Tweeters,

On Tuesday, October 9, I paid a brief late-afternoon visit to the tip of
Sandy Point, west of Ferndale in Whatcom Co. The highlights were 10
SURFBIRDS (with 40 BLACK TURNSTONES), 22 LAPLAND LONGSPURS, 3 WESTERN
MEADOWLARKS, and at least 30 HEERMANN'S GULLS.

I initially flushed a flock of 7 longspurs from the grassy area near the tip
of the point. They headed northward as if they were not coming back.
However, they must have gone for reinforcements and come back unobserved,
because as I was about to leave, I flushed a flock of 22 from the same area
where the original flock of 7 had been. This is a good-sized flock of
longspurs for Whatcom County.

The SURFBIRDS were also a treat to see; this is only about my second or
third sighting in Whatcom County. They were sitting on the rocks on the
south side of the marina entrance throughout my visit, and appeared to be
asleep most of the time.

We may not have access to the Lummi aquaculture dike any more, but the tip
of Sandy Point is accessible, and has some of the same bird species that one
might expect on the dike.

Good luck and good birding to all.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net





-----Original Message-----
From: contopus at telus.net [mailto:contopus at telus.net]
Sent: October-13-07 1:16 PM
To: contopus at telus.net
Subject: Sandy Point, Whatcom County, Washington on October 09, 2007

This report was mailed for Wayne Weber by http://birdnotes.net

Date: October 9, 2007
Location: Sandy Point, Whatcom County, Washington

Low temperature: 55 degrees Fahrenheit High temperature: 55 degrees
Fahrenheit
Wind direction: Variable
Prevailing wind speed: 1-5 km/h
Percentage of sky covered by clouds: 100%
Precipitation: none

Most of my time was spent at the tip of Sandy Point. The tide was
high, probably accounting for the number and variety of shorebirds
seen.


In addition to the birds, a PACIFIC CHORUS FROG was heard croaking.



Birds seen (in taxonomic order):

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 10
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) 20
White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca) 2
Common Loon (Gavia immer) 4
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) 15
Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) 6
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) 3
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 25
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) 20
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 5
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) 40
Surfbird (Aphriza virgata) 10 [1]
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) 2
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) 4
Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia) 3
Heermann's Gull (Larus heermanni) 30 [2]
Mew Gull (Larus canus) 1
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) 150
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 6
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 10
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 2
Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) 22 [3]
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 5
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 3 [4]
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) 30
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 6

Footnotes:

[1] SURFBIRD-- 10 birds, mixed with turnstones, on rocks at the
marina entrance. Rare in Whatcom Co., and my first at this
location
[2] HEERMANN'S GULL-- Most of these were perched on rocks near the
marina entrance. A good number.
[3] LAPLAND LONGSPUR-- Flock of 7 took off from grass near tip of
the point, left, then presumably came back with more birds;
flock of 22 flushed from the same area later. A high count for
this species!
[4] W. MEADOWLARK-- Three birds flushed repeatedly from grass near
the tip of the point.

Total number of species seen: 28