Greetings, Tweeters,

A three-day eastern Washington trip ended for me today, one I will remember for a long time, due to Sunday morning. I arrived at Bassett Park in Washtucna at 7:00 a.m., after spending the night at a motel in Ritzville. Parking near the restrooms, I spotted 10 Wild Turkeys in the street just beyond the memorial bench for Patrick Sullivan. Randy Hill soon arrived, and he has already reported the significant finds. But I wanted to comment, that, in my brief time of chasing after birds wherever they are to be found, I have rarely encountered such a wonderful place as this was, in a couple of hours on an early September morning! Here are half a dozen or so trees, nicely spaced in a grassy park with a rill flowing through it, and most of the time, full of birds!

Larry and Jacque Goodhew arrived during this time with the news of the rare flycatcher in Windust, which became my next destination after leaving Washtucna. It took me a bit over an hour there to finally get great views of this wonderful find, mostly in the tree near the house

The rest of the weekend, while good, holds no significant finds to report. Now if only I could identify the sandpiper I saw this morning, foraging along the shoreline near the boat launch at Potholes State Park. My size estimate is 7-8 inches, with long bright yellow legs, though significantly smaller than a Lesser Yellowlegs. The dark back appeared mostly plain, with only the hint of a pattern, and it seemed more brown than gray. The dark eye, had white above it, but not a really distinct white eyebrow that I could tell. The tapered, fairly thin, dark bill, longer than the head front-to-back, curved downward slightly. The bird was white underneath from undertail coverts to throat, with only a hint of color at the side of the neck. The tail extended noticeably beyond the wing tips. The bird foraged quite actively, probing in dirt and around rocks along the water's edge, often with a jerky motion. I've looked at pictures, but haven't yet seen anything like it. If anyone can give me any ideas, please let me know.

Thanks to Randy, Larry, and Jacque for helping make my day, Sunday!

Regards to all,

Bill Boyington
Shoreline, WA

wrboyington at msn.com<mailto:wrboyington at msn.com>