Hi All,

Despite the gloomy weather I decided to drive up to Fir Island and the
Skagit Wildlife Area yesterday to see what I could see. Swans were
plentiful in the fields on either side of I-5 exit 221, and they were also
very numerous in many spots along Fir Island Road. Eagles were also present
in abundance. I must have seen 30 or more between I-5 and the dead end at
the end of Rawlins Road. I parked at the end of Rawlins to access the
Skagit Wildlife Area. There were quite a few goose and duck hunters out and
about, but they were all lining the western facing edge of the dike waiting
for one of the several thousand geese that were out in the bay to attempt to
fly inland. I found a quiet little piece of wetland away from the crowd and
just stood still to see what would show up. It wasn?t long before I spotted
a Short-eared Owl flying low over the marsh. Northern Harriers were present
as well, and periodically they would get into skirmishes with the owl. I
stood there for nearly two hours watching just these two species as they
hunted, fought and went about their business. Occasionally a Bald Eagle or
Great Blue Heron would cruise by. A Red-tailed Hawk was perched in the tree
line to the north of where I was standing, and it called a few times while I
was there. Song Sparrows fed among the bushes and the drift logs around me,
and a group of siskins visited the small, stunted alder that was directly
behind me. I hardly even noticed that it was drizzling on me most of the
time I was there!

As I headed back out on Fir Island Road, I saw a group of Trumpeter Swans in
a muddy field that was very close to a side road along the river. Several
of the swans had heads and bellies that were completely coated in mud. It
contrasted sharply with their pure white feathers. They didn?t seem to
mind, and they were eagerly snapping up tidbits that they were finding as
they probed in the mud.

All things considered, it was a very nice way to spend a few hours on an
otherwise gray day. If you?d like to see a couple photos of the Short-eared
Owl and a few of the muddy swans, they can be viewed in my ?New Photos?
gallery on this page: http://www.goatislandimages.com/photogalleries.htm

Happy Birding,

Kevin Mack
Edmonds, WA
Www.goatislandimages.com