amber@scott.stat.washington.edu (Amber Tatnall) (04/25/89)
SPRING MIGRATION IN WESTERN WASHINGTON
Long posting: lists included.
April 22-23 was my birding group's spring migration trip to Bowerman's
Basin. Bowerman's is a fantastic spot for spring migration because it is
apparently one of the last stops for birds heading up to Alaska. There are
always vast numbers of sandpipers feeding on the flats. It's something
that needs to be seen to be believed. When a group takes off, they look
like a wave --black in one direction and white when they turn in the other
direction --and don't let me mislead you into thinking that it is purely a
visual experience. Try to imagine enough peeps peeping, loud enough to
sound like a roar! This year was relatively quiet, but there was still
plenty to see.
Here's what we saw at Bowerman's (I'm not so good at identifying
sandpipers, so there were probably a lot more species than I've listed
here.)
Common Loon
Pelagic Cormorant
Western Grebe
Northern Harrier
Surf Scoter
Black Scoter
White-winged Scoter (Ocean Shores)
Mallard
Pintail
Scaup
Bufflehead
Shoveler
Canada Goose
Common Merganser
Savannah Sparrow
Dunlin
Sanderling (Ocean Shores)
Western Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Long billed Curlew (Tokeland, WA)
Short billed Dowitcher (Tokeland, WA)
Whimbrel (Tokeland, WA)
Marbled Godwit (Tokeland, WA)
Black bellied Plover (Tokeland, WA)
Great Blue Heron
Barn Swallow
Violet-Green Swallow
Killdeer
Osprey (Aberdeen off Highway 101)
Caspian Tern
We also saw a river otter digging for clams and some seals off of Ocean
Shores. The side-trip to Tokeland, WA was definitely worth the drive.
From the breakwater, we were able to see lots of the larger sandpipers as
the tide was coming in. The godwits were pulling up all kinds of worms and
big prawns! The Caspian Terns were fishing and fighting for the proceeds
with the gulls --some spectacular flying there.
On the way home we stopped at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
The Nisqually Refuge is the delta of the Nisqually River (whose source is
the Nisqually Glacier on Mt. Rainier). There are both saltwater and
freshwater habitats here, divided by a five-mile long dike. Someone once
planted an apple(?) orchard on part of it. Other trees and bushes include
cottonwoods, aspen, some evergreens, blackberries, and lots of flowering
bushes. We saw:
Double crested Cormorant (1st year)
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose (nesting)
Wood Duck
Mallard
Ring necked Duck
Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Common Merganser
Northern Harrier
Great Horned Owl
Rufous Hummingbird
Red breasted Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Tree Swallow
Violet Green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Chestnut backed chicadee
Bushtit
Marsh Wren
Myrtle Warbler
Audubon's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow
Golden crowned Sparrow
Redwinged Blackbird
American Goldfinch
Next week is Eastern Washington and the Potholes Reservoir!
___
/ *\
| <
\_ _/
/))) \
/))))/ \ Look!! On the wire! It's a bird!
|)))/ |
|))/ |
/ \ _ /
/ / / \
/_/ / \ Amber Tatnall, Seattle, Washington
=====^=======^======= amber@scott.ms.biostat.washington.edu