Hey Tweeters,

Eight hearty birders came on today?s SAS Accessible Birding field trip.
Nearly half the group were disabled, however all were ambulatory so we
were able to walk down to the water at the Samish Island park and we
extended the trip home to Fir Island where we walked more than half a
mile along the dike at Rawlin?s Road for close-ups of some 10,000 Snow
Geese that marched steadily toward us to a distance of 60-70 feet. The
flock contained two intermediate BLUE morphs spotted by Etta Casey. All
3 Mergansers and 3 Cormorants were seen. Ravens were plentiful, but
fewer Harriers than have been seen lately. No Short-eared Owls. Other
highlights of the trip included a MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, and the GYRFALCON
in a fascinating confrontation with a Peregrine Falcon. BARN SWALLOWS
surprised us at the W. Edison pull out on the southern end of Samish
Bay. It was delightful to hear a MARSH WREN at the W 90.

Although we had socked in fog and, later, light snow on the way up, the
weather was unexpectedly nice on the flats. Partially sunny skies
provided good color, but some glare, and colder temperatures around 40?F.

The list of 58 species follows:

Snow Goose 10K, with 2 BLUE morphs
Canada Goose
Brant
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Northern Pintail
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Surf Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow?s Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Western Grebe
Brandt?s Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
GYRFALCON
Peregrine Falcon
Black-bellied Plover
Dunlin
Wilson?s Snipe
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Common Raven
BARN SWALLOW
Black-capped Chickadee
MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE
MARSH WREN
American Robin
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln?s Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer?s Blackbird
House Finch

Patricia S. Lott
Seattle, WA
mail to: pslott at comcast.net