Tweets,



Nancy and I did the grand tour of the coast from Ocean Shores Friday, with
Westport as base Saturday and Sunday, Tokeland, Midway Beach, Bottle Beach
Saturday, then Hoquiam, Ocean Shores (Damon Point), north to La Push in the
torrential rain Sunday, then Ediz Hook, Dungeness, Pt. Townsend, Swantown,
and Pt. Susan Bay Monday. We missed several of the goodies others reported
but enjoyed the stimulating weather.



In addition to the Bar-tailed at Tokeland we saw two BUFF-BREASTED
SANDPIPERS at Midway Beach with one PECTORAL and one BAIRD'S, but no Snowy
Plover nor golden plovers anywhere. Two juvenile RED KNOTS at Bottle Beach
on the rising tide Saturday. Friday evening we had dinner at the Islander at
the Westport Marina and were able to enjoy the BROWN PELICAN spectacle as
string after string of 50 to 100 birds flew in from the south over the
marina and on to wherever they roost. This continued for at least an hour.
Must have been 2000 of more all told. Sunday we hiked what is left of Damon
Point nearly all around (it is likely to soon become an island) into a stiff
wind. Not much to see except for swarms of WESTERN SANDPIPERS moving
southeast along the beach. Two of these flocks hunkered down on the sand out
of the wind must have include 50,000 birds or more. Altogether perhaps
200,000 moved through in less than an hour. Curiously, the vast majority
were in basic plumage, perhaps a late movement of adults or 1st winter
birds???



On Ediz Hook we located a single flock of ca. 50 Black-bellied Plovers with
some Black Turnstones. There was a single somewhat smaller plover with the
flock, clearly more neatly patterned, slightly buffy, and smaller billed.
Aha! I thought. Finally, a golden plover. But then the flock flew and all
showed black armpits. So it was just a juvenile amongst all the variously
plumaged adult Black-bellieds. I suspect it was the only juvenile
Black-bellied we'd seen all weekend. At the Dungeness River mouth Monday
there were three MARBLED GODWITS, three RED KNOTS, and two PECTORAL
SANDPIPERS. At the Pt. Townsend ferry dock there was a very noisy flock of
over 200 Black Turnstones with maybe 20 Surfbirds, many adults still in
fading alternate plumage. We also had a single Surfbird the previous
Saturday with the godwits at Tokeland.



No offshore movements and very little land bird movement where we were. No
Common Terns this year at all. Have they disappeared?



Gene Hunn

Lake Forest Park, WA

enhunn323 at comcast.net