Racetrack Lake, located on Sauvie Island, sort of in between the end of Rentenaar Road and the east shore of Sturgeon Lake, has been quite good for shorebirds recently. Good shorebird habitat has been very hard to find in the Willamette Valley this summer, with conditions either too dry or too wet, so this patch of mud has been quite attractive to southbound migrants. Unfortunately, birds were pretty distant so they didn’t present great photo opportunities.
Long-billed Dowitchers were one of the more common shorebirds on this visit.
There were a few Short-billed Dowitchers mixed in, although the distance made identification challenging. Note the whitish belly, the spotted sides of the breast, and the tiger-striped tertials.
Semipalmated Plovers rank near the top of the most adorable shorebird category.
American White Pelicans were considered pretty rare in the Portland area not that long ago. Now you can expect 100 or more around Sauvie Island in the late summer.
Great Egrets are also very common this time of year.
Water levels continue to drop at Racetrack Lake, so there should be some decent mud for a while longer. Happy Summer.
Ethical Birder 