Hello Tweets,

Today we birded from Ocean Shores to Tokeland with very pleasant conditions! The day was rather slow with a fairly low shorebird diversity,but a few species were noteworthy. Our morning visit to Ocean Shores produced bountiful numbers of Brown Pelicans and Heermann's Gulls,which were observed in highest densities from the Ocean Shores Jetty and the nearby Oyhut Wildlife Area. We estimated approximately 1,800+ Brown Pelicans at 3,500+ Heermann's Gulls that literally were everywhere in Grays Harbor, roosting on the Ocean Shores Jetty(both ends),flying overhead,etc.! This is the highest amount of both listed species that we have personally seen on a given day at Ocean Shores! Perhaps other birders have observed good numbers of Brown Pelicans and Heermann's Gulls at other coast locations along the central to southern WA coast.

We began the day at the Ocean Shores Jetty with cloudy skies,which remained the setting for the entire day with some partial clearing by the time we reached Tokeland at 4pm. After birding the Ocean Shores Jetty we continued on our normal Ocean Shores route by walking a portion of the Oyhut Wildlife Area(accessed behind the Ocean Shores STP),then onto Damon Point with a final stop made at Bill's Spit. After birding the Ocean Shores area we continued onto Bottle Beach during incoming tide that produced some shorebirds,but not numbers that we had expected possibly due to arriving at the location too late. After Bottle Beach we headed straight to Tokeland,which was very slow then we made our last stop of the day at the Westport Marina. A list of notable highlights during the day at selected locations and times follows below:


Hwy.101 at Mud Bay,Thurston Co. 7:15am

50+ Bonaparte's Gulls


Ocean Shores Jetty,Grays Harbor Co. 8:50am-9:50am

40+ Sooty Shearwaters
700+ Brown Pelicans
35 Surf Scoters
12 Wandering Tattlers
2 Ruddy Turnstones
5 Black Turnstones
68 Surfbirds
1 Short-billed Dowitcher
1,500+ Heermann's Gulls
1,800+ Common Murres
1 Marbled Murrelet
1 Cassin's Auklet
850+ Rhinoceros Auklets


Oyhut WA,Grays Harbor Co.(including the Ocean Shores STP) 10am-11am

2 Red-throated Loons
3 Common Loons
900+ Brown Pelicans
1 Blue-winged Teal
9 Northern Shovelers
1 Am.Wigeon
1 Black Scoter
42 Surf Scoters
11 White-winged Scoters
1 Red-breasted Merganser
1 Osprey
3 Northern Harriers
18 Semipalmated Plovers
1 Greater Yellowlegs
1 Wandering Tattler
44 Western Sandpipers
72 Least Sandpipers
1 Dunlin
1 Short-billed Dowitcher
3 Long-billed Dowitchers
1,300+ Heermann's Gulls


Damon Point,GH(including North Bay) 11:30am-12:15pm

200+ Brown Pelicans
430+ Surf Scoters
48+ White-winged Scoters
7 Red-breasted Mergansers
1 Northern Harrier
5 Semipalmated Plovers
2 Marbled Godwits
700+ Heermann's Gulls
2 "Streaked"Horned Larks(banded)



Bill's Spit,GH 12:30pm-12:50pm

2,400+ Black-bellied Plovers
36 Semipalmated Plovers
23 Whimbrel
13 Long-billed Curlews
85+ Western Sandpipers
25 Least Sandpipers
1 Baird's Sandpiper
150+ Short-billed Dowitchers


Hoquiam STP,GH 1:20pm

2 Green-winged Teal
1 Bonaparte's Gull


Bottle Beach,GH 2pm-3:30pm

2 Common Loons
1 Turkey Vulture
48 Black-bellied Plovers
22 Semipalmated Plovers
42 Whimbrel
2 Marbled Godwits
1 Red Knot
470+ Western Sandpipers
6 Least Sandpipers
40 Short-billed Dowitchers
1 Bonaparte's Gull


Tokeland,Pacific Co. 4pm-4:30pm

4 Turkey Vultures
12 Willets
74 Whimbrel
17 Short-billed Dowitchers


Westport Marina,GH 5:05pm

253 Marbled Godwits




Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net