Temp in the 50s, mostly cloudy, wind WSW 15-20 mph

Not a single shorebird on the Clam Lagoon Peninsula this morning!

But wait! There’s more!

The Rock Sandpipers are now in their resplendent winter plumage.

The first time I saw one like this, I thought it was a Purple Sandpiper…

After checking the usual spots this morning, I made it up to Clam Lagoon around 10:30. I headed out to the peninsula only to be greeted with no birds!

So I continued around the lagoon, hit all of the usual spots, finding nothing new.

Eventually I made it back up to the lagoon around 3 PM, but I was totally beat. So I set my timer to 20 minutes and took a nap.

Aah, that felt better!

I grabbed my camera and trundled back out the peninsula. I got out past the bend. No birds.

I started to walk back when in flew a small flock of shorebirds. It was 5 Westerns and the Red-necked Stint.

Then a few more. Then a few more, until we were back to the Western flock of 12.

I looked up and then saw that the Sanderlings had also flown in, but were farther up the shoreline.

As yesterday, the Westerns couldn’t care less that I was there and again walked right up to me.

The Westerns moved around a bit, occasionally flying 20-30 yards to a new feeding spot and then maybe back again. As I was observing them, I noticed that the stint was a “picker” and the Westerns were “probers.” The stint would occasionally probe and the Westerns would occasionally pick, but more often than not, the Westerns probed and the stint picked.

I then heard a different call note as another bird flew in.

A Mongolian Plover! (I know, I know, it’s Lesser Sand-Plover, but Mongolian sounds SO much better).

Yes, these are pictures of the same bird. One with the light behind me and the other with the light behind the bird! I have a similar set of photos of a Hudsonian Godwit near home. One photo is brown, the other gray. Totally due to lighting.

Not a bad way to end the day.

Gabi and Michelle arrive tomorrow. More eyes and ears…