The Buff-breasted Sandpipers were still there near dark this evening. (I had
missed them earlier in the day because I didn’t walk far enough south.). The
location is exactly where a number of birders saw one many years ago.
This evening I walked in from the Coon Point parking area along the dike, and
then down into the swale and then to Sturgeon Lake. That might be an easier
way of getting to them.
A sad sight was a Barn Swallow that had got stuck in the shallow muddy water,.
It fought its way out of the water, but was not able to fly by the time I left.
It was getting darker and the story of two birders getting rescued out of the
mud by Owen Schmidt many years ago by extending his tripod, kept me from trying
a rescue of the swallow. Be careful if it is still there tomorrow morning.
The many Barn Swallows flying around were accompanied by several Purple Martins.
Really a stunning sunset over the Tualatin Mountains from the dike nearby.
Jeff Gilligan
On Sep 5, 2018, at 4:32 PM, peter barnes <pbarnes123@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
At 2 pm, Ross Barnes-Rickett and I relocated the 5 Buff-breasted Sandpipers
found by Zack Schlanger at the south end of Sturgeon Lake, Oak Island, Sauvie
Island, Multnomah county. From the boat ramp, walk south along the shore of
Sturgeon Lake for what seems like an interminable time (20-30 minutes). The
birds were with 15-20 Killdeer in a very wide stretch of mudflats. When you
view them, you can see the southern tip of the lake just behind them. Thanks
for pointing us toward them, Zack and Peyton!
Peter Barnes,
Gresham
