Tweets, Monday I birded a few spots at the coast. Overall shorebird numbers
seemed meager and I was feeling bummed that all the "good" birds had headed
south without my permission--until evening when I finally found the
Buff-breasted Sandpipers. The flock of 16 birds, including a Ruff, was the
largest I encountered all day (except for godwits at Tokeland). At Oyhut
Game Range behind the Ocean Shores STP I transected the salicornia marsh
well beyond the pond and scanned toward the Tonquin access but saw nothing
of interest. As I was leaving a golden plover sounded off across the
channel, and as I was trying to locate it a suspicious looking small flock
rose and landed again in the distance. The chase was on. I crossed the
channel at low tide at its "downstream" end where it widens and was only
calf-high. (I was prepared with appropriate footwear, thanks to previous
tweeters posts.) The birds were extremely skittish and unapproachable, but
consistently kept to the edge of the salicornia where it borders an
extensive stretch of clear, sandy ground devoid of vegetation, stones or
shells. By stationing myself closer to this edge eventually the flock landed
and foraged right in front of me. As sundown approached more birds turned up
along the mudflats, including a Peregrine. Highlights:
BRADY
- 19 Turkey Vultures ~10:45am
BOTTLE BEACH ~11:30, 2 hrs(?) before high tide
- Dead
MIDWAY BEACH
- 7 Turkey Vultures
- 2 Lapland Longspur feeding in the open in the moist area ~1/4 north
- 5 Horned Lark
- 1 Pectoral Sndpr, same spot
- UIDed flock of 7 shorebirds with one "oddball", too skittish to view,
pursued north and south
- No Snowy Plover, but on my second visit I might have flushed two north of
the road (heard only, seen too late) but were probably Semi-palmated
TOKELAND-GRAVEYARD SPIT at high tide - 1:15pm
- Nothing
TOKELAND-MARINA - 1:30-2:30pm
- Scads of Marbled Godwits (on the jetty, too much crabber activity around
the docks)
- ~10 dowitchers (probably Short-billed by voice) and a few Greater
Yellowlegs
- Around 10 Willets
BACK TO MIDWAY BEACH ~3:00pm
OCEAN SHORES-OYHUT GAME RANGE ~5:30-7:30pm
- 15 Buff-breasted Sndprs
- 1 Ruff
- 1 American Golden-Plover (by voice)
- 1 possible Pacific Golden-Plover (by voice)
- (appeared to be possibly up to 6 golden plovers flying around the area,
but they were far away and keeping pretty quiet)
- 3-4 Baird's Sndprs
- 1 Long-billed Dowitcher
- 1 Whimbrel
- 1 Peregrine Falcon
- 1 Osprey

A TENNESSEE WARBLER was reported to me by Mark Stackhouse, Westwings Tours
owner/leader from Salt Lake City, observed 10am Monday in Tokeland at the
edge of the marina campground. His 10-day tour in Tweeterdom yielded around
175 species if I recall correctly.

Good birding!
Paul Hicks, Tenino, s. Thurston Co
phicks AT accessgrace.org