I spent much of Saturday at the marsh helping?out with the Puget Sound Bird Fest.??Fans of the marsh's resident Anna's hummers will be happy to know that?Wesley and Elmer are back after an apparent summer vacation.? In the morning, Wesley was hunting for?bugs in his territory at the west (#1) viewing platform when Elmer unexpectedly showed up.? There was a brief standoff, then Wesley chased Elmer off and resumed hunting for bugs.?? Off and on throughout the afternoon I could hear Elmer in his usual perch in the tree above the main (#2) viewing platform.
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In the afternoon,?a small flock of?sandpipers kept flying?in and out of the marsh as well as a mixed flock of killdeer and sandpipers.? I took some shots of the mixed flock with my not-so-big anymore 100-400 zoom.??Looking at the highly cropped photos on my computer,?I could see?a?small sandpiper among the killdeer.??It's hard to tell for sure, but it may have been a?western sandpiper.? I also discovered?another,?larger shore bird with a very long bill which?I believe?is a dowitcher.?? Sorry,?but I cannot tell a short-billed dowitcher from a long-billed?unless the two are?posing side-by-side for my camera.

Talking with people visiting the marsh throughout the day, there were reported sightings of a Virginia rail and a Baird's sandpiper.

Bill Anderson; Edmonds, WA. USA