Greetings All

I can not find anything different about Jensen Access. It is a typical tidal
marsh in the Puget Sound, albeit one that does attract large numbers of
shorebirds. I have, on many occasions, walked out onto the tidal flats/marsh.
Like similar areas, it attracts good numbers of Dunlin, BB Plover,
dowitchers, Western Sandpipers, etc plus the occasional Pectoral Sand, Red
Knot, golden-plover, etc.

What these marshes are not good for are Stilt Sandpipers, Wilson's
Phalaropes, Solitary Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and other such
birds that seem to favor nontidal ponds and fresher water. Not that such
birds are impossible in these areas, just that they are highly unusual (and
indeed, Semi Sands do show up in such places, just not in the same
concentrations. This is different from Semis on the east coast, a difference
that I cannot readily explain).

An illustration of this was to be found one year here in Everett. During late
August (this was a couple years ago when there was a fall invasion of Stilt
Sandpipers), the freshwater marshes along the eastside of the Everett Sewage
Ponds were just right for shorebirds. At high tide, I had 1000s of Westerns,
dozens of Leasts, up to 20 Semi Sands, up to 20+ Stilt Sands (!!), dozens of
LBDows, some SB Dows, dozens of Semi Plovers, 3 Solitary Sands, and a couple
dozen yellowlegs. As the tide dropped, you could watch the Western Sands,
Semi Plovers, SB Dows, and a few Greater Yellowlegs leave for the tidal flats
a mile or so away. A few Least and Semi Sands may have departed as well, but
most stayed. As far as I could tell, all of the Lesser Yellowlegs, Stilt
Sands, LB Dows, Solitary Sands stayed put.

So, it is not as though Stilt Sands are impossible at Jensen Access, I just
feel that it is highly improbable that they are regular there. Additionally,
the combination of unusual habitat and an unusually early juv caused me to
question the recent report.

Furthermore, Crockett Lake is extraordinarily different from Jensen Access,
English Boom, Jetty Island, and other such areas. Crockett Lake is non-tidal
and has a different makeup of birds. Indeed, being a non-tidal location is
one of the factors that make it, and the similar Swantown Lake, such
hotspots.

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow