Subject: Shorebirding 15 Aug: Grandview Sewage Lagoons, near Toppenish, and Wenas Lake
Date: Aug 16 08:55:04 2000
From: Andy Stepniewski - steppie at nwinfo.net


Tweeters,

Here's yesterdays shorebird tally from Yakima Valley sites:


SHOREBIRDING: GRANDVIEW LAGOONS, TOPPENISH, AND WENAS LAKE
15 AUGUST 2000

Shorebirding today at Yakima County wetlands: Grandview Sewage Lagoons(GV )
at lunch, west of Toppenish in late afternoon from Marion Drain Road (MD)
where there is currently a large, partially flooded pasture, and finally
Wenas Lake (WL) in the early evening (along with Denny Granstrand), yielded
the following:

Killdeer - 20 (GV), 100 (MD)
Black-necked Stilt - 20 (GV)
American Avocet - 2 (GV)
Solitary Sandpiper - 1 (GV), 1 (MD)
Spotted Sandpiper - 1 (GV), 4 (W)
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 2 (GV)
Western Sandpiper - 30 (GV), 10 (W)
Least Sandpiper - (25) GV, 40 (MD)
Baird's Sandpiper - 2 (GV), 2 (W)
Pectoral Sandpiper - 1 (MD)
Wilson's Phalarope - 5 (GV)
Red-necked Phalarope - 10 (GV)
Common Snipe -5 (W)

The flooded cattle pasture west of Old Goldendale Road on the south side of
Marion Drain Road is particularly interesting. It reminds me very much of
similar pastures in south Texas, which in spring attract American
Golden-Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Hudsonian Godwit, Whimbrel, Pectoral and
Buff-breasted Sandpiper. So...I'm into a fantasy mode; maybe a few of these
species, mostly rare or unrecorded from Yakima County (except for Pectoral
Sandpiper), will care to visit this field west of Toppenish this fall!
Longspurs might also be anticipated here, too.

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA
Steppie at nwinfo.net