Subject: Skagit Flats July 15
Date: Jul 16 16:45:30 2001
From: Scott Atkinson - scottratkinson at hotmail.com



Shorebird migration is at last underway at the Skagit WMA, with the
following found out on the flats last night at Jensen access:

BAIRD'S SANDPIPER 4
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER 3
PECTORAL SANDPIPER 1

All were adults in non-breeding plumage (one of the Semis was still in
apparent molt), found in a flock of about 600-700 W. Sandpipers/smaller
numbers of Leasts. The Baird's were a pair and two solitary individuals,
and in each case stood out behavior-wise in standing, amidst the very active
smaller peeps, preening. One Baird's got me fired up by revealing a
prominent white area at the rump when it lifted its wings, but closer
inspection showed a dark line running through the center of the
rump....Baird's apparently sometimes show a considerable amount of white
along the edges and sides of the rump.

Less expected, I heard an apparent VEERY at the Skagit WMA Headquarters (at
the base of the loop trail, in thickets at the slough's edge, across from
the boat launch) at about 6 a.m., the call heard from willow-alder-twinberry
thickets along the slough there. Although the bird stayed hidden, I twice
heard the characteristic "phew" note. The bird was near enough to eliminate
the tail end of a far-off Purple Martin vocalization (the only bird that
would be a reasonable alternative, although Skagit County in fact has fewer
recent records for that species than for Veery). There is one previous
Veery record at the Skagit WMA, of a bird I spotted on the outer loop trail,
9/1/99.

Overall Skagit County has five other Veery records, all but one from County
Line in June-early July, the other one from Concrete in early June. Just
northeast of County Line along Rt 20, in Whatcom County, Veeries seem to be
nesting at the Newhalem ponds, and at least historically nested along
Thunder Creek as well.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
email: scottratkinson at hotmail.com



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