Subject: [Tweeters] ACOW field trip
Date: Sep 21 21:01:55 2014
From: Dianna Moore - dlmoor2 at coastaccess.com


Hey Tweets...After spending a warm and beautiful Saturday indoors in
meetings in Ocean Shores, approximately 25 members of the Audubon Council
of Washington joined me for a field trip in overcast and a bit windy
conditions, with highs only in the 60's. The goal was to end up at Bottle
Beach SP in time for the high tide spectacle.

We met at the North Jetty, where we were able to find three Wandering
Tattlers, a lifer for two of the women. We also had good looks at a Pacific
Loon, a first for me. We had more gulls than people for a change...summer
must be over...more Heermann's than the usual mix, and many groups of Brown
Pelicans flying over us as we stood on the jetty. American Pipits were a
constant in all three places we stopped.

Our second stop was at the Hoquiam STP, hoping to re-find the Sharp-tailed
Sandpiper, but no luck on that. We did get decent views of a dowitcher,
more pipits, Killdeer, a gorgeous Stilt Sandpiper, some Westerns, Barn
Swallows, and the usual suspects on the ponds.

Finally we arrived at Bottle Beach only to find we were pretty much too
late to catch the rising tide, despite arriving two hours before high tide.
This has happened to me the last 4 or 5 times I have been to Bottle Beach,
and I am going to suggest arriving even earlier from now on.

Despite the water being pretty darned high, we were able to watch restless
flocks of Black-bellied Plover, unable to settle for long, and a nice group
of about 17 Marbled Godwits that wanted to land on our beach but we were in
their way so they headed for Westport. Just not enough space left!

A couple of our party decided to head for Midway Beach to see if they could
locate the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper that Steve Giles found there
yesterday...thanks for the report Steve! I think several people headed
there instead of Hoquiam, and a recent post here justified that decision. I
would loved to have done so myself but had other commitments.

Other things to note, two of our guests were out on the balcony of their
Ocean Shores motel Saturday when a Brown Booby flew over them, headed
south. There was no doubt in their mind it was a Brown Booby. (Matt, do I
get to count it?)
Given the last Brown Booby report was at the mouth of the Frazier River on
Sept 13th, and one off Tacoma on Sept 9th, I have to wonder what is going
on?

And, just an aside....I stopped briefly at the Hoquiam STP on Saturday on
my way into Olympia and ran into Ed Newbold and Delia...always a
delight...all of us hoping for the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (no luck), but
managed to see and hear a circling Red-tailed Hawk. Yes, I frequently see
them in my travels around the coast to south sound areas, but I have seldom
heard them making their distinctive call, so it started my day off on the
right foot...old friends, good birds, and great poetry (with Robert Michael
Pyle in a man skirt!)...what could be better?

Dianna Moore
Ocean Shores
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