Hi Tweets:

On Saturday, April 11, 9 East Lake Washington Auduboners (ELWAS), enjoyed a
rain-free, but very windy, field trip to the Theler Wetlands on Hood Canal,
near Belfair. Led by Jim Ganely, the group saw 31 bird species at the
Wetlands and 1 white-tailed deer. Common Yellowthroats were singing, 2
Virginia Rails sang out, 1 adult Bald Eagle was enjoying a meal, and an
immature BAEA soared over Hood Canal waters. We were surprised to see a
Mourning Dove in the marsh near the Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Great Blue
Heron, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail. Red-breasted Merganser, American
Wigeon and Common Goldeneye were seen on the Union River, along with more teal
and Killdeer. Other species included Hutton's Vireo, Savannah, Song and
Golden-crowned sparrow, Marsh Wren, Rufous Hummingbird, Red-winged Blackbird,
Spotted Towhee, Violet-green Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Canada Goose,
and a male Ring-necked Pheasant on the edge of the marsh. We continued on to
Belfair State Park for lunch and stopped by Tacoma's Snake Lake before calling
it a day. We all went home trying to figure out how a Dunlin came to find
itself in a predicament.

We were looking for shorebirds when a Dunlin was seen feeding high in the mud-
bank of the Union River at Theler Wetlands. At first glance it appeared to be
feeding normally, except it didn't seem to move around much. Then, there it
was. Its right leg extended back, one of its toes clamped tight in a clam
shell! This clam shell was dragged with every step the Dunlin took. We were
incredulous. We scoped the bird for a long time, but finally we had to move
on and leave the Dunlin to the whims of nature.

Joyce Meyer
Woodinville, WA
MEYER2J at aol.com