Dear birders:



Dear Bud,

I would like to tell you about a certain time in our first class birding
field trip.
We were driving along on west 90 when we came upon a parking lot. We got
out of the car and started scanning the fields. While coming to this
spot we had seen a prairie falcon and lost sight of it. Suddenly my mom
spotted a peregrine falcon and saw it fly over the field and land in a
stream. While we watching the peregine, Dean saw the prairie fly to the
opposite field. It landed on a post and started watching the peregrine
bathe. It watched it for a while, then lost interest and just stood
there unmoving. While we were spotting more and more buteos we lost
interest in the prairie and focused on the bathing peregrine. Only when
the peregrine flew away did we remember the prairie. After watching it
for a while we packed up and started driving when suddenly I realized
Dean had forgotten our second scope. We stopped, got out and loaded it
in and went on our way.

After this experience I would like to know which of the following
falcons is your favorite? The kestral, merlin, peregrine, prairie, or
the gyrfalcon.

sincerely, Aaron Keller
P.S. My favorite is the peregrine
March 2nd, 1999


Dear Bud,
I would like to tell you about the birding trip we had at the
Samish/Skagit flats on Feburary 27th,1999. We where driving in the car.
Starving, are stomachs where growling.Vladimer spotted a Peregrine
Falcon. Awhile after Vladimer said out loud "Dean, watch out for that
bird in the street" Dean stop fast, luckily nobody was behind him or
that would be bad, real bad. "That was a Shore Bird" Dean said. He
finally figurd it was a Dunlin. The Dunlin's wing seemed to be injured.
Than he hopped of the road and in a ditch. The Peregrine Falcon saw him
and came after him. He stood there for a while. Once in awhile he would
try to get it but he never did. It seemed like he didn't know what to
do. Than a Rough-Legged Hawk was watching to see if the Peregrine
Falcon had any so he could scare him away to get the food. Instead he
found a Great Blue Haron and started to chase him but he finally gave up
to get something else. Then the Great Blue Haron over by the Peregrine
Falcon. Then the Peregrine Falcon finally gave up and went back to the
place he spotted the Dunlin in the first place.
I have some questions for you:
1. Why do Birds leave from a spot and come back to the same spot?


Sincerely,
Haley Dupar
Dean's Class


Dear Bud,
I'm Kayla in Dean Drugge's class and I want to tell you about the Bald
Eagle eating the cow.
After we looked at two Bald Eagle's at their nest we went looking for
Falcons and other kinds of birds. When Mattie spotted a Bald Eagle
everyone got out their binoculars to look at the sub adult Eagle.
Somone put their binoculars on the field to see if there was a injuried
bird or dead bird. Instead the person found a dead cow with an adult
Bald Eagle eating on it. We all got out of the car and Dean scoped the
Bald Eagle and the dead cow. There were a lot of Ravens around the dead
cow but only the Bald Eagle was eating it. I have a question. Why
weren't the ravens trying to scare away the Bald Eagle so they can eat?
If you can please E- mail the answer at Kaykay112 at ol.com Thank you

from Kayla Schultz 3/2/99


Dear Bud
Feb/7/99
My favorite spot of the day was when we saw a peregrine was bathing in
standing water in a field near West 90 by a deserted barn.We sat there
and watch it for about 10 minutes. It seemed like a rare sighting ,and
it was exciting. Then we saw a prairie across the field and watched that
bird for a while.
How often do you see a pereguine bathing in the water???

Mike Decker


Dear Bud,
Hi, do you remember me? You met me at the museum. I am in Dean Drugge's
class. I want to tell you about the Peregrine Falcon and the American
Kestrel when they hit each other. We saw the birds at Church Rd.
The Peregrine Falcon hit the Kestral because the Kestrel was in it's
territory.
What happened is that the Kestrel fell 1 foot down and then it started
to fly again.
We saw the birds on February 27th. On that day I was happy because we
had a 5 falcon day before lunch. The people with me were Kayla 10 years
old,Haley 10 years old,Mattie 10 years old,Nathan 9 years old,Pablo 10
years old, Valdi 10 years old and Dean Drugge. We all had a good time. I
have a question for you. Why do peregine falcons hit birds sometimes
when they are in their territory? Well if you want to e-mail me just
send it to MarthaTash at aol.com. Thank you
Martha Hermosisisma 3/2/99


Dear Bud ,
I would like to tell you about a sighting of something very interesting
on theSkagit flats on February , 7 , 1999. We were on the Skagit flats
when we saw a very large flock of snow geese. Dean ,wanting us to hear
the sound of snow geese, stopped and rolled down his window so we could
hear their call. Then someone spotted a Bald Eagle flying towards the
flock of snow geese. As the Bald Eagle got closer the snow geese all
rose up together (unfortunately pooping on our car in the procces) .
Because the wind was blowing the geese just drifted all together into
another field. As the snow geese drifted over, one of the snow geese
knocked into a telephone wire and tumbled to the ground. We thought it
was injured because it did not attempt to fly to where all the other
snow geese landed.
Will the other snow geese wait for the snow goose to join them and not
fly until that snow goose is able to fly?
From Nathan Crum


Dear Bud:
When the class went on the birding trip
we saw a Bald Eagle chasing the mallard ducks
and he almost got one when he scared
the flock of ducks.
Will an Eagle kill and eat a duck?

pablo


Dear Budd
An hour after lunch, I spotted an American Kestral. It was flying around
the flats and landed somewhere. I was looking and looking for it and I
saw another raptor about 100ft away. We wore still looking for the
Kestral and Dean spotted it. So we went out of the car and put up the
scope. By the time Dean was trying to find the Kestral we saw it fly
away. Dean wanted to take a look at the Raptor that was 100ft away,
through the scope. He was amazed. It was a falcon eating his prey. Some
of us got to see the falcon eating the bird. After 15 sec. the falcon
flew but the bird was still on the tree.

Budd did your group see a 5 falcon day?

By: Vladimir Iliev