Tweeters,

Spent a few hours mid-day out on Fir Island and up to the Skagit Flats/West 90. Had nice sunny conditions most of my time out. Some of the highlights are as follows.

Skagit Game Range/Wylie Slough:
2 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS just west a hundred yards along the dike from the turnout into the "headquarters" parking lot
1 BLACK PHOEBE continues present easily seen active over the water on both sides of road at entrance, just past gate
Dunlin several hundred in the fields north of the dike trail
Snow Geese thousands on the east side of Wylie Road
Trumpeter Swans throughout the area

Fox Sparrows seem to be nearly the most abundant of the sparrows I've found at Wylie Slough during winters. I saw into the triple digits of this species today. Also of note were over 100 Bald Eagles. 30 of which seen in trees west of Wylie Road and within the Game Range itself. Another 50+ on Skagit Flats, a group of 15+ "kettling" above the town of Bow. Another 20 or so seen between Wylie Slough and Skagit Flats. 1 PREREGRINE FALCON circling high above West 90. I was keeping a lookout for either Golden Eagle or Gyrfalcon, both of which have been reported recently, but I came across neither. Many Red-tails in the area, only 2 Rough-legged's and a couple Kestrels as well as numerous Harrier's.

Michael Willison
sendtomichael at hotmail.com
Stanwood