Dear Tweeters,

Oblivious of the Variegated Flycatcher, I went out and birded Skagit County as usual on Sunday. I could not locate any of the birds I was really after, but had a good day. Twelve species of shorebirds showed up:

Killdeer--a few here and there on Fir Island, March Point, Padilla Bay;

Black-bellied Plover--just two at Alice Bay;

Greater Yellowlegs--small numbers here and there;

Lesser Yellowlegs--one or two on Fir Island;

Least Sandpiper--a dozen or so at Channel Drive;

Western Sandpiper--31 at March Point, with Sanderlings;

SANDERLING--three at March Point, with a small flock of Westerns;

Short-billed Dowitcher--small flocks on Fir Island and Alice Bay;

Long-billed Dowitcher--one at Hayton Preserve;

Wilson's Snipe--two at Jensen Access;

Black Turnstone--four at the usual pier on the Fidalgo side of March Pt;

Red-necked Phalarope--four at Channel Drive.


Regarding Sanderings in Skagit County, I went back over my records and confirmed what I had feared; they have dropped precipitously in numbers, at least around here. I observed this species 18 times in Skagit County from 1993 to 1998, at which time I moved away for four years. Since returning to the area in 2002, I have found them a grand total of three times in six years.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch ? Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA ? garybletsch at yahoo.com ? ?

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