Today I birded in portions of Skagit, Island, and Jefferson counties, with the goal of getting a decent look at some ANCIENT MURRELETS. My first stop was at Deception Pass State Park (at both Rosario Head and West Point). I spent a couple of hours looking and could not locate any ANCIENT MURRELETS, but did have a good variety of waterfowl including 50~ RED-THROATED LOONS. I then decided to take the Pt Townsend-Keystone Ferry, since there have been recent reportings of ANCIENT MURRELETS on the route. I was not disappointed, as about 1/3 of the way across there was a group of 7 birds near the ferry, with more to come. I observed 35 birds on the crossing and had some good looks, with one group being close to the Port Townsend ferry terminal. Additional highlights of my trip today were:

Black Oystercatcher - 4 at West Point and 2 at Rosario Head (Deception Pass)

Varied Thrush - 2 at Rosario Head State Park

Pigeon Guillemot - 40~ at West Point (Deception Pass)

Long-tailed Duck - 9 at Fort Flagler

Eurasion Wigeon - 1 at Port Hadlock boat launch (Lower Hadlock Road)

Harlequin Duck - 2 at Keystone Ferry terminal, 8 at Oak Bay county park, and one each at Fort Worden & Fort Flagler

Brant - 60~ birds at Fort Flagler

Marbled Murrelet - 6 at Fort Worden and 8 while on the Pt Townsend - Keystone ferry

Cheers and good birding



Michael Fleming

Ballard, WA

michaellf AT myway.com

_______________________________________________
No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding.
Make My Way your home on the Web - http://dell.myway.com