Dear Ryan and Tweeters,

[This is a re-posting--my first effort was kicked back as suspected spam.]

Thanks to Ryan Merrill and to Ann Skinner for getting the word out regarding the Western Bluebirds near Big Lake.

I went over there today (1-01-2011) and found a pair of Western Bluebirds with no trouble at all. I do have a few words of advice for those interested in seeking these birds.

Pasted below is Ryan's original message, with the map coordinates. I am not convinced that the Google map shows the roads exactly as they are laid out in relation to the pond. Access is problematic in this area. The roads appear to be public roads, county roads I assume, but there seem to be no places where one can legally park. The trail system here is prominently signed "private," and the parking spots by the trailheads are signed as towaway zones.

I asked a passerby about this, and he suggested that it would be okay if I parked at the trailhead for a few minutes and walked down to the pond, so that's what I did. The bluebirds were right there by the pond, near a little footbridge.

However, afterwards, I worked out a way to view the birds without even having to ask permission. The area above and to the east of the pond is a man-made grassland at the moment, with several roads leading to lots, most of which are still for sale. The bluebirds gave me better views from here than from the trail. I was able to stop the car at two cul-de-sacs for excellent views of the birds: Big Fir Place and Bass Pro Place. The birds ranged over the entire area between these two lanes, an area about the size of a big par-five golf hole.





Gary Bletsch Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA garybletsch at yahoo.com


--- Ryan Merrill <rjm284 at gmail.com> schrieb am Sa, 1.1.2011:

> Von: Ryan Merrill <rjm284 at gmail.com>
> Betreff: Skagit W Bluebirds
> An: "Howard Armstrong" <godwits at wavecable.com>, "pam pritzl" <ppritzl at frontier.com>, "Gary Bletsch" <garybletsch at yahoo.com>, "Joel Brady-Power" <fvnerka at hotmail.com>, "Robert Kuntz" <annebobkuntz at gmail.com>
> CC: "Brad Waggoner" <wagtail at sounddsl.com>, "cwright7" <cwright7 at uw.edu>
> Datum: Samstag, 1. Januar, 2011 04:13 Uhr
> I knew there had to be bluebirds
> somewhere in Skagit! This report
> came in today to eBird and I see no reason why it wouldn't
> be valid...
>
> Western Bluebird 2 Dec 31, 2010 Ann Skinner Nookachamp pond
> Skagit WA
> "First bluebirds spotted for the year on daily walk around
> pond. Have
> seen bluebirds in this general area before."
>
> The pond is at 48.39965,-122.227011 (copy coordinates into
> maps.google.com) near Big Lake.
>
> Also, has anyone been seeing Western Scrub-Jays recently in
> Skagit? I
> noticed another report in the Skagit newsletter from the
> WSU Gardens
> near Mt Vernon from Nov. There must be a few hanging
> around
> somewhere. Maybe they'll be found on the CBCs on Sunday?
>
> Happy New Year!
> Ryan
>
Gary Bletsch ? Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA ? garybletsch at yahoo.com ? ?