I suppose most tweeters who _really_ want to see a Bristle-thighed Curlew
have done or will do so with this extraordinary curlew season under way.
Anyone who misses them should not assume their only other chance is
thousands of dollars away. The Big Island of Hawaii is probably a
dependable spot, if you time the trip correctly. I saw several there last
September and they are regular in spring, I believe.

Dennis Paulson's response to the structural-differences thread was right
on. All this excitement about curlews among the Whimbrels reminds me of
just the opposite occurrence: the thrill of finding a Whimbrel at Midway
Atoll in a flock of bristle-thigheds. Structurally, the Whimbrel fit right
in; I had to concentrate on the plumage when describing the differences
between the two species because I couldn't find any difference in form.

A little "negative data" for the Washington curlew scene:
On Tuesday I visited Bottle Beach, where I counted 13 Whimbrel and 1
Long-billed Curlew, but no BTCU (too muddy, Bill Tweit suggests, and I
agree). I then went to Westport Spit (east of the airport) and saw almost
nothing. I followed that with 2.5 hours on Midway Beach, between Midway
Beach Road and Cape Shoalwater--no Whimbrel, no curlew. This wasn't a
curlew search per se, but a Snowy Plover survey. And I saw no snowies,
either.

Scott Richardson
Olympia
salix at halcyon.com