We were at the Game Range several hours before Ollie & missed the the
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Apparently the Game Range Shorebirds do not arrive
until after high tide. We were there at 2 pm and there were only 2 Greater
Yellowlegs. More shorebirds didn't start to arrive until about 2:30 -- approx
low tide at La Conner. When we left at about 3 there were flocks of Lesser
Yellowlegs -- about 30 birds, more than I've ever seen in one spot --, maybe 20
LB Dowitcheers, and about 5 Greater Yellowlegs. Same species at Pond 2 on the
way out. We heard but never saw the Black Phoebe. We also heard but never saw
what sounded like at Cassin's Vireo near teh parking area..

RCC

Richard Carlson
Full-time Birder, Biker and Rotarian
Part-time Economist
Tucson, AZ, Lake Tahoe, CA, & Kirkland, WA
rccarl at pacbell.net
Tucson 520-760-4935
Tahoe 530-581-0624
Kirkland 425-828-3819
Cell 650-280-2965




________________________________
From: Grace and Ollie Oliver <grace.ollie at verizon.net>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Sun, September 12, 2010 11:13:18 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit Co Game Range - Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and Black
Phoebe still there


Tweeters,
We arrived at Game Range about 4:30pm this evening and as we were walking around
the pond between both parking areas the Black Phoebe made an appearance. It was
hawking from a small branchy bush near the corner closest to entrance road drive
in.

We birded slowly out to pond 4 arriving about 5:15pm. The Sharp-tailed
Sandpiper was found about 6:30pm. It tends to forage in the grasses and was
with Dowitchers when found and flushed with that flock several times moving
around the pond. At one point it was near 2 Pectoral Sandpipers for a nice
comparison.

Additional shorebirds were a lot of Greater Yellowlegs, a few Lesser Yellowlegs,
many LB Dowitchers, at least 1 SB Dowitcher juv., a few Black-bellied Plovers, a
Wilson?s Snipe, Killdeer, a large flock of Western Sandpipers and at least 1
Least Sandpiper.

Good birding,
Grace and Ollie Oliver
Redmond, WA