..................Mid-day last Friday: Absolutely *nothing* at
'shorebird flats'---Parking lot C at Columbia River South
Jetty.(....very little water!!!). Oh, I shouldn't say "nothing" as there
*was* 1 large Great Blue Heron there, and.....zillions of Caspian Terns
at the river beach. Lots of CORMORANTS (mainly juveniles) in the ocean
off the viewing platform, and....plenty of BROWN PELICANS flying
overhead. A pair of SPOTTED TOWHEES flew around and a few female House
Finches also.
.................Billions of seagulls(several species) and Caspian Terns
at the slough area by the viewing bunker---but again *nothing* else!!!!
Moderately low tide at the time.
.................Saturday: Tide going out at mid-day at Leadbetter
Point---Willapa Bay---Long Beach Pen., Wash. Lots and lots SEMIPALMATED
PLOVERS, along with WESTERN SANDPIPERS and a fair number of LEAST
SANDPIPERS. But again not anywhere the numbers of shorebirds I expected
to find at this time of year.
.................Later that afternoon: North of Oysterville Rd. along the
ocean beach. Again *nothing* till I got several miles north(past the
clam shell restriction poles) where there were 50-70 SANDERLINGS ( many
still in much of there colorful breeding plumage), and 2 SNOWY PLOVERS
, and a mature BALD EAGLE pirched on a log---in the same area. Talked
with a Wash. State Wildlife officer who was doing something at the clam
pole area, and he said that he had just come from an assignment on the
north coast, and the story is the same there: unusually low numbers of
migrating shorebirds being observed right now. Don't know the reasons,
other that the unusually hot weather might being keeping them up north
longer.
................Sunday: A walk on the beach near the motel. Again lots
of Gulls and Caspian Terns, with 5 HEERMAN'S GULLS together among the
pack ( lacking the snowy white head, but mostly brown with a somewhat
duller red bill---would have to guess they were 2nd or 3rd yr. juveniles).
A few SEMI-PALMATED PLOVERS, with some BROWN pELICANS; cormorants,
and..........long seemingly endless lines of smaller black seabirds
flying south low over the water just of the beach( ....some sort of
SHEARWATERS???).
...............The Pacific Golden Plover seen last week wasn't at Willapa
Bay----this species(including the Am. Golden Plover) continues to allude me.

...............Oh well!!!! Cheers.

Gerald Hamilton
Brush Prairie, Wash.