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From: lowero at CCMAIL.ORST.EDU (Roy Lowe)
To: OBOL at MAIL.ORST.EDU (Multiple recipients of list OBOL)
Subject: Curlew Saga Continues - Newport
Date: Wed, 13 May


Today at 1:30 pm a whimbrel-like bird flew low over the ground from Yaquina Bay
past my office in the south end of the Hatfield Marine Science Center compound
in Newport and landed in the street in front of our building. Three of us saw
this bird (Dave Pitkin, Eric Nelson and me). The behavior of this bird was very
different from a whimbrel having no fear of people, landing adjacent to a group
of people playing frisbee football, dodging cars and casually strolling through
our parking lot before attempting to forage in tall weeds and grasses. After
close-up looks at the bird we identified the bird as a bristle-thighed curlew.
Upon flight the bird showed a tan or light brown rump (did not appear cinnamon
or orange) and barred tail. The bird gave a distinctive "wolf whistle" call as
it flew low out to the bay again and appeared to land in the marsh where the
HMSC estuary trail becomes a footbridge over the marsh. We did not relocate the
bird there in the brief time that we looked but did see whimbrels and marbled
godwits out on the edge of the bay.

Roy Lowe
lowero at ccmail.orst.edu



--

Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR _Birds and other Wildlife of the
mpatters at orednet.org Columbia River Estuary_
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/book_ad.html