Today I did a quick run through a few spots in Ocean Shores and the Hoquiam
sewage treatment pond. I set up my scope to look out at the ocean at the
Driftwood DR access and the first thing I saw was a TUFTED PUFFIN floating
near shore! I had missed these guys twice this summer, so this was a
blessing. I had trouble finding the Plovers that the Sullivan's were seeing
here, but then some movement in the driftwood tipped me off. Here were 3
Black-bellied Plovers, and 5 PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS. I tried desperately to
make one of the PAC Goldens into an American, but was unsuccessful. One of
the birds looked to be in almost complete basic plumage, except for a few
dots of black on the belly. As my nose was buried in the Paulsen book I
heard the 100s of Sanderlings take off behind me...by the time I realized
that a falcon had probably done a flyby my Golden-plovers were gone.
Other birds seen here:
1 Pacific Loon
3 Brown Pelicans
Sooty Shearwaters (way way out)
8 Semipalmated Plovers

Ocean Shores Sewage Treatment Ponds:
1 Red-necked Phalarope
4 Western Sandpipers
3 Least Sandpipers

Hoquiam Sewage Treatment Ponds:
5 Northern Pintails
1 PECTORAL SANDPIPER
18 Western Sandpipers
7 Least Sandpipers
5 Semipalmated Plovers
2 Killdeer
8 Red-necked Phalaropes
7 Bonaparte's Gulls
1 Turkey Vulture

Jason Paulios
JPaulios at hotmail.com
Olympia, WA

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