Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I ventured over to Tokeland in Pacific Co.,mainly in search of the Hudsonian Godwit at the Tokeland Marina along with additional birding made during our visit. We arrived at the Tokeland Marina at 11:20am during misty,rainy conditions with some wind too during incoming tide and immediately located one of four separate flocks of Marbled Godwits roosting along the shore bordering the Tokeland Marina,as well as on the wooden dock(s) and other flocks flew around the general marina area,as well as were observed on the protected jetty surrounding the marina. At times the Marbled Godwits formed one large flock,but remained scattered and nervous and eventually settled. We located the Hudsonian Godwit within 10 minutes of our arrival to the Tokeland Marina that was observed amongst a flock of 4 Marbled Godwits and 8 Long-billed Dowitchers,then the entire resting flocked flushed and flew around the southern perimeter of the marina in the direction towards the Bayshore RV Park. We were able to view the Hudsonian Godwit well,but briefly in flight only,until the bird returned to the marina at 12:25pm,where it rested on a wooden dock and was observed by several other birders during our entire visit. The bird was well photographed and observed by my mother and other observers on the 26th of October until 3:15pm at the same location amongst large numbers of Marbled Godwits,although weather conditions were much different. During most observations the main field marks were observed including the black tail bordered by the white rump(including white undertail coverts and belly)and in flight the striking wing pattern was observed that consisted of the white upperwing area along with the dark underwing coverts and axillaries contrasting to whiter outerwings. The broad white supercillium was especially noted contrasting to the white throat and relatively warm brown underparts with darker gray-brown upperparts with some tertial pattern noted on the back,which would most likely a juvenile bird. The long,bi-colored bill seemed much straighter than upcurved compared to the nearby larger,bulkier Marbled Godwits. As mentioned the bird remained resting on a wooden dock until we left the Tokeland Marina,so perhaps the bird will rest out the stormy weather and remain through the weekend in the general vicinity.

Away from the Hudsonian Godwit we located single juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpiper that was briefly,but well observed amongst a large feeding flock of shorebirds at the south end of Graveyard Spit(viewed from 7th Street immediately north of the Bayshore RV Park in Tokeland). We observed the bird at 1:15pm in our spotting scope as it foraged amongst a flock of "peeps" consisting mainly of Dunlin with lesser numbers of Western Sandpipers,Sanderlings and a few other shorebirds species that all took advantage of the limited shoreline with all other nearby areas covered by high water.We also observed up to 72 Long-billed Curlews and 9 Red Knots at this same locations along with additional numbers of Marbled Godwits. As tide conditions remain quite high this location should be a good feeding area for shorebirds,which is a seemingly accessible area for viewing. A entire list of highlights noted at Tokeland include the following:

28 Common Loons
8 Horned Grebes
2 Red-necked Grebes
43 Western Grebes
1 dark-morph Northern Fulmar
2 Red-breasted Mergansers
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Northern Harrier
8 Black-bellied Plovers
15+ Semipalmated Plovers
13 Willets
3 Whimbrel
72 Long-billed Curlews
1 Hudsonian Godwit
800+ Marbled Godwits
9 Red Knots
75+ Sanderlings
110+ Western Sandpipers
1 Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
430+ Dunlin
28 Long-billed Dowitchers
10 Wilson's Snipe
1 Red Phalarope
1 Herring Gull
10 Caspian Terns


A single Great Egret was observed along S.R.105 at Bay City along the Elk River(east of Westport)en route to Tokeland and on our way home we stopped along Wenzel Slough Rd. near Satsop that produced a single adult Peregrine Falcon along with a pair of Northern Harriers hunting nearby and a small shorebird flock in a corn stubble field that hosted 6 Black-bellied Plovers,9 Dunlin,and 8 Wilson's Snipes.

Note: 5 photographs of the Hudsonian Godwit taken at the Tokeland Marina on the 26th of October have been placed onto our yahoo website for your viewing,which can be accessed at http://photos.yahoo.com/godwit2003/.



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net
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