Hi Tweets,

After a month of birding other states and other places, I got back
into my Edmonds routine today (1-3-10), albeit a few hours late.
From 2 - 3:30 p.m. I birded the public pier, the marsh, and the
Pointe Edwards public path. Of note from the pier were 70+ BRANT
geese. Seventy were all I could count through the scope but I could
see that there were many more out there, flashing in and out of view
as they dropped into wave troughs and then briefly reappeared. I
watched a PELAGIC CORMORANT catch a fish and then struggle to consume
it. Fascinating to watch its neck engorge and the bulge of the fish
move downward. The marsh seemed relatively dead--not so much as a
Killdeer or Great Blue Heron in the mud or grasses. As I walked the
red path along the north side of the marsh, I was able to pish out
three Song Sparrows and two Black-capped Chickadees. I was pleased
to be able to count 18 Great Blue Heron nests in the trees on the
south side of the marsh. As I approached my car, I encountered ten
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. The condo trail was pretty quiet, too, but I
was able to pish out a couple of SPOTTED TOWHEES and a couple of FOX
SPARROWS (Sooty). There's life out there, even in the middle of a
gray winter afternoon.

Public Pier

Common Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Red-necked Grebe
Horned Grebe
Surf Scoter
Pigeon Guillemot
Rhinoceros Auklet (1)
Brant
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon

Marsh

Song Sparrow
Black-capped Chickadee
Yellow-rumped Warbler

Pointe Edwards Public Path

Crow
Northern Flicker
Robin
Anna's Hummingbird
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Starling
Bufflehead
Gadwall
Mallard
Green-winged Teal