Quick notes on birds of, er, note.



Big flocks of snow geese either side of Fir Island Rd. Flocks of trumpeter
swans everywhere, biggest between Conway and La Conner with scattered flocks
of ten or so elsewhere.



The Valley Rd red-shouldered hawk was not present at 1pm or 4.15pm. But it
was exceedingly windy at Valley Rd, more so than at any other spot during
the afternoon, and if I'd been a hawk, I wouldn't have been sitting on an
exposed post either.



The yellow-headed blackbird continues with the mixed flock at Green Rd west
of Sedro-Woolley. I didn't see the mountain bluebird. There was no gull
flock at Janicki fields at 3pm, only about 10 birds circling high, not
helpful for ID purposes! In fact, I saw very few gulls settled all
afternoon.



Bayview-Edison Rd north of D'Arcy Rd provided several buteos on wires and
poles, including one juvenile dark morph rough-legged hawk. It took me
twenty minutes to get a positive ID on that one, most of it with me eyeing
the side-on view of a motionless bird that just didn't look quite right in
proportion for a red-tail. After 15 minutes, it finally wriggled and
stretched and let me get a look at the darker tail band. Shortly after that,
it flew, with nice pale patches on the dorsal wings near the tips. I later
saw the same bird further north on Samish Island Rd.



The west 90 was on the quiet side, with only northern harriers and one
red-tail, no owls. Lots of singing marsh wrens, and a few singing frogs, and
one greater yellowlegs wading around.



Louise Rutter

Kirkland