March 1 - high tide (one in the daylight, that is) at 5 p.m. An
afternoon at the Skamish (combo of Skagit and Samish) sounded good,
especially as it was billed to be a warm, sunny day, with rain to
descend the rest of the week.

So, off I went, first stopping at Wylie Slough to see if I could find
the Great Horned Owl pair - no luck, as was the case when I returned
for the evening hoot. Last saw or heard one of the owls (male) Mon.
Feb. 22 - no female came in that evening and the male, after 5 min. of
calling, flew off to the east. The big nest this pair used the last
few years had some destruction befall it, so it no longer seems to be
adequate for them for nesting - they may have gone off to find a
larger, sturdier place to rear young. Wonder where...?

I drove from Wylie right up to the Samish Flats, seeing very minimal
birdage along the way and finding (at 4 p.m. and then again at 5),
absolutely no Dunlins in the fields along Bayview Edison Rd. The
female adult Peregrine was there, as was the Rough-legged Hawk that
has been a fixture there this winter. I saw the male Peregrine up on
a line along the road between West 90 and Samish Island. Another
fixture Roughleg was on a line and occasionally on a pole crossbar, on
the north side of the road between West 90 and the turn onto Bayview
Edison Rd. south. But the Dunlins appear to be gone. Anyone know
where they are or to where they go?

Saw a lot of Red-tailed Hawks, often in pairs, either flying or
perching. Most photogenic one was at the church on Scott Rd. saw
lots of Bald Eagles on the Samish Flats, but only a smattering of them
in the Skagit. A large collection of at least 20 were alternately
chasing ducks and just flying (swirling) around each other (saw 2 hook
beaks) all very low to the ground in the marshy area on the west side
of the road (I need to look up that name) coming south from Samish
Island, across from Alice Bay (?). On two previous visits to the
area, I and some companions witnessed this sort of thing, mostly near
Edison and the slough. Anyone know what they are doing? Having
fun? :-)

One breathtaking sight occurred as I came down onto Fir Island Road
from the Rexville Store at 5:30 p.m., the sky was completely filled
with parallel lines and small V's of honking Snow Geese, flying off to
the big water of Skagit Bay. I happened on this just at the right
time - the whole experience lasted only a few minutes, and suddenly
the sky was clear.

Small collections of swans could be seen throughout the flats (both)
and, at dusk, when I was at Wylie waiting for the Great Horneds to
appear, the swans flew overhead in small V's and straight lines, some
tooting, and some making crackly sounds (like electrical lines) with
their wingbeats. At the slough it was all toots and no hoots...

The sun was not visible the entire afternoon and, up in the Samish by
4, there was a layer of fog pressed low to the ground. I doubt it
ever got up to 60 up there, but it was quite mild most of the
afternoon. A cool wind blew in to ruffle our feathers by around 5.

The major influx of wintering raptors appears to be leaving for their
breeding grounds, and the local pairs must be off starting up
courtship. Either that, or I just missed seeing a lot of them. No
Merlins or American Kestrels. I'm curious as to what the rest of you
find in the next week or two. Is this a usual exodus time for the
raptors?

Didn't go looking for the elusive Short-eared Owls yesterday - last
sightings of them of which I am aware were on Feb. 15 and 16 at the
Rawlins Road Dike.

Daffodil fields brightened the afternoon. Tulip time coming right up!


Barb Deihl

North Matthews Beach (NOT Lavilla!) - NE Seattle

barbdeihl at comcast.net