A lot of "disturbance" with shotguns blasting away at any piece of
freshwater or tidal area yesterday. However while the numbers of birds
were small (apart from ducks) the quality was pretty good with a total
of 101 species seen. The highlights:

At Crockett Lake (10.45am - 12.20pm)

1 whimbrel
1 semi-palmated sandpiper
2 pectoral sandpipers
1 american golden plover
5 semi-palmated plovers
21 american pipits
1 lapland longspur
1 mourning dove
1 american kestrel
48 hooded mergansers

Other shorebirds: 13 black-bellied plover, 48 least sandpipers, 20+
western sandpipers, 18 dunlin, 16 long-billed dowitchers.

Penn Cove (2.00pm - 2.35pm):

thousands upon thousands of white-winged and surf scoter with small
numbers of black scoter thrown in for good measure. The rough
percentage of each species: 55% white-winged scoter, 40% surf scoter,
5% black scoter. The entire bay seemed to be full of ducks - quite
spectacular.

Hastie Lake Boat Launch (3.00 - 3.25pm)

15+ red-throated loons
6 harlequin duck
4 marbled murrelets
1 band-tailed pigeon

Fir Island (4.30 - 6.30pm)

8 mourning doves (near the south end of Dry Slough Road)

at the Jensen access:

thousands and thousands of dabbling ducks well out of blasting range,
out in the bay. The rough percentage of each species: 60% northern
pintail, 35% american wigeon, 5% other.

1 Cooper's hawk
1 merlin
160 american pipits
1 greater yellowlegs
23 snow geese
2 caspian terns
168 common mergansers


There was a big movement of american robins down Whidbey Island first
thing in the morning. Lots of yellow-rumped warblers still around as
well.

Stuart
--
Stuart MacKay, Seattle, WA