Washington State trip in July 2012 (1 Viewer)

[Rich Bonser]

Hi All
I'm travelling to Washington State on 24th July (flying into Seattle - happy to drive long distances), and have 3 days of solid birding before my girlfriend flies out (on 27th July) before we do a road trip through the state, through Oregon, to San Francisco.

Just a general couple of questions as, armed with ABA's birdfinding book, I'm starting to get the lie of the land...

Any recommendations for seabird colonies/looking at auklets/Tufted Puffins/Pigeon Guillemots etc?

Are there are good spots for Harlequin Duck this time of year? Likewise Surfbird, Wandering Tattler and Black Turnstone?

I would also love to see Varied Thrush and Evening Grosbeak, if possible, so any advice for these would be most appreciated.

And, most importantly (!), where can you advise for good views of your nightmare gulls?

And, for Orcas, any ideas where I can see these - presumably I have to go to the San Juan Islands or can you see them on boat trips from Seattle?

Many thanks in advance and really looking forward to this trip.

Cheers
Rich
http://rothandb.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[lmans66]

I would travel south Rich.... go into the Longbeach area for many types of shorebirds ...go south Further and into Oregon near Cannon Beach for Puffins and Pigeon Guillemots and Harlequins on Haystock Rock...go further south to Boiler Bay for seabirds far out... Go east from Boiler Point into Sisters and see evening grossbeak and woodpeckers...find your way up north to your girlfriend.... jim

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

My trip report from last year should be useful (I was there about a month earlier):
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=207143
You can do good trips for Orcas from Anacortes. La Push might be good for Tufted Puffins and an Orca trip should also produce quite a few auklets (particularly Rhinoceros and Marbled Murrelet - Pigeon Guillemot should be easy). I'd recommend using Ebird to find out likely dates and sites for various species.

 

[walshey]

Hi Rich,

I've done something quite similar, actually Vancouver -> SF with non-birding wife, albeit in November. Got a lot of info off the birding trail websites, and various birders blogs.

My favourite spots were N-S

Ocean Shores WA. The tip has a 'rare' feeling about it. I saw a King Eider here. I think it's still there
Boiler Bay OR. Dont miss this. Most land based seawatching in the US is crap. This is the exception. You get to see how much stuff is actually going along the Pacific coast.
Bodega Bay CA. Exceptional close views of loads of stuff (this is my favourite W. coast spot). Goto the county park spit on a rising tide and watch the waders come towards you. This is only place I've seen Surfbird and Black Turnstone on the mud rather than the rocks. Tip here, we stayed at the Bodega Bay Lodge, where my partner was quite happy to spend the day using the spa facilites, leaving me the whole day to go birding.

A few notes on the species you mention.
Alcids: Pigeon Guillemot, Rhinocerous and Marbled should be easy. All occur right up Puget Sound. Tufted Puffin will require a colony visit.

Harlequin a bit difficult in July I should think, even in November I saw them mostly in the Canadian section.

Surfbird and Black Turnstone should be easy. The jetty at Ocean Shores WA should do for them. Later in the year it will have Rock Sand as well (not impossible in August). Tattler is always scarce everywhere, but noisy. I have found them near SF at Bodega Bay and Pigeon Point

Varied Thrush & Evening Grosbeak. Thrush much easier than Grosbeak, try Mary's Peak OR for both. You could also easily convince your girlfriend to visit Prairie Creek redwoods N. CA to see the amazing trees (and stick on Varied, plus Grey Jay), tip here, look around the maintenance compound as well as on the trails.

Larids, my 2 best spots for close observation of large numbers were Yachats in S. OR. and Bodega Bay CA. Yachats is only a small sandy bay with a stream but it seems to concentrate them. I had 9 species here, plus many unassignables. If it's anything like when I went you'll be in hog heaven!

Bird on dude! as they say over there.

John

 

[Rich Bonser]

Thanks to you all for the swift replies. Really appreciate the ebird suggestion (spent a good couple of hours on it yesterday evening!) and your suggestions and notes on some of my target species John. Particularly gripped with Andrew's report, especially the pelagic, and some interesting sites in the interior of Washington I may head for initially after landing in Seattle - as most of my birding will be coastal thereafter.

Keep the ideas rolling and many thanks
Rich
http://rothandb.blogspot.co.uk/