On Saturday, March 18th I birded a few locations around Elma in the morning. I started the day with a drive around the logging roads north of Elma in search of Mountain Quail. I did not find any and I am beginning to think that due to some recent logging operations the quail are going to much more difficult to find. Hopefully, when the all the roads open back up after the logging is done then quail will be found again.

After the drive, I took a walk out into the Chehalis Wildlife Area (Schouweiler Rd. wetland). Here I observed a single swallow flying high above me. It was either a Violet-Green or a Tree. Also, I noticed a large group of Canada/Cackling Geese that had taken to the air to the west because of a Bald Eagle flying over. In that group of geese, there was a single SNOW GOOSE. After seeing the geese land again, I drove around to the western end of Wenzel Slough Rd. and easily found the Snow Goose amidst the flock of Canada/Cackling geese. Presumably, this is the same Snow Goose that has been seen in the area before.

After that, I took a quick drive around the Brady Loop area, which produced a single Western Meadowlark near the intersection of Brady Loop and Foster Roads. Also, on the edge of a puddle on the eastern side of the loop, there was a small flock of Black-bellied Plover and Dunlin.

Good birding,

Tim O'Brien
Elma, WA
mailto: kertim7179 at yahoo.com



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