Subject: [Tweeters] WOS field trip Snohomish & Skagit Counties
Date: Aug 22 20:25:03 2007
From: Marv Breece - mbreece at earthlink.net


Today (8.22.07) I led a Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) field trip to birding locations in Snohomish and Skagit Counties.

The day started very slowly at Channel Drive in Skagit County, between La Conner and Hwy 20. The water was too high for shorebirds and the fog too thick to see the birds anyway. We did see a few BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and several ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS. The OC Warblers were lutescens with a probable orestera.

Our focus was on shorebirds, so after a few stops where we saw few or none, we arrived at the Stanwood STP in Snohomish County. Here we observed a single juv STILT SANDPIPER, a few LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS (adults w/ 1 juv), LEAST SANDPIPERS and a SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER.

On the large pond to the SW were several species of ducks, a HORNED GREBE, 1 or 2 BONAPARTE'S GULLS and a 1st year FRANKLIN'S GULL.

At The Nature Conservancy's Port Susan Bay Preserve we found limited numbers of shorebirds, but a fine diversity. Highlights include:

Baird's Sandpiper - 15 or more
Pectoral Sandpiper - 1 juv
Stilt Sandpiper - 1 juv
Least Sandpiper - a few
Western Sandpiper - 50 or more juv
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1 or 2
Long-billed Dowitcher - a few adults with 2 or 3 juv
Short-billed Dowitcher - 2 juv
Lesser Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Killdeer
Red-necked Phalarope - about 20

Also at Port Susan we observed 1 VIRGINIA RAIL, 1 SORA and an adult male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. Also a very large IMMATURE female COOPER'S HAWK and a PEREGRINE FALCON which was feasting on prey while on the wing.

For information about the Port Susan Bay Preserve, please see the following link.

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/washington/preserves/art6837.html

It was a good day.


Marv Breece
Seattle, WA
mbreece at earthlink.net