We Pierce County listers have been impatiently waiting for the first big fall windstorm to blow in pelagic and maybe other rarities to pad our year lists. Today it blew and rained heavily in the AM, and the sun came out but the wind continued to gust in the afternoon. I worked the AM around the condo, finally devoting a bit of time to clearing out the storage area, made trips to goodwill and Habitat for Humanity as well as Best Buy to turn in an extra printer, but the sunshine drew me to Point Defiance for a little peak in the afternoon.
Kay was still out running errands, so I didn’t feel too guilty. At the point one of the first birds I saw was a lone Snow Goose, fighting to fly against the wind up the waterway at the Dalco Passage overlook. This seemed promising, but the fight to hold either the scope or binos still in the strong gusts limited visibility and I found nothing else unusual.

This morning I managed to hear both the NSWO and GHOW at the same area we got them for the CBC in Dec. I also managed to do this without getting up ridiculously early, getting there about 6:30 AM. It took me a bit to find the trail, and I’m still not sure I was on the same exact trail, but I stopped at the wide spot on the road near where 5-mile drive starts and the turn to Ft. Nisqually takes off. I went first on the trail on the L side of the road, and it felt like the same trail, but I’m not sure. Anyway after walking in a bit, and playing NSWO recordings for a few times I got a fairly close in call note in reply, but just once. I waited a while, and no more to be had there. No response to GHOW recording either.
I walked out and Peter W. called me and mentioned that the NSWO has also been heard farther down along the 5-mile drive road. I started to walk there and within a couple of steps a GHOW started hooting. A few yards later a Saw-whet owl started it tooting song in the area between the 5-mile drive road and the area I parked my car, again fairly close. It sang for a while, and I walked fairly close, but did not see the bird.
I headed for Brett’s place to tear down a couple of ceilings, and made very quick stops on the way on Ruston by the boat to check for turnstones and at the bottom of Puget Park for Barred Owl both without success.
I did have great success at Brett’s though tearing down the ceiling in 2 bedrooms in just 2 hours. Yes!! Kay is at the Women’s protest march in Seattle today and I have the BLS course at Multicare from 1-5 so birding mostly done for today.