I'm just back from a trip to Bottle Beach and Westport. I'll start with the Brown Pelicans in Aberdeen. On the way home, I noticed a large flock of big birds over the Chehalis River near the Walmart area. I pulled over at the overlook of the river just outside of Aberdeen and counted 80 Brown Pelicans in the river right behind the Top Foods grocery store. This is the first time I have seen them at this location. Most were swimming in the water and a few were on top of some pilings. Perhaps it was because the constant east winds had stopped? It just seems like an odd place.

I started the day at Bottle Beach and scoured the place as the tide was rising. The brushy areas held a few passerines, but nothing spectacular. I found Common Yellowthroat, one Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-capped Chickadee, a lone American Robin, one Bewick's Wren, and a couple sparrows that didn't show themselves well enough to be identified. The beach was very slow on the rising tide. A small group of 8 Black-bellied Plovers flew in and settled on the short pilings. They were later joined by a single Black Turnstone. Also, 8 Killdeer were meandering on the upper beach. A large flock of ducks were offshore which mainly consisted of Northern Pintail and a few American Wigeon.

I moved on to Westport with hopes of finding a godwit flock. I checked Float 21 first and the old docks opposite the float held lots and lots of Heermann's Gulls with a few comorants mixed in. I then took a walk out to the spit southeast of the Coast Guard station (driving out to the end of Year Out Rd.) and found the pot o' gold. A large group of Brown Pelican, Heermann's Gull, Long-billed Curlew, Whimbrel, and Marbled Godwit occupied the end of the spit. On the way out, I found one lone Baird's Sandpiper working the water-line and a Lapland Longspur which was associating with several Savannah Sparrows.

Also in Westport, at the end of Lila Road, I obtained a view of 5 Great Egrets in the bay. From the fishing pier in the marina, I had some very close looks at 6 Least Sandpipers and 4 Black Turnstones. Also, I spotted 2 Common Murres out in the channel.

I drove the Brady Loop Road on the way home and the tall corn is still present in the majority of the fields. On the east side of the loop near Willis St., there was a large congregration of swallows sitting on the utility lines. They were mostly Barn and Violet-green Swallows.

Good birding,

Tim O'Brien
Elma, WA
mailto: kertim7179 at yahoo.com



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