Today, 11/01/2014 might have been D?a de los Muertos, but the birding was
anything but dead out in Neah Bay with sunny skies and mild temperatures
with little wind. In fact, it was THE best day of birding I have ever had
in Clallam County in my two years of living here. I went out to NB with
Port Orchard birder Chazz Hesselein and were among the more that 150+
birders scouring all the nooks and crannies of the entire area for
rarities. There were birders everywhere and the most I?ve ever seen in the
state, even after having gone on various WOS Conference trips. Most,
(all?), were there to see the continuing Eurasian Hobby which put on quite
the show for the 100+ birders stationed along the Waatch River area, where
the birders and photographers oohed and aahed as the bird perched and even
snatched dragonflies from midair. At least two Northern Pygmy-Owls also
cooperated for photos and became the second owl species seen along with a
Barred Owl on the drive out to NB. Swamp Sparrows could be heard in the
adjacent wetlands and seen by some. At the Transfer Station, the Cattle
Egret was an ?easy? find and nearly brought a tear to my eye as it reminded
me of its countless brethren I used to see in SW Florida. In town, the
Orchard Oriole, accompanied by a Bullock?s Oriole was another easy find at
the feeders mentioned in previous Tweeters posts. Up to five or more (6+?)
Tropical Kingbirds sallied forth from telephone wires and trees to hawk
insects along the side streets in town. The Black-legged Kittiwake was
present at the river mouth along with a half-dozen or more gull species and
the Brambling made no effort to hide from the masses of onlookers. Two Rock
Sandpipers were present among the eight or so species of shorebirds present
near the Mini-mart and the Makah Senior Center: Semipalmated and
Black-bellied Plover, Marbled Godwit, Killdeer, Dunlin, Black Turnstone and
a report of a Long-billed Curlew, Alcids, loons and grebes were present in
good numbers as were ducks, including Long-tailed, Bufflehead, Greater
Scaup, all three scoters, Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, Red-breasted
& Hooded Mergansers, etc. Greater White-fronted and Cackling Geese were
also in the area in good numbers along with a few odd-ball Canada Geese or
larger Cackling Geese subspecies. Not sure which. In addition to the
Eurasian Hobby, other raptors included Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier,
Red-tailed and Coopers Hawks, and Peregrine Falcon. Other passerines
included Golden-crowned Sparrow, Anna?s Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, and
many of the other ?usual? suspects. Photo opportunities for most of these
birds, especially the rarities, were plentiful and the birds, enjoying the
nice weather, cooperated with everyone. It was good to meet other birders
from far and wide from all over Washington, Oregon, California, British
Columbia and Alberta that I heretofore had only corresponded with. I?m sure
the local economy benefitted greatly from the numerous birders brought to
the area to see these birds. Wow! What a day! If anyone has anything else
to add, feel free to do so. I?m sure I left out a few things.

--
Vincent Lucas
Port Angeles, WA
vincentlucas5 at gmail.com
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