Hi Birders,

A RUDDY TURNSTONE was present all day yesterday (Aug 21) at the
south end of Stump Lake, on Highway 5A between Kamloops and Merritt,
B.C. The bird was first seen about 9 AM by Rick Howie and 2 other
observers. I found it independently about 7:30 PM, totally unaware
that Rick and friends had seen it in the morning. When I saw the bird,
it was near the lakeshore about 200 yards west of the pullout and
trash can at the south end of the lake. It was associating with 2
Killdeer, 2 Common Snipe, and a Spotted Sandpiper. The bird was easily
spotted, as it was turning over dirt clods, there being no stones
available. (A NON-RUDDY TURNCLOD, perhaps??) :-)
This was my first Ruddy Turnstone in the B.C. Interior. According
to Rick, it is only the 3rd record for the Kamloops area, and there
are only a handful of records even in the heavily-birded Okanagan
Valley.
I will try to post more details later on the shorebirds that I saw
yesterday, but right now it's approaching 1 AM and my eyelids are
drooping.
I hope this bird stays around a few days for other birders to see.

Wayne Weber
114-525 Dalgleish Drive
Kamloops, B.C. V2C 6E4
Phone: (250) 377-8865
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca