Just returned from 4 bird-ful days east of the passes. More later, but here are the ones that won?t stick around:
Bassett Park/Palouse Falls/Windust?had a little action, but the trees at Lyon?s Ferry are dripping warblers. Only six species observed in ~8 hours Sunday & Monday, but LOADS of Yellow and Wilson?s, fair numbers of butterbutts, a few Townsend?s and Nashvilles, and at least five MacGillivray?s. I had a once-in-a-lifetime view of three MacG?s working a low cloud of midges by hopping from the ground to snatch them out of the air, then immediately eyeing their next victims. Three of them bobbing for bugs in one binocular view! They, and representatives of each of the other five species, were seen on the trail leading northward out of the grassy beach area.
Also lots of empids: mostly Dusky, but a couple of Western-types, at least one Least, and a very possible Gray.
After a rather disappointing shorebird show at the County Line Ponds Saturday, I stopped by the very uninviting-looking catchment pond near the rest area at the 26/395 interchange. WOW! Twelve species of shorebird found in two visits, not including the large flock of Muddy-footed Shore-pigeons:
Killdeer 12
American Avocet 4
Black-necked Stilt 3
Red-necked Phalarope 3
Greater Yellowlegs 32(!)
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Dowitchers 7
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Baird?s Sandpiper 8
Western Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 5
The twelfth I want backup on. Six of the Dowitchers were unequivocally Long-billed. The seventh appeared to be a juvy Short-billed. It was patterned in rich rufous-browns, with largely pale, clean underparts , spotted, not barred, in all the right places. Much brighter coloration than I?ve seen in any Long-billed of that age. The bird looked very much like fig 82.13 in Paulson?s (excellent) Shorebirds of North America, except that the spotting on the sides of the breast was much neater, with a paler rufous/gray background color. Monday?s visit found three of the dowitchers gone, but the bird in question was still there.
Sure would be a nice Adams County bird?
?
jeff bryant
Seattle
jbryant_68 AT yahoo