Hello again Tweeters,

I drove down to the Thomas Ponds this afternoon to see if I could get
one more look at the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and arrived just after
4pm.....the light was perfect for birding the wetland area at this
time and I was the only one there.

Almost immediately I spotted a group of sandpipers to the right side
of the pond, and upon closer look with a scope I could easily make out
the two Sharp-tailed Sandpipers out in front of a group of about 4
Pectorals, with 9 Dowitchers nearby. The group remained in good light
for 10 minutes, then flew to the left to an area on the near bank they
seem to like. I moved to the right and got more good looks comparing
Pectorals with Sharp-taileds. The field marks were very distinct and
this time I could make out the eye ring on the Sharp-taileds and
really see the buffy breast with a lack of streaking in the center. I
was in the middle of showing the birds to another birder when the
group of sandpipers became startled and actually tried to dive under
the water! I looked up and a Peregrine Falcon was flying low over my
head straight at the group. As it banked over the birds several
Dowitchers and Wilson's Snipe flushed and the Peregrine dove straight
at the water and almost got one, pulling out of its dive just inches
over the water's surface. The Pectorals/Sharp-taileds took off
towards the grass to the right and disappeared while the Peregrine
flew off and perched on a far electrical tower. All the birds were
noticeably shaken and things were quiet from about 430PM-450PM.

Just before 5 a very dark juvenile Red-tailed Hawk flew over the pond
and the resident Northern Harrier began to chase it. As the two
raptors flew low over the grass, the group of sandpipers lifted off
and took off over the 167 heading northwest. I decided I would wait
until sunset and see if they came back, and Igor Uhrovic and I staked
out the spot. During the next hour I observed 9 Dowitchers moving
around here and there, 4 Wilson's Snipe, a fairly large group of
Mallards, 1 Pied-billed Grebe, 3 very vocal Killdeer, two Yellowlegs
(also vocal), repeated Northern Harrier fly-bys, a Great Blue Heron,
and a large groups of Starlings, Brewer's Blackbirds, and the
occasional Red-winged Blackbird. Also just around 6pm I saw three
large groups of Cackling Geese fly over, the first was well over 200
birds and the second and third were each about 100.

Soon we were joined by Randy Bjorklund who waited with us for a while
but left before the Sandpipers returned (luckily he already has had
great looks at them). At 5:55pm just as the light was fading a group
of shorebirds flew in along with several blackbirds/starlings and
landed out of sight behind a bend on the right side of the pond.
After a few minutes the first of the group peeked out on this side of
the reeds and sure enough there were the two Sharp-taileds followed by
the Pectorals. They then flew right out to the spit of mud in plain
view and gave Igor and I (and one other fellow whose name I didn't
catch) great looks for about 10 minutes.

I have noticed after two observations of these birds that the Sharp-
taileds often seem to be leading the group of Pectorals around, which
is interesting. Igor and I also thought we could tell that one of the
Sharp-taileds appeared brighter in plumage than the other, with a
bolder rufous crown and a creamier buff on the breast, almost like the
bird were dipped upside down into a buff dye to mid-breast. I left
when the birds moved off into the taller grass and they were actively
foraging when I last saw them.

My looks at the Sharp-taileds were fantastic today and I'm really glad
I made the trip back to see them one more time with a scope. Good
luck to anyone else trying for them!

-Nathaniel Peters
ncpeters at uw.edu