Subject: [Tweeters] WOS Samish trip 7 Dec 2010
Date: Dec 9 16:20:17 2010
From: B&PBell - bellasoc at isomedia.com


Hi Tweets

A delayed report on my Washington Ornithological Society trip to the Samish and Skagit Flats on 7 December 2010.

We started the trip under cloudy skies and remained under them all day. As we got up to the Skagit and Samish areas the wind was blowing strongly, and kept up all day - this turned out to really affect the numbers of birds that we saw. As we came down into the Conway/Mount Vernon area there were swans in one of the fields. We scanned them with scopes but only saw TRUMPETER SWANs - while somewhat distant we could pull out the identifying features: bill and head shape, eye in the black, and then some calling. We turned off of Chuckanut Drive onto Pulver Road and on Sam Bell Road we got much closer looks at some swans. There we had both TRUMPETER and TUNDRA SWANs. Also on Sam Bell Road we got nice looks at some gulls with GLAUCOUS-WINGED, THAYER'S and HERRING.

We dropped down the back side of Bow Hill Road and saw a male AMERICAN KESTREL. We tried for dipper at Pomona Grange Park, but nobody was home. As we came back down Bow Hill Road into Bow we saw a nice adult COOPER'S HAWK. The fields contained numerous GREAT BLUE HERONs. Continuing up Chuckanut Drive one of the flooded fields had MALLARDs, NORTHERN PINTAIL, AMERICAN WIGEON, and a single GREEN-WINGED TEAL. A RED-TAILED HAWK perched on a fence waaay across a field. In the lagoon at the north end of Blanchard, we saw a COMMON GOLDENEYE and a PIED-BILLED GREBE. At the house with feeders at the corner of Blanchard and Colony Road there were EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVEs on the wires and HOUSE SPARROWs, GOLDEN-CROWNED and SONG SPARROWs, SPOTTED TOWHEE, FOX SPARROW, STELLER'S JAY, AMERICAN ROBIN and a single EVENING GROSBEAK. The surrounding fields were loaded with EUROPEAN STARLINGs and AMERICAN CROWs.

We went into Edison and parked behind the Farm to Market Bakery to scan the canal. There were about 100 GREEN-WINGED TEAL. On Bayview-Edison Road we picked up NORTHERN HARRIER, RED-TAILED HAWK, BALD EAGLE. As we approached the West 90 there were many BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERs and DUNLIN in the field. A NORTHERN HARRIER was loafing on the ground a ways away. About 300 yards to the north was a nice adult PEREGRINE FALCON on the ground - it showed no interest in the shorebirds and they did not seem to be concerned about the Peregrine. Guess the Peregrine had fed. We scanned the fields from the West 90 and picked up a bunch of NORTHERN HARRIERs and little else. There were two RED-TAILED HAWKs way out on the fence line. COMMON RAVENs were at a number of places throughout the area. While scanning the fields we had nice looks at immature and adult female and male NORTHERN HARRIERs.

Up on Wharf Road on Samish Island the bay yielded SURF and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERs, BUFFLEHEAD, COMMON GOLDENEYE, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, DOUBLE-CRESTED, BRANDT'S and PELAGIC CORMORANTs. COMMON LOON and waaay out, BRANT. As we returned down past the West 90 we had two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKs in a field. They took off and we got excellent views of both pale and dark morphs, with the birds eventually getting quite close. Down around the corner on Bayview-Edison Road at the new Nature Conservancy flooded fields we had a very tightly packed assemblage of DUNLIN - probably between 3000 and 5000 (so tight together it was not possible to count).

With birding so slow on the Samish we started south and stopped for lunch at the Padilla Bay Center. While we were sitting at the picnic bench we had two ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDs come in briefly. Further south we stopped by the shore at Bayview State Park. We saw BUFFLEHEAD, GREATER SCAUP, AMERICAN WIGEON, MALLARD, COMMON GOLDENEYE and COMMON LOON.

We stopped at the feeders on Valentine Road and picked up BLACK-CAPPED and CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEEs, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, DOWNY WOODPECKER, NORTHERN FLICKER, STELLER'S JAY, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, SPOTTED TOWHEE, FOX, SONG and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWs, lots of DARK-EYED JUNCOs. Two large flights of SNOW GEESE came over.

On Fir Island, the Rawlins Road access had a couple of NORTHERN HARRIERs. We stopped at the Stanwood Treatment Ponds and saw AMERICAN COOT, MALLARDs, GADWALL, AMERICAN WIGEON, NORTHERN SHOVELER, NORTHERN PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, LESSER SCAUP, RING-NECKED DUCK, BUFFLEHEAD, CANVASBACK and RUDDY DUCK. A bunch of DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTs loafed on a log boom. As we turned inland we got superb views of TRUMPETER SWANs from about 30 feet.

Scattered throughout the day we saw MEW, RING-BILLED, CALIFORNIA GULLs, ROCK PIGEON, MOURNING DOVE, BELTED KINGFISHER, VARIED THRUSH, RED-WINGED and BREWER'S BLACKBIRDs.

In spite of the wind we had a great day with some wonderful looks at great birds. We wound up seeing 68 species. Without the wind we probably would have added several more species.

Good Birding!

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville WA
mail to bell asoc at iso media dot com