So all these years (26) I have been in Washington, why haven't I been to Neah Bay before? This is not the first time I have wondered that, but with recent events, it was time to correct that.

Apparently there were a lot fewer people today than Saturday. I would guess a couple dozen but still an exciting day. I did NOT see a Hobby and as far as I know, noone else did either. When I first arrived in Neah Bay shortly after ssunrise, there was a lone Cliff Swallow flying around over the harbor accross tthe street from the oriole house. Personally I have never seen a Cliff Swallow in November or anytime between October and March so I think this is fairly unusual.

Although it was probably less unusual, an even more exciting find was a Bobcat on the beach by the veterans memorial. This is about a block past the senior center. In fact I was looking at the Bobcat and the Brambling at the same time. There are some parts of an elk carcass on the beach here and possibly the cat was foraging on these. Did you know that cats are expressionless? A cat that is terrified and thinking of running off looks exactly the same as a cat that is about to go for your throat. After staring at each other from about 20 feet away for 30 seconds or so, I started wondering whether this was a good idea. But in the end, as soon as I broke eye contact, he started heading down the beach and eventually left the beach and crossed the road where at least two other birders (Andrew and Caroline) got a glimpse of him.

For the record although there was no Hobby, the orioles (both of them), Brambling, and Cattle Egret were all very cooperative. Also if you have never been out to the Cape Flattery trail I would highly recommend it.


Jim Elder
Seattle