We hadn’t been home from Arizona very long before an unexpected sunny forecast at the coast inspired us to head out to Ocean Shores to see if the Spring Shorebird Migration had started and to see if there were any Loons still overwintering.
Unfortunately, when we got to the spit we were greeted by heavy winds that made it difficult to open the car door. In my heart I knew that we wouldn’t see any shorebirds on the beach with those kind of headwinds, but I didn’t drive two hours to sit in the car and watch waves break on the rocks.
We only walked about half as far as usual, and I can’t say we really enjoyed the walk, but I did like this shot of a large fishing boat appearing and disappearing behind the surf.
The only birds we ended up seeing were Gulls, and most of them were flying so fast that I couldn’t possibly get a shot of them. So, I settled for this shot of one preening.
Though we were disappointed at not seeing any shorebirds, I was glad to see a Common Loon in breeding colors at the Westport Marina
and it wasn’t shy about posing for us.
While taking pictures of the Loon, this bird popped up next to me. I’m a little ashamed to admit that I didn’t recognize it at first and got distracted to taking shots of it instead of the Loon.
I should have known from the bill that it was a female Surf Scoter, but the male Surf Scoter is so distinctive with its brightly-colored beak that I never really pay much attention to nearby females.
We finally got to see some large shorebirds at Tokeland. A small flock of Marbled Godwits was feeding along with a couple of Willet.
Despite the high winds and too few shorebirds, it was a Good Day. Having lived in Aberdeen for most of a year, I know that any sunny day one the Washington coast is a good day, one to be thankful for.