Hello Tweets,

This afternoon the adult RED-SHOULDERED HAWK made another nice showing along Independence Rd. near the community of Independence in Thurston Co. The bird as in past visits remained active in an area on both sides of Independence Rd. immediately south of Van Dyke Rd. We observed the bird beginning at 12pm in somewhat dismal conditions due to low clouds and fog,but upon arriving back at the location at 1:30pm conditions improved considerably. During this time the sun made some appearances through the thick clouds,especially near the end of our visit at 3:15pm. During this period the bird was most active east of Independence Rd. by flying from one stand of trees to the next and occasionally pursued by Common Ravens. The bird also perched on several occasions atop several conifer trees and would at this time sit in the way of draping it's wings and tail,as if it were hiding prey. We never saw the bird consuming anything,but it continued this behavior several times. The Red-shouldered Hawk eventually worked it's way onto the west side of the road nearest the flooded area,where we last saw it at 3:15pm. during the latter observation the bird was the closest to the road allowing some ample photos of it to be obtained with good back lighting. The bird is still quite elusive and shy,but it is still a pleasure to watch it's behavior,as well as seeing this rare Washington raptor! The bird does seem very comfortable in the immediate area,so we expect it may linger on in the area for some time.

In addition we located up to 5 WHITE-TAILED KITES during the day in both Lewis and Thurston Cos. including 3 birds(2 adults and 1 immature)along Bunker Creek Rd. followed by the lingering adult bird along Lincoln Creek Rd. at MP9 followed by a single adult bird in open fields south of Meadows Rd. near the community of Meadows in Thurston Co. The birds along Bunker Creek Rd. were all observed along the forested hillside east of Ceres Hill Rd. near a large dairy complex. A quick check of a partially flooded corn stubble field near this location produced 20 Black-bellied Plovers and 250+ Dunlin. ALL the White-tailed Kites were never close to the road and observed and photographed at a fair distance,but everyday is different.

We have placed many new photos onto our website,including photos taken today of the Red-shouldered Hawk and one of the White-tailed Kites. These photos can be viewed at the following link for you viewing: http://www.pbase.com/godwit/recent_photos/


Good birding,

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