Tweets,
David and I just got back from Ocean Shores where we were two of 12 or so
who saw the longspur at 10:20 a.m. To amplify on Ann Marie's post for those
thinking of coming down tomorrow, a few people arrived at the Game Range
ponds/channel as early as 6:30 a.m., thinking, of course, that the bird
would appear first thing, as it seems to have done lately. As many as 20
birders were there at one time--we arrived at 8:15 a.m., after having spent
the night at a local motel. By 10, several folks had left and a few newbies
had arrived. The lucky new arrivals walked up while the bird was perched on
the usual log, on the right side of the "stand-around" area at the edge of
the grass on the channel side. We were able to wave back a group that was
heading over to the Tonquin side. The bird flew in from the direction of
the ponds, helicoptering down while making its trill. The white outer tail
feathers were an immediate give-away that it wasn't the usual cowbird! The
longspur stayed there for about 8 minutes, I'd say, then flew off to the
left where it was followed by a few people who only had "fly-off" views. It
was on a log towards the longer grass to the left for a while.

The best tactic seems to be to just wait around until the bird hits one of
the close-in logs. My theory is that walking around only delays the
arrival. Maybe large groups do, too, though it could be just coincidence
that the bird didn't come 'til the crowd thinned out.

Several of us went out to the ponds to shorebird after all the longspur flew
off. We had Western, Least, and Pectoral Sandpipers, Whimbrel, Killdeer,
Semi-palm Plover, G Yellowlegs and Merlin and Peregrine (carrying prey.)

The longspur was a real thrill, especially since it sat long enough for good
views and photography. It was a perfect sunny a.m. with a light breeze, no
fog, and lots of good company.
Penny Koyama, Bothell
plkoyama at comcast dot net

-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Marie Wood
Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2013 10:23 AM
To: Tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] Smith's Longspur - YES!

Just showed up at Oyehut Game Range perched on log within 20 feet in usual
spot.

Hooray!

Ann Marie Wood
Mountlake Terrace,WA
annmariewood at comcast.net


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