[Tweeters] Rare birds @ Neah Bay

[Alex Sowers]

Hey tweets,

After attending Saturday’s pelagic out of Westport, Connie Sidles, John
Sidles, Louis Kreemer, and I decided to make a run to Neah Bay after
debating what a productive post-pelagic birding destination would be the
next day. So, Saturday night we drove up to our last-minute motel
reservation in Clallam Bay, and soon strategized what the best route would
be for a trip at Neah Bay the next day. The following morning, after noting
a Parasitic Jaeger and a half dozen Marbled Murrelets during a sea watch at
Clallam Bay, we set out at about 9:10 to our first destination- the town
and residential areas of Neah Bay.

9:15: We arrived and began birding at Butler’s Motel and soon spotted a
calling White-throated Sparrow right across the street.

10:50: Louis and I split up to cover the beach just east of the Warmhouse,
turning up a calling PALM WARBLER in the shrubs just below the road.

12:00: We birded the Wa’atch Valley for about an hour and a half with a
brief stop in the middle to check the Sewage Treatment Plant. After our
stop we spotted an odd looking intermediate-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, and 4
Sandhill Cranes headed south fairly high up. There was also a small flock
of Cackling Geese (10) and Greater White-fronted Geese (7). After checking
eBird, it appears that the Rough-legged was the same bird seen a day
earlier by Mike Charest.

4:00: Back in town, along 2nd ave (W of Blue Jay st), we had a CLAY-COLORED
SPARROW come in and briefly feed with a flock of House Sparrows before
making a short flight and dropping into a weedy field. This was in the same
yard that the Orchard Oriole and Eurasian Tree Sparrow hung out in in 2019.

5:30: After leaving Louis and walking a block or two south to get my scope
in order to look at some gulls, Louis called that he had an oriole which we
soon relocated and ID’d as an ORCHARD ORIOLE. Last seen with a few zonos in
shrubs at the end of Wa’adah View Rd.

A rather productive day for a rather spontaneous and short trip.

Good Birding, Alex Sowers
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