By Kathleen Wolgemuth

This morning, January 14, Tweeters reported a Clark's Grebe at the Marina. Doubting it, I trotted off to see for myself, since I'm now a pseudo-expert on a grand total of two species--Western Grebes and Brown Pelicans (Western Grebes are the subject of my first bird column for Oregon Coast magazine this month, and Brown Pelicans for March, 2000.) With its yellow-orange bill and white- surrounded eye, it was a Clark's Grebe for sure. Lovely.

How many good birds we must miss that come here. A Mountain Chickadee and Glaucous Gull were caught in the Christmas bird count and a Glaucous was at the jetty this morning.

Long-billed Curlews continue to be daily visitors along the Noh Bay, not only around high tide, but low. Sixty curlews and Marbled Godwits settled in 3 days ago as my tide clock reg-istered absolute low, a few more curlews than Godwits, as usual. High tide, check Bill's Spit; lower tides, check south around the newer mudflats forming now.

Large numbers of warblers winter here, Yellow-Rumped the leaders, but a few Townsend's and even Orange-crowned too. Prime sites are forested areas around Perkins Lake (formerly Cabana Pond), between Marine View Drive and jetty including game preserve, woods north of the Interpretive center and bay-side. Since Bob Morse's viewing lot on North Bay SE overlooks Bills Spit, many visitors don't turn around to check the high trees. Do. Year around, two Bald Eagles survey the Spit wa-ters, and hordes of smaller birds bedevil them. Bayside and Cyber Lake behind the high school also boast warblers, flycatchers, Red Crossbills, and sometimes owls.

Winter geese/swans are good now, with a few Trumpeters and Snow Geese on the lake near the new Quinault Beach Re-sort, and in a drainage ditch alongside the OS airport. Brandts are numerous. A Great Horned Owl lives on Fissalo Drive at the far curve, often visible day and night; Barn Owls show up later in the year.

Predators seem amply fed here. In December, Betty Smith saw a Red-tailed Hawk holding down the tall snag by Harbour Point Shores retirement center. Harriers abound on Damon Point and the grassy area around Bill's Spit, while Peregrines spook shorebirds prime spots: Damon Point, airport, ocean beaches and alongside mouth of Copalis River). A Rough-legged Hawk was on Tonquin this morning and one or two Merlins and Kestrels patrol there too.

The winter jetty is lively: Flocks of circling Surfbirds, myriad gulls, a handful of Black Turnstones, 1-2 Rock Sandpipers. Beach birders love winter's storms and high tides which sweep birds in from the deep, and close to shore, but we also find dead birds such as Northern Fulmars, Rhinoceros Auklets and West-ern grebes. I was stunned to come across a nearly-dead female Common Eider in December, and now Green Turtles as well. The Anna's Hummingbird still visits our feeder.