Tweeters:

In addition to the Elk Mt. hike, escorted the Sheppards visiting from New Jersey around the north Peninsula. Highlights were as follows:

FOS=first of season for this observer

Golden Eagle 1 (near Hurricane Ridge)
Black Turnstone 150 (Port Townsend ferry dock)
Surfbird 30 (as previous)
Thayer's Gull 1 (1st winter, Port Townsend, early FOS)
Tufted Puffin 7 (from Keystone ferry 3:45 pm run)
Gray Jay 2 (unusual location, see below)
CLARK'S NUTCRACKER 1 (near Hurricane Ridge)
Lincoln's Sparrow 20 (high count for date, Dungeness Rec Area, FOS)
Fox Sparrow 2 (DRA, FOS)
Golden-crowned Sparrow 1 (along upper Jimmy-Come-Lately Rd, FOS)

The CLARK'S NUTCRACKER was seen about mid-way between the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center and the end of the road at the Hurricane Hill trailhead. It was at the timber's edge at the foot of a prominent southwest-facing subalpine meadow, well downslope of us. This species is rare in CLALLAM. Amazed that we were unable to track down a GRAY JAY up here, I was surprised to encounter two birds later at a highly unusual location--Lake Anderson State Park near Port Townsend. If that wasn't surprise enough, the birds were in the interior of a dense mixed forest! Another out-of-place montane denizen was a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE at the Dungeness Rec Area with various other more typical migrants, including 6 warbler species, two vireo sp, a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, many sparrows, and (heard-only) a PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER. Before dawn, 2+ hours of owling produced 8 owls of 4 species. Two of these were BARRED, and a third was seen in late afternoon at Lake Anderson State Park; a second N. PYGMY was heard close near Blyn on Woods Rd at dusk.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com