I spent last week camping at Ocean City and Fort Canby State Parks. Great
weather, lovely beaches but few signs of migration. Highlights:

OCEAN SHORES AREA - 19th September

American Bittern in the camp site. 200+ Sanderling, 50~ Western Sandpiper,
2 Common Tern, 6 Semipalmated Plover on the beach at Ocean City. There were
2 adults and 4 juvenile Semipalmated Plovers so I assume they breed there.

4 Green Heron at Ocean Shores marina, 20+ Common Murre, Common Loon, Western
Grebe, 2 Wandering Tattler, 20+ American Pipit, Heermann's Gulls, 6 Black
Turnstone on and around the jetty.

OCEAN SHORES AREA - 20th September

1 banded Peregrine Falcon cleared the Ocean City beach before I could count
the Sanderling.

BOWERMAN BASIN - 20th September

5 Vaux's Swift and no shorebirds - low tide! Horned Grebe on the sewage
ponds, 2 Caspian Tern on the shore.

WESTPORT - 20th September

Osprey over the jetty. 30~ Surfbird, 30~ Black Turnstone and 1 Ruddy
Turnstone on the rocky jetty just by the observation tower in town along
with lots of gulls; Heermann's, Ring-billed and Western plus Brown Pelican.

FORT CANBY - 20th September

8 Pacific Golden Plover on the beach by the North Jetty.

FORT CANBY - 21st September

Lots of activity right at the entrance; White (6) and Golden-crowned (2)
Sparrows, Junco, Steller's Jay (not sitting!), Hairy Woodpecker,
Red-breasted Sapsucker, Flickers, Cedar Waxwing (20+), Black-throated Gray
Warbler and Red-breasted Nuthatch in 15 minutes. Waves too high to try
walking the jetty but 8 Ruddy Turnstone right by the beach.

LEADBETTER POINT - 21st September

Hemit Thrush. 500+ Sanderling, 50+ Western Sandpiper and 3 Dunlin on the
beach side with 2 Brant and a Bald Eagle overhead. No shorebirds on the
marshes at highish tide, three Black-bellied Plovers at low tide.

TOKELAND - 22nd September

Nothing when I visited at low tide on the previous Wednesday. This time, at
high tide, there were 250+ Marbled Godwit on the rock jetty and on the old
cannery site 3 Whimbrel and 5 Willet.

NISQUALLY - 22nd September

Very quiet; 3 Hooded Merganser, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, 6 Ruddy Duck and 2
Gadwall in addition to many Wigeon and Mallard. One Ruffed Grouse made my
day as the Wildlife Species Checklist shows this as "Accidental. Less than
5 records.."


You have a great coastline down there and it was good to see these places
that seem to be mentioned so often on Tweeters.