Subject: [Tweeters] Wahkiakum and Pacific Co. birding
Date: Oct 17 20:10:23 2009
From: washingtonbirder.Knittle - washingtonbirder at hotmail.com



Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, Tom Mansfield and I started at dawn in Cathlamet, Wahkiakum County. Little Puget Island produced both Cooper's Hawk and Peregrine Falcon. 2 other Cooper Hawks were seen later and an imm. Peregrine was on Puget Island.



At the barn across the road from 340 E Sunny Sands Rd. on Puget Island was a rare find in seeing 1 Rock Pigeon. They are extremely rare in this county. E. Sunny Sands Rd. and E. Birnie Slough Rd. end and begin at this point which is at the extreme eastern part of Puget Island.



A Eurasian Collared-Dove was seen on Puget Island where they are becoming established in the past year. Also 1 Lincoln's Sparrow was seen while looking for rarer sparrows on Puget Island.



Birding Julia Butler Hansen NWR just north of the Purple Martin plastic nest on the pole was a great looking Red-shouldered Hawk. Later in the afternoon we had 1 Sandhill Crane and 1 White-tailed Kite.



In Pacific Co. we found 3 Western Scrup-Jays on the eastern edge of the town of Ilwaco and another in Chinook. Now I think they won't go much farther west in spreading unless they want to try flying across the Pacific Ocean. Near Long Beach we had a Townsend's Warbler and a Hutton's Vireo.



We expected tons of rain. And found out it wasn't too bad with most of the rain came in showers and we are good at dodging them. Hiking out on the jetty at Fort Camby there wasn't much to see except the always present Brown Pelicans.



Ken Knittle
Vancouver WA 98665
mailto:washingtonbirder at hotmail.com
Washington Birder online
http://www.wabirder.com/