Hi Tweets

The WOS trip to Marrowstone Island/Port Townsend today started out in heavy traffic that resulted in our taking a later ferry than we planned. At the Edmonds terminal we saw HORNED GREBE, DOUBLE-CRESTED and PELAGIC CORMORANTs, PIGEON GUILLEMOT, SURF SCOTER, and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. It was really quiet going across, but we did have one high flying COMMON LOON and a couple of BONAPARTE'S GULLs.

At Kingston there were more Bonaparte's, a ton of SURF SCOTERs, DOUBLE-CRESTED, BRANDT'S and PELAGIC CORMORANTs, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLs, and PIGEON GUILLEMOTs. We made a quick stop at Port Gamble and saw BALD EAGLE, BELTED KINGFISHER, BUFFLEHEAD, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, RED-NECKED GREBE, COMMON LOON, SURF SCOTER, and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. At Salsbury Point County Park there were more Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, Surf Scoters, Horned Grebes.

On the way thru the Chimacum Valley we had a perched RED-TAILED HAWK, but not much else. At Jefferson County's Oak Bay County Park (just outside of Port Hadlock) we had a huge flock of NORTHERN PINTAIL, lots of AMERICAN WIGEON, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, BUFFLEHEAD, MALLARD, some SURF SCOTER on the bay side. There were a huge flock of CALIFORNIA and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLs with a few MEW.

A stop at Indian Island County Park, across from the entrance to the Navy base we picked up SONG SPARROW, SPOTTED TOWHEE, and FOX SPARROW. Down the road a piece at the Lagoon Beach section of Indian Island Park we scanned the old eastern part of the jetty. There were at least 45 SURFBIRDS and about 15 BLACK TURNSTONES with a single SPOTTED SANDPIPER. AMERICAN CROWs were in the trees overhead. Some more Northern Pintail were at the isthmus between Indian Island and Marrowstone Island, and a GREAT BLUE HERON.

Mystery Bay and the State Park were really quiet with a few RED-BREASTED MERGANSERs and some HORNED GREBEs, a SONG and a FOX SPARROW. A few CANADA GEESE stuck their heads up on the way out to Fort Flagler. We went straight out to the west beach at Fort Flagler State Park and got very nice looks at 8 LONG-TAILED DUCKs, HARLEQUIN DUCKs, HORNED GREBEs, RED-NECKED GREBE, SURF SCOTER, and a flyby DUNLIN. A COMMON RAVEN gronked from the top of a tree. We were debating walking out to the tip of the point when a BALD EAGLE cruised around the tip about 4 feet off the water. No panic flight resulted, so we concluded that there were no shorebirds out there. Again we had all three Cormorants, Common Loon. At Marrowstone Point we had a PIED-BILLED GREBE in the pond, a small flock of HOUSE FINCH, and three ANCIENT MURRELETs flew by at the entrance to Puget Sound - they were close enough that we could see all the correct markings. Quite nice after lots of sightings where they were waaaaay out.

It was really quiet out at Point Wilson, but we did see RHINOCEROS AUKLET, COMMON MURRE, more PIGEON GUILLEMOTs, and across from the parking area we had a calling PACIFIC WREN. Up the hill near the performance space we picked up GOLDEN-CROWNED and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETs, another PACIFIC WREN. We stopped down a Ka Tai Lagoon and picked up about 350 AMERICAN WIGEON (no EURASIANS), MALLARDS, tons of GADWALLs, a few NORTHERN SHOVELERs and AMERICAN COOTs, and some RUDDY DUCKs.

At various spots we added WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, WESTERN GREBE, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, HEERMANN'S and RING-BILLED GULLs, ROCK PIGEON, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, AMERICAN KESTREL, STELLER'S JAY, AMERICAN ROBIN, EUROPEAN STARLING, and DARK-EYED JUNCO.

In spite of the cool weather and the overcast thickening during the day, it was a good day birding with good friends. We wound up with 59 species for the day.

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville WA
mail to bell asoc at iso media dot com