We went to see the GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE yesterday (Sunday, January 14) and
arrived in STANWOOD at approximately 1:00 P.M and saw it almost instantly at
the WOLFKILL FEED & SEED on the telephone wire with around 20 or so BREWER'S
BLACKBIRD and some EUROPEAN STARLING. It was noticeably larger than them,
but still seemed quite small. I never saw any of the Crows near it, but I
think it's overall size was a great deal smaller than them, but it's tail
made it appear a bit larger than we believe it actually was. It was raining
rather heavily on the way there but stopped soon before we arrived, though
it was still quite overcast. We then went to the BIG DITCH access to the
SKAGIT WILDLIFE AREA & after quite alot of searching and help from other
birders saw one SNOWY OWL far off near the shore, as well as a PRAIRIE
FALCON in a relatively nearby field, it was barely a light colored dot with
the naked eye. We greatly appreciated and enjoyed the helping birders
showing it to us. They are such beautiful birds! We saw 3 NORTHERN HARRIER
as well as 2 BALD EAGLE, several SONG SPARROW, and quite a few
unidentifiable GULLS in the distance, though they appeared to be
GLACOUS-WINGED. There were WELL over a hundred TRUMPETER SWANS in the fields
on the way, but surprisingly we saw no Snow Geese. There were many BALDS &
RED-TAILEDS along the roads as well, I didn't keep track but I would guess
around 25 RED-TAILED and 20 BALD. Many of those were sitting in pairs in
trees along the fields. I am sure there were ALOT more, but since it was
overcast we couldn't see that well. Also I cannot say for sure there weren't
Rough-legged or Harlan's among them, though most appeared to be traditional
Red-taileds.

We were wondering where Spencer Island is located, and if anyone has
directions to where the Red-Shouldered is most reliably seen, any
information would be greatly appreciated.

Also, if anyone knows of any rare, unusual, or interesting birds in the
vicinity of Seattle, the Skagit/Samish Flats, or Blaine please post any
information you have, since we plan to go to see the Hawk Owl soon and would
be stopping at areas along the way and would really like to see as many
birds as possible.
Thank you!

Elizabeth Noyes
Port Angeles, WA
noyes at olypen.com