I walked The Beach at Devereux this morning. It was high tide, not the best time for shorebird activity here, but it was my first chance to check this spot for the Golden Plover(s) Mark Holmgren found. I had no success in that regard. Incidentally, there was not a single Black-bellied Plover around either. There was an assortment of large shorebirds present (Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, and Willets), lots of Snowy Plovers, a few Semi-palmated Plovers and Sanderlings, and just a couple of Western Sandpipers. In the kelp patches were a good number of Least Sandpipers. Not much activity over the ocean either: a small flock of Brant flew by and there was a single Common Loon floating in the waters. I checked out the Dune pond and found only a pair of Kildeer there, though conditions look fairly good for additional shorebirds.
Moving on to UCSB, I first took a look at Area K, which still has a few ducks (Cinnamon and Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, and lots of Gadwall). The water level is still a little high for shorebirds. I then went over to the Lagoon and Campus Point. The white-winged Scoter continues in the east end of the lagoon, but there was no sign of the Long-tailed Duck. The beach opposite the east end of the Lagoon was alive with small shorebirds, at least 200 of them. I was able to get good looks at them, mostly from the bluffs above as they moved closer to the rocks of Campus Point. I did not find a Red Knot among them, but had two different Dunlin in the mix. The majority of the birds were Western Sandpipers, followed by Sanderlings, Semi-palmated Plovers, and a few Least Sandpipers. They were joined by two Black Turnstones. There were no other Turnstones or Surfbirds on the rocks. On the south-facing beach next to the rocks, I had more small shorebirds and 3 Black-bellied Plovers.
Florence Sanchez