Tweets & Inlanders,

Our five day trip (Sept. 17-21, 2004) through the
gorge and to the central coast, netted us some 135
species of birds (25 of them were shorebirds), some
wild weather (including a waterspout), a great pelagic
trip, and one totally unexpected rarity. This
September has certainly generated thrills in both the
birding and weather department.

On Friday's drive through the gorge, we easily found
ACORN WOODPECKERs on their traditional granary tree.
While viewing the Acorn's, we saw numerous Scrub Jays
and Lewis' Woodpeckers. About a quarter mile up Balch
Road (near the old, tan, schoolhouse type building),
there was a snag to the east that held three
cooperative ACORN WOODPECKERS. The birds were storing
some acorns into this dead oak tree. This location
offers much better viewing conditions than the
original granary tree. At this site, Golden-crowned
Sparrows were common in the roadside brambles.

In the Balch-Lyle Cemetery, we ran into a burst of
bird activity. Over a dozen LESSER GOLDFINCHES, Purple
Finch, Black-throated Gray Warbler, a family of W.
Bluebirds, YR Warblers, Juncos, RB & WB Nuthatches,
Chipping Sparrows, etc. were hopping and flitting all
over the place.

After passing though some heavy rain showers, we payed
a visit to Ridgefield NWR. The blind in the S. Unit
afforded us great views of Great Egrets, American
Bitterns - 7, Gr. White-fronted Geese - 4, and
Lincoln's Sparrows - 2. During a moderate rain shower,
we observed hundreds of Vaux's Swifts funneling down a
chimney on the main drag of the town of Ridgefield.

At first light on Saturday, we checked for BT Gull at
North Cove. Since we didn't see it, we headed up to
Ocean Shores. When we arrived at the Game Range behind
the STP, it began to rain harder. We joined up with
Ken Brown's party and headed into the saltmarsh. By
this time, we were deluged by a heavy pelting rain.
Ken's friends opted to return to the vehicles, while
Ken, Harold & Karen Cottet, Garrett, and I trudged
onward. Fortunately, we had the good fortune of
running into Stefan Schlick on his return from the
salicornia marsh. After he informed us about the three
Ruffs that found out there, we were determined to
press onward.

As the rain continued to build in intensity, we
watched a flock of Black-bellied Plovers, and one
bright juvenile PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER land nearby. A
Peregrine Falcon and a Merlin were working this area
too. Some American Pipits flew overhead.

By this time, my Questar was waterlogged and my boots
were filling with water from the shear run off of my
rain gear. My non-waterproof gloves had become like
water saturated sponges, and the water level was
rapidly rising in the marsh. Finally, our mass
insanity was rewarded by the sight of three juvenile
RUFFs (possibly a fourth bird as well) at close range.
Despite the downpour, we had great views of the birds
flying and showing off the U-shaped tail pattern, and
that wonderful rich buffy color. Some Pectoral
Sandpipers dropped in as well, but they disappeared
into the salicornia and were especially hard to see in
the midst of the deluge.

Despite the terrible rain storm, we felt elated to see
such wonderful birds. As we hiked down Damon Point,
we were pleased to see the rain storm retreat toward
the mainland. The sun broke out, and rainbow formed.
On our hike toward the point, we had great views of
LAPLAND LONGSPURS and a couple of beautiful STREAKED
HORNED LARKS.

At the half way point, I looked up and saw a hollow
looking funnel cloud, sucking up water off the bay.
Our group watched the waterspout for a few minutes
before it finally disintegrated. When we bumped into
Stefan again, a couple of new funnel clouds had
formed, but these failed to touch down. Once the
trailing edge of the storm reached the mainland, the
tornadic energy had been sapped and no new funnel
clouds appeared.

Although we were looking forward to Sunday's pelagic
trip, we secretly dreaded the prospect of more heavy
rain. Instead of the expected rainfall, Sunday
delivered us a lovely day of abundant sunshine and
partly cloudy skies.

Led by a trio of excellent pelagic birders (Bill
Tweit, Bill Shelmerdine, and Scott Mills) we had
excellent views of Red-Throated, Pacific, and Common
Loons, Red and Red-necked Phalaropes, all three
Jaegars in astounding large numbers (LT - 23,
Parasitic - 23, and Pomarine - 104), Sabine's Gulls,
Black-legged Kittiwake, Rhino & Cassin's Auklets,
Pink-footed & Short-tailed & Sooty & Buller's &
FLESH-FOOTED (3) Shearwaters -3 , Black-footed &
LAYSAN ALBATROSS - 2.

After the pelagic trip returned, Garrett and I
revisited the Game Range in Ocean Shores and refound
one RUFF and a couple of Pectoral Sandpipers.
Although Red Knot and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper continued
to elude us, we did see two LONG-BILLED CURLEWs flying
over the marsh.

On Monday, we visited Tokeland Marina and saw 400+
Marbled Godwits, and several Whimbrels, and Willets.
On the Graveyard Spit, we found a adult COMMON TERN
in the company of several Caspian Terns.

As we made another futile attempt for the BT Gull, we
saw Band-tailed Pidgeons and a couple of Peregrine
Falcons. In the afternoon, Kevin Aanerud dropped in at
North Cove and informed us that he found a female
Orchard Oriole at Bottle Beach.

After dashing up to Bottle Beach, we saw plenty of
Red-winged Blackbirds, Starlings, Goldfinches, GC,
WC, and Fox Sparrows, but no oriole. Since I was
convinced that the bird was still present, I suggested
that we try again about an hour before sunset. At 6:00
PM, Harold & Karen Cottet, Garrett MacDonald, and I
saw the female ORCHARD ORIOLE fly up into an
elderberry tree past the footbridge. We had very nice
views of the oriole as it worked the trailside thicket
from the footbridge all the way out to the beach.
After that point, we lost the bird and could not
relocate it.

When thinking of orioles, we often think of something
blackbird sized. However, this species is remarkably
small. In fact, it is just barely longer than a Fox
Sparrow. When it flew, the greenish-yellow tail
contrasted nicely with the gray back. The overall
yellowish ventral side, silvery wings with distinct
wingbars, and very thin, black eyeline, make the bird
look like an elongated Blue-winged Warbler. This
Orchard Oriole was certainly a great bird to cap off
the the trip.

Trip mammals included Cal. Ground Squirrel, Chickaree,
Harbor Seal, Nutria, Black-tailed Deer, Coyote,
Raccoon, Dall's Porpoise, and Mountain Cottontail.
Special thanks go out Stefan S. and Kevin A. for the
latest bird info, the marvelous pelagic trip leaders,
and to Ken Brown for graciously offering scope views
to me in the Game Range.

Gina Sheridan
Spokane, WA








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