Subject: Morning walk (9am-noon) at Spencers Island (Everett, WA)
Date: Oct 27 14:11:28 1998
From: Ned McGarry - nmcgarry at gte.net


Here's a quick rundown on today's sightings (tide was in, water level up,
overcast and getting darker by the minute):

AMERICAN BITTERN (flew out from the boardwalk near barn . . . right from
underfoot . . . scared the at #^%! out of me)
AMERICAN COOT
AMERICAN CROW
AMERICAN ROBIN
AMERICAN WIDGEON
BELTED KINGFISHER
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE
BONAPARTE'S GULL ("ponds")
CEDAR WAXWING (assume Cedar, didn't have a chance for careful look for
Bohemians)
EUROPEAN STARLING
FOX SPARROW (couple here and there, one quite vocal)
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET (conifers in SW corner)
GREAT BLUE HERON
KILLDEER (heard, not seen)
LINCOLN'S SPARROW (had central spot alluded to in Natl. Geog. guide)
MALLARD
MARSH WREN
MEW GULL (other bigger gulls too, just didn't take time to distinguish)
NORTHERN FLICKER (preening amongst the southern standing deadwood)
NORTHERN HARRIER (2 females buzzing about)
NORTHERN SHOVELER (female among gulls on "water" north of access road)
NORTHERN SHRIKE (immature . . . my first . . . . finally! . . . east end of
crossdike in field to north, eventually flew up into tall trees to east)
PILEATED WOODPECKER (heard, not seen, south end)
PINE SISKIN (trees east of island)
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (conifers in SW corner)
RED-TAILED HAWK
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (two in trees at south end, a respectable distance apart
from each other)
RUDDY DUCK (water north of access road)
SCAUP (don't know which one)
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (unsuccessful low angle dive on something near barn,
then perched on barn and off to north)
SONG SPARROW
STELLER'S JAY
WINTER WREN (responded so well to pishing, I though he was going to land on
my head for a second there)

Other activity:

- Saw a "longish" light brown squirrel-like varmint on bridge over channel
that comes in from Union Slough.
Not sure what that was. Weasel?

- Noticed rather large tadpoles in brown pond north of crossdike coming up
and taking gulps of air.

- Wilma was doing some work on the barn where I still didn't see the Am.
Tree Sparrow.

- Lots of gravel being dumped onto crossdike (dump trucks back and forth
all morning with dozer and shovel-thing-a-ma-bob
spreading and digging about). (dump truck driver saw the Bittern too --
didn't scare him though.)

That's it for now. Gotta get *some* work done today. Bye.


Ned McGarry
Kirkland, WA
nmcgarry at gte.net