February 28 - Norh Point, Olympia

In the afternoon, I was downtown and stopped at North Point to see what was in the salt chuck.  I walked from the Olympia Area Rowing club house, to the Hearthfire restaurant, and looped back. It was mostly cloudy, with a south breeze at 5 knots and 47° F.  The most exciting thing I saw on the mudflats at the Superfund site was an adult Western Gull.

There are a lot of Glaucous-winged Gulls and hybrid Western X Glaucous-winged Olympic gulls in this Part of Puget Sound, but this bird looked pretty good for a "pure" Western.

Dark gray mantle, black primary tips, clean white head suggest Western Gull

North Point eBird Checklist is Here

January 10 - North Point

I was downtown, so I went over to the Port of Olympia’s North Point parking lot

An Olympic Gull waited for me at the foot of the steps

and walked the path past the old KGY studio to the Hearthfire restaurant, scanning for birds.  My only ‘new bird’ for the year were some distant Pelagic Cormorants, bringing my year total to 106 species.

A Song Sparrow was feeding on the seeds of the American Dune Grass, but I didn't get a shot of the bird, just of the grass

American Dune Grass Leymus mollis

I did have the chance to sort through the gulls

Mew Gull

"Olympic" Gull - Glaucous-winged X Western Hybrid

Glaucous-winged Gull

finding this nice adult Western Gull.

Western Gull towering over the smaller Mew Gull

There was also a flock of Dunlin

Dunlin go everywhere in a hurry . . .

on the Cascade Pole Superfund site.

"Cleanup" of the Creosote-contaminated site has been merely capping it with clay . . .

As I was leaving, I saw a Glaucous-winged Gull that I’d seen in the area last week, seemingly unable to fly.  It looks somewhat “oiled”, and by the appearance of its plumage is certainly in poor physical shape.  I hope it makes it through the Winter.

"Oiled" Glaucous-winged Gull

North Point eBird Checklist is Here

January 4 - Gull Darn It!

At 11 a.m. I drove downtown to scope the mudflats at the Port of Olympia's North Point, and arrived in the midst of a Puget Sound 45° rain,

The Hooded Mergansers thought the weather was just Ducky . . .

which the birds were trying to snooze their way through.

When you're miserable, just keep your head tucked down like this heron

or, this miserable Double-crested Cormorant

I did see a Western Grebe near the Hearthfire Restaurant,

Western Grebe

which was my first for the year as was this White-crowned Sparrow on my way back to the car.

The yellow bill suggests this is the Puget Sound White-crowned Sparrow

Then I drove over to Mud Bay to scope the gulls, looking for an immature Glaucous Gull that had been seen there this week, but no luck.  I continued down to the Department of Natural Resources Preserve at the mouth of Kennedy Creek,

but it was high tide and little to be seen,

Kennedy Creek estuary

although there was a single Black-bellied Plover on the grassy island, which was new for me for the year.

I returned to Perry Creek to scope through the gull congregation there.  Although I couldn’t find the Glaucous Gull among the 600 or so gulls roosting there and scavenging on old chum salmon carcasses,

There were 600 gulls at the mouth of the Creek to sort through - I think this is an immature Glaucous-winged

I did find a single immature Thayer’s Iceland Gull in the flock (sorry, no photo).  The mergansers were feeding in amongst the gulls.

Drake Common Merganser

Hen Common Merganser getting the stink-eye from an Olympic Gull

I finished the day with another stop at Mud Bay and called it a day with 3 new species for the year, bringing my species count to 86.  I didn't find the Glaucous Gull, but it wasn't a bad day at all.

"Olympic Gull" - a hybrid Glaucous-winged X Western Gull

North Point eBird Checklist is Here

First Mud Bay eBird Checklist is Here

Kennedy Creek eBird Checklist is Here

Lower Perry Creek eBird Checklist is Here

Perry Creek mouth eBird Checklist is Here

Last Mud Bay eBird Checklist is Here