Hello Tweets,

Today we spent time birding in Lewis and Cowlitz Cos. Our main highlight of
the day(as far as a rarity)was a "BLACK"BRANT observed amongst a large flock
of Cackling Geese along Rice Rd. near Napavine in Lewis Co. The exact
location is described as 0.2 miles north of LaBree-Hamilton Rd. on Rice Rd.
,if approaching this location from Napavine. If approaching this location
from the north follow Rice Rd. south from Stan Edwall Park,which lies just
west of I-5 south of Chehalis. The "Black"Brant was staying close to the
large flock of 900+ Cackling Geese and the flock flushed several times
during our visit at 1pm due to a passing adult Bald Eagle. 2
"Aleutian"Cackling Geese were noted amongst the large flock of Cackling
Geese. This appears to be the first record of "Black"Brant in Lewis Co. and
one that we didn't expect to see today!

Also observed at this location was 1 male Eurasian Wigeon noted amongst a
flock of 65+ Am.Wigeons. We also photographed an adult WHITE-THROATED
SPARROW(white-striped form)that was observed alone in a bramble area along
the west side of Rice Rd. 0.2 miles north of the intersection of
Labree-Hamilton Rd.

Also in Lewis Co. we began the day along Goodrich Rd.(north of
Centralia),where a large flock of 100+ Am.Wigeon contained a single male
Eurasian Wigeon. Our only Dunlin of the day was also noted at the end of
Goodrich Rd. in the drying "pond" along with small numbers of Northern
Shoveler, Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal. A quick check of Borst
Park in Centralia yielded a nice gathering of gulls that contained 1 adult
WESTERN GULL, 1 adult THAYER'S GULL, 4 Herring Gulls as the main highlights
amongst good numbers of Glaucous-winged Gulls.

In Cowlitz near Woodland skies remained very cloudy and wet with areas of
dense fog,but we managed to locate a few good species that ended our day. We
began along Dike Access Rd.,where we began with a subadult WHITE-TAILED KITE
that hunted over open fields south of the road. 13 Great Egrets were also
noted along Dike Access Rd. before connecting with Dike Rd.,where the were
mainly foraging in stubble fields north of the road. Nearby, an adult
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was observed perched atop a large alder tree with an
additional bird observed further south along Dike Rd. The further south we
drove along Dike Rd. the thicker the fog became at times and viewing the
Columbia River was near impossible. We birded a portion of Whalen Rd.,where
a SWAMP SPARROW and 2 Lincoln's Sparrows were briefly observed along a small
slough. Our second adult WHITE-THROATED SPARROW of the day was observed
along the Whalen Rd. railroad crossing,where it loosly associated with a
scattered flock of White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows.

As we drove further south along Dike Rd. towards the Lewis River we
encountered 2 seperate flocks of Sandhill Cranes that both flew south
towards the Ridgefield NWR in Clark Co. We estimated 400 birds of the
combined 2 flocks,as the continued south calling loudly. A gull flock along
Dike Rd.(south of Whalen Rd.)produced a single adult Thayer's Gulls and 2
Herring Gulls,as the main specialties species.

Other species of note to mention during the day include the following:

Tundra Swan
45+ birds observed along I-5 at MP 34(north of Kalama River Rd.)in Cowlitz
Co.
10 birds observed along I-5 at MP 31(just north of Kalama)in Cowlitz Co.

Merlin
1 bird along Dike Rd. near Woodland

Am.Kestrel(notable count)
28 birds at Woodland Bottoms(Dike Access Rd. area)


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
(roosting the the Knittle's in Vancouver,WA)



Ken Knittle
Washington Birder newsletter
2604 NE 80th Street
Vancouver, WA 98665
360-574-2590
mailto:washingtonbirder "at" hotmail.com