Sunday, May 29, 2022

Temp in the 40s, overcast, wind light ENE

I did not see a Brambling today. They may have finally moved on.

But there are still at least two Pine Siskins coming to my feeder.

The other guys told me they had a Wandering Tattler last evening up at Clam Lagoon, so I headed straight up there this morning in hopes it was still hanging around.

However, when I got to the lagoon and did a quick scan before heading up to where the had the tattler, I found a flock of 34 Bar-tailed Godwits (plus the 2 Black-tails)!

So I headed back to town to alert them (it was a lifer for some of them) and they soon joined me up there and reveled in the new birds.

Godwits, Clam Lagoon, May 29, 2022
Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits, Clam Lagoon, May 29, 2022

We then proceeded around the lagoon, but could not find the tattler.

We got to the Seawall, scanned a while, then moved farther along to scan some more.

As we got out of the car, a tattler called and flew back up the Seawall a little bit.

It turned out to be a Gray-tailed! This is the first one I have seen in May. Up til now, all spring birds were Wanderings and all fall birds were Gray-tailed.

Gray-tailed Tattler, Seawall, May 29, 2022
Gray-tailed Tattler, Seawall, May 29, 2022

Better birders than I confirmed that today’s bird is a Gray-tailed, while yesterday’s was a Wandering!

After Clam Lagoon, the group went out to the Loran Station and I headed elsewhere.

I found the errant Tundra Swan on Palisades Lake.

Tundra Swan, Palisades Lake, May 29, 2022

And down on Navfac Beach, I found a lone Bar-tailed Godwit.

Bar-tailed Godwit, Navfac Beach, May 29, 2022

The Trip List is 64.

Today’s list can be seen at https://ebird.org/checklist/S111677465