Subject: [Tweeters] July 5-7 Results Olympics, Ocean Shores/Westport,
Date: Jul 11 18:51:22 2007
From: michael hartley - hartleyism at gmail.com


First thank you to everyone for all of your advice. Thankfully on a
trip to Hurricane Ridge we passed the Wild Birds Unlimited in Sequim
and they had many copies of Opperman's guide available and wonderful
service.

This is long - the first few are the Olympics, followed by Ocean
Shores/Westport, then concluded with Wenas Creek/Vantage.

We were sightseeing instead of birding on 7/5 to Hurricane Ridge and
Dungeness Spit, but still I saw a number of lifers and good birds.
Pigeon Guillemot, Rhinoceros Auklet and Pelagic Cormorant were at the
Edmonds ferry. Chestnut-backed Chickadee was at Dungeness Spit but
not much else though we didn't walk down the spit at all. On the road
in, we saw a Northern Harrier and at a pull-off above the spit we
observed two Bald Eagles soar in through the mist to the bluffs, which
was a spectacular sight.

On Hurricane Ridge my lifers were Sooty Grouse, Band-tailed Pigeon and
we also saw a sizable flock of Gray Jays and Pine Siskin.

We stopped by Diamond Point on the way back and were greatly assisted
by Frank and Chris Brew? Lifers were Marbled Murrelet (2) and
Cassin's Auklet (6), and other birds of interest were 2 Rufous
Hummingbirds, Barn, Cliff, Violet-Green and Tree Swallows, Pigeon
Guillemot and 1 Rhinoceros Auklet.

7/6 I headed to Westport and Ocean Shores. Lifers at Westport were
Heerman's gulls, 6 Brant on the beach in front of the first pull-off
entering Westhaven State Park, Brandt's Cormorant from the Westport
Observation tower, Surf Scoters in West Haven and others of interest
included 6 Whimbrels, Western Grebes, 1 White-winged Scoter,
Peregrine Falcon.
The lone Ocean Shores lifer were the Common Murres off the jetty and
other birds were more Heerman's Gulls, Cassin's Auklets, Pigeon
Guillemots, Surf Scoters, and finally we saw one Harbor Seal feeding
with Brown Pelicans and porpoise.

7/7 I drove first to Wenas Creek campground and along the road my
lifers were Sage Thrasher, Brewer's Sparrow, Sage Sparrow, Lewis's
Woodpecker, and California Quail. I also saw one Prairie Falcon among
many Kestrels and mostly Western but some Mountain Bluebirds, a couple
of Magpies and a Black-headed Grosbeak. I missed the White-headed
Woodpeckers in the campground probably because I was distracted by a
pair of young brothers camping. They instructed me in the ways of the
Wenas animals, snakes, and flowers. "Most of the coyotes are scared
of you, but when they do bite you, just snap their neck. That's what
we do." Younger brother: "We have lots of cobras!" Older brother:
"We don't have cobras! But I did almost get bit by a python the other
day." Younger: "There's lots of flowers to pick for your wife. I
pick them for my mom everyday. Do you pick them for Mom, too?"
Older: "No, she's allergic."

I continued to I-82 and pulled over at the Selah Creek rest area to
see an Ash-throated Flycatcher -- another lifer.

Finally, I drove Huntzinger Road past Wanapum State Park to the Apple
Orchard. I missed Black-throated Sparrows and Chukar, but did see
Rock Wrens along the road and in Wanapum State Park, a Say's Phoebe --
both lifers. I also saw 1 Bufflehead, 1 Bald Eagle, many Lark
Sparrows, Sage Thrasher and Bank and Cliff Swallows.

Washington gave me 25 lifers, 72 birds in my three days, and brought
my life list to 353. Thank you all again for your help! We look
forward to returning!

Michael Hartley
Tallahassee, FL