Ned McGarry wrote:

> A flock of BIRDS UNLIMITED folks pondering along with me as to which
> DOWITCHERs we were observing (I figure they were juvenile LONG-BILLED's
> given the slightly darker shading extending down the front of the neck -- a
> first for me, so if I'm wrong, please let me know why and I'll switch it to
> short-billed -- still a first.

> If any of you BIRDS UNLIMITED folks reads this, what else did you see
that
> we missed? Thanks.

> Ned and Ryan McGarry
> Kirkland, WA

Ned and Ryan,
I was leading the Wild Bird's Unlimited field trip today on Spencer
Island. We also remember seeing you two enjoying the day. Thank you
for your trip list. We missed seeing your Western Meadowlark and the
Pine Siskins but we did see some great birds.
Of special note today was an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW seen near the barn
foraging along with a Golden-crowned Sparrow. I observed this bird in
the same location on Friday morning so it seems to be hanging around for
awhile. I saw it in the brush to the North of the park bench, on the
rail near the barn, on the ground in front of the barn and sitting on
top of the barn itself. Its a great looking individual.
We also noted the flock of 25 or so DOWITCHERS probing in the mudflats
South of the crossdike. I hope Dennis Paulson isn't disappointed in me
for not taking the time to try to figure out which species they were.
I'm still very poor at distinguishing the differences between Longbilled
and Shortbilled.
Other species seen today include:

Pied-billed Grebe (2)
American Bittern (1) flew up briefly from the Cattails East of the
barn and then disappeared.
Great Blue Heron (at least 8)
Canada Goose (20 flying over)
Green-winged Teal (many mixed in with the Dowitchers)
Mallard
Northern Pintail (about 8)
Northern Shoveler (at the Everett Sewage Ponds and the ponds N of the
crossdike)
Gadwall (ESP and Spencer Island)
American Wigeon (12 or so North of the Crossdike)
Bufflehead (2 males)
Hooded Merganser (1 male)
Ruddy Duck (many on ESP)
Bald Eagle (2 adults)
Northern Harrier (at least three)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1)
Red-tailed Hawk (3+)
Merlin (1 flying over the crossdike)
Peregrine Falcon (1 flying over East side of the Island)
Sora (1 heard)
American Coot (several hundred. At one point they were flying low to
the water following the narrow channels just North of the
Crossdike.)
Killdeer (6+)
Bonaparte's Gulls (50+ on the ESP. Not really a large flock compared
to past history there)
Glaucous-winged Gull (6+)
Rock Dove (2) approaching the Langus Riverfront Park
Belted Kingfisher (male)
Downy Woodpecker (at least two)
Hairy Woodpecker (1)
Northern Flicker (2)
Pileated Woodpecker
Steller's Jay (3)
American Crow (6)
Black-capped Chickadee (8+)
Bewick's Wren (2)
Marsh Wren (several seen and heard)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1+)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (6)
American Robin (?)
Varied Thrush (1 male)
European Starling (many)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (8+) on the Southeast side of the Island
Spotted Towhee (6+)
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch

Maybe we'll see you out there again sometime.

Yvonne Bombardier
Everett, Wa