Very long day driving every known road in the area but well worth it! Glorious cobalt skies and little to no wind greeted us as we arrived to the area. Frozen ground was the first thing I noticed and we took advantage of this to walk areas that are normally needing hip boots to access. North Fork, Big Ditch and West 90 among the named locations that were very pleasant to walk and lots of raptors were present. The theme for the day seemed to be close encounters. Not sure if the cold has birds a bit lethargic or if they are just used to all the people by now but many Red Tails, Short Eared Owls and Bald Eagles (adult and immature) allowed close encounters (under 40' and in some instances 15-20'). A few went out of there way to come over and inspect us as we walked about too.
Bald Eagles have seemed to have migrated out of the river valleys now and are staging at tidal areas where food is more abundant (ducks!). Every tree, root ball or fence post had birds on them yesterday!
Interesting thing as we walked along the fields at West 90 though was the great number of "feather piles" we discovered. After rifling through a few a identifying the birds they seem to have come from Mallards and Northern Shovelers. Are the Short Eared Owls killing ducks that are the same size or even larger? I thought short eared owls mainly hunted rodents (mice, voles, etc...). I know there are many Red Tails, Rough Legged Hawks, Peregrine and Bald Eagles in the area but these feathers seemed to be on the Short Eared Owls "mounds" that they have territorially claimed? Any thoughts?
Also of special note is what appeared to have been a Gyrfalcon that I thought I saw earlier in the year near Eide Road heading west towards Camano Island. This is the second time I have seen this bird and am sure now that my ID was correct earlier this winter. He seems to be hanging out on the west side of the valley here away from any access points and near the slough that is now filled in the with the amazing amounts of driftwood that the storms blew in this year. There are 2 places here though to pull over and scan the fields from your car. Has anybody else seen this bird?
Overall a great day to be out and enjoy the (sort of warm) sunshine.

Bryan