Hello all,
I went up to Stanwood today primarily to try to spot some raptors and
maybe even some Snowy Owls. I was very successful on the first count,
but not on the second. I scanned the dykes from the trails past Edie
Rd, Thomle Rd and Boe Rd without success. I only had 10x binoculars
and my 100-400mm lens so perhaps there was something that could be
seen with a spotting scope.

I started at Eide Road. On my walk out to the end of the trail I saw
several NORTHERN HARRIERS patrolling the marshes. When I reached the
end of the trail there was a mature BALD EAGLE just across the slough
eating what appeared to be a dead Snow Goose. There was also at least
one juvenile in the area as well as several GREAT BLUE HERONS. On my
way back I added a SHORT-EARED OWL and ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. The GREAT
EGRET that has been mentioned before had also shown up and was
patrolling the pond immediately past the parking lot.

I moved to Thomle road, taking a quick side-trip down 95th Avenue
where I encountered two RED-TAILED hawks in the same tree as well as a
male AMERICAN KESTREL hunting from the electrical wires. While driving
down Thomle road I saw an AMERICAN KESTREL again, but I believe it to
be the same bird I'd seen immediately north rather than a second one.
On my way back on the road I saw three more BALD EAGLES, including one
juvinile feasting on a bird in a tree 20 ft from the road. There was
also a COOPERS HAWK directly between the road and the slough.

I drove to the end of Boe road. On one side are hunters and on the
other side a few thousand SNOW GEESE and some no hunting signs. The
geese seem to know which side of the road to stay on. I saw a medium
sized falcon hunting north of the end of the road. It would hover for
several seconds at a time. My hunch is that it was a MERLIN since it
appeared larger than a Kestrel, but it was many hundreds of yards away
so I couldn't confirm the ID.

I also made an attempt to find the Night Herons mentioned several
times near the senior housing on 173rd and 100th without any luck.
There was, however, another COOPERS HAWK perched in a tree immediately
to the west.


Edie Road:
Great Blue Heron 2
Bald Eagle 3
Northern Harrier 4
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Rough-legged Hawk 1
Short-eared Owl 1
Marsh Wren 1
Great Egret 1

Thomle Road and surrounding:
Bald Eagle 4
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
Western Meadowlark X


Josh
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beastofexmoor/