I was a first time visitor to the Whatcom-Skagit County Line ponds on
Saturday June 25 with high hopes of finding American Redstarts. Yes!!
I saw males and they were singing, but I wasn't so lucky with females.
(I found the American Redstarts at the end of the trail without the
entrance gate.)

I'm at a loss to describe how enchanting it was to have such a place
all to myself from 11 AM to 2 PM. Being alone, I was able to quietly
walk along the trails. I spent most of my time standing in one spot for
as long as I wanted or could tolerate. On this trip, I chose not to
keep a list and to simply enjoy myself. Birds were everywhere and were
often only a few feet away. I found that if I stayed still the birds
came to me. Fledglings were plentiful - bustits, song sparrow,
black-capped chickadees, cowbirds, etc. I had a very close encounter
with a Pacific-slope flycatcher. Two Red-breasted sapsuckers puttered
around a tree 10 feet above my head. The Redstarts graced me with
perfect views from all sides for many minutes on several occasions.
Warbling vireos were no strangers. My ears rang with all the sounds
being produced - in the stillness of the greenery, it was almost
deafening, even with the river so close. For anyone wanting to bone up
on bird song, this is a perfect place.

My visit to the ponds made me think about the habitat on/near a piece
of unproved property we own on the Skagit River on the opposite side
from Marblemount. The habitat is very similar to the County Line ponds
and I got to thinking that maybe, just maybe, there are Redstarts there.
Although I walked through my parcel and the 60+ acres held in common by
the other property owners, I didn't see or hear any Redstarts. I'll
have to keep checking this area in the future in case Redstarts are
breeding here.

Georgia Conti
West Seattle
georgia.cont at seattle.gov