Subject: [Tweeters] TUNDRA and TRUMPETER SWANS - Snohomish
Date: Nov 17 18:10:30 2007
From: johntubbs at comcast.net - johntubbs at comcast.net


Hi All,

I birded from Fall City to Everett today through the Snoqualmie and Snohomish Valleys. Good numbers and variety of ducks were around in various locations, but I found nothing particularly noteworthy. It was an excellent day for BALD EAGLE (BAEA) with 7 different birds (6 adults, 1 first year) seen. There was a pair of adults apparently cooperatively hunting over the flooded fields on the DeJong farm property on West Snoqualmie Valley Road north of Duvall (this property's former dairy fields have been converted to wetland, with some mounds built and old river channels exposed to make it very attractive for migrating and winter resident ducks). I watched for ten minutes but saw neither bird make a kill. Later, there was a pair of adults BAEA's resting in a tree right across the road from "Bob's Corn" farm on Elliott between Connelly Road and Highbridge. One had wings spread for drying - I got images but haven't downloaded them yet. A BAEA north of the Everett Marina had!
caught
a bird (appeared to be a small duck) and was busily plucking it when I spotted the bird.

The swans were back in fairly large numbers on the Snohomish flats west of Highway 9. I went down Marsh Road and on the south side of the road on both sides of the Marshland Fruit and Produce Company store (closed for the season) the fields hosted swans. There was a group of 22 TRUMPETER SWANS (TRUS) east of the produce stand, containing 7 immatures and a single immature SNOW GOOSE plus a couple of CANADA GEESE. However, the field west of the produce stand contained at least 250 swans, both TRUS and TUNDRA SWANS (TUNS). In this group, TUNS seemed to outnumber TRUS by a fair percentage. There were a few gulls and Canada Geese mixed in with this large flock. I studied the birds that I could see from my vantage point through the scope for quite awhile looking for anything unusual - no Emperor Goose this year yet, sorry!

A word of warning - Marsh Road is a busy road with few pull-off spots and steep dropoffs on the sides. Park carefully in the few decent spots and respect private property here to avoid problems such as occurred with the local constabulary when the Emperor Goose was drawing crowds.

John Tubbs
Snoqualmie, WA
johntubbs at comcast.net
www.tubbsphoto.com