This rainbow was viewed from the Port of Peninsula in Nahcotta.

Tuesday, Nov. 23, was a good November day to look for raptors. The tides cooperated, giving us an early morning start for counting raptors on the beach and enough time left to count those on the bay side of the Long Beach Peninsula before darkness descended.

The Winter Raptor Survey (WRS), as it is called, is sponsored by the East Cascades Audubon society. Once a month from December to February, birders mobilize to search for and count the raptors in the areas of their assigned sections during these winter months. Citizen science volunteers on this project can also include the months of November and March as an additional survey option.

The WRS is an effort to gain a better understanding of the biology of wintering birds of prey. Overall, this extensive survey project is designed to reveal population levels, distribution and densities for raptor species that choose to winter in the project areas. Over 250 routes are covered during the survey months in parts of Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho.

The day we chose for the study gave us magnificent weather, and a low tide for most of the morning so that beach driving was safe. In addition, there was on and off again sunshine and rain. Thus, we saw rainbows come and go all day long. In fact, we counted nine rainbows, some over the land and some over the ocean, and at the end of each there seemed to be a pot of gold. That day raptors were our pots of gold!

Susan and I started out at the crack of dawn to drive the ocean beaches while the tide was still going out. Beard’s Hollow was the first stop. It produced four adult bald eagles and a beautiful rainbow. Among the 13 bald eagles we counted during the day, only one was a sub-adult and all the eagles were seen on the beach or Willapa Bay.

Red-tailed hawks were seen on land and numbered seven. Two northern harriers were seen soaring low over the wetlands looking for prey. One was at the end of a rainbow in Oysterville as it flew over the water-soaked field. A red-tailed hawk also flew past us at the end of a rainbow that also materialized while driving down Territory Road.

Many dead snags are visible in Hines Marsh from the Oysterville Road. We often see raptors perched there when they are on the hunt for a snack or a tasty meal. A Cooper’s hawk and a red-tailed hawk were there on that lovely November afternoon. Two days later, a merlin landed on one of the snags. It takes a bit of luck to see these raptors as they seem to blend in well with their surroundings.

A stop at the Tarlatt and Reikola units of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge gave us our first and only American kestrel as well as three red-tails, one northern harrier, a Cooper’s hawk and a magnificent adult bald eagle flying over the bay right in front of us and at the end of another rainbow!

Dusk came all too soon. The rainbows and the raptors were finished for the day. I wonder what the December survey will bring? Happy birding!