Hello Tweets and other birders,

Today my mother and I enjoyed a very rewarding day at Ocean that was exceptionally exciting with many highlights including the following listed below with further details along with photographs to be posted later of the main highlights:

1 juvenile Ruff observed and photographed between 1pm-2pm at the Oyhut Wildlife Area just north of the Snowy Plover nesting area(accessed from the Ocean Shores STP and north of the fluorescent orange navigation tower). The bird was initially observed amongst a small flock of Green-winged Teal and 2 Lesser yellowlegs,in which the entire flock flushed and scattered with the Ruff and 2 Lesser Yellowlegs flying out into a flooded portion of Salicornia. The Ruff was quickly pursued at a safe distance,where photographs were obtained as it loosely foraged with the 2 Lesser Yellowlegs until a Peregrine Falcon flew in from an unknown direction and flushed the Ruff and all the surrounding shorebirds. The Ruff was later observed along a deep canal within the Salicornia in the general vicinity than we originally observed the bird. The bird overall was very bright rufous on the upperparts extending from the white belly to the face bordered by a dark crown,which all contrasted to a rather scaly back pattern. In flight the obvious U-shaped rump was well observed on several occasions and the bird in overall size was slightly larger than the nearby Lesser Yellowlegs.

2 juvenile Buff-breasted Sandpipers between 3pm-4pm at Catala Spit(Damon Point)observed and photographed together,as well as alone. The birds were first observed from the sandy,driftwood-covered tip of Catala Spit until they flew inland and joined a flock of 8 golden plovers that consisted of 8 Pacific Golden Plovers(3 adults in alternate plumage and 5 juveniles)and 1 Am.Golden Plover(adult in alternate plumage). The birds were relocated in a drier portion of beach dunes just west of Catala Spit,but the entire flock of birds remained very nervous and cautious and eventually flew to another portion of shorter vegetated dunes,where they remained until we left the location. The Buff-breasted Sandpipers mainly foraged alone at times very close,but were definitely worth the effort seeing after making the effort to walk to Catala Spit from the parking lot at Damon Point.

5 Baird's Sandpipers(along the northern sandy shoreline bordering Damon Point from North Bay)at Damon Point.

1 Great Egret first observed along Marine View Drive at the Oyhut Wildlife Area(across from the large cement water tower)at 12:30pm,then again at the Damon Point"pond" at 4pm until it flew towards the Oyhut Wildlife Area after being flushed by beachcombers.

43 Long-billed Curlews at Bill's Spit at 12pm during incoming tide,which is always a highlight to see at Ocean Shores.

large,impressive flocks of Western Sandpipers observed between 1pm-2pm within the Snowy Plover nesting area at the Oyhut Wildlife Area(accessed from the Ocean Shores STP)during high tide with approximately 12,000+ birds observed during our initial visit. The flocks were massive especially within such a limited area,as we approached the Snowy Plover nesting area,as we walked north of the navigation tower. We were impressed at the "peep" flocks swirled around and around with large"carpets" eventually landing on portion of the open sandy areas and was our personal first time encountering such large numbers of "peeps" at this location. The Western Sandpipers consisted entirely of juvenile birds with small numbers of Least sandpipers also present in some of the groups.

7,500+ Double-crested Cormorants observed from Bill's Spit at an offshore sand"island",which was a noteworthy numbers for the location eventhough we have encountered large groups during fall migration of this species in past years from the nearby Oyhut Wildlife Area.



As mention previously we had a rewarding day at Oceans Shores with a successful attempt for Buff-breasted Sandpipers! The weather was great with very little winds,but of course spent the majority of the time on foot. We didn't make a stop at the Ocean Shores Jetty due to lack of time,but seemingly enjoyed checking all the areas we visited. The ocean beaches between Driftwood Drive and Marine View Drive weren't as productive as it past visits and upon walking immediately north of Driftwood Drive encountered up to 15 dead gulls at various distances apart from one another,which was very disturbing. We have personally never encountered this many dead gulls at this location(or anywhere for that matter)within such a limited area. The area is sectioned off and posted as a NO vehicle area until Labor Day so we kept wondering due to vehicle and dog tracks observed it was caused by humans along with the vast area of feathers that were spread out all along the open upper beaches. Perhaps there is an explanation for all this and we managed to locate only 1 dead Common Murre,as we continued further to Marine View Drive.

Other highlights noted from Ocean Shores included the following

Turkey Vulture
1 at the Oyhut Wildlife Area

Northern Harrier
3 at the Oyhut Wildlife Area

Peregrine Falcon
1 at the Oyhut Wildlife Area
1 at Damon Point

Black-bellied Plover
57 along the ocean beaches between Driftwood Drive and Marine View Drive

Semipalmated Plovers
1 at the Oyhut Wildlife Area
18 at Damon Point

Greater Yellowlegs
4 at the Oyhut Wildlife Area(with 4 Lesser Yellowlegs)

Whimbrel
4 at the Oyhut Wildlife Area

Short-billed Dowitcher
12 at Bill's Spit
7 along the ocean beaches between Driftwood Drive and Marine View Drive

Red-necked Phalarope
9 at the Oyhut Wildlife Area


Earlier in the day we made a short stop at the Hoquiam STP at 11:15am and observed the following highlights:

3 Greater Scaup
8 Red-necked Phalaropes
1 juvenile Bonaparte's Gull
5 Black Swifts
12 Vaux's Swifts



Good birding,

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