Hey Tweeters,

I birded today with Carol Schulz in a few areas of the above counties.
The weather was pleasant, with no rain, little wind, and warm temperature.
First thing in the morning we drove up Rock Candy Mountain Road into the
Capitol Forest from Hwy 12. We had a nice male Blue Grouse flush from the
road and perch in a nearby tree on the way up, and on the way down heard a
different bird hooting in the distance. At Capitol Peak, I briefly heard
one Mountain Quail where Ryan Shaw and I had them last spring, but we were a
bit late in the morning, and perhaps early in the year, for them to be very
territorial. Otherwise the forest was very slow, as spring hasn't quite
reached this area yet. As we drove west on Hwy 12 near the Summit Lake
exit, a Pileated Woodpecker flew overhead.

We then visited the Wakefield Rd sparrow field, 0.4 mile north of the
Chehalis River. No luck on the possible Clay-colored Sparrow, but did have
20 or so Lincoln's Sparrows and other common species. We searched this area
again in the evening, but still had no spizella. After our morning stop, we
headed to Foster Road, where large numbers of Greater Yellowlegs were
singing and displaying in and over the flooded fields, as noted in the
Sullivan's post. I also had a single Short-billed Dowitcher there among
several Long-billed Dowitchers.

The next stop was Hoquiam STP, where the notable birds were a male
Redhead, six Greater White-fronted Geese, and a Semipalmated Plover.
Numbers of scaup were much higher than my last visit. Continuing on, Cyber
Lake held 71 Greater Yellowlegs and two dowitcher, sp. while a Peregrine
Falcon circled overhead. The beach access from Butterclam Drive was slow as
expected, but there were a few dozen Black-bellied Plovers and Western
Sandpipers in with the Sanderlings, and a pair of Marbled Murrelets flew by
offshore. We apparently hit the tide right for the murrelets, as I counted
32 (all in pairs, and all in alternate plumage) during a visit to the Pt
Brown Jetty. Other birds at the jetty were two or three very early Brown
Pelicans, at least ten Black-legged Kittiwakes, about 40 Brant, and more. A
pair of columbarius Merlins was observed interacting along Ocean Shores
Blvd, near Marine View Drive.

Our last stop of the day was at the Alderton Mitigation Pond at 96th
Street and McCutcheon Rd, where a pair of Killdeer had three newly-hatched
chicks; seems a little early for this. A Greater Yellowlegs was also
present, and of course the usual snipes.

Cheers and good birding,
--
Charlie Wright
Sumner, WA
charlie at birdwright.com