1990 Annual Conference — Ocean Shores
by Bill Tweit
The second annual WOS meeting
was as well attended as our first; almost
100 people participated in the meeting,
banquet and/or field trips. The field
trips exceeded our wildest expectations
for mid September on the outer coast,
usually excellent for birding anyway.
Our weekend total (including the Friday
pelagic trip) was 158 species, with
some outstanding rarities. Even the
weather favored us.
The speakers at the afternoon meeting
focused on shorebird biology and
conservation: Dennis Paulson, Bob
Morse and Eric Cummins were all articulate
and appreciated. Linda Feltner,
our banquet speaker, gave a great presentation
on the development of a bird
print, using a Great Homed Owl watercolor
she had done asan example. Linda
had some stimulating observations
about mixing a birder's and an artist's
point of view.
A front passed through on Friday,
making the pelagic trips a bit uncomfortable
for some, but Saturday and
Sunday were calm, dry and not too
warm-great birding weather. The 158
species included two possible first state
records! Both boats on the pelagic trip
(over 60 people) had looks at a Manx
Shearwater with the Sooties in the Grays
Harbor Channel, and an even more intriguing
bird was a black and white
pterodroma that may have been a Juan
Fernandez (also called White-necked)
Petrel. The shearwater had been reported
from the state previously, but the
records had not been officially accepted
(they will doubtless be reexamined).
Whatever the petrel was had never been
seen anywhere near this partof the world
before!
Other great birds included a Prairie
Falcon (first Ocean Shores record-sparring
with a Peale's Peregrine at one
point!), a Ruff and a Palm Warbler at
Ocean Shores, a Bar-tailed Godwit and
two Elegant Terns at Tokeland, and
single Franklin's Gulls at Aberdeen and
Tokeland. This wasa remarkable collection
of birds and a pretty remarkable
collection of birders as well.
