Subject: Semipalmated Sandpiper near Belfair,Mason Co.
Date: Aug 15 18:54:54 2004
From: Ruth Sullivan - godwit at worldnet.att.net


Hello Tweets,

This afternoon my mother and I spent a few hours in Mason Co,specifically near Wood Lake in search of dragonflies. On our way home we stopped and checked for shorebirds at Belfair State Park(accessed off of S.R.300 southwest of the town of Belfair). Due to high tide conditions we immediately located a flock of 28 "peeps" foraging along the muddy edges of a small lagoon bordering Mission Creek near the picnic area. Within the flock of 6 Western Sandpipers and 22 Least Sandpipers was a single juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper, which was observed at very close range and our second personal Mason Co. record. A single Sharp-shinned Hawk was also observed at Belfair S.P earlier in the afternoon en route to Wood Lake. Our visit near Wood Lake was fairly productive for a few bird species,of which the main highlight was a single female Hermit Warbler that was brought in by a combination of imitating a Northern Pygmy Owl and "pishing". The bird was in a fairly concentration flock of passerines that were also agitated by the commotion,which contained 1 Orange-crowned Warbler,14 Black-throated Gray Warblers,1 female Townsend's Warbler, 2 Wilson's Warblers among a few other more common woodland species. Other species of note from this location included the following:

1 Great Blue Heron
14 Hooded Mergansers
4 Turkey Vultures
1 Osprey
1 Cooper's Hawk
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Belted Kingfisher
1 Hairy Woodpecker
3 female Purple Martins(observed calling and flying low overhead)
2 Hutton's Vireos
4 Purple Finches
15 Red Crossbills


Dragonflies:

Boreal Bluet
Northern Bluet
Tule Bluet
Emerald Spreadwing
California Darner
Lake Darner(female collected specimen for the first Mason Co. record)
Black-tipped Darner(male collected,which was a our primary goal of the day)
Common Green Darner
Variable Darner
Canada Darner
Blue-eyed Darner
Western Pondhawk
Eight-spotted Skimmer
Chalk-fronted Corporal
Common Whitetail
Blue Dasher
Saffron-winged Meadowhawk



Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net