Subject: [Tweeters] {Spam?} Coast Yesterday - Westport Side
Date: Sep 24 10:57:51 2015
From: Blair Bernson - blair at washingtonadvisorygroup.com


After a fun morning on the Ocean Shore side I
headed east again and my first stop was at the
Hoquiam STP. Nothing of note - again only
Killdeer. Then off to Tokeland planning to then
bird back North from there. I stopped at north
cove and found a mix of gulls as usual including a
few Mew Gulls (which I had seen on the open beach
north of OShores as well). Work continues at the
Tokeland Marina making access more challenging.
There were Least Sandpipers, several Willets, a
couple of Common Loons, Cormorants and Brown
Pelicans in the Bay. I was hoping for Marbled
(and other) Godwits but found none. There were
hundreds of bright and very noisy Heerman's Gulls
"laughing" constantly. I then headed north and
pulled off at 8th Avenue - not much - and again at
North Cove. I had two Caspian Terns at the Marina
but NO others - are the Elegants gone?

Next stop was the ponds at Midway. The water is
now over the road so take boots on the walk out.
Lots of Marsh Wrens and some Savannah Sparrows but
I found NOTHING on or near the ponds. Back to the
car and heading to the open beach. There again I
found many Sanderlings and a couple of Western
Sandpipers, two Black Bellied and one Golden
Plover. I think I had two Snowy Plovers but they
were high up in the grass and I could not get
close nor take a picture of the vanishing birds.
Approximately directly out from Midway Beach (I
had entered at Cranberry and gone first south and
then north to Bonge) there were hundreds
(thousands?) of shearwaters fairly close in to
shore (it was now low tide). I assume they were
all Sooties but did not scan carefully. There
were also many Brown Pelicans. Interestingly the
Shearwater Parade stopped before reaching Grayland.

I then went to Westport - again no Marbled
Godwits, lots of gulls and a few pelicans and
cormorants. A feeble look at the "Groins"
produced no rockpipers. Trying to figure out how
to aoid the traffic disasters around Seattle I
headed home with a plan to move THROUGH Tacoma
while the Chinese President was there. It did not
work out so I had dinner in Lakewood and
thankfully the traffic was clear by the time I
finished. A VERY LONG DAY with fewer birds than
expected but the fantastic Lapland Longspurs more
than made it worthwhile. That picture was number
338 for species in Washington this year and puts
me at just under 99% of photos of birds heard or
seen. It has been fun...

--
Blair Bernson
Edmonds