120th Post 1.09.17

Cold Wx Birding Out-and-About the County . . . 

• Bohemian waxwing[s] / These continue to amaze! Birds are still being seen/found as far E as Discovery Bay and W to Farm Lake. The concentration [x175; 1.06] still seems to be in the Jamestown area; with birds in Dungeness [x18; 1.05]; and x5 in trees just S of Farm Lake near the old school [1.06]. Historically, records for BOWA have mostly been of a few birds with years between occurrence. 

• Harris's sparo / Neah Bay; Bruce Paige found one in woodlot across street from Butler's motel on the 1st. 

• Orange crowned warbler / x2 are coming to a feeder in Dungeness. The curiousness about these is that one is a 'gray head' and the other is the usual suspect. They've been here since early-December feeding on a blended mix of suet & oats that's being smeared into a feeding log's holes - they gorged and then fly off into shrubs along the river.  

• Western scrub jay / Just E of Cay's road and S of Old Olympic Hwy [junction] and W of Timothy one has been habitating the area for some time. It was missed on the SD-CBC but was seen on the 31st and then again on the 2nd; and again on the 4th and 8th. It's quiet; not talking jay talk. So if you go chasing, park on N side of road along golf course and do an extended look-see. 

• Palm warbler / 3 Crabs. "Ohhh damn! Palms!" and there were two of 'em [1.07]. Boekelheide noticed the first one and George Gerdts found the second. Sweet. They foraged along the beach and then fled up into the "NEWLY MINTED  COHO HABITAT" where they were last seen. 

• There's several reports of gulls that have created a bit of 'chasing' these past few days. A report of an Iceland gull out at Neah Bay in the Wa'atch Valley appears to be a Glaucous winged x Glaucous 1st year; not an Icy. This bird has been around for over a month now. And a report of a Franklin's found at 3 Crabs [w/ photo - but wasn't posted to the Birder's eBird checklist]. Hard to say about this one. The gull is a code 4 and usually occurs in early fall; if found at all. Several went chasing this bird today down at 3Cs and over at Dung Landing - but it wasn't found. 'Sides it was so damn cold with that NE wind coming out of BC's Fraser river valley you really didn't want to be out there! 

• Others! Sue Nattinger posted a Canvasback out along the Wa'atch [1.06]; and Dan Waggoner had x4 at Discovery road pond over in Jefferson [1.07]. Short eared owl in the Dungeness Rec Area on 1.09; a very dark plumed bird. Great horned owls are courtship-calling in several areas: Dungeness, Maple View farm near Washington Harbor, East Sequim Bay near Heron Hill road, and out at Neah Bay near Hobuck. Bruce Paige found a Snow bunting along the fringes of PA harbor on the 5th. 

That's all
Good feathering!