Hi Tweets,

Yesterday, Tuesday 11/9 five congenial and intrepid birders joined Barbara
and me for a Seattle Audubon trip to Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands. We left
Seattle at 6:30 am in rain that continued until we crossed Deception Pass
onto Whidbey Island. Gusty winds that continued all day made the temps in
the mid-40s seem even colder. Looking eastward across Camano Island into the
Cascades we could seen the snowline well down onto the foothills -- winter
seemed almost here. Nevertheless we spent nearly eight hours in the field
and located 68 species, including great views of LONG-TAILED DUCK and
roughly a dozen and a half ANCIENT MURRELETS foraging off the west side of
Whidbey Island.

One bird that did NOT make our list was a very wet PEACOCK at the Smokey
Point Rest Area north of Marysville. Rosario Beach on Fidalgo Island was
rainy and windy, and many of the passerines kept out of sight. From a windy,
rainy Rosario Head we did locate COMMON and RED-THROATED LOON, HORNED and
WESTERN GREBE. and cormorants well out in the strait, and a single HARLEQUIN
DUCK in close to shore. We also saw BALD EAGLES on the ground out of the
wind. Somehow, we found twenty-seven species here and at nearby Pass Lake.

At Ala Point and the lake at Dugualla Bay we found a good palette of ducks
and other waterfowl, including a couple dozen CANVASBACK, and a lone
BONAPARTE'S GULL. After a coffee stop in Oak Harbor we drove across the
island to Swantown where we had good views of waterfowl out in Rosario
Strait. It was fascinating to watch groups of ANCIENT MURRELETS dive almost
in unison from the air. We also saw HORNED, RED-NECKED and WESTERN GREBES,
RED-THROATED, PACIFIC, and COMMON LOONS, SURF and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS,
LONG-TAILED DUCKS, and RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS foraging there. A late
Heermann's Gull flew past. Across the road on Bos Lake there were a few
GREEN-WINGED TEAL, GREATER SCAUP, and RUDDY DUCKS.

After lunch at Fort Ebey State Park we checked Penn Cove and found a dozen
SURFBIRDS and about 30 BLACK TURNSTONES. In open fields on Engle Rd.we saw
four SNOW GEESE, and a RED-TAILED HAWK on the ground. At the Keystone Ferry
slip we located a CALIFORNIA and a HERRING GULL and resident cormorants,
There were large numbers of DUNLIN at Crockett Lake, with a few WESTERN and
LEAST SANDPIPERS mixed in, and several of the NORTHERN HARRIERS we saw were
foraging along Keystone Spit. A large flock of MALLARDS at the pond of the
Admirals real estate development included a female COMMON MERGANSER. At 3:30
pm we headed for Deer Lagoon but increasing rain made us vote to head for
the Mukilteo Ferry instead.

Good birding!

Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.websterATcomcast.net
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