Subject: Oyhut Game Refuge: Golden-Plovers, Pomarine Jaeger
Date: Sep 7 08:22:42 2004
From: Marcus.D.Roening at gsk.com - Marcus.D.Roening at gsk.com


Hi Tweets,

On Sunday, September 5, Heather and I traversed the Oyhut Game Refuge in
Ocean Shores from the Salicornia marshes to the high dry dunes. The
highlights on the dunes were:

Pacific Golden-Plovers: 6 adults still with outlines of breeding plumage
and 9 juveniles
American Golden-Plover: 1 juvenile
The closest access point to these birds would be the radar tower off
of Tonquin road.

Resting! on the wet sand in the middle of the refuge:

Pomarine Jaeger: adult light morph
Heather and I have seen Pomarines on pelagic trips before, but this
was definitely our first experience of having a full scope view of an adult
bird that wasn't rocking in the swells of the Pacific Ocean. The bird was
even kind enough to preen ,showing off strongly black and white barred
rump, dark cap on the head, wide & dark chest band, large white patches in
the primaries and 2 spoons sticking out about 3 inches. Definitely a
highlight of our trip.

A personal high count of 50 Black-capped Chickadees at the Tonquin road
access. The birds were positively draped all over the Myrtle bushes.

2 Wandering Tattlers along the Ocean Shores jetty about 4 houses west of
the Sewage treatment plant.



On Monday, September 6th, we stopped off at Johns River WRA on the way home
and relocated the juvenile Ruff that Ruth & Patrick Sullivan had found
earlier, along with 6 Pectoral & 2 Spotted Sandpipers, 8 Greater and 3
Lesser Yellowlegs and 20 Least Sandpipers.

Good Birding,

Marcus Roening
Tacoma, WA
marcus.d.roening at gsk.com