We had an SAS sparrow field trip to the Skagit flats areas Saturday.
Found three immature White-throated Sparrows with a Golden-cronwed clock
feeding along the dike in alder woods just southwest of the boat-launch
parking lot at the Skagit WMA headquarters. Same group as Scott Atkinson
reported, presumably. Struck out on all four Harris's Sparrows stake
outs but did get a fairly decent look at an adult gray Gyrfalcon. Chris
McInery had just seen it fly off from just west of Thomas Rd. We
relocated it along Chuckanut Dr. about 1 mile north of Allyn West on a
phone pole. It flew very low, tried to ambush some ducks, then headed
southeast east of Chuckanut into the far distance. Brian Bell counted 23
male Eurasian Wigeons in a flock of 1000+ American Wigeons just north of
the West 90 on the Samish Flats. There were 100+ Black-bellied Plovers
scattered about the same field but no sign of a golden plover. There was
a flock of ca. 5000 Snow Geese near the Snow Goose Produce Stand along
Fir Island Rd. just south of Rawlins that had one adult blue phase Snow
Goose mixed in. Also on Fir Island along Dry Slough Rd. in a flock of
ca. 200 Tundra Swans was one with fairly extensive yellow at the base of
the bill, perhaps 60% of what would qualify as a Bewick's. However, my
experience with some of these in California suggests that you can find
every degree between in amount of yellow on the bill, suggesting a broad
zone of intergradation.

On Sunday I saw an adult N. Shrike and perhaps (!) glimpsed the elusive
American Tree Sparrow at the old Longacres Race track weed patch.

Gene Hunn.