Greetings all,

Yesterday, July 16, Annie Meyer and I ventured coast bound, stopping in the very wet and rainy Capitol Forest on our way there. Here we met up with Bill Tweit for the first few hours of the morning - I have spent a lot of time in the Capitol Forest, but all in the Thurston County side. I've never been one for county listing never really keeping track, but now that I keep all my data in eBird, it makes it easy to see what I have/have not seen in each county and I hadn't seen many of the mid-elevation forest birds in Grays Harbor County.

It was very wet, drizzly in the Capitol Forest - we tried for Hermit Warblers but there was not much making a sound save a few Varied Thrush and a few flocks of Red Crossbills. After parting ways with Bill, we traversed down Road D 1000 towards Hwy 12 and picked up Gray Jays along the way, a new bird for me for GHC.

We then ventured to Brady Loop Road and birded the loop including Foster Road. Highlights here included at least 14 Bank Swallows, 10 on the Western edge of Brady Loop, and at least 4 along Foster Road. Very vocal and many were alighting on the power lines giving good close studies. We also had a Cassin's Vireo singing which is another bird I had not encountered in GHC.

The Hoquiam Sewage Treatment Plant is going through some construction - they were moving earth along the north edge of the lagoons, but the birding there was still great with much mud exposed. Here we had 13 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 120 Western Sandpipers and both Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers. Also a female Canvasback in amongst the Scaup in the lagoon.

At the Tonquin Avenue access to the Ocean Shores Game Range, the shorebirds were thick, with 12 Semipalmated Plovers, 25 Greater Yellowlegs, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs, 100 Short-billed Dowitchers, 25 Long-billed Dowitchers, at least 1800 Western Sandpipers, at least 12 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 80 Least Sandpipers, 1 adult Dunlin in breeding plumage, and the surpise was an adult Stilt Sandpiper feeding amongst the Short-billed Dowitchers and Greater Yellowlegs.

We continued birding Ocean Shores and varying other locations in Grays Harbor Co with more typical species, but a stop along Howanut Rd in SE Grays Harbor County did produce 4 Lazuli Buntings still singing.

Cheers and Good Birding,

Ryan Shaw,
Tacoma, WA
rtshaw80 at hotmail.com