Hello Tweets,

This afternoon/evening Jim Pruske and my mother and I again birded the McAllister Creek Trail between 4pm-7:30pm in search of shorebirds during the evening high tide. Conditions were again superb with excellent lighting,but shorebird diversity was much slower than yesterday as we walked the same route to the boardwalk along the McAllister Creek Trail. We did notice that both species of yellowlegs were in stable numbers while "peeps" were far more scattered compared to yesterday. The main bird of interest was a single juvenile SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER observed amongst a flock of 13 Long-billed Dowitchers in more extensive flooded areas,where it was heard several times before being viewed allowing great comparisons between the two species of dowitchers. This was a personal new species for us this fall at this inland location,so it was nice to see it as shorebird migration continues! We have encountered Short-billed Dowitchers in past years typically as singles or in small numbers anywhere along the Nisqually Delta,so perhaps the tide helped push the bird into the wetland areas. In addition we watched a juvenile Peregrine Falcon hunt over the wetland area south of the photo blind boardwalk,then perch atop a dead tree for a length of time before finally flying off again and continuing towards the Nisqually River. The falcon kept most of the shorebirds in the immediate area very nervous and jumpy throughout our visit,so it's presence definitely hindered shorebird viewing.

Our other two shorebird highlights of the evening included a single BAIRD'S SANDPIPER and 2 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS that were viewed on 3 occasions within the wetland area. Additional highlights noted during the evening included the following species:

7 juvenile Pied-billed Grebes
1 Am.Bittern
2 Green Herons
7 juvenile Wood Ducks
10 Green-winged Teal
2 Northern Pintails
3 Cinnamon Teal
10 Hooded Mergansers
1 immature Bald Eagle
1 Northern Harrier
1 Cooper's Hawk
9 Semipalmated Plovers
28 Greater Yellowlegs
14 Lesser Yellowlegs
1 Spotted Sandpiper
55+ Western Sandpipers
165+ Least Sandpipers
15 Long-billed Dowitchers
4 Wilson's Snipes
4-5 Mourning Doves
1 Pileated Woodpecker(heard calling along the forested hillside above McAllister Creek)
1 Western Wood Pewee
3 Purple Martins
7 Northern Rough-winged Swallows
3 Yellow Warblers



Good shorebirding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit513 at msn.com