I meant to mention the locks, but I've posted about the place so often...
The Locks are the ultimate in Concrete Birding, in my opinion, especially
in winter. Look for Cedar Waxwings right at the North entrance, just to
your left as you walk in, they were there again today, and make sure you
walk all the way west on the Magnolia side, past the round stairs that
lead down to the water and look at the little beach. The Goldeneyes tend
to hang out around here, and Goldfinches are frequently seen in the "red
bushes" (sorry, I don't know what they are) between the stairs and the
beach, as are house finches. If you follow the sidewalk up the hill and
go under the railroad bridge, then head back down, there is a small
viewpoint that looks out over the channel. It's a cool spot. Speaking of
'big birds', the Great Blue Herons should be back in force any time now,
there were four this morning. They tend to hang out in the trees in the
gardens before pairing up and nesting up the hill. (You can see the
rookery from the locks, but you can get a better view if you walk up 33rd
Ave W and look at the trees from the footbridge over the railroad
tracks.)
I didn't mean to be this long winded, but it's hard for me to be brief
when talking about birds. You can also buy the Peterson's Guide and the
Nat'l Geographic Guide in the visitors center. And if you're REALLY
lucky you might even see a Steelhead in the fish ladder, I'm there about
three days a week, and I've yet to see a steelhead this winter.



=================
Cliff Drake
Ballard, WA
Birder at Juno.com


On Sat, 8 Feb 1997 16:04:56 -0800 (PST) "Susan L. Collicott"
<camel at serv.net> writes:
>
>Thanks to all the Tweets who sent in suggestions for non-muddy birding
>the result of today's trip is: My friend is hooked! Now he wants me to
>head up to the Skagit area with him.
>We went to Lincoln Park, Alki, Greenlake, and the Arboretum. We spent
so
>long at Alki that we ran out of time (dinner plans) but he's agreed to
go
>out again to go to the Locks, Seward, Magnusson, and Edmonds. Next
we're
>going to hit Spencer Island and the Skagit/Samish area, as he wants to
see
>some "big birds".
>
>The big hit of the day was the Brandt Geese by the Alki lighthouse.
>
>Thanks a bunch, folks.
>
>Susan Collicott
>camel at serv.net
>Seattle, WA
>
>