Hi Tweets,

Barbara and I led a Seattle Audubon Field Trip to Whidbey Island on
Tuesday, January 31. The rain that had been forecast did not arrive, but we
had strong winds almost everywhere on the island, which made the temps in
the mid-40s seem even colder. Our trip began at Pass Lake and Rosario Beach
State Park in Skagit County before crossing Deception Pass to Whidbey. We
visited Ala Spit, Dugualla Bay, and the Oak Harbor Marina before crossing
to the west side of the island at Joseph Whidbey State Park. After checking
Bos Lake we continued south making several stops along West Beach Rd. After
lunch at Fort Ebey State Park we crossed the island to ponds on Penn Cove
by SR 20, then birded Coupeville, Keystone Spit (back on the west side of
the island) and Crockett Lake. We then headed south to Freeland County Park
before taking the Mukilteo Ferry back to the mainland.

Highlights of the trip included the view from Rosario Head at Rosario Beach
SP, where we watched more than 100 RED-THROATED LOONS feeding in the tidal
rips from Deception Pass as small groups of 3 and 4 RTLOs arrived to join
the foragers. At Dugualla Bay we watched a PEREGRINE FALCON scatter 2 BALD
EAGLES and a RED-TAILED HAWK. Another Peregrine was perched on a post by
Bos Lake. We saw two dozen BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS flying past at Hastie Lake
Landing; we later saw some of them foraging on the rocks at Fort Ebey State
Park. Shorebirds for the trip were mostly at the Oak Harbor Marina -- c. 50
BLACK TURNSTONES, 10 SURFBIRDS, a few DUNLIN and a half-dozen LEAST
SANDPIPERS. A dozen SANDERLINGS flew past us near West Beach Rd, and a
single GREATER YELLOWLEGS foraged at a pond at Penn Cove by SR 20.

Two sightings of special interest were a WESTERN SCRUB-JAY seen briefly by
MaryFrances Mathis near the entrance to the Oak Harbor Marina which we
tried in vain to relocate, and several EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES in
Coupeville at the corner of Leach St. and 8th NW spotted by MaryFrances and
Phyllis Moss at which the whole group got good looks. Altogether we sighted
79 species, thanks to the sharp sighting skills of the participants.

Good Birding!

Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.webster AT comcast.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20120202/44c6505a/attachment.htm