On Friday, April 18, I will be waking up at a hotel in downtown
Seattle but not flying out of SeaTac until around 10:00 PM. I should
be able to get in one pretty good day of birding, and I am looking
for suggestions on where. I have birded a bit on past visits to
Seattle, so my list of possible life birds that might not be
completely silly is fairly short: Band-tailed Pigeon, Violet-green
Swallow, Clark's Nutcracker, Pacific Loon, Rhinoceros Auklet,
Wandering Tatler. I am not rabid about having to find lifers, but
I'd at least like to bird where there are possibilities. I have the
2003 ABA guide, and plan to bring my scope.

One alternative is to use public transportation to go to Discovery
Park and spend the day there. It sounds like scoping from the point
is worthwhile, if a bit of a walk, and the rest of the habitat sounds
interesting too. I'm guessing that any time but slack-water would do
for the point, but I haven't figured out the tides there yet.

Otherwise I figure to get up early and catch a shuttle to SeaTac and
rent a car for the day. If I do rent a car I've been weighing a
visit to Nisqually NWR against Gray's Harbor NWR. Or Ocean Shores.
Taking ferries is another idea, but driving to a good ferry requires
a lot of back-tracking from SeaTac. Or someplace else, I am open to
suggestions.

>From past visits, I know I could spend hours at Nisqually happily
walking all the trails and trying to find everything there. Or I
could spend some early hours there, and then press on to Gray's
Harbor for the mid-day high tide where I can confuse myself endlessly
trying to sort out shorebirds. I could even push all the way to
Ocean Shores where I might have a chance for a Tattler - but I'd
rather be birding that driving.

All suggestions are welcome. In this case I think responding
off-list is appropriate.

Thanks!

Roy Harvey
Beacon Falls, CT