Had a short birding-walk early Easter morning around our place in n. Lake
Stevens, and then again late managed to log about 45 minutes near the Jensen
access in Skagit County.

The highlight was a female THREE-TOED WOODPECKER that fed in tall hemlocks
along our entrance road at about 7:30 am. I watched the bird for about 15
minutes before it disappeared into heavy timber. It worked the top sections
of a tall dead W. Hemlock snag and a live tree nearby.

This was #108 for our property and unexpected, given our low elevation (300'
or so). This supposedly non-migratory species does seem to have some
downslope movements in fall, and I'm figuring that this was a bird that
wintered locally (we're pretty close to Mt. Pilchuk/Mt. Loop Hwy). I've had
few other montane visitors, although we had a Gray Jay last summer.

The first interesting bird of the morn, however, was a BARRED OWL along the
north section of our loop trail. The bird was plainly having a hard time,
as it was being mobbed mercilessly by 6 or so raucous Steller's Jays. We've
had several records of Barred Owl in the past.

In search of early passerine migrants a bit later, I came up pretty empty,
having a hard time even finding Yellow-rumps. I did note an apparent
migrant VIRGINIA RAIL that flew across the Jordan Rd. just n.w. of Granite
Falls. The bird flew right in front of the car after having passed over
pasture to land in a roadside ditch with a small patch of Hardhac (Spirea
douglasii). Less notable for the morning's observations: a N. Rough-winged
Swallow over our house (rare for us) and a Barn Swallow (not early of
course) at the Assoc. Sand & Gravel lake near Getchell Station.

>From Jensen near dusk, I had a PRAIRIE FALCON perched on some driftwood near
the high-tide mark. There was a migrant SEMIPALMATED PLOVER on the plowed
fields here also, and a flock of about 100 AM. PIPITS was noted along the n.
end of nearby Maupin Rd.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
email: scottratkinson at hotmail.com
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