Rule one: When you look at the tide tables. make sure it is for the
correct day. Having entered the wrong date in my search I got to Bottle
Beach yesterday at very low tide and so had to bide time for many hours
until incoming high tide in the afternoon. There were several hundred
surfers and friends at the Westport Jetty but very, very few birds. But
fortunately the wait was worth it as the hundreds of photogenic and
photo-friendly RED KNOTS showed up with a lot of shorebird friends.
Quite a show. WESTERN and LEAST SANDPIPERS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, BLACK
BELLIED and PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVERS, SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, SHORT BILLED
DOWITCHERS, WHIMBREL, DUNLIN (hundreds), and the one big surprise...a
single WILLET. Since the birding during the "wait" was pretty weak, I
stopped at the Fill on the way home and was treated to no green winged
or cinnamon teal but three blue winged teal and as I was returning to my
car a single SWAINSON'S THRUSH flew across Wahkiakum and landed on the
ground just long enough for a great look but not long enough for me to
get the camera on and focused.