Dear Matt, and Hello again Tweeters,

Thanks to Matt for reminding me that I left out the number of species that Josh and I found on Saturday in Skagit County.

Since I never got a good look or a good ear on the Nashville Warbler, Josh had 123 for the day, and I had 122. Even though that falls far short of the magnificence of Ryan and Joel's achievement, it is still the culmination of my multi-year effort to scratch out a 120-species day in Skagit County.

I was particularly happy that there was so little variance in our totals--ignoring the Nashville, every bird that one of us saw or heard was eventually seen or heard by the other guy. Also, we did not have a single unidentified species on our list. Almost always, my big days have an ugly "gull sp" or "Accipiter sp" sticking out like a sore hallux!

I will add one anecdote, regarding the Birding Gods.

We had a female Goldeneye in Concrete that I decided to leave unidentified. not two minutes later, I was explaining to Josh that the Birding Gods reward those who do not fudge their ID's, and punish those who do. As I turned the steering wheel, out jumped our only Golden-crowned Sparrow of the day. Furthermore, we ended up with both goldeneyes on our list! Thank you, Birding Gods!

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch



Yours truly,Gary Bletschnear Lyman (Skagit County), Washingtongarybletsch at yahoo.com


--- Matt Bartels <mattxyz at earthlink.net> schrieb am Di, 20.5.2008:

> Von: Matt Bartels <mattxyz at earthlink.net>
> Betreff: Re: [Tweeters] Skagit century day
> An: garybletsch at yahoo.com
> Datum: Dienstag, 20. Mai 2008, 1:56
> Hi Gary -
> Thanks for the big day report -- One big hole in your
> report - How many species did you end up with?
>
> I've printed your message & Ryan's in hopes
> that someday soon I will wander up there to do some actual
> spring birding in Skagit -- I look at my Skagit life list
> and realize that winter seems to be the only season when I
> visit! I think I'll be able to plot a nice little day
> if I spend some time with a map and your Big Day reports.
>
>
> Best,
>
> Matt
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Gary Bletsch <garybletsch at yahoo.com>
> >Sent: May 19, 2008 1:07 PM
> >To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
> >Cc: Joshua Parrott <joshua.parrott at yahoo.com>,
> Joel Brady-Power <fvnerka at hotmail.com>
> >Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit century day
> >
> >Dear Tweeters,
> >
> >Disclaimer: the following message contains passages
> that reduce birding and ornithology to the trivial, viz,
> the enumeration of species seen on one day. Feel free to
> delete if this style of birding offends or bores you.
> >
> >The heartiest of congratulations to Ryan Merrill and
> Joel Brady-Power on their astounding Skagit County century
> day of 5-14-08!
> >
> >I don't know whether Tweeters are aware of just
> what a remarkable day Ryan and Joel experienced. I have
> been going for May century days in Skagit since the early
> 1990's. The first few times my teammates and I raised
> money for Skagit Audubon, when it was a fundraiser. We had
> every reason to try our hardest!
> >
> >Kraig Kemper and I hit 117 one year. He and Bob Kuntz
> got to 119 a few years later, about eight years ago or so.
> Last year, Bob, Howard Armstrong and I reached that mark of
> 119 once again. It has seemed to me for some time that 120
> was sort of a "sound barrier" that defied
> breakage. We'd always lack for a duck here, a shorebird
> there, with of course the usual "big miss" or two
> along the way. There never seemed to be enough time to find
> the local species in their respective habitats without
> losing the time needed to go on to the next. One cannot
> expect to find enough surprising rarities to offset the
> time expended on searching for local or inaccessible
> species such as Sooty Grouse, Hermit Thrush, Sora,
> Anna's Hummingbird, and Pacific Loon.
> >
> >Friday evening last week, as I was getting ready for
> yet another try, I opened up my e-mail, seeing little of
> interest to me besides Ryan's post. After opening it, I
> actually blinked and rubbed my eyes like some bad sitcom
> actor when I read the number 146!
> >
> >I felt a bit like Robert Falcon Scott (second to the
> South Pole after Roald Amundson) or Samuel P. Langley
> (crashing into the Potomac River just when the Brothers
> Wright were getting into the air)!
> >
> >Anyway, Josh Parrott and I set out at 0300 on Saturday,
> 5-17-08, knowing that the pennant had already been clinched.
> We would do our best to finish second in the division, so to
> speak.
> >
> >We had a great day, although we dipped on some
> "easy" birds. For example, for the umpteenth time
> in a row, the Barred Owl in Rockport that was there the
> previous Saturday during the NAMC was nowhere to be seen or
> heard. Blue Grouse had been calling in several spots around
> Rockport the week before, but by the time we reached those
> places, it was close to ninety degrees Fahrenheit, and the
> grouse were silent. Downy Woodpeckers eluded us all day
> long. A blowdown on Sauk Mountain kept us away from Hermit
> Thrush and Fox Sparrow habitat.
> >
> >We missed on the Dipper--the one that Joel and Ryan saw
> with only moments of effort. All we found at the dipper spot
> was a tatooed guy drinking cheap beer.
> >
> >Josh and I kept to the "Upriver Strategy"
> that I have long advocated. In fact, we stayed upriver
> until 1600, which my fellow Skagit birders would consider
> goofy. By doing so, we allowed ourselves only the briefest
> visit to saltwater. At Samish Island, we were able to find
> a few seabirds, but missed out on alcids (except Pigeon
> Guillemot), Pelagic Cormorant, and several others.
> >
> >It was, however, a great day. We heard a Dusky
> Flycatcher at County Line Ponds, and Josh saw a Nashville
> Warbler there (I glimpsed it but could not see anything to
> ID it, and heard not a chip nor a song, so I left it as the
> one species that we both did not ID on the day).
> >
> >At Corkindale was a female Yellow-headed Blackbird. We
> found a Wilson's Phalarope at Cockreham Island, one of
> two that day. Unfortunately, ponds that had had shorebirds
> only days before were devoid of any but Killdeer. However,
> we heard Bitterns at three or four places and Sora at two.
> >
> >We also had American Coots at two places....
> >
> >Yours truly,
> >
> >Gary Bletsch
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Yours truly,Gary Bletschnear Lyman (Skagit County),
> Washingtongarybletsch at yahoo.com
> >
> >
> >--- Ryan Merrill <rmerrill27 at gmail.com> schrieb
> am Fr, 16.5.2008:
> >
> >> Von: Ryan Merrill <rmerrill27 at gmail.com>
> >> Betreff: [Tweeters] Skagit Big Day - 14 May 2008
> >> An: "Tweeters at U.Washington.edu"
> <Tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> >> Datum: Freitag, 16. Mai 2008, 21:57
> >> Joel Brady-Power and I did a big day in Skagit
> County on
> >> Wednesday, 14
> >> May 2008. There was light rain most of the day
> but
> >> fortunately not
> >> even a hint of wind. The birding in general was
> excellent
> >> with new
> >> birds at nearly every stop including many
> surprises. Our
> >> species
> >> total for the day was 146 which clearly surpassed
> our
> >> expectations and
> >> set a new record for Skagit County.
> >>
> >> Quick highlights before a more detailed report:
> >> Greater White-fronted Goose - 4 Samish Flats
> >> Snow Goose - Skagit Game Range
> >> Tundra Swan - 1 Butler Flats
> >> Eurasian Wigeon - 2 Samish Island
> >> Ruffed Grouse - 1 flushed Barnaby Slough
> >> Whimbrel - 1 Samish Flats
> >> Semipalmated Sandpiper - 1 Burmaster Road
> >> Wilson's Phalarope - 1 Burmaster Road
> >> Red-necked Phalarope - 2 Burmaster Road
> >> Short-eared Owl - 1 Samish Flats
> >> LEWIS'S WOODPECKER - 1 County Line Ponds
> (Skagit &
> >> Whatcom County)
> >> DUSKY FLYCATCHER - 1 County Line Ponds
> >> Ruby-crowned Kingler - 1 County Line Ponds
> >> Nashville Warbler - 4 Howard Miller Steelhead
> Park, Barnaby
> >> Slough,
> >> County Line Ponds
> >> Chipping Sparrow - 1 Martin Road, Rockport
> >> Yellow-headed Blackbird - 1 Burmaster Road
> >>
> >> Our first bird of the day was around 3:15 east of
> >> Sedro-Woolley when a
> >> Barn Owl flew across the road. Further owling was
> >> fruitless due to
> >> the rain. Robins were singing by 4:30 at Howard
> Miller
> >> Steelhead Park
> >> where we had a nice flock of migrants that
> included two
> >> Cassin's
> >> Vireos, a Nashville Warbler & two
> Townsend's
> >> Warblers. At Martin Road
> >> in Rockport Joel spotted a CHIPPING SPARROW. At
> Barnaby
> >> Slough there
> >> was another Nashville, Black-throated Gray,
> Townsend's
> >> and two singing
> >> MacGillivray's Warblers, plus a RUFFED GROUSE
> that
> >> flushed off the
> >> side of the trail. Continuing along we had a Bank
> Swallow
> >> at
> >> Corkindale and three Townsend's Solitaires in
> >> Marblemount.
> >>
> >> As we were walking into County Line Ponds, just
> past the
> >> rock pile on
> >> the left, a 'whit' drew our attention to a
> >> cooperative empid perched
> >> just a few feet off the ground - overall drab
> grayish
> >> color, very
> >> short primary projection, long tail, full eye ring
> that was
> >> slightly
> >> wider in the back, bicolored lower bill that was
> noticeably
> >> larger
> >> than the several Hammond's in the immediate
> area, and a
> >> bit of a
> >> crest. Just as we realized we had a DUSKY
> FLYCATCHER we
> >> spotted
> >> another bird flying above the trees from upriver.
> It's
> >> distinctive
> >> flight style, gray neck and light red belly
> immediately
> >> identified it
> >> as a LEWIS'S WOODPECKER! We spotted it again
> a few
> >> minutes later on a
> >> snag across the river. After about five minutes
> of decent
> >> but distant
> >> views it continued flying downriver. Other
> highlights here
> >> include a
> >> Ruby-crowned Kinglet, another Cassin's Vireo,
> two more
> >> Nashville
> >> Warblers and our only kingfisher and Varied Thrush
> of the
> >> day.
> >>
> >> A quick swing through Cockreham Island yielded a
> pair of
> >> Spotted
> >> Sandpipers, six Bank Swallows and another
> Townsend's
> >> Solitaire. Near
> >> the east end of Burmaster Road we hit the
> shorebird jackpot
> >> with a
> >> SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE,
> and two
> >> RED-NECKED
> >> PHALAROPES, along with five dozen Long-billed
> Dowitchers
> >> and a few
> >> Semipalmated Plovers. If that wasn't enough,
> a
> >> ratty-looking
> >> YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was bathing at the edge of
> the
> >> water.
> >>
> >> The Green Road Ponds had 4 Soras, a pumping
> bittern, and a
> >> Pied-billed
> >> Grebe. A late TUNDRA SWAN was just north of
> Dahlstedt Road
> >> on Old
> >> Highway 99. An American Dipper took just thirty
> seconds to
> >> see at the
> >> fish hatchery on North Green Road.
> >>
> >> Our only WHIMBREL of the day was in a grassy field
> on Allen
> >> West Road.
> >> Two male Blue-winged Teal and a pair of Eurasian
> Collared
> >> Doves were
> >> on Chuckanut Drive just north of Edison. At the
> Samish T
> >> we were
> >> happy to find a Western Gull, four GREATER
> WHITE-FRONTED
> >> GEESE, a late
> >> SHORT-EARED OWL perched on a post, and about fifty
> American
> >> Pipits.
> >>
> >> At Samish Island at least two male EURASIAN WIGEON
> were
> >> with about 600
> >> Americans in Alice Bay. Off the DNR park were all
> three
> >> loons, two
> >> Greater Scaup and a pair of Marbled Murrelets.
> Our only
> >> Mew Gulls and
> >> Bullock's Oriole were also on the island. On
> our way
> >> out a meadowlark
> >> was singing at the West 90. All three species of
> teal were
> >> in the
> >> pond near the parking lot.
> >>
> >> The House Wrens were singing as we drove up to
> Bayview
> >> Cemetery where
> >> we also heard an Olive-sided Flycatcher and I had
> a Turkey
> >> Vulture.
> >> Four Purple Martins were found easily at the
> Anacortes
> >> Ferry Terminal.
> >> At Green Point in Washington Park we had about 40
> >> Rhinocerous Auklets
> >> and at least 17 Marbled Murrelets, as well as our
> only
> >> Pileated
> >> Woodpecker. We ended our daylight hours at the
> Skagit Game
> >> Range
> >> where there were at least eight bitterns, finally
> our first
> >> Bewick's
> >> Wrens, and in the distance some of the last Snow
> Geese.
> >> The final
> >> bird of the day was a Great Horned Owl calling at
> Rexville
> >> around
> >> 10pm.
> >>
> >> Potential birds we missed include Horned &
> Red-necked
> >> Grebe, any
> >> accipiters, American Coot (doesn't a dead one
> count??),
> >> Black
> >> Oystercatcher, Lesser Yellowlegs, Bonaparte's
> Gull,
> >> Common Murre,
> >> Barred Owl, Anna's Hummingbird, Hairy
> Woodpecker,
> >> Western Kingbird,
> >> Bushtit, and Hermit Thrush.
> >>
> >> Yesterday (5/15) on the way back home there were 2
> Eared
> >> Grebes, 1
> >> Wilson's Phalarope & 2 Eurasian
> Collared-Doves at
> >> the Stanwood STP.
> >> On 28th Ave NW (Stubb Road) a nosiy flock of 60
> Whimbrel
> >> were flying
> >> around.
> >>
> >> Good birding,
> >> Ryan Merrill
> >> Kirkland, WA
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Tweeters mailing list
> >> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> >>
> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
> >
> >
> >
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