Hello Tweets,

Today we participated on our annual TAS(Tahoma Audubon Society)Birdathon with a total of 147 species amongst 5 participants. We covered areas beginning at the Nisqually NWR to Tokeland,then working our way back to Brady Loop Rd. then ending the day in the Kent-Auburn area. It was an intense,but exciting day with several key highlights including the Northern Mockingbird at Grayland previously reported onto Tweeters by Charlie Wright and the Black Phoebe at the previous location along 29th Ave. in Auburn, as well as our personal first of the season Solitary Sandpiper and Swainson's Thrush at the Nisqually NWR. According to local residents near the Beachcomber's MiniMart along S.R.105 the Northern Mockingbird has been present for 2 weeks and has been heard singing on a regular daily basis. The bird was present during 2 visits today specifically in surrounding yards immediately south of the Beachcomber's MiniMart and north of Jado Place,as well as observed flying east over S.R.105. The bird remained very active and heard singing and giving imitations of several different species including a Western Scrub Jay,Steller's Jay, and Blue Jay,as well as giving a variety of different chirps,whistles and chatters. It was no doubt a noisy and obvious bird when singing and it was also observed chasing at least one Am.Crow from it's territory! A few additional seasonal highlights of the day included 2 Brown Pelicans observed flying over South Bay from Bottle Beach and a pair of Wandering Tattlers at Westhaven State Park at the base of the Westport Jetty. The weather remained very unstable during the morning hours with low clouds and drizzle at times,but later in the day conditions improved with partly to mostly cloudy skies along the immediate coast turning more sunny inland. We also encountered some coastal wind from Tokeland to Brady Loop Rd.,which in turn hampered or searches for passerines,but overall we had a very rewarding day! Our main walking efforts were made at Midway Beach Rd.,which was quite productive in itself and included up to 6 Snowy Plovers and a single Lapland Longspur being the main noteworthy species observed and conditions at this location remain quite flooded.

Shorebird numbers throughout the day strongly appeared in a great decline compared to our past coastal visits with a total of 22 species encountered during the entire day and it may be assumed most of the main spring shorebird migration or "push" has already passed northward. This was most felt during our morning visit during high tide at Bottle Beach with a estimate total of 600+ shorebirds noted within 8 species of shorebirds at that location! The other locations that hosted low numbers of shorebirds was at Midway Beach Rd.,as well as at Tokeland away from the large shorebird flock there. Good northward movements of Cackling Geese were encountered at a few coastal areas from North Cove to Westport and our only flock of northbound Greater White-fronted Geese noted during the day were a flock of 50 birds observed along Ocosta Third Street. Our afternoon windy visit to the Brady Loop Rd. complex was remarkably the slowest location of the day,but a flock of 150+ Whimbrel were encountered in freshly plowed fields along the eastern portion of Brady Loop Rd. west of Gillis Rd. It was while observing and briefly estimating the flock of Whimbrel where we ran into Rob Saeker of Olympia,as we briefly exchanged words before pressing onward.A list of key highlights encountered at selected locations and times follows below:


Nisqually NWR,Thurston Co. 6:05am-7am

1 Pied-billed Grebe
1 Am.Bittern
2 Wood Ducks
3 Blue-winged Teal
8 Cinnamon Teal
1 female Eurasian Wigeon
1 Sora(heard only)
1 Virginia Rail(heard only)
1 Solitary Sandpiper(observed foraging alone in the wetland area north of the McAllister Creek trail just past the first patch of willows west from the main parking lot and our only shorebird species at this location
1 Barn Owl
1 Brown Creeper
1 Swainson's Thrush
3 Warbling Vireos
8 Yellow Warblers
7 Wilson's Warblers
1 Chipping Sparrow(a noteworthy species for the location and a presumed migrant)
1 Bullock's Oriole


Luhr Beach,TH 7:15am-7:25am

8 Common Loons
12 Horned Grebes
1 Red-necked Grebe
6 Eared Grebes
8 Western Grebes
1 Common Goldeneye
1 Western Gull
7 Purple Martins
1 Western Tanager


Orion Rd.(accessed off of Meridian Rd. near Lacey),TH 7:30am-7:40am

2 MacGillivray's Warblers
4 Western Tanagers
2 Black-headed Grosbeaks


Wakefield Rd. at Elma,Grays Harbor Co. 8:30am

1 Western Scrub Jay


Bottle Beach,GH(including Ocosta Third Street) 9:30am-9:55am

2 Brown Pelicans
50 Greater White-fronted Geese
38 "Black"Brant
4 Wood Ducks
1 pair of Cinnamon Teal
1 Peregrine Falcon
1 Virginia Rail(observed along the wet margins along edge of Ocosta Third Street)
24 Black-bellied Plovers
20 Semipalmated Plovers
5 Greater Yellowlegs
1 Ruddy Turnstone
5 Red Knots
300+ Western Sandpipers
125+ Dunlin
65 Short-billed Dowitchers
1 Wilson's Snipe
5 Caspian Terns
1 Pileated Woodpecker
1 Lincoln's Sparrow
1 Golden-crowned Sparrow

S.R.105 at Grayland,GH 10:30am-10:45am,1:40pm

1 Northern Mockingbird


Tokeland,Pacific Co. 11:07am-12:20pm

42 Common Loons
1 Turkey Vulture
345+ Whimbrel
560+ Marbled Godwits
3 Ruddy Turnstones
1 Black Turnstone
1 Sanderling
88+ Short-billed Dowitchers
30 Long-billed Dowitchers
3 Mew Gulls
28+ Caspian Terns
1 Mourning Dove(unusual location)
1 Purple Finch


Midway Beach Rd.,PA 12:45pm-1:30pm

42+ Red-throated Loons
18+ Pacific Loons
2 Sooty Shearwaters
800+ Cackling Geese
2 Black Scoters
1 Northern Harrier
6 Snowy Plovers
45+ Least Sandpipers
12 "Streaked"Horned Larks
2 Black-throated Gray Warblers
5 Wilson's Warblers
1 Lapland Longspur
2 Purple Finches


Westhaven State Park(Westport),GH 2pm-2:45pm

2 Wandering Tattlers
2 Ruddy Turnstones
14 Bonaparte's Gulls
1 Common Murre
3 Rhinoceros Auklets
2 Golden-crowned Sparrows


Brady Loop Rd.,GH 3:45pm-4:15pm

1 Green Heron
12 Turkey Vultures
1 Am.Kestrel
2 Ring-necked Pheasants
2 Black-bellied Plovers
2 Greater Yellowlegs
150+ Whimbrel
75+ Western Sandpipers
8 Dunlin
2 Northern Rough-winged Swallows
1 Pacific-slope Flycatcher
1 Hutton's Vireo
2 Warbling Vireos


29th Ave. along Mill Creek at Auburn,King Co. 5:55pm

1 Black Phoebe


West Valley Hwy.(flooded area north of South 285th Street),KI 6:25pm

1 pair of Blue-winged Teal
1 Cinnamon Teal
1 Lesser Yellowlegs
8 Least Sandpipers


Boeing Ponds(accessed along 59th Place South),KI 6:45pm-7pm

4 Ruddy Ducks
1 Hooded Merganser
1 adult Cooper's Hawk
1 Spotted Sandpiper
1 Vaux's Swift



Good birding,

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