Greetings All,
Spent the day on the water yesterday afternoon from Olympia to the western end of the Nisqually Reach and Drayton Passage. Bird activity is picking up in the South Sound, though not really all that busy yet. The best bird of the day by far was a stunning adult Sabines Gull; very cooperative and seen at very close range. This bird was at the mouth of Henderson Inlet in Dana Passage. Three Common Terns were in the same area. The previous day, an adult basic plumage Marbled Murrlet was in Squaxin Passage near Squaxin Island (in an area I judged to be Mason County). This is a bird that has become very difficult to find in South Sound in recent years and is now reported infrequently at best (less than annual?) from my perspecive. First of Season sightings include 1 Marbled Murrlet on 8/22 at Little Fish Trap (Thurston), and 1 Common Tern on 8/27 off of Cooper Point.

Cheers and good birding,
Bill Shelmerdine, Olympia
georn1 at hotmail.com