[obol] Lane Coast birds

[Alan Contreras]

I spent a great day birding the Florence area today with Tim Lee and Daniel
Farrar.  We ran into several other birders who may post separately.  We saw
a number of uncommon species including ARCTIC TERN, BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER,
SEMI SANDPIPER, N MOCKINGBIRd and HORNED GREBE.

By location:

**Dog Pond - stuffed with Red-necked Phalaropes, also a fly-in pair of Least
Sand with a SEMI SANDPIPER.  Something sounding like a BLACK PHOEBE was
calling here but not visible.

**Deflation Plain - the walk out produced only one bird in the ponds, an
extremely unexpected adult ARCTIC TERN sitting belly deep by one of the mud
points and generally looking tired.  Tim Lee got some great photos and I got
one.  The first I have seen in Lane Co in years, and probably the most
perfectly adult breeding plumage bird I have ever seen here.  Last seen
flying west to the beach area and others could not find it later.

3 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS about 250 yards north of the dike on the sand
flats.  Also in the area was a group of three BAIRD's, which caused brief
confusion.  With the baird's was one Semi Sand that flew off toward the
river.

**Crab Dock Cove - small flock of Least-Western containing one Semi Sand.
Timing suggests that at least two Semis were along s jetty rd, and possibly
three.

One young MOCKINGBIRD in bushes south of pullout area.  Apparently has been
around all summer along this road.

Two flyby BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS seen at about the same time as John
Sullivan's group was watching the three we found earlier.  Thus probably
different birds, heading north and not relocated.

**south jetty - 1 tattler, 3 surfbirds, 2 Ruddy turnstones.  NO alcids in
the river except one Pigeon G.  bushes near jetty parking had a lot of
migrants including several yellowthroats, at least two CHIPPING SPARROWS
which I don't usually see there, a yellow-rumped warbler, many Savannah
Sparrows and a lot of White-crowns.

**north jetty flats - several Rn Phalaropes, 1 Marbled Godwit, 2 Caspian
Terns.  There was a rumor of two ELEGANT TERNS in the area; we saw none.

**north fork mudflats and confluence - 1 imm BONAPARTE's Gull and 1 HORNED
GREBE, the latter being at the very early edge of arrival dates.  It was
still molting, as far as we could tell at a bit of a distance.

No yellowlegs, dowitchers or large plovers.  A couple of Semi Plovers heard
calling went over unseen.

Flocks of pintail southbound all day, some containing teal, one contained
two Gadwall, which is not common in these flights.

-- 
Alan Contreras
EUGENE, OREGON

acontrer at mindspring.com
OREGONREVIEW.BLOGSPOT.COM

Nostalgic for Nixon....