Hello Tweets,

My visit to the Cedar River Mouth at 5:30 PM last night did not produce the Stilt Sandpiper. However, someone else apparently saw it! Oh well, better luck next time.

Even though I didn't see the Stilt, there were many shorebirds. A Killdeer, two dowitchers and many sandpipers in a big flock. In addition, a few Westerns congregated closer to shore.

Unfortunately, I was ill-equipped. In my naive mind, I assumed that the peeps would be well within range of my 10x42 binoculars. I was mistaken! The majority of the birds were 200 feet away, and at their furthest, they were on a sandbar 500 feet away, beside a Caspian Tern that dwarfed the minuscule shorebirds. At the distance, all I could distinguish was shape and general color impressions. And I could not distinguish a Stilt. If you try for this bird, make sure to bring your scope!

While my visit did not produce the intended rarity, I did find another good bird. On the mud between the land and the Renton Boathouse, sheltered from the rest of the lake, four peeps were feeding. Two Leasts, a Western and - a Semipalmated! A bright juvenile Semipalm was feeding just twenty feet below where I stood on the dock pathway.

I watched the four sandpipers run across the patch of silt and reeds, pecking the ground for bits of food here and there. But all was not peaceful between the peeps: every few moments, one would chase another, making aggressive calls as they skittered across the mud.

The Semipalmated Sandpiper had the most adorable offensive stance: when the bird was threatened, it would raise its entire rear - tail, rump, wings and all - and run at its offender in full haunch-raised display. I got a video of it! Such a great bird. Funnily enough, both my Semipalmated Sandpipers have come at the mouths of creeks or rivers in King County. And this one wasn't a chased bird, an added bonus!

I hope I can have another chance at seeing the Stilt, but at the Least (pun intended), I saw a Semipalmated! And of course, I saw some other good birds too. There's always happiness in birding!

Good birding, Joshua Glant

Mercer Island, WA

Josh.n.glant at gmail.com