..................Lots of ducks on Salmon Creek pond-wetlands in Brush
Prairie where I live.----notibly 10 WOOD DUCKS present. A SCRUB JAY
entertained me for awhile.
...................Stopped at Twilight Eagle Sanctuary viewpoint just
east of Aatoria. Oreg---along Hwy.30--south shore of Columbia River--a
favorite spot of mine for its beauty and solitude. Lots of
ducks---nothing unusual or rare. CANADA GEESE; some TUNDRA SWANS; 1
GREAT EGRET; and.....3 BALD EAGLES flying around each other---2 immature
and 1 mature adult. All flew around several times over my head about 6
feet above me on the platform---a real closeup encounter"!!! A very
large flock of shorebirds on the exposed low tide mud flats, but too
far out to clearly identify, even with a powerful spotting scope. They
did have white on them when flying ----Sanderlings or Dunlin??????.
...................Pretty quiet at parking lot C and D ast the end of
spit at Ft. Stevens---a few CORMORANTS; a duck(looked like a SCOTER on
the ocean. But the annoying swarms of gnat-like bugs around the platform
area made any long-term viewing a real challenge. Several flocks of
SANDERLINGS flew seaward along the Columbia river's edge. BUFFLEHEAD;
SCAUP, and.......Gulls everyware. A RED-TAILED HAWK flew overhead.
...................Stayed in north Seaside, Ore. for 3 days.
BUFFLEHEAD; 2 PELAGIC CORMORANTS; and 5 COMMON GOLDENEYES swimming on
the Necanicum River by the 12th Ave. bridge by the motel.
....................CORMORANTS, and Gulls on the rocks outside Ecola
State Park.--nothing else today 3 very large rafts of seabirds on the
water past the rocks. With just the binos, couldn't positively ID but
did get some detail. However, judging from the black on top, the black
and some white on head, and the totaslly white underneaths, would seem
to indicate COMMON MURRES. Would venture to guess 300 hundred or
so---many....many....many. Was simply too lazy to go all the way down
the walk to my car and walk all the way back up to the viewpoint with
the tripod and scope.. Shame....shame.....shame!!!!!.

....................Birds seemed a bit scarce, but the sun, pleasant
temps, and breasthtaking scenery were certainly *not * scarce.

....................Cheers
Gerald Hamilton
Brush Prairie, Wash.
gerald at e-z.net