Hello Tweets,

The single BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEW seen yesterday afternoon by Bill Smith
with a forward message sent to Dennis Paulson, and then put onto "tweeters"
was again seen and photographed today between 9am-9:45am, after a 2 hour
drive from beach access west of the Ocean Shores Best Western Hotel and to
1 mile south of Copalis Beach. The bird was seen flying north along the
waters edge of the beach 2 miles north of Ocean City S.P., and was followed
for 2.5 miles before it landed on the upper level of beach along the tide
line, where it searched for food under loose kelp and other debris washed
in by the past high tide. The bird was observed by having cinnamon-buff
underparts and buffy unbarred rump(in flight)with paler upperparts with a
distinctive striped crown and fairly short decurved bill being finer at the
tip, which probably is a male. The bird fed, then flew several times(with
the distinctive call "EEE-EUW-WEET" heard several times until the bird was
finally seen at 5.2 miles north of Ocean City S.P. A maximum distance was
made at 30 feet, as the bird was alert and feeding upon the beach. The bird
could not be relocated upon a second search after 10am, but is probably
present further up the beach or in nearby dunes for cover, as the winds
were fairly strong from the W-NW at 10-15mph and weather was cloudy with
occasional showers, which should continue through the weekend. I birded the
O.S. Game Range at 11am, where a single male SNOWY PLOVER was present
between the base of Damon Pt. and the game range. On the west side of the
game range 1 EUR.WIGEON was present in a loose migrating flock of
Am.Wigeons, N.Shovelers, and N.Pintails resting along the beach. Other
species include: R.T.LOONS, 35 GR.W.F.GEESE, 6 B.SCOTERS, 4 BONEAPARTE'S
GULLS, 6 R.TURNSTONES, 12 WHIMBREL, and 1 PEREGRINE FALCON. At the mouth of
Grays Harbor a large feeding flock at 12:30pm contained 7 SOOTY
SHEARWATERS, 15 BROWN PELICANS, 5 PARASITIC JAGERS, and 350 COMMON TERNS
with large numbers of migrating P.LOONS and C.MURRES present heading north.
A late BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was present at the tip of the Pt.Brown Jetty.
On the way home I checked Bowerman Basin-Hoquim STP, where the 2 AM.WHITE
PELICANS were still present on the mudflats visible from SR 105, as were 6
B.W.TEAL and 2 C.TEAL on the sewage ponds.

Patrick Sullivan
GODWIT at worldnet.att.net