Hi Tweets -
The rain was bad early in the morning, but pretty much turned to
showers for the rest of the day up in Skagit County.
As the Sullivan's and others have reported , the best bird of the day
was the WHOOPER SWAN at the same location as reported yesterday.

For the rest of the morning and early afternoon, I wandered around
the Skagit Game Reserve, running into several other birders and not
that many hunters.

Birds of note:
PINE GROSBEAKS - 20+. Early on, 3 showed up [as reported by Patrick
Sullivan]. Later though, down the dike trail at the 3rd bridge, Steve
& Connie Pink and I were greeted by 20 + Pine Grosbeaks! The flock
was very vocal and allowed great looks as it fed on the ash seeds. I
think that counts as an 'Eastern WA-sized flock'.

COMMON REDPOLLS - 4-6, feeding on the dike trail w/ a large flock of
Dark-eyed Juncos. At least one of these redpolls was very pale on the
rump - unfortunately, by the time 3 BC birders & I had gone to grab
our scopes, the flock had completely disappeared. I never did see the
redpolls again, though juncos were all over the place. Might want to
keep an eye on that flock if it stays around....

AM. TREE SPARROW - 1 along the brush on the entrance road to the boat
launch parking area.

WHITE-THROATED SPARROW - 1 in the same flock, near the boat launch
parking area.

Slate-colored DARK-EYED JUNCO - 1 in amongst the hordes of Oregons.

I didn't hear of any sightings of the Waterthrush today, and only had
one brief 'maybe' song of a Swamp Sparrow-- both may well still be
there though. Also, other birders reported a Great Horned Owl
hooting further down the trail in the dark early afternoon.

Directions:
See yesterday's Tweeters messages for Whooper Swan.
Skagit Game Reserve: Opperman, ABA, "Birders Guide to WA", p. 114-115.

Quite a nice day of soggy birding,

Matt Bartels
Seattle, WA
--