Since we were out of town during most of the Spring Shorebird Migration, I have been trying to see the Fall Migration, but I’m not having much more luck than I did in the Spring even though we haven’t gone anywhere recently.
Since we had seen some shorebirds on our walks at Theler Wetlands, I thought I would drive to the Washington Coast July 13th and see what we could see. We started at Ocean Shores where we saw some Cormorants way out on the point, but they’re year-round residents so they hardly count. We walked nearly two miles on the beach and all we saw were a few Seagulls,
and, somewhat surprisingly, a small flock of Turkey Vultures that took off as we approached
except for a single one that refused to leave a dead Harbor Seal.
Luckily, the trip wasn’t a complete waste of time as we had some Delicious Sushi at Umi Sushi and finally got to visit Elissa Whittleton and her husband’s art exhibit at the Gallery of Ocean Shores.
We had slightly better birding at Westport where we spotted several Brown Pelicans fishing right outside the harbor.
A few even flew overhead, giving me a chance to practice my tracking skills.
We saw another small flock of Brown Pelicans at Tokeland — and an even smaller flock of shorebirds feeding on the mud flats.
If our sole purpose of going to the beach was to get shots of birds, this trip was a FLOP, but a sunny day at the beach is always a treat, especially in the Pacific Northwest where such days are rare.
I still remember the first time I saw brown pelicans flying in a long line over the waves, probably at Tokeland or nearby. Stunning to see them. And you’re right, a sunny day on the Washington coast is a treat.