11:43am start - water level low with all mudflats visible; tide still outgoing, but close to "low"
12:32pm

Tweeters,
Overcast on the river, lower temp, and lots of "cool" (for me) birds feeding. The three biggest highlights: Seven WESTERN SANDPIPERS, incl. 5 juv; a lone LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER; and one SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER. Also in with this group were five LEAST SANDPIPERS. The Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers were new species for me at Turning Basin #3. Side-by-side comparison of all three peeps (or stints) was very easy. The reddish scapulars and longer bill, with finer tip, of the juv WESA were very noticeable compared with the much plainer scapulars and shorter, blunter bill of the juv SESA. I scoped everything closely, and was exceptionally lucky when three of the WESA, the SESA, and the dowitcher all flew to the mudflat immediately below and to my right. FANTASTIC!

At least it was fantastic until a yellowjacket stung me on the knuckle of my index finger. Then, it felt as if an insect (another or the same yellowjacket?) flew up under my Hawaiian shirt so I ripped my shirt off. You don't often see a middle-aged, slightly overweight man dancing around topless in a Boeing parking lot. Not a pretty sight!

Birds seen during this scan include the following:
Canada Goose (3)
Mallard (22)
Great Blue Heron
Osprey (4; one on the east power tower, and three circling above the Oxbow parking lot. Earlier this morning, another birder photographed one of the Oxbow Ospreys with a large stick on a light standard. This light-fixture is further north than the one previously used a few weeks ago.)
Killdeer (11)
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper (7)
Least Sandpiper (5)
Long-billed Dowitcher
Glaucous-winged Gull (13; one working on a dead salmon)
Rock Pigeon (21)
Belted Kingfisher
American Crow (17)
European Starling (500-750; working the blackberries and mudflats)
House Finch (2)

May all your birds be identified,

Denis DeSilvis
Seattle, WA
mailto:denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com