Tweeters:

Anne Winskie and I covered Graysmarsh for the county-wide May Count on
Saturday. We had a very good day (118 species, just one short of the single
day record, from the May 1998 May count), especially given that the marsh
was mostly dry and shorebirds were pretty much absent. Graysmarsh is a
private property just north of Sequim in Clallam County, public access is
restricted to the beach.

Highlights:

(Black) Brant 92 (high count for late date)
Cinnamon Teal 3
good mix of lingering dabblers including N. Pin, Am. Wigeon, GW Teal,
Gadwall, 1 Lesser Scaup
best-ever count of Bald Eagles (19) associated with -1.9 low tide
Long-tailed Duck 1 (late)
Com. Goldeneye 1 (late)
Com. Merganser 1, high numbers RB Merg
Am. Kestrel 2 (apparently nesting in area)
1st-winter Thayer's Gull at beach (late)
Band-tailed Pigeon 108 (record for Grays)
W. Wood-Pewee 2
Olive-sided Flycatcher 3
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 23
Hammond's Flycatcher 3
DUSKY FLYCATCHER 1 (vocal bird)
House Wren 4 (nesting)
Swainson's Thrush 9
Hermit Thrush 4 (high)
Am. Pipit 1 (late)
Cedar Waxwing 6
Cassin's Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 6
9 warbler sp, including Orange-crowned Warbler 72 (record high), NASHVILLE
WARBLER 1 (fleeting view), Black-throated Gray Warbler 6, Wilson's Warbler
29, MacGillivray's Warbler 2
7 sparrow species including WHITE-THROATED SPARROW 1, Lincoln's 1, Fox 1
(both on the late side), Savannah Sparrows still migrating with 53 present,
Golden-crowns still high with 35
W. Meadowlark 1 (last of season, late).

The Nashville Warbler and Dusky Flycatcher are the 3rd each for Grays: The
other Duskies were May 20 and Sept 4 birds, and the Nashvilles were Sept 3-4
birds. The White-throated Sparrow was notable for being (a) at a completely
new and unexpected site (deep in mature coniferous forest, a small opening
there regenerating with various shrubs), and (b) being the white-striped
phase, we've only had tan-striped prior; and (c) being the latest ever at
Grays. With all the birds found, there were as always some striking misses,
like Kingfisher, rails, BW Teal, and a few others. I also had an
aggravatingly close miss on getting Grays' long-overdue first Hermit
Warbler, two singing birds that sounded perfect but refused to become
visible. The same was true of a grosbeak with a squeaky "eek" note that
sounded perfect for Rose-breasted (and I just returned from TX), but was
also elusive.

Another highlight was two just-born fawns with defend-mode doe, real neat to
see. Anne snapped a couple photos of them. All in all, another banner day
for Graysmarsh.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com