Field Trip Reports 2003
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Home2003/11/08 Gary Bletsch led a trip to Skagit County with stops at Rosario Head and Rosario Beach.
2003/11/01 Charlie Wright led a trip to Clallam and Jefferson Counties.
2003/09/13 Scott Downes led a field trip starting in Kittitas County
2003/09/06 Ken Knittle led a migrant bird trip to Washtucna
2003/08/03 Brian Bell led a trip to Whidbey Island.
2003/05/03 Wilson Cady led a trip to the Columbia Gorge.
2003/01/11 Marv Breece led a field trip to the Skagit and Samish Flats in Skagit County
Saturday, November 8th, 2003 Skagit County with stops at Rosario Head and Rosario Beach.
Members of a WOS field trip enjoyed good birding in Skagit County today. At Rosario Head was a Yellow-billed Loon at close range, eating a big red fish. There were also a Common Loon, two Pacifics, and quite a few Red-throated Loons present there, which made for eighty percent of the world's loon species, all visible from the head. Although we could not find any Ancient Murrelets, there were several each of Marbled Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Common Murre, and Pigeon Guillemot, as well as all three cormorants.
At Fir Island Snow Goose Preserve was at least one Lapland Longspur with American Pipits. We could not find the Cassin's Finch at the Game Range, and decided not even to try for the Vesper Sparrow.
Other fun birds included big flocks of Snow Geese (Fir Island), Northern Pintail, Black-bellied Plover and Dunlin (Samish Flats), and two Tundra Swans with seventy Trumpters near the Worline Road.
Good birding, Gary Bletsch, garybletsch@yahoo.com
Saturday, November 1, 2003 - Clallam and Jefferson Counties - Nine dauntless birders gathered at the north end of Marrowstone Island on a cold but dry morning, and spent the day birding several hotspots west to Sequim on the north shoreline of the Olympic Peninsula. Some of the more interesting birds seen during this productive day were good numbers and good views of Harlequin and Long-tailed Ducks, returning Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans, a great flock of Pacific Loons, two Peregrine Falcons, exceptional views of Marbled Murrelet and other alcids, a Thayer's and two Western Gulls, and a number of Eurasian Wigeons. A definite oddity was observing a flock of Dunlin and Sanderling foraging on the lawn at Fort Flagler, apparently feasting on earthworms. Amongst this flock was a confused Black Turnstone. At the end of the day, we tallied our trip list of 91 species over chowder at the 3 Crabs Cafe.
MARROWSTONE I. -- FORT FLAGLER STATE PARK (8:00-10:30): Snow Goose(3: 1 on shoreline; 2 flyover) Trumpeter Swan(4)-flyover Gadwall(1)-Mystery Bay Mallard(10) Greater Scaup(3) Harlequin Duck(24) Surf Scoter(60) White-winged Scoter(14) Long-tailed Duck(43) Bufflehead(195) Common Goldeneye(4) Hooded Merganser(1)-Mystery Bay Red-breasted Merganser(83) Red-throated Loon(4) Pacific Loon(278) Common Loon(9) Horned Grebe(20) Red-necked Grebe(17) Double-crested Cormorant(100) Pelagic Cormorant(100) Great Blue Heron(6) Bald Eagle(2) Red-tailed Hawk(1)-Mystery Bay Black-bellied Plover(60) Killdeer(15) Greater Yellowlegs(4) Black Turnstone(1)-on edge of lawn! Sanderling(35) Dunlin(120) Bonaparte's Gull(15) Heermann's GulL(5) Mew Gull(70) Glaucous-winged Gull(150) Common Murre(3) Pigeon Guillemot(20) Rhinoceros Auklet(1) Rock Pigeon(10) Band-tailed Pigeon(24) Mourning Dove(3) Belted Kingfisher(1)-M.B. Northern Flicker(1)-M.B. Steller's Jay(2)-M.B. Northwestern Crow(40) Common Raven(2) Black-capped Chickadee(2)-M.B. Chestnut-backed Chickadee(3) Brown Creeper(1) Winter Wren(3)-M.B. Golden-crowned Kinglet(2) Ruby-crowned Kinglet(5)-M.B. American Robin(200) Varied Thrush(1)-M.B. European Starling(10) Cedar Waxwing(2)-M.B. Orange-crowned Warbler(1)-M.B. Yellow-rumped Warbler(2-Myrtle) Spotted Towhee(6)-M.B. Savannah Sparrow(2) Fox Sparrow(6)-M.B. Song Sparrow(12) Golden-crowned Sparrow(4) Dark-eyed Junco(6) Red-winged Blackbird(15) Purple Finch(4)-M.B. House Finch(50). Mammals: River Otter(1) California Sea Lion(30) Harbor Seal(15) Douglas Squirrel(1)-M.B.
GARDINER BOAT LAUNCH (11:15-11:45): American Wigeon(20) Mallard(25) Northern Shoveler(7) Green-winged Teal(5) Harlequin Duck(2) White-winged Scoter(8) Bufflehead(80) Hooded Merganser(28)-lagoon Red-breasted Merganser(100) Pacific Loon(15) Common Loon(6) Horned Grebe(11) Red-necked Grebe(9) Western Grebe(7) Pelagic Cormorant(30) Red-tailed Hawk(2) Killdeer(3) Mew Gull(15) California Gull(5) Glaucous-winged Gull(30) Common Murre(1) Pigeon Guillemot(6) Marsh Wren(1) Song Sparrow(5).
SEQUIM BAY -- JOHN WAYNE MARINA (12:10-1:00pm): Canada Goose(3) Greater Scaup(2) Harlequin Duck(13) Surf Scoter(20) White-winged Scoter(70) Long-tailed Duck(1) Barrow's Goldeneye(2) Red-breasted Merganser(90) Pacific Loon(5) Common Loon(10) Horned Grebe(12) Red-necked Grebe(15) Double-crested Cormorant(80) Pelagic Cormorant(30) Black-bellied Plover(20) Dunlin(40) Bonaparte's Gull(3) Mew Gull(25) California Gull(2) Glaucous-winged Gull(50) Common Murre(7) Pigeon Guillemot(24) Marbled Murrelet(6)-great views! Belted Kingfisher(1). Mammal: Harbor Seal (12)
SEQUIM -- OLYMPIC GAME FARM AREA (1:25-2:00): Western Canada Goose(80) Lesser Canada(10) Cackling Canada(23) Trumpeter Swan(5) Bald Eagle(1 juv.) Northern Harrier(1 imm. f.) Red-tailed Hawk(2ad.) Wilson's Snipe(12+) Mew Gull(30) California Gull(20) Thayer's Gull(1ad.) Western Gull(1 juv.) Glaucous-winged Gull(40) Rock Pigeon(30) Common Raven(25) American Pipit(2) Red-winged Blackbird(150) Brewer's Blackbird(50) American Goldfinch(1)
SEQUIM -- THREE CRABS AREA (2:20-4:00): Gadwall(10) Eurasian Wigeon(9: 8m., 1f.) American Wigeon(2500) Eur. x Am. Wigeon hybrid(1) Mallard(50) Northern Shoveler(3) Northern Pintail(14) Green-winged Teal(6) Bufflehead(10) Brandt's Cormorant(2) Double-crested Cormorant(100) Pelagic Cormorant(50) Great Blue Heron(5) Bald Eagle(2) Northern Harrier(1f.) Sharp-shinned Hawk(2m.)-in a territorial dispute Red-tailed Hawk(3) Peregrine Falcon(2: 1 adult anatum; 1 juv) American Coot(1) Black-bellied Plover(2) Sanderling(5) Dunlin(20) Mew Gull(60) Ring-billed Gull(12) California Gull(10) Western Gull(1ad.) Glaucous-winged Gull(100) American Pipit(3) White-crowned Sparrow(1) Golden-crowned Sparrow(2) Red-winged Blackbird(30) Brewer's Blackbird(30) House Sparrow(5)
- Charlie Wright charlie@birdwright.com
Saturday, September 13th, 2003 – Kittitas County – Many good birds were observed on the WOS trip today, though nothing rare. We met in Ellensburg where we started off with a close encounter of the Sharpie kind, an adult Sharp-shinned hawk flew about 20 feet in front of us to try and nab a house sparrow but missed. We then headed to Vantage where notable birds included 11 Great Egrets and good numbers of American Pipits and Yellow-rumped Warblers. By location:
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Wanapum dam area: 30 American Pelican, 6 Great Egret (5 on islands, 1 in Getty Cove), 6 Chukar, 1 Spotted Sandpiper, Many American Pipit and Yellow-rumped Warbler along road in shrub-steppe, (30+ of each)
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Horse Farm: 5 Great Egret, 1 Yellow Warbler, 1 Says Phoebe, 1 Long-billed Dowitcher, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Eared Grebe,
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At Wenatchee Confluence Park/Horan area, we hit it about 12:00, and saw many of the same birds Dan Stephens did but some different. 1 Pectoral Sandpiper (juv), 4 Western Sandpiper, did not see any of the least, though made sure these were western and not the expected least, 1 Great Egret, 1 Nashville Warbler, 3 Orange-crowned Warbler, 35-40 Yellow-rumped Warbler, all seen were Audubon's, 2 Savanna Sparrow, 1 Gray Catbird h/o, 1 Eared Grebe, 2 Turkey Vulture
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Coming home hit Blewett Pass/Table Mountain with some nice results. Migrating raptors included: 2 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 American Kestrel, 1 Northern Harrier, 3 Turkey Vulture, plus: 4 Hermit Thrush, 10-15 White-crowned Sparrow, 4 Savanna Sparrow, 25 WILD TURKEY about 1 mile south of Lion Rock campground on FS 35.
For the day 78 species. Good birding all. Scott Downes, downess@cwu.edu
Saturday, September 6th, 2003 Ken Knittle led a migrant bird trip to Washtucna, Lyons Ferry, and other Snake River vagrant traps. The WOS field trip officially began at Washtucna at 7:00 a.m. We were concentrating on passerine migrants which were not super obvious. Our itinerary from here was: Washtucna sewer pond for shorebirds, a kind of park area in Kahlotus which happened to be crawling with birds, Wind Dust Park, Hood Park in the heat of the day, Dodd-Iowa Beef Ponds which were loaded with waterfowl and some shorebirds and gulls, Walla Walla River mouth, and lastly the Yakima River Delta in Kennewick. Late in the day and the WOS field trip was over I checked out Whitcomb Island NWR where 7 Black-necked Stilts and Western Sandpipers were east of the entrance. Next I had 1 Great Egret at Crow Butte State Park. I also checked out Rock Creek, but it was super windy with the low coming in and could not locate any small birds which should have been there. The area was very dry which is normal for this time of year. Highlights for each area are as follows:
- Washtucna 1-Sharp-shinned Hawk 3-Barn Owls many Hammond's Flycatchers 1-Say's Phoebe 1-very yellow under-parts Warbling Vireo 1-Rock Wren 1-Bewick's Wren 1-Ruby-crowned Kinglet many Orange-crowned Warblers a group of female Western Tanagers 1-Spotted Towhee White-crowned Sparrows with a Junco with them 1-Bullock's Oriole female
- Washtucna sewer pond 1-Virginia Rail out on the mud for good views a handful of Western Sandpipers and Baird's Sandpipers 1-Least Sandpiper 1-Pectoral Sandpiper 1-Wilson's Snipe 2-Bank Swallows flying with Barn Swallows 1-Marsh Wren Vesper, Savannah, and White-crowned Sparrows around the edges of the ponds 1-Yellow-headed Blackbird
- Kahlotus 2 Great Horned Owls and 2 Loggerhead Shrikes seen before WOS field trip began 2-Hammond's Flycatchers 1-Cassin's Vireo both Kinglets 1-female American Redstart more female Western Tanagers Chipping and White-crowned Sparrows
- Wind Dust Park pretty dead here over-all 1-Osprey 1-Golden Eagle 1-Red-breasted Nuthatch a few more female Western Tanagers
- Hood Park 1-Osprey 1-Barn Owl flushed from Russian Olives 1-Great Horned Owl also flushed from the dense trees 1-female Downy Woodpecker 1-Bewick's Wren
- Dodd-Iowa Beef Ponds ducks included Cinnamon Teal, Pintail, Mallards, Canvasback heard 1 Virginia Rail 5 American Avocets 1-Greater Yellowlegs Western Sandpipers 1-Wilson's Snipe a small scattering of Red-necked Phalaropes with 2 Wilson's Phalaropes 2-Franklin's Gulls scattered Bonaparte's Gulls
- Walla Walla River mouth water level was high which doesn't help in creating habitat for shorebirds 1-Great Egret at McNary NWR as we drove by American White Pelicans Glaucous-winged Gulls by this time it was close to 100 degrees so we headed up to Kennewick
- Yakima River Delta American White Pelicans 2-Great Egrets heard another Virginia Rail 3-Greater Yellowlegs Western Sandpipers Red-necked Phalaropes Caspian Terns 8 small terns some of which we identified as to Forster's, 3 seemed darker backed which may have been Commons, but the heat waves and distance was too great for positive ID 1-Black-capped Chickadee singing in 97 degree heat
Any questions concerning the places or birds seen please ask, Ken Knittle, washingtonbirder@hotmail.com
Saturday, August 2nd, 2003 – Whidbey Island – Brian Bell led a small group on a to Whidbey Island and they had a very good day. It started out overcast and cool, but gradually cleared and warmed up. While waiting for the ferry at Mukilteo, they got extremely nice views of juvenile GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLs - nice downy heads with dark spots on them. They had one MARBLED MURRELET just west of the ferry dock just before the ferry came in. They had a couple of CASPIAN TERNS here, and 20 later at SWANTOWN. They had an adult and immature RED-TAILED HAWK along Ewing Road in Whidbey and several more later on the trip home down along the I-5 corridor.
Double-Bluff was pretty quiet, but did turn up a pair of adult BALD EAGLES, 6 COMMON TERNS down by the point, and a pod of 6 dolphins moving north (too distant to identify with certainty but perhaps HARBORPORPOISE as they had all black dorsal fins and were relatively small appearing). As they went back out to the highway, the wetlands/lake had good numbers of MALLARDS, NORTHERN SHOVELER, NORTHERN PINTAIL and GADWALL. A few CLIFF SWALLOWS were present, although generally BARN and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWs were the only ones present in any quantity. A nice female/immature COMMON YELLOWTHROAT showed itself in the marsh as did RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDs.
At Bush Point they had a single COMMON LOON flyby and also a COMMON MURRE. Several RHINOCEROS AUKLETS were diving a ways offshore. A male BELTED KINGFISHER kept flying in and attempting to land on a television antenna.
At Crockett Lake the thistles were loaded with AMERICAN
GOLDFINCH and the surrounding conifers had good numbers of CEDAR WAXWINGS. There
were good numbers of shorebirds at the lake including both GREATER and LESSER
YELLOWLEGS - at one point we had both side by side allowing great views under
superb lighting. A nice comparison. Lots of WESTERN and LEAST SANDPIPERS, also
allowing nice comparisons. One BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was present, but a PEREGRINE
FALCON made a pass before they could really view the Baird's and all the
shorebirds flushed. Approximately 25 Long-billed Dowitchers were doing their
best sewing machine imitations. Three
NORTHERN HARRIERs cruised back and forth, one adult female and two immatures
with wing tags (a blue one on a left wing with a solid diamond, and a blue one
on a right wing with an open triangle). A nice SAVANNAH SPARROW popped up at one
point and gave them a nice view as it perched on an old hunters blind. On the
other side of Crockett Lake they had 38 GREAT BLUE HERONS feeding on the edges
of the lake. On the old platform just offshore were about 12 PELAGIC CORMORANTs
and about 25 PIGEON GUILLEMOTs. The rock jetty was loaded with GLAUCOUS-WINGED
GULLs and HEERMANN'S GULLs (Heermann's also at Double Bluff and Swantown).
Up at Fort Casey they had an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER who sat silently, but finally responded with the classic song. The picnic area turned up NORTHERN FLICKER (red-shafted race), SPOTTED TOWHEE, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, DARK-EYED JUNCO, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (juveniles, Audubon's race), GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, a HAIRY WOODPECKER tapping on al old branch, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, BEWICK'S WREN, WINTER WREN (heard), and a BROWN CREEPER. At the south end of the picnic area they had impressive looks at a GREAT HORNED OWL.
From the pier at San de Fuca they had looks at COMMON LOON, SURF and WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, and a couple of BLACK TURNSTONEs at the end of the pier. Swantown turned up a PACIFIC LOON, a SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER, a KILLDEER, a RED-NECKED GREBE and a RED-THROATED LOON.
They stopped at the Stanwood Sewage Ponds on the way home and were rewarded with several species. The most outstanding were incredible views of male, breeding plumage and displaying RUDDY DUCKS with bright ruddy sides and brilliant blue bills. The ponds also had MALLARDS, GADWALL, HOODED MERGANSERS, a surprising GREATER SCAUP, a BREWER'S BLACKBIRD and a RING-BILLED GULL.
At various times and places they saw AMERICAN CROW, ROCK DOVE, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, AMERICAN ROBIN, HOUSE SPARROW, HOUSE FINCH, SONG SPARROW, CANADA GOOSE, MORNING DOVE, CALIFORNIA GULL and TURKEY VULTURE. It was a great trip and they saw a total of 73 species for a most enjoyable day. The best thing about the trip was the great views they had of many of the birds.
Saturday, May 3rd, 2003 – Columbia Gorge – Wilson Cady led a trip to the Columbia Gorge. Fourteen of us birded the Columbia Gorge on a cold and blustery Saturday, May 3rd. The temperatures never climbed above the mid-50's and the winds were in excess of twenty five miles per hour. We only encountered a few neotropical migrants and they were mostly all seen in the wind-sheltered canyon at the Catherine Creek Wildflower Preserve east of Bingen. Here we found two Western Kingbirds, a Warbling Vireo, one Townsend's Warbler, and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers. There was a Prairie Falcon and a Black-chinned Hummingbird that we located here. The early wildflowers were mostly past their prime but with Bicolored Cluster Lily, Bitter Root and Barrett's Penstemon putting on a nice display. On the way up Old Highway 8 we found Western Bluebirds and one car load of birders had a fly over of Lewis' Woodpeckers. We saw Chipping Sparrows at the Balch/Lyle Cemetery heard Lesser Goldfinches calling but did not see them there. Our lunch break was along Balch Pond where we had good views of several Lesser Goldfinches along with the resident Western Pond Turtles. Although this is a good spot for Ash-throated Flycatchers none were heard giving their distinctive "prrrt" call. Back down on Old Highway 8 we spent about forty five minutes standing in front of our spotting scopes staring at the Acorn Woodpecker's granary tree in a vain attempt to add this bird to the day's list. We drove up the Klickitat River to the town of Klickitat where the feeders in front of the homes on the 600 block of Main Street once again produced all four species of hummingbirds normally found in Washington. Another Lewis' Woodpecker flew over the group while we were standing in front of a gas station taking a break These lovely birds have been hard to find in the Gorge this spring. At the Tidyman Road Ponds in Dallesport we found Cinnamon Teal and our only shorebirds other than Killdeer, Least Sandpiper and Wilson's Snipe. Our next stop was Spearfish Park which produced only a pair of Bufflehead as additions to the list. Maryhill Museum was closing it's gate when we arrived so we parked outside and walked the grounds in the howling wind. The only bird of note we could find was a Hammond's Flycatcher staying low in the now manicured shrubbery. The total count of species for the outing was seventy seven and the best birds were two which we did not see on Saturday. Kathy and John Ehrenberg had spent the previous evening with some friends in Underwood which is in Skamania County. There they saw two Blue Jays coming to a feeder along with the normal Scrub Jays and Steller's Jays. Part of the group spent some time there on our way back down the Gorge but did not see the birds. My wife and I did go back up the next afternoon and failed again to see the jays but I did see my first Prairie Falcon for Skamania County during the search. - Wilson Cady, gorgebirds@juno.com
Saturday, April 26th, 2003 – Bottle Beach to Ocean Shores – Patrick and Ruth Sullivan led a trip in Grays Harbor County from Bottle Beach to Ocean Shores.
This field trip to Grays Harbor and Pacific Cos. between Bottle Beach to Tokeland covered additional areas including Westport, the Johns River Wildlife Area and an evening visit to the Brady Loop Rd. complex and Wenzel Slough Rd. near Satsop on our way home. We had a total of 7 other participants with a total of 114 species for the day, including 20 species of shorebirds. We managed to have a very good day birding and weather wise with only a few showers throughout the day mainly at the beginning and at the end of the trip. Due to the Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival we ran into many birders throughout the day in additional to birding friends at several locations, as we encountered several key highlights for the day that were especially noteworthy to most of the field trip participants. We began our trip at Bottle Beach at 8am during incoming tide, where we spent considerable time scoping and watching the foraging shorebirds that moved in with the tide, as we watched them separating the birds to species. Shorebirds of 11 species at this location consisted mainly of Western Sandpipers followed by Short-billed Dowitchers with other species in lesser numbers, as we watched them until 9:20am before checking the shorebird activity across S.R.105 along Ocosta Third Street on foot until just after 10am adding a few more species to our day list. We then traveled west with a quick stop at Twin Harbors State Park,then continued south to Tokeland, where the wind began to blow from the south. We checked several locations at Tokeland and actually had a good assortment of species including a single female Black Scoter, which seemed very unusual for the location and our first personal record for that location, as we watched it with a single Surf Scoter in Willapa Bay south of the Tokeland Marina. After birding at Tokeland until 12:20pm we continued north to Midway Beach Rd. for lunch, stopping along S.R.105 near MP 20 and south of North Cove. We scoped the fairly heavy surf as well as the exposed mudflats close to the road, where we added a few more species for the day, including up to 25 Black Turnstones. We arrived at Midway Beach Rd. at 1pm then after eating lunch and talking with fellow birders walked the sandy beach north of the end of the road. We encountered good numbers of migrating Greater White-fronted Geese and "Cackling"Canada Geese flying overhead heading north, as well as getting good looks at "Streaked"Horned Larks. We attempted for Snowy Plovers, but were unsuccessful in locating this local target species. Continuing north to Westport we spent the most time at Westhaven State park at the base of the Westport Jetty and encountered a few notable species for the trip including up to 3 Rock Sandpipers and 2 Ruddy Turnstones in a flock of Black Turnstones with a few Surfbirds that were all observed in flight on the north side of the jetty, as the swirled around and made a few passes before landing about midway out of the north side of the jetty and out of view. We also located up to 2 Wandering Tattlers that were at times hard to see, but visible to most as the winds continued to blow from the southwest. Other notable species for this location included: 1 Red-necked Grebe, 1 male Harlequin Duck, and up to 6 Black-legged Kittiwakes. After birding Westport we made a nice worthwhile stop at the Johns River WA and walked the paved trail to the observation blind with a few notable species including the lingering adult Snow Goose with 10 Greater White-fronted Geese, 6 Cinnamon Teal, and a single Lesser Yellowlegs. As mentioned we stopped by the Brady Loop Rd. complex on our way home with our last stop made along Wenzel Slough Rd. at 6pm,as we encountered a few heavy rain showers, but noted a few last highlights for the day. Our stop along Foster Rd. was very rewarding as we encountered 2 Lesser Yellowlegs with one bird giving good comparisons to a nearby Greater Yellowlegs followed by a good scoping views of an American Bittern in the same location my mother and I observed presumably the same individual on the 12th and 13th of April. Our trip ended along the western portion of Wenzel Slough Rd., where our last species of the day was several Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Our trip went well due to efforts made by all participants in spotting species, although our list could have been higher due to the lack of some passerine species, but the trip was rewarding nonetheless. A list of other notable species for the day follow at selected locations: Brown Pelican, 1 off Bottle Beach, 27+ at Westport; Wood Duck, 1 male along Ocosta Third Street; Cinnamon Teal, 1 along Foster Rd., 1 pair along Ocosta Third Street, 6 at the Johns River WA; Turkey Vulture, 1 along S.R.105 at the Johns River, 7 at Tokeland, 4 at the Johns River WA, 1 along S.R.105 west of Markham, 8 along Hwy.12 over the Wynoochee River bridge (west of Montesano), 2 along Hwy.12 west of Montesano, 3 along Brady Loop Rd., 14 along Wenzel Slough Rd. (perched in Red Alder trees for a possible evening roost); Osprey, 2 along Wenzel Slough Rd. at Vance Creek Co. Park, 1 along Hwy.12 at a nestsite at Montesano, 1 at Tokeland, 1 along Hwy.12 near Brady, 1 along the central portion of Wenzel Slough Rd.; Cooper's Hawk, 1 at Tokeland; Am.Kestrel, 1 male along S.R.105 at Bottle Beach ; Merlin, 1 at Tokeland; Peregrine Falcon, 1 along S.R.105 south of North Cove; Virginia Rail (heard only), 1 along Ocosta Third Street, 1 along Foster Rd.; Sora (heard only), 3 along Ocosta Third Street; Willet, 2 at Tokeland; Whimbrel, 1 at Bottle Beach, 2 at Tokeland, 15 along the eastern portion of Brady Loop Rd.; Marbled Godwit, 300+ at Tokeland at two separate locations; Ruddy Turnstone, 1 at Bottle Beach, 2 at the Westport Jetty; Surfbird, 32 at the Westport Jetty; Red Knot, 14+ at Bottle Beach, 3 at Tokeland; Bonaparte's Gull, 2 off S.R.105 near MP 2(south of North Cove); "Streaked"Horned Lark, 13 at Midway Beach Rd.; Western Scrub Jay, 1 along Brady Loop Rd.; Am.Pipit, 2 at Midway Beach Rd.; Wilson's Warbler (heard only), 1 along S.R.105 near Tokeland; Mammal highlight of the day: 1 Racoon near the top of a deciduous tree along Wenzel Slough Rd. - Ruth and Patrick Sullivan, godwit@worldnet.att.net.
Saturday, January 11th, 2003 – Marv Breece led a field trip to the Skagit and Samish Flats in Skagit County.
Seven birders began the day at the West 90 in Skagit County. Well, not really. On the way to the West 90, Josh Wilson Road offered an AMERICAN KESTRAL. At the Bayview Edison/ Samish Island Rd "T", the PRAIRIE FALCON was at home on a pole. Before we could reach the West 90, a PEREGRINE FALCON showed up on another pole. Upon reaching the West 90 to meet up with Doug and Pipper Watkins, we learned of the SWAMP SPARROW they had found near the parking lot. While trying to find the SWSP again, a NORTHERN SHRIKE flew in and landed very close by. Before we left the West 90 we added WESTERN MEADOWLARK AND AMERICAN PIPIT. We were off to a good start!
Other highlights on the Samish Flats today include: Harlan's Hawk - 2, Dark morph Rough-legged Hawk - 2, Dunlin - far too many to count, Western Sandpiper - 6, Short-eared Owl - 3 or more, Yellow-rumped Warbler - 3 off Allen West Rd near Benson (Benton?) Rd, At Padilla Bay Headquarters 3 swallows flew overhead for all to see. They were too far away for positive ID as to species, but swallows nonetheless. At the boat launch in Bayview, Carol Shultz spotted a MERLIN, our fourth falcon species of the day. A PELAGIC CORMORANT flew overhead. Skagit Wildlife Headquarters was our next stop. A very large immature COOPER'S HAWK with a bulging crop flew by. Also at this location were 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS calling back and forth. We tallied 64 species for the day. We avoided rain and wind.It was a good day. Marv Breece Seattle, WA