> Thanks to the emails from Tweeters and the kind help of some people in the
> field my husband and I were able to see five different falcons yesterday.
> Oh, luck had something to do with it as well. So please bear with me as I
> give you a bird by bird account of our day -
>
Our first stop was the Gyr that has eluded us the past several times we have
tried to view it. But yesterday morning, while the frost was still shining
on the fields, we located it in what has been described to us as its
favorite tree, just a short distance from Snohomish on the old
Snohomish-Monroe road. The rising sun was shining against its white breast
and we got a very good look at it while it stayed perched in its tree.
Beautiful bird! We watched for about 30 minutes, until our toes were so
cold we couldn't feel them, and headed north.

The next falcon came as a complete surprise about 45 minutes later. We left
Snohomish and went across Highway 2 to I-5. We took the Arlington/Sylvana
exit and headed west towards Sylvana. Not a quarter of a mile off I-5,
perched beautifully on top of a telephone pole, was a Merlin! The one
falcon that I thought had the greatest opportunity of ruining our five
falcon day had appeared. There was no shoulder but also no traffic so we
took a few minutes to view the bird through the windshield of the car. It
was a beautiful bird and the best look I've had at a Merlin in a long time!


Continuing north we made a stop at Big Ditch to see if the Snowy Owls were
closer than normal. Nope, the one we saw was on its usual daytime perch of
driftwood pretty far out. A special surprise awaited us in the boat dock
channel though - a very angry otter was yelling and hissing at us for
invading his space! We watched him for a few seconds before he disappeared
into the water not to be seen again.

Northward! We turn left at Conway and head west. We are constantly
scanning for movement. We continue west at the hard right turn and make the
Maupin Road to Rawlins Road circle. There are bald eagles all over the
place! Right before we get to Rawlins road a small falcon blazes by in
front of us - I stop the car and we follow the bird across the field, hoping
it will land so we can identify it. It is either a Merlin or a Kestrel and
it is moving fast. We lose it! We drive slowly down Rawlins Road -
stopping to scan several times but the small falcon is nowhere to be seen
Rats!

Well, we must continue on. The road past La Conner and Padilla Bay yields a
lot of bald eagles (a couple of dozen) and many red tails and a few raptors
that are impossible to identify. As we approach the West 90 from a
southerly direction we spot a few cars pulled off the side of the road. We
pull in about 30 yards behind them to see what is happening. A medium sized
falcon is spotted in the field interacting with a Harrier. I follow it
until it lands and we pull out the scope to see if we can ID it. Positive
Falcon ID #3 turns out to be the Prairie Falcon. Woohoo! It sits still so
we can marvel at our good fortune and admire it for awhile. Two to go!

We search the West 90 for Peregrines to no avail. I stop at the parking
area near the barns and inquire with the people there if they have seen
either Kestrels or Peregrines. I'm sorry I didn't get anyone's name but
thanks for the information! A couple in a mini-van had just seen a
peregrine on some telephone poles near the bay. We go back to look again
and find one across the bay right above a small house. I doubt we would
have seen it without the direction from the kind people in the van so THANK
YOU! He is a magnificent bird and we watch for awhile, relishing the moment
and being grateful for our continued good fortune. Only one more falcon to
go!

We take off to look for the Kestrel. We search for about and hour and turn
up a lot of Harriers and Red Tails, along with Rough Leggeds, Bald Eagles,
and many un-identified raptors - but not one Kestrel! We head down Bayview
Road from the West 90 to check out the blueberry fields that we have
sometimes had good luck in. We head east down the road that cuts between
the blueberry fields right before the road curves up a hill towards Padilla
Bay and to our amazement not one but TWO Kestrels fly out of the fields and
land on the telephone wires - one in front and one behind the car. We pull
out the scope and spend several minutes looking at the beautiful little
birds when a THIRD one flies up! We do the Five Falcon Day happy dance in
the middle of the road (I was happy, ok?) and watch the birds until they fly
away. Woohoo! What a great day!

We spend the rest of the afternoon looking for other birds, eating lunch,
etc. We cap off the day by heading back out to Big Ditch about 45 minutes
before sunset. I lug the camera with the big lens out and we wait and hope
that one of the Snowy Owls will visit the same tree we saw her in last week
- just above the dike about a quarter of a mile down or so. She is sitting
on the same piece of drift wood as the morning and we watch and wait. After
about 15 minutes she begins to move from perch to perch. My heart races
with excitement as she flies directly towards us! I aim my camera at the
tree, hoping, hoping, hoping......... She lands in the same tree as last
week at almost the same time of day! I wonder if this could be a daily
occurrence or if we are just especially lucky. Over the next 30 minutes or
so I am able to take 38 frames of her in different poses - hopefully at
least one will come out! She takes off heading north along the dike and
lands about 40 yards away. We follow her as she continues to move 20 to 30
yards at a time, escorting us back to our vehicles.

A great day of birding! How amazing is it that we live in such a place
where within 30 minutes of our house in either direction we are treated to
such beautiful creatures? I love Puget Sound!

Cathy Wise
cathy.wise at attws.com
Marysville, WA