Hello Tweets,

Today we revisited the Elma area in eastern Grays Harbor Co. in search of "Bewick's" Swan along Dunlap Rd.,as well as the Black Phoebe too. We arrived along Dunlap Rd. at 10:30am during foggy conditions that slowly gave way to sunny skies,although the temperature was very cold. We immediately located the "BEWICK'S" SWAN at the same location just north of the bridge near the end of Dunlap Rd. The "Bewick's" Swan was quickly separated from the Trumpeter and Tundra Swans,as it swam alone in the flooded area west of the road. We soon gathered our cameras and walked out into the very muddy and partially flooded field in attempts to get photos of the "Bewick's" Swan. We were given permission to walk on private property by the landowners and soon were treated to great scope views of this rare subspecies of Tundra Swan with great comparisons with both Trumpeter and Tundra Swans. We never got especially close to the swan flock due to not wishing to disturb them and property boundaries too. During the entire time we watched the "Bewick's" Swan it would swim with the other swans,as well as rest with it's head tucked and also preen too. We were able to get some fair photos of the "Bewick's" Swan and even with as close as we did get we still had limitations due to the lighting and fog! During most observations the yellow at the base of the bill was easy to detect,but when the bird swan close to another swan it would be hidden or it the bird turned it's head away from us. The size and structure of the bird remained very similar to that of the nearby Tundra Swans. We watched and photographed the "Bewick's" Swan until 1pm,where we left the bird and the original flock of both Trumpeter and Tundra Swans.

We have attached 8 photos of the "Bewick's" Swan onto our website including the bird being taken in the fog and several in somewhat better lighting. We were happy to get any photos considering the conditions. These photos can be accessed from the following link: http://www.pbase.com/godwit/recent_photos/

While watching the "Bewick's" Swan we located a single SAVANNAH SPARROW and SWAMP SPARROW from nearby partially submerged hedgerows. Also of note were relatively good numbers of swans that came and went during our visit,being primarily Trumpeter Swans. The "Bewick's" Swans kept in company with a flock of 17 swans that never left the location with only 5 Tundra Swans.


After viewing the "Bewick's" Swan we drove over a short distance to look for the Black Phoebe,but we were unable to locate the bird. There is plentiful amounts of habitat where the bird could be and we felt fortunate to get photos of it yesterday. Our only other good bird of note for the day was a single immature Northern Shrike along Brady Loop Rd.

Good birding,

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