I apologize for this tardy posting. My mom and I were
at Ridgefield NWR on Tuesday 9/13 and saw the
Buff-breasted Sandpiper. It was first spotted at
about 2pm by Joe Engler, one of the NWR employees who
pointed it out to me. Thanks Joe! It was visible
from 2pm until somewhat after 6pm when we left. We
returned on 9/15 and failed to relocate the bird. The
Buff-breasted was seen walking, feeding, sitting &
dozing, and briefly flying. It was at times well in
the open, and at times partly or totally obscured by
the grasses it was walking through. It was at grassy
edges in the still low water, Rest Lake, and was alone
except for an occasional duck that swam close, or a
Greater Yellowlegs that landed near by. When walking
or standing it stood quite erect, and the buffiness
made it stand out from the green of the grasses. It
was seen from between the 2 turnouts on Southeasterly
side of Rest Lake across from and S of the newly
rebuilt blind. We watched from a distance of between
120 and 200 yards, though the scope allowed for good
light and seeing of field marks. I talked to the
volunteer on Thursday, and it had not been reported
since Tuesday. There is so much wet edged grassy area
both in Rest Lake and elsewhere on the refuge, that
the Buff-breasted Sandpiper could remain on the refuge
and be unseen.

bill clemons
SW of Portland in Mtn Park
willclemons at yahoo.com


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com