Tweeters:

At last have the chance to place this belated report. Was birding coastal Skagit County Sat, Oct. 1,
and east Clallam County Sunday Oct. 2, with Rick Borchelt of Maryland. We found an even 100
species Sat, nearly all in Skagit County, and added 18 more on the OP the next day.

The best bird found was a bright Spizella flushed from the Skagit WMA entrance early Saturday,
turning out to be a very buff imm. CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, only the fourth for the county. The
bird was in with a horde of migrant sparrows (mostly Savannah and Lincoln's) in a uniform low (2'
height) weedy area on the east side of the road, just before the first shrubby hedgerow entering
the WMA. The bird flushed several times in this area. We did not see either the Bl. Phoebe or
ST Sand.

Highlights by site:

(Friday Oct. 1)

1. Centennial Trail (84th Street NE access to Lake Cassidy, SNOHOMISH CO, 10/1)

Steller's Jay 30+
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1 (not late but getting there)

2. Skagit WMA (Wylie Rd access)

Brown Creeper--1 far out on flats in low Pyrus-Salix thickets, migrant
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW 1 imm

3. Skagit WMA (Hayden AKA Snow Goose Preserve)

Gr. White-fr. Goose 10
Snow Goose 40 FOS
W. Meadowlark 1 FOS

4. Skagit WMA (Jensen)

Snow Goose 200+
MARBLED GODWIT 4 (first sighted by another observer;
about 16th sighting for Skagit Co)

5. Maupin Rd (Fir I. vicinity of Blake's Resort)

Baird's Sandpiper 7 (slightly late, in w/other shorebirds ploughed field)

6. Skagit WMA (North Fork Access)

W. BLUEBIRD 1 (heard only, but twice, "few, few, fawee" muffled,
far out in alder scrub west of dike, near mouth of Skagit R. north fork;
very rare Skagit Co)

7. March Pt. (Skagit Co)

Long-tailed Duck (Oldsquaw) 1 FOS, a bit early
Thayer's Gull 1 (winter ad)

Saturday, Oct. 2

CASSIN'S AUKLET 1 (scope study of bird off base of Ediz Hook)
Hermit Thrush 1 (audoboni inland form, near Hurricane Hill, 5500' approx)
Yellow Warbler 1 (heard only at Blyn, getting late)

Had another BLACK-THR. GRAY WARBLER yesterday 10/3 in Lake Stevens
off 123rd, and judging from Tweeters entries, seems there are still a few
others around.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com