Hey Tweets!

Birded south down I5 and over to Wahkiakum County this weekend - made a loooot of stops, missed some amazing birds that have been posted (no on Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Red-shouldered Hawk, Black Phoebe, Glaucous Gull and White-tailed Kite!), but hit a lot of spots for the first time, and stayed mostly dry in the drizzly weekend.

Highlights:

Thurston County: Hit Nisqually Friday late afternoon, and really enjoyed the new boardwalk. The Great Egret was still hanging around, and at the very end of the trail, there were loons (Red-throated and Common), Brant and Dunlin. Saturday morning was spent almost entirely in the Tenino area. Vantine Road was great in the morning, with Great Horned Owls heard at nearly every stop. One stop on Vantine allowed me to listen to what sounded like a total of three Northern Saw-whet Owls tooting away, along with countless Virginia Rails and Marsh Wrens.

Backtracking to Weir Prairie was not terribly productive - checking for bluebirds - but it was still lovely, and a place I'd not visited before. Feeders in and around Tenino gave me Mourning Doves, Scrub Jays, Steller's Jays, Varied Thrush, Fox Sparrow, and a Harris' Sparrow!
Between Friday evening and Saturday morning, I left having seen 60 species before leaving the county. Many thanks to Paul Hicks for directions to some good little spots in the county!

Lewis County: Goodrich Road, including the pond at the end was really all I hit for the county, but there was a lot of activity at the pond, with gulls on the far side, dabblers in the pond (no Redhead while I was there), Dunlin in the pond and an American Kestrel on a far post. Rick and Tina Taylor directed me back to a Peregrine Falcon on Wagner (saw it!), and a White-throated Sparrow at a feeder on Goodrich (missed it!). The bridge was a nice stop, as the trees under it were filled with Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Cowlitz County: No Sandhill Cranes! None that I could find, at any rate, taking the dike loop all the way around Woodland Bottoms. Still good for raptors though - at one stop I was quite surrounded! Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Rough-Legged Hawk, and Common Raven were all visible from one stretch almost immediately after reaching the farm land. American Pipits were in the fields as well. On my way back on Sunday, I tried Willow Grove for Red-shouldered Hawk, but missed. Eurasian Collared-doves at both spots.

Clark County: Hit Ridgefield in the late afternoon. No Black Phoebe for me, but the swallow show has certainly started (Barn and Tree were all I could pick out with the lighting), and the same muddy floody area had Dunlin and a pair of Long-billed Dowitchers. Stayed with a friend Saturday night and woke up to a Great Horned Owl which perches every night on their home out past Hockinson.

Wahkiakum County: Spent the entire morning, and a little bit of the afternoon (1:30) in Wahkiakum County. Sooo wanted to find a White-tailed Kite on this trip, but came up short. First stop was West Valley Road, just west of Skamakowa. I was hoping for Ruffed Grouse, but got Wild Turkeys instead! Five hens stalked their way across a distant lawn below the road before disappearing. Took the road all the way up to clearcuts before heading back down. Julia Butler Hansen was worth two trips through. Once through to see what was easy to find, and a second time through to look for the things I'd missed (like the kites). Virginia Rails were calling actively with no help from me at several stops, and every stop had scaup... so many scaup! Are there other birds down there? Central Valley Road didn't give me any kites, but was just lovely. Also made the obligatory stop at the Covered Bridge and one more stop in Cathlamet (Scrub Jay finally!) before calling it a day.

Happy birding!

-Tim Brennan
Renton
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