Date: November 18, 2019

Location: Long Beach

Observers: Dan Varland, Rich Van Buskirk, Scott Ford and Sandra Miller. 

 Photos by Dan Varland. 

 

Raptor Count 

Bald Eagle	Peregrine Falcon
6 adults	2 adults

 

 

Individuals Marked

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	P/2

 

 

Marked Individuals Observed

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	R/7

 

A one-year-old male Peregrine Falcon we captured, banded

and tissue-sampled during our survey. Look closely and you

will see brown feathers still remaining from his immature

plumage.  

 

 

 

Immature feathers are visible on both wings in this photo. 

 

 

Date: November 16, 2019

Location: Ocean Shores

Observers: Dan Varland, Dave Murnen, Bill Morgan and Kat Bryant. 

 

Raptor Count 

Bald Eagle	Northern Harrier	Peregrine Falcon
8 adults	1 age uncertain	2 adults

 

Marked Individuals Observed

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	35/B

 

Coyote. 

 

35/B. 

 

 

 

 

 

Date: November 1, 2019

Location: Ocean Shores

Observers: Dan Varland, Susan Burchardt, Maranda Beerbower, and Claire Sides. 

Photos by Dan Varland. 

Raptor Count 

Bald Eagle	Peregrine Falcon
3 adults, 1 immature	1 adult, 1 immature

 

 

Marked Individuals Observed

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	35/B

 

We recaptured 35/B, a female Peregrine Falcon banded by

Coastal Raptors on October 30, 2018. Her bands needed a

cleaning!

 

 

 

Voila! 35/B is the only Peregrine Falcon among 259 banded 

so far with white talons (two on the right foot). 

Susan Burchardt with 35/B. Coastal Raptors obtains blood and feather samples

from peregrines at banding and, when possible, once annually thereafter. Our

capture today is the 24th sighting since she was captured and banded. 

 

 

Date: October 27, 2019

Location: Ocean Shores

Observers: Dan Varland, Dave Murnen, Bob Plotnick and Gay Jensen. 

 

Raptor Count 

Bald Eagle	Rough-legged Hawk	Peregrine Falcon
3 adults, 1 immature	1 age uncertain	1 immature

 

Marked Individuals Observed

Species	Color Marker Code
Bald Eagle	M/Z

 

 

 

We ran across this Stellar's Sea Lion washed up on the beach. The cause of 

death was not evident.We looked for gunshot wounds but could not find any. 

 

Sanderlings.

 Enjoying the day.

Dunlin.

A pair of Bald Eagles, with the male on the right, on the wooden salmon perch.

 

Bald Eagle feeding on a Black-winged Scoter. We identified the food item

by returning to the location after the survey and finding remains under the 

perch. 

 

Date: October 26, 2019

Location: Grayland

Observers: Dan Varland, Dan Miller, Tom Rowley and Pam McCauley. 

 

Raptor Count

 

Bald Eagle	Peregrine Falcon
2 adults	1 adult, 2 immatures

Individuals Marked

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	P/D

 

Sunrise over a creek a few miles south of our start point at Grayland. 

 

Pam McCauley with a first-year female Peregrine Falcon

we captured and banded. 

The bands.  

 

 

They tried a drink of water but gave up on that quickly, as expected. 

 

There was enough of a surf for a little surfing. 

Property on Washaway Beach south of our Grayland study area. 

 

Date: October 18, 2019

Location: Grayland

Observers: Dan Varland, Bill Morgan, Sandra Miller and Maranda Beerbower. 

 

Raptor Count 

Bald Eagle	Merlin	Peregrine Falcon
4 adults	1 age uncertain	1 immature

Individuals Marked

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	28/B

First-year female Peregrine Falcon. Dan Varland photo. 

Her bands. Dan Varland photo. 

 

Taking the blood sample. Sandra Miller photo.

Sandra Miller photo. 

Sandra Miller with 28/B. Dan Varland photo. 

 

Date: October 14, 2019

Location: Long Beach

Observers: Dan Varland, Meagan Campbell, and Pat Tollefson. 

All photos by Dan Varland. 

 

Raptor Count

Bald Eagle	Northern Harrier	Peregrine Falcon
6 adults	1 age uncertain	2 immatures

 

Individuals Marked

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	22/B

We came upon a frog hopping toward the ocean in an effort to evade a crow. 

 

 

We rescued the frog injury or worse. We proceeded north and long-time Coastal 

Raptors volunteer Suzy Whittey met us at the Cranberry Road beach access. She

drove him inland for release in a freshwater wetland. 

 

Meagan Campbell with a first-year female Peregrine Falcon we captured,

banded, and tissue sampled. 

 

Her bands. 

22/B. 

First-year Bald Eagle perched with an adult. Bald Eagles molt to adult plumage 

in 3-6 years with most completing it in 5. 

 

We saw many shorebirds during this survey.

Semipalmated Plovers. 

Shorebirds in tire tracks to escape the wind. 

North Head at the south end of the Long Beach Peninsula. 

 

Date: October 13, 2019

Location: Long Beach

Observers: Dan Varland, Meagan Campbell, Pat Tollefson. 

Comments: We did not do a complete survey of the beach today due to time 

limitations so there is no raptor count to share. We did manage to capture and 

band a Peregrine Falcon so it was a good run. All photos by Dan Varland. 

 

Individuals Marked

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	27/B

 

 

Harbor Seal pup. 

Meagan Campbell with a first-year female Peregrine Falcon. 

 

Her bands. 

27/B.

 

 

Date: October 11, 2019

Location: Ocean Shores

Observers: Dan Varland, Dave Murnen, and Denny Hieronymus.

 

Raptor Count

Bald Eagle	Merlin	Peregrine Falcon	Northern Harrier
3 adults	1 age uncertain	2 immatures	3 age uncertain

 

Individuals Marked

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	36/B

 

Marked Individuals Observed

Species	Color Marker Code
Common Raven	LSGRGO

Crossing Conner Creek north of  Ocean Shores. 

Dave Murnen holds a first-year female Peregrine Falcon that we captured today. 

She received visual ID band 36/B. 

36/B.

 

 

 

Common Ravens feeding on a seal carcass, with one on the right a bird we 

banded on May 5, 2015. Today's sighting of LSGRGO is the 12th since banding

day. The banded one, a male, has removed two bands we applied to his right

leg.

 

his right leg (

 

 

Merlin.

 

Patriotic beach walker. 

 

 

 

Date: October 6, 2019

Location: Long Beach

Observers: Dan Varland, Dale Larson, Sophie Garcia-Heras, Hankyu Kim, 

Rich Vroman, Glenn Marquardt, and Claire Sides. 

All photos by Dan Varland unless otherwise noted. 

 

Raptor Count

Bald Eagle	Peregrine Falcon
2 adults	1 adult, 2 immatures

 

 

Marked Individuals Observed

Species	Color Marker Code
Peregrine Falcon	R/7
Common Raven	RSYLOG

 

 

Dale Larson (left) and Rich Vroman (right): onward to Ocean Park. 

  

Our destination: The George Johnson House, a Bed and 

Breakfast in Ocean Park, Washington.

The breakfast table. Our most excellent breakfast was prepared and served by 

Charlotte Killien, our hostess and proprietor of the George Johnson House.

With clear skies and the temperature in the mid-60's, the weather couldn't have

been better! Many were out enjoying the day.   

Hankyu  Kim with R/7, a female Peregrine Falcon we had captured and banded 

on the Long Beach Peninsula on January 14, 2019. We re-captured her today, 

1.1 miles from where she was banded, to collect blood and feather samples. 

 

R/7 has just about completed her molt to the blue-gray plumage characteristic 

of peregrines after age one; this molt typically begins around 10 months of age 

and, as with R/7, is nearly complete at about 15 months of age. In this photo,

a few brown feathers are visible on her back and wing. 

 

Natasha Peters with R/6 on banding day, January 14, 2019. 

The shiny new bands on banding day. 

This photo of R/7 feeding on a gull was taken on the Columbia River's East 

Sand Island, which is south of the Long Beach Peninsula. On this date, June 14, 

2019, R/6 was still very much in immature plumage. Photo by Tim Lawes. 

Sophia Garcia-Heras releases R/7. Claire Sides photo. 

Banded male Common Raven in the wrack line. Though not clearly visible in this

photo, he was wearing a silver US Geological Survey band above a yellow band

on his right leg and a gray band on his left. He also had an orange band on his 

left leg, but removed it sometime between our last sighting of him and this one. 

This raven is identified as RSYLOG: right leg Silver over Yellow, left leg Orange 

over Gray. We have not changed his identifier, despite his shedding a band. 

 

Here his three bands are clearly visible. Hankyu Kim photo. 

 

We saw RSYLOG during a survey on August 18, 2017. He was 1.3 miles from 

where we found him today; all four bands were present back then. Photo by 

Victor Estrada. 

Snowy Plover. We counted 56 Snowy Plovers at the north end of the Peninsula. 

We identified four as banded, thanks to photos taken by Hankyu.  The photos

will be sent to Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, which has an active program of

research and monitoring of the species on the Peninsula. Hankyu Kim photo. 

Another banded Snowy Plover. Hankyu Kim photo. 

Mount Rainier as seen from the north end of the Long Beach Peninsula. 

 

Date: September 13, 2019

 

Location: Ocean Shores

Observers: Dan Varland, Tom Rowley, Dan Miller and Sandra Miller. 

Photos by Dan Varland.

 

Raptor Count

Bald Eagle
2 adults

Marked Individuals Observed

Species	Color Marker Code
Bald Eagle	B/O

 

Bald Eagle at liftoff. This eagle wears identification band B/O; Coastal Raptors

banded him  on June 12, 2015. We see him often during surveys, always on

the Ocean Shores study area where he was banded.  

 

Brown Pelican and gulls. 

Engine trouble offshore resulted in this cabin cruiser standing.  

 

Another standing! The front wheels of this van were stuck. The driver, 

unconcerned, was having his morning coffee.