Columbia Estuary Report - 9/28/97

Unsettled weather has the BROWN PELICANS on the move. I counted
141 in half an hour yesterday (Saturday). A MERLIN was chasing
DUNLIN down Clatsop Beach. A PEREGRIN was on the river beach
at the SJCR as were two PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS. A wet and
confused BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD was also an the beach. I mention
it only because it seemed very young (less than a couple weeks old).

Seven GREATER YELLOWLEGS and a LESSER YELLOWLEGS were on the
Lewis & Clark River.

I spent most of today on Leadbetter Point. There were plenty of
south moving birds on the beach. The highlights of the bayside
list were as follows:

Black-bellied Plover 40
Semipalmated Plove 3
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Long-billed Dowitcher 30
Short-billed Dowitcher 4
Sanderling 200
Dunlin 500
Western Sandpiper 50
Least Sandpiper 25
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Virginia Rail 1


--
********************************* I am but mad north-north-west;
* Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR * when the wind is southerly,
* mpatters at orednet.org * I know a hawk from a handsaw.
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters -ws