Hi again -
Yesterday [Saturday, 5/17], Tom Mansfield & I headed out to Grays
Harbor & Pacific County for a day of birding in the sun. Just a few
highlights:

Bottle Beach - on the incoming tide, we had good numbers of RED
KNOTS, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, DUNLIN, and
WESTERN SANDPIPERS, as well as a single RUDDY TURNSTONE &
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER.

Midway Beach - 6-8 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, and a few WILSON'S
PHALAROPES in the pond at the end of the road.

Tokeland Marina offered up PURPLE MARTINS, MARBLED GODWITS, WHIMBREL
& SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS.

Along SR105 towards Raymond, we watched 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS dive on a
GREATER YELLOWLEGS -- the Yellowlegs eventually tried to escape by
flying into the trees, but we think we saw it dangling from one of
the Peregrine's talons as it emerged from the branchs.

From Raymond, for a change, we took Smith Creek Road home, heading
east through Brooklyn & ending up eventually in Oakville -- this is a
really promising looking route, probably well worth an early morning
drive.

Our best birds [all on the Pacific Co portion] were : SOOTY GROUSE &
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER.

In Oakville [Grays Harbor Co], we stopped briefly at the spot where
the Acorn Woodpecker was observed last year -- no luck with
woodpeckers, but we did have good looks at a singing CHIPPING SPARROW
[which was also present last year at the same spot].

Another good day of birding in WA,

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA