I spent Friday and Saturday at the coast, mostly on the Long Beach
Peninsula. I found few passerine migrants, but shorebirds were around
in large numbers and geese were migrating north in flocks of hundreds.

On Friday, after watching an immature Glaucous Gull at Nahcotta, I
hiked around part of Leadbetter Point. Both the trails to the outer
beach were flooded, up to about fifteen inches, so boots would be
advised for anyone wanting to head out there. It was well worth it
though, since at high tide there were over 28,000 shorebirds in about
a mile stretch of the beach! They were mostly Dunlin, Western
Sandpipers and Short-billed Dowitchers, with smaller numbers of
Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers, and Sanderling. I only found
a single Red Knot and did not see any Long-billed Dowitchers despite
looking for them. Back on the bayside in the late afternoon there
seemed to be even more shorebirds than were on the outer beach, as
well as 7,100 Brant. The other Leadbetter highlight was listening to
a drumming Ruffed Grouse.

Saturday morning I spent a couple hours looking off the North Head
Lighthouse with the Waggoner family. We were hoping for tubenoses
since the pelagic trip was blown out, but came up empty in that
department. However, there were thousands of birds to look at so we
were not bored. Pacific Loons were flying south in a steady stream
for the 2.5 hours we were there, totaling at least 12,000 birds and
possibly closer to 15-18,000! There were also several thousand Surf
Scoters, about 1500 Red-throated Loons (mostly sitting on the water),
and 1500 Western Grebes. Mixed in with the Westerns was a very bright
Clark's Grebe. Other highlights include a Harlequin Duck, Black
Scoter, Red-necked Phalarope and two Black Oystercatchers.

Later in the day there were a couple Rock Sandpipers along the rock
wall along the north edge of the Westport Marina.

Some pictures can be found here, which help convey the impressive
numbers of birds out there:

www.flickr.com/photos/rjm284

Good birding,
Ryan Merrill
Kirkland, WA