Hello tweets,

I had a great day birding in Skagit today, but the Short-eared Owls that were so abundant just a week ago seemed to have vanished. Gary Bletsch and I stood out in the bitter wind at the West 90 for a good 20 minutes or so without finding a single one! Last time I was there with Ryan Merrill we had over 20! I guess they must have finally got sick of the cold too. I birded Wylie Slough in the morning and came up blank on the Waxwings just like everyone else, but I still somehow ended up with 96 species for the day.

Highlights :

1 American Bittern - flew over the dike at Wylie Slough

5 Cackling Geese - in a field off Fir Island Rd

1 Blue Jay - still present at Valentine Ranch

1 White-throated Sparrow - also at Valentine Ranch

1 Northern Shrike - on Polson Rd

1 Northern Saw-whet Owl - on Bayview Cemetery Rd, and my only owl of the day

2 Eurasian-collared Doves - on Calhoun Rd and 4 in Edison

1 Red-breasted Sapsucker - flew over me at channel drive, heading back towards the mountains

Happy New Year Everyone!


Joel Brady-Power
Anacortes, Wa 98221
fvnerka at hotmail.com



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