Tweeters:

Just returned from a MT trip and managed a couple Snohomish County birds
worthy of note en route August 24, the first a male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE perched
in a low alder along the edge of a brushy/marshy area off the north side of
Rt 2 just east of Monroe (spied there by son Odin); a bit later I was
surprised when a GREEN HERON flew right over Rt 2 just east of the Beckler
Rd turnoff near Skykomish, which I thought was pretty far inland and upland
for that species.

As noted elsewhere, Bullock's Oriole leaves our area pretty early, my latest
for Skagit Co is only August 24, although there is a record of an
overwintering bird in Mt. Vernon at a feeder.

Montana notes: this was only incidental/sporadic birding on a family
outing, but I did manage an out-of-range Dusky Flycatcher, an Indigo x
Lazuli Bunting, and several of the prairie specialties were still around.
Perhaps most interesting were the numbers of Clay-colored Sparrows (abundant
in Circle, northeast MT, last weekend, also seen near Helena on Monday).

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com