[obol] AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER still at Fern Ridge (Royal Ave.) Thursday AM

[DAVID IRONS]

I just returned from the end of Royal Ave., where Anne Heyerly and I had the 
adult AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER.  It was in the middle pond (that is drying up) 
on the west side n. of the grassy island with a big round willow.  It can be 
seen from the dike on the east side of this pond, but will be some distance 
away.  There were a lot of shorebirds, including an adult SEMIPALMATED 
SANDPIPER Anne spotted and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER that flew in while were 
there.

Shorebirds present included:

Am. Golden Plover -- 1 adult in alternate plumage
Black-bellied Plover -- 2 adults in alternate plumage, one fading
Semipalmated Plover -- 2
Greater Yellowlegs -- 60+
Solitary Sandpiper -- 1
Lesser Yellowlegs -- 1
Western Sandpiper -- 35-40
Semipalmated Sandpiper -- 1
Least Sandpiper -- 75+
Long-billed Dowitcher -- 75+
Short-billed Dowitcher -- 2
Wilson's Snipe -- 1
Wilson's Phalarope -- 8-10

In addition to the shorebirds we saw three adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS, 
2 GREEN HERONS, 6-8 VIRGINIA RAILS that included two days old fuzzy black 
chicks that walked across the dike about 30 feet away from us, 2 AMERICAN 
BITTERNS, 1 BONAPARTE'S GULL and about 10 AM. WHITE PELICANS.  No sign of 
the Marbled Godwit that has been reported sporadically over the past few 
days.

Dave Irons
Eugene, OR

_________________________________________________________________
http://liveearth.msn.com