Hello Tweets,

My wife and I just returned from a along weekend at Pacific Beach. During
our stay, the beach hosted a flock 0f 2000-3000 shorebirds: Dunlin, Western
Sandpipers, Sanderlings, and Semipalmated Plovers, with a few Dowitchers
and, on two occasions, a few Marbled Godwits. This was the only place we
visited where we saw any Sanderlings.

We also saw a Peregrine Falcon there on Saturday evening.

Offshore, Sunday morning, there was a constant stream of alcids flying north
low over the waves. I counted over 250 birds in a minute, and 20 minutes
later, 120 BPM. They were too far out for me to identify, showing not much
more than white bodies and black wings. I'm guessing Common Murres. Does
anyone know what these might be, and whether they're migrating or just going
to breakfast?

Our Grays Harbor birding pretty much duplicated what's already been
reported, so I'll just mention a couple of extras. A Merlin made an
unsuccessful pass over Bottle Beach Saturday afternoon, after many people
had left, and posed briefly in a treetop. Sunday, at the Ocean Shores
Marina, we saw two Green Herons, one mature bird and one with a
white-streaked breast. They were coming and going from around the canal
outlet, but we couldn't spot them inside there - maybe roosting or nesting
under the boardwalk?

David Brodeur
Seattle