I spent today birding in the intermittent blowing mist of coastal Lane County
with Sean Burns and Tye Jeske. We had small flocks of shorebirds here and
there, with the largest group about 750 birds at the crab dock cove off the s
jetty road at Florence. This flock was Westerns with fewer than ten Least and
about 30 Semi Plovers. Elsewhere we saw Westerns.
One bird at the crab dock cove was in a plumage that caused me to watch it for
quite a while before concluding that it was probably a large female Western.
It was an odd color, a sort of plain streaky medium brown all over the head,
throat and upper breast, with a bare hint of rufous on the forward scapulars.
Black legs and a fairly long bill limited the options. I had an initial
impression of possible White-rumped Sandpiper but we never saw a full rump, the
bill seemed too long and the body more Western-shaped. We might have a couple
of photos.
Two Rhino Auklets were in the estuary. A few California Gulls were around,
almost universally in a horrible state of molt or wear. We saw single
Glaucous-winged Gulls at several sites; they are a very irregular breeder this
far south - not annual in Lane County as far as I know.
A bittern flew over the s jetty pine swamps, as did at least two and probably
three different harriers and a single meadowlark, suggesting that they breed
locally.
At least fifty Great Egrets were at the North Fork confluence.
A loon, probably Pacific, was northbound off Bob Creek.
Sean and Tye can add anything I forgot.
Alan Contreras
Eugene, Oregon
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
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