Subject: Grays Harbor Co. birding
Date: Mar 24 20:40:38 2003
From: Ruth Sullivan - godwit at worldnet.att.net
Hello Tweets,
Today my mother and I spent a few hours checking a few locations in Grays Harbor Co. similiar to our last trip on the 22nd,but our main purpose was obtaining photographs of Horned Larks at Midway Beach Rd. in Pacific Co. We were able to locate up to 12 birds at the end of the road during our afternoon visit,despite persistant winds at times with increasing showers. We were able to locate several highlights that we observed on the 22nd,as well as checked the Johns River Wildlife Area on our way home. Shorebirds numbers were very good,as noted from two locations with up to 7,000+ Dunlin noted at the mouth of the Elk River along S.R.105 and additional numbers of Dunlin noted at Bottle Beach during incoming tide with lesser numbers of Black-bellied Plovers and Western Sandpipers. On route to our main destinations we observed a single adult White-tailed Kite circling over Hwy.12 at MP 12 at Brady,which could very well be the same individual that has been lingering along Wenzel Slough Rd. throughout the winter. The male Redhead was again observed amongst a very large flock of both scaup species in Grays Harbor bordering the Hoquiam STP,as we checked again unsuccessfully for a Tufted Duck that should possibly occur with enough searching through the increasing numbers of scaup this spring.Other highlights for the day included the following:
Snow Goose
1 immature noted along S.R.105 at Ocosta amongst good numbers of Canada Geese,as noted on the 22nd of March
"Black"Brant
15 at Bottle Beach
Turkey Vulture
1 along Hwy.8 at McCleary
Osprey
1 along Hwy.12 at Elma
Am.Kestrel
1 along Wakefield Rd.(south of Elma)
Peregrine Falcon
1 at Midway Beach Rd.
Ring-necked Pheasant
1 at Midway Beach Rd.(heard only)
Virginia Rail
3 along Ocosta Third Street(heard only)
Greater Yellowlegs
18 at the Johns River WA
Long-billed Dowitcher
12 at the Johns River WA
Red-breasted Sapsucker
1 along Hwy.8 east of Elma
Barn Swallow
1 immature with very good numbers of Tree and Violet-green Swallows at the Johns River WA
Western Scrub Jay
1 along Hwy.12 at MP 9(west of Montesano)
Lincoln's Sparrow
7 along Wakefield Rd.(south of Elma)
On route to Hoquim we observed 3 dead Coyotes between Elma and Brady and my mother observed a single River Otter foraging in the flooded areas along Ocosta Third Street.
Good birding,
Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net