Tweets,
The Hudsonian Godwit was still at Blaine today, there was only one
however. I saw the bird from 6:05 pm to 6:40 pm. If you get there when
the tide is just beginning to recede look for the bird in the cove area of
picinic shelter #1. Quite a few good birds were there this afternoon,
including a beautiful look at a juvinile Franklins gull on the water.
Gulls were everywhere as were ducks. I counted 237 Ring-billed Gulls. In
ducks there were ~800 Pintails, mostly eclispe males and females. ~300
American Wigeon (both males and females), ~400 Green-winged Teal (~90%
either females or juviniles), and there were about 30 Surf Scoters and 50
White-winged Scoters in the bay along with 13 Common loons all in molt.
Shorebird wise this spot as usual was great. There were 7 Greater
Yellowlegs, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, 350 Western Sandpiper, 18 Least
Sandpiper, 96 Dowitcher (28 confirmed Short-billed, 31 confirmed
Long-billed, 37 unidentified), 9 Black Turnstone and the Hudsonian Godwit,
which I felt was a juvinile (if somebody else saw the bird could they say
the age of the bird), since this was my lifer Hudsonian Godwit I am only
referring to Paulson and Hayman, Marchant and Prater for plumage
identification. There was also the first Lincoln's sparrow I had noted
this fall and the first merlin I had noted driving south on I-5 between
Blaine and Bellingham.

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA