Hi Tweets,

Sorry to post this late, but I found a Solitary Sandpiper
at the Clay St marsh in Auburn. This is the area also known as
the Emerald Downs mitigated wetland.
I first saw the bird Thursday evening around 5:45 PM; it
was there again this morning around 8:30 AM and was still there
as of 6:00 PM Friday. The shorebirds in the area are actually
using a small puddle across the road from the marsh, in a vacant
lot. The water level in the marsh itself is too high for there
to be much habitat for anything other than snipe.
To get there take Hwy 167 (Valley Freeway) to the 15th
St NW exit, which is the Northernmost Auburn exit. On 15th go
West 100 yds to the West Valley Hwy intersection. Go South (left)
on W Valley about 1/2 to 3/4 mile(?) to W Main St, and go left
on Main. This crosses over Hwy 167 and in about 1/2 a mile you'll
see NW Clay St on the left. Don't blink or you'll miss it; the
road sign is a little obstructed by trees and such. If you end
up in downtown Auburn you've gone too far. Go North on NW Clay
to the end of the road. The marsh is on the left with plenty of
bird action of its own, but the shorebirds are in the vacant
lot on the right. In the last two days there's been the Solitary,
6-12 Least Sandpipers, 1-2 Greater Yellowlegs, a Dunlin, a Snipe
and a Killdeer with two adorable, very young Killdeer in training.
Interestingly the Solitary's legs are more yellowish
than greenish or olive as the books describe. There is also a
fair amount of yellow on the basal portion of the bill which
is not mentioned in any of the books I checked yesterday
including Nat. Geo guide, Shorebirds of the PNW, Shorebirds
An ID guide, and Photographic Guide to Shorebirds of the World.
All of the other marks check out OK, including the primarily
brown upperparts with some buff spotting, bill about equal in
length to the head, legs proportionately shorter than on a
yellowlegs, darkish underwing and central rump, and of course,
the classic eye ring.
It certainly was a treat to find such a bird. Ironically
I had just scouted the Enumclaw area last weekend with friend,
Fred Boesche, looking for places where a Solitary might appear
this Spring. I didn't expect to find one so close to home!
By the way, this bird is quite skittish. Even more so
than the yellowlegs which I though couldn't be outdone in
this. It flushed and flew away when I checked on it in the
morning, even though I never approached it closer than 50 ft
or so. Luckily it had come back by the afternoon. Hope you
al get a chance to see it this weekend.

Jim Flynn
Renton, WA
bf519 at scn.org