A big thanks to Michael Willison for the tips on the Whimbrels on Camano
island.



I got to the spit at what I thought was about 2 hours after high tide.
Apparently my information was for another area and the Spit was about 2
hours behind schedule because it sure looked like it has at peak when I got
there. Since my target was Whimbrels I figured I'd go to English Broom for a
bit. It was pretty quiet. No Purple Martins when I got there. There was an
active group of Caspian Terns hovering and diving which is neat to see. A
few Killdeer were calling out along with the usual suspects. Just about as I
was ready to leave I saw a few Purple Martins returning.



I got back to the Spit and the tide was definitely going out now. A good bit
of mud was exposed but no sign of Whimbrels. Perhaps the Bald Eagle sitting
on a mound in the bay was a deterrent. If figured with the Eagle there I
probably wasn't going to see Whimbrels coming in close. However I had my
camera and thought I might try to get some nice Eagle shots. After 20
minutes or so the Eagle flew off. Around that time about 2/3 of a mile out
in the bay I saw what looked like some shorebirds land. My guess was that
they were Whimbrels but I couldn't tell. Meanwhile I was checking out the
gulls (tuned out to be Ring-billed) and a couple terns. I noticed the
shorebirds were making their way in my general direction but a little North
of me. I figured I might as well walk North and if lucky we might get close
to each other.



As it turned out they came in quite a bit and I walked out a bit to get a
closer look. I counted about 25 in my proximity.



It was nice to get a good look at them.



I posted a couple pictures of the Eagle and a few of the Whimbrels.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlebirdman/sets/72157629947823436/



Doug Schurman

NE Seattle