Birders,



Yesterday morning (Sept. 25), after dipping out in an attempt to find the
LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS recently reported near Deming in Whatcom Co., I decided
to spend the rest of the day birding in Skagit County, plus a bit in Island
County (northern Whidbey I.). And I hit the jackpot-two new birds for my
Skagit County list (FRANKLIN'S GULL and MARBLED GODWIT). So much for my
grumbling about having trouble finding new species for my Skagit list....



The FRANKLIN'S GULL, a juvenile, was found about 2:30 PM on the east side of
March Point (near Anacortes), just north of the railway crossing. It was
feeding on the mudflats along with about 30 RING-BILLED GULLS and 10 MEW
GULLS. At one point, it was the closest gull to me, and I managed to get
some pretty good photos.



I then spent about 2 hours birding on Whidbey Island, mostly at Dugualla Bay
and Ala Spit. I didn't find anything unusual there, although there were
large numbers of ducks at Dugualla Bay and Lagoon (at least 1000 AMERICAN
WIGEON), and an OSPREY cruised past Ala Spit.



I then decided to head for the Jensen Access area of the Skagit WMA on Fir
Island. By the time I got there, the tide was very high; this, together with
a group of hunters blasting away nearby, limited the number of species I
saw. A PEREGRINE FALCON came sailing along the dike at close range. However,
the highlight was a flock of 6 MARBLED GODWITS which flew past in a
northerly direction, and continued past the point, landing somewhere out of
sight. A few days ago, Gary Bletsch had a flock of 5 southbound godwits at
the same place. I am assuming that this is the same flock, which picked up
one more member.



After Jensen, I visited the Skagit WMA headquarters area. The BLACK PHOEBE
was there in its usual spot, not far from the eastern parking area, and I
had nice views of it in the scope, although not close enough for
photography. As the tide was very high, I decided not to walk down the new
dyke to look for the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper-just as well, because Gary
Bletsch & co. couldn't find it even earlier in the day when the tide was
lower. Lots of bird activity, but nothing else unusual at Skagit WMA.



At any rate, it was a gorgeous day, with sunny skies, temperatures well
above average, and better birding than I expected. Maybe the next time I
want to find something new for my Skagit County list, I will grumble online
again-it seems to produce results!



Good luck and good birding,



Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC

contopus at telus.net