After a recent hearing about proposed habitat improvements in Everett, I wound up in the Anchor Pub talking environmental issues over a few beers. Dave Mascarenas, of the Everett Shorelines Coalition ( a local group doing very good work for public access to the greater Everett waterfront) told me about one of their pet projects on Smith Island - a public trail done in cooperation with Cedar Grove Composting, which has a big facility out there.

Well, that was news to me, so I went out there on 5/20 to check it out. Turned out to be a very interesting spot .The area is on the very NW edge of Smith Island - on the north end of the frontage road West of Hwy 529. Turn west on 36th pl NE which the is the turn to Cedar Grove Composting. As soon as you cross the railroad tracks there is a small parking lot of to the right.

Right by the parking lot is a shallow temporary puddle which had a single Long-billed Dowitcher, two Killdeers, and three Spotted Sandpipers. I saw more Spotted's later on the nearby slough. A gravel trail leads past ill - concieved plantings of Douglas Firs around the compost facility. Most of them are dead. (Never try to 'cut corners' by planting big specimens of conifers to get 'quick screening' - they usually don't make it ).

Shortly you are on a paved trail on the old dike. There's some nice big Pacific Crabapples along the dike, along with much nice native vegetation, some of which has obviously been planted - such as Sitka Spruce and Shore Pine which are doing well and should be big habitat improvements over time. Heading west, the path takes you out a half mile or so to a dead end near an interesting Sitka Spruce patch. The trail is right along Union Slough, which soon runs into Steamboat Slough - lots of good mudflats and saltmarsh to look at.

A very birdy spot! Walked right up to an immature Bald Eagle perched just above eye-level in a low snag. I got to within 50 ft of it and it seemed especially huge. Many other birds , including 4 icterids : Brewers BB, Redwing- BB, Cowbirds, and a single male Bullocks Oriole. Several Mourning Doves. A pair of Cedar Waxwings were courting on a branch of Twinberry (lonicera) - they were sidling back and forth on a horizontal branch and were passing green lonicera berries between them somehow - I could'nt quite see if this was a one-way giving and receiving, or if they were passing them back and forth.

Many Common Yellowthroats about and singing. Near the end of the trail, one bright male hopped across the narrow paved trail. Two seconds later a Long-tailed Weasel came out of the grass following the same path. Soon the warbler flew back across the trail - the Weasel went back too, with the Yellowthroat fussing in shrubs above. I would suppose nest robbery was on the Weasel agenda.

The last nice bird sighting was heading out , when for whatever reason I looked up and saw 7 Whimbrels heading silently Arctic bound. This is a good bird spot.

Jeff Gibson, Everett Wa