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We rarely see any Tweeters' posts on San Juan Island, but it is one of our
favorite birding spots. The habitat is varied, from salt water to fresh
water, woods, open prairie, rocky shores and sandy beaches. We spotted
more than 60 species last weekend. We are novice birders, so experienced
birders would have seen lots more. Below are some of the birds (and some
mammals) we observed. Hopefully, we didn't mis-identify too many of them!

We missed seeing the immature Golden Eagle that was reported at American
Camp. Also, missed seeing the red- tailed foxes there, though we've seen
them before.

There was an interesting goose at English Camp--perhaps just a hybrid, but
we'll describe it in any case. It was hanging out with a group of Canada
geese. It was slightly smaller and "rounder". It had pink legs and feet,
but an all black bill. The body was light gray and the neck and head were
tending toward a darker gray/brown. No white marks on the head or neck.

Spring was definitely in the air, as we observed bald eagles and black
oystercatchers mating. All the water birds were in breeding plumage.

Red necked grebe
Eared grebe
Horned grebe
Pied-bill grebe
Double-crested cormorants
Pelagic cormorants
Brandt cormorants
Great blue herons
Canada geese
Brandt geese (flock flying overhead)
Gadwalls
Green-winged teals
American wigeons
Northern pintails
Wood ducks
Ring-necked ducks
Surf scoters
White-winged scoter
Harlequin ducks
Common goldeneyes
Buffleheads
Common mergansers
Red-breasted mergansers
Hooded mergansers
Black oystercatchers
Black-bellied plover (there were lots of shorebirds way out there we
couldn't identify--we didn't time the tides correctly)
Greater yellowlegs
Glaucous winged gulls
Mew gulls (probably other varieties of gulls also--but we didn't try to
identify them....)
Pigeon guillemots
Rhinocerous auklet (from the ferry)
Turkey vultures
Bald eagles (many, both adult and immature)
Northern harriers
Red-tailed hawks
Rough legged hawk (on rt. 20 driving toward Anacortes)
Osprey (pair in their nest near English camp)
California quail
Rufous hummingbirds
Kingfisher
Northern flicker
Downy woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Barn swallows
Tree swallows
Violet-green swallows
Ravens
Black-capped chickadees
Chestnut-backed chickadees
Red-breasted nuthatch
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Orange-crowned warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler
Spotted towhee
Juncos
Savannah sparrows
White-crowned sparrows
Red winged blackbirds
Brewers blackbirds
Pine siskins
Gold finches

Mammals:
Sea lions
Harbor seals
River otter
Rabbits
Racoon
Deer
Camel (!)

Ed Freedman and Henne Queisser
Mercer Island, WA