Hi Tweeters,

Well, the coast is the place to be for you phalaropephiles. After a short day at work, I headed out to the coast to enjoy the shorebird spectacle while they are still migrating through. Here are some of the highlights:

I arrived at Midway Beach (which is marked by new road signs) at 2:00. The beach was still cut off from the road by a lot of water. I drove as far as I could and when I got out of the car I could hear dozens of peeping calls. The water was full of Red-necked Phalaropes. I counted just over 100, but I'm certain that there were more that were out of sight as they kept flying in from areas that were hidden from my view. In addition to the phalaropes, I counted 80+ Marbled Godwits, 300+ (and probably a lot more) Greater White-fronted Geese, and lots of Dunlin with a scattering of W. Sandpipers and Killdeer. I had the beach to myself and it was very peaceful just listening to all of the species of birds calling back and forth.

Grave Yard Spit in Tokeland: 25+ Marbled Godwits, 1 Whimbrel, a small flock of Bonaparte's Gulls, several Caspian Terns, and 1 Bald Eagle.

Tokeland Marina: 300+ Brant, 7 Common Loons (there were probably more, but I was mostly scanning the shorelines), numerous Marbled Godwits, a huge flock of distant peeps, 2 Red-necked Phalaropes, 20 or so Ruddy Turnstones mixed with 5 Black Turnstones, Dunlin mixed with Short-billed (I think) Dowitchers.

Westport: I stopped counting Red-necked Phalaropes when I hit 50. Unlike the large flock at Midway Beach, these were mostly paired up or at most in groups of 5 or 6. The cool thing was that when I walked down the floating dock in the far corner of the marina so that I level with the water, if I stood still, they would swim to within just a few feet from me. I have never been so close to a phalarope before. They look tiny from such a close range. When I continued on and looked out over the open water, I saw 20+ common loons scattered about. There was 1 Commun Murre also.

I timed Bottle Beach for high tide. When I arrived, the water was close enough that I didn't even have to leave the end of the path for great views (plus I didn't want to scare any of the peeps into flight). There were 1000s of Dunlin and W. Sandpiper up and down the beach. I didn't count, but there had to have been more than 30 Ruddy Turnstones (they have a really funny call). I counted 40+ Red Knots (and there were probably more), 5 Whimbrel, a large number of Black-bellied Plovers and Dowtchers (the ones that I attempted to ID were probably Short-billed, but I am admittedly dowitcher challenged), 5 or 6 Semi-palmated Plovers, 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, and 2 Bald Eagles. I could clearly hear the birds well before the beach came into view. Looking out over the creek to the right as one walks to the beach, I spotted 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 1 Spotted Sandpiper, and a handful of W. Sandpipers. An otter also came up to where I stood without noticing me.

During the whole afternoon, I only encountered 1 other birder; it was a perfect time to be at the coast.

Lonnie Somer
Olympia, WA
wheelermombi at comcast.net