Subject: Skagit Shorebirds - HOW TO
Date: Aug 20 18:34:50 2001
From: Stuart MacKay - stuart at blarg.net


The best time for shorebirds at Fir Island is just about 2 hours before
high tide. Birds move off the mud and start collecting in the fields.
It's best to catch them on a rising tide since it's easier to see which
field they are in rather than cold searching the entire area. Often they
roost in a fields which are not easily visible from the road.

A rising tide is also the best time to see yellowlegs as they move to
roost. They don't roost out in the fields with the other birds and I
have no idea where they might be going.

Another reason for checking on a rising tide is that later on predators
(ie peregrines) seem to clue in on where the birds are located and the
birds disperse all over the place as a result.

Rough plowed fields are the best places to look since the birds use the
lumps of earth to hide behind. Once the field gets harrowed then the
surface is pretty smooth and birds stand out too easily to predators.
There appears to be added attraction of a ready food supply of
invertebrates exposed by the plowing, though I am not sure how long this
lasts. Plowed fields are also the best places to look for golden plover
so you "kill two birds with one stone" in a manner of speaking. Potato
fields are also good but a real pain to look through since there is
never a good vantage point and the birds hide in the furrows.

Good places to look right now on Fir Island road are the fields close to
the dyke at the Skagit Wildlife area and at the junction with Maupin
Road. Along the southern part of Maupin Road the fields between the
road and the dyke are pretty good and easy to view.

Further afield the same rules of thumb apply to the Samish flats.
Another, potentially useful spot to look, particularly for golden plover
is along Boe road at Stanwood.

Stuart
--
Stuart MacKay, Seattle, WA
stuart at blarg.net