Birders,

A short visit (about 1-1/2 hours) to Point Roberts, Whatcom Co., WA in
the late afternoon of October 29 produced several interesting
sightings. Nearly all my time was spent at Lighthouse Marine Park, the
county park at the southwest tip of the point. The weather was sunny
and nearly calm-- unusual for late October.

The dilapidated pier just north of the boat launch at Lighthouse
Marine Park is always worth checking in October and November for
Heermann's Gulls. Sure enough, two adult HEERMANN'S GULLS were perched
here, along with many GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS and a few DOUBLE-CRESTED
CORMORANTS. Unexpectedly, there were at least 25 BLACK TURNSTONES
sitting on the pier, occasionally vocalizing and having minor
squabbles with their neighbours.

A smaller, much paler sandpiper was sleeping, with its bill tucked in,
in the middle of the turnstones. After a few minutes, the bird woke
up, walked a few steps, and looked around. I was able to see all the
field marks of a ROCK SANDPIPER. Although the distance was
considerable, the brilliant sunshine made it easy to identify the
bird.

Although I've birded Point Roberts on countless occasions since 1968,
this was my first-ever sighting of a ROCK SANDPIPER there. BLACK
TURNSTONES are regularly seen feeding along the gravelly beaches
there, but the other "rockpipers"-- SURFBIRD, ROCK SANDPIPER, and
BLACK OYSTERCATCHER-- are all very unusual at Point Roberts, with only
a very few records of each that I know of on the Point.

A flock of at least 100 SANDERLINGS was feeding along the beach,
taking flight at frequent intervals. At least one DUNLIN was present
in the flock.

Two TRUMPETER SWANS flew southbound over Lighthouse Marine Park,
calling loudly. This is another species for which I have less than 5
sightings from the Point.

Because of the short visit, I tallied only 31 species. My list is as
follows:

Common Loon 2
Horned Grebe 2
Western Grebe 10
Double-crested Cormorant 40
Pelagic Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Trumpeter Swan 2
Greater Scaup 2
Harlequin Duck 10
Long-tailed Duck 3
Surf Scoter 30
White-winged Scoter 2
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Black Turnstone 25
Sanderling 100
ROCK SANDPIPER 1
Dunlin 1
Heermann's Gull 2 adults
Mew Gull 15
Glaucous-winged Gull 100
Northern Flicker 1
Northwestern Crow 10
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
American Pipit 1
European Starling 50
Brewer's Blackbird 10
Spotted Towhee 2
Song Sparrow 6
House Finch 4

Just as I was leaving Lighthouse Marine Park, an EASTERN COTTONTAIL
scampered into the shrubbery.

That's it for now!

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