Hi Tweeters,
Met with my sister Valerie on Monday morning. We had a report from a
non-birder of some birds along a small creek near Blanchard. She described
them as looking like a Curlew. Stocky body, long curved bill, brown stripy
coloring, short tail. NOT A CLUE!!!!. This gal is a volunteer conducting a
survey of the salmon runs along the small creeks in the area. She has seen
these birds on a regular basis. Anyway, Valerie and I met with her on Monday
and followed her to the site. Turned out to be 4 Common Snipes. The curved
bill she saw must have been from the way they hold their heads. Great to see
these birds and solve a mystery too.
We spent the balance of the day birding around the Samish flats, Samish
Island and then over to Rosario Beach. We finished off the day at Anacortes
Wild Bird and Telescope. Left there drooling over the optics. One of the big
highlights was the siting of a Great Egret. It was standing out in the grassy
area of the tide flats area, looking south east from off Scott Road on Samish
Island.
Other highlights were the large number of raptors on the Samish flats
area. Especially the Rough-Legged Hawks and Peregine Falcons.

Our day list is as follows:

Common Loon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-necked Grebe
Western Grebe
Palegic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Mew Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Glaucus-winged Gull
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Long-tailed Duck (Oldsquah)
Trumpeter Swan (off Hwy 11 by Pulver Rd)
Hooded Merganser
Black-bellied Plover
Dunlin
Common Snipe
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk (5 plus)
Bald Eagle
Peregine Falcon (Samish Flats 2 adult and one immature in the same field)
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Crow
Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch (Heard at Rosario Beach)
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
Bewick's Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Varied Thrush
European Starling
Red-winged Blackbird
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
House Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Dark-eyed Junco
Purple Finch
House Finch

Happily birding away,
Beth Thompson Valerie Shahan
Arlington Lummi Bay
calliopehb at aol.com Valerie.Shahan at wwu.edu