Hello Tweets,

Today we enjoyed a nice calm day birding between Bottle Beach and Tokeland,where our main highlight of the day were 3 RED KNOTS amongst other shorebirds a Bottle Beach. 2 of the Red Knots were in alternate plumage,while the 3rd bird was in non-breeding plumage by showing it's duller and grayer plumage. Red Knots are an annual migrant in Washington,but they are always a highlight for us,as well as one species that has seldom been reported so far this fall migration across the region. We started out the at Bottle Beach between 9am-12pm during incoming tide,as we waited awhile for the tide to move in before better viewing could be made of the shorebirds. By 11:15am we were joined by other birders and the conditions were superb with great viewing,as the shorebirds lined the shoreline. A list of highlights observed during our visit to Bottle Beach include the following:

1 Common Loon
25 Green-winged Teal
75+ Northern Pintails
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Northern Harrier
209 Black-bellied Plovers
48+ Semipalmated Plovers
5 Greater Yellowlegs(observed in the drying canal before arriving to the open mudflats at Bottle Beach)
6 Whimbrel
128 Marbled Godwits
12 Sanderlings
950+ Western Sandpipers
45+ Least Sandpipers
62 Short-billed Dowitchers
5 Long-billed Dowitchers
3 Willow Flycatchers
1 Hutton's Vireo
1 Warbling Vireo
1 Yellow Warbler
2 Orange-crowned Warblers
2 Wilson's Warblers
4 Red Crossbills

After birding Bottle Beach we traveled south to Tokeland with a quick stop made along S.R.109 at North Cove,where a single juvenile Bonaparte's Gull was noted amongst a large roosting gull flock containing both California and Heermann's Gulls.

Our visit to the Tokeland Marina was nice with a large gathering of 500+ Marbled Godwits(with 5 Whimbrels)were noted resting inside the marina,as well as flying around often. The pair of PURPLE MARTINS were again noted flying to and from their nest at a tire attached to a pole with the young birds heard calling. 13 Willets were observed next to the marina complex associating by themselves along the shores of Willapa Bay. A single Surf Scoter was the only waterbird away from a few gulls in Willapa Bay,as we scoped from the marina amongst large groups of fisherman in their boats. A group of 6 Turkey Vultures were noted soaring north of Tokeland with a small gathering of Common Ravens.

Our last stop before during to the Nisqually NWR was made at Westport,where we located a group of 8 Great Egrets resting in a salt along Montesano Ave. on our way back to S.R.109.



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit513 at msn.com