Subject: [Tweeters] COASTAL birding 10-18
Date: Oct 19 10:45:54 2008
From: Ruth Sullivan - godwit513 at msn.com


Hello Tweeters,
I was all fired up from the experience finding the Boreal Owls close to
Horseshoe Lake thanks to my Son Patrick's prediction
The incoming tide was not to the afternoon,so I did not leave that early
trying to be at Bottle Beach at 1.00 PM
I took a quick stop at Mud Bay where the tide was high and the birds was
easy to find and seeing close.
Here are the birds I saw,75 Ring-billed Gulls,25 Greater Yellowlegs with two
Lesser,there was also 1 Herring Gull
I arrived at Bottle Beach at 12.30 and was so surprised the work was done to
finnish the project for making Bottle Beach more accessible.The main Parking
Lot is made before you coming to the extend entree,there is also already a
permanently toilet.The workway to the beach is all black topped. In late
afternoon I came back to check the trail close to the beach out, and close
to the end there is going to be a wooden platform to watch the birds on the
slew.All to the end there is another wooden platform for a view to the Ocean
side there also including benches.There also moved all the debris in to the
Waterside for more cover for the birds.All in all it's looking so good to
make our stay on Bottle beach more comfortable.
I was right on time having enough time looking to all the many Shorebirds
what was feeding
Here is what I found:Marbled Godwit 60,Black-bellied Plovers 300,Dunlins
coming in,150 ,both species of Dowitchers 35,Western Sandpipers 300,Least
Sandpipers 15,Sanderlings 15.Cackling Geese flying over 25.
The most Wigeon movement I ever saw stretching from left to right in long
line could I guessing at 5000 with 3 Eurasian with 2 males and 1 female.
There was no birds on Midway Beach and the big Canal is back where you can
not walk over to the beach,it also got so windy moving on to Tokeland.
There was only a small group of Marbled Godwit at the Marina,the big group
was on the Jetty,Large amount of Pelican 55 with lot's and lot's of
Heermann's Gulls and 6 Willet,Common Loons 2 Pacific Loon 1,There was all
the movement of all the many birds ,all went in the air and could not settle
down for a while,but in the end all the Marbled Godwit's settled down
together on the old boardwalk.But all was making extreme loud noise putting
there neck high up,this was going on for long time.Grave yard Spit had 15
Black-belied Plovers and 1 Dowitcher with again many Heerman's Gulls and
many Brown
Pelican.
At 4.00 PM I went back to Bottle Beach for checking out for birds on the
trail,here is what I found, Kingfisher 1,Song Sparrows 3,Golden -crowned
Sparrows 4, Bewick's Wren 1,from the wooden Deck overlooking the Slew I
could see 4 White-fronted Geese,but looking from the highway I counted
22.There was 3 birds much smaller with heavy barring,
suggesting the Tundra Subspecies.Acosta pond had 4 Greater Yellowlegs ,Wood
Duck female 1, and Mallards 5,

It was a great day to being out with great weather and many birds to count.

Cheers Ruth Sullivan