Greetings All

While birding Bottle Beach today (lotsa birds) I noticed that approx 40% of
the 2000 Western Sandpipers were in basic plumage. Typically, this species
doesn't molt into basic plum until it arrives at its wintering site. That's a lot
of potentially wintering Westerns.

At Puget Sound sites (eg, Crockett Lake) currently less than 5% of the
Westerns are adults, and almost all of these are in worn alternate plumage.

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow