[obol] Newport: Wilson's Phalaropes, Western Sandpipers & More

[Range Bayer]

Hi,

   About 8 AM this morning (June 30), Roy Lowe saw about 45 WESTERN
SANDPIPERS at Idaho Flats, east of the OSU Hatfield Marine Science
Center Nature Trail.  This is the first "fall" report of them that I
have seen for Lincoln County.

    About mid-day today, Janet Lamberson saw and photographed 3 WILSON'S
PHALAROPES near roosting gulls just east of the HMSC Nature Trail. 
Wilson's are rare in Lincoln County, and this may be our first record
of them in June--prior to 1993, they were only reported in May or
August-September (http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8070).

    Janet also saw about 300 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, 47 WHIMBRELS, and 4
DOWITCHERS.  Some Whimbrels oversummered, so it is not clear if these
are migrants or those that oversummered.  The dowitchers appear to be
migrants.

   This afternoon, Tom Wainwright counted 23 GREAT EGRETS at Idaho Flats,
which is well up from the 10 egrets seen earlier at Yaquina Bay.  On
June 19 at a Yaquina Bay Great Blue Heron  colony, Mike Rivers "saw
about 10 Great Egrets all plumed out perching amongst the herons, but
could not see any of them on nests."  To my knowledge, we still do not
have a documented record of Great Egrets nesting in Lincoln County, but
it sounds like they may have at least tried this year.

   Cheers,

Range Bayer, Newport, Oregon