Hello Tweets,

Despite the rather icy and cold weather conditions my mother and I ventured over to the coast in both Grays Harbor and Pacific Cos.,as we checked a few locations from "K" Street in Hoquiam to Midway Beach Rd. Overall road conditions were fairly good during most of the day with a few areas that had more icy areas that other,such as along I-5 in the Ft.Lewis area during the morning with much improvement on our way home and the general Aberdeen/Hoquiam area(including along portions of S.R.105 west of Aberdeen to Midway Beach Rd.) We managed to get only a few hours of birding in for the day,but located several highlights as weather conditions remained very cold with stiff winds at times resulting in a wind chill factor,especially apparent at Midway Beach Rd. Our main highlight of the day was 6 Western Bluebirds foraging in dune grass and vegetation and scattered Scot's Broom observed south of the end of Midway Beach Rd. at 2:30pm. We received a report of 3 Western Bluebirds near North Cove on January 2nd from an active birder,so there could be a small winter population of this species in the general area.

We began the day at the end of "K" Street in Hoquiam at 12pm,where the 2 Pink-footed Geese and the 2 Greater White-fronted Geese were briefly observed amongst a small flock of Canada Geese before they were flushed by a noisy dog walker,as the geese flock was observed flying west towards the Hoquiam River. The fields at "K" Street were covered by scattered amounts of snow,but it seems the Pink-footed Geese still favor this location best in the general Hoquiam area. Continuing west towards Midway Beach Rd. we encountered a small scattered flock of shorebirds along S.R.105 at the Elk River bridge at South Bay during outgoing tide,where 20+ Black-bellied Plovers,8 Greater Yellowlegs and scattered numbers of Dunlin were noted,as we drove slowly with no traffic at the base of the east side of Elk River bridge. We arrived at Midway Beach Rd. at 1:15pm and remained at this location until 3:15pm,where frigid winds were the strongest,as we extensively checked the vast,open beaches and dunes with our first highlight being the immature gray-morph Gyrfalcon. The bird was immediately located just north of the end of the road at Midway Beach Rd. resting on the ground next to a stand of driftwood,where it was photographed at relatively close range. We were surprised at how close the bird allowed us to approach it,although a couple planes flying low over the beaches then landing nearby kept the bird alert. We watched the Gyrfalcon for 45 minutes,as it would fly to 3 separate low perches along the upper beach,before finally flying to the south to an unknown location. This bird does not appear to be the same individual that we observed at the Oyhut Wildlife Area at Ocean Shores on the 30th of November,2003 since we considered that theory. The Gyrfalcon at Ocean Shores was much darker overall and showed a more distinctive facial area,which the Midway Beach Rd. bird lacks,being much paler overall. Nonetheless we were happy to finally see this bird,as perhaps it may remain at this location through the winter. We walked along the upper beach line as well as within the partially snow-covered dunes south of the end of Midway Beach Rd. and located a few additional species,including the 6 Western Bluebirds. Additional highlights noted from this location include the following:

5 Pacific Loons
1 Northern Harrier
1 immature Northern Goshawk(observed circling over the stands of trees immediately east of the sand dunes north of end of Midway Beach Rd.)
15 Killdeer
45 Sanderlings
2 Western Sandpipers
35 Least Sandpipers
1 Dunlin
5 Wilson's Snipes
5 "Streaked"Horned Larks
4 Marsh Wrens
3 Hermit Thrushes
18 Varied Thrushes
3 Am.Pipits
18 "Sooty"Fox Sparrows
15 Golden-crowned Sparrows
17 Western Meadowlarks

Additional noteworthy species noted to and from destinations included the following:

Merlin
1 along S.R.109 at Hoquiam

Peregrine Falcon
1 at the I-5/Hwy.101 interchange near Capitol Lake,Thurston Co.

Greater Yellowlegs
3 along Hwy.101 at Mud Bay,Thurston Co.

Wilson's Snipe
4 along Ocosta Third Street,Grays Harbor Co.(GH)

Red-breasted Sapsucker
1 along Hwy.12 at Central Park,GH
1 along S.R.109 at Hoquiam,GH
1 along S.R.105 west of Aberdeen,GH

Western Scrub Jay
1 along I-5 at Tillicum,Pierce Co.
1 along Hwy.12 at Elma


Good winter birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net