Date: 6/19/26 6:18 pm From: Kim Thorburn via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs
Yesterday I counted at least 12 greater yellowlegs on Florence Lake at the WDFW Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County. They were busily foraging and actually less vocal than I expect with that many. This arrival does seem a bit earlier than what's in the literature. I didn't see many GRYE during spring migration and counted just one during the IMWSS in April. I saw them frequently in northern Chile in February. Shorebirds are SO amazing.
It was not GRYE that I was looking for but rather, Wilson's phalarope. It's so dry I began to feel like I was on a fool's errand traipsing around the shrubsteppe covered with cheatgrass, compliments of the 2020 Whitney fire. Four prairie-breeding shorebirds are in the state's 2025 wildlife action plan update: no surprise, American avocet and long-billed curlew are species of greatest conservation need and lesser yellowlegs and Wilson's phalarope are species of greatest information need. (The latter is also petitioned for federal listing.) I'm on a mission to convince the shorebird conservation world that the Columbia plateau should receive much more attention for shorebird conservation efforts-both Pacific flyway migration and prairie-breeding shorebirds. (All those giant saline lakes of the Great Basin get all the attention.)
I decided to start with WIPH to learn something about breeding on the plateau. With all the vernal ponds bone dry, saline lakes getting there, and even large wetlands greatly shrunk, I thought the best I could hope for would be finding suitable habitat. I lucked out and actually found breeding behavior. A male was foraging in the pond. However, a female suddenly exploded under my nose, did a little broken wing, and then mobbed me before joining the male. While the females don't brood, they do false brood to decoy. I suspect she might have been covering for a brooding male while he was out getting some calories. I opted to not look for the nest for fear of stepping on in in the dense vegetation.
Fun day.
Kim
Kim Marie Thorburn, MD, MPH
Spokane, WA
(509) 465-3025 home
(509) 599-6721 cell-please use for texting
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From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Dennis Paulson via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2026 10:57 AM
To: Marv <marvbreece...>
Cc: Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Greater Yellowlegs
They breed farther south than many of our migratory shorebirds, so they presumably are on their breeding grounds relatively early, and they may well be the first fall migrants.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
On Jun 19, 2026, at 10:15 AM, Marv via Tweeters <tweeters...> wrote:
Yesterday there were 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS at the M Street Marsh in Auburn. They were noisy & seemed restless. After a short visit they picked up and flew south.
