Subject: [Tweeters] Cow Lake Shorebirds
Date: Aug 5 08:09:56 2014
From: Isacoff, Jonathan - isacoff at gonzaga.edu


Per Randy Hill's excellent tip, Cow Lake (Adams Co.) is forming into a very large mudflat. About 200 shorebirds were there yesterday:

Black-necked Stilt
Avocet (with fledglings)
Killdeer
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER
Spotted SP
Greater YL
Lesser YL
Western SP
Least SP
Semi SP
Long-billed Dowitcher
WIlson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope

Also both adult and juvenile Black Terns feeding and roosting and some good views of young Virginia Rails sneaking around the edge of the reeds. With the amount of water left and the deeper basin along the basalt cliffs, this should be a productive spot well into fall.

Sheep Lake (just South of Sprague) also has excellent mud, though shorebird activity was limited to Killdeer, Spotted SP, and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. The surprise of the day was a SANDHILL CRANE at Sheep. Interestingly (or perhaps not) there was a lone bird in pretty much the same spot in early September last year.

Good birding,
Jon Isacoff, Spokane