Several weeks ago, Marvin Cooper, Georgia Conti, Barry Levine, Steve
Sher and I went out for the day with Timo Lahti, and Finnish birder who
was starting a grand birding tour of Washington state. We met in
Lynnwood, and hit the Skagit Game range and Whidbey Island before
splitting up at the Keystone ferry. We had a great day; the highlight
for me was watching a serious birder get his first look at a Bald Eagle.
Sometimes we forget how spectacular they really are. Below is Timo's
trip report:

Trip report: Washington State Apr 24th to
May 8th 2005.



On this spring I had an opportunity to do a two- week birding in WA,
moving mainly on my own except for one and a half day having great
guidance of Jack Stephens, Georgia Conti and their friends. This was my
2nd trip to U.S. after 1992 when I visited southern California, Arizona
and New York - New Jersey.



The itinerary:

24th: Boeing ponds - Fir Island/Skagit Wildlife Area ? Western Shore of
Padilla Bay ? Deception Pass State Park ? Dugualla Bay ? Swan Town ?
Hastie Lake Road ? San de Fuca/ Penn Cove ? Keystone Harbor- ferry to
Port Townsend

25th: Sequim/ Kitchen Road ? Dungeness NWR ? Three Crabs Rd ? Graysmarsh
Beach ? John Wayne Marina ? Salt Creek Recreation Area ? Twin ? Sekiu

26th: Neah Bay ? Cape Flattery ? Hoh Rainforest/ The Moss Trail ? Lake
Quinault/ Amanda Park. At 9-11 pm owling round Lake Quinault (just frogs
heard).

27th:Ocean Shores between Ocean Lake Way and Oyhut ? Point Brown Jetty ?
part of Damon Point ? Sewage treatment - Bill?s Spit ? Grays Harbor NWR/
Bowerman Basin

28th: Brady Loop ? Wenzel Slough Rd ? Westport whalewatch trip ?
Westport Jetty ? Long Beach/Seaview

29th: Fort Canby State Park/ North Head Lighthouse ? North Jetty ? Lake
O?Neil ? Ilwaco ? Chinook Valley Rd (search for White-tailed Kite in
constant rain) ? Astoria (OR) ? Puget Island Ferry ? Julia Butler Hansen
NWR ? Ridgefield NWR

30th: Fruit Valleys sewage treatment ? Ridgefield NWR ? ponds in Bingen
? Conboy Lake NWR/ HQ - Hansen Rd- Troh Lane Rd ? White Creek Canyon ?
Toppenish NWR

1st: Toppenish ? Pump Lake Rd ? Fort Simcoe State Park ? Yakima
(Arboretum, Popoff Nature trail, Sportsman State Park) ? road 821/Yakima
Canyon ? Lower Crab Creek Rd ? Othello

2nd: Para Ponds ? Morgan Lake Rd ? Soda Lake Dam ? Marsh Unit ? Lind
Coulee (no mudflats) ? Potholes Reservoir/NW- corner ? Frenchman Hills
Rd ? marshy lake behind ISW Rd ? Frenchman Coulee ? Withrow - Mansfield

3rd: the prairies soutwest of Leahy Junction ? West Foster Creek Unit ?
Central Ferry Rd ? Cameron Lake Rd ? Conconully ? Sinlahekin Rd

4th: Omak ? Leader Lake Campground ? Loup Loup - Winthrop/ sewage ponds
? Conconully ? Sinlahekin (plus S. Creek Rd five miles westwards) ?
Conners Lake ? Molson ? Chelan

5th: Lake Chelan State Park ? Navarre Coulee Rd ? Leavenworth (Blackbird
Island, fish hatchery, Sleeping Lady) - Icicle Rd ? Mountaineer Creek Rd
? Camas Creek Rd

6th: Umtanum Rd ? Wenas Rd ? Boise Cascade Campground ? Yakima Canyon -
Packwood

7th: Mt Rainier NP/ road to Sunrise closed/ in Paradise area a couple of
mile long trek upslope ? Nisqually NWR ? Kent/ 277th street. In the
evening parks in W Seattle.

8th (a half day): Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area ? Crystal Springs ?
Gold Creek



Some noteworthy and other observations, including 65 species (the trip
total was 215):



Sooty Shearwater

230 birds between 1,00-1,20 pm Point Brown Jetty on the 27th. Some
movement later afternoon, too.





American White Pelican

14 Othello/ Para ponds on May 2nd

42 + 6 north of town Yakima on the May 6th



American Bittern:

2 Ridgefield on the 30th



Wood Duck

2 Brady Loop, 11 JB Hansen, 2 Glenwood, 23 Winthrop,



Eurasian Wigeon

a pair at J.B. Hansen NWR on the 29th



Canvasback

7 Molson/ Sidley Lake on the 4th



Harlequin Duck

7 Whidbey Island/ Hastie Lake Rd on the 24th

3 Dungeness, 18 J.Wayne Marina, 4 Salt Creek Rec.Area, 2 Sekiu on the
25th

13 Cape Flattery on the 26th



Barrows Goldeneye

6 Cook Lake, 3 Conconully Lake on the 3rd

18 Molson lakes on the 4th

2 White Pass/ a small lake on the 6th



Black Scoter

2 in Dungeness on the 25th



Oldsquaw

3 Whidbey Island/ Swantown on the 24th



Hooded Merganser

1 male near J.Wayne Marina on the 25th

a pair in J.B. Hansen NWR on the 29th



Northern Harrier

Common: total 19 exx



Golden Eagle

1 imm. Cameron Lake Rd on the 3rd

2 adults Yakima Canyon



American Kestrel

Common, total sum 34.



Chukar

2 Yakima Canyon on the 6th





Ruffed Grouse

1 Sinlahekin on the 4th



Sage Grouse

12 males at lek SW off Leahy Junction on the 3rd



Blue Grouse

male displaying in Sinlahekin (only heard)



Sora

3 Brady Loop Rd on the 28th (heard)



Virginia Rail

1 Ridgefield on the 29th



Sandhill Crane

4 Conboy Lake on the 30th

11 Cameron Lake Rd/ Duley Lake on the 3rd



Pacific Golden Plover

1 Brady Loop on the 28th



American Avocet

2 Othello/Para ponds on the 2nd



Lesser Yellowlegs

1 Ridgefield on the 29th



Long-billed Curlew

4 solitary birds in Waterville Plateau and southwards



Marbled Godwit

A larger concentration:

328 Ocean Shores/ Damon Rd and to north on the 27th



Surfbird

2 Westport Jetty on the 28th



Sanderling

+400 Ocean Shores on the 27th



Western Sandpiper

Larger concentrations:

+22.000 Ocean Shores, within a three mile long beach on the 27th

+14.000 Bowerman Basin on the 27th



Red Knot

1 Ocean Shores on the 27th





Dunlin

e.g. +2000 Ocean Shores on the 27th



Semipalmated Sandpiper

Larger concentration:

+500 Ocean Shores/ Ocean City State Park on the 27th



Rock Sandpiper

2 (of which 1 in winter plumage) Point Brown Jetty on the 27th

2 (both in breeding plumage) Westport Jetty on the 28th



Wilson?s Phalarope

1 Toppenish NWR on the 30th



Black-legged Kittiwake

6 (3 ad 3 imm) Point Brown Jetty heading NW on the 27th

3 off Ocean Shores on the 28th



Sabine?s Gull

1 (almost in full br. plumage) off Ocean Shores (whalewatch) on the 28th



Forster?s Tern

1 Lower Crab Creed Rd on the 1st

2 Othello/ Para Ponds on the 2nd



Tufted Puffin

2 at the strait in Keystone ferry on the 24th

16 Cape Flattery, the waters of Tatoosh Island on the 26th



Barn Owl

1 adult in a treehole in Ridgefield

1 young at the twinbarns in Ridgefield



Northern Pygmy-Owl

1 in Sinlahekin on the 3rd (only heard)



Barred Owl

a pair in Western Seattle on the 7th



Anna?s Hummingbird

1 Hoh Rainforest on the 26th

1 Seattle on the 7th



Rufous Hummingbird

1 male in Fir Island on the 24th



Calliope Hummingbird

1 male in Conconully on the 4th





Lewis?s Woodpecker

12 within less than 400 yards in Fort Simcoe State Park on the 1st



Williamson?s Sapsucker

1 female at Loup Loup on the 4th



White-headed Woodpecker

1 female Leavenworth/ fish hatchery on the 5th

a pair Camas Creek Rd on the 5th

1 male Wenas/ Boise Cascade campground on the 6th



Pileated Woodpecker

1 Cape Flattery on the 26th

1 White Creek Canyon on the 30th



Vaux?s Swift

5 White Creek Canyon on the 30th

a few in Sinlahekin on the 4th

4 Rattlesnake Recr. Area on the 8th



Cassin?s Vireo

1 Wenas Road on the 6th



Warbling Vireo

Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area on the 8th



Red-breasted Nuthatch

1 male near the uttermost end of Westport Jetty(!) on the 28th

1 female Loup Loup on the 4th



White-breasted Nuthatch

1 Ridgefield on the 29th

1 Conconully on the 4th



Rock Wren

2 Frenchman Coulee on the 2nd

1 Yakima Canyon on the 6th



Townsend?s Solitaire

1 Yakima/ Sportsman State Park on the 1st

2 Boise Cascade Campground on the 6th



Hermit Thrush

1 Westport Jetty on the 28th

2 Fort Canby State Park on the 29th



Varied Thrush

3 Cape Flattery, 1 Amanda Park 1 on the 26th

1 Cape Disappointment on the 29th

2 singing Mt Rainier N.P.



Sage Thrasher

1 southwest of Leahy Junction on the 3rd



American Pipit

3 Fir Islands fields on the 24th

1 singing Mt Rainier/ Paradise on the 7th



Cedar Waxwing

about 25 in Yakima?s Arboretum on the 1st



Nashville Warbler

2 Leavenworth/ behind the fish hatchery on the 5th



Sage Sparrow

1 Silica Rd (north of Frenchman Coulee) on the 2nd



Grasshopper Sparrow

1 Frenchman Hills Rd on the 2nd

3 Cameron Lake Rd on the 3rd



Lincoln?s Sparrow

1 Grays Harbor on the 27th

2 Yakima



Cassin?s Finch

4 Wenas Rd on the 6th



+ Probable escape:

Egyptian Goose

1 Boeing ponds on the 24th in company of Canadian Geese



The trip was great with many aftersought species, although a handful of
wanted (and not so rare) species unfortunately not seen, e.g.
White-tailed Kite, Ferruginous Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Wild Turkey, Gray
Flycatcher, Rosy Finch and Evening Grosbeak. Of all the beautiful
habitats visited I found the rainforests of northwestern Olympic
Peninsula with all giant trees to be most stunning and unique.



Cheers,



Timo Lahti

Vaasa, FINLAND

mailto: timo.lahti at nls.fi