Oregon and Washington: Fall 2023

Eiders through Boobies

Washington’s 20th King Eider frequented Tokeland, Pacific Co 10 Oct–2 Nov (Teresa Descher, et. al). American Golden-Plovers, scarce with five to ten records in an average year, had an excellent season with approximately 35 reports totaling over 50 individuals, mostly on the westside. An Upland Sandpiper was heard calling as it flew over Hobuck Beach, Neah Bay 19 Aug (Ryan Shaw, Charlie Wright, Linnaea Wright), representing only the 11th Washington record since 1996 when the species was added to the state review list following the extirpation of breeding populations. One to two Bar-tailed Godwits frequented large godwit roosts in Tokeland, Pacific Co and Grays Harbor, Grays Harbor Co from August through November; this species is annual in Washington and was removed from the Washington Bird Records Committee review list in 2008. A Wandering Tattler graced a small retention pond at the Hatton Coulee Rest Area, Adams Co, 18–27 Aug (Jon Isacoff); tattlers are exceedingly rare inland and Oregon and Washington combine for only about ten eastside records. Oregon’s 14th Red-necked Stint, a well-documented juvenile, lingered at Bayocean Spit, Tillamook Co 1–18 Oct (Colby Neuman). Oregon’s ninth Little Stint, an adult in alternate plumage, was well photographed and twitched at Broughton Beach in Portland on 7 Aug (m.ob.) An Ancient Murrelet was photographed in Hood River, Hood River Co on 18 Nov (Stefan Schlick); the region boasts about 15 inland records from various times of year, but mostly in fall.

Washington’s long-staying 10th Laughing Gull in Tokeland, Pacific Co first found in March lingered until 22 Oct. A count of 9,000 Black-legged Kittiwakes at Cape Flattery, Clallam Co on 11 Nov (Liam Hutcheson, Garrett Hughes, Jennifer Hansen, Mason Maron) marked an exceptional movement. A Caspian Tern colony of about 1,800 adults at Marrowstone Island near Port Townsend, Jefferson Co, suffered mass casualty due to avian flu with 1,100+ adults and 400 chicks found dead. An Elegant Tern photographed at Dungeness Landing Park, Clallam Co on 28 Oct (Bob Boekelheide, et. al) was the region’s first record since fall 2020; Elegant Terns were nearly annual fall visitors to the region in the 2010s, including hundreds annually from 2011–2015.

A juvenile Short-tailed Albatross was photographed 35 miles offshore Clallam Co 22 Sep (Tammy Russell, Charlie Wright); this species has increased in recent years and is now reported almost annually despite inconsistent offshore coverage, although records are more common in the winter months. A Wilson’s Storm-Petrel photographed offshore of Newport, Lincoln Co (ph., Shawneen Finnegan, et. al) on 9 Sep was only Oregon’s sixth record. An incredible six Mottled Petrels were seen from Boiler Bay, Lincoln Co the afternoon of 6 Nov (Phil Pickering) in ideal seawatching conditions, with sustained WSW winds 25-30 mph during clearing skies following a cold front. Ideal weather conditions with strong westerly wind and good visibility are fleeting, generally setting up only once or twice a fall. An estimated 330 Pomarine Jaegers passed by during the same seawatch, likely a new regional high count. Nazca Booby sightings continue to increase since first showing up in the region in 2015. A subadult was photographed well offshore Tillamook Co on 26 Sep (Simon Delany), an adult was seen from a pelagic boat 30 miles off Grays Harbor Co 30 Sep (m.ob.), and an adult roamed the southern Puget Sound, Pierce and Thurston Cos, the first week of October (m.ob.).

Raptors through Nuthatches

Broad-winged Hawks are rare in the region away from traditional spots in the Cascades and Neah Bay, and are rare on the eastside; unprecedented movements were recorded this fall including 14 at Washtucna, Adams Co on 27 Sep (Brian Pendleton, Darchelle Worley), 12 at Hat Point, Wallowa Co 2 Oct (Alan Knue, Charles Enlow), and 34 in Pullman, Whitman Co, on 1 Oct (ph., Alexander Sowers, Jacob Miller) which established a new Washington high count.

After a 27-year wait, Oregon finally recorded its second Dusky-capped Flycatcher, a widely-twitched bird at the Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center and Estuary Trail in Newport, Lincoln Co 21–28 Nov (Keenan Yakola). Washington’s 20th Scissor-tailed Flycatcher graced Tokeland, Pacific Co, 25 Oct–27 Nov (Christopher Lindsey). Washington’s seventh Philadelphia Vireo infiltrated a chickadee flock in La Push, Clallam Co, on 13 September (ph., Alex Lamoreaux). Unsurprisingly, this marked the first westside record for Washington; Washington’s coast is lushly vegetated and less well-covered by birders than isolated eastside oases. Though under-covered by birders, La Push harbors a relatively small coastal patch of suitable riparian habitat surrounded by extensive mature coniferous forest less suitable for Neotropical migrants, making it one of the more logical vagrant traps on the Washington coast.

Washington’s third Pinyon Jay, its first since 1967, was a one-day-wonder backyard feeder bird near Olympia, Thurston Co 8 Oct (ph., Michelle Napoleon). Its westside location made it a particularly stunning find, as Oregon—despite its large nomadic populations on the eastside—only boasts a handful of historical westside records, mostly in the arid foothills of Jackson Co; the most recent westside Oregon record away from Jackson Co came from 1987. Pygmy Nuthatches are traditionally very rare on the westside north of the drier interior valleys of far southern Oregon, with only about a dozen previous records. This fall they staged an unprecedented invasion on the westside starting in mid-August and lasting through the fall and into winter. Pygmy Nuthatches were reported from at least seven coastal locations and 14 interior westside locations beyond their normal range. Unprecedented flocks were reported including up to 12 at Nehalem Bay State Park, Tillamook Co; four at Marys Peak, Benton Co; four on Long Beach Peninsula, Pacific Co; five at a golf course in Portland; six in Mt. Vernon, Skagit Co; and seven near Bellingham, Whatcom Co. Interior West White-breasted Nuthatches were also reported from four lowland interior westside locations between Seattle and Sutherlin between late September and late October; these are traditionally very rare with only a handful of previous records for the westside. Mountain Chickadees, also traditionally rare on the westside but much less so than Pygmy or Interior West White-breasted Nuthatches, staged a minor westside invasion with over a dozen records, mostly in the Willamette Valley.

Thrushes through Sparrows

A tally of 1,998 Varied Thrushes migrating southbound over Gunsight Pass, Benton Co., Oregon (W. Douglas Robinson) on 30 September may be a new regional high count. Gunsight Pass is among a handful of productive morning flight spots that have been discovered in recent years, including Immonen Road in Lincoln Co near Newport and Larch Mountain in Clark Co east of Vancouver, both of which are also low points on ridges similar to Gunsight Pass.

Washington’s 15th White Wagtail visited the Goldendale Sewage Treatment Plant, Klickitat Co, 8–9 Sep (ph., Samuel Holman) while Oregon’s 10th White Wagtail delighted birders at the La Grande Waste Water Treatment Ponds, Union Co, 3–4 Oct (ph. Russ Morgan). Both of these were on the eastside which only had a few prior records.

Pine Grosbeaks are rare and irruptive, less-than-annual visitors to lowland westside Washington and Oregon away from the Olympic Peninsula, where they are slightly more regular. Fall 2023 featured an unusually large irruption, with at least fifteen lowland westside records in the Willamette Valley, Oregon Coast, and Puget Sound lowlands. 1,487 Red Crossbills were tallied at the Gunsight Pass, Benton Co morning flight spot on 8 October (W. Douglas Robinson), which may represent a new regional high count.

Washington’s second Little Bunting graced Hobuck Beach, Neah Bay on 27 October (Jason Vassallo, Alex Meilleur, Liam Hutcheson, Louis Kreemer) for about half an hour before a Merlin caught and ate it. Over the past ten years Neah Bay has quickly developed a track record of Asian vagrants in late fall. Neah Bay hosted Washington’s first Cassin’s Sparrow on 7 Oct (Jason Zolle, Liam Hutcheson), at what seems like the most expected timeframe and location for this increasing vagrant to the West Coast.

Orioles through Grackles

At least 2-3 Orchard Orioles patronized Neah Bay between late September and early November; Washington had 22 prior records, more than half of those coming from Neah Bay in the past ten years, when it began receiving regular birder coverage. As expected, the region hosted a handful of rare eastern warblers in the fall. These included Washington’s 12th Blackburnian Warbler at Fishhook Park, Walla Walla Co, on 30 Aug (Christopher Lindsey, Mike and MerryLynn Denny); Washington’s third Canada Warbler at nearby Bennington Lake, Walla Walla Co, on 10–11 September (John Gunningham); Washington’s ninth Hooded Warbler in Spokane, Spokane Co Nov 7–25 (m.ob); its 10th Hooded Warbler in Neah Bay 10+ Nov (Ryan Merrill, Jordan Gunn), and Washington’s 22nd Black-throated Blue Warbler near Spokane, Spokane Co, 16 Nov onward (Jody Morehouse).

Oregon’s highlight eastern warblers included its 13th Bay-breasted Warbler at Malheur NWR Headquarters 17–25 September, an unusually long stay for a vagrant fall warbler in the region (Pat Lucas et. al.); its 12th Prothonotary Warbler, seen at Winchuck River, Curry Co 28 Oct (Tim Rodenkirk); and its 18th Blackburnian Warbler, photographed in a riparian woodland on 11 Nov in Jackson Co (Frank Lospalluto). Oregon’s 18th Virginia’s Warbler was photographed in Brookings, Curry Co on 27 Nov (Tim Rodenkirk). This was the second late-season Virginia’s Warbler found in the town of Brookings, and one of numerous vagrants found in coastal towns in late fall 2023. Many towns on the Oregon and Washington coast are isolated between the Pacific Ocean and the densely forested Coast Range, which is scarce on food sources late in the season. As such, towns provide productive, isolated microclimates for wayward late season vagrants such as this Virginia’s Warbler. Despite its productivity, the practice of birding these vagrant traps had not widely caught on among local birders. A Magnolia Warbler in Empire, near Coos Bay, Coos Co, on 28 Nov (Tim Rodenkirk) provided another example of this phenomenon.

Northern Parulas are rare but annual and not overly noteworthy in the region. However, this fall was a banner year for the species on the southern Oregon coast, suggesting an increasing trend. A pair bred at Tseriadun State Recreation Site near Port Orford, Curry Co with a male seen feeding two young on 15 Aug (Tim Rodenkirk). This was Oregon’s first confirmed breeding record, although small numbers have summered and bred along the northern California Coast especially in recent years. Seven additional parulas, all adults, were seen in Curry and Coos Cos in August and September.

A female-type Blue Grosbeak in a pasture near Point-no-Point, Kitsap Co, 18 Oct (ph., MaryAnne Rossing, George Gerdts) represented Washington’s fifth record, all of which have occurred since 2015. Oregon recorded its 15th Blue Grosbeak with a female-type bird at Wireless Road, Clatsop Co. 6–7 Sep (J. Michael Patterson). Three Painted Buntings were seen in Washington this fall, bringing the state’s total to nine records: one at Cape Disappointment State Park, Pacific Co. 29 Sep (Ryan Merrill, Liam Hutcheson); one at Neah Bay 21–22 Oct (Christian Hagenlocher), and one in Seattle 24–29 Oct (Randy Robinson). All three were green female-type birds, consistent with the majority of the region’s records.

Washington’s 18th Dickcissel was a one-day-wonder at Neah Bay 16 Oct (Kevin Waggoner, Bradley Waggoner, Dan Waggoner), while two Dickcissels audio recorded flying over Marys Peak, Benton Co on 17 Nov (W. Douglas Robinson) furnished Oregon’s 23rd record. A Great-tailed Grackle, Washington’s 20th, set up shop in a parking lot in Moses Lakes, Grant Co., from 10 Nov onward (Margaret Heming).

Report processed by Andrew Keaveney, 10 Jul 2025.