Hi Tweets

I lead an SAS field trip up to the Skagit and Samish flats yesterday. We started out down near the Skagit Game Range and had a NORTHERN SHRIKE along Mann Rd just west of Wylie Rd. At the Hayton Snow Goose Preserve we walked as far as we could on the dike and had a nice SNOWY OWL perched on one of the log root balls - got very nice looks. Had some BUFFLEHEAD and GREATER and LESSER SCAUP in the same area. At the Jensen Access we had two SNOWY OWLS, one on a log and one on the edge of the dike. About 800 SNOW GEESE were north of Fir Island Rd near the Hayton Preserve. Scattered TRUMPETER SWANS were on Fir Island. Lots of adult and immature BALD EAGLES all over.

On Best Rd just south of SR20 we had a PEREGRINE FALCON. On Bayview-Edison Rd we had another PEREGRINE FALCON. We had a nice NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED HAWK on a wire along Farm to Market Rd. By the time we got to the Samish Flats it was rainy steadily and hard. There were NO birds at the West 90, but in the field across from the parking lot we had a laaaaarge flock of DUNLIN and BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (but the rain was too hard to get out and scope). Just north of the West 90 we had a MERLIN (very wet and hunkered down) on a wire on the right side of the road. In the bay there were a few AMERICAN WIGEON and one EURASIAN WIGEON. At the WDFW access at the north end of Samish Island we had BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON, RED-THROATED and PACIFIC LOON. Also present were SURF SCOTERS and LONG-TAILED DUCKS.

Elsewhere on the Samish Flats we had several RED-TAILED HAWKS, several fields with very large numbers of TRUMPETER SWANS, and one of the flooded fields had lots of ducks - MALLARDS, AMERICAN WIGEON, GADWALL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL and NORTHERN PINTAIL.

A nice day, no rain early but steady rain all afternoon long. 56 species all together.

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville WA
bellasoc at isomedia.com