Subject: Sequim area birding
Date: Jul 15 19:25:51 2003
From: Ruth Sullivan - godwit at worldnet.att.net
Hello Tweets,
Today my mother and I birded portions of Jefferson and Clallam Cos.,specifically from the Oak Bay Recreation Area near Hadlock to the Dungeness area near Sequim. Our most notable accounts were shorebirds observed at several locations,but the Three Crabs near the mouth of the Dungeness River hosted the largest concentrations of shorebirds with 12 species noted in that area. The weather remained mostly to partly cloudy with partial clearing,but rather cool temperatures due to fairly stiff winds coming off the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The most exceptional shorebird species that we encountered were up to 8 Semipalmated Sandpipers amongst large,scattered flocks of Western Sandpipers with lesser numbers of Least Sandpipers on the open mudflats within the large,extensive oyster beds at the Dungeness Oyster House during slow incoming tide. We were actually very fortunate to encounter such good results in the Three Crabs/Dungeness area as far as shorebirds since several areas that we checked earlier in the day hosted very few if any shorebirds that normally often do.Overall we spent the most time of the day in the Three Crabs/Dungeness area due to the tide conditions,but shorebird viewing ended up being quite good,as the shorebirds foraged fairly close to shore shortly after our arrival to the location from two locations. Our first main visit of the day was made at the Oak Bay Recreation Area near Hadlock in Jefferson Co.,which was accessed from two areas then we continued onto the Dungeness area,where we spent 3.5 hours then worked our way home with a short visit to West Sequim Bay at Blyn then our last stop of the day made at Diamond Point with good views of up to 7 Tufted Puffins along with 3 other alcid species. A list of the most notable species observed follows at selected locations:
Salsbury Point public boat launch,Kitsap Co.
3 Surf Scoters
3 Bonaparte's Gulls
52+ Pigeon Guillemots
18 Marbled Murrelets
15 Rhinoceros Auklets
Oak Bay Rd.,Jefferson Co.
1 adult Cooper's Hawk
Oak Bay Rec.Area,Jefferson Co.(JE)
5 female Hooded Mergansers
1 Osprey
1 Greater Yellowlegs
68 Least Sandpipers
1 Short-billed Dowitcher
3 Rufous Hummingbirds(with one female attracted to the red taillight of our vehicle,as it hovered for several seconds at very close range before flying off)
5 Belted Kingfishers
1 Red-breasted Sapsucker
2 Willow Flycatchers
1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
S.R.116 at the south end of Kilisut Harbor(Scow Bay),JE
8 Least Sandpipers
3 Short-billed Dowitchers
Three Crabs/Dungeness area,Clallam Co.(CL)
4 Northern Harriers
2 Peregrine Falcons
64 Black-bellied Plovers
1 Semipalmated Plover
1 Black Oystercatcher
3 Greater Yellowlegs
4 Whimbrel
1 Marbled Godwit
8 Semipalmated Sandpipers
780+ Western Sandpipers
145+ Least Sandpipers
140+ Short-billed Dowitchers
38 Long-billed Dowitchers
3 Mourning Doves
6 Belted Kingfishers
Diamond Point,CL
1 Western Sandpiper
4 Least Sandpipers
30+ Pigeon Guillemots
22 Marbled Murrelets
300+ Rhinoceros Auklets
7 Tufted Puffins
4 Belted Kingfishers(including 3 females sitting together on a wooden snag along the edge of the large pond at Diamond Point)
West Sequim Bay at Blyn,CL
3 Least Sandpipers
1 Short-billed Dowitcher
Hwy.16 near Purdy,Pierce Co.
1 adult Cooper's Hawk
Good birding,
Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worlnet.att.net
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