Hi Tweeters -
Today at the Johns River Wildlife Area, [Markham, Gray's Harbor Co]
the Ruff was out & about in the open when I arrived at around 9:00.
It was in the same pools a bit beyond the observation blind, as
originally reported. Also, the Red-shouldered Hawk [also first
reported by the Sullivan's] was present and cooperative. A raven
kept it company so that I could spend my time squinting at shorebirds
and only look up for the latest RSHA flight when I heard the caw-ing.
In addition to the Ruff, this area had more to offer too:
Semipalmated Plovers 12+
Lesser & Greater Yellowlegs [numerous, but hard to keep track of as
they moved about]
Pectoral Sandpipers [6-10] - Several of these were pretty boldly
marked, but given glare & distance,I wasn't able to pull any
Sharp-tailed out of the pack - that said, it could easily have been
there with the others, so keep an eye out.
Wilson's Snipe - 2
Dowitcher [sp]- 2 - never remembered to come back to them for a species ID
Westerns, Leasts, Killdeer
Also, one Spotted was over on the river banks itself.
2 Great Egrets flew here & there along the river.
6 Turkey Vultures in a kettle, around noon.

Directions: If you are looking at the WA ABA description of this
location, it refers to 2 different parking locations for John's River
WMA - The one w/ the above birds is the 2nd one, the more westerly of
the 2 [after the Ocean Spray factory and the bridge over the John's
River. If you don't have the ABA guide, just head west out of
Aberdeen on SR 105 towards Westport - After ~12 miles, and just after
Ocean Spray & the bridge, watch for the road sign for Johns River
Lane on your left. The blind is a .57 mile walk from the parking lot.
[And Bottle Beach is just 2.3 miles further down the road]


On the way over to John's River, I spent the first hours of the
morning hoping for a Mountain Quail on the logging roads north of
Elma - no luck on that, but I did see a Common Nighthawk that seems
close to being late for its southerly move.

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA

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