Stopped off briefly at Fields Riffle Park just downstream from Snohomish town yesterday. A fine warmish and calm afternoon. That's a real contrast to when I was here in the early November flood with water blowing through the sky and the whole place underwater.

This whole park area is one big sandbar formed on the inside of the riverbend. Flood wrack is still visible up about ten feet in the trees. It's interesting being there before ,during , and after the flood to see the changes the river makes. It sure scoured the place - clearing out the 'herbs' and leaving only trees , shrubs, and a lot of new fresh sand. This will make for great bug watching here when the weather warms up as there is quite a diversity of interesting sand dwelling bees, wasps and beetles ect as I found here last summer. In one square yard of sand I soon lost count of how many species were there - and that's just watching with close - focusing binocs. Staring at the ground with binoculars is also interesting as a conversation starter (or ender) with passerby's who either laugh or , more typically try to avoid me ,thinking I may be some dangerous feeb.


The 'central' lagoon there had quite a few ducks (high tide) - mostly Gadwalls, Mallards, Widgeon and some Green- winged Teal. In the willow woods I heard my first warbler song of the year from a very bright male 'Audubons' Butterbutt ( aka yellow-rumped warbler - a vastly inferior name in my opinion ). Also singing, a few Song Sparrows, and a Bewicks Wren.

>From Fields Riffle I drove down along the river into Everett. Down at the tenth st. boat launch where I saw a single Osprey out on the mudflat pilings - the first I've seen this year. Many Pintails and Green-winged Teal on the mud, and 10+ Buffleheads out on the water. A single Peregrine flew over as I was leaving.

>From the Everett waterfront zipped over to Smith Island and checked out the seasonal ponds along the road just north of the sewage ponds (over the 1-5 overpass). Quite a few Gadwalls (20 or so), hundreds of Widgeon, and a few Shovelers. Hundreds of Swallows over the ponds and and as far as I could see over the marshes along the river. Mostly Violet-greens but also many Tree's mixed in - all in movement and a wonderfull sight in the late afternoon sunlight.

One last fun sighting - a pair of Northern Alligator Lizards lurking about under (dead) rosemary that I was checking out in a garden in Shohomish. They were pretty zippy, even tho it was cooling off.


Jeff Gibson , Everett Wa