Hi Monte & all,

I was glad to see Monte from Lummi Island?s post extolling the joys of Yardbirding. Now if that list were entered into the YardBirdRace it would likely be a winner for Lummi, a contender in WhatcomCo, would become a record holder and would help organizations like WASHINGTON BIRDER magazine, the local Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy or BirdLife International.

To see the leaderboard, read about it or get instructions on entering go to

http://www.ednewbold.com/yardbird.htm

or email me at yardbirdrace at yahoo.com

I wanted to post quickly also about a trip we made to near Stanwood today to the sewage ponds there and the preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy where admission may be a slightly problematical issue. After today, I thought TNC should charge $100 or more admission. The high price would have the advantage of teaching everyone a big lesson: preserving land is expensive. Anyway, it sure works for golf. I?m tired of going to places where the access is free, and then finding that nobody is there, perhaps because they think you get what you pay for.


Anyway, after Bobbi and Curt Pearson and Delia and I stopped in Edmonds and were shown a beautiful FORSTER'S TERN, Common Terns & Parasitic Jaeger among many others by the many nice birders there, we headed north.

The water at the preserve was awfully low, but there was some water and mud and along with Killdeer, Black-bellied Plovers, Long-billed Dowitchers, Least Sandpipers & Greater Yellowlegs there was one STILT SANDPIPER.

I got shots of it that are at: http://www.ednewbold.com/whatsnew.htm

The place was busting at the seams with Yellow-rumped Warblers, there were a few Common Yellowthroats and one PALM WARBLER came in to give us all a demonstration of it?s great tail-wagging skills. We all got good looks, and I?d have a good shot of it except for the &^%(# autofocus on my camera. We flushed one SHORT-EARED OWL. There were tons, or pounds of Savannah Sparrows plus White-crowned, Golden-crowned and a Lincolns. There was a Coopers, two Peregrines, Red-tails, Kestrels & Bald Eagle. Virginia Rails heard & American Pipits in the ag fields & Barn Swallows overhead.

At the Stillaguamish River boat launch we had Turkey Vultures, with 3 for the day, so yardbirders should expect them over Seattle soon.

At the Stanwood Sewage lagoon we had many as in 15 plus or minus Wilson?s Snipe and one LESSER YELLOWLEGS.

We ended up at English Boom in Camano where we were somewhat relieved to see all of Stan Kostka?s Purple Martins were gone, and a Red Breasted Nuthatch became #85 species for a day where we failed to get House Sparrow and, appropriately now that it's Goose season, Canada Goose.

Thanks all

Ed Newbold ednewbold1 at yahoo.com or enter or ask about YardBirdRace at yardbirdrace at yahoo.com residential Beacon Hill where a Golden-crowned Kinglet is coming in for a daily bath in the ?creek.?

















---------------------------------
Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Yahoo! Small Business.