Hello Tweets,NW Inlanders,and OBOLers

The alternate-plumaged Red-necked Stint made another nice showing today at the Three Crabs waterfront shoreline near Dungeness between 9:30am-12:20pm(in Washington State). The bird was observed by approximately 35 birders off and on during that period,as it would occasionally fly off then return faithfully to one specific area of the exposed mudflats along an area near the mouth of a creek. It flew off and returned on at least 3 occasions with not being gone longer than 10-15 minutes,but it really favored one specific area for feeding and remained quite active,but also made time for preening and bathing too.The bird again foraged mainly alone during the entire observation and near the end of it's appearance kept close to the company of Canada Geese as the tide moved in more. At 12:20pm the bird flew off with a small flock of Western Sandpipers to an unknown location,but may return to this area tomorrow. On a least one occasion the bird made a nice relative comparison on the mudflats with a few Western Sandpipers and Sanderlings,where it was clearly smaller and much brighter! This was day number 3 for this bird,so hopefully it will make another nice showing tomorrow! Western and Least Sandpiper flocks remained very scattered,but seemed more increased today than yesterday along with the presence of mingled Sanderlings too.

A few other highlights encountered during our visit while watching the Red-necked Stint at Three Crabs included the following:

2 Pacific Loons
5 White-winged Scoters(with scattered numbers of Surf Scoters present in Dungeness Bay)
1 female Harlequin Duck
4-5 Turkey Vultures
8+ Bald Eagles
4 Northern Harriers
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
2 Peregrine Falcons
320+ Black-bellied Plovers
25+ Semipalmated Plovers
9 Greater Yellowlegs
2-3 Marbled Godwits
2 Ruddy Turnstones
30+ Short-billed Dowitchers
7-8 Long-billed Dowitchers
1 Tufted Puffin(observed flying inside Dungeness Bay,then landing in the water within a large gull flock)
15+ Purple Martins
1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow



Good birding,

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