Subject: Red-shouldered Hawk at Juliet Butler Hansen NWR
Date: Mar 1 20:57:42 2003
From: Ruth Sullivan - GODWIT at worldnet.att.net


Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I enjoy a good day birding in southwestern WA beginning at the Juliet Butler Hansen NWR in Wahkiakum Co. and continuing onto Clark Co. and checking areas from Vancounver Lake to the River S Unit of Ridgefield NWR and a stop made on our way home along Dike/Dike Access Rd. west of Woodland in Cowlitz Co. We enjoyed the day's weather with fairly clear skies and only some minor wind during our morning visit at Juliet Butler Hansen NWR. Our main highlight of the day of many was undoubtedly the immature RED-SHOULDERED HAWK that continues near the Juliet Butler Hansen NWR headquarters,which was found immediately upon our arrival at 9am and observed and photographed from the entrance of the Center Patrol Road immediately west and south of the headquarters. The bird was originally observed perched atop a wooden fencepost from the headquarters observation deck for 5 minutes,then it flew to another fencepost a short distance away where it remained for 15 minutes allowing great views of the bird until it flew off to the east over the canal bordering the main road,where it remained but was heard actively calling. This was our best and longest observation of this species at one location in WA and the bird seems to be regularly seen from the general location so it may linger for some time. The BLACK PHOEBE was also present briefly during our first visit to the headquarters area foraging and calling along the vegetated canal,but was quite secretive and elusive at times.During our two hour visit to the Juliet Butler Hannsen NWR we observed several other highlights,as we drove the entire road loop then rechecked the headquarters area on our way back before continuing east to Longview. Other notable highlights during our visit to this location included the following:

1 male Eurasian Wigeon
5 adult White-tailed Kites
2 Am.Kestrels
1 adult Peregrine Falcon
1 Greater Yellowlegs
1 Wilson's Snip
1 male Rufous Hummingbird
25+ Tree Swallows
18 Yellow-rumped Warblers
5 Lincoln's Sparrows
1 SWAMP SPARROW(heard and seen well in a wet,weedy portion of the field immediately south of the headquarters)
1 adult tan-striped WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
7 Western Meadowlarks

Mammal highlights:

5 Columbia White-tailed Deer
1 River Otter


Hwy.4 at MP 50(west of the town of Stella in Cowlitz Co.)

1 Am.Kestrel

Longview STP(accessed from Hwy.4)

1 male Wood Duck

Vancouver Lake area(including the Shillapoo Wildlife Area and along Lower River Rd.,S.R.501) 1:15pm-2pm

42 Pied-billed Grebes(notable count)
8 Western Grebes
1 CLARK'S GREBE
5 Great Egrets
800+ Sandhill Cranes
2 Tree Swallows
8 Lincoln's Sparrows

River S Unit of Ridgefield NWR 2:30pm-4:15pm

1 Great Egret
250+ Tundra Swans
2 Eurasian(Common)Green-winged Teal
4 Cinnamon Teal
7 Canvasback
3 Am.Kestrels
1 Virginia Rail(heard only)
1 Great Horned Owl
8 Tree Swallows
20+ Yellow-rumped Warblers
3 Lincoln's Sparrows
2 SWAMP SPARROWS(heard only giving their distinctive metallic "chip" notes from the same vicinty than observed on our visit on the 18th of January)

Dike/Dike Access Rd.,Cowlitz Co. 4:45pm-5:20pm

24 Great Egrets(observed in two seperate groups of 16 and 8 birds along Dike Rd. east of the Columbia River)
1 female Red-breasted Merganser
1 light-morph Rough-legged Hawk
3 Am.Kestrels
400+ Sandhill Cranes


In addition we also observed very large numbers of foraging gulls along the Columbia River along Hwy.4(between Stella in Cowlitz Co. and Cathlamet in Wahkiakum Co.)and also from Dike Rd. in Cowlitz Co. possibly due to smelt runs,but lighting conditions at both locations made identification difficult at times to seperate species.


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net