Subject: [Tweeters] Semipalmated Sandpiper - Longview
Date: Jul 27 21:45:43 2008
From: washingtonbirder.Knittle - washingtonbirder at hotmail.com



Sunday morning I stopped by the Mint Farm mitigation Ponds in Longview to look for Russell Koppendrayer's 1'st Cowlitz County record of a Semipalmated Sandpiper. Russell and Tom Finn were already out there. We checked out a lot of ponds, but came up empty as far as finding the Semi. We did find 1 Baird's Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, and 2 Long-billed Dowitchers, plus to ever-present Spotted Sandpipers and Killdeer. One yellowleg was giving an alarm call much like that of a Red-shouldered Hawk's alarm call. Sounded weird. Also a dryland-Marsh Wren singing away in tall grass and no water anywhere around.

Sunday pm between 7 and 8:30 I did refind the Semipalmated Sandpiper with 3 Least Sandpipers and 1 Baird's Sandpiper at the pond just east of the two main ponds where the shorebirds usually are. The light is perfect in late afternoon with the sun behind you while you are looking northeast over the ponds. Just about all species of swallows in small numbers were present, except for Purple Martin and N. Rough-winged. I wondered where the Bank Swallows were coming from as I have seen them here earlier. Vaux's Swifts are common here too with breeding perhaps in a chimney somewhere.

These ponds have lots of potential as fall migration continues to pick up.
Ken KnittleVancouver WA 98665 mailto:washingtonbirder at hotmail.com Washington Birder online http://www.wabirder.com/