Hard to believe it got up to near 60 in the Seattle area yesterday - a
tad nippier near Stanwood, especially when the sun was slowly sinking
down, the moon was slowly rising (James Tayler), and the Snowies were
appearing - they must bring a bit of the arctic with them to these
wintering grounds!

'Twas a swell day for one and all, even McGinnes, the leashed pooch.

Besides what you see in the captioned photos, there were more views,
birds and people that added fun and warmth to the experience,
especially around 4:45, when Rick spotted the first Snowy Owl flying
to our side of the dike. And to think we had thoughts that the owls
might already have headed back up to the tundra, perhaps due to the
springish temps that have been bringing out smiles and shorts amongst
the human contingent!

Additional birds of note, for which I got no photos: American
Bittern (spotted by Alison at Big Ditch), many female and juvenile
Northern Harriers (everywhere), Trumpeter Swans, Western Meadowlarks,
an American Kestrel (on a shed roof at Thomle), a dozen or more Red-
tailed Hawks (everywhere), at least one Great Blue Heron at each site,
and one Peregrine Falcon in a tree along the freeway near the Marine
Drive exit in Everett! We kind of ignored the ducks, sparrows and
other small birds... :-) The two guys gliding around in motorized
hang gliders and one hot-air balloon added another touch of spring at
Big Ditch and was a curiosity for an eagle who flew alongside one a
short ways.

Here's a link to the bird photos of the day:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjyy6rDp

Super birding to you all.


Barb Deihl

North Matthews Beach - NE Seattle

barbdeihl at comcast.net
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