Subject: I'm puzzled!!!!!!!
Date: Oct 12 21:15:39 2000
From: WAYNE WEBER - WAYNE_WEBER at bc.sympatico.ca


Gerald and Tweeters,

Your puzzling birds sound like RED KNOTS. In the Vancouver, BC area,
where I have birded for many years, Red Knots are scarce but regular
fall migrants, and are seen with Black-bellied Plovers more often than
not.
Most of the fall sightings of Red Knots are in late August and
September, but October sightings are by no means unheard of. There are
at least a couple of winter records of Red Knots in both Vancouver and
Victoria. In fact, my lifer Red Knot was seen at Victoria in February
of 1969.

I have departure dates for Red Knots for Vancouver for 14 years. The
latest date was in September in 9 years; October, 3 years; and
November and December, one year each.

Long-billed Dowitchers should not be unusual at all on the Long Beach
Peninsula in October. Were you thinking that they should be
Short-billed there? Depends on the time of year. While Short-bills
tend to occur more often on marine shores and Long-bills on freshwater
shores, that's a tendency only. In my experience, Long-bills can show
up virtually anyplace where there is mud. In fall, nearly all
Short-bills are gone by mid-October. From then onward, dowitchers seen
anywhere in B.C. or Washington are almost certain to be Long-bills.

Don't knock your knowledge of birds and their migration patterns,
Gerald. I suspect you know a lot more than you give yourself credit
for!

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops and Delta, BC
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca


-----Original Message-----
From: Gerald Hamilton <gerald at e-z.net>
To: Wash. Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Monday, October 09, 2000 6:57 PM
Subject: I'm puzzled!!!!!!!


>.................Among all the Black-bellied Plovers, Dunlin, West.
>Sandpipers, and Sanderlings on the ocean beach north of Oysterville
>Rd--Long Beach Pen, Wash. Sat. aft. were 3 grayish(white underneath)
>shorebirds, the same size as the Black-bellied Plovers, with slightly
>longer bills than the Plovers. Feet darlish, and neck slightly more
>slender. I first thought of Willets, but they lacked the longer legs,
>and were not the bigger size. What I saw more closely fit the
>descriptions of winter plumaged Red Knots. If indeed they were Red
>Knots, would they be seen this late in migration season? When in fall
do
>they usually migrate?? Tried to relocate these same shorebirds after
>they moved but was unsucessful.
>...............Also saw what appeared to be greyish-brown 2
Long-billed
>Dowitchers with the flocks also. Long straight bills and smaller
sizes
>seem to eliminate Godwits. Clouds and the growing darkness, along
with
>the short viewing time I had before they departed made for more
>questions than answers. If they were Long-bill's, this would seem to
be
>a highly unusual place to see them.
>................The more I bird, the more I discover how* little* I
>actually *do* know about birds. This can humble one very quickly, but
>also intrigue one and spark his curiosity even further to seek more
>knowledge on a subject one can't possibly know everything.
>.....Sigh!!! (-: Many are the times I leave with "more questions
than
>answers"!!!
>
>Gerald Hamilton
>Brush Prairie, Wash.
>gerald at e-z.net
>
>