Hi,
I am new to the list and I will be visiting from Sunday 7/28 until Tuesday
8/6. The first week I will be in Olympia on business but then Saturday -
Tuesday I am off on my own with no well defined itinerary (though I have a
draft that I hope to post within the next couple of days for the scrutiny
of this list for inherently unavoidable inaccuracies). I am leaning
towards spending the entire trip in the Coastal areas perhaps sneaking away
during the week in an afternoon to someplace like White Pass Hwy. or
potentially doing Monday night / Tuesday am (before going back to the
airport by 2 pm) near Ellensburg (does that sound crazy ?).
Being from Maryland, currently living in WV, and never having been to the
Pacific NW, I have a lot of questions about birding in your state. I have
the Birding Coastal Washington (Bob Morse) and the Guide to Birdfinding in
WA State (Wahl and Paulson) and I have seen good references on the web for
birding in the state and in Olympia but I still have some questions. Any
tips you feel compelled to give me are appreciated particularly about how
to enjoy the early mornings and late afternoons in Olympia (I'm staying
near the Capital Bldg.) and probably won't pick up a car until Tuesday 7/30.

Questions I can think of right now include (but are not limited to):

1) Is it too early to see a Mew Gull ? What about Sabine's Gull ?
2) Is it too early to see Surfbird, Wandering Tattler, Black Turnstone ? I
presume it is way too early to see Rock Sandpiper.
3) Can I get on one of these Puffin Adventure tour boats without a reservation.
4) Are there still Mountain Quail at the Middle Satsop Road site (and if
not, where might I find them).
5) Are there any good sites for WT-Ptarmigan in the Olympic Penninsula ? I
have been told that Mt. Baker is a good spot or perhaps someplace in
Olympic NP ?

Thanks in advance,

J.B.

======================================================

John B. Churchill, M.S. Home (304) 292-5072
GIS Analyst Work (304) 293-4832
West Virginia University ext. 4458
Natural Resource Analysis Center Fax (304) 293-3752
P.O. Box 6108
Morgantown, WV 26506-6108


webpage: http://www.nrac.wvu.edu/users/jbc
mailto:jchurchi at wvu.edu

I'm looking forward to birding in WA State !!! See you soon.