January 15th - Trying to Get to the Point Already

Leadbetter Point - Not the *Point* point, but ... keep reading

As one might expect

Early in the year? My mornings are probably starting with owls. On the previous day, I'd wrapped up with 98 species of birds for my Pacific County year list. I woke with plans of simply finding a couple more species to make it a nice round 100. 

The owls did not get the memo. 

I tried several wooded spots on the way up, even calling from the parking lot of the Long Beach McDonalds for a bit while I was waiting for them to open for breakfast. My first trip, a week and a half earlier had given me Northern Saw-whet Owl and Great Horned Owl, so my focus for the morning was the "easiest" owl on the county list - Barred. 

Amazing to think that a mere 40 years earlier, it would have been impossible to find Barred Owls here. Go back 40 more, and it may not have even been hard to find Spotted Owls. But Barred Owls have rule of the roost at night these days in much of Washington State. I've gotten fairly good at calling for them as well (great party trick), but none of my efforts have borne fruit yet this year. As I continued north, I made a stop just outside of Oysterville at a swampy spot where I also had hopes for Western Screech-Owl. I continued all the way to the parking area for Leadbetter, where I added Northern Pygmy Owl to my wish list, tooted for a bit, and then just drifted off to sleep in my car. 

Leadbetter Point

Greeting sign, explaining Snowy Plover protected habitat

HM

My hopes are to explore this place quite thoroughly by the end of the year. I described the appeal of it to me in my post from the previous day. (Good time to direct you to the links at right, including previous posts, and my "Running Tally and Needs List" page!) It's about as remote as you can get, between the driving and the walking. I did not enter the challenge lightly on this particular day, and I ended up putting together a pretty efficient pack. My spotting scope went into my backpack, with some equipment to make a lunch, and my camera bag had my water bottle tucked into it. The aim was to take the trail along the bay, then to cut across from the bay to the Pacific, through a forested trail, before hiking around the very tip of the peninsula towards Grass Island. 

Early signs discouraged me, listing the trails that were flooded, including. . . that one trail I wanted to take across to the Pacific, as well as that other one. "But I am wearing the boots of power! I shall pass!" I did not actually yell this at the sign. Probably just yawned, looked down at my boots, looked back up at the sign and smirked optimistically. It was clearly here for silly kids that came wearing hiking boots instead of waders.

Before leaving the parking lot, I got a new year bird, a Pine Siskin (99! This running tally for the year list will be updated parenthetically). This was a happy bird to find - they are often not uncommon at all, but finches can be hit or miss in the U.S. from year to year, depending on pine crops, beetle outbreaks, cold. . . so it had been a winter season without siskins until now, with this single. Hopefully there would be little clouds of them again, come summer. 

Up the meadow trail, I watched the sun rise through the filter of the branches lining the trail. Birds woke up slowly - kinglets and chickadees, and the occasional song sparrow. The trail opened up to Willapa Bay fairly quickly. 

What a gorgeous meadow! I'd read pretty extensively about people taking hikes here. In some cases, they had made a stream crossing. In other cases, they'd been turned back. I picked up my binoculars and could kind of see where that stream laid. I think the logic in my head was that I could walk to the edge of it and find some nice birds from that edge. Then, as the tide slipped out over the course of the morning, I could either make the crossing, or hope that the lower tides translated to less flooding on the trails. 

A Northern Harrier coursed over the meadow, which reminded me that it might also be a good place for Short-eared Owls, which reminded me of my original reason for coming here, Snowy Owls! They've been seen over the years at Leadbetter. And it's not as if they have been experiencing an irruptive year, where many of them had come down into the state, but I was running a kind of year where I wanted to follow up on nearly any long-term pattern. As another birder had noted, even without the owls, there were good chances for other birds like Snow Bunting and Lapland Longspur that aren't seen every year. 

I crossed the meadow, following some sort of trail, nothing more than a line of matted-down grass. Even here, I was happy for the boots. It was a little muddy at times, and I occasionally stepped in standing water. Simple hiking boots would have been a bit of a mess by the end of the hike!

I did finally reach the stream. I pulled out my scope and started peering across the other half of the meadow to what I assumed was Grass Island, and the shores near it. There were huge numbers of waterfowl - Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Mallards, and American Wigeon. Canada and/or Cackling Geese were also parked in a pile on a far shore. All of these birds were a bit too far away to properly enjoy them. 

Nearer in, a couple of Buffleheads played in the stream, and a flock of shorebirds whirled back and forth over the wet meadow, eventually finding a suitable spot to poke around for food. 

I gave up on any hopes that the stream would become passable. Even in areas where it seemed shallower, there were parts of the stream where the bottom couldn't quite be discerned. So, I walked the edge of the meadow back towards the Bearberry trailhead. As I walked, I picked up my first Yellow-rumped Warbler (100) of the year. Bird 100! I kept my ears open for anything resembling a Palm Warbler - also possible at this lovely spot, but a rarer find. 

The Bearberry Trail brought me to a flooded section. I tromped through and the smirk I'd been wearing earlier got a little bigger. But then there was another, more deeply flooded section. . . boom, cleared it. I felt like the beach was certainly within reach at this point. Then I got to a third flooded section. I tried walking the edges, and then when forced down the trail itself, I walked until the water was almost to the rim of my boots. It did not get above it. . . but the simple process of tipping my leg forward to make a step brought some water into my boots. Not a lot, but enough to get me to turn around. Trail 1, Tim 0.

The easy part

Lol no

Back through all of the water, with Fox Sparrows calling all around me, and the occasional Pacific Wren. I got to the Bay Loop Trail and was pleasantly surprised by a half-dozen Varied Thrushes. They're my favorite bird for quite a few reasons. 

I tried again for Northern Pygmy Owl, as the shore pines got a little tighter in around me. In addition to some Varied Thrushes "tchup"ing in response, I got a "tchup tchup" of a different quality. Hermit Thrush! (101). This guy took some work. I had him making noise invisibly around me for 5? 10 minutes?? before I finally got a peek - just enough to confirm it was a brown thrush. 

This was a bird I was kind of worried about this year. They're not singing this time of year. And they leave for the summer - basically no sightings of Hermit Thrushes in those summer months when I'd normally get to hear them singing on a high elevation hike. So there's just not enough elevation in Pacific, or mayhaps they're just hanging around in parts of the Willapas that are behind one of the many gates set up by logging companies.

Back to the car, and I got the biggest surprise of the day. I was driving slowly along the road, when I saw a medium-sized shape lumbering down the road. 

Porcupine!!

I have seen a single porcupine prior to this in life, but that was very brief as one shuffled around a corner out of sight. This time I got to watch it a bit more.

Back down the peninsula

First stop - Oysterville. I found some videos online that talked about the maintenance of this little town as a historic landmark. From the sounds of it, some of the conversations around new construction were quite contentious! I drove slowly down the block and pulled in to take a look at the church. 

Built in 1892, it would seem, as a Baptist Church, although it shifted to non-denominational, and has not actually been used for regular services for nearly a century. It is now available for people to just walk on in and take a look around. It was neat to wander the rooms, peek in closets, etc. It's beautiful and well kept! It's also, incidentally, available for rental - for weddings and other ceremonies. 

I looked over some of the other buildings in town, then drove past the central part of the little historic district. On my left, there was a nice place to stop and look over some shorebirds, including some Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, and Wilson's Snipe, along with a mix of puddle ducks. 

Wilson's Snipe

I'd passed a few little towns on the way down. Now I got to see some of them in daylight. Nahcotta was the next stop. Great spot! I had hopes for some rockpipers (turnstones and whatnot), but it was just a lot of Killdeer. The gull variety was pretty good - certainly quite a few to look through, and I got my first Herring Gull (102). 

Ocean View Beach Access

I... I don't know what exactly I was looking for here, but there was no shortage of birds. So many gulls. So many shorebirds. And at some point, I'm going to be way more dialed in. Maybe I was just hoping for a simple Iceland Gull? 

No new birds at this spot, but there were a couple of thoughts on the birds I had. First of all, a very dark Western Gull was something I took a lot of pictures of. Definitely will look those dark backed gulls over for Slaty-backed, Lesser Black-backed, etc. 

I also had probably 1000 Dunlin. I had forgotten the importance of checking these over for Rock Sandpipers. Habitat aside, the fact is that they can blend in fairly well with a large flock of Dunlin. 

I also had a plover that I couldn't get good lighting on... the thing that got me, was simply that it was solo. So... probably Black-bellied Plover, the most common large plover in the county. But I'll be giving all of these birds the once over! Without peeking at a guide, I can't say whether American Golden-Plover, Pacific Golden Plover, or other rarities would look bigger, smaller, thicker-billed... so this is good homework!

And finally, I had the shorebirds and gulls take flight. It was a Bald Eagle this time, but one of the next most common outcomes of a quick search of the sky would be a Peregrine Falcon. If I understand correctly, bird flu has affected their populations pretty hard, so I need to really be on the lookout. 

Eagle at bottom right

Hm

I was very HM, so I stopped in at the Sandbar. Friends... for about $20, I got a bowl of soup, two oyster shooters, and a shot of whiskey that was normally $35, but reduced for happy hour. But I was *really* here to check on eBird just to get some ideas. I'd planned on just taking every bird that Leadbetter would give me, but had not really planned for it to be quite so stingy. '

In the end, I thought that Beard's Hollow would be the correct play. I might have more chances at some gulls, and there is a rocky area that sometimes hosts birds I'm missing (turnstones, oystercatchers, rock sandpiper). I took Idaho Avenue all the way out of town, driving slowly in hopes of catching a California Scrub Jay. 

Bingo! California Scrub-Jay (103)

Then it was off for Beard's Hollow! This was a new spot for me. Tucked into the North end of Cape Disappointment State Park, it has a parking area that offers a trail that is a lovely mix of dense forest, swamp, and cliffs. I'd seen numerous passerines mentioned in reports here, so I tooted for Northern Pygmy Owl, and listened for Brown Creeper. 

The trail finally opened up to the beach, and I was greeted by a sight that didn't completely surprise me - a beach full of clam-diggers! People walked the beach with long metal tubes, some with dogs in tow, some walking backwards. Every now and then, someone would excitedly drop the tube into the sand, working from there to try to get a razor clam out of the deal. 

Some of them certainly had some success, and one woman obliged my "One for the blog?" request. I was kind of surprised to find a crab on the beach as well - upside down, still alive, but barely responsive. I don't know why, but I just expect there to be far more live crabs clacking around on the beach!

I got to the rocky area and found no bird activity of interest. I sighed and looked around. What a waste of a trip, yeah? ;)

Certain that I was unlikely to find anything else at the beach, I started back up the trail to the car. Whistling again for Northern Pygmy-Owl, I got a response! (104). They're a code 3 bird in the county. Not an easy find, but not a rarity per se. I chalked this up as a success!

Back in my car, I circled up to a viewpoint I had seen before, and I got some lovely pictures of the setting sun. 

In fact, the entire drive home was kind of a series of pulling over, shooting the sun again, and again. I thought that there was live music in Raymond, so I stopped in to get some dinner at the Pitchwood. I was wrong! No music that night, but I checked in about their offerings. I did grab some dinner - pan-fried oysters! I was certainly going to be well-fortified with whatever vitamins oysters offer. (Zinc, B12, Copper, and Selenium, it turns out)

Interesting end to the evening, conversationally. The bartender was talking with a friend about how to separate Laotian last names from Cambodian ones, citing the length of the names as a tip off. Laotian names typically being much longer names, and Cambodian much shorter. It got a lively discussion going on about the uses of the words "Asian" and "Oriental". An older couple jumped in to point out that it was just. so. hard. to keep up with what was okay to say or not okay to say. "And India is part of Asia... what are we supposed to call them??" with hands in the air, exasperated. 

1. Ask 2. Be genuinely interested in people 3. Work to understand context. 

I don't know that I put all of those ideas together at the time, but . . . I mean, it wasn't a bad conversation. It's part of why I do these trips. I'm comfortable enough in bars, and I get to interact with a lot of different people in them when I'm hosting a trivia night or karaoke. A lot of the "othering" we do comes from not being around enough different people, and I figure being around people from smaller towns are just as easy to other as anyone else. I fixed nothing. And who am I to say what needs fixing? 

I'm still tossing all of this around in my head. 

Birds! 104 was the year list total for Pacific County as I crossed the line back into Grays Harbor, Thurston, Pierce, King, and home.