Hello Tweets,

My mother and I checked a few locations near Dash Point in northern Pierce Co.this afternoon between 1:30pm-3pm,specifically the Dash Pont fishing pier where the juvenile Sabine's Gull(previously reported onto Tweeters by Charlie Wright)was again well observed and photographed at very close range within 10 feet and occasionally flying offshore just beyond the tip of the fishing pier. We immediately observed the Sabine's Gull upon our arrival at the Dash Point fishing pier parking lot at 2pm flying on both sides of the fishing pier,showing the striking black and white wing pattern contrasting to white underparts and fairly dark gray-brown mantle,as we photographed the bird in flight,as well as on the surface of the water with favorable back lighting. The bird continued the same behavior by flying back and forth on either sides of the fishing pier and landing on the surface of the water at close range during our entire visit until 3pm,as other bystanders,fishermen,etc. became interested in the bird with a few people that watched the bird in our spotting scope. The bird remained alone and didn't seem to be feeding,and seemed to be actually quite tame and tolerable to the presence of humans on the fishing pier,so hopefully the bird will continue to remain at this location. The bird would spend most of the time loafing on the surface of the water just west of the fishing pier and floating in the current as far west as the three buoys offshore ,then flying back over onto the east side of the fishing pier,then circling around and landing immediately off the west side of the fishing pier and continuing this behavior,but the bird did land on the east side of the fishing pier once during our visit within 20-50 feet,as we photographed the bird. During all observations in our spotting scopes,etc the bird showed the characteristics of a juvenile bird,showing a solid dark gray-brown pattern(with partial tertial pattern noted at very close range)contrasting to the white underparts and forehead area and having an black bill. Nevertheless a quality species for Pierce Co. and such excellent looks at the normally pelagic species for most birders. As we continued watching bird until 3pm we noted a few additional noteworthy species that included the following in calm conditions:

2 Horned Grebes
2 Red-necked Grebes
54 Western Grebes
48 Am.Wigeon
18 Surf Scoters
12 White-winged Scoters
4 adult light-morph Parasitic Jaegers
78+ Bonaparte's Gulls
25+ Common Terns
17 Rhinoceros Auklets
3 Band-tailed Pigeons


En route to Dash Point at 1:30pm we checked along Marine View Drive south of Brown's Point,where a few additional species of note were observed within the eastern portion of the Hylebos Waterway including the following:

2 Red-tailed Hawks(flying over)
8 Black Turnstones
5 Western Sandpipers
1 Least Sandpiper
85+ Bonaparte's Gulls
550+ California Gulls(with very small numbers of Ring-billed and Mew Gulls mixed in observed roosting on floating log booms)
112 Common Terns
22 Bushtits

On our way home to Tacoma a single Peregrine Falcon was observed flying over S.R.509 east of the Puyallup River and a single Western Scrub Jay flying over I-5 just west of the S.R.705/I-5 interchange along I-5.


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net