Subject: [Tweeters] a few Skagit birds
Date: Nov 3 19:26:23 2012
From: Gary Bletsch - garybletsch at yahoo.com


Dear Tweeters,
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Yestreen (11-2-2012) a flock of about 250 Cackling Geese flew over Sims Honda in Burlington (Skagit County) as I was picking up my car. They were circling low, and seemed to be thinking about putting down for the night in what I call "McCorquedale Wetland," a mitigation site just west of the Honda dealership.
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Today (11-3-2012) there was a nice combination of lingering birds and arrivals in Skagit County. Tundra Swans were in evidence at both Judy Reservoir and on the flats north of Conway; at the latter spot, a few Trumpeters were with them, as well as 500 or so Snow Geese.
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Big Lake, Clear Lake, and Beaver Lake had some flocks of winter ducks, including Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, and Hooded Mergansers. A late OSPREY?was flying around Clear Lake.
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I saw my first Common Goldeneyes of the fall today, one at Hayton Preserve and two at March Point. My earliest ever?fall date for this species in?Skagit County is November 2, so these birds seemed a bit early.
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Hayton Preserve had a nice collection of shorebirds: 40 or so Black-bellied Plover, 20 or more L-B Dowitchers, a couple of Greater Yellowlegs, a Least Sandpiper, and hundreds of Dunlin. A few Bonaparte's Gulls were offshore.
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At least six Short-eared Owls were over the Samish West Ninety.
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At March Point?was an Orange-crowned Warbler, was foraging with a goodly flock of passerines on the Fidalgo Bay side, near the west end of North Texas Road. I also saw fifteen or so Cedar Waxwings at South March Point Road where it meets Reservation Road.
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At Judy Reservoir were two Hutton's Vireos.
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No Wheatears, no Tropical Kingbirds, no Wilson's Plovers--but still a fun day in the rain!
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Yours truly,
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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!"