Subject: Mason County
Date: Oct 20 08:56:35 2002
From: Marv Breece - mbreece at foxinternet.net


I decided to bird Mason County on Saturday (10/19/02) Having had little
experience birding there I consulted back issues of Washington Birder. This
is a wonderful resource for birding locations. Patrick Sullivan had written
about Kennedy Creek (Oyster Bay, about 7-8 miles south of Shelton) and Scott
Ray about Theler Wetland (just south of Belfair). I also consulted Wahl and
Paulson and learned that the Great Bend of Hood Canal can be good for
birding.

I started at Kennedy Creek. The tide was out but there were a few ducks and
a flock of BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS. In the nearby woods I could hear
chickadees and kinglets.

In Shelton, I birded here and there, not finding too much. A passerby
stopped and said he had an airboat and would I like a ride. So I followed
him to a location 4 miles northeast of Shelton where 3 of us climbed into an
airboat and toured Oakland Bay near the outlet of Deer Creek. The ride
alone was worth the price of admission. It was my first airboat ride and
what a hoot! I have contact information for anyone wishing to do this.
Email me privately.

Next stop was Theler Wetland. As I soon as I hit the trail I wondered why
this was my first visit. Nice variety of habitat and birds. I highly
recommend this place for birding. Among the birds I saw here:
Common Loon
West Grebe
Horned Grebe
Hooded Merganser -3
Black-bellied Plover -2
Wilson's Snipe -1
LB Dowitcher-1
Greater Yellowlegs-4
Dunlin-8
American Pipit -1
Marsh Wren
Yellow-rumped Warbler-5
Purple Finch-2
Wild Turkey-4 (probably not so wild)

On to the Great Bend. No disappointment here! The tide was pretty high by
now and at the foot of Hood Canal I viewed from a pulloff south of Potlatch
SP. I stayed put as the water birds paraded by, right to left.
Common Loon - common indeed, 1 still in near full alternate plumage
Red-throated Loon - 2, one with a red throat
Pacific Loon - 2, between plumages
3 grebes
Surf Scoter
Mew Gull
Western Gull
Bonaparte's Gull - in numbers showing off their acrobatics

All in all, 59 species for the day in Mason County.

And, it was a good day.

Marv Breece
Seattle, WA