Hi all,

I had a great time birding some new areas with a co-worker and explored around the Olympic and Tahuya Peninsula. Many thanks to the gracious and resourceful, Matt Bartels for some of his suggestions.

Wow, what a cool area for scenery and birds! A bit refreshing to me besides the Okanogan. I had a few WA target species in mind for my state list so it was fun to try to find them in a new turf.

We heard and had some brief glimpses of MOUNTAIN QUAIL at the Port Orchard Airport and NE Belfair-Tahuya area. The airport had one vocal bird while the Tahuya area produced brief glipses of one pair and a single. We took some side roads that were accessible and were successful in flushing some birds near Woods Lake and Tahuya-Blacksmith Rd. Looking for divots in the road with feathers helped a bit since they like to dust bathe.

Lots of singing MacGillivary?s Warblers, Black headed Grosbeaks, Black throated Gray Warblers,and a few Western Tanagers. A Townsends Solitarie put in a show and a buzzed-by male Calliope Hummingbird. A gorgeous breeding plumage BONAPARTE'S GULL was in Woods Lake as well.

Visited Diamond Point and saw some TUFTED PUFFINS out in the distance near Protection Island. Great views of Rhinoceros Aukets, Pigeon Guillemot, and a close-by pair of Harlequin Ducks. A few unidentified alcids in the far distance.

Dungeness-Three Crabs Rd area had decent numbers of shorebirds and our most productive stops. It produced:

12 RED KNOTS
1 PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER-- almost in pure breeding plumage
100 Black bellied Plovers
20 Long billed Dowitchers
5 Short billed Dowitchers
3 Ruddy Turnstone
5 Semipalmated Plovers
300 Dunlins
100 Least Sandpipers
25 Western Sandpipers
1 SOLITARY SANDPIPER-small Horseshoe Ponds
1-RED NECKED PHALAROPE-small Horseshoe Ponds

Briefly owled along the Elwha River Rd and Hoh River Valley for SPOTTED OWLS and got one vocal response. Several Barreds Owls and displaying SOOTY GROUSE. Did have one flyby NORTHERN GOSHAWK.

Decided to take the Westport to Tokeland route home but the birding was very uneventful due to poor timing with high tide.

Bottle Beach produce lots of distant birds with 20 RED KNOTS mixed with with good showings of Dunlins, Black Bellied Plovers, and far out Dowitchers species.

Only one WHIMBREL at Tokeland, Midway Beach had one, gimpy SNOWY PLOVER.

Bill Spit had 5 RED KNOTS and about 20 Dunlins. Water levels at Tonquin and Midway Beach was way high.

Good birding,

Khanh Tran (Portland, Oregon)
www.ktbirding.com