Sunday, 4-20-08, I saw some interesting birds in Skagit County.

In Lyman along the river was a Townsend's Solitaire--the typical April influx continues.

At the Green Road Pond was a male Yellow-headed Blackbird.

At West Edison were five Western Sandpipers and four Greater Yellowlegs.

The Common Teal at Big Indian Slough was there, but he is not looking good. He has a bad leg, and was dragging his tail in the mud, while all the American GWTE were holding theirs high. Big Indian Slough is what locals call the slough that crosses Bay View-Edison Road just north and east of the Farmhouse Inn, and north of SR 20. Also here were nine dowitchers that neither I nor Joel Brady-Power could ID; none had really long bills, but the underside colors looked right for LBDO. The problem was, the tails seemed to have too much white, and we could not see the sides of the upper breast (thanks to one of our lovely "not a public dike" signs that prohibits one from walking fifty feet closer). Fifteen or twenty Least Sandpipers flew in and out briefly, too.

At Channel Drive were scads of Gadwall, a pale-looking Merlin, a pair of Cinnamon Teal, and a lone female Greater Scaup.

Finally, the Burmaster Road east of Sedro-Woolley continues to host a good mix of waterbirds, with Greater Yellowlegs, Cinnamon Teal, and a few Ring-billed, Mew, and Glaucous-winged Gulls.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch


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