Hello Tweets,

This afternoon my mother and I spent a few hours checking areas in the Hoquiam area continuing onto Tokeland in Pacific Co. We encountered several highlights to be listed below,beginning at "K"Street in Hoquiam,where the 2 Pink-footed Geese were again observed during our visit at 1pm in the wet,weedy fields associating with 2 lingering Greater White-fronted Geese and a small flock of Canada Geese. The Pink-footed Geese were concealed in the thickest grass within the large,open field at "K" Street,as they were not detected until the flock of Canada Geese wandered into better view from a better vantage point along the west dike trail. We believe the geese flock at this location kept relatively hidden in the denser grass due to dog walkers,etc that use the area and a more thorough search of the location may be needed in viewing the 2 Pink-footed Geese,but they may also fly over into the nearby Hoquiam River. Next, we briefly checked the Hoquiam STP,where highlights included 42 Canvasbacks and 10 Ruddy Ducks. Continuing on our way towards Tokeland we made a short stop along Ocosta Third Street near Bottle Beach,where a small congregation of shorebirds were encountered in the flooded fields west of the main road including: 8 Black-bellied Plovers, 100+ Dunlin, and 8 Greater Yellowlegs.

We arrived at Tokeland at 2pm during high tide,where the very large gathering of "large" shorebirds were observed roosting on two separate docks within the Tokeland Marina mainly consisting of 900+ Marbled Godwits. Amongst the Marbled Godwit flock roosting on a wooden dock at the south end of the marina were 13 Willets,20 Dunlin, and 40 Long-billed Dowitchers. Additional observation from the general Tokeland area included the following:

1 Red-throated Loon
15 Red-necked Grebes
65+ "Black"Brant
1 Rough-legged Hawk
1 Virginia Rail(observed and photographed along the edge of Kindred Ave. foraging in a water puddle)
2 Whimbrel
58 Long-billed Curlews(observed from 7th Street at the south end of Graveyard Spit)
145+ Sanderlings
40 Western Sandpipers
320+ Dunlin
1 Wilson's Snipes

We traveled back north to Midway Beach Rd. at 2:40pm,where the immature gray morph Gyrfalcon was again observed at the same location than in our visit on the 4th of January,but was observed working a large Dunlin flock along with a Peregrine Falcon. Additional searches of the area revealed a few additional highlights,as we walked north and south from the end of Midway Beach Rd. Our most noteworthy sighting consisted of a single Lapland Longspur and up to 20 Snowy Plovers foraging with a small loose flock of other shorebirds. Additional highlights noted at this location during our entire visit until 3:20pm included the following:

30 Red-throated Loons
2 Northern Harriers
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
280+ Sanderlings
68+ Western Sandpipers
10 Least Sandpipers
2000+ Dunlin
5 "Streaked"Horned Larks
2 Western Meadowlarks


Other noted sightings encountered to and from destinations consisted of the following:

Am.Kestrel
1 along S.R.8 west of Summit Lake,Thurston Co.
1 along Hwy.12 at Schouweiler Rd. near Elma,Grays Harbor Co.

Merlin
1 along Hwy.12 east of Rock Candy Mountain Rd.,Thurston Co.
1 along S.R.105 at Grayland,Grays Harbor Co.

Red-breasted Sapsucker
1 along S.R.105 west of Aberdeen

Pileated Woodpecker
1 along S.R. 105 south of Grayland in Pacific Co.

Western Scrub Jay
1 along Hwy.12 at Elma
1 along Hwy.12 at Satsop



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net