Hi Tweeters,

Those of you not on OBOL might be very interested in this possible/probable rarity in Oregon, see the pasted together messages below.

--- On Tue, 9/30/08, Scott Carpenter <slcarpenter at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Scott Carpenter <slcarpenter at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [obol] RBA: possible WOOD SANDPIPER at Fern Ridge - PHOTOS
> To: obol at oregonbirdwatch.org
> Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 10:47 AM
> You can view John Sullivan's photos online at:
> http://tinyurl.com/45s6ug
>
> If that does not work, you can also try:
> http://picasaweb.google.com/slcarpenter/WoodSandpiper?authkey=I49Bf_SWQmY#
>
> Scott Carpenter
> Portland
>
> On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 6:52 AM,
> <Oropendolas at aol.com> wrote:
> > Hello All,
> >
> > I am very nervous about this posting in case I'm
> wrong, but I am reasonably
> > sure there is a juvenile WOOD SANDPIPER in the Fisher
> Unit south of Royal
> > Avenue. It is in the south end of the pond east of the
> observation platform.
> > Walking south from the platform, about 2/3rds of the
> way down, the dike
> > makes a slight bend to the east, there are some bushes
> on the west side of
> > the dike and a grassy island on the east side where
> the water mostly
> > ends. The bird was on the east side of the dike just
> north of the grassy
> > island. At this point there are only small puddles
> between the dense
> > vegetation. The bird was there tonight from 6:00 PM
> until dark. Best light
> > at this location is in the afternoon.
> >
> > The bird looks a lot like a Solitary Sandpiper with a
> much thinner, less
> > conspicuous eye-ring and a strong supercilium, which
> is especially prominent
> > behind the eye. It is heavily spotted on the back. The
> primaries do not
> > extend beyond the tip of the tail as in yellowlegs.
> Primaries are even with
> > the tip of the tail. It is slightly smaller when
> directly compared to
> > Lesser Yellowlegs. The legs are fairly bright yellow
> but not quite as bright
> > as Yellowlegs. The bill appeared to be slightly
> heavier than the
> > yellowlegs. I got a very brief glimpse of the birds
> tail on a short flight.
> > I'm pretty sure it had a solid white rump. I saw
> a lot of white and I don't
> > think that the central tail feathers were dark. I
> stayed until dark hoping
> > to get a better look at the tail but it didn't fly
> again. Not getting a
> > better look at the tail is what's making me
> nervous about posting this
> > sighting, but I figure I'd better get this out
> there in case this really is
> > what I think it is.
> >
> > Lack of a prominent eye-ring was what first got my
> attention, but as I
> > watched, it's behavior just didn't seem very
> solitary-like. It was darting
> > around quite a bit, making long dashes after insects
> and bobbing it's tail
> > like a spotted sandpiper. National Geographic says
> solitary sandpiper often
> > bobs it's tail, but Dennis Paulson's
> Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest and
> > O'Brian, Crossley and Calson's Shorebird Guide
> says that solitary sandpipers
> > bob the front part of their body up and down, distinct
> from spotted
> > sandpipers habit of moving the rear part of it's
> body up and down.
> > I digiscoped several shots and got a 30 second video
> showing the distinct
> > tail bobbing.
> >
> > I'm positive this is not a yellowlegs by smaller
> size, which is evident in
> > the pictures, short primaries and behavior. I think
> the lack of a prominent
> > eye-ring, bold supercilium and possibly the tail
> bobbing should rule out
> > solitary sandpiper. I can't find any solitary
> photos on line that show a
> > supercilium like this bird has. I'm just not sure
> solitary can be ruled out
> > without a definitive tail description. The less likely
> green sandpiper which
> > more closely resembles solitary, should be less
> heavily spotted with olive
> > legs.
> >
> > I believe this is the same bird that I got a brief
> glimpse of and
> > posted last Friday 09-26, which I assumed was the same
> bird that
> > was previously reported as a solitary sandpiper on
> 09-19 from the same area.
> > I noticed the lack of a prominent eye-ring on Friday,
> but didn't see the
> > bird again, and passed it off as a poor look.
> >
> > I've sent photos out to several people, hopefully
> they will be posted soon.
> > If you read this post and the photos are not yet
> posted on-line, let me know
> > and I'll send them to you.
> >
> > Thank-you,
> >
> > John Sullivan
> > Springfield, Oregon
> >
> >
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> >
> >
> _______________________________________________
> obol mailing list
> obol at oregonbirdwatch.org
> http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obolHello All,

Here are more detailed directions to the place where the bird was yesterday.

The Fisher Unit is in the Southeast corner of the lake. To get there, take Royal Avenue west until it dead ends at the gate into Fern Ridge.
Walk in on Royal Avenue which is gravel at this point, continue west 100 yards or so on the gravel road to a road that branches off to the south. There is a sign posted here with permitted dates of entry. Turn south here (left) then make an immediate turn back to the west (right) and follow this road around as it curves back south to the viewing platform. The bird was on the east side of the dike that runs south from the platform. Continue south (straight ahead) past the platform maybe 200 yards. After a 5 minute walk the road makes a slight bend to the east (left), there are some bushes on the west (right) side and a grassy island on the east (left). This grassy island is pretty much the end of the water on the east (left) side, this is where the bird was. There are only small puddles of water between the dense vegetation here. There is much more water, and many more birds on the west side. I hope this will get you there.

Good Birding

John Sullivan
Springfield, Oregon


Kathy
Roosting in Kent, near Lake Meridian
(chukarbird at yahoo dot com)
Any driving directions contained within this message are given as a courtesy, beware, author is directionally challenged and will not vouch for them.