Subject: Lapland Longspur at Ocean Shores
Date: Jul 12 20:38:36 2003
From: Ruth Sullivan - godwit at worldnet.att.net


Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I birded the Ocean Shores area with the arrival of migrant shorebirds that were apparent today at several locations that we checked and visited. Although the weather was quite windy throughout the day at Ocean Shores with scattered rain showers turning to more persistent rain showers after 12pm we managed to locate a few notable highlights for the season. The most notable shorebird migrant observed at most locations at Ocean Shores was Western Sandpiper with good numbers observed of adult birds with far lesser numbers of Least Sandpipers noted as well at just a few locations. Probably the best highlight of the day of several species noted at Ocean Shores was a breeding plumaged Lapland Longspur observed during an afternoon visit at the base of Damon Point amongst a foraging flock of 16 Least Sandpipers. The bird flew over the Damon Point road to the south into thick beach vegetation. Overall we encountered a good diversity of species despite the weather conditions,which were at best during the earliest part of our visit. A list of highlights observed at selected locations follows below:

Hwy.12 at the Satsop River bridge

1 Western Scrub Jay

Hoquiam STP

4 Lesser Scaup
2 female Buffleheads
1 Osprey
1 Merlin(being chased by a flock of swallows)

Hwy.115 at Ocean City State Park

1 Green Heron(flying over)

Ocean Shores Jetty

2 Common Loons
3 Sooty Shearwaters
35+ Brown Pelicans
14 Surf Scoters
4 White-winged Scoters
1 Wandering Tattler
1 Ruddy Turnstone
18 Black Turnstones
10 Surfbirds
20 Western Sandpipers
200+ Heermann's Gulls
1 adult Parasitic Jaeger
very good numbers of both Common Murres with lesser numbers of Rhinoceros Auklets offshore
2 Tufted Puffins
1 Rufous Hummingbird

Ocean Shores STP/Ocean Shores Game Range

3 Red-throated Loons
2 female Northern Shovelers(with young)
57 Surf Scoters
1 Osprey
1 Northern Harrier
1 Ring-necked Pheasant(heard only)
10 Semipalmated Plovers
7 Greater Yellowlegs
650+ Western Sandpipers
18 Least Sandpipers
1 Dunlin
1 Short-billed Dowitcher
9 Long-billed Dowitchers

Bill's Spit

8 Black-bellied Plovers
82 Whimbrel
3 Marbled Godwits
340+ Western Sandpipers
10 Least Sandpipers
4 Dunlin
280+ Short-billed Dowitchers
250+ California Gulls
2 Olive-sided Flycatchers

Grand Canal(accessed along Marine View Drive)
1 adult Green Heron

Damon Point

1 adult Bald Eagle
15 Semipalmated Plovers
6 Red Knots
470+ Western Sandpipers
48+ Least Sandpipers
65 Short-billed Dowitchers
1 apparent "bleached" Herring Gull(very pale iris,dark primaries,partial pale gray mantle with overall "beached" appearance)
2 "Streaked"Horned Larks
1 Lapland Longspur

Ocean Shores Game Range(accessed from Marine View Drive)

1 Red-throated Loon
8 Surf Scoters
1 female Black Scoter
1 Greater Scaup
10 Semipalmated Plovers

"Perkin's Pond"(accessed from Cabana Pool)

1 female Bufflehead

Cyber Lake

1 Olive-sided Flycatcher
1 Brown Creeper

Simpson Ave. at Hoquiam(east of Emerson School)

1 Western Scrub Jay



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
godwit at worldnet.att.net














-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20030712/13f98f5c/attachment.htm