Hi Tweets,

After coming down off Washington Pass we swung through the Samish flats in
the late afternoon. The clouds were low, the light was low and the number
of ducks were low (zero! - unless you count the ones the hunters were kind
enough to show me).

The Dunlin flock of at least 2000 birds was in the field SE of the East 90,
so we set up our scope and were soon rewarded with a PRAIRIE FALCON
catching a dunlin dinner. The plot thickened when a male Northern Harrier
dropped in and play cat and mouse with the falcon to see if it might get an
easy dinner - nope. So, it dive bombed the falcon for a half a dozen
swoops, but still no dinner. Eventually, it landed about 25 yards away and
just watched.

Between the East and West 90s, we saw 6 Rough-legged Hawks, 3 Red-tailed
Hawks and at least a dozen Northern Harriers. No Short-eared Owls - nor
did the hunters see any in their all day 'bird watching blind' off of the
west 90.

Peregrine Falcons: We saw 2 adults of distinctly different plumages. The
first had a very dark full helmet and a buffy chest, with darkly barred
breast. Based on the pictures of National Geographic, it looked like the
anatum subspecies. The second adult again had a very dark, full helmet,
with the darkly barred breast and belly, but it had a white chest. Pealei
subspecies? Although we were in close binocular range, the light was very
low - all comments are appreciated.

Good Birding,

Marcus Roening
GSK - Critical & Supportive Care
Tacoma, WA
marcus.d.roening at gsk.com
C: (253) 988 8313