Dear Tweeters,

Today I again failed to find a Rusty Blackbird on Samish Flats, making three days this week now. I did see an odd duck, though.

It was nice in the morning, then turned very rainy, but there were lots of birds to see, including thousands of blackbirds, all of which have, unfortunately, been treated with enough WD-40 to prevent any trace of oxidation.

Sorry to come off like Chicken Little here, but there was a very interesting Anas duck at the Wood Sandpiper spot today, 12 November. There were also three or four hunters and a bunch of decoys there, although I hadn't realized that when I parked. When they stepped out of their blind for a moment, the odd duck flew off, after I'd only viewed it for three minutes or so. They didn't shoot it, for some reason.

This duck was small, teal-like in size, and rather pale. It had the exact facial pattern of a female Garganey, a species which I must admit I have not seen in close to a decade. On the face were two parallel brown stripes, plus a coin-shaped pale spot at the base of the bill. The bill was plain grey, large, but not as large as that of a Shoveller, or even, I suspect, that of a Cinnamon Teal. Below the tail, this bird lacked the creamy color one sees on a Green-winged Teal; the tail itself looked paler than the tails of small Anas ducks I am used to seeing here. The bird was not at all reddish or rich brown in color. In flight, the bird zipped by me very fast, and I saw nothing like a wing stripe or a speculum to help with the ID.

I can't say what it was, but I am hoping to see a photo of a smiling hunter on the front page of tomorrow's "Skagit Valley Herald," with the headline above it reading "Local Hunter Bags Rare Garganey."

Also at the Wood Sandpiper spot (near N end Bay View-Edison Rd) was a flock of passerines that I strove to identify, but failed to do so as well. They were either pipits or Lapland Longspurs, but kept landing in long grass and disappearing. Once I realized there were hunters there, I left, rather than remain there and spoil their sport, though I would like to have stayed to get an ID on the passerines.

At Samish Island Public Beach was a nice assortment of salty birds, including over 50 R-B Mergansers, 5 White-winged Scoters, and 5 Red-throated Loons.

After the rain started pouring down, I gave a rather feeble attempt to relocate the Canvasback(s) seen yesterday by Ryan Merrill on Clear Lake, but came up without one. There were lots of American Coots here, and on Beaver Lake. The Judy Reservoir was very quiet, with a few Trumpeter Swans, Buffleheads, Mallards, and one Ring-necked Duck. I keep thinking that some day a Smew will turn up there at Judy...oh well.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch?

Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA?garybletsch at yahoo.com?Mentre che li occhi per la fronda verde
ficcava ?o s? come far suole
chi dietro a li uccellin sua vita perde, lo pi? che padre mi dicea: ?Figliuole,
vienne oramai, ch? ?l tempo che n?? imposto
pi? utilmente compartir si vuole?.??