Subject: [Tweeters] SAS trip to Hurricane Ridge and surrounding
Date: Aug 13 12:36:20 2006
From: B & P Bell - bellasoc at isomedia.com


Hi Ho Tweets

Yesterday I led a trip for Seattle Audubon to Clallam County. We started out early on the Edmonds to Kingston ferry. Had nice, but distant looks at the PURPLE MARTINS in the harbor at Edmonds while the ferry was loading. Several PIGEON GUILLEMOTS on the way over, a couple of flyby RHINOCEROS AUKLETS, and several BONAPARTE'S GULLS. The highlight of the ferry ride was about 10 COMMON TERNS sitting on floating debris coming in to Kingston.

We ran straight up to Port Angeles and up into Olympic National Park. Stopped by the Heart of the Hills Campground. Things were pretty quiet, and activity was already ongoing in the campground, but we did have a family of GRAY JAYS with at least two (maybe three) very dark juveniles. There was also a family of STELLER'S JAYS in the same area. In spite of the noise in the campground we did hear RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS.

>From there we ran up to Hurricane Ridge and and absolutely beautiful day. Clear, sunny, with fairly clear atmosphere to see the ridges of the Olympics. Unfortunately we missed on our target bird - the SOOTY GROUSE (a volunteer said he had a female and chick part way down the Obstruction Point road on Thursday). Just after we got to the ridge visitor center, one of our people asked about the "strange looking" bird on the ground. It was a juvenile DARK-EYED JUNCO complete with stripes - had to point out the white outer tail feathers to convince folks it was a junco. We did have an active female AMERICAN KESTREL down the slope, some BARN SWALLOWS, and a distant GOLDEN EAGLE. After lunch we took a walk along the Cirque and MEADOW trails. A perched COMMON RAVEN made his presence known vocally, a COOPER'S HAWK flew overhead, and a TOWNSEND'S CHIPMUNK came up and perched on a branchlet to be admired. As we worked our way along the meadow trail we saw a large flock of juncos working around some firs about 75 yards ahead. Suddenly, everybody exploded as an accipiter made an attack. The bird perched nearby for a few seconds, long enough to identify a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, who then left the area. It took some time for the juncos to begin to be active again in the open. While were were watching this a flock of 14 COMMON RAVENS came overhead and began circling up and up. First time I have seen a kettle of ravens.

Our nest stop was at Port Angeles Harbor (at the location where the Common Eider hung out a couple of years ago). We saw about 25 CANADA GEESE, several MALLARDS, a bunch of PIGEON GUILLEMOTS, a perched PELAGIC CORMORANT and a bunch of HARLEQUIN DUCKS.

Around the corner along Ediz Hook conditions deteriorated drastically as fog moved in. We still saw probably 50 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, many PIGEON GUILLEMOTS, a nice flock of about a dozen BLACK TURNSTONES, and a group of gulls including GLAUCOUS-WINGED (and OLYMPIC gull hybrids), CALIFORNIA GULL. A couple of BRANDT'S CORMORANTS flew over. Down near the end of the road the fellow feeding birds had a good group of HOUSE FINCHES and HOUSE SPARROWS. Just across the road were a few SAVANNAH SPARROWS.

The Kitchen Dick Road ponds were pretty quiet with mostly MALLARDS and a few AMERICAN COOTS and some RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS. As we worked our way east a NORTHERN HARRIER flew by. The tide was way out at Dungeness Landing (the old Oyster House area), but there were lots of gulls around - no shorebirds though. There must have been 600 gulls across the water on the back spit of Dungeness Spit (probably mostly GLAUCOUS-WINGED and hybrids - but too distant to tell). Perhaps a dozen CASPIAN TERNS were working the area over and diving.

As we came into the Three Crabs area (about 3:30)there was a female GADWALL and two young in the stream. Lots of gulls loafing (tide way out here also) - the usual gulls but with a few CALIFORNIA GULLS present. A few shorebirds worked the edge of the water over - about 16 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, maybe 10 LEAST SANDPIPERS and one BAIRD'S SANDPIPER. A single CASPIAN TERN bathed and another flew by. Four MALLARDS were at Helen's Pond and nothing else.

We finished up a John Wayne Marina. At the northern end we had extremely good, close looks at a breeding plumage PIGEON GUILLEMOT working a fish over preparatory to eating it. A RHINOCEROS AUKLET kept trying to sneak up, perhaps to gain an easy meal. It didn't work and the auklet finally moved off, but we got great looks at the bird still in good breeding plumage with whisker mark and process on the beak. On the breakwater there were two BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS loafing, and just beyond them about 10 or so BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS (hard to tell the exact numbers because they were nestled down in the rocks.

It turned out we were quite finished, as on the ferry ride back we had a dozen RED-NECKED PHALAROPES lift off just after we left Kingston and then fly in front of the ferry and to the north.

As we got close to Edmonds there was a distant flyby of an alcid appearing bird, but not one of the usual ones we see here in the Sound. Now having seen yesterday's reports, and dredging thru my memory of Alaska, it was consistent with the HORNED PUFFIN seen at Discovery Park. Unfortunately, it was just distant enough and the vibrations from the ferry were just enough to make confirmation definite.

A great day out, nice views of birds, great weather - and 58 species.

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville WA
mail to bellasoc at isomedia dot com