Hello Tweeters,
I was leading A FIELDTRIP for the Black Hills Audubon yesterday.
Most birders cancel out of the bad Weather.As always most of the time it is
not always to bad ,and cleared up.Birdying on Satsop LOOP WE HAD HIGH COUNTS
OF WATERFOWL DO TO THE FLOODING IN THE LARGE FIELDS.At one point we could
not drive true.I like to mention,that when I CAME HOME LATE MY Basement was
flooded(the first ever.I and a friend was busy to clean and move everything
out to late at night and more on Sunday.Every think is all good for the
Insurance Company to be looked at.I had two huge professional Dryers from my
Grooming Shop,so it was all dry this morning.
Here are some of the Ducks we had on the Loop,Most of all where the A.
Wigeon probable 150 birds The rest where Mallards Gadwall 4 Green winged
Teals 50 ,Northern Pintail 15, Northern Shoveler 20 ,Ringed -necked Ducks
4, Big groups of all Cackling Geese 150 with 20 Canada Geese.We also had a
pair of Varied Thrushes Steller's Jay.Gulls where I Bonepartes Gull among
some 200 Olympus Gulls and Mew Gulls 10, Western Gulls 8.Buffleheads 10.

Monte Brady Loop :Trumpeter Swans 44 with 1 Tundra Swan, 2 Bald Eagle ,1
being an Adult. Buffleheads 2, Killdeer 1,
250 Dunlin , 1 Greater Yellowlegs 40 Black-bellied Plovers.45 Dusky
(OCCIDENTALIS ) IN THIS AREA THERE CONSIDERED RARE.THIS SPECIES ARE USUAL
SEEING MORE SOUTH LIKE RIDGFIELD AND WOODLAND.I had one this groups last
year almost in the same Area. It seems that birders not given much
Attention on this species of Canada Geese.This birds are always a highlight
to find.Further down we had another group of 34 Birds.I going birdying in
Nisqually on Wednesday most regular ,and I never seeing them on the
Refuge.The Cackling & " THE DUSKY" are my Favorite Geese.
We skipped Bottle Beach ,since we missed the right tide at 10.00 AM AT A
FEET 9.3 Also Midway Beach was not so good lot's of water so high no
walking on the beach at all,there where some Marsh Hawk's flying in the
distance Waterfowl where only Coots.

Off to Tokeland,Where the birdying was great!!!!!!!
We saw 8 Willet's so close, 2 Red -breasted Merganser in breeding Plumage,45
Brandt Geese,2 Clarks Grebe's both good looks to the scopes,2 Common Loon's
with 49 Marbled Godwit's flying in,to settle right where we had great looks.
On the way back we stopped at Bottle Beach,in the distance we saw thousands
of Shorebirds feeding.We walked out and I was able to ID some of the species
the way there feeding this species where close to 500 Dowitchers ,Dunlin
3000.Smaller Peeps
150 birds Black -bellied Plovers by stop & GO 500.

Despite the Weather rain on & off with some time heavy winds ,With basically
not hiking we had fun looking at the birds we saw.Hopeful I did not left any
birds out like the red-winged Blackbirds on Brady and the Chickadee's
A special thank you to Mary Russell who kept score of our birds ,Thank you
Mary for also spotting the Clark's Grebe, in Tokeland,we did good together,
reminding that we also had Horned Grebes.

Cheers Ruth Sullivan