Hi Tweets,

I went out to the Makah Reservation Saturday morning to participate
in the fifth annual ocean beaches clean up. It's such a long drive
to Neah Bay but well worth it to see what birds are about and who is
dropping in on migration. As Bob Morse says in his guide to birding
coastal Washington, Neah Bay and Cape Flattery are under-birded areas
so it's always intriguing to consider the possibilities. I had 74
species for the weekend. The only woodpecker besides the Northern
Flicker was a male Hairy in the woods along the Sooes River at the
Makah National Fish Hatchery. Sitting at the high pull-out above
Sooes Beach, I found myself on a hummingbird flyway. Both Anna's and
Rufous were evidently making their way over Portage Head, zipping
through the understory below the bluff, then hurdling across the road
and into the woods again. So there I sat, trying to scope the ocean
for gray whales (none) but continually distracted by the little zippers.

Driving into Neah Bay early Saturday morning, I stopped at Shipwreck
Point and stumbled upon 30+ Black Turnstones scurrying among the
rocks on the ebbing tide. When I looked up and out a ways, I saw
many Harlequins on near-shore rocks, at least 20-30 of them. Bald
Eagles were everywhere but I could not scare up one Turkey Vulture.
I hiked out to the Tatoosh overlook since Black Oystercatchers are a
regular. I heard them but could not locate them. The large raft of
Common Murres was in its usual place just south of Tatoosh Island in
the pass. The next morning I found the pair of oystercatchers just
outside of Neah Bay. Bingo! It doesn't feel like spring without the
sight of oystercatchers.

I like to walk the gated road on the west side of Neah Bay early in
the morning. It seems to be a migrant hot spot. The only Varied
Thrush of the weekend was found there. About two thirds of the way
out the road is a creek that tumbles into the bay. The deciduous
trees around it were alive with a large flock of Townsend's Warblers
with a few Yellow-Rumps and many kinglets mixed in. Again, both
Anna's and Rufous were very active around the creek, as were Golden-
Crowned, Song, and Savannah Sparrows.

Coming east along the Strait I had a pair of Marbled Murrelets and
four Rhinoceros Auklets along the Port Angeles waterfront trail. I
saw a Hermit Thrush in Sequim and Caspian Terns at the foot of Sequim
Bay.

I had been feeling good about the litter cleaned off Hobuck and Sooes
Beaches until I picked up the Sunday Times and P-I in Sequim last
night and read the feature article in Pacific Northwest, "The Problem
with Plastic." It is an informative article, explaining how the
thousand square mile Garbage Patch formed between California and
Hawaii and its impact on albatrosses and fulmars. It was a
disheartening read, but compelling. If you haven't read it, I
recommend going to the Seattle Times web site and entering the
article's title in the search engine.

Carol Riddell
Edmonds