Barbara, Georgia Conti, and I dodged showers today in damp, breezy weather in pursuit of owls in British Columbia. At Reiffel Sanctuary we found a disheveled PEREGRINE FALCON, at the parking lot we had tolerable looks at both the BOREAL and NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS. At Brunswick Point we saw four SNOWY OWLS. We hoped for but didn't find American Tree Sparrows on the dike at the end of 72nd St south of Ladner, but did find the LONG-BILLED CURLEW amid a flock of wigeon at Blackie Spit. On the way home we stopped at the West 90 in Skagit County for knock-out views of the GYRFALCON in cool, sunny late afternoon weather. Total species for today: 64.

Snow Goose (Several hundred over Westham Island)
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan (c. 10 birds near Chuckanut Drive in Skagit County)
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Scaup sp.
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter (1 at Tsawassen jetty)
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle (around 75 seen)
Cooper's Hawk (1 by Fraser River on Westham Island)
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk (1 by Hwy 99 in BC, 1 black morph in Skagit County)
American Kestrel (1 near I-5 and Hwy 20 in Skagit County)
Gyrfalcon
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Killdeer
Black Oystercatcher (1 at Tsawassen jetty)
Willet (1 near Tsawassen jetty)
Long-billed Curlew
Dunlin
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Snowy Owl
Boreal Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow (at least 50 on Westham Island)
Black-capped Chickadee
Winter Wren (1 at rest area north of the Bow-Edison Exit on I-5)
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
House Finch
House Sparrow

Good Birding!

Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.websterATcomcast.net