Hard Not to Enjoy a Sunny Day at the Coast

No matter what birds I do or do not see on the Washington coach, I always enjoy my trip and look forward to seeing a variety of birds. My disappointment at not finding a single Common Loon in breeding plumage was tempered by how many species I did see.

I saw flocks of Greater Scaup at several different locations,

a pleasant surprise since I only see them occasionally on the Puget Sound.

And I almost never get as close as I did to these

in the Westport marina.

When I first saw this bird walking the shore in Tokeland I couldn’t figure out what it was even though I’ve seen them several times on the California coast and at Malheur NWR. This may be the only time I’ve seen a Willet

in non-breeding color. I think I have seen them on the Washington coast with Godwits before, but the Washington coast is supposedly outside their range.

Birds were scarce at Ocean Shores, but I did enjoy watching this small flock of Sanderlings fly back and forth along the beach.

We managed to get in five and a half miles of walking for the day without ever being aware that we were exercising. I also managed to spend an entire day without ever checking my computer or my iPhone.