Hi Tweets,

It was a great morning with Fox Sparrow being my first bird of the
new year. Ann Marie Wood responded that hers was a Red-breasted
Nuthatch. So I suggested we go birding. I recalled that Scott
Atkinson had reported a Slaty-backed Gull at the Everett STPs when he
was scouting his area for the North Snohomish County CBC last
weekend. I have dipped on that gull any number of times and thought
it made a nice objective for a day of relatively close-to-home
birding. After having been cooped up by the weather, Ann Marie said
she would love to get out. So off we went to Everett. We arrived
mid-morning and had access to the north sewage lagoon. Most gulls
were Mews with a few Glaucous-winged. We then checked the south
lagoon where we added Herring and one Thayer's. No Slaty-backed. We
decided to head for Marysville and then check back in the afternoon.

Ann Marie had not birded Marysville so I decided to show her the
fields north of Ebey Slough that can be seen from the curiously-named
Harbor View Park (no view of any harbor). If you haven't been there,
it's worth checking out. I became acquainted with it while doing the
Marysville area for the North Snohomish County CBC. The fields
sometimes produce Short-eared Owl. During the CBC last weekend two
counters found two Rough-legged Hawks in that area. I missed seeing
them since I was checking out a wetland in the north part of the
city. Ann Marie and I found four Red-tailed Hawks, the family of
five Northern Harriers that work those fields, and three Bald Eagles
(one adult and two subadults). Just before leaving the park, we
located one of the Rough-legged Hawks.

(If you haven't been to Harbor View Park and the public path that
separates the fields from the housing development, it's worth
birding. Go east from downtown Marysville on Third Street. It
becomes NE 61st Street and then curves south as Sunnyside Blvd. NE.
Turn left on 52nd St. NE. You will be going west. The street curves
south as 60th Ave. NE. The park is marked and will be on your right
just before the intersection with 48th St. NE. There is parking for
five or six cars. There is no restroom. In my 2007 Thomas Guide it
is shown on page 377.)

We returned to the Everett STPs where we added one Bonaparte's Gull
but still could not locate a Slaty-backed. All in all, it was a
great several hours to be out. Here's what we saw:

Everett Sewage Lagoons

Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Herring Gull
Thayer's Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Bufflehead
American Coot
Gadwall
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Canvasback (5 drakes; 3 hens)
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee

Marysville

Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Rock Pigeon
American Crow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Northern Harrier (5)
Bald Eagle (3)
Rough-legged Hawk (1)
Red-tailed Hawk (4)
Red-winged Blackbird
Mallard
American Wigeon
Northern Pintail
Great Blue Heron

Good birding for 2009!

Carol Riddell
Edmonds