This afternoon Colby (?) and I located the swarm (I don't think that's
stretching things too much) of shorebirds now congregating in the flooded
fields across from the entrance to TRNWR (actually, more across from the
Push-n-Pull wrecking yard). BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, many GREATER YELLOWLEGS,
many breeding and a few basic plumaged DUNLIN, bunch of WESTERN S and lots of
LEAST S. I tried to make some of these into LESSER Y. and SEMI. S. without
success. Colby said the BLACK-N. STILTS (along with many distant smaller
shorebirds) were way across the left pond from the viewing center on the refuge
- trail to which doesn't open to the public until 1 May.
I'd been meaning to add to the thread about the potential of these flooded
fields after scoping them over the last six weeks or so for the phantom Brant
that had been reported among CACKLERS (of which there are still several
hundred). There have been a half dozen GREATER YELLOWLEGS there since at least
mid-March, and now things are really picking up.
FWIW (not much, but...) The landowner (Hahn) down the road on the west side of
this area said several weeks ago that it is OK to park on the left side just as
you start down his long drive, i.e. at 45°22'48.03"N, 122°49'52.25"W, off the
track of course. Though it could maybe accommodate only two cars, it is off
the shoulder of and obviates having to run across a busy 99W. While I could
see BBPL, DUNLIN and GR YELL. from this spot, it's not nearly as good as the
wide spot by the guard-railed culvert farther west on the shoulder of 99W.
Tom
