Tweeters,



Yesterday I birded up the coast of Kitsap and Jefferson counties, from Point
No Point to Fort Flagler State Park. It was off and on drizzle all morning,
but cleared up by the afternoon.



The highlight of the day was a Yellow-billed Loon at Oak Bay County Park
swimming and feeding out in Oak Bay. The bird was there from about 1:30 to
2:00 and was also seen from across the bay at Indian Island County Park.
There were a lot of loons and other waterbirds far far out in the bay, and I
was fortunate that this bird was close enough in to identify. Oak Bay was
definitely the birdiest and liveliest spot of the day, with numerous Common
Loons, a few Pacifics, 25 Harlequin Ducks, lots of Pigeon Guillemots and
Common Murres. Also good numbers of Horned and Red-necked Grebes, Surf and
White-winged Scoter, and 2 of the few Western Grebes I saw all day. Mammals
included Harbor Seals, a few Sea Lions, and 10-20 Harbor Porpoises. On
shore were 2 Horned Larks, 20 Black Turnstones, 2 Surfbirds, and 5
Sanderling. I also had a flyover flock of 125 Cackling Geese.



Point No Point was fairly quiet, but had good numbers of Bonaparte's Gull
and all three cormorants, as well as a late Violet-Green Swallow. Also
decent numbers of passerines, including Lincoln's, Savannah, and lots of
Golden-crowned Sparrows.



At the overlook in Port Gamble, there were again quite a few passerines,
with loads of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, and an
Orange-crowned Warbler.



While driving through Nordland, I spotted a single Lesser Yellowlegs
roosting on a float in the marina.



When I got to Marrowstone Point, the tide was flat, and there was very
little seabird activity. There were a lot more birds at the western end of
Fort Flagler State Park (the mouth of Kilisut Harbor). This area had quite
a few shorebirds, including 200 Sanderling, 6 Dunlin, 50 Black Turnstone, 10
Surfbirds, and 50 Black-bellied Plovers. These birds were split between the
sand spit and the rocky portion of Rat Island. Out in the Harbor were loads
of ducks, including Long-tailed Duck (heard only), and an Eared Grebe.



Red-necked Grebes were abundant everywhere I went today - probably 300 total
over the course of the day. Red-throated Loon was noticeably absent - I
didn't see a single one. I also didn't see any goldeneye. Heermann's Gulls
were still quite numerous, with groups of 10-50 at about five different
spots.



A lovely day, and my first Yellow-billed Loon!



Good birding,



Matt Dufort

Seattle, WA