Some of my favorite places to bird in the foothills north of the Elma/Satsop area have once again re-opened with the recent rains. I drove around several logging roads this morning just after daybreak. On the A-2300 road, which is best accessed from the end of Newman Creek Rd., I found a group of approximately 10 Mountain Quail. They were very eager to flush which hampered the counting effort so I'm guessing at about 10. This is the same logging road that I have found Moutain Quail on for the past two years. It has several older clearcuts which appear to be ideal habitat for the quail.

I also got to enjoy watching three juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawks chase each other around the hillsides of another clearcut. One of them perched on a tree quite close that allowed me some great views. In a different part of the hills, I drove around a corner to find about eight Band-tailed Pigeons sitting in the road.

Good birding,

Tim O'Brien
Elma, WA
mailto: kertim7179 at yahoo.com



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