Subject: [Tweeters] Pacific/Grays Harbor County; 23 Sept 2004
Date: Sep 24 13:19:45 2004
From: Charlie Wright - charlie at birdwright.com


Greetings all:
Yesterday (Thursday) Fred Boesche and I spent a very long day on the coast.
Sorry, no state records this time. However, all day we encountered huge
numbers of birds, especially so early in the day. Our first birding was at
the Brady Loop complex. It was a typical morning, until we came across three
amazing flocks of sparrows and warblers in the cornfields of the south and
southeastern sections. By far the prevalent species were Savannah Sparrows,
Golden-crowned Sparrows, and Common Yellowthroats. Other birds, including a
Lapland Longspur, were mixed in. These groups of birds of course received
quite a bit of attention from the raptors in the area.

We headed to the coast and then south to Tokeland, which was a little slower
than expected, at least for shorebirds. So we decided to head north again
and hit Ocean Shores in the afternoon. We birded pretty heavily at the Ocean
Shores Game Range, which we accessed from the sewage ponds. There was a very
tame flock of 32 Pectoral Sandpipers in the Salicornia, but no Sharptails
present. Highlight was a bright juvenile male Ruff.

Ended the day with 122 species; not a bad birthday!

BRADY LOOP/FOSTER RD (8:00-9:05):
Turkey Vulture (24): roosting in alders along a creek.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (3)
Cooper's Hawk (1)
American Kestrel (3)
Merlin (1)
Black-bellied Plover (2)
BAIRD'S SANDPIPER (1): flew over, calling.
Western Scrub-Jay (1)
Barn Swallow (200)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (3)
Swainson's Thrush (1)
Varied Thrush (2)
American Pipit (30)
Orange-crowned Warbler (5)
Yellow Warbler (7)
Common Yellowthroat (135!)
Savannah Sparrow (400+)
Lincoln's Sparrow (4)
White-crowned Sparrow (40)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (300+)
LAPLAND LONGSPUR (1)-w/flock of sparrows.
Brown-headed Cowbird (15)
Purple Finch (12)

BOTTLE BEACH (9:30-10:00):
American Wigeon (150)
Northern Pintail (150)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (2)
Peregrine Falcon (1): very large juv female.
Black-bellied Plover (200+)
Pacific Golden-Plover (1-juv)
Semipalmated Plover (30)
Greater Yellowlegs (3)
Red Knot (1)
Western Sandpiper (800)
Hairy Woodpecker (1)
Winter Wren (1): berating an intrusive Long-tailed Weasel.
Fox Sparrow (10)
Purple Finch (10)

TOKELAND/GRAVEYARD SPIT (11:00-12:50):
Double-crested Cormorant (5000)
Turkey Vulture (3)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1)
Red-tailed Hawk (6)
Willet (13)
Whimbrel (3)
Long-billed Curlew (49)-Graveyard Spit.
Marbled Godwit (40): couldn't find the main flock.
Bonaparte's Gull (2)
Caspian Tern (10)
Vaux's Swift (70+)-migrating.
Northern Flicker (15): one Yellow-shafted.
Red-breasted Nuthatch (20+)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (4)
Swainson's Thrush (1)
Varied Thrush (1)
Cedar Waxwing (200)
Orange-crowned Warbler (2)
Yellow Warbler (12)
Townsend's Warbler (1)
Lincoln's Sparrow (2)
Red Crossbill (50): birds noticeably small.

NORTH COVE (1:10-1:30):
Heermann's Gull (150)
Mew Gull (10)
Ring-billed Gull (100)
California Gull (250)
Herring Gull (1)
Thayer's Gull (2)
Caspian Tern (2)

HOQUIAM STP (2:30-2:50):
Cinnamon Teal (1)
Northern Shoveler (30)
Yellow Warbler (1)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (2)
Black-throated Gray Warbler (3)
Wilson's Warbler (2)

OCEAN SHORES GAME RANGE (3:50-6:20)
Black Scoter (2)
Common Merganser (5)
Red-breasted Merganser (3)
Ring-necked Pheasant (1)
Brown Pelican (100)
Great Egret (1)
Northern Harrier (4)
American Kestrel (1)
Peregrine Falcon (1)
Lesser Yellowlegs (1)
Western Sandpiper (200)
Pectoral Sandpiper (32)
RUFF (1)
Long-billed Dowitcher (2)
Wilson's Snipe (1)
American Pipit (80)
Lincoln's Sparrow (2)
Lapland Longspur (28)

BUTTERCLAM AVE BEACH ACCESS (6:35-6:50)
Red-throated Loon (2)
Pacific Loon (9)
Common Loon (12)
Sooty Shearwater (200)
Peregrine Falcon (1)

Cheers and good birding!
Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, Washington