Category: Washington Coast

My second trip to the beach in the last few weeks was quite different from the first. In fact, it was almost diametrically opposite. To begin with, I went to Westport/Long Beach first because the high tide was earlier than the week before, around 1 PM.

Arriving long before I high tide, I went to Westport where the Brown Pelicans were in full flight, and I spent considerable time taking pictures of them. This one’s breeding colors were beginning to fade,

while this appeared to be a first-year juvenile.

I was so fascinated with the pelicans that I almost forgot to leave to arrive at Bottle Beach two hours before high tide.

What I did arrive the Black-Bellied Plovers were already there, though quite aways off shore.

Knowing I had a long time to wait before the other shorebirds would arrive, I focused on taking pictures of them. This shot of one resting on a small “island” was probably my favorite of the shoot,

though I certainly wish it had been in its breeding, not its wintering colors.

It wasn’t too long before small flocks of dowitchers began to land around me

and I changed my focus to trying to get close-ups of them feeding.

Despite the fog, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of birds that showed up, particularly since I had been “skunked” on my previous visit to Bottle Beach.

I’m amazed how often I’m reminded of fishing while out birding. As I’ve mentioned earlier, my first experience with nature came when I was taken salmon fishing regularly as a child. That love for the Puget Sound was, over time, translated into a more general love of nature, and birding is just its latest manifestation.

I’ve made two trips to the ocean in the last two weeks, and though weather conditions were very similar the results were almost diametrically opposite from one another. On the first trip to Oyhut Wildlife Refuge Area in Ocean Shores I saw lots of small shorebirds, often referred to as “peeps.”

There were a lot of Western Sandpipers like these, still in breeding colors,

And others like this,

that I first thought was a Baird’s Sandpiper, which is less common here. After checking several sources, though, I decided it was more likely a juvenile Western Sandpiper. It’s a good thing I’m more concerned with the beauty of the birds I shoot than with their identification. I often don’t have a clue what they are until I get home and put them up on the computer screen.

There were also smaller flocks of Least Sandpiper.

The only other unusual birds (not gulls) I saw were these Caspian Terns.

It’s a good thing the birding was good in the morning because the latter part of the trip turned out to be a dud. I saw a few Pelicans at Westport, but there were hardly any birds at Bottle Beach and the few that were there didn’t come very close to shore. Basically, I was “skunked” as we used to say when we were salmon fishing and didn’t catch any salmon.

After a delicious, but filling breakfast at Sweet Laurette Cafe & Bistro Leslie and I needed a walk before the shops opened. So we decided to stroll through Kha Tai Lagoon Nature Park. I didn’t expect to see many birds, but I took my camera just like I always do.

I was pleasantly surprised to immediately encounter a small flock of Cedar Waxwings, where these two seemed to be pairing off.

We didn’t have to walk too far to encounter these Ruddy Ducks obviously involved in mating rites.

The male in front with his bright blue bill seemed to have attracted the female’s attention.

This White-crowned Sparrow seemed further along in the mating process.

We were amazed at how it managed to pick up each individual piece of grass without dropping the others it had already collected.

We only saw one Red-Shafted Flicker,

But considering how hard it was to spot there could easily have been a mate nearby we hadn’t seen. The bird looked too noble not to have attracted a mate.

After I canceled my 3-day trip to the Columbia Gorge, I decided Leslie and I should spend the next sunny day at the beach. We ended up spending two days at the beach, not one. We spent the first day at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, more for the beach than for bird watching.

However, I did know that Pigeon Guillemots nest there, and I was hoping to get some shots of them nesting. The first thing we saw when we reached the beach was Guillemots, quite close to the shore.

Looking up at the protected cliffs where they nest, I saw lots of birds landing on the crumbling banks.

It soon became clear we were too early to see chicks, that we had arrived in the middle of the courting rituals.

More often than not, however, the ritual seemed to end with both birds sliding down the bank and flying off.

Perhaps this couple was a little more experienced because they were cuddled up talking to each other in a more stable environment.

It was a fascinating experience.