Hello Tweets,

My mother and I birded at several areas between Bowerman Basin to Tokeland today,specifically searching for several recent highlights including the 2 Pink-footed Geese at Bowerman Basin, and the Hudsonian Godwit and Tropical Kingbird at the Tokeland Marina. We were unsuccessful in locating any of the three target species,although the Tropical Kingbird was observed during the early afternoon in the general vicinity of the Tokeland Marina,as told to us later after we left the location by other birders. We began at Bowerman Basin at 10 am and immediately ran into other birders from Washington and Oregon,who indicated they had not seen the 2 Pink-footed Geese,despite searching made after daybreak. We briefly checked a few Canada Geese flock visible from the eastern portion of the Bowerman Basin/Hoquiam Airport including a large flock of Canada Geese that were observed at the nearby Hoquiam STP,but we and other birders were unable to locate the 2 Pink-footed Geese along with a visit made to the large,open grassy pasture at the south end of K Street in Hoquiam. We traveled to Tokeland at 12pm during high tide,where the very large flock of Marbled Godwits were located roosting on the southern most wooden dock within the Tokeland Marina along with 12 Willets,3 Whimbrel, and up to 16 Long-billed Dowitchers. We searched through the tight flock of Marbled Godwits thoroughly,but were unable to locate the Hudsonian Godwit,which may have been buried and concealed amongst the larger Marbled Godwits or perhaps it had migrated. Continuing north along S.R.105 we checked a few beach areas in the Grayland area,including Grayland Beach Rd. and Midway Beach Rd.,which the latter location proved to be the most productive. We arrived back at Bowerman Basin at 3:30pm and again met birders that had not seen the 2 Pink-footed Geese on their return back from the Sandpiper Trail along with other visits made by them at other nearby locations,so we decided to check K Street one last time on our way home,but again NO Pink-footed Geese. The observations made today do not at all mean the 2 Pink-footed Geese have migrated,as perhaps they were at an area that was not checked by birders in the general Hoquiam area. The birds could still remain in the area with further searching,so perhaps they will be relocated in upcoming days. We hope this message will not deter birders if they were intending to search for the 2 Pink-footed Geese,but will just be our observations during the day in case any birders were keeping track on recent updates. Additional highlights noted during the day at selected locations included the following:

Pacific Loon
42+ off Grayland Beach Rd.

Red-throated Loon
1 off Grayland Beach Rd.

Red-necked Grebe
1 at Tokeland

Great Egret
3 along S.R.105 at the mouth of the Elk River(North Bay)at Bay City

"Aleutian"Canada Goose
1 at Bowerman Basin

"Cackling"Canada Goose
12 at Bowerman Basin
4 at K Street(Hoquiam)

"Dusky"Canada Goose
6 at Bowerman Basin

Redhead
1 male at the Hoquiam STP

Northern Harrier
2 at Bowerman Basin
1 at K Street
1 at Tokeland
1 at Midway Beach Rd.

Cooper's Hawk
1 at Bowerman Basin

Merlin
1 at Tokeland

Peregrine Falcon
1 adult flying along S.R.105 west of Aberdeen

Virginia Rail
1 at Bowerman Basin(heard only)

Black-bellied Plover
1 at Tokeland

Semipalmated Plover
1 at Bowerman Basin

Sanderling
150+ at Grayland Beach Rd.

Western Sandpiper
40 at Bowerman Basin

Least Sandpiper
72+ at Bowerman Basin/Airport Way

Dunlin
6,500+ at Bowerman Basin
1,200+ at Grayland Beach Rd.
25 at Tokeland

Bonaparte's Gull
75+ at Tokeland(Willapa Bay)
125+ off Grayland Beach Rd.
35 off Midway Beach Rd.

Heermann's Gull
8 at Grayland Beach Rd.


Caspian Tern
1 at the Tokeland Marina

Short-eared Owl
1 flying along the Hoquiam River(observed foraging from the K Street dike over Rennie Island)

"Streaked"Horned Lark
38 at Midway Beach Rd.

Western Scrub Jay
1 along Hwy.12 west of the Satsop River bridge near Satsop
2 along Hwy.12 at Brady

Am.Pipit
1 at Midway Beach Rd.

Northern Shrike
1 along Hwy.12 at Elma

Lapland Longspur
8 at Midway Beach Rd.

On our way home we observed the Lunar Eclipse beginning near Olympia along Hwy.101 at 5:15pm,then again along I-5 from Ft.Lewis to Tacoma.


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net








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