I should have put this up sooner, but...

Last Wednesday, Jan 25, in the early afternoon, I was walking the beach
north of Swantown on Whidbey Island when I saw a single shorebird which I
was unable to identify. It was on a sandy part of the beach adjacent to a
shallow sand tidepool. The only other birds on the beach were gulls.

The shorebird had much the size, color, jizz and manner of a Western
Sandpiper, although it was perhaps a little more plump in the body. What
piqued my curiosity was a large, blackish-brown patch on the forward
shoulder of the wing. This patch had much the same appearance as that shown
on the shoulder of the breeding plumage Ruddy Turnstone in Nat. Geographic's
Birds of N.America. This bird was definitely not a turnstone or plover, nor
was it a Dunlin. As mentioned above, it had the jizz of a Western
Sandpiper.

I saw the bird at perhaps 150 yds distance with binocs only, so I didn't get
a great look. In trying to approach across the upper beach logs I managed
to miss the bird's departure, so I don't know which direction it flew, and
could not find it during the following hour of searching.

I saw only one side, so cannot absolutely rule out the possibility of an oil
stain, but I'm pretty sure the mark was natural.

The location was about 1/2 mile north of the Swantown parking area, perhaps
200 yds south of the Naval Air Station-Whidbey signs. If anyone happens to
be in the area, you might watch for this bird.

Dave Nunnallee
dnun461 at ecy.wa.gov
Bellevue, WA