Yesterday (Saturday, 2/23/02) 7 other birders and I birded Drayton Harbor in
Blaine, in Whatcom County, and Skagit Wildlife Management Headquarters in
Skagit County. Between the 2 locations, we observed 70 species of birds.

Although the temperature was pretty chilly in Blaine at 7:30AM when the trip
began, it later warmed up. We were fortunate to be without rain or much
wind throughout the day.

In Blaine we were joined by Jack Kintner who was kind enough to contribute
some local knowledge which included birding locations.

Drayton Harbor Highlights 7:30AM until about 1:30PM:
Marbled Godwit- 1 bird near the outlet of Cain Creek
Pacific Loon- literally hundreds throughout the harbor
Common Loon
Dunlin- a flyby of about 10 birds
Eared Grebe- at least 2 birds
Red-throated loon- 15 or more
Long-tailed Duck-4
all 3 scoters (6 of which were BLACK SCOTERS)
Harlequin Duck-7
both goldeneyes
Cooper's Hawk- a juv female with a stuffed crop did a fly by
YELLOW-BILLED LOON- seen at close range near the Harbor Office with 2 COMMON
LOONS. This juvenile was slightly larger then the COLO. Overall color was
much lighter, the bill was light colored, larger, and was carried in an
upturned fashion. The dark auricular spot was obvious. Pale barring on the
back was easy to see. This is possibly the same individual that Jack
reported last week in the same location.

Highlights at Skagit Wildlife Management about 2:30 to 5:30:
White-throated Sparrow
Merlin
Violet-green Swallow- at least 1
Barn Swallow- at least 6
Tree Swallow- I counted 20, but at at one time there were 40-50 swallows of
mixed species flying above.
Harrier- juvenile w/ a white tag on the right wing
Although we put in a good effort, we did not find Pine Grosbeak or Common
Redpoll.

Marv Breece
Seattle, WA