Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival

Great weather at Bottle Beach

 Over the weekend I attended the Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival for the fifth time. They offer tours, a keynote speaker and a few vendors. We bought our first pair of Vortex binoculars from the Backyard Bird Shop in Gig Harbor at the first festival we attended. We like them so well we bought a second pair and a scope from Vortex in following years. 

Immature Bald Eagle at Tokeland Harbor

This year I took tours to the Westport area and Quinault, and on Sunday took advantage of hands-on help from the keynote speaker, Clay Taylor, Swarovski’s digiscoping expert. No new birds this trip, but we did get some great views of many of the shorebirds and even a few others. The marginal weather this year dampened things a bit, especially on the Saturday trip to Quinault.

Sandpipers in the lee of the hummock as the tide comes in

No Peregrine, but something spooked the birds

Grays Harbor is one of the most important stops on the Pacific Flyway as millions of shorebirds fuel up on their way to their Arctic breeding grounds. On Friday, we took a yellow school bus to Westport and the nearby villages of Grayland and Tokeland. Fortunately, I did not have to share my seat. School buses are not really built for tall adults. The highlight of this tour is Bottle Beach, a few miles east of Westport. A nice new boardwalk leads to a blind overlooking the beach although the best way to view the birds is to get there about two hours before high tide, stake out a nice sandy spot on the gentle sloping beach and wait for the tide to push the birds to you. I have watched really well-prepared photographers let the water come up and around them to get what must be fabulous close-ups of the birds as rising tide forces them closer and closer. Even our larger group did not scare the birds as we managed to stay quite still and quiet. While the peregrines did not spook the birds on this trip, they can create a good deal of excitement and great pictures of shorebirds blasting off to avoid the danger.

Dunlin in breeding plumage

Dunlin not ready for prime time

Short-billed Dowitcher

Saturday, a much smaller group of ten rode in the Lake Quinault Lodge van with one of their guides and two other leaders to the Quinault Rain Forest. Unfortunately, the rain forest lived up to its name causing many of the birds to be quieter and more elusive.  Nevertheless, we were able to get some good views of a pair of dippers and Bunch Falls and some other fairly rare birds including an Evening Grosbeak and Purple Finch. We took a short walk along the lake shore leaving from the Lodge which took us right past the spot where I lived when I started elementary school. The condemned house we lived in has been replaced by a newer model retaining its great view of the lake and short walk to the water where I remember learning to float as Dad and I went down there nearly every evening in the summer while Mom cooked dinner for the four of us. I learned to swim the next summer in the pool at Concrete High School. As those of us who live in the Northwest know, summers are usually warm and sunny most of the time. The rain record at the lodge showed rainfall to be over 20” most of the winter months, but under 5” during the summer. The winter we lived there (1955-56) the rainfall was typical, but the timing must have been unusual because the lake rose about ten feet coming within a couple of feet of flooding our house. It did rise enough to creep into the garage.

Can you find the Dipper. These small gray birds love water like this where they wander the rocks in the rushing water to catch bugs and small fish being washed down stream. The nest is often hidden behind rocks or under logs in midstream.

Sunday, I spent a few hours with the digi-scoper, learning more about how to make use of the scope as an extra-long lens for photography. The last few pictures show how amazing the results can be. It took us an hour of exploration before we found a suitable site on the beach for the pictures. But finally, we did arrive at a spot where the sun was on the right side of the birds and we could get in some guided practice. Gulls, Marbled Godwits, and Western Sandpipers provided the subjects.

Western Gull

Immature Western Gull

Marbled Godwit and Semipalmated Plover with Western Sandpipers in the background

Rio Grande River

Yesterday as a long one starting with the long drive from San Antonio to Laredo. When I stopped at the state visitor center before arriving in Laredo, I picked up several birding trail maps. Last time we were here in Texas all they had was a set for the coast line. Now they have added more to cover the entire state. I was surprised to see George W. Bush’s picture on each of them as the governor. I guess he has more power than we thought.

 I did manage to visit a couple of sites along the birding trail, but did not see much, only getting a few pictures of a Winged-winged dove. Actually the most interesting thing all day was seeing the massive Border Patrol presence and two rest stops that no longer exist. I wonder if there is a connection.

Today was much better for finding birds. I started In Mission at the Los Ebanos Ferry Landing. As the guide said, even without birds, the walk would be interesting. The drive to the landing went through an old part of town with enough curves I wasn’t sure I would find my way out. After driving past old houses and abandoned lots, I arrived at the old store and ferry office next to the newly built immigration compound, a set of cement brick buildings surrounded by chain link fencing topped with barbed wire.

I never saw the ferry operate. I did see someone doing some welding repairs and the Mexican officer acroos the river.

The old office

The new immmigration office

I saw my first birds of the day there even though the views were not scintillating. A pair of Couch’s Kingbirds, and Indigo Bunting, and a Golden-fronted Woodpecker. Two lifers and the day was just getting started.

Couch's Kingbirds

From there I drove to the Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park where I met a couple from Newfoundland who were looking at a Nashville Warbler and an Orange-crowned Warbler. They also showed me where I would see the Green Jays and Chachalaca, two more lifers. The Green Jays are one of the real beauties of the region. After taking some pictures of these birds I crossed the road to another feeder where I was treated to a Great Kiskadee (another lifer) and a Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

Chachalaca

The tail of the Boat-tailed Grackle folds in the middle making it look like a rudder.

Great Kiskadee

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

As I was taking these pictures the tram came by and offered a ride around the park. Since I had missed by five minutes the afternoon siesta of the store, I wasn’t expecting a free ride. After a complete tour, I walked back to one of the blinds where I took the pictures of the Green Jay drinking from the fountain and the Golden-fronted Woodpecker.

Red-winged Blackbirds share the feeder with a female Northern Cardinal



Northern Cardinal drinking

The beautiful Golden-fronted Woodpecker

This is a great park for birding with several miles of trails and a good set of feeders and blinds. Texas has done a great job of creating sites like this all over the state. They understand the value of birding tourism.

Saving the best for last. These pictures show the Green Jay drinking from the fountain.

 

Harlaxton Manor - Interior

Shortly after our arrival we were given a tour of the manor. You can imagine that it was fun reminiscing and trying to figure out how things had changed since we were there in 1969. As you can see from the pictures, the restoration work is of the highest quality. The biggest changes in the areas pictured here are the vibrancy of the colors and the time and effort that has gone into maintaining the cleanliness and beauty of the building. All of the elements were there in 1969, but the overall tone was much more dingy, shall we say. Probably the two biggest changes don’t show up here. First, the insulation weather-stripping mean that the building is warm and no longer drafty. Second, the layout of the student rooms has changed significantly. I could find no hint of the six-person room I lived in or the bathrooms we used down the hall somewhere.  

The old elevator remains as it was. Close both doors or it won't go anywhere.

Here we are marveling at the renovations.

The main cedar staircase

The railing above the top of the staircase is not accessible.

Imagine trying to keep this amazing stucco work clean. It's no wonder that many of these great old buildings fell into disrepair and are now open to the public to pay for their upkeep.

The great hall where we had our final banquet. I think this was a study area.

These are on the left in the picture above.

The upper wall and ceiling.

The entrance to the long gallery.

The Long Gallery. One of the two hidden staircases is in this room. They were used by servants. Sorry, no ghost stories here.

This fireplace is on the left side of the picture above.

One of the Conservatory windows. This room was perhaps in such disrepair that we did not have access.

I remember using these nooks as quiet study areas.

The library

The Gold Room. If you look carefully, you can see the cherub climbing down from the ceiling.

The Gold Room

The Gold Room Ceiling

Gold Room Detail

The ceiling in the state dining room.

Our bedroom this trip. On the top floor where the professors and families has exclusive access.