On 8/27 I posted about Fields Riffle Community Park on the Snohomish River just downstream from the town of Snohomish. (it's a relatively new, and currently undeveloped county park.)

I've made a few more quick trips there and found out more interesting things. There is an nice tidal basin there- freshwater tidal basin based on the plants (Equisetum fluvatile and a Polygonom) found there. The basin empties out at a + 1 tide, but at yesterdays 'low', which was a + 7 there was still plenty of exposed mud in the 'inner' basin. As there is no exposed mud along most of the river at that high a tide, this could really be a good shorebird magnet.

In my few brief trips here I have seen plenty of shorebirds - largely Killdeers, of which I havent seen so many in one spot ! One day this week a single Semipalmated Plover was in the crowd. Numbers of Western Sandpipers, a few Spotted Sandpipers, and a Dowitcher. Yesterday a single bright Green Heron was prancing around out in the open 'outer' basin.

Anyway it's a unique habitat in my experience. Lots of interesting bug watching there too, more on that later.

Jeff Gibson
Everett Wa