Hello Tweets,

Today we enjoyed a few hours of birding in the Centralia area along with ending the day along Meadows Rd. near Grand Mound in Thurston Co. The weather remained good with just a few scattered rain showers then turning colder and wetter near the end of the day. Our main of several highlights of the day was an adult WHITE-TAILED KITE observed at 2pm along Wagner Rd.,then along Meadows Rd. in both Lewis and Thurston Cos. The bird was perched atop a small bush in a large open field just north of the Centralia Wastewater Treatment Plant,where we obtained our best views of the bird to the north along Meadows Rd. The bird remained atop the bush for nearly 45 minutes until it finally flew northward over a forested hillside just above the Chehalis River. This a fairly traditional area that has produced White-tailed Kites in past years,but as of recently we haven't heard of any reports from this location. It was nice treat to see the bird to add to other recent White-tailed Kite sightings and we did obtain some poor quality photos,despite the distance and the lighting.

Our day began in search of the previously reported GLAUCOUS GULL yesterday by Dave Hayden near Centralia,as we searched flooded areas along the Frontage Rd. We drove south along the Frontage Rd.(accessed off of 1-5 a Mellen Street)and paralleled I-5 for some time then met back to I-5 near the Chehalis/Centralia Airport. We encountered only one flock of gulls near the airport and golf course area then continued to another location south of this area that we have had good results for gulls over the past 2 winters. We drove a few miles south on I-5 to the 13th Street Exit(Exit 76),then drove a very short distance west on 13th Street to Stan Edwall Park. We walked trough the entrance gate and located a single gull flock and almost immediately located the 1st winter plumaged GLAUCOUS GULL! This is approximately 5 miles south of the location that Dave reported his Glaucous Gull yesterday. A very good,but somewhat overdue species for Lewis Co.,but nonetheless a great find by Dave Hayden! A 1st year plumaged WESTERN GULL was also amongst a small flock of gulls that settled atop a rooftop within the park next to a series of playfields.

A SWAMP SPARROW and a single Lincoln's Sparrow were attracted to heavy "pishing" in wet,heavy Reed Canary grass and other vegetation along the fenced eastern border of the park. 4 Am.Kestrels and 2 Northern Harriers were also encountered in open fields jus south of the park along 13th Street.

After birding this location we headed north and made another quick stop along the Frontage Rd. and checked the flooded areas more thoroughly,which yielded fairly good numbers of waterfowl,including one large gathering of Ring-necked Ducks that contained 78 birds. It is here we also rain into Dave Hayden and Sherry Thiel and we exchanged our sightings,etc,as it began to rain lightly. A single adult Peregrine Falcon flew over the area before continuing northward.

After departing our ways we continued north and made a brief stop at Fort Borst Park in Centralia that hosted 2 Herring Gulls amongst the small gathering of Glaucous-winged Gulls.

Our last and best stop of the day came in the Meadows/Grand Mound area,where we first stopped and checked the large pond next to the Centralia Wastewater Treatment Plant at the end of Goodrich Rd.(northern Lewis Co.),where 2 male REDHEADS were observed amongst a nice gathering of Ring-necked Ducks and Common Goldeneyes. A singe male EURASIAN WIGEON was also observed at this same location amongst a different waterfowl flock containing mostly Am.Wigeon,Green-winged Teal and a few Northern Pintail.
Of additional note a single HORNED LARK was briefly observed,as it flushed off the ground along Goodrich Rd.,where it later landed in a short,grassy field. We did not determine the subspecies of this bird due to the brief sighting. We then drove a short distance to Wagner Rd.,where we spotted the adult White-tailed Kite perched in a large,open field then drove straight over to Meadows Rd. for better viewing,which was on the Thurston Co. side of this same field.

We ended our day along Meadows Rd. and watching the White-tailed Kite and located a few other species in the process. Here,we observed our first PINE SISKINS of 2006 with a single tight flock of 20 birds that were noted flying at the end of Meadows Rd. Next, a single adult SNOW GOOSE made a flyover amongst a flock of Canada/Cackling Geese,where the flock headed south and east into Lewis Co. A single Coyote was also observed at this location running in an open field towards the Chehalis River. 3 Northern Harriers,2 Am.Kestrels and a singe Western Meadowlark rounded out the lasts species that were observed from this location.


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net