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One wonders if there are more "rare" birds coming to the pacific northwest or are there just more birders out there finding what has always occurred… the rare birds from Asia to the west or the Canada-Greenland area to the east.
This has been an exceptional year, at least for Arden and I, for adding rare species to our life list. In February we made the trip to Texas where we saw several rare species in just a few days. These birds had crossed the border from Mexico and delighted many who were able to make the trip. We aren't prone to "airline" chasing birds with the added expense so it was a special treat to do so. Most of our rare birds have to be within driving distance of home. The Pacific Northwest offers great opportunities that occur now and then but they are usually far and in between. But since July we have added 3 new species: Lesser Sandplover (Gearhart, OR), Curlew Sandpiper (Nehalem, OR (Sewage Lagoon)), and Temminck's Stint (Ocean Shores, WA (Sewage Lagoon)). Birds that I never thought I would ever see since they are seen only on really rare occasions in the far reaches of Alaska and even rarer occasions in a few other areas.
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