Hello Tweets,

Yesterday(September 26th)we led a very small TAS(Tahoma Audubon Society)field trip to Tokeland by covering several known locations along he way including Bottle Beach,Westport,the Hoquiam STP,and Midway Beach Rd. Yesterday's trip yielded a total of 98 species a fairly good assortment of species diversity wise,although our main focus was made on shorebirds that overall seemed very low in numbers. The weather was superb all day after a very foggy start of the day in the Elma-Brady area turning to clear skies and the only downfall of the day being windy conditions at Midway Beach Rd. During the day we ran into many birders,but it seemed most of us experienced the same kind of birding conditions.

Our day began in the Elma-Brady area,where we made a few stops via Hwy.12 beginning at the Schouweiler Rd. wetland then a very short visit made along a portion of the Brady Loop Rd. complex,where conditions were very still. We then traveled west straight to the Hoquiam STP,where skies cleared nicely and we scoped the main pond and the outer shoreline bordering Grays Harbor,as well as made a nice walk for passerines in the riparian area immediately north of the main pond. The best species while checking the main pond included 2 juvenile RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and a single Bonaparte's Gull,as well as a small assortment of waterfowl and other gulls. The riparian area produced good numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Cedar Waxwings,but under closer examination we located 5 Yellow Warblers,1 Townsend's Warbler,1 Black-throated Gray Warbler.1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and 4 PINE SISKINS as being the main species here! We also observed a small flock of 7 adult SANDHILL CRANES flying over just as we began looking for songbirds,which was a nice highlight in itself as they flew quietly eastward. Nearby,a nice gathering of 50+ Am.Pipits gathered along the grassy area at he east end of the Bowerman Basin/Hoquiam Airport.

Next,we drove straight to Bottle Beach arriving 3 hours before high tide at 11:30am,which was nearly perfect for the day although upon walking out onto the mudflats we experienced nearly NO shorebirds! The only shorebirds present were a flock of 14 Black-bellied Plovers,35+ Western Sandpipers and our only DUNLIN of the day! We remained disappointed,as we waited for another hour,but only good numbers of various waterfowl and gulls species added to our list for the day. It seems all the shorebirds either left this location prior to our visit or perhaps they chose any area for feeding. We felt fortunate to get what shorebirds we did! We returned to Bottle Beach at 5:30m during outgoing tide and located still no shorebirds,so they were apparently somewhere else.

Our lengthy afternoon visit to Westport proved great with a nice flock of 32 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS and 12 Marbled Godwits all gathered amongst a flock of various gulls and 1 Caspian Tern near the Westport Coast Guard Station. A larger flock of flock of 150 Marbled Godwits and our only Long-billed Dowitcher of the day were observed resting along he rocky slows of a jetty at the east end of the marina complex. A walk made along the dock at Float 20 produced 10 Black Turnstones and a single Surfbirds,which were our only "rockbirds" for the day,as they settled along a row of pilings during high tide.Other sightings from Westport included a single Sooty Shearwater flying eastward in South Bay, our only Northern Harrier of the day,1 Pectoral Sandpiper,and 50+ Am.Pipits.

Further south at the Tokeland Marina the usual gathering of around 800 Marbled Godwits all gathered and crowded the old dock at the south end of the marina,as well as 12 Willets noted just south of the marina amongst a flock of Heermann's Gulls. Our last main stop of the day was made with a windy walk at Midway Beach Rd.,where we scoured the open beaches,etc unable to locate any Snowy Plovers,which was one of very few times for us at this location. Perhaps other birders will have had better luck yesterday,as we encountered many beachcombers and roaming dog allover the area! Despite no Snowy Plovers we were treated to 3 separate LAPLAND LONGSPURS and only one "Streaked"Horned Lark under good numbers of Savannah Sparrows,as we walked the inner beach area bordering the dunes. The best highlight at this location came when a single adult WHITE-TAILED KITE was spotted flying well east of Midway Beach Rd.,as it soared several times before continuing south. It is a species my mother and I have encountered only 2 previous times from this immediate area,so it was still a good sighting although distant!

On our way home a gathering of 12 GREAT EGRETS assembled along the mouth of the Elk River at Bay City,as we drove eastward along S.R.105. We made a short visit to the Johns River WRA and made a partial walk along the paved trail next to the Johns River. Here,we located our only Common Merganser and Spotted Sandpiper of the day,as well as 27 Greater Yellowlegs along the river and 50+ Am.Pipits nearby in the recently cut grassy fields.



Good birding,

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