Hi Tweetsters,
Today I went to the local Ace hardware store in Anacortes and
asked to purchase a conservation licenses. They said that they don't
have them there but I pressed on and they looked further down the form
and found the appropriate box. They were surprised. They had not sold
one before. Resident and non-resident fees are the same ($10). The
dealer gets to charge a dollar for the service. It is a small piece of
paper that folds up and fits easily in a wallet. After that I went out
by the West 90 and saw a peregrine take a dunlin. Also there were a
number of black-bellied plovers peripheral to the dunlin flocks.
I then visited the Skagit Wildlife Recreation Area. It is now
posted with a big sign stating that a license (hunting, fishing,
trapping or conservation) is required to park or use the lands.
I didn't find the green-tailed towhee but I did see
Lincoln's sparrows, American tree sparrows, golden-crowned and
white-crowned sparrows and a very interesting junco. It appeared to be a
partially albino bird. The primaries and secondaries were a very light
buff. The rump and retrices were similar in coloration. Sides were
pink. Eye was dark. This bird very easy to pick out in a flock of a
hundred other juncos. Does this sound like an albino or just some weird
morph?
I saw plenty of hunters and had no problems. The place is plenty
big enough for everybody if we are considerate.
Paul

Paul Moorehead
pjm at methow.com
Guemes, WA