Hello Tweets,

This afternoon we surveyed the entire Damon Point for Snowy Owls,where we walked the entire outer perimeter of Damon Point to Catala Spit,as well as the inner dune area east of the Damon Point"pond". Conditions were very nice although stiff,persistent winds kept most of the Snowy Owls hunkered down at times. Our searches at Damon Point occurred between 12:15pm-4pm and within that time period we were able to count 10 Snowy Owls! During the latter portion of our visit to Damon Point we ran into a birder that came all the way from Atlanta,Georgia just to see the Damon Point Snowy Owls,so that was a real treat! She braved the cold winds near the tip of Catala Spit before we met her,but then learned from us that we had observed more cooperative birds in the dune area so off she went for closer views and photos after a nice talk with her. We also ran into Guy McWethy upon or walk back to the parking lot at 3:45pm,who indicated to us he observed a Snowy Owl earlier in the day at the Oyhut Wildlife Area. With his nice tip and the limited amount of daylight left we rushed over to the Oyhut WA,where we located 2 Snowy Owls perched atop separate driftwood obstructions along a sandy spit. These 2 birds soon took flight and flew east onto a larger,more extensive sandy spit that would more accessible from Marine View Drive. With these 2 birds we now had 12 SNOWY OWLS at Ocean Shores and felt that it was a conservative count since we kept very close tabs on all the birds we observed.

Our day began by walking east then south via a trail past the Damon Point"pond" an almost immediately by walking the trail south towards the beach we located our first 4 Snowy Owls of the day. 3 of these birds were quite noticeable and kept near eachother the entire time with an additional and darker bird that was far more obscured by heavy grass,as all the bird rested within the dunes. We watched all these birds for quite some time and obtained photos on all of them,as they just rested and kept their eyes on us in a casual way. A short while later we continued our descent out towards Catala Spit,where we walked all the way to the actual tip,where the winds were the fiercest. Within a short walk over vast areas of driftwood we located an additional 3 Snowy Owls that separated themselves. These 3 birds unlike the previous 4 birds were far more "spooky" and flew quite a bit from perch to perch and this could have been a result of the most amount of beachcombers in this area. 2 of the birds were observed within the densest area of driftwood,while the third bird of this group was noted at the extreme tip of Catala Spit resting in between several driftwood obstructions before eventually flying off out over North Bay. We watched this bird intently,as it slowly work it's way northward low over North Bay into the wind. All during this time the other 2 previous birds flew off separately and landed amongst a large clump of driftwood that lined the extreme eastern edge of Damon Point to the north of where we stood.

While still keeping a close watch on the Snowy Owl flying over North Bay we noticed it eventually flushed a large flock of 300+ Black"Brant,as it continued north then eastward. Upon flushing these birds it gained some elevation,but continued eastward towards a large sandy island that had extensive dunes within North Bay. Upon looking at several maps we believe this island is referred to as Goose Island since the topography and shape fits map models. Within a short while the Snowy Owl made landfall with this island near the north tip,then was soon harassed by an nearby gull for several minutes. As we continued watching the bird we decided to scan the entire length of the island and soon located 2 additional Snowy Owls in our spotting scope. As wind increased slightly we decided to slowly work our way back by walking from Catala Spit northward to the tip of Damon Point in the direction of where the end of the paved road used to lead. Upon walking northward along the upper beach we remained focused on the 2 previous Snowy Owls that continued to rest of the driftwood clumps from separate locations. As we continued closer to the birds the firs bird soon lifted ad flew off to he west into the nearby dunes. As we approached the second bird cautiously it too flew off towards the same direction ad we soon located both of them resting in the dense grass of the dunes. We worked our way to the tip of Damon Point and amongst a large driftwood clump we located our 10th Snowy Owl,which perched for a short while then also flew off but in the direction of the north side of Damon Point. Near the spot from where the bird flew off from and where a short trail that leaves the beach we located a large clump of mostly white feathers with some darker edges on them. The feather pile was in a fairly confined area within some driftwood and we remain unsure if they were of a Snowy Owl.

We soon located this bird resting out on the open sandy beach until it then flew off again and flew towards the dunes to join the other birds. We finally reached he paved road and worked our way back towards the Damon Point"pond". We arrived to this location and met up with the nice birder from Georgia,who was still watching several of the Snowy Owls from within the dune area. We spoke with her for several minutes,then watched a flock of 20 "Streaked"Horned Larks flying overhead before we walked over and joined Guy McWethy then we ended our day at the Oyhut WA. It really paid to walked the entire Damon Point area for getting a nice count on the Snowy Owls,which was well worth the afternoon!


Good birding,

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