Hello All,
Today I had a few highlights out at the coast. I started at the Hoquiam STP,
where I tallied at least 120 Yellow Warblers. I did not have any unusual
passerines, but there was a good push of "winter" birds including Ruby-crowned
Kinglet, and Fox, Lincoln's, and Golden-crowned sparrows. The two Redheads
remained in the STP.
At the Ocean Shores Game Range I walked from the sewage ponds and birded the
salicornia flats along with several other birders who were out there. I had 7
Lapland Longspurs, 1 American Golden-Plover, 8 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and 1
Ruff, presumably the one found by Penny Koyama on Sunday. I managed to get some
good digiscoped photos of the Ruff as it foraged in the salicornia very close.
I headed down the coast, stopping at Bottle Beach where the tide was too high
for shorebirds. All the way down at Tokeland, as I scanned through the godwits
on the jetty, a nice Palm Warbler popped up and landed on a log 4 feet from me,
where it stood and pumped its tail for almost a minute.
I birded Midway Beach quite thoroughly, but was not able to locate any
Buff-breasted Sandpipers, so they may have headed out.
Cheers,
Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, WA