Hi All,

Yesterday was a terrific day here in Kitsap County for leading a field
trip. The weather was perfect, the birds were quite cooperative and the
group was incredibly enthusiastic. From our first stop in west Kingston
at about 6:30 A.M until seeing a Western Scrub Jay in Bremerton at 6:00
P.M we tallied an amazing 122 species (unofficial tally for now).
Although the trip was not labeled a "big day", it was quite apparent
early on that we would be on a mission to rack-up a big list for the day.

The morning was spent in the north end of the county. Early stops at the
Eglon boat launch and Gust Halvor Raod revealed good numbers of fly-over
migrants so I knew we were in for a good morning for witnessing the
magical migration event that can occur at Point no Point. Highlights
from our morning time at Eglon, Gust Halvor Road, and Point no Point
included:

SOLITARY SANDPIPER - one in the upper farming area south of Hansville.
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE - I'm only listing as it was a target for a few
in the group. We actually had over 50 including a group of 30 or so that
magically appeared out of a cedar hedge near the light house when a
sharpie flew-in.
WESTERN KINGBIRD - ten total!
CEDAR WAXWING - a flock of about ten was my first for the spring.
WESTERN TANAGER- how can they not be a highlight. We probably had 50 or so.
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK - maybe up to twenty total mostly at PnP.
LAZULI BUNTING - one male west of lighthouse parking area. It could have
been slightly more cooperative, but oh well.
BULLOCK'S ORIOLE - a female and two flyover males. Fortunately though we
had great looks later in the morning at a male at Buck Lake providing
better study.
EVENING GROSBEAK - a few flocks some allowing good looks - 50+

After our time at Point no Point we headed west to Foulweather Bluff
Preserve. Some waterfowl species from the day before had departed but
all three scoters (two Blacks!) and our only Pacific Loon of the day
made for a good stop. After a quick stop at Buck Lake we started our
trek toward the southwest part of county for a bit of "target" birding.
But a quick food stop visit to the Gliding Eagle Market Place at the
intersection of the Hansville Highway and Little Boston Road yielded our
bird of the day:

SWAINSON'S HAWK - a lone circling buteo with long pointed wings flying
in the characteristic dihedral flight of a Swainson's Hawk grabbed our
attention. Fortunately we were able to watch it for almost two minutes
as it slowly moved north. The "subadult" plumage had us confused at first.

After we made stops at Silverdale for Purple Martins and the mouth of
Chico Creek for more waterfowl including Northern Shoveler we arrived in
the mid-afternoon to the Green Mountain area. Birds were not vocalizing
at all but with a bit of effort we were able to manage to find our
desired birds including:

OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER - one west of Green Mountain
HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER - one near Gold Mountain Parking area.
CASSIN'S VIREO - one west of Green Mt.. It along with a Black-throated
Gray Warbler took a while to show.
HOUSE WREN - pair near nesting location west of Green Mountain
WESTERN BLUEBIRD - one male west of Green Mountain. This bird along with
the Swainson's Hawk and the Lazuli Bunting was one of my biggest thrills
of the day. Two previous trips to this spot failed to locate this species.
MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER - talk about a bird that took some effort!

We failed in our attempt at Dipper along Gorst Creek but a productive
stop at the Gorst Estuary (more than just a location of a topless place)
yielded a few more day-birds including Greater Scaup, Semiplamated
Plover, Western Sandpiper and Ring-billed Gull. The Western Scrub-Jay in
Bremerton was a fitting end to an incredible day in Kitsap County.

The two days prior to the field trip day, including a Friday "scouting"
day with Ryan Merrill, added about a dozen other species to make for 135
species for Kitsap County for three days in May - not too shabby. Other
"good" birds included:

BLUE-WINGED TEAL - two males at the Foulweather Bluff Nature Preserve on
Thursday evening.
LESSER YELLOWLEGS - one found in Kingston on Thursday by George Gerdts.
I'm not aware of any other spring Kitsap records .
AMERICAN KESTREL - migrant at PnP on Friday.
BANK SWALLOW - two migrant fly-bys on Friday. There are only two other
Kitsap records. The Friday PnP migrant show during stiff north winds was
quite impressive.
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE - six total fly-overs on Friday.

That's about all for now.

Cheers and good birding,
Brad Waggoner
Bainbridge Island, Washington
mailto:wagtail at sounddsl.com