Yesterday I went up and birded around Fir Island and then stopped by the West 90 and Samish Island. I found 81 species including the following highlights:

Black Scoter (1) - from the park on Wharf Road on Samish Island
Gyrfalcon (1) - perched on a telephone pole on Bayview-Edison Road
Glaucous Gull (1) - Game Range, 1st or 2nd winter bird seen well flying near the end of the outer dike. How can you tell 1st/2nd winter GLGUs apart?
Swamp Sparrow (1) - Game Range
White-throated Sparrow (2) - Game Range
Rusty Blackbird (1) - at intersection of Wylie and Mann Roads at 8:15am

At the West 90 there were 3 Short-eared Owls and 4 American Pipits in the early afternoon. On the way back home I stopped to look for the Bewick's Swan on Fir Island, but couldn't find it without having a scope. There was a flock of about 200 American Pipits just off the road here.


Good Birding,
Ryan Merrill
Chestnut Hill, MA
merrillr AT bc.edu