Subject: [Tweeters] Recent Skagit Sightings
Date: Oct 4 17:43:47 2011
From: Ryan Merrill - rjm284 at gmail.com


Yesterday Oct 3rd I spent much of the day birding with Mitch Blanton
around the Skagit/Samish Flats. There were quite a few shorebirds
during incoming tide at the Skagit Game Range (aka Skagit WMA, aka
Wylie Slough):

BB Plover - 4
Killdeer - 12
Greater Yellowlegs - 35
Lesser Yellowlegs - 15
SOLITARY SANDPIPER - 1, late
Western Sandpiper - 12
LB Dowitcher - 150
SB Dowitcher - 3+
Wilson's Snipe - 1

During high tide at the TNC Farming For Wildlife field at the north
end of Bayview-Edison Road (the Wood Sandpiper field) we found the
following shorebirds, though were unable to find the lingering
Semipalmated Sandpiper that was there as recently as last Tuesday:

BB Plover - 46
Semi Plover - 16
Killdeer - 8
Greater Yellowlegs - 5
Lesser Yellowlegs - 2
Western Sandpiper - 480
Least Sandpiper - 4
Baird's Sandpiper - 1
Pectoral Sandpiper - 5
SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER - 1
Dunlin - 7
LB Dowitcher - 25
Wilson's Snipe - 1

Elsewhere there was a SANDHILL CRANE with about 150 Snow Geese at the
Hayton Reserve, an Eared Grebe at Samish Island, an adult Western Gull
west of Edison, and an adult Herring Gull south of Fir Island Rd just
east of Maupin Rd.

Last Wednesday, 9/28, I birded up the Skagit River. At Corkindale
there was a VESPER SPARROW and a Western Meadowlark. The big
highlight of the day was a light juvenile BROAD-WINGED HAWK that
circled above the upper switchbacks on the trail to Cascade Pass in
the early afternoon.

On the 20th there was a VESPER SPARROW at Howard Miller Steelhead Park
and a LEWIS'S WOODPECKER just west of Healy Rd along Hwy 20.

Good birding,
Ryan Merrill
Kirkland