Hi Tweets,

The ROSS'S GOOSE/SNOW GOOSE hybrid discovered at Willapa Bay's Palix River
Estuary by Jane Hadley and Randy Robinson was still there yesterday (May
7th). Barbara and I first relocated it at some distance in the large field
across the Bay Center Road from the water at about 9 a.m. It was with
Cackling, Canada and White-fronted Geese, and we could see it was the same
size as the Cacklers. It was also hopping on one leg as it moved about
foraging, so it seemed likely this was the same bird Jane and Randy
reported. We stopped again at about 5 p.m. and got a much closer look at
the goose. Also in the field we spotted 6 AMERICAN PIPITS in the morning
and 5 WHIMBRELS in the afternoon.

For us, the real story was the estuary. The Palix and Niawaukum rivers meet
here and form a large tidal wetland so extensive that a spotting scope from
the Bay Center Road can't let one pick out small shorebirds on the opposite
side, and we're not aware of public access on the north side of the
estuary. So we just identified what we could and enjoyed the spectacle of
thousands of shorebirds foraging and skittering about, rising into the air
in huge numbers and sweeping in to land again in the late afternoon light.
We found WESTERN and LEAST SANDPIPERS, DUNLIN, SEMIPALMATED and
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, a few LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS and
around a dozen WHIMBRELS.

The state DFW ponds near South Bend were quiet.

Good birding!

Paul Webster
Seattle
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