Subject: [Tweeters] TAS Birdathon 4-30-06
Date: May 1 08:26:21 2006
From: Ruth and/or Patrick Sullivan - godwit513 at msn.com


Hello Tweets,

Yesterday(April 30th)we conducted our Birdathon for TAS(Tahoma Audubon Society)with a total of 142 species in 4 counties. We covered similar areas than last year from our home to Tokeland except this year not going to the Auburn area. We encountered many highlights for the long day of the 13 hours that we birded,but were very disappointed in the low numbers of passerines and how difficult many of the those species to get. We had a great assortment of species including 23 species of shorebirds and weather conditions were good except for coastal winds that may have hampered songbird numbers.

Our trip began in the Fircrest area of Pierce Co.,where we added several species in our neighborhood before continuing onto the Nisqually NWR. When we arrived to the Nisqually NWR we encountered fairly thick fog,which soon began to raise making birding conditions much better under the sunny skies. Here,we got a very nice variety of species to begin our day including good numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers and other passerines. We then drove over to Luhr Beach and encountered similar foggy conditions than the previous location,but within 10 minutes conditions became better for offshore viewing. We continued onto the Elma-Brady area then onto the Johns River WRA then Westport,where strong winds prevailed. After a nice,but windy visit to the Westport area we drove to Bottle Beach during incoming tide,where good numbers of shorebirds were evident,but not in numbers like we expected for a major migration. The winds at Bottle Beach were the strongest since the were blowing from the north,but we made the best of it! Towards the end of our visit to this location and as the tide moved closer in to us most of the shorebirds flew off to the north quite possibly to the presence of 2 adult Peregrine Falcons. We spoke with many other birders also looking for shorebirds here before we continued onto Midway Beach Rd.,where we got all of our target birds. After Midway Beach Rd. we drove south to Tokeland and enjoyed a some additional species for our day although missing Willet! After checking Tokeland thoroughly we drove inland and checked the Friend's Landing area south of Montesano,specifically for any passerines,etc. Despite being the time of day we were able to add a few more species for our list and having no wind helped alot too! Our last stop of the day was made along Dunlap Rd.(accessed along Hwy.12 southeast of Elma),where got our last and final species for the long,exhausting day!


Highlights for the day included the following at selected locations:

1 EARED GREBE off Luhr Beach

1 lingering TRUMPETER SWAN along the western portion of Wenzel Slough Rd.

1 RUFFED GROUSE heard from the thick,dense vegetation at Friend's Landing

3 SNOWY PLOVERS at Midway Beach Rd.

2 Lesser Yellowlegs in a wetland area near the end of Dunlap Rd.(last species of the day)

1 Solitary Sandpiper at the Nisqually NWR

12 Long-billed Curlews at the tip of Graveyard Spit at Tokeland

1 Red Knot at Westport with 1 additional bird at Bottle Beach and 10 birds at the tip of Graveyard Spit at Tokeland

3 ROCK SANDPIPERS at Westport(including 2 in breeding plumage and 1 bird in non breeding plumage)2 birds were with other "rockbirds" at the base of the jetty at Westhaven State Park and 1 bird with a small flock of "rockbirds" along the boardwalk at Float 21.

1 SNOWY OWL observed from Westhaven State Park and Float 21 at Westport perched atop a driftwood snag near the tip of Damon Point! This was a total unexpected sighting considering the distance scoping over Grays Harbor from Westport,but the bird was seen well and we do recall a recent sighting of 3 birds at Damon Point as posted on Tweeters.

1 male MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD at Westhaven State Park

1 Wilson's Warbler at the Nisqually NWR

2 adult female LAPLAND LONGSPURS with a roaming flock of Savannah Sparrows along the eastern portion of Brady Loop Rd. with 1 additional adult male bird at the end of Midway Beach Rd.(with the latter bird located earlier in the day by Alan Richards and other birders)




Additional notable species of the day included the following:


7 Greater White-fronted Geese(with 40 Cackling Geese)at the Johns River WRA

2 Ruddy Turnstones at Westhaven SP at Westport with 8 additional birds at Bottle Beach and 2 birds at the Tokeland Marina

2 Surfbirds at Westport

7 Marbled Murrelets off Westport

1 Barn Owl at the Nisqually NWR

2 Western Scrub Jays along Arland Rd.(south of Hwy.12 near Montesano)

1 "Streaked"Horned Lark and 3 Am.Pipits at Midway Beach Rd.

3 Black-throated Gray Warblers at Friend's Landing



It was a great day filled with several unexpected sightings although having less wind would have helped during the afternoon! A fun day nonetheless!



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit513 at msn.com