hi all,
today 9/24 from 10:30 to 12:noon i had the pleasure of observing a juv.
sharp-tailed sandpiper at hoquiam sewage treatment plant. the bird was loosly
associating with a small flock of long billed dowitchers (8) on the mud flat
between the long wooden bridge and the road along the ocean. while the
dowitchers foraged more in the open the sharp-tailed kept to the sparcely
vegetated areas and was harder to observe. at one point however all the birds
moved to the mud flat on the other side of the bridge and could be seen by
scoping under the bridge. the sharp-tailed approached the shore line and took
a brief bath, did some preening and went back to feeding in the area where the
cattails line the mud.
this bird has a broad white supercilium setting off the rusty cap, a distinct
eye ring, and broad rufous edgings on the tercials. the breast is buffy with
no distinct streaking.
if you look for this bird be patient, he can be quite inconspicuous feeding
slowly in the 1 foot tall clumps of weeds.
good birding,
richard bledsoe
formerly in chimacum, now in elma, soon heading south for the winter.
artictern at mycidco.com