Trip Report by Thomas Plath

Despite the rain seven people showed up at 104^th Street, Boundary Bay at 3PM. We walked up to the dike and in front of us were hundreds of Black-bellied Plover, several Semipalmated Plovers, some peep, and a distant Short-billed Dowitcher. An adult female Peregrine flew in leisurely offering great looks, eventually flushing the shorebirds. It was still raining steady with no end in sight so we decided to change plans and head to the Tsawwassen Ferry terminal en route stopping at the turf farms to scan for “short grass” shorebirds.

Sixty Killdeers and a Greater Yellowlegs were feeding at the edge of the turf farm along 72^nd Street but nothing else of note. The rain still hadn’t abated so we were off to Tsawwassen.

Turned out this was the right move. A lot of shorebirds, gulls and terns had come in to the compensation pond. Scoping through the roosting Black-bellied Plovers revealed a juvenile Pacific Golden Plover resting that was joined by a Whimbrel. Hundreds of Western Sandpipers were on the gravel bar and further scoping revealed a Black Turnstone. Roosting gulls included many Ring-billed and Short-billed Gulls and a few California. Mixed in the roosting gulls were a few Caspian Terns. A Spotted Sandpiper flew past and a few Least Sandpipers foraged close by. The rain stopped and on the gravel bar in front were both juvenile and adult Pacific Golden Plovers, giving the group much better views. Two Ruddy Turnstones foraged at the tip of the gravel bar and White-winged Scoter, Common Loon and Double-crested Cormorant were scattered over the bay.