I visited Bottle Beach and Westport during the morning hours today. At Bottle Beach, I was about 3 hours after high tide so the water was out a little, but I still had some close encounters with big flocks of Dunlin flying by me. Also, there were a few Black-bellied Plovers scattered about on the beach. A scan of the short pilings on the beach yielded a beautiful Peregrine Falcon that was feasting on its recent catch. The trail to the beach was busy with singing Marsh Wren and Bewick's Wren.

In Westport, I visited the jetty and walked around the marina a bit. I scrambled out about halfway out on the jetty in search of rock shorebirds, but didn't have any luck. I did get some nice looks at Surf Scoters and Pelagic Comorants swimming next to the jetty. Also, I scoped the waters at the end of the jetty which yielded two Long-tailed Ducks amidst a sizable flock of Surf Scoters. There were also a few breeding-plumaged Pigeon Guillemots towards the end of the jetty.

Walking out the docks towards the fishing pier in the marina allowed awesome looks at several very close Common Loons and Pelagic Comorants. I did note one Pelagic Comorant with its white patches coming in. At the end of the fishing pier, I got excited because I spied a single shorebird on the rocks below. It disappeared by the time I got close enough to check it out, but then it flew back in. Weird as it seems, it was a Least Sandpiper all by itself on the rocks.

It was a nice day! I'm looking forward to the big shorebird migration!

Good birding,

Tim O'Brien
Elma, WA
mailto: kertim7179 at yahoo.com



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