Around noon on Dec 3 my husband and I walked the beach at Alki and were
delighted by a large (70+) flock of small shorebirds racing up and down
the waterline. My shorebird ID skills are limited, but when we got home
we took a look at our field guides and various online resources, and we
think that these were Snowy Plovers.

Overall, they looked like little wind-up toys dancing across the sand -
smaller than Killdeer, clear white/cream below and tan above, no
streaking or mottling, tan crowns running to below their eyes, partial
tan neck rings, black eyes, short black beaks, dark legs. When flying
the wings showed dark on the edges with white/cream inside. A few of
them had darker spots on their foreheads.

The thing is that almost every guide shows that Snowy Plovers are
uncommon up in these parts, even this time of year, so we don't feel
sure about our ID. Have there been other reports of Snowy Plovers here
recently? Might someone check out the area to see? We were parked on
Alki Ave between 59th and 60th Aves SW and walked the adjacent beach
towards the city for a couple hundred yards and back.

Catherine