Hey Tweets,

Made my first birding trip up to Whatcom County and had a nice day! With a little guidance from Joe Meche, and the Whatcom County Audubon page, I was able to find a path that took me to some good saltwater and freshwater birds, with a total of 58 species for the day. Started the day with a Western Screech-owl at Whatcom Falls State Park - heard right as I got out of my car in the parking lot! From there, I made my way up to the Blaine marina, where a large raft of geese included Canada, Cackling and two Snow Geese. Between Semiahmoo Spit and Birch Bay, I was able to find most saltwater species, including Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Brant, both Goldeneyes, and Pacific, Common and Red-throated Loon. Between Lake Terrell and Sandy Point, I was able to find a good mix of passerines, and freshwater ducks, and I finished the day on Lummi Flats - no swans or geese to be found, but raptors included Cooper's Hawk and Northern Harrier.

Some more details and very poor pictures at http://39counties.blogspot.com/

A drizzly day, and very windy in the morning on Semiahmoo Spit, but still quite beautiful.

Hit the San Juans on the tail end of the weekend, birding most of the day yesterday - another post to follow on that.

Happy Birding!
-Tim Brennan
Renton