Subject: Bar-tailed Godwits at Tokeland
Date: Aug 24 16:24:38 1998
From: "Andy Stepniewski" - steppie at wolfenet.com


Tweeters,

Denny Granstrand and I observed 2 Bar-tailed Godwits at their high tide
roost at the Tokeland Marina between 1500 and 1600 on 23 August. If I were
to hazard aging these birds, I'd say they were non-breeding adults (crown,
hindneck and upperparts grayish, lacking streaked appearance). Also
present on the rocks here were 4 Willets, 1 Wandering Tattler, 15+
Whimbrel, 200+ Marbled Godwits, 1 Dunlin, and about 200 Short-billed
Dowitchers (most in bright juvenal plumage).

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the marina area, some kids with a dog
were flushing this amazing congregation of birds. However, this made it
possible to study them all at length in flight as because the tide was
high, the birds didn't seem to have an alternate roost site in mind. After
a few minutes, the kids and dog left and the birds settled down on the
rocks again.

We discovered the dock which extends half-way across to the breakwater to
where the roost is located is part of the "Port of Willapa" and apparently
open to the public. This dock allows for exceptional viewing
opportunities, as the roost is within easy scoping distance to the east
from the end of the dock. Viewing from here makes it unnecessary to access
the breakwater from the RV camp. I think it would still pay to ask
permission to view the birds from the dock. Denny and I think it might
also pay to buy a snack or soda here and advertise the fact that this is a
special place for birds.

While viewing this roost, I heard the mellow whistled call of a curlew from
one of the birds in this closely packed roost. Try as we could, we could
not visually locate any Long-billed Curlew. This makes me wonder if one of
the "Whimbrels" was a Bristle-thighed Curlew in disguise. However, all the
Whimbrels we observed "looked" like Whimbrels. I leave this "heard" bird
to others to possibly follow-up on.

Early in the morning on the 23rd, we had birded Ocean Shores. The tide
was low and consequently shorebirds were very, very few. In fact, the
following is all we saw in three hours of combing the area:

Semipalmated Plover-7
Killdeer-3
Greater Yellowlegs-1
Lesser Yellowlegs-1
Western Sandpipers-15
Least Sandpiper-10

We did repeatedly see an immature pealei (?) Peregrine clumsily hunt,
trying for pintails, Brant and Canada Geese, and Western Sandpipers. At
one point, we watched it strut around on sand flats with the elegance of a
barnyard chicken! I suspect a few short months from now and it will
acquire (if it survives) the magical aerial skills that makes the Peregrine
such a fantastic flying machine.

In the beach graas habitat on Damon Point, we flushed and had good views of
a Bobwhite, my first for Ocean Shores.

In the sheltered waters just off the east of the game range were Common
Loons, all three scoters, plus many Brown Pelicans and Double-crested
Cormorants. A few Caspian Terns were seen here also.

A half-hour stint of scoping off the jetty at Ocean Shores was exciting.
Pacific Loons (~25) and Rhinoceros Auklets (~150) were moving south. A
few Sooty Shearwaters were noted. One unidentified immature jaeger
(probably a Parasitic) was seen. Noteworthy, however, was a "full spoon"
Pomarine Jaeger also flying south just off the end of the jetty, the first
of this species I can remember seeing from land in Washington. There was
a continuous stream of Heermann's Gulls moving both north and south off the
jetty and loafing along the beach. Also seen from here were a few Common
Murres and Pigeon Guillemots and 35 or so scoters-mixed Surf and
White-winged.


Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA