Subject: That #$@&!!%"? kingbird!
Date: Nov 7 09:28:20 2003
From: Wayne C. Weber - contopus at telus.net


Tweeters,

So Charlie Wright saw the Tropical Kingbird at Tokeland yesterday
afternoon? Phooey!! I spent at least 4 hours in Tokeland yesterday
(about 8 AM till noon), and repeatedly visited the marina as well as
other areas where the bird had been seen previously, but could find no
trace of it. I figured either that the bird had left, or that it was
hunkered down because of the weather (steady, cold east winds of at
least 20 mph) and that I had chosen the wrong day to look for it.

I DID see the HUDSONIAN GODWIT, but not at Tokeland. I found it about
4 PM on Wednesday, November 5 in a flock of about 400 MARBLED GODWITS
near Mile Marker 14 on State Route 105, about 4.5 miles east of the
Tokeland turnoff. I had somewhat distant views of the Hudsonian, but
even at a range of about 500 metres, it was not hard to pick out in
the bright afternoon sun, and the distinctive flight pattern was
clearly seen when the godwits flew on several occasions.

When I checked the Tokeland marina at about 8:30 AM on November 6, I
counted 261 MARBLED GODWITS, plus 12 WILLETS, roosting on the dock at
the east end of the marina. At a little after 10 AM, near high tide, I
counted 850 (!) MARBLED GODWITS, 10 WILLETS, 3 WHIMBRELS, and 4
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS on the dock-- but no Hudsonian! Has anyone had
a higher count than 850 Marbled Godwits there? My initial guess would
have been half that number-- they were packed in pretty thick.

Also of interest at Tokeland, at 7th Street and Fisher, where you can
look out over part of the Graveyard Spit area, were 3 LONG-BILLED
CURLEWS and a very late CASPIAN TERN in with a gull flock yesterday
morning.

On the way back home yesterday afternoon, I stopped for an hour or so
at Capitol Lake in Olympia, which I had not birded before. This place
reminds me very much of Lost Lagoon in Vancouver's Stanley Park-- an
urban lake, immediately adjacent to salt water, which hosts large
numbers of diving ducks and other waterbirds in winter. I found three
REDHEADS (reported previously by others), seven RING-NECKED DUCKS, and
eight CANVASBACKS among much larger numbers of LESSER SCAUP,
BUFFLEHEADS, GADWALL, etc.

I didn't bother to look for the Pink-footed Geese at Hoquiam, as I was
not really interested in seeing a species which is almost certainly an
escapee. When I left Vancouver, there was still some question about
the identity of these birds, and I had hopes of adding 3 species to my
state list. (Kudos anyway to the Sullivans for finding and reporting
these birds, even if they turned out not to be Bean Geese as initially
reported-- obviously a tricky ID.) They say that two out of three
ain't bad, but one out of three kind of sucks (even though it's much
better than zero!)

I don't know what it will take for me to finally nail down a Tropical
Kingbird in Washington, but obviously I should have stuck around
Tokeland a bit longer!

I'll post further details of my birding on November 5 and 6 shortly.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net