Hi Tweets -



We've been up here a week with mixed results. Since we're visiting from Oregon, we didn't post the rather indifferent "news." But since you asked. . . .



Eagles. We drove up the Skagit to Marblemount on Tuesday. Saw a grand total of 4 eagles. Yesterday we started counting as we came off I-5. Our total for the day was 48 bald eagles of mixed ages, mostly adult. Here's our route. Off I-5 at the Bow-Edison exit, west past the West 90 and around to the Public Access on Samish Island, back to the Bayview-Edison Road going South. We went across to LaConnor, through Skagit Flats and around Fir Island, then back to the I-5 frontage road on the East side. Where we backtracked, we didn't count any birds we saw. Highlight was our first sighting in a small grove of deciduous trees on the West side of house on the North side of Bayview-Edison. There were 9 eagles in those trees! This morning there were only 5!



Snow geese. There essentially aren't any! We found a small group in with trumpeter swans along the I-5 frontage road, including one Ross's.



Swans. Seems like more than usual numbers and most are Trumpeters.



We saw a Peregrine in Samish Flats this morning and we found a Barn Owl in flight at the barn where Maupin Road joins Fir Island Road.



We've been up here for a week or so in Jan/Feb since 2009 and spent time here before our 2000 move from Bellevue to Salem. If it were always the same, we wouldn't need to come; we could just look at photos from previous trips.



Oh - we were past the flooded area yesterday afternoon. While the fields were inundated, the water had receded from the road and the house looked OK.





Marti & Lew Ligocki

Pat Tilley

all from Salem, Oregon



----- Original Message -----
From: Valerie Elliott
To: tweeters
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 6:00 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Birding on Skagit River, Fir Island, West 90?


I haven't seen any postings about the bald eagles on the Skagit, the geese and swans, etc. on Fir Island, or the raptors, etc. around the West 90? I was thinking of a trip up this weekend, but was afraid that all I would see in lots of water and flooded land. Does anyone know the status of these areas? Any info would be appreciated. Other tweeters may be interested in the status too.

Thanks,
Valerie Elliott
Olympia, WA



------------------------------------------------------------------------------


_______________________________________________
Tweeters mailing list
Tweeters at u.washington.edu
http://mailman2.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters