Today Ken Brown and I headed for Clallum county to find the Brown Booby that has been seen there for the last week or so. We also hoped that the usual “Olympic rain shadow” effect would favor us with dry weather while it rained here in Pierce and Kitsap counties. We also hoped to find the Tropical Kingbird that had been seen near there recently. As we approached the clouds parted and the drizzle stopped, giving us great viewing opportunities. Most Booby observations had been in the afternoon so we initially stopped at the John Wayne Marina to look a gulls and waterbirds. We got great looks at a nice variety of gulls, a surprising 29 Marbled murrelets, a Long-tailed duck, and a large number of distant Harlequin Ducks.
Next, after looking in vain for a Rusty Blackbird in huge flocks of Brewer’s. Red-winged and EUST on Schmuck Road, we stopped to see if the Brown Booby would make a late morning showing, but settled for huge flocks of American Wigeon and a variety of water birds. From there we stopped by the Dungeoness Landing Park/Oyster House to see if a reported Pacific Golden Plover was around. We found a large flock of Black-bellied plover on a sandbar several hundred yards out but could not pick out a golden plover. We did see Sanderling, a Black Turnstone and more seabirds/gulls.
On the way back we did locate the Tropical Kingbird at 362 Twin View Road, with great looks, but no vocalizations.
From here we went back planning to camp out at 3-Crabs for the rest of the afternoon if needed to find the Booby, but on arrival a local birder had the bird flying out over the bay. We all got on it quickly, getting excellent views of the Brown Booby flying, dive-fishing, and constantly being harassed by gulls in the bay between 3-crabs and the Dungeness Spit. The bird was a previously described, a large sulid, dagger-like pointy bill, upperparts all brown, belly solid brown, and whitish wing linings. It appeared to be in heavy flight-feather molt. We interpreted this to imply it is not a juvenile, but the lack of white on the belly makes it subadult.
We watched until the booby flew straight out past the lighthouse and out of sight. From here we went back to see if we could show Laurel the Tropical Kingbird. We found it again in the same area after Ken heard it loudly calling its rapid pipping call. It then flew fron behind a house, gave us great looks and called repeatedly, confirming the Tropical not Couch’s ID.

Here is a iPhone video of the bird calling:

We headed back home and into the rain earlier than expected.
Ironically our plans for tonight are to watch Cowspiracy with our son and his girlfriend, all of us plant-based diet advocates in varying degrees, on the day that the WHO reports on its stand that meat, especially processed meat, causes colorectal cancer. It is more incentive to continue to stick to my 10 months of avoiding animal products in my diet.