Subject: [Tweeters] some Skagit birds
Date: Dec 2 18:09:27 2012
From: Gary Bletsch - garybletsch at yahoo.com


Dear Tweeters,
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Today, second?December 2012, birding?was good?in Skagit County.
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It took two and a half hours or so, but I was able to relocate the NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH that Ryan Merrill had found at the Game Range yesterday. I propose that the little duckweed puddle where this bird is hanging out be henceforth known as "Ryan Merrill's Swamp," since Ryan already has a marsh named after him!
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Also surprising at the Game Range were three BARN SWALLOWS.
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Duck numbers were fairly low in Skagit County's "Lake District." A CANVASBACK was nice to see at Big Lake boat launch. At Lake McMurray boat launch was a?cooperative flock of passerines, including a Hutton's Vireo. I wish I'd had a camera at the ready--the vireo perched right next to a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. This reinforced what I already knew--kinglets are LITTLE!
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Beaver Lake had almost no ducks, but a male ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD was quite a surprise. It seems to me that these birds are showing up more and more here lately.
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Biggest surprise of the day was at Clear Lake Boat Launch: a SWAMP SPARROW jumped out of a brush pile along the access road, and called for several minutes.

Gary Bletsch

Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA

garybletsch at yahoo.com

"Nun," sagte ich, "wenn ich ein Taugenichts bin, so ist's gut, so will ich in die Welt gehen, und mein Glueck machen." Und eigentlich war mir das recht lieb, denn es war mir kurz vorher selber eingefallen, auf Reisen zu gehen, da ich die Goldammer, welche im Herbst und Winter immer betruebt an unserm Fenster sang: "Bauer, miet' mich, Bauer, miet' mich!" nun in der schoenen Fruehlingszeit wieder ganz stolz und lustig vom Baume rufen hoerte: "Bauer, behalt' deinen Dienst!"