Tweeters,

Yesterday, October 3, I visited the Skagit WRA headquarters area in hopes
of seeing the Northern Waterthrush that several others have reported.
No luck, despite scouring the area for a couple of hours. However,
while at the WRA, I found an even better bird-- a WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.
The jay was seen along the Skagit Bay dyke, about 200 yards west of
where it joins the "loop" trail, about 2:00 PM.

I saw a large bird fly into a crabapple tree along the dyke. As I approached
the tree, it became apparent from the size, long tail, and bright blue wings
and tail that the bird was a jay. (It was partly obscured by foliage.) I
could also
see that the bird had white underparts, but was it a Blue Jay or Scrub-Jay?
In a moment, the bird hopped up to the top of the tree, revealing a blue,
crestless head and a white eyebrow-line. It also gave a couple of the
unmistakable "shrenk, shrenk" calls. The jay then flew off to the west, and
I did not see it again.

My understanding is that there are fewer than 5 Skagit County records
for Western Scrub-Jay. Scott or anyone, do you have details of previous
records?

All the best,

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net