Subject: [Tweeters] Birds Around Edmonds
Date: Apr 13 13:49:19 2008
From: Carol Riddell - cariddell at earthlink.net


Hi Tweets,

The other day I was fortunate to see several of the breeding
pairs of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS in north Snohomish County. Then
yesterday, while I was tied to gardening chores, a young BALD EAGLE
circled lazily overhead. That's enough to get you wondering why we
often let chores take precedence over the good life of birding. Then
this morning I went outside and heard the call of a PILEATED
WOODPECKER and watched it zip about the area, going from trees to
utility poles. It felt like a good morning. Not hot but birds
about. So I headed down to the Deer Creek (aka Willow Creek,
depending on which sign you favor) Hatchery and the Edmonds Marsh.
The Marsh yielded its treasures. The VIRGINIA RAIL came out near the
main observation platform for long looks. I was so stunned I forgot
to lift my camera and take a shot. Then a WILSON'S SNIPE scurried
along the edge of one of the mud flats. A MARSH WREN popped out of
the cat tails long enough to see what was going on. And then a
CASPIAN TERN (my first in Edmonds this spring) flew over on a
northward heading. Birds are hunkered down on all seven GREAT BLUE
HERON nests, hopefully incubating eggs. This fledgling breeding
colony is vulnerable. It is using trees on the south side of the
Marsh, up against the former Unocal site where Edmonds wants to move
the ferry dock and create a multi-modal transportation facility. I
doubt that the herons could tolerate such activity. Nor could the
hatchery and the denizens of Willow Creek. It is ironic that the
Edmonds Marsh is the first birding stop on the first Washington
birding trail map. It is being squeezed, encroached upon, and
stressed rather than savored and protected by Edmonds as a refuge for
wildlife and for its citizens and visitors.

Birds seen this morning, in order of observation, were:

Golden-crowned Kinglet
Black-capped Chickadee
Anna's Hummingbird
Great Blue Heron
American Crow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's)
Bushtit
White-crowned Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Virginia Rail
Wilson's Snipe
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Red-winged Blackbird
Bald Eagle (2 adults)
Pine Siskin
Starling
Marsh Wren
Northern Flicker
Glaucous-winged Gull
Caspian Tern
Violet-green Swallow
Rufous Hummingbird (1 male)

Good birding,

Carol Riddell
Edmonds