Subject: no Sharp-tailed Sands 10/1
Date: Oct 1 22:33:17 2002
From: Birdking88 at aol.com - Birdking88 at aol.com


Hey Tweeters,

I finally got the opportunity to chase another Sharp-tailed this year,
but this species continues to evade me. The Hoquiam Sewage Treatment Plant
was quite slow, with seemingly lower numbers of ducks than usual. My dad and
I did have good studies of the 4 Long-billed Dowitchers present, and besides
6 or 7 Least Sandpipers those were the only shorebirds seen here. We stopped
here twice during the day, once in the morning and again in the late
afternoon. A Western Meadowlark was a bit out of the ordinary, but hardly
made up for what we missed.

After our first stop at the sewage ponds we moved on to the Ocean
Shores Marina area, where I had hoped to find a Tropical Kingbird or Palm
Warbler, but with no luck. Lots of Steller's Jays moving through the Scotch
Broom, and an apparently migrating flock of 25 Chestnut-backed Chickadees
took me by surprise in this habitat as well. A tame juv. Short-billed
Dowitcher was in the marina along with about 20 Least Sandpipers. After this
I hiked out into the Salicornia fields of the game range from the Tonquin
Avenue access. I failed to find a Sharp-tailed once again, but a flock of
golden-plovers made for a very nice consolation prize. There were 11 birds
present, 8 PACIFIC and 3 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS, identified by a combination
of marks including plumage, structure, primary projection, and call. This is
a fairly typical ratio in my experience, as I've never had more Americans
than Pacifics in a flock here. I spent about a half an hour studying them
through the scope, and crawling on my hands and knees trying to photograph
them, but these birds were quite wary of me. Eventually they flew off, most
of them calling Pacific quite emphatically. Also here was just one LAPLAND
LONGSPUR, and a flyby PECTORAL SANDPIPER. It was a pretty slow day in
general, with just a couple highlights. Good birding.

Charlie Wright
Birdking88 at aol.com
Sumner, WA