Hi Everyone--

This weekend 9/13-16 Marcia Marvin and I took a trip to Vancouver BC with a stop on the way north at Blaine and stops on the way south at Fir Island and Nisqually. At Semiahmoo Spit on 9/13 we found 11 young Harlequin Ducks sleeping next to the south end of the floating breakwater and 3 Mew Gulls off the west side of the spit. When do Mew Gulls usually arrive there? While in Canada, we visited Riefel refuge, Stanley Park, the Iona Island jetty, and the 34B Av pond south of Ladner. At Riefel on 9/14, we saw 2 Stilt Sandpipers and a Marbled Godwit, but few other shorebirds. On 9/15, Stanley Park had lots of migrant warblers of 5 species (nothing rare), and the Iona jetty had a Lapland Longspur; again, very few shorebirds. On 9/16, the 34B Av pond had a Pectoral Sandpiper (no ruffs or buffs). Back in the USA on 9/16, we saw 3 Buff-breasted Sandpipers in the empty dirt field along the east side of Maupin Rd just south of Rawlins Rd, and watched them fly southeast toward Fir Island Rd, but we couldn't relocate them. We didn't stay long at Nisqually, but a Turkey Vulture there 9/16 was of interest. Except for today, the weather was great, and even today was pretty tolerable.

My job moved from California to Colorado in August, and I'm enjoying a different set of local birds, but I'm glad to get back to the lush northwest whenever I can.

Mark Miller
Portland, OR/Longmont, CO

_________________________________________________________________
Gear up for Halo? 3 with free downloads and an exclusive offer. It?s our way of saying thanks for using Windows Live?.
http://gethalo3gear.com?ocid=SeptemberWLHalo3_WLHMTxt_2