Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I ventured up to the Dungeness area of Clallam Co. in search of the juvenile Ruff previously reported by George Gerdts and Russell Rogers,which we successfully relocated immediately upon our arrival to the Three Crabs horse pond at 9:30am,which is located just east of the Three Crabs restraint near Dungeness. We were joined by Igor Uhrovic who obtained video of the bird,as well as photographs taken by us during our visit until we left the location at 11:30am. The Ruff was observed actively feeding at various locations along the edges of the horse pond and was well observed along the edges of the pond closest to the road,as well as further away from the road in more concealed areas bordering cattail reeds. Upon our arrival the bird was foraging further away from the road with single Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpiper with an additional Pectoral Sandpiper nearby in size comparisons was just slightly smaller in overall size compared to the nearby Lesser Yellowlegs and noticeably larger than the Pectoral Sandpiper(s). We checked a few other nearby locations for additional shorebirds at Three Crabs and near the Dungeness Oyster House between 10am-10:45am during slow outgoing tide,then upon our arrival back at the horse pond we were rejoined by Igor as well as Russell Rogers and family,as the Ruff was again noted foraging along the edges of the pond,but this time with a single Greater Yellowlegs,in which the Ruff appeared obviously smaller in overall size. Overall the Ruff was very cooperative and was only disturbed once along with the other shorebirds during our visit due to disturbance by the land owner,but the shorebirds soon returned and continued their routine. The Ruff will hopefully remain for some time,as the habitat and surroundings seem exceptional for this species to linger,so hopefully other birders will keep an update on this bird. Before arriving to the Ruff location this morning we observed s single Merlin flying over Sequim-Dungeness Ave. south of Three Crabs,which was noteworthy.

We encountered a total of 17 species of shorebirds for the day,which were mainly encountered in the Three Crabs area and additional birding was made on our way home at several locations including West Sequim Bay at Blyn, Diamond Point, and the Oak Bay Recreation Area in Jefferson Co. The large expansion of exposed mudflats at Three Crabs and near the Dungeness Oyster House were very productive for shorebirds and other bird species with the following notable species observed including additional species noted at the Three Crabs horse pond:

2 Common Loons
4 Red-necked Grebes
18 Northern Pintail
1 Blue-winged Teal
28 Northern Shovelers
350+ Am.Wigeon
310+ Common Mergansers
2 Northern Harriers
262 Black-bellied Plovers
2 Semipalmated Plovers
1 Greater Yellowlegs
1 Lesser Yellowegs
2 Marbled Godwits
1 Black Turnstone
1 Red Knot
225+ Sanderlings
800+ Western Sandpipers
140+ Least Sandpipers
2 Pectoral Sandpipers
1 Ruff
142 Short-billed Dowitchers
6 Long-billed Dowitchers
4 Wilson's Snipes
2 Red-necked Phalaropes
13 Common Terns


After leaving the Three Crabs area we worked our way home and checked a few locations beginning at Blyn along West Sequim Bay that hosted just a small numbers of shorebirds along the exposed mudflats in additional to a few other species that seemed noteworthy including the following:

22 Black-bellied Plovers
240+ Western Sandpipers
15 Least Sandpipers
10 Bonaparte's Gulls
1 Black-headed Grosbeak

Next, we checked the Diamond Point vicinity in Clallam Co. between 12:30pm-1pm including the large "pond" that is surrounded by the housing area at the tip of Diamond Point,as well as the open saltwater area with great views of Protection Island just offshore to the north and distant views of Mt.Baker. The main highlight noted during our visit were a total of 7 Tufted Puffins that were observed extremely close to shore with a single Tufted Puffin allowing great photographs at close range to be taken. This was probably the first time in many years that we have observed this species at this location so close to shore along with obtaining photographs,which made the observation that much more worthwhile. Other highlights at this location included the following:

2 Lesser Scaup
1 Bufflehead
1 Northern Harrier
1 Semipalmated Plover
2 Western Sandpipers
38 Bonaparte's Gulls


Continuing on our way home our final stop of the day was made at the Oak Bay Recreation Area in Jefferson Co.between 1:45pm-3pm(accessed from Oak Bay Rd. and S.R.116 near the town of Hadlock),which was somewhat slow until we walked and thoroughly checked the eastern portion of this area that hosted several highlights. A small hike out onto a large sand/gravel spit during incoming tide produced our last shorebird species of the day,being 3 Baird's Sandpipers amongst a loose flock of Western and Least Sandpipers that all foraged in an extensive estuary area bordering S.R.116 to the north and east and Oak Bay to the south. Our other main highlight for this exact location was observing a roaming flock of Common Terns that only increased during our visit until 3pm that hosted 2 adult Arctic Terns that foraged seemingly close to shore allowing excellent views of all key field marks separating the two species of small terns. Other noted species combined at this location include the following:

4 Horned Grebes
1 White-winged Scoter
3 Hooded Mergansers
1 Osprey
1 Semipalmated Plover
27 Western Sandpipers
34 Least Sandpipers



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net