Hi Tweeters,

Here are the highlights of my vacation to the Olympic Peninsula this weekend with my non-birding, but moderately tolerant wife and in-laws.

We spent most of Thursday afternoon up at Hurricane Ridge, which had some nice wildflowers. At the visitor center, a calling Red Crossbill flew by. A walk up to the lookout at Sunrise Point produced American Pipit, 2 Chipping Sparrows (which I was not expecting), and a melodious rambling song down the hillside that I couldn?t get a handle on initially, but now realize must be Townsend?s Solitaire.

We then walked up Hurricane Hill and encountered a singing Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, flyover Pine Siskin, singing Olive-sided Flycatcher, and up on the grassy slopes, more pipits and a very accommodating, singing Horned Lark. We were disappointed not to see any marmots, but on the way back, did encounter a distant booming Sooty Grouse.

We spent the night at the Lake Crescent Lodge, where I walked around grounds at dusk, wondering if I might bump into an owl. Nope, but I did hear a couple of high-pitched descending calls that sounded somewhat gull-like and that seemed vaguely familiar, but that I couldn?t place. It was only the next morning that it hit me ? I had heard Marbled Murrelets returning to their old-growth tree nest sites ? cool! Walking around in the morning, I encountered a Pileated Woodpecker, Hammond?s Flycatcher, Yellow-rumped and Townsend?s Warbler, and, walking to Marymere Falls, 2 American Dipper that appeared to be nesting underneath the road the trail passes under.

The next day, we drove out to Cape Flattery, where I had put the family on notice that as the driver, I was entitled to stay awhile at the viewpoint overlooking Tatoosh Island. I was happy to see a few Black Oystercatchers on the rocks below and a flyby Peregrine Falcon, but I was most intent on sorting out the alcids. Most noticeable were the Pigeon Guillemots calling and flying about tending to nests on the cliffside below. There were many Common Murres, and a couple of flyby Rhinoceros Auklets. I wish I had brought my scope with me to scan the island, but only had my binocs with me due to space. Finally, sorting through the alcids flying around the island, I keyed in on a few that were shorter and chunkier than the Murres and that I could tell were all dark below and above save for white on the face. A not-so-satisfying view with binocs only, but sufficient for me to feel confident in counting my lifer Tufted Puffins. Here and on the walk out
to Shi Shi Beach, there were a number of passerines singing, including scads of Wilson?s Warblers, a couple flyover Red Crossbill, a few Varied Thrush, lone Orange-crowned Warbler and Purple Finch, and a couple Hutton?s Vireo.

A trip the following day to the Hoh Rain Forest did not produce many new species, though there was a MacGillivray?s Warbler singing in a brushy area at a pitstop and more flyover Red Crossbill. We took the Port Townsend-Keystone Ferry back towards the mainland, which was very birdy and gave me great practice in sorting through flying alcids, including scores of Rhinoceros Auklets, also some Heerman?s Gulls were apparent.

Later, in the early evening driving back to Seattle, I again took a driver-entitled pitstop at the nice shorebird spot at 12th St NE on Smith Island in Everett championed by Jeff Gibson. As we were driving back north on Ross St heading back to I-5, I was shocked to see a Striped Skunk! We stopped and watched as the young skunk, and then a second sibling, frolicked in the grass. This was the first time I had ever seen a live skunk, having previously only seen roadkills, or more frequently and less welcomely, smelled them!

Good birding,
Evan Houston
Seattle, WA