Dear Tweeters,

Bob Kuntz, Howard Armstrong, Steve and Gail Aslanian
and I had a good day's birding Skagit yesterday. We
did dip on the Marbled Godwit that had made a brief
appearance on private property just south of Thousand
Trails campground near LaConner (that bird having
shown up last Sunday). However, we saw 20 Surfbirds,
15 Black Oystercatchers, and 100's of Black Turnstones
in the area, plus a Western Sandpiper. In Anacortes we
saw an Anna's Hummingbird on private property. Off
March's Point (the very tip) we saw an Eared Grebe.

Off Thousand Trails we saw a bird I am calling a
Barrow's Goldeneye X Common Goldeneye hybrid, adult
male. It had a semi-teardrop-shaped face spot, plus a
pattern of black and white on the folded wing that was
utterly different from that of every male Common
Goldeneye present there. The forehead angle seemed
intermediate in slope between that of the two species.
We also saw a funny gull that might have had a little
Herring Gull mixed in with the Glaucous-winged and
Western.

At Green Point we saw one Rhino Auklet, one Pigeon
Guillemot, several Murres and Marbled Murrelets, but
no Ancients.

We also dipped on the Pacific Golden Plover on the
Samish Flats.

Today on Cockreham Island I saw a Yellow-rumped
Warbler, a White-throated Sparrow, and hundreds of
American Crows. A few of the latter were doing their
peculiar "waah-waah" call, sometimes also
"waah-waah-waah." The latter rendition sounds like the
blatting brass notes played when comedians of the
Fozzy Bear ilk attempt to make jokes.

Good birding today!


Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

near Lyman (Skagit County), Washington

garybletsch at yahoo.com


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