Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I took advantage of the nice weather and checked a few locations in Lewis Co.,specifically in the Riffe and Mayfield Lake areas. The weather remained exceptional all day with some hazy conditions due to clear-cut burning etc.and fall color was especially noteworthy from many areas. Our main highlight of the day was a Clark's Grebe amongst a group of 12 Western Grebes observed from a small access area at the eastern edge of Riffe Lake(accessed from the town of Glenoma). the bird rested and preened most of the time offering great views of all the major field marks compared to the nearby darker plumaged Western Grebes. We spent considerable time scoping the eastern portion of Riffe Lake,which is currently low hosting vast areas of rocky,muddy areas and lighting conditions were especially good during our visit at 1pm. Other noteworthy sightings from this area included 2 Pacific Loons,1 Red-throated Loon,and a single female Red-breasted Merganser.

>From Riffe Lake we worked our way south to Mossyrock to check the western portion of Riffe Lake,including visits made at Mossyrock Park and Swofford Pond(both accessed from the town of Mossyrock). A check made at Mossyrock produced a single White-winged Scoter amongst a flock of 8 Buffleheads. Our last stop of the day was made at Mayfield Lake S.P.(accessed off of Hwy.12)which produced a single Spotted Sandpiper and a flock of 35 "Cackling"Canada Geese. Other species of note encountered during the day included the following:

Common Loon
12 at the eastern portion of Riffe Lake
4 at Mossrock Park
3 at Mayfield Lake S.P.

Horned Grebe
2 at the eastern portion of Riffe Lake
2 at Mossyrock Park
1 at Mayfield S.P.

Red-necked Grebe
1 at the eastern portion of Riffe Lake

Western Grebe
28 at the eastern portion of Riffe Lake
8 at Mossyrock Park

Wood Duck
4 at Swofford Pond

Ring-necked Duck
28 at Mineral Lake(accessed along Mineral Rd. off of Hwy.7)
37 at Swofford Pond
12 at the Mossyrock STP

Greater Scaup
4 at Swofford Pond
4 at the Mossyrock STP

Lesser Scaup
16 at Swofford Pond
8 at the Mossyrock STP

Barrow's Goldeneye
1 pair at Mossyrock Park

Bufflehead
12 at Mineral Lake
15 at Mossyrock Park
29 at Swofford Pond
17 at Mossyrock STP

Northern Harrier
1 along Ajlune Rd. east of Mossyrock

Cooper's Hawk
1 at Swofford Pond

Golden Eagle
1 adult along Hwy.7 between Morton and Mineral

Am.Coot
30+ at Swofford Pond

Mew Gull
1 at Mayfield Lake S.P.(with 2 California Gulls,4 Ring-billed Gulls, and 1 Glacous-winged Gull)

California Gull
17 at the eastern portion of Riffe Lake

Herring Gull
5 at the eastern portion of Riffe Lake

Red-breasted Sapsucker
1 along Hwy.7 at Alder,Pierce Co.

Pileated Woodpecker
1 calling bird heard at Swofford Pond

Gray Jay
1 along Hwy.7 between Morton and Mineral

Western Scrub Jay
1 at Morton

Western Bluebird
7 along Ajlune Rd. north of Mossyrock

Am.Pipit
1 at the eastern portion of Riffe Lake

Pine Siskin
250+ at the eastern portion of Riffe Lake
120+ at Mossyrock Park
300+ at Mayfield Lake S.P.


In addition we noted 3 lingering species of dragonflies noted at Swofford Pond near Mossyrock including the following species:

Shadow Darner
Striped Meadowhawk
Western Meadowhawk



Good birding,

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