Subject: [Tweeters] Boundary Bay Snowys
Date: Jan 13 19:37:33 2006
From: Alice Swan - aswan at rockisland.com


Greetings Tweets,
Yesterday my husband and I ventured from our soggy island in hope of
seeing a Snowy Owl. I had kept up with the Tweeters owl sightings, and
we decided to drive to BC and investigate Boundary Bay, which we
discovered was startlingly close--only a little more than an hour's
drive from Burlington. Not only did we see 12 snowys, representing the
full range of plumage variation and sitting close enough to the dike
path that they could be seen well without a scope (too wet), but we
also saw at least 24 Bald Eagles, including juveniles and subadults,
perched in trees, on fenceposts, and on the ground, around muddy fields
filled with ducks and gulls, along Ladner Trunk Road from exit 20 on
Highway 99 to 72nd St., as well as along 72nd to the dike access. We
saw several harriers hunting the edges of the golf course next to the
dike, as well as several great blues, and a single red tail who was
harried and driven away by the harriers. Then it began to pour and
everyone but the snowys sought cover. In hope of seeing a few more
birds from the car before heading home, we drove to Reifel Waterfowl
Sanctuary, which we found has a fairly visible creek alongside its
access road. This was full of mallards, wigeons, mergansers, coots and
cormorants, as well as a single pair of wood ducks. A cormorant (Double
Crested) caught, positioned and swallowed a good-sized fish while we
were watching. We also saw a Bald Eagle on a tree limb over the water
working hard on a bone of something--probably a duck leg. We saw
several flocks of trumpeters, the largest in a field alongside Highway
99 near exit 16. On our way home, we saw another large flock of
trumpeters alongside I5 on the skagit flats, and a Rough-legged Hawk on
a power pole near Burlington, amid all the juvenile Red-Tails on other
power poles.
Even in the non-ideal weather, it was a fine trip, and I'm very
grateful to all the Tweeters owl posters--especially Guy Monty for his
clear directions to the 72nd Street dike access.
Alice Swan
Orcas Island, WA
aswan at rockisland.com