Headed down to Westport early this morning for the pelagic. We got about an hour out and got turned back by high winds. Saw numbers of Common Murres, Rhinoceros Auklets, a few Marbled Murrelets, and one single Sooty Shearwater before we had to head in.

The storm had blown in pretty suddenly around dawn, so Dan Froehlich, Jennifer Vanderhoof, and I headed down the coast to see if any migrants had been dropped by the storm. Orange-crowned Warblers were everywhere and Savannah Sparrows were quite numerous.

We found a Brown Thrasher around 11:00 along Smith Anderson Road near the intersection with Lindgren Road east of South Beach State Park (near the access point to Midway Beach).

The exact location was at the base of the steep exposed dirt slope just south of the intersection with Lindgren. To get there, take Route 105 south through Grayland. Take a left on Lindgren Road and follow it out through the cranberry bogs. At the T intersection with Smith Anderson Road (the left part of the T has a "No Outlet" sign), take a right and go about 100 yards down Smith Anderson.

If you go to this area, DO NOT LEAVE THE ROAD without express permission from the landowners. We had an interaction with a very irritated resident after one of our party briefly left the road to walk around a hedgerow. Many of the local residents are quite friendly and interested in the local wildlife, but all the land in the area is private.

We first saw the bird when it flushed from the west side of the road with a few robins and sparrows and disappeared into the bushes on the east side of the road (at this point we were relatively uncertain about the identification). We didn't detect the bird for the next 30 minutes, and then it reappeared on the upper part of the slope. The bird flew out over the road, then returned to the bushes at the top of the slope, and we were able to get some better views. It then flew out over the road again, landed out of view behind the house on the west side of the road (apparently on the bog itself). It then flew to the southwest and was lost headed toward the houses on nearby Redding Road.

We spent the next 2 hours attempting to relocate the bird along Lindgren, Smith Anderson, and Redding roads, but with no success. The bird could definitely still be in the area. It was flying less than 50 feet above the ground when we lost track of it and did not appear (in my opinion) to be outbound. There's relatively limited shrubby habitat in the immediate area, but what is there is probably worth checking.

Again, do not leave the road without permission.


Other birds observed:

Marbled Godwit and Short-billed Dowitcher: hundreds at the Tokeland Marina
Willet: 2 with the godwits and dowitchers
Caspian Tern: 150+ roosting on the beach off Fisher Ave and 7th St in Tokeland
Yellow Warbler: along Route 105 east of Tokeland
numerous White-crowned, Golden-crowned, and Savannah Sparrows, and Orange-crowned Warblers
smaller numbers of Wilson's Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Common Yellowthroats

Jennifer and I also stopped by Brady Loop Road on the way home, where we had good numbers of shorebirds in the ponds along the eastern portion of the Brady Loop - especially Short-billed Dowitcher, Dunlin, Western and Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plover, and both yellowlegs. We did NOT see Black-necked Stilt previously reported by the Sullivans.

All in all a great day, with lots of spring arrivals and good numbers of birds everywhere we stopped.

Good birding,

Matt Dufort
Seattle