Yesterday I saw/heard two or three TREE SWALLOWS on the loop trail
on Fir Island in Skagit County (WDFW land, South Access). Singers of note
included SONG SPARROWS, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, BROWN CREEPERS, and
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES (their two-note song) -- and we didn't get there
until mid-day. About a half-dozen AUDUBON'S YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were
busy foraging high in the trees, but kept silent (perhaps due to the time of
day).
At the North Access to the WDFW dike land on Fir Island, highlights
included an AMERICAN BITTERN in flight, a SHORT-EARED OWL perched on a
wooden cross-beam right next to the dike/trail, and over a hundred NORTHERN
PINTAILS at water's edge.
One of my best birding experiences ever involves the Tree Swallows
who nest every year at the loop trail: If you've been there in late
spring/summer, you know how buggy it gets; one such day I went there by
myself, started walking down the trail, and suddenly found myself surrounded
by dozens of Tree Swallows, swooping and diving within inches of me as they
went after bugs. They seemed totally unafraid of me, and indeed I was
pretty startled by them at first until I realized they were way too nimble
to run into me. They accompanied me for several hundred yards, as I tried
my best to soak in what I knew was a very special experience.
Sustenance while birding: For those of you who wait every year for
Snow Goose Produce on Fir Island to open, it's now open, although they don't
have much yet besides daffodils and ice cream. There's also a great new
year-round store right up the road over the North Fork bridge, the Rexville
Store. For starters, they roast their own coffee. They carry lots of
gourmet items, live oysters and crab, specialty breads and pastries, deli
sandwiches and soups, a nice wine selection, etc. -- definitely worth a stop
if you're in the neighborhood.

Andrea Grad
Alki
agrad at helsell.com