hi all ... Gene and I went up to the Willipa Bay/Grays Harbor area
today to look for Red Knots !!!!! ... I'd never seen any before ...
SUCCESS !!! ... we had about 20 plus at BOTTLE BEACH ... also present
were Black-bellied Plovers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Dunlin, and
Western Sandpipers, plus a handful of Caspian Terns hanging about ...
we were hoping the Ruff (which Ruth S. reported on thursday) would
make an appearance but no such luck ... quite a few birders out there too ...

our next stop was WESTPORT, a place I'd never been to before ... very
touristy and very enjoyable ... folks all over the place "fishing"
for crabs ... we had lots of Gulls including one Glaucous, but I have
to check my photos of him against the books yet to be sure ... also
had Brown Pelicans, Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, one non-breeding
plumage Common Loon, and quite a few SeaLions ...

TOKELAND was very quiet with nothing much exciting ... just lots of
Gulls loafing on the docks and a couple of Scaups in the water ...

as we were driving home and passing WILLIPA BAY however I noticed
shorebirds on the mudflats ... a quick "U" turn showed us they were
Whimbrels !!!!!!!! ... a flock of 12 or 13 ...

weather was just "ok" for pictures, with the sky being overcast ...
but otherwise it was a really nice spring day ...

later,
Lyn
Vancouver, Wa.





Lyn Topinka
http://EnglishRiverWebsite.com
http://ColumbiaRiverImages.com
http://RidgefieldBirds.com