Tweets,



The 21st annual Washington Ornithological Society conference and bird bash -
based in Kelso -- is now history. From last Friday through Monday our 102
participants (from as far afield as British Columbia, Utah, and Oklahoma)
enjoyed nearly 40 field trips led by over two-dozen intrepid volunteers,
with several "going home" trips Monday pushing the geographic envelope. The
weather was mostly fine, but for a bit of rain Saturday morning, which
affected the mountain trips most. Jupiter lit up the evening and Venus the
morning skies.



Friday evening the Washington Bird Records Committee put on an excellent
workshop (thanks especially to Kevin Aanerud, Dennis Paulson, and Ryan
Merrill); Saturday's keynote speaker, Robert Michael Pyle, noted
lepidopterophile and zen natural historian, entertained us well.



I'm still compiling the reports from the field trips - waiting on those from
yesterday and a few others - but so far the total tally is at 186 species.
No great rarities but a number of surprises: Dusky Flycatcher, a Gray
Catbird, Nashville and Hermit Warblers and a Yellow-breasted Chat, Vesper,
Lark, and White-throated Sparrows, for example. Sandhill Cranes were
arriving for the winter, always exciting. Lots of ducks, geese, and swans,
the ducks in challenging late summer plumages. Many lingering Ospreys,
several reliable Red-shouldered Hawks, but just one or two sightings of
White-tailed Kites, which are quite difficult to find at this season; a fine
adult Golden Eagle on Silverstar Mountain. Brief sightings of Ruffed and
Sooty Grouse; with Wilson Cady's group's Wild Turkeys going home through the
gorge rounding out the chicken list. Very few flycatchers and just the
occasional warbler/vireo flock, but in total nearly all the expected
species. Two trips to the mouth of the Columbia turned up some Sooty
Shearwaters, a Parasitic Jaeger, Common Murres, Marbled Murrelets, and
Wandering Tattlers; shorebirds were not abundant, but with a going home trip
via Tokeland and Midway Beach, the list is respectable (e.g., 1100 Marbled
and one Bar-tailed Godwit, two Long-billed Curlews and 15 Willets at
Tokeland; Semipalmated, Baird's, and Pectoral Sandpipers and a
Buff-breasted Sandpiper narrowly evading a Merlin at Midway Beach, with two
Lapland Longspurs for a bonus.



Thanks especially to Jack Stephens, Cindy McCormack, the late Patricia Lott
for bearing most of the organizational burden, which is considerable. Thanks
also to local experts who generously volunteered time and hot tips: Wilson
Cady, Bob Flores, Eric Anderson, Jim Danzenbaker, Andrew Emlen, and members
of the Willapa Hills Audubon Society.



Stayed tuned: June 2010, Wenatchee!



Gene Hunn, President, WOS

Lake Forest Park, WA

enhunn323 at comcast.net