Subject: [Tweeters] Murmur's, Peep's, and Thunder
Date: Jul 15 05:30:16 2012
From: jeff gibson - gibsondesign at msn.com








About noon till noon-thirty on Friday the 13th, I hung out on the Everett waterfront, watching the mudflats along W. Marine View Drive. I'd caught the incoming tide just right to see about 8 Whimbrel's out there. In a shorebird contrast, the flats also hosted around 300+ Western Sandpipers, which seemed particularly puny next to the big brown Whimbrel's; seen through the naked eye, they looked like a swarm of ants on the mudflat picnic ground.

As I watched the sandpipers flocking and flying about, a smaller group of about 100 birds broke off and circled around the flats in their tight whirling fashion. They were then joined by about 25 Starlings coming in from another direction, the Starlings matching the smaller birds moves perfectly. Sort of a little salt-and-pepper murmuration - the Starlings soon separated and continued on in their own flock. There was too much noise by the road the hear the murmuring of tiny wings, but at least I saw a murmur.

Nope, didn't hear a murmur from those peeps, but as the tide came in closer I could hear all the peeping. The Whimbrel's took off, with their loud call, heading out to Jetty Island, as did 5 calling Killdeer.

In another exciting episode of "absence makes the heart grow fonder", the really big event of the day was that rare Puget Sound phenomenon: a long and showy thunderstorm. While I imagine it maybe bringing yawns to a Midwesterner , this local yokel was thrilled! Lights and booming most of the day. The best storm here for years.

As the day ended , I drove home along the water which was up, and dead calm. An Osprey was dragging a long stick through the water as it flew back to it's nest. Was it just to take some of the weight off the stick, or was it the Osprey version of water skiing? It looked sort of fun. Maybe it was.

Jeff Gibson
murmuring in
Everett Wa