Today (16 May 2006) I birded the coast in order to see what shorebirds may still be around.

My first stop along the way was the Capital State Forest via Rock Candy Mountain Road from SR-8. (see page 216, A Birder's Guide to Washington.) The area was full of birds, including NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, GRAY JAY and HERMIT WARBLER. Several Hermit Warblers were singing about 5.8 miles from the entrance to the restrooms. This is on road C4000 about 2.4 miles from the intersection of C4000 and B Line.

Later in the day, about an hour before high tide, I stopped at Bottle Beach. Greeting me near the path was a WHITE-TAILED KITE. The bird was perched on a snag, eating a recently caught meal. After eating, the bird flew to the north. At the beach I counted 44 RED KNOTS. This number is down from the 100 plus Red Knots that were at Bottle Beach on Saturday, 13 May. There were also RUDDY TURNSTONES (5), SANDERLINGS (2), WHIMBREL (5) as well as BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, DUNLIN, WESTERN SANDPIPER and SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER.

A pair of WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS along Wentzel Slough Road completed a trio of jays for the day, with both Gray and Steller's seen at Capital State Forest.

It was a good day.

Marv Breece
Seattle, WA