It should read Semi-Palmated Plovers not Semi-palmated Sandpipers. Thanks,
Ruth Sullivan for catching that.

Bruce Fischer
Aberdeen, WA
stump at techline.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Fischer" <stump at techline.com>
To: "Tweeters at U. Edu" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2003 12:12 PM
Subject: Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival


> A message from Bob Morse:
>
> THEY ARE BACK!!
>
> Thousands and thousands of twisting, turning shorebirds have arrived at
the
> Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge in Hoquiam, just in time for this
> weekend's Shorebird Festival.
>
> Most of the shorebirds are Western Sandpipers with their rufous breeding
> plumage but there are also Semi-Palmated Sandpiper, Short-billed
Dowitcher,
> Dunlin, and Red Knot mixed in with them. There was even a report of a
> possible Black-headed Gull in the area. Typically, the shorebirds spend 3
> to 4 days feeding and resting on the mud flats as they prepare for the
next
> leg of their spring migration to their breeding grounds in Alaska.
>
> The best time to see these shorebirds is an hour or two before high tide
as
> the shorebirds are pushed close to shore by the rising tide and are
easily
> studied from the viewing platform at the refuge's Boardwalk. High tide on
> Saturday is 10:30 AM and on Sunday it is at 11:30 AM.
>
> There will be volunteers and bird experts on the Boardwalk on both days
> with their scopes to show the shorebirds and explain more about their
> migration.
>
> The Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival is held this weekend with field trips
> to Ocean Shores, Westport, Pt. Grenville, and the Lake Quinault Rain
> Forest. Lectures for beginning birders, on shorebird identification,
> coastal raptors, and a series of other subjects are all open to the
public,
> for a small fee. There are exhibits, a pancake breakfast (Saturday), 10k
> and 2 mile runs, special hands-on activities for children, and a banquet
> Saturday evening featuring author Jack Nesbit. For more information on
the
> festival activities, check out their web site at www.ghas.org.
>
> Come enjoy the spectacle of shorebird migration along the Washington
Coast
> this weekend. It is one of the most amazing birding events along the
coast.
>
> Bob Morse, author, A Birder's Guide to Coastal Washington
>
>