Hi Tweets -

I also was up for the Skagit Raptor Count today. Steve Gerstle and I had
a pretty good day in our area. It started out with a Rough-legged Hawk
and a Merlin (either the first for the area or one of very few
sightings). I took the Merlin as a good harbinger. We had numbers of
Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks and several or the other usual
suspects.

Along with many others, I stayed in the area this afternoon to overdose
on raptors - loads of Rough-legged Hawks and Northern Harriers out by
the West 90 as well as a dark-morph female Rough-legged Hawk and a
Harlan's Hawk. We had a male American Kestrel fly in and perch on a pole
between the T and West 90. At the entrance to Samish Island there was a
beautiful Peregrine Falcon perched on a tree which made a swift attack
to the edge of the bay, missed, and returned to it's perch. On
Bayview-Edison Rd. just south of Sullivan Rd. was a very nice looking
Prairie Falcon. I scoured the flats for the reported immature Gyrfalcon,
but no luck and also missed the immature Gyr down on Fir Island. I did
see the adult male dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk on Young Rd. As I headed
for home I remembered the Gyr outside of Snohomish and diverted to make
a try. Got there about 4:45 and no bird. I explored some of the
surrounding roads and was heading back to Snohomish at about 5:30. The
grey Gyrfalcon was perched in it"s customary tree in the field across
from the farm south of the Pilchuck River bridge. Watched it until the
light got really low, while several thousand crows headed in for their
night roost north of this area. About 5:55 the Gyr left it's perch in a
long swoop down toward the junction of the Pilchuck and Snoqualmie
rivers and out of sight. Great finish to a fine day.

Good birding,

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville, WA
bellasoc at isomedia.com
www.peregrinenorthwest.com