While working in the Evergreen Arboretum ( at Legion Park ) in north Everett on August 15, I was surprised to see a Monarch butterfly - a smallish bright one (female I presume). More surprisingly I soon saw a very large (presumably male) Monarch flopping around - it flew around quite a while, I think the same one - it was very large pale and beat-up ( larger than the many Tiger Swallowtails around). Ironic as I was just back from southern Ontario where Monarchs are common. Pyle in ' Butterflies of Cascadia ' say's they can turn up anywhere around here , but these are the first I've ever seen on the westside.Anyone else out there seen any this summer?

On August 16 out on Spenser Island I came across many Black-headed Grosbeaks - five or six - all feeding together in an active group. Male , female and immatures. All were flycatching, along with even more Cedar Waxwings. The grosbeaks flycatching was with short leaps off a branch, the waxwings with their longer flights.

The landscape of Spenser Island is rapidly changing with the breaching of the dike on the north (game dept) side which is now allowing the tide to flow in and out. All the low- lying alders are now dead. It will be interesting to see how many Sitka Spruce make it - they are adapted to tidewater. Most of the alder snags to the south - long dead from previous dike breaching - are gone from last winters wind and flood. The several hundred acres of tidal restoration to the north surely will increase the numbers of shorebirds coming through.


Jeff Gibson, Everett WA