Subject: [Tweeters] Various from Trip to Coast Yesterday
Date: Aug 11 10:01:05 2016
From: B B - birder4184 at yahoo.com
Jon Houghton, Frank Caruso, Sherrill Miller and I visited the Coast yesterday with an unsuccessful earlier attempt to find a Mountain Quail at the Port Orchard Quarry and along Blacksmith Tahuya Road.? We had some hits and some misses as below in case others are headed that direction.
At the Hoquiam STP we searched diligently for the Franklin's Gull and the only small gull we found was a Bonaparte's.? I see that there is a report of the Franklin's Gull from about an hour after we left so maybe it returned.? No mud for shorebirds.? Lots of California Gulls and Caspian Terns.
We next drove the beach at Grayland.? No Snowy Plovers.? We found hundreds of Sanderlings in varying plumages and many Least Sandpipers.? Not a single Semipalmated Plover.? We did find two Ruddy Turnstones and a Whimbrel.? Thousands of Sooty Shearwaters were seen fairly close streaming to the south.
Our next stop was Tokeland.? We found 8 Willets (most I have ever seen there) with a single Whimbrel and a single Marbled Godwit and 17 Least Sandpipers - both adult and juvenile.? The only terns were Caspian.
We hit Bottle Beach 2.5 hours before high tide.? Nothing special.? Many Black Bellied Plovers, Least and Western Sandpipers, 3 Short Billed Dowitchers and a single Greater Yellowlegs.? Again no Semipalmated Plovers was a surprise.
Our last stop was Westport where we scanned hundreds of Marbled Godwits on the rocks and barge near the Coast Guard station.? Unfortunately - only Marbled.? We went to the observation platform at the far eastern (I think that is correct) end of the rock jetty and immediately found 4 Wandering Tattlers and then 2 more.? I have had good luck for close in Tattlers at this spot and this is the largest number I have seen.? There was also a Common Murre very close and a Humpback Whale spouting and diving out at the red buoy which had a Sea Lion resting on it.? We returned for another scan of the Godwits - still only Marbled.
All in all there seemed to be fewer shorebirds than expected/wanted but the Willets and Tattlers were very close and in good light for photos.? Very fun day.
Some photos can be seen at:? Coast August 10, 2016
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Coast August 10, 2016
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