Hi Tim:
Great msg. I was down there on Sun, July 18 in the afternoon. I could not find a viewing spot because of the tall weeds. I even walked most of the Interurb. trail looking for a spot.
Did you walk in from the 2nd pullout on M St? (I did not because I got harrassed by a coyote there in mid-summer one year.)
Anyway, I'll go back w/ my scope, if you can tell me if you viewed the big pond, and from where.
Thanks a lot.
Yours, Carol Schulz


From: Tim Brennan
Sent: Saturday, July 17, 2010 12:11 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] Shorebirds at M Street Ponds


Hey Tweets,

Found a lot of shorebird-less areas in South King county before finally hitting the jackpot. The M Street Ponds in Auburn were quite active.

For sure: Least and Western Sandpipers, Long Billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs and Killdeer.

Pretty sure: Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper.

Quite Maybe: Short-billed Dowitcher - a good bit of white on belly and flanks, right kind of facial markings, and tail feathers that showed mostly white with black bars, rather than black with white bars - would love to have someone take a look. There were only two Dowitchers out there, fairly close to the shore of the ponds, and they were quite different in appearance.

??? A shorebird with a brown back and dark belly. Not a dunlin - this was black barring from the best I could tell, rather than a flat dark belly. The white of the flanks stood out quite a bit between the brown wings and dark belly. This one was always too far off to get a good look. Similar in size and habit to the Killdeer out there.

-Tim Brennan
Renton