Hello Tweeters,



On Sunday, I led a Seattle Audubon trip to Grays Harbor and surrounds. Our
small but energetic group covered the Elma / Brady Loop Road area, Bottle
Beach, Westport, Tokeland, and made a brief jaunt down to Bay Center. It
was a lovely day, chilly and crisp, but with few clouds and no precipitation
? a nice change from all the rain we?ve been getting in Seattle. Raptors
provided most of the day?s highlights, and though numbers were relatively
low, we had great diversity. We saw a total of 73 bird species, plus a few
interesting mammals.



Our first stop of the day was a brief one at Mud Bay. Here, with the tide
coming in, we found one Greater Yellowlegs, 5 Dunlin, and a nice selection
of waterfowl, including Green-winged Teal, Pintail, many Bufflehead, and a
female goldeneye that was a bit too distant to confidently identify. We
also encountered the first of many Ruby-crowned Kinglets we saw during the
day.



We moved on to Vance Creek Co. Park, where the lakes held surprisingly few
waterfowl. Two Western Scrub-Jays were along Wenzel Slough Rd adjacent to
the park. The two lakes north of the road had a few Pied-billed Grebes,
Ring-necked Ducks, and Greater Scaup. A stroll along the creek gave us good
looks at Fox Sparrows. We also spotted the OSPREY previously reported by
Patrick and Ruth Sullivan, soaring over one of the lakes. The lake south of
Wenzel Slough Road had about 30 swans, a nice mix of Trumpeter and Tundra.
Also there was one Common Merganser (our only one of the day), a few Coots,
Wigeon, and Shoveler.



Heading further west on Wenzel Slough Road, we found a flooded field full of
shorebirds ? about 500 Dunlin, 30 Black-bellied Plovers, and 10 Killdeer.
At the same site, we saw one fly-over American Pipit, and 4 Common Goldeneye
flew in. Moving on, we came across a Nutria making its way slowly across an
open field, at least a hundred yards from any water. I wasn?t aware Nutria
were established there; I?ve seen them numerous times at the Montlake Fill,
but hadn?t seen them anywhere else in Washington.



We then drove the Brady Loop. We got great looks at several Western
Scrub-Jays in a yard at the northeast corner of the Loop. On Foster Road,
we saw a nice light morph Rough-legged Hawk. This bird was banded, but
unfortunately was too distant to have any hope of reading the band. We
drove up on two Ring-necked Pheasants that seemed unwilling to leave the
road. I?ve had a number of experiences with game birds hanging around roads
during hunting season. I wonder if they realize that they?re safer there,
where they might be seen, but aren?t likely to get shot. Our next raptor
highlight also came along Brady Loop Rd ? a gorgeous dark Harlan?s Hawk that
gave us a good study when perched, then flew, allowing us to see all the
field marks of this distinctive form.



Our next stop was Bottle Beach, where the tide was still too high for any
feeding shorebirds. We did see a few fly-by flocks of Dunlin and
Sanderlings, but little else. Along the bridge east of Brady?s Oysters, a
large flock of Wigeon held at least one male Eurasian Wigeon, and a small
flock of Least Sandpipers flew by.



We made a few quick stops in Westport, mostly around the marina. This is
really a great place for close-up studies of many of the more common coastal
species. We had great looks at Common Loons, Western and Horned Grebes,
Glaucous-winged and Western Gulls (as well as the myriad hybrids),
Red-breasted Merganser, Surf Scoters, and Pelagic Cormorants. 3 Black
Turnstones were on the rocks outside the west end of the marina, but the
inlet had very few birds.



Then on to Tokeland, where we saw two Long-billed Curlews and 50 Marbled
Godwits from Fisher Ave. Here we also saw a Kingfisher perched close up,
but facing directly away - it would have made a good photo quiz. At the
marina, two White-winged Scoters were hanging out right under the pier. A
distant flock of Wigeon included at least two Eurasians. Western and Horned
Grebes reminded us just how similar their plumages are. Shorebirds foraging
on the mudflats included about 4 Willet.



We then cruised down to Bay Center, hoping to find the Red-shouldered Hawk
found by Ken Knittle. A white spot atop a bush along Hwy 101 west of South
Bend turned out to be a WHITE-TAILED KITE. It gave us nice, but distant
looks, before heading off to the east. Along Bay Center Dike Road, a herd
of 30 elk were mixed in with the cows. Also in these fields were quite a
few geese, including numerous Dusky Canadas, 2 Greater White-fronted, and 1
Snow Goose. Unfortunately, we had no luck with the Red-shoulder.



As we were heading home, a Barn Owl hunting in a field along Hwy 101 near
Stuart Slough, in the fading light, made a great end to the day.



Good birding,

Matt Dufort

Seattle, WA


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