Hello Tweets,

Today we spent a half day birding at Ocean Shores specifically in search of the Western Meadowlark with a deformed bill previously reported yesterday by Steve Dahmus. We however we unfortunate in relocating the bird,but in the process located and photographed a Gyrfalcon at the Oyhut Wildlife Area and a juvenile Ruff at the Ocean Shores STP. The Ruff was originally observed very briefly during very stormy conditions behind the Ocean Shores STP on the 5th of October,but due to the limited sighting and lack of photos the bird was not reported. We strongly feel confident of today's sighting of the Ruff,as well as this being the same individual that we previously observed on the 5th. As mentioned we obtained photos of both the Gyrfalcon and the Ruff,but for proof and NOT quality due to the distance of the birds and lighting conditions involved.

The Gyrfalcon was observed between 3:15pm-4pm north of the fluorescent orange navigation tower at the Oyhut Wildlife Area(accessed behind the Ocean Shores STP),where it first chased around a small,tight flock of Dunlin before settling down onto the ground. The bird was soon observed flying from it's perch northward to the extreme outer edges of the Oyhut WA,where it landed at a distance atop a driftwood snag. We watched the bird in our spotting scope and obtained our first of many photographs of it until it seemingly decided to fly again. The bird flew along the tree line bordering this area,as we watched it's slow,but powerful wing beats. The bird circled over the tree line several times before descending back onto the more open areas within the wildlife area,then landed again at a distance atop a driftwood snag. We kept good track of the bird even as lighting conditions dimmed and in all views we observed the bird's overall pale brown plumage,as well as frontal views of the bird showing very heavy,bold streaks. The bluish-gray cere and eyering were very evident in scope views,which would indicate a juvenile bird and we strongly felt this bird was the same individual bird than we noted at this same location on the 21st of October.
The bird remained perched atop a driftwood snag for the remainder of our visit and until lighting conditions decreased very rapidly due to a dark cloud. We felt our views of the bird were ample and it is possible the bird may linger in this immediate area due to good feeding with a limited number of waterfowl and shorebirds.

After viewing the Gyrfalcon we decided to check the Ocean Shores STP since there was still some lighting left. Upon scoping the southwest pond from outside the fenced area we located the juvenile Ruff at 4:30pm,where it associated with a small flock of Long-billed Dowitchers and a few Dunlin. With very limited sunlight we took photographs of the bird,as it rested and foraged along the shoreline of the pond. The bird was quite distinctive with it's obvious dark scaly-backed appearance and darkish cap contrasting to overall warm buffy upper breast area fading to pale to white underparts from the mid breast to the undertail coverts. The bird's overall size was similar to the nearby Long-billed Dowitchers,but somewhat more plump. The black bill and eye set off well with the very pale,whitish face. When the bird foraged along the shoreline we watched it forage as it kept moving,while the Long-billed Dowitchers foraged in typical probing behavior. We watched the bird until 5pm until it flew off by itself to another pond within the complex,but showed it's distinctive U-shaped white rump.


Away from these 2 good birds we managed to enjoy a nice visit to Damon Point since weather conditions were very calm with just a few isolated rain showers. Highlights at this location included the following:

1 Clark's Grebe amongst a flock of 22 Western Grebes in North Bay

1 Ruddy Turnstone photographed amongst a loose flock of Killdeer and Dunlin at the Damon Point"pond",which is always a highlight this late in the season

2 Am.Pipits at the Damon Point"pond"



Other notable species encountered at Ocean Shores included the following:

1 immature Greater White-fronted Goose(with 8 Cackling Geese)at the Ocean Shores Golf Course

1 female Harlequin Duck near the Ocean Shores Marina

1 Sharp-shinned Hawk along Pt.Brown Ave.(south of the Ocean Shores Golf Course)

2 Northern Harriers at Damon Point with 4 additional birds at the Oyhut WA

3 Black-bellied Plovers and 200+ Least Sandpipers at the Oyhut WA

350+ Dunlin at Damon Point with 450+ birds at the Oyhut WA

40 Long-billed Dowitchers at the Ocean Shores STP


During our drive to Ocean Shores a juvenile Northern Goshawk was observed circling over head along S.R.8 just east of Rock Candy Mtn. Rd. in Thurston Co.,which was noteworthy for the location. 2 Am.Kestrels were observed together atop a light post along Hwy.12 near Montesano-Brady Rd.



Good birding,

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