On the way: Tokeland to Long Beach

 Tokeland, at the mouth of Willapa Bay, makes a convenient stop en route to Long Beach. Featured are long-legged waders. At high tide, close studies of hundreds of shorebirds are possible, including a sprinkling of greater yellowlegs, a few willets and long-billed curlews, the odd bar-tailed and hundreds of marbled godwits. A special effort will be made for bar-tailed godwit. This is the best place outside Alaska in the ABA checklist area for this species. Also on this trip will be a short walk out to a nearby sandy beach where scoping of the sand spit across an inlet and nearby beaches will be made for brown pelican (spring through fall), and more shorebirds and gulls. Huge flocks of sooty shearwaters sometimes stream through the mouth of Willapa Bay here at this time of year, too. Finally, a peek at Toke Point is on tap, where the beach, rocks, and pilings might have cormorants, willet, black turnstone, and gulls, including Heermann’s and western. This is a “no car-pool” trip, and it will begin in Tokeland at 6:30 a.m. (meeting details will be supplied to those on the trip).
OF-1 — Friday — Ruth and Patrick Sullivan

On the way: Long Beach to Tokeland is a homeward car caravan (with several leaders depending on interest) stopping at a number of key sites on the trip back to Puget Sound. Shorebirds will be a primary focus of this trip. The leader will check tides to determine which sites are on the itinerary, but the Lewis Unit of Willapa NWR, Raymond Airport, Bay Center-Dike Road, Tokeland, and Midway Beach are all possibilities. This is a “no car-pool trip.”
OS-1 — Sunday — Brian Bell

On the Way: Julia Butler Hansen NWR to Long Beach on Friday. The endangered Columbian white-tailed deer (about 300 animals) thrives in this beautiful refuge. Abundant birdlife is also attracted to the varied habitats here which include tideland Sitka spruce forests, lush riparian woodlands, shrubby thickets, tidal and freshwater wetlands, and open fields. An auto tour route, with very little traffic, shows off this refuge. White-tailed kites and other raptors occur here in the rank grasslands and woodlands, while migrant passerines will likely be thick in the mixed woodlands. This is a “no car-pool” trip, and it will begin at the Julia Butler Hansen NWR at 6:30 a.m. (meeting details will be supplied to those on the trip).
OF-2 — Friday — Ken Knittle

On the Way: Long Beach to Julia Butler Hansen NWR. This will be a “no-car-pool trip” for the homeward drive. See OF-2 for a description.
OS-2 — Sunday — Kraig Kemper

Long Beach to Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge. This will be a regular conference field trip on Saturday, returning to Long Beach in late afternoon. Description of the trip is as for OF-2, but will likely also include some key sites en route.
SA-2 — Saturday — Alan Clark and Kraig Kemper

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge-Lewis Unit.

This field trip has been changed:

The fresh water ponds at the Willapa NWR – Lewis Unit have been drained. They will refill with winter rains after some weed control work this  summer, but most likely will not have water during the time the WOS  Annual Conference has been scheduled.

An interesting replacement would include two walks in a mature forest environment. First, Teal Slough is a (338) acre recent addition to the Willapa NWR, located off SR 101 one mile north of the Willapa NWR Headquarters. There is a moderate uphill walk of about (1/3) mile to a trail head. The trail of less than a (1/2) mile enters a (60) acre parcel containing old growth trees – some estimated to be (900) years old with circumferences up to (35) feet. Birding in a mature forest environment, possible sightings might include Band-tailed Pigeon, woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, and Brown Creeper. Marbled Murrelet nest in the area, but may not be present in  September. Migrant and forest passerines are possible.

Second, Ellsworth Creek a (7000) acre watershed owned by The Nature Conservancy has a mix of deciduous and conifer trees (a remnant of the coastal temperate rainforest) and a (350) acre estuarine wetland. Birding here will include walking logging roads through mixed forest, including some clearcuts. Both Teal Slough and Ellsworth Creek are adjacent to the Willapa NWR Headquarters, approximately (12) miles north of Long Beach off SR 101.

Short Leadbetter Point. This trip visits a number of birding sites along Leadbetter Point, including the marina at Nahcotta, famous for its oysters, for shorebirds such ruddy and black turnstones, and Surfbirds plus an assortment of gulls. Migrant passerines will be a feature of the nearby Oysterville Cemetery. Northwards along the peninsula, Stackpole Road ends in the impressive spruce forest at Leadbetter Point State Park. Several walks on sandy trails lead into the Leadbetter Unit of Willapa NWR. One goes westward, traversing an interesting succession of plant communities from Sitka spruce, then lodgepole pine to wax myrtle, each with its own assortment of land birds. Finally, at the beach, shorebirds and gulls will be the focus.
SA-4 — Saturday — Charlie Wright, SU-4 — Sunday — Ruth and Patrick Sullivan

Leadbetter Point hike. Thorough exploration of Leadbetter Point. Here’s an opportunity to immerse yourself in a wilderness experience. This rigorous all-day hike explores both the rich saltmarsh of pickleweed and arrowgrass on the east side of Leadbetter Point as well the sandy beaches on the point’s west side, plus a trek over the extensive dunes. There is even some gentle walking along the forest to beach trail. Over the years, many rare shorebirds have been recorded in this area, including gray-tailed tattler, upland sandpiper, little curlew, bristle-thighed curlew, Hudsonian and bar-tailed godwits, and curlew sandpiper. Pectoral and sharp-tailed sandpiper and both golden-plovers will be searched for there. The thickets of willows, alders, and shrubs along the way will be searched for migrant passerines. The beach areas will likely yield lots of black-bellied and semipalmated plovers plus a few snowy plovers. Rubber boots are highly recommended.

Two specific areas will be explored — the saltmarsh west of Grassy Island (for American and Pacific golden-plovers, and pectoral and sharp-tailed sandpipers), and the ocean beach and flats at the outer point and northwestern shore (for snowy plover, but staying out of the restricted nesting area of this state-endangered species). Impressive shorebird roosts may be encountered anywhere along the outer beach at high tide.
SA-5 — Saturday — Ruth and Patrick Sullivan, SU-5 — Sunday — Charlie Wright

Fort Canby State Park. With an interesting mix of open ocean, rocky and sandy shores, both deciduous and coniferous forests, alder swamps, freshwater marshes, and lakes, Fort Canby State Park deserves a full day of exploration. North Head Lighthouse. Beard’s Hollow, McKenzie Lagoon, Lake O’Neil, and the trail to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse will be visited to check the full range of sea and land birds found in the park. Migrant passerines sometimes swarm in the shrubby thickets and alder woods. Brown pelicans and sooty shearwaters should be noted flying by the lighthouse, along with a sprinkling of loons, grebes, scoters, other diving ducks. Brandt’s cormorants, pigeon guillemots. black oystercatchers and surfbirds will be spied on as they perch on nearby rocks.
FR-6 — Friday — Brian Bell, SA-6 — Saturday — Marv Breece, SU-6 — Sunday — Mike and MerryLynn Denny

South Jetty of the Columbia River. Famous to birders in Oregon, this location has produced many rarities, including gulls, shorebirds, and passerines. This is your chance to swell your Oregon list by birding the mudflats, lagoons, dunes, and shore at the “South Jetty.” The northernmost wrentit population occurs in the shrubby thickets in this area. This species and migrant passerines will be searched for on the trail encircling Coffenbury Lake. Depending on weather, migrating flycatchers, vireos, thrushes, warblers, and sparrows often are abundant here.
SA-7 — Saturday — Mike Patterson and Ken Knittle, SU-7 — Sunday — Mike Patterson

Ilwaco to Chinook Valley Road. Habitats featured on this trip include inshore saltwater bays, with early arriving waterbirds, marinas (purple martins are possible), fields and patches of shrubbery along Stringtown Road, excellent for migrant passerines, then east along the shore of Baker Bay. Here, on 18 November 1805, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition killed “a buzzard of the large kind” measuring nine and a half feet from wingtip to wingtip—an early record of the California condor, once a regular visitor to the Columbia River. We’ll check feeders here for rufous and Anna’s hummingbirds Gazing out to the mudflats at the Chinook River mouth might reveal shorebirds if the tide level is right. The open fields and shrubby thickets along Chinook Dike Road and Chinook Valley Road are good for raptors and migrant passerines. We’ll look for turkey vultures, white-tailed kite, bald eagle, northern harrier, sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel peregrine falcon, and possibly a stray red-shouldered hawk. Finally, a check of the Columbia River out to East Sand Island might reveal numbers of Caspian terns at this controversial colony. An estimated 11 million salmon smolts were devoured by the terns in one recent year.
SA-8 — Saturday — Mike and MerryLynn Denny, SU-8 — Sunday — Ken Knittle

Astoria Canyon. A pelagic trip out to the mouth of submarine Astoria Canyon offers an excellent chance to view black-footed albatross, northern fulmar, fork-tailed storm-petrel, various shearwaters (pink-footed, flesh-footed, Buller’s, and sooty), red-necked and red phalaropes, South Polar skua, all three jaegers, Sabine’s gull, Arctic tern, and a variety of alcids (common murre, marbled murrelet, Cassin’s and rhinoceros auklets, and maybe tufted puffin). Cost for this field trip is $95.
PF-9 — Friday, PS-9 — Saturday — Mike Donahue

Willapa NWR contains saltmarsh, mudflat, freshwater marsh, grassland, old growth forest and coastal dunes and beaches.

Marie Fernandez is currently a Wildlife Biologist at the Willapa NWR, She has previously worked at Laguna Atascosa NWR and Santa Ana NWR in Texas, Crescent Lake NWR in Nebraska and Okefenokee NWR in Georgia. Marie has also worked at a variety of National Parks in Alaska, the southwest, southeast and the north woods. She completed her Master's Degree project on shorebird habitat management at the Laguna Atascosa NWR. Marie is especially fascinated with the variety and number of amphibian species to be seen in southwestern Washington.

Saturday night's keynote speaker, Dennis Paulson is Director of the Slater Museum of Natural History and teaches biology at the University of Puget Sound. He received a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Miami, and one of his primary goals as a biologist has been to blend the science of biology with the study and appreciation of nature. His special research interests are in dragonflies and birds. He has written or coauthored over 75 scientific papers and 6 books, including A Guide to Bird Finding in Washington, Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest, and Dragonflies of Washington. He is just finishing a photographic guide to North American shorebirds.

Dennis will use his knowledge of shorebirds, and his collection of slides, to educate and entertain us on this fascinating group of birds moving through the state in the shorebird "autumn" - from late June through October.