Today, August 25, Brian Bell and I birded the Steigerwald Lake NWR and surrounding area today. Our first stop was the new 2.2 mile Gibbons Creek Trail
on the refuge, on the way out the trail we spotted Lonesome George, the MUTE SWAN in the main pond. When we crossed the bridge over to Red-tail Lake there was another swan in this body of water, this bird was first reported to me on Saturday by Carol and Kevin Healy. Brian and I checked the bird out with binocs and thought it was a TUNDRA SWAN but were not able to confirm that until later when we were able to view it through our scopes. This is the earliest Tundra Swan that I have seen in Washington and I believe that this was an actual migrant rather than an injured bird that summered as the bird is still a brightly stained rusty color on the body and neck. This pond also held six AMERICAN BITTERNS that we could pick out in the grassy spots. Along the dike portion of the trail we heard one YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and saw many PURPLE MARTINS some still at the nesting gourds.
The backside of the Washougal Sewage Lagoons held WESTERN SANDPIPERS, LEAST SANDPIPERS, and a SPOTTED SANDPIPER. A GREEN HERON was on a rock beneath the weir at the pump house at the far west end of the road along the base of the dike park in the industrial.
Washougal, WA

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