Tweeters:
Beth's description is hilarious. What's a gas hawk?
Now here is my experience at Fir Island (which is the south part of the
Skagit Flats).
A couple of weeks ago I started reading reports that there might be some
good shorebirds (rarities, even) on the flats at Fir Island, at the Jensen
Access. So instead of heading south to Ocean Shores, I headed north to the
Conway exit and out to Fir Island. It was late morning, and after a few
wrong turns, I finally made it to the correct access. I was all alone. I
put on my knee-high rubber boots, packed a day pack, and my scope, and tried
to head straight out toward the mud flats. In the distance I could see some
gulls, Mallards, and GBH's. No shorebirds. There were grasses on the flats
below the dike and it got to be watery mud. One of my boots got sucked off.
Whoa, maybe I should have worn hip waders. These boots were not going to be
adequate. Then I almost fell in. I had to pick my way very carefully from
grass bunch, to grass bunch, and I still didn't get very far out from the
dike. It was a LOT more work than anywhere at Ocean Shores and I was only
able to see Greater Yellowlegs and some Dowitchers at a great distance. As
I came back up to the dike, east of the access, some farmer yelled at me
because that part of the dike is private property. (No sign, it had been
knocked down.) Oh, brother.
When I got back to the parking lot, some good birder folks told me a
birdwatching woman somewhere in the world had DIED walking in mud when she
got sucked down into it. Whew. They then took me to the Skagit City dairy
pond on Moore Road, so I learned where that was, and we saw Lesser
Yellowlegs there. The day was not totally wasted. Then it started to rain,
and I headed home.
I was told later that you can get on the dike at the main Skagit Wildlife
Area, turning off on Wiley Road from Fir Is Rd (this is where people go to
see Sparrows in the winter). Apparently you can walk way out on the dike
there to view the flats. (All of these areas require the Access Stewardship
Sticker available at sporting goods stores.)
I think I will have to ask some more questions about viewing the Fir Island
mud flats before I ever try it again. How do folks do it? What do they
wear? Do they put on hip waders? Is there a better place for folks like me
to walk out on the dike at Fir Island? Has anyone died, yet? ;-)
Yours, Carol Schulz
DesMoines

----- Original Message -----
From: <Calliopehb at aol.com>
> Here's the highlighter of what we saw.
> Brown stripy things (Sp.)
> Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz in the bush (Heard) (Sp.)
> Gas Hawk (Sp.)
> Beth Thompson
> Arlington, WA
>