If we assume that this individual came from Siberia/Alaska, it is
very possible that it flew over the ocean in a (more or less) straight
line to California. This is the prevailing theory for why many
Siberian vagrants (Red-throated Pipit, wagtails, Dotterel) turn up
in Northern California at a relatively high frequency while going
undetected in Oregon and Washington.

The density of birders is also probably a bit higher in the places
where these kinds of species occur in California, but probably not
enough to explain the size of the discrepency between record numbers.


"Constance J. Sidles" wrote:
>
> Hey tweets, Congrats to all who found and saw the common greenshank in
> California. My question is, where the heck did it stay in Washington on its
> way down to California? Or is there a wormhole these rarities dive into,
> only to pop out again in sunny CA? More to the point, where will these
> birds stop on the way *back* to Siberia, when they will be in glorious
> breeding plumage? How I would love to see a ruff on our coast, with the
> foofy red, black or white ruffs shown in the bird books.
>
> FYI, I had to go to a retreat in Leavenworth for the past three days and
> got to bird Blackbird Island. A turkey vulture roost has been established
> in trees surrounding the artificial pond in the middle of the island. It's
> always neat to see bunches of vultures hunkered down and giving one the
> eye. I also saw a Lincoln's sparrow, warbling vireo, red-eyed vireo, palm
> warbler, many gray catbirds, and an osprey. I didn't get up Icicle Creek.
> But in town, you can see the burned areas of forest, although there are
> still plenty of trees immediately surrounding Leavenworth. I saw several
> white-headed woodpeckers flying overhead; don't know if they and other
> woodpeckers will do well once the burned wood begins to decay. I hope so -
> that will be at least one good to come from so much destruction. - Connie,
> Seattle
>
> csidles at mail.isomedia.com

--
Mike Patterson Alas, to wear the mantle of Galileo,
Astoria, OR it is not enough to be persecuted
celata at pacifier.com by an unkind establishment,
you must also be right.
---Robert Park
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html