.............Friday: Stopped off at SJCR(west of Astoria, Ore.). At the
time I was there there was absolutely *nothing* at the shorebird ponds.
However.....the river beach just a bit further was teeming with gulls
and terns. Western and Glaucous-winged Gulls with a few Heermann's Gulls
among them. But the real attention getter were the 100's of terns, very
noisy, with several trying to dive-bomb me( I guess they didn't like me
invading their domain!!!) Mostly Caspian Terns with a number of Common
Terns (reddish legs, thinner red-orange bills with a touch of black at
the tip, and about the same build and neck-length of the
Caspians---lacked longer forked tail and shorter legs of Arctic Terns).
.................Ocean pretty rough with high waves on the jetty.
.................Sat: Willapa Bay beach at Leadbetter Point on the north
tip of Long Beach Peninsula, Wash.----100's of West. Sandpipers, a good
number of Semipalmated Plovers, and Least Sandpipers, along with 1
Greater Yellowlegs, 1 Great Egret, 1 DC Cormorant and a dozen Blue
Herons. Other things might have flown in later on in the evening, but I
didn't stay past 7:30 PM on a late receding tide.
...............Especially enjoyed watching a Belted-Kingfisher perch on
a tall yellow post in the receding tidewater, sit, and dive for as
small fish, fly back to the pines to enjoy his catch, than fly back
repeatedly to wait on top of the post, catch, and fly to the pines to
dine.
...............Sunday: Pacific Ocean beach north of Oysterville Rd(where
no vehicles are allowed.). 'Billions' of Sanderlings(many still wearing
much of their colorful breeding plumage); more Semipalmated Plovers;
lots and lots of Black-bellied Plovers( many still in their black and
white summer garbs), and I would guess about a 100 Short-billed
Dowitchers. Also.... More Caspian Terns with some Common Terns, and
Western, Glaucous-winged, California, and Hermann's Gulls.With the aid
of my newly purchased Nat'l Geographic Field Guide to No. Am. Birds, I
am beginning to become more familiar with identifying 1st. and 2nd yr.
Gulls and juvenile Terns. However...........I am only *beginning* to
"scratch the surface" of this difficult and intriguing aspect of
identification------a never-ending challenge!!!!!
..................I didn't mind the stiff south wind on the beach, but
the rains came in about 3:30 pm and made a very wet and blustery end to
my walk.
..................Cheers
Gerald Hamilton
Brush Prairie, Wash.