Greetings, Tweeters -

While enjoying a successful day birding Skagit on Sunday (11/30) with Blake
Hough and Margo Thorp, I took a few pictures of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk
perched on a powerline near the West 90. I'm surprised that I didn't notice
it at the time, but while reviewing my pictures I noticed it had a ring on
its right leg. Too far away (read: I can't afford a powerful enough lens)
to decipher the number, but I figured somebody in Tweeterland may be
interested.

Other highlights of the day:
- the Rancho Valentine BLUE JAY, making me feel as if I was back at school
on the east coast as it frequented a corn cob at the feeders. Randy and
Wendy are about as good of hosts as a birder (or a vagrant bird) could hope
for. They noticed us enjoying the multitude of birds in their yard from the
road and invited us to sit on their porch under the heat lamp. Wonderful
people! Also in the yard were dozens of sparrows, chickadees, nuthatches,
woodpeckers (including a HAIRY WOODPECKER), and CALIFORNIA QUAIL
- the PRAIRIE FALCON hunting, catching, and devouring one of the thousands
of DUNLIN near the T-90. Only other falcon of the day was a pair of
AMERICAN KESTRELS on Dodge Valley Road near LaConner
- 5000+ SNOW GEESE, and several hundred TRUMPETER and TUNDRA SWANS . . .
givens this time of year, but always highlights nonetheless. We apparently
just missed a SNOW GOOSE kill by a BALD EAGLE moments before
- Bayview State Park had a good number of ducks, including a flock of a
couple hundred AMERICAN WIGEON near the point to the north with at least one
male EURASIAN WIGEON mixed in. A flock of about 40 BRANT flew west across
Padilla Bay, and there was a lone male CANVASBACK amongst several COMMON
GOLDENEYES and BUFFLEHEAD
- NORTHERN SHRIKES - one on Dry Slough Road, the other at the North Access
on Fir Island
- also at the North Access, two SHORT-EARED OWLS hunting and occasionally
vocalizing while chasing one another and dogfighting. A pair of
photographers with lenses larger than my spotting scope were getting what I
assumed must be superb shots. Also good sparrows here, including SONG, FOX,
LINCOLN'S, and SAVANNAH
- although we never saw it, we briefly heard a NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH just as
we opened our car doors in the boat ramp parking lot at the Skagit HQ
- a beautiful sunset lighting up a quartet of HARLEQUIN DUCKS at Green Point

72 species on a beautiful Sunday in Skagit!

Good birding,

Tyler

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Tyler Davis
206-799-8446
FishingOwl at gmail.com