Hey Tweets,

Guy McWethy and I got out early Saturday and did a little three county swing, picking up quite a few shorebirds and first-of-year passerines along the way. Highlights below, with a brief disclaimer that I could give clear directions to soooome, but not all of these spots - Guy was our guide with some good directions from Dave Hayden and Russ Koppendrayer who had made recent swings through these counties.

Lewis:
Goodrich Pond and Chehalis River Discovery Trail: Goodrich "Pond"?... well, it's down to a puddle, but still had a few dozen Least Sandpipers swirling around it. We don't know where they landed, but there was enough water for them to pay a visit! Walking the trail, we picked up some passerines - Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Orange-crowned Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, Band-tailed Pigeon, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Rufous Hummingbird, and a Belted Kingfisher, among others. Hundreds of Cliff Swallows were busy finishing up nests on the barns between the pond and the trail. On the way out, and throughout the day, we were amazed at how frequently we spied pairs of Eurasian Collared-Doves.

Galvin Road: Good numbers of peeps were here - Western and Least Sandpipers, and a bright Dunlin. I had five species of swallow here, and Guy had six, with a Bank Swallow that he picked out in the swarm. No luck on Red-necked or Wilson's Phalaropes that had been seen recently.

Willapa Hills Trail: South of Chehalis, off of Shorey Road: Guy and I didn't add a lot of species here, but went on a report that "Sora could be heard here easily". This was the understatement of the day, as we heard at least 8 (!) calling at once. Also: Virginia Rails and a Ring-necked Pheasant.

Cowlitz:
Longview Mint Farm: We walked around mitigation ponds here, and had 30-40 species including some dabblers (Mallard, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, and Cinnamon Teal), all five of the 'regular' swallows, an Orange-crowned Warbler, a Wilson's Snipe, and a Red-breasted Sapsucker nest.

Woodland Bottoms: Trying spots noted by Russ Koppendrayer the day before, we found a lot of shorebirds: Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, and a Solitary Sandpiper. Our most productive spot was on Kuhnis Road south of Whalen, where we had all of the species above, and numerous passerines in the trees, including Western Tanager, Western Wood-Peewee, Warbling Vireo, and hundreds of Yellow-rumped and Wilson's Warblers.

Clark:
Oaks to Woodland Trail - Ridgefield: We had a short walk here, but found the proverbial mixed warbler flock that I have heard of, but rarely see - Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped, a bright Townsend's, and Wilson's. We thought we heard a Nashville, but were unable to pull it in to confirm. Also: Warbling Vireo, Brown Creeper, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Red and White-breasted Nuthatches, and several Red-breasted Sapsuckers.

Happy Birding!

Tim Brennan
Renton
www.39counties.blogspot.com (blog not updated yet - it's Mother's Day. :) )