Subject: [Tweeters] Clallam County extended weekend
Date: Jun 7 16:00:09 2005
From: Tim O'Brien - kertim7179 at yahoo.com


The family and I went camping Saturday through today at Sequim Bay State Park. We visited several good birding sites including Railroad Bridge Park, Dugeness Spit, Ediz Hook, Hurricane Ridge, Neah Bay, and Cape Flattery. I ended up with 87 species for the trip including a Tufted Puffin at Cape Flattery which was a life bird for me. Here are some of the highlights:

Dugeness Spit: All three Loons, Caspian Tern, Marbled Murrelet

Hurricane Ridge: Golden Eagle (adult flying by the visitor center), Gray Jay (3 came looking for food), American Pipit (2 in the meadows opposite the visitor center), Yellow-rumped Warbler (single Audubon's)

Cape Flattery: Brandt's and Pelagic Comorants (great looks at breeding plumages), lots of Common Murres, Black Oystercatcher (4 rather noisy birds on the rocks below), and the one single Tufted Puffin found in the water just below the Tatoosh Island viewpoint (I was about to give up when my wife spotted "the bird with the white head")

Sequim Bay State Park: Barn Owl (one heard "screeching" while flying over at night), Common Nighthawk (one heard at dusk), Vaux's Swift (one seen and heard flying just above the water), Townsend's Warbler (heard several everyday), Black-headed Grosbeak (one singing near our camp)

All in all it was a great trip. We saw some noteworthy mammals too including a single Mountain Goat spotted from Hurricane Ridge, a herd of Roosevelt Elk in Sequim along Highway 101, and lots of Black-tailed Deer.

Tim O'Brien
Elma, WA
mailto: kertim7179 at yahoo.com






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