SOUTHWESTERN WASHINGTON

16-19 MARCH 2006



We spent four days birding southwestern Washington, visiting some of the
regular sites and, for us, some new sites mentioned in Audubon's Southwest
Loop of "The Great Washington State Birding Trail." This is a great
resource, very nicely laid out and accurate.



We started at Ocean Shores targeting Gyrfalcon . From the end of Tonquin
Road, we scanned driftwood for this falcon but saw very few birds. The wind
was blowing and impressive squalls drove us away. It's obvious the winter
storms this year have rearranged the bays and spits here. We did note
Greater White-fronted Goose and Eurasian Widgeon on the golf course.



We moved south to Westport. The weather continued blustery, typical for
early spring. Seeking Rock Sandpipers, we headed to perhaps the easiest spot
in the state to see this species. At the end of Neddie Rose Drive, we took
the walkway down and out to the public fishing pier. A few hundred yards
out, beyond an arched bridge, we looked left (north) on the pilings and
found five Rock Sandpipers and a Surfbird only a few feet away, a nice
study, indeed. Looking out into Grays Harbor from here, we had great looks
at a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel dancing of the choppy waters, Farther out in
Grays Harbor were several Black-legged Kittiwakes sailing in the winds.



It would be almost unthinkable for a birder to pass up Tokeland for its
winter roost of long-legged shorebirds. We were not disappointed, getting
close studies of Willets (15), Long-billed Curlews (20), Marbled Godwit
(hundreds), and Long-billed Dowitchers (a handful).



On the 17th we spent the morning at Julia Butler Hansen NWR. The weather was
a little less blustery and birding definitely easier. In front of refuge
headquarters hawking over the pond were Tree and Barn Swallows, signs of
spring. Farther along the refuge loop road, a CommonTeal in a muddy pool
right off the road afforded good views. Woodpeckers were a treat here; we
had five species (Red-breasted Sapsucker, Downy, Hairy, and Pileated
Woodpeckers, and Northern Flicker), a clean sweep of this clan on the refuge
checklist. Most of the woodies were at the more wooded west part of the
refuge loop More signs of spring were views of a pair of Bald Eagles
performing courtship aerobatics, then later mating, a pair of Downy
Woodpeckers mating and the Pileated Woodpecker drumming. Yet another sign
of spring was a pair of Chestnut-backed Chickadees and later Belted
Kingfishers both engaged in courtship feeding. Our three hours here netted
us 55 species, a very satisfying morning!



Next we chose to poke up Elochoman River Road, a mosaic of fields and
woodlots. About a mile up the road, we had views of four Western Bluebirds
hawking in a field grown to rough reed canarygrass.



Returning to SR-6, at milepost 27, we came to a halt as Ellen blurted out
"kite!" There we had beautiful views of a White-tailed Kite hovering into a
westerly breeze. Within a couple minutes, the kite swooped down into the
scruffy pasture and came up with a small rodent. We watched the bird carry
its prey west up West Valley Road disappearing out of sight about a mile
from us. This suggests local nesting from the kites behavior and season.



Heading west on SR-4, we met up with Ann Musche and hiked up Scarboro Hill
in Fort Columbia State Park. This historic park is set in a beautiful
setting. Although lightly logged years ago, many huge Sitka Spruce were
spared. Large Western Hemlocks mantle the hillsides, intermixed with second
growth and hardwoods. Birds were not showing much here, though we did hear a
Rufous Hummingbird.



Poking around the Ilwaco area on the 18th wasn't too productive, though a
few Trumpeter Swans on O'Neil Lake in Cape Disappointment State Park seemed
a little late in departing north. We spent an hour at dusk and early evening
owling along the Chinook Valley Road. Though it was calm and dry, we neither
saw nor heard any owls.



We began two hours before dawn on the 19th again trying for owls. We made
frequent stops along Sandridge Road heading north to Leadbetter Point. Our
only luck was one Northern Pygmy-Owl tooting away in Leadbetter State Park.



Though the signs at the end of the road at Leadbetter NWR. Warned of "deep
flooding" on the trails out to the beach, we had talked to a couple who made
light of the challenge and even said the water was "warm." Confident we
could overcome a bit of water in the swales; we struck out to the beach and
soon found the flooding was as deep as warned. We kept on thinking (hoping)
we would reach dry ground, but we trudged on we encountered yet more flooded
swales. I suspect we traipsed through a half mile of water, in places so
deep that only hip waders would have kept us dry. Since frost was coating
the sedges, I believe cold better describes the water temperature!



At the beach, with the sun just beginning to warm us, we began by searching
for any owls that might be about. Though getting late in the season, folks
were still reporting Snowy Owls in Washington. Shortly we glimpsed a
Short-eared Owl, then another and a scan with the scope revealed a Snowy Owl
to the north perched atop a white sign marking the closed Snowy Plover area.
With a bit more searching we found another Snowy Owl.



The beach had hundreds of Sanderlings but the huge flocks of Dunlin and
lesser numbers of Black-bellied Plovers were departing for the richer
foraging grounds inside Willapa Bay.



As we waded the swales on our return we lingered in several spots, as there
were lots of birds calling, as the sun had started stirring the bugs. Rufous
Hummingbirds were easy to find in the swales with Hooker's Willows,
evidently picking at the bugs attracted to the "flowers." "Myrtle"
Yellow-rumped Warblers were also common, as were Ruby-crowned Kinglets. We
found a few Bushtits, Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Winter
Wren, Varied Thrush, and Song Sparrows out in the willows and myrtle
habitat. On higher ground, in the Lodgepole Pines we heard and saw several
Ruffed Grouse, but surprising to me were two singing Hutton's Vireos. This
was a habitat type I had not observed this species in before. In both sites,
a few willow thickets were present; perhaps this constitutes the "second
growth conifer forest with a hardwood component" described in the Birds of
Washington. One Purple Finch singing here also seemed a little out of place.



By and by we reached the inside of the bay and dry ground, ending our slog
through the flooded swales. We cranked the floor heat in our vehicle up to
start warming and drying our feet.



Heading east and homewards, we paused along US-101 on the east side of
Willapa NWR's Lewis unit to admire an immature Golden Eagle soar up from the
grassy fields and head east towards the hills. This was my first Golden
Eagle ever on the coast.



Heading east on US-12 from I-5, we detoured south to Swofford Pond near
Mossyrock, a new site for us. We were pleased with this spot. To us, it
seemed to be large enough to be called a lake, perhaps it has been enlarged
with a dam.. This place invites a longer visit in the future!



I thought it interesting we neither saw nor heard any Red-breasted
Nuthatches, Pine Siskins or American Goldfinches on this trip, not to
mention Red Crossbill. Scarcity of Red-breasted Nuthatches, Pine Siskins,
and Red Crossbills on the outer coast this winter seems to be our experience
on the several trips we've taken out there.



Andy Stepniewski

Wapato WA

steppie at nwinfo.net