Yesterday (7/15) I stopped off briefly at Fields Riffle, on the river just downstream from Snohomish. I wanted to see if the Sand Wasps were out in their little sand patch down there. The bugs weren't there but I did see two male Lazuli Buntings - a colorful treat.

I saw a single male Lazuli in the same spot last year on 7/28. There was something off about that birds color - it was not the typical lazuli blue I'm familiar with, but a deeper blue almost like a Tree Swallow. All other markings were typical Lazuli Bunting. The first bird I saw yesterday looked similar to last years. The second bird I saw yesterday was more typical but also a bit darker it seemed. The lighting was good for both sightings. I don't get to the dry side of hill very often and haven't seen many buntings in the past decade, but these did seem a bit different. Hybrids maybe?

Fields Riffle is a Snohomish Co. park that is undeveloped and signed as being off limits, something that everyone seems to blithely disregard - in fact there's a sign explaining the counties salmon recovery work at the end of the gravel entry road which seems a bit unusual for a place where nobody's supposed to be. The fields along the gravel road is where the buntings are. The park is located on the Lowell - Snohomish River Rd.(south side of the river). The fields are the first fields to the north of the road out of Snohomish - a big straight gravel road with a wood rail fence around it is the entry. Don't park in a way that blocks farmer access. There is a large pullout a hundred yards to the east also that people always park at - from there is easy access to the dike that lines the fields and leads to the Cottonwood/ Willow groves and other natural treats of the Park. A good birding and all around nature spot.

Jeff Gibson Everett Wa