What to do with half a day, wife and older son off on a Cub Scout thing, and
me with my younger 3 1/2 year old son ?????

Check out Whidbey Island for a little shorebirding recon of course, and test
the boy's mettle for road-tripping.

I hadn't birded Whidbey Island before, so I decided to check out Crockett
Lake and Bos Lake to the extent my son would allow. I can't report on the
relative quality of the conditions in terms of water level, but Crockett
Lake looked promising,and Bos Lake looked ok I guess
http://www.pbase.com/nmcgarry/image/49062874. There wasn't a whole lot of
action though. We didn't bird Crockett Lake thoroughly (2:00pm), cause it's
tough to keep a three year old entertained while telling him not to run
around in the mud or hang on my tripod. I was also politely "Jaegered" by a
park ranger who didn't want me parking just off the road there though he
added that the State police wouldn't want me parked on the asphalt shoulder
(DOH!). Anyway, nothing caught my eye on the east end, but in the middle
section, we managed to find a pocket of several WESTERN SANDPIPERS and one
pleasing PECTORAL SANDPIPER. I believe a few COMMON TERNS flew over as
well, but I don't have a recording to confirm. The call was far more
delicate than the squawky Caspian call, and the bills weren't as dayglowy
orange either. Also a few KILLDEER about and a few LESSER YELLOWLEGS. The
west end had many gulls, but we didn't park and venture out to inspect the
crowd closely. I'm looking forward to getting back there again when I can
be more mobile and take more time to properly peruse the whole scene.

Bos Lake (4:00pm) offered nothing notable . . .various gulls in the SW
corner and a few Dowitchers, Lesser Yellowlegs and a Western Sandpiper in
the NW corner. The highlight was that my son decided he actually wanted to
start looking at the birds!!!!!! He even managed to look through the right
end of the binos, so this is a pretty major development.

Check it out. He's a natural!
http://www.pbase.com/nmcgarry/image/49062354

On the way up around Deception Pass and down I-5, we stopped at Eide Road at
the north end of Camano Island. Had a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs just over
the levee and a pished up COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and a SONG SPARROW or two. On
the way out, I had my most intriguing pishing experience. Starting with a
silent, motionless thicket of blackberries, small tree, etc . . . I pished a
few times and waited. Within a minute emerged 3 BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, 2
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, two, maybe three GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS, and a
BEWICK'S WREN. What a response!
______________________________________

Ned McGarry (assisted by Sean)
Sammamish, WA