Subject: [Tweeters] Stanwood area birding; American Golden-Plover
Date: Oct 18 14:13:56 2009
From: Michael Willison - sendtomichael at hotmail.com
Tweeters,
Did some birding yesterday and today around Stanwood, Camano Island and Fir Island. Highlight was an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER around 11am Sunday morning in a field just off SR 532 in Stanwood. The bird was seen from the last pullout on the north side of the road just E. of the Mark Clark bridge that takes you onto Camano Island. The pullout is about 20 yards west of the entrance for a Nursery Lawn and Garden type place. Also in the field were about 40 Killdeer, 40 Ring-billed Gulls and 10 G.W. Gulls.
It was interesting to watch one of the G.W. Gulls pick up a dead Dunlin laying in the field and swallow it! There was also a female Merlin in the field on top of a fairly good size bird that I could not ID. American Pipits were seen flying over the field.
Just west of the Mark Clark bridge at the pullout looking over the marsh were hundreds of LB Dowitchers. Yesterday there were approximately 2000 Dowitchers seen (seems to be a great spot for concentration of Dowitchers lately!), along with a few hundred Dunlin and 1 Least Sandpiper.
Yesterday I ran up to Fir Island to the Jensen Access. I had forgotten that it was hunting season and 1 hunter lay in the only bush on the dike at the access. He wasn't happy I was there so I took a quick look and left. Nothing other than the usuals at that spot, and naturally no Geese. Several dozen Am. Pipits in the fields. Hayton Preserve had thousands of Snow Geese in the field and a Peregrine Falcon. 4 Eurasian-Collared Doves were seen in town going through Conway.
South of Stanwood along Norman road was a female Peregrine Falcon around noon today.
Michael Willison, Stanwood
sendtomichael at hotmail.com
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