I spent much of yesterday birding from Rockport to Newhalem along the
Skagit River, part of the time with Randy Knapp, before heading out to
the flats for the last few hours of the day. It was sunny and calm in
the morning before the wind picked up a bit in the afternoon. Out on
the Samish Flats it was blowing 20 knots with strongly gusts which
made scoping anything difficult. The birding up the river was so good
I didn't even make it to half the places I'd wanted to go!

Highlights included a Calliope Hummingbird, 2 Lewis's Woodpeckers, 7
Dusky Flycatchers, a late Say's Phoebe, 6 Western Kingbirds, 5
Townsend's Solitaires, 110 American Pipits, 15 Nashville Warblers, 16
Chipping Sparrows, a Vesper Sparrow and 4 Lazuli Buntings:

Black Oystercatcher - 3 continue at March Point
Long-billed Dowitcher - 60 in the flooded field at the 'East 90'
Eurasian Collared-Dove - 1 Martin Rd (I believe my first in the area)
Calliope Hummingbird - 1 female Howard Miller Steelhead Park
Lewis's Woodpecker - 1 Martin Rd, 1 Marblemount
Dusky Flycatcher - 1 Corkindale, 3 Newhalem, 3 County Line Ponds
Say's Phoebe - 1 Marblemount (late for the westside)
Western Kingbird - 2 Corkindale, 1 Marblemount, 3 Newhalem
Cassin's Vireo - 3 Howard Miller, 1 Corkindale
Bank Swallow - 5 Corkindale
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 Newhalem, 1 County Line Ponds
Townsend's Solitaire - 1 Martin Rd, 1 Howard Miller, 3 Corkindale
Swainson's Thrush - 2 Howard Miller Steelhead Park, my first of the
year, both heard doing mostly their flight calls but also a few whits
American Pipit - 110 at Corkindale!
Nashville Warbler - 1 Illabot Creek Rd, 1 Martin Rd, 4 Howard Miller,
1 Rockport Quarry, 1 Corkindale, 2 Newhalem, 5 County Line Ponds
Myrtle Warbler - 1 Corkindale
Myrtle X Audubon's Warbler - 1 Corkindale
MacGillivray's Warbler - 2 Illabot Creek Rd, 1 Howard Miller
Chipping Sparrow - 6 Martin Rd, 4 Howard Miller, 6 Newhalem
Vesper Sparrow - 1 Martin Rd
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1 Howard Miller
Golden-crowned Sparrow - 4 Martin Rd, 3 Howard Miller, 2 Corkindale, 4 Newhalem
Lazuli Bunting - 4 Howard Miller
Bullock's Oriole - 2 Martin Rd, 2 Howard Miller, 1 Corkindale

Pictures of some of these birds are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjm284/

Good birding,
Ryan Merrill
Kirkland