Hi Tweets,

Met Nancy Taylor at Crescent Beach at the E end of Boundary Bay early this
aft to seek the juv Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii) which has been
hanging around off the northern end of Sullivan Street. No sign of it but a
ton of Common Loons (G. immer); however, the Rock Sandpiper (Calidris
ptilocnemis) was there messing about at the water's edge with a few
Sanderling (C. alba) allowing very close approach. In Basic plumage, it
resembles a very dark, very heavily-spotted Dunlin (C. alpina).

Notable features (just in case a real Dunlin shows up there as well, a
possibility as there's about 30,000-40,000 of 'em in that end of the Bay
when the flats are exposed) are the overall slaty-grey color, the dense rows
of chevron-shaped spots on breast and flank, the yellow base to the bill,
most noticeable at the base of the upper mandible, the yellow legs slightly
greenish-tinged. As the coverts and tertials showed no buff fringes to the
dark grey centers, just crisp thin white fringes, I'm guessing the bird's an
adult in Definitive Basic.

Other species:

Red-throated Loon 2
Common Loon 16
Horned Grebe 7
Red-necked Grebe 2
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 1
American Wigeon ~75
Mallard ~15
Northern Pintail 6
Green-winged Teal ~50
Canvasback 15
Greater Scaup ~30
Harlequin Duck 5
Surf Scoter 10
White-winged Scoter 4 1m 3f on west side
Black Scoter 1 sub ad m
Long-tailed Duck ~600 big fly-in from west
Bufflehead 10
Common Goldeneye 6
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Bald Eagle 6 2a 4jv
*Rock Sandpiper* 1 Bsc
Dunlin ~200 in Mud Bay
Mew Gull 8
Ring-billed Gull 5 4a, 1 B1
Glaucous-winged Gull 10 var ages
Rock Dove 2
Northwestern Crow ~20
European Starling 2
Song Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Red-winged Blackbird 1
House Finch 3

Falling tide from high, wind SW 25-30 kph, broken stratus overcast thickening.

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)