Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I checked a few locations beginning along the Hwy.12 corridor in both Thurston and Grays Harbor Co. between Rochester and Elma followed by a short visit made along the western portion of Brady Loop Rd.,then ending with an afternoon visit at 4:15pm at Luhr Beach. Our main highlight of the day was a single adult Arctic Tern flying with a single adult Common Tern off the Nisqually Delta observed from Luhr Beach at 4:20pm,in which the Arctic Tern was initially observed alone until it soon joined a Common Tern,which the latter species showed a less buoyant flight pattern,as the Arctic Tern appeared a noticeable shade of gray darker on overall plumage(showing overall less contrast than in Common Tern)along with a smaller size noted and much more deeply forked tail. The Arctic Tern also lacked paler edges along the trailing edge of the outer wing and primaries,which the Common Tern showed a noticeable dark area along the trailing edge of the outer wing and outer primaries,as noted in flight. The wings on both terns were obviously long and pointed,but more apparent in the Arctic Tern. Both bird foraged off the Nisqually Delta for 8 minutes until they were observed flying north with several Caspian Terns noted nearby with many observed resting along the muddy shoreline of the Nisqually Delta along with a few Ring-billed Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls. This is probably the first record of Arctic Tern for both Thurston and Pierce Cos., and one of very few Puget Sound records away from Jetty Island and northern Puget Sound,as well as a late date for Common Tern in southern Puget Sound that we are aware of. Also of note at the Nisqually Delta was a single lingering Am.White Pelican resting close to shore near the mouth of the Nisqually River observed from Luhr Beach.

Earlier in the day we spent time checking several location,primarily in eastern Grays Harbor Co. despite rather slow conditions. Our main highlight was a single adult Golden Eagle flying with a immature Bald Eagle along the western portion of Brady Loop Rd.(west of Foster Rd.),which is the location where most of our Golden Eagle sightings have occurred from this past spring. In addition we encountered singing Red-eyed Vireos at 2 locations,including 5 along Howanut Rd. along the Black River and 1 singing bird that allowed close observations at the end of Dunlap Rd. with both locations accessed off of Hwy.12. Other highlights during the day included the following:

Double-crested Cormorant
14 off Luhr Beach

Green Heron
1 flying along Hwy.12 west of Oakville
1 flying along I-5 at Olympia

Green-winged Teal
1 male along Brady Loop Rd.

Blue-winged Teal
8 along Brady Loop Rd.(with 1 pair of Cinnamon Teal)

Common Merganser
28 off Luhr Beach

Turkey Vulture
2 along Blockhouse Rd.(east of Oakville)
4 along Brady Loop Rd.

Osprey
1 pair at a nestsite along Elma-Gate Rd.
1 along Dunlap Rd.

Am.Kestrel
2 along Brady Loop Rd.

Virginia Rail
2 along Brady Loop Rd.(heard only)

Sora
3 along Brady Loop Rd.(heard only)

Greater Yellowlegs
1 lingering bird along Brady Loop Rd.

Spotted Sandpiper
12 along Brady Loop Rd.(with 22 Killdeer)

Red-breasted Sapsucker
1 along Howanut Rd.
1 flying along Hwy.8 east of Elma
1 flying along Hwy.8 at McCleary

Western Wood Pewee
1 along Moon Rd.(accessed off of Hwy.12 west of Rochester)
1 along Howanut Rd.
1 along Dunlap Rd.

Willow Flycatcher
8 along Howanut Rd.

Orange-crowned Warbler
1 along Howanut Rd.

Black-headed Grosbeak
5 along Howanut Rd.
2 along Dunlap Rd.

Chipping Sparrow
1 along Moon Rd.

Bullock's Oriole
1 along Moon Rd.


**Dragonflies**:

River Jewelwing
2 along Howanut Rd.



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net





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