This morning I got up did a few things ate breakfast then left for the park.
It was cloudy when I left and the temperature mild. I walked some what quickly and excitedly down to the park. I got down to the beach, the tide way quite low. I walked up by the visitor center then out onto the beach. I saw a couple of Common loons one of them was still in winter plumage. I walked down the beach and saw eight Greater yellowlegs in a deep pool that during a low enough tide has some land exposed. I walked through the pool to the end of the park. I got out to the end and saw, among other things a lot of Black turnstones. I walked over and watched them turning rocks over. While I was there I saw a few Long-billed and Short-billed dowitchers. While I was watching the shorebirds a Merlin tried to catch one of them but missed and flew back to the forest. I was out there for a bit then I went across the river to the other side and looked at the shorebirds over there. The mud over at Back beach smells strongly of rotten eggs at a really low tide and today was no different. I looked at the sandpipers that were there for a bit then they flew back across to the park beach so I went to cross the river. I crossed in different spot on the way back that looked shallow enough but what I didn’t account for was that since the water was moving fast, when I put my boot in the water the water would push and stack up against my boot so then the water would be deeper on the up river side of my boot then it would have been if was flowing more slowly. When I was out in about the middle of the river I feel some cold water go down my boot, so I got up on my tippy toes and carefully made but quickly made my way across the river without any more water going into my boots.
I watched the birds for a while longer then I headed back and got on the trail. On my way back on the trail I heard my FOY Hermit thrush. A bit further down I tried a young Devil’s club leaf. It tasted a little bit like mint. I then walked home. 
Long-billed dowitcher
