Dear Tweeters,

Today at Channel Drive near LaConner (Skagit County) was a bird I am calling a male hybrid Mallard X Gadwall. It was in a little mixed flock of mostly females of both species.

A couple of days ago, I saw some hen Mallards and hen Gadwalls swimming together with their respective ducklings at the Padilla Bay Trail, south end. It's no surprise that some of the pairs get a bit mixed up....

I visited the Fir Island Game Range (AKA Wylie Slough)today, too. The boat-launch parking lot is about four or five times its old size, and the "waterthrush spot" is now part of this gravel parking area. Lots of big machines are out there, so it looks like a matter of a few weeks or months before the big changes happen to this great birding spot.

It was bittersweet visiting the old place, but there were lots of birds to see, including a singing Western Wood-Pewee. I think there may be a Cooper's Hawk nest out there. I heard one calling, and 17 American Crows spent at least an hour hanging around the tree from whence the Cooper's was calling.

Somebody crafted a nice-looking tombstone ("RIP Skagit HQ, 1948-2009") and posted it out on the sluicegate near the bench by the River's End Trail. Oh well.

At Hayton Preserve was a flock of over 80 Western Sandpipers, plus about ten Leasts and at least one Semipalmated Sandpiper.

At Jensen Access were three Black-bellied Plovers, plus a dowitcher way out there that was probably a Long-billed.

Yours truly,


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