERMANN'S GULL 1 (early returner, breeding adult with white head, w/scores
>of other gulls on herring ball 6/23)
>California Gull--surprisingly good numbers for so early
>Rhinocerous Auklet 1250 (all-time high, steady fly-by groups 6/23 from
> Protection I. and eastward)
>BULLOCK'S ORIOLE 1 (near warbler spot, only second for Grays, 6/23; the
>breeding pair at nearby Carrie Blake Park also seen 6/23, this species is
>rare and local in Clallam Co)
>
>Other good birds in the area:
>
>On the 22nd in the late afternoon while hiking the Dungeness Spit with
>family, I lucked out and found a 1st-summer YELLOW-BILLED LOON about 1.5
>miles out, on the Strait side. It was fairly close in and the only other
>bird nearby was a similarly-plumaged 1st-summer COMMON LOON. I could not
>relocate these when we returned on the 23rd. We have several records of
>oversummering Yellow-billed for wWA, but it is still very rare.
>
>Up Blue Mt. Rd, then turning left on Emery eastward, there are a pair of
>WESTERN BLUEBIRDS this year at the residence on the south side of the road
>(just before Blue Mt. lane). There are a pair of birdboxes there, one has
>swallows, the other bluebirds. A nice male of the latter flew up when we
>visited around 6 pm June 22. Blue Mt. Rd. is a left turn off 101 heading
>westward for Port Angeles, about half-way between Sequim and PA. W.
>Bluebird is local in Clallam Co, I'd missed on several recent attempts to
>locate them.
>
>Last but not least--my wife Marcella (who was once a pretty regular birder
>but not for many years now) provided me with good details on a imm.
>WHITE-TAILED KITE she found alone near the Kitchen Dick ponds, just south
>of the DRA entrance. She returned to the car well ahead of the rest of us
>out on the Spit on the 22nd, because she was chilled, and went into to W.
>Sequim for coffee. Coming back to the DRA, she saw a "mostly pale,
>medium-to-small falcon-like bird with a all-white tail" motionless/hovering
>low over the small farm on the west side of the road just north of the
>ponds, the hay has just been cut there. Although the bird was flying away,
>her other details were awfully good for kite, which she has not previously
>seen, but she knows her local wWA raptors well. This includes male N.
>HARRIER, one of which she also saw right at the DRA entrance.
>
>There are a few reports in the last decade for WT KITE in the Sequim area,
>including a bird that stayed for a week or two several years back, most or
>all reports have been from this general vicinity.
>
>Finally, Bob told me that a GRAY CATBIRD was found June 23 near the old
>Dungeness Schoolhouse by an unknown observer, so, all in all, the birding
>was just flat-out hot in the Sequim area this last weekend!
>
>Scott Atkinson
>Lake Stevens
>mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.




_________________________________________________________________
Join the world's largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
http://www.hotmail.com