Tweets ? I went out to Ocean Shores, Westport, and down to Tokeland over the last two days, chasing some of the birds reported recently. I was able to find many, but by no means all, of the goodies. Best birds were the ELEGANT TERNS in Westport.

Monday, at the Hoquiam STP, I was unable to find the STILT SANDPIPER on my morning visit, but found it in the afternoon.

At the Point Brown Jetty in Ocean Shores, there were still three WANDERING TATLERS on the rocks, as well as a single RUDDY TURNSTONE and two SANDERLINGS(!) amongst the many BLACK TURNSTONES well out on the jetty.

At the Game Range, the RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was still present in the morning, though I did not see it when I returned in the afternoon. I struck out on Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Golden-Plovers. There were a huge number of AMERICAN PIPITS ? probably a couple of hundred, as well as 1 or more LAPLAND LONGSPURS. In my afternoon visit, the number of SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS was astonishingly high ? 75?

I walked extensively at Damon Point, turning up little. Best bird was a breeding-plumage RED-THROATED LOON in close.

Tuesday, I started at the Westport Marina, where there was a large roost of MARBLED GODWITS. On the wooden breakwater just behind the godwits, I found three ELEGANT TERNS. On the rock groins nearest Fisherman?s Wharf there were 2-4 WANDERING TATLERS.

At Bottle Beach, I heard a PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER calling, but could not spot it amongst the hundreds of BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS.

Off Grayland Beach, there were thousands of SOOTY SHEARWATERS. For miles and miles, they were sitting on the water a hundred yards off shore, and there was a steady stream of them moving south at a rate of several per second. I also had dozens of PACIFIC LOONS flying south mixed in. A lone WHIMBREL was a surprise addition to the stream. A few COMMON TERNS were flying around above.

At Midway Beach, I flushed an AMERICAN BITTERN near the ponds. There were a handful of PECTORAL SANDPIPERS but I could not find a Sharp-tailed amongst them. AMERICAN PIPITS were also especially numerous, but that could be said about almost every location I visited. Probably 1000 pipits for the two days!

Tokeland was fairly quiet at lowish tide, though I did have a LONG-BILLED CURLEW and ten WILLETS.

In amongst the huge numbers of CALIFORNIA and HEERMAN?S GULLS at North Cove, I was able to find a HERRING GULL.

== Michael Hobbs
== www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
== BirdMarymoor at frontier.com