Hello Tweets,

Today Jim Pruske and my mother and I enjoyed a nice birding day exploring northern Lewis and southwestern Thurston Cos. The weather was dry all day with mostly to partly cloudy skies making conditions great! Our main highlight of the day was the lingering adult RED-SHOULDERED HAWK along Independence Rd. near the community of Independence in extreme southwestern Thurston Co. Today the bird was observed on two occasions with both sightings along Independence Rd. immediately south of Van Dyke Rd.,beginning with our morning observation between 9:15am-10:15am. During our morning observation the bird was observed only on the east side of Independence Rd.,as we were joined partially with Kraig Kemper. The bird was quite active flying along the upper hillside and was only observed 3 times during the hour period,then eventually the bird was pursued by a small group of Common Ravens as it flew northward into a dense stand of conifer trees beyond Van Dyke Rd. We all had good scoping views of the bird from vantage points along Independence Rd.,where the bird would perch 2 of the 3 times from visible trees.

Our afternoon observation of the Red-shouldered Hawk was very brief upon our return visit at 2pm from southern locations,where the bird was noted at very close range along the edge of Independence Rd. The bird quickly flew to a deciduous tree further away from the road,then within 2 minutes flew northward into thicker cover and was not relocated up until the time we left at 3:30pm. It seems the bird has a very limited hunting area,but does move around alot and as in our previous observation of this bird was not vocal. Other noteworthy sightings from this locations during either visit included the following:

2 Northern Harriers
1 Cooper's Hawk
5+ Mourning Doves
1 Red-breasted Sapsucker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 GRAY JAY(observed during our morning visit perched atop a distant conifer tree east of Independence Rd.)
1 Lincoln's Sparrows



Our day began just after dawn along Goodrich Rd. near the community of Meadows Rd. in northern Lewis Co.,where we observed the lingering PRAIRIE FALCON on a distant telephone pole in Thurston Co. We drove onto nearby Wagner Rd.,where the bird continued to perch on the telephone pole in a large open field. We then made a short drive around and over onto the other side of the same field along Meadows Rd.,but upon arriving the bird was not seen. Within 10 minutes the bird was noted flying in from the west,then landed on the initial telephone pole,where it perched for 10 more minutes before flying off eastward into Lewis Co. At this same location we observed our first WHITE-TAILED KITE of the day,which was an adult bird perched atop a large bush in the same large open field. A single Black-bellied Plover was also observed and heard calling overhead as it continued eastward from Thurston Co. into Lewis Co.

Away from the Red-shouldered Hawk the remainder of the day was spent beginning by continuing southward along Independence Rd. to Lincoln Creek Rd.,the south on Ingalls Rd. to Bunker Creek Rd. We followed Bunker Creek Rd to the town of Adna at Hwy.6,then proceeded east to I-5 then northward to Centralia then slowly followed Lincoln Creek Rd. via the town of Galvin back to Independence Rd. We ended the day with a return visit to Goodrich Rd.,where our last good species of the day was a single TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE foraging in a juniper tree. With much less flooded areas than last week due to lower water levels we encountered much more scattered numbers of waterfowl and gulls,which more or less were very limited. We also noticed that Western Scrub Jays have wandered into relatively rural,backcountry areas away from regular populations in suburban areas. Our greatest demise of the day was locating a freshly road-killed RUFFED GROUSE along Lincoln Creek Rd.

Other good birds of the day included the following:

Eurasian Wigeon
5 amongst a large flock of Am.Wigeon and other waterfowl along Lincoln Creek Rd.(near the Chehalis River west of the town of Galvin). This location hosted huge numbers of various waterfowl species presumably attracted since other nearby flooded areas were being hunted. Both Cackling and Canada Geese were also present at this location,as were 3 adult Bald Eagles.

WHITE-TAILED KITE
1 adult bird along Meadows Rd.(Thurston/Lewis Cos.)
3 adult birds along Ingalls Rd. immediately south of Lincoln Creek Rd.(with one adult bird observed at closer range along Lincoln Creek Rd. at MP9)
2 immature birds along Bunker Creek Rd.(north of the town of Adna)

Sharp-shinned Hawk(last species of the day)
1 bird along I-5 north of Hwy.12(Thurston Co.)

Am.Kestrel
28 birds from various locations

Ring-necked Pheasant
1 along Lincoln Creek Rd.

Black-bellied Plover
1 along Meadows Rd.(Thurston/Lewis Cos.)
75 along Bunker Creek Rd.

Dunlin
300+ along Bunker Creek Rd.

Herring Gull
1 along Bunker Creek Rd.

NORTHERN PYGMY OWL
1 bird along Lincoln Creek Rd. near MP6

Pileated Woodpecker
1 calling bird along Lincoln Creek Rd.

Evening Grosbeak
1 calling bird along Lincoln Creek Rd.



Our mammal highlight of the day was a single Coyote observed along Prather Rd. near the Chehalis River.



Good birding,

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