Dear Tweeters,

Ryan Merrill found a Snowy Owl by scoping from Jensen Access today (11-20-11). This bird could be seen somewhat more easily from Hayton Preserve. I had tolerably decent views of it by standing at the chain-link gate at the end of the trail there, and then looking to the SE. Off in the distance was a cluster of barns, featuring tan roofs with little cupolas. At the left edge of the scope view were four cylincrical silos; the owl was lined up with the silos, perched on a driftwood at water's edge.

The Game Range had lots of birds. Ryan found both the Waterthrush and a Common Yellowthroat at the junction of the new dike and the old. I was watching a large flock of Pine Siskins by the entrance to the site when Ryan phoned me about the owl, but I hated to leave such a birdy place.

There were lots of BB Plover and Dunlin on Fir Island at high tide. There were also a few Long-billed Dowitchers at Hayton, and at least two Least Sandpipers at Jensen Access. A handful of Bonaparte's Gulls was still hanging out at Jensen, too.

I tried to find a Snowy Owl on the shoreline of Padilla Bay, but no luck. There were at least ten thousand ducks on the bay, mostly American Wigeon and Northern Pintail, plus Mallards, Buffleheads, Surf Scoters, Common Goldeneyes, Greater Scaup, White-winged Scoters, and a few Eurasian Wigeon and Red-breasted Merganser.

Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch


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?.??