Field Trip Reports 2002
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Home2002/12/08 Jim Duemmel led a trip to Blaine and Birch Bay in Whatcom County
2002/11/30 Bob Norton and Judy Mullally led a trip to Sequim and Port Angeles
2002/11/23 Mike and MerryLynn Denny led a diurnal owling field trip to southeastern Washington
2002/10/20 Ken Knittle led a field trip in Wahkiakum County to the Julia Butler Hansen NWR
2002/09/15 Patrick and Ruth Sullivan led a trip in Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties
2002/06/01 Matthew Moskwik led a trip in Pend Oreille County
2002/02/23 Marv Breece led a field trip to Drayton Harbor in Blaine
Sunday, December 8th, 2002 -- Jim Duemmel led a field trip to Blaine and Birch Bay in Whatcom County to view loons, grebes , ducks, and shorebirds that winter on salt water bays. This date was chosen, a week before the CBC’s start, as an opportunity to refresh identification skills for the CBC season. Jim and five participants observed (58) species as they visited Drayton Harbor, Semiahmoo Spit, Birch Bay State Park, and the Lummi aquaculture dike. While the group saw no rare species, highlights included a late Marbled Godwit at Blaine, side by side comparisons of both sexes of the two goldeneyes, good looks at Long-tailed and Harlequin Ducks, excellent views of both Trumpeter and Tundra Swan, and saw a Rough-legged Hawk on the Lummi Flats. In addition, the group also had the opportunity to both see and hear Black Scoters.
Saturday, November 30th, 2002 -- Bob Norton and Judy Mullally led a field trip to the Sequim and Port Angeles area in Clallam County. Bob and Judy with (10) participants started the day at the mouth of the Elwha River where the group had great views of several Thayer’s Gulls of all ages. In addition to the usual hybrid gulls, the group also observed (2) Herring , (1) Western, (1) California and a number of Mew Gulls. A Tundra Swan was also observed, uncommon here. Moving on to the Port Angeles Harbor, the group failed to locate any Rock Sandpiper but did see small numbers of the more common shorebirds and waterbirds. Perhaps the most satisfying sight was a nearby Brandt’s Cormorant, where the group could easily see the blue eye. The group proceeded to bird the Oyster House, the Three Crabs, Port Isabell, Washington Harbor and Blyn. Although the group observed no rarities, good numbers at every stop contributed to a total of (67) species. Highlights included (2) male Black Scoter at the Elwha dike, (2) Brant Geese offshore at the Oyster House, an adult Peregrine Falcon at the Three Crabs and a Eurasian (Common ) Teal at Washington Harbor.
Saturday, 23 November 2002 -- Mike and MerryLynn Denny led a diurnal owling field trip to southeastern Washington. The day started out cold, damp and foggy which was great for birding in the normally dry west end of Walla Walla County. 17 WOS members from all over the state got together at Wallula Jct.. The birding started just to the east of the Walla Walla River bridge in Madam Dorion Park. Here we picked up Am. Tree Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow and our first owls, a pair of Great Horned. Moving on we next birded Hood Park where we saw 40+ Wood Ducks, 1 Black-crowned Night Heron, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk and two more Great Horned Owls spotted by Kraig Kemper.
We now returned to HWY 124 and drove east to our next planned birding site, along the way however out in a wheat stubble field we stopped for 12 Tundra Swans, 800+ Canada Geese, 5 Ross’s Geese and Mark Houston pulled a single sub-adult Greater White-fronted goose out of this mass of birds. Moving on to the east we headed for Fish Hook Park along the Snake River. Arriving at Fish Hook the low gray clouds were melted and the warm sun soaked through causing the birds to become more active and to bring smiles to our faces. The first birds at this park were a single Barn Owl, Brown Creeper and several Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Moving on through this park we discovered a Merlin, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 Varied Thrush, 75+ California Quail, 1 Coopers Hawk and an adult Northern Goshawk as well as an adult Northern Saw-whet Owl. Birds of many species continued popping up such as 3 Eared Grebes, 2 more Great Horned Owls and Mark Houston discovers a sub-adult Harris Sparrow. We eat lunch in the sun and then drive east to our next birding site along Smith Spring Rd.. Here we search for Long-eared Owls and discover a total of 6 birds hidden in thick cover, everyone gets great views of these stupendous birds. Our next birding site is up into the Blue Mountains at the Southwestern end of Payne Hollow Rd. in search of Northern Pygmy owl and Great Gray Owl, but we were instead covered in fog and cold clouds and no more owls. Our last nice bird was an adult Northern Shrike right beside the road.
This was a fun trip and well worth the time and drive. I would urge YOU to come be part of WOS and join in on the many fieldtrips held across the state.
Sunday, 20 October 2002 -- Ken Knittle's field trip began at the headquarters of the Julia Butler Hansen NWR just west of Cathlamet. The first bird was the very vocal Black Phoebe hanging around the pond which is just south of the buildings. While watching the Phoebe, 3 White-tailed Kites, 1 Northern Harrier, and 1 Red-tailed Hawk were having an aerial dispute over hunting rights. 2 of the Kites ended up chasing the Red-tailed Hawk out of the prime hunting area. We also visited the covered bridge along Loop Rd. on our way west to Altoona. Highlights seen were: 1 Pacific Loon, 3 Horned Grebes, no Brown Pelicans, several Pelagic Cormorants, lots of White-winged and Surf Scoters, 10+ White-tailed Kites (2 Kites observed southeast of the covered bridge), 1 Western Gull (3'rd year), 1 Mourning Dove, 1 Black Phoebe, 1 Brown Creeper. Total species seen and/or heard was 63. No Rock Doves or House Sparrows were seen. Starlings (Sky Rats) made up for them though. Thanks to those who participated in the field trip - Ken.
Sunday, September 15, 2002, Patrick and
Ruth Sullivan led a very rewarding WOS field trip from Bottle Beach/Ocosta
Third Street to Tokeland in both Grays Harbor and Pacific Cos., with additional
coverage made at beach areas between Warrenton Cannery Rd. and Midway Beach Rd.,
Westhaven State Park at Westport and the Hoquim STP. We encoutered a total of 90
species within the group of 12 observers, including 22 species of shorebirds
throughout the day. The trip was very successful mainly in getting good looks at
most of the species observed and for allowing good comparisons within similar
species, although we did miss a few key species that we had hoped for including
Snowy Plover and Long-billed Curlew along with a few additional species. A list
of our main highlights of the day included: 1 Great Egret at Tokeland, 1 adult
WHITE-TAILED KITE along Ocosta Third Street near Bottle Beach, 2 Am.Kestrels at
the Hoquim STP, 2 PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVERS with 1 juvenile at Bottle Beach and 1
juvenile at Westhaven S.P. at Westport, 2 juvenile AM.GOLDEN PLOVERS at Bottle
Beach, 1 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER at the Hoquim STP, 1 dark-morph POMARINE JAEGER
off the Westport Jetty, 55+ Common Terns off the Westport Jetty.
We had very good weather throughout the entire field trip that began at the
Hoquim STP at 8am and mainly ended at Westhaven SP at Westport with a short,
brief additional stop made along Brady Loop Rd. on our way home. We began our
day at the Hoquim STP where we all obtained good looks at the remaining
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER that my mother and I located yesterday at the same exact
location, along with single nearby Spotted, Baird's, and Pectoral Sandpipers,
which of the four species we did not encounter during the rest of the field
trip. We also obtained a good presentation of how the Hoquim sewage treatment
facility works during all stages of sewage treatment by a very skilled and
trained employee that allowed all 12 of us access to the sewage pond for
viewing. We had nearly anticipated some rain in the day, but due to good
favorable weather conditions including calm winds throughout the day we managed
to have good viewing conditions at ALL visited locations, including Bottle Beach
that hosted 11 species of shorebird alone
during our morning visit at slowly outgoing tide between 9:45am-11am. We all
joined four other birders including Jason Paulios as all shorebird species
allowed close views, including good comparisons between American and Pacific
Golden Plovers that were present. Before arriving at Bottle Beach we drove along
Ocosta Third Street where we observed a hunting WHITE-TAILED KITE that allowed
good looks for a short time before flying off to the east towards the Johns
River Wildlife Area.
Continuing west and south our next major stop was made at
Tokeland where we searched for Bar-tailed Godwit, but with NO luck within the
large continuing flock of Marbled Godwits that contained 280+ birds south of the
marina along with 14 Willets and 2 Whimbrel. Other notable species at Tokeland
during our entire visit included: 10 Horned Grebes, 4 Western Grebes, 1 Great
Egret, and 6 Greater Yellowlegs. On our way north we extensively scanned,
searched, and scoured the beaches from two areas accessed from S.R.105 including
the Warrenton Cannery Rd. beach access and Midway Beach Rd. beach access, mainly
in search of Snowy Plovers and Lapland Longspur with NO luck. We walked both
areas with more walking made at the Warrenton Cannery Rd. beach access but
encountered only a few species including our only few Sooty Shearwaters of the
trip,1 adult Parasitic Jaeger, up to 14 Horned Larks, and a single Yellow-rumped"Audubon's"Warbler
foraging in a Scotch Broom thicket. At Westhaven S.P. at Westport we ended the
day scanning Grays Harbor from the east end of the main jetty, as calm
conditions allowed views of a few notable species during our 1.5 hour visit
including: 2 Red-throated Loons,6 Western Grebes,2 Ruddy Turnstones,1 dark-morph
POMARINE JAEGER, up to 3 Parasitic Jaegers,4 Black-legged Kittiwakes, and 55+
Common Terns among several other waterbird species. We also noted up to 6
presumed Harbor Porpoises from this location, being our highlight mammal species
for the day as they foraged loosely with the harbor at varying distances from
land. On our way home 4 of
us stopped along Monte-Brady Loop Rd. due to the remaining light and located 2
Western Scrub Jays for the last species of the day. The field trip was
successful weather and birding wise.
June 1, 2002 - Matthew Moskwik led a trip in Pend Oreille County to Calispell Lake, Sullivan Lake, Sullivan Creek, and Big Meadow Lake, with good weather and 8 participants. We were able to find 100 species, which included all of our target species for the trip. Northern Waterthrush - Several birds singing in a swampy area on Sullivan Lake Road. One bird was observed very well, as it was singing in the top of some brush. American Redstart - A male and female were observed on the south end of Calispell Lake. Harlequin Duck - One female observed 100 yards east of the pair that my dad and I observed last weekend. American Dipper - Two birds observed on Sullivan Creek. Bobolink - Six or seven birds observed in a field on the west side of Calispell Lake. White-throated Swift - Several dozen birds sighted above the cliffs in Metaline Falls. Veery - One bird singing at the south end of Calispell Lake. Bank Swallow - Probably 300 birds flying over the Pend Oreille River a couple of miles south of Metaline. Red-eyed Vireo - Very common in the county, but very hard to observe. One bird was observed very well on River Bend Road. Barrow's Goldeneye - At least one bird observed on the south end of Calispell Lake.
May 25, 2002 - Ken Knittle led a trip in Walla Walla County to Coppei Creek, Biscuit Ridge, and Blacksnake Ridge. Six participants. The trip began with Bank Swallows leaving their colony along Hwy 12 and Lewis Peak Rd. at 5am. Tour route was south fork Coppei Creek, Biscuit Ridge, could not get through the snow drifts to Blacksnake Ridge, so on to 9-mile Canyon, and the Dodd-Iowa Beef settling ponds. Highlights were: Coppei Creek: Copper's Hawk (female), Ruffed Grouse, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Veery, Gray Catbird, Yellow-breasted Chat, Fox Sparrow. Biscuit Ridge Rd: Black-chinned Hummingbird, Calliope Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Dipper. Biscuit Ridge: 2+ Green-tailed Towhees, pair--Townsend's Solitaire, Vesper Sparrow, Cassin's Finch, Orange-crowned Warbler (gray race). 9-mile Canyon: Rock Wren, Ferruginous Hawk. Dodd Rd: dark morph Swainson's Hawk. Dodd-Iowa Beef ponds: ***Snowy Plover--very rare in eastern Washington, Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope. Total species 100
February 23, 2002 Marv Breece led a field trip with 7 other birders to Drayton Harbor in Blaine, to Whatcom County, and to the Skagit Wildlife Management Headquarters in Skagit County. Between the 2 locations, we observed 70 species of birds. Although the temperature was pretty chilly in Blaine at 7:30AM when the trip began, it later warmed up. We were fortunate to be without rain or much wind throughout the day. In Blaine we were joined by Jack Kintner who was kind enough to contribute some local knowledge which included birding locations. Drayton Harbor Highlights 7:30AM until about 1:30PM: Marbled Godwit- 1 bird near the outlet of Cain Creek, Pacific Loon- literally hundreds throughout the harbor, Common Loon, Dunlin- a flyby of about 10 birds, Eared Grebe- at least 2 birds, Red-throated loon- 15 or more, Long-tailed Duck-4, all 3 scoters (6 of which were BLACK SCOTERS), Harlequin Duck-7, both goldeneyes, Cooper's Hawk- a juv female with a stuffed crop did a fly by, YELLOW-BILLED LOON- seen at close range near the Harbor Office with 2 COMMON LOONS. This juvenile was slightly larger then the COLO. Overall color was much lighter, the bill was light colored, larger, and was carried in an upturned fashion. The dark auricular spot was obvious. Pale barring on the back was easy to see. This is possibly the same individual that Jack reported last week in the same location. Highlights at Skagit Wildlife Management about 2:30 to 5:30: White-throated Sparrow, Merlin, Violet-green Swallow- at least 1, Barn Swallow- at least 6, Tree Swallow- I counted 20, but at at one time there were 40-50 swallows of mixed species flying above, Harrier- juvenile w/ a white tag on the right wing. Although we put in a good effort, we did not find Pine Grosbeak or Common Redpoll.