Subject: Snohomish gyrfalcon
Date: Mar 27 16:58:22 2002
From: Hal Opperman - hal at catharus.net


Steve Gerstle and I birded Spencer Island, the Snohomish Flats, and
Crescent Lake (Two Rivers) Wildlife Area today. Things are pretty
quiet in this in-between season, with winter visitors thinning out
and spring arrivals still mostly not back yet (except for hordes of
Tree and Violet-Green Swallows). The Gyrfalcon was not on any of its
usual perches on the flats along Old Snohomish-Monroe Highway. But
we did find a gray Gyrfalcon -- presumably the same bird -- on the
flats west of Snohomish. It was harassing a large flock of gulls in
fields south of the Lowell-Snohomish River Road. This road turns off
west from the Avenue D (Airport Way) river bridge across from
downtown Snohomish and runs between the Snohomish River dike and the
BNSF railroad embankment. Our vantage point was 1.5 miles west of
the road's beginning at the Avenue D bridge, where you can pull off
on the south side and peer beneath a railroad overpass. This is
about one mile west of the State Route 9 underpass.

Hal Opperman
Medina, Washington
hal at catharus.net