Hi Tweets,

Today is the second day of an immature Northern Shrike at the Edmonds marsh. Ted Peterson alerted me to it late this morning, having seen it for the second day on a row. I got down there too late to find it. Shrikes are usually one-hour or one-day wonders in Edmonds so two days is noteworthy locally. There were also about ten Great Blue Herons and ten Killdeers in the marsh at mid-day. Ducks in the south-side ponds included Mallard, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, and American Wigeon. Two adult American Coots were still there. They fledged cootlets this summer, a rare occurrence in Edmonds. Besides a Bald Eagle and a Red-tailed Hawk, an accipiter was perched on a pole in the distance. Hard to tell whether it was a Cooper's or Sharpie. The female Belted Kingfisher was making a lot of noise.

Visibility was great from Sunset Avenue mid-afternoon. The predominant duck was Surf Scoter. Gulls included Glaucous-winged, Mew, California, and Heermann's. Alcids included Pigeon Guillemots in basic plumage, Rhinoceros Auklets, and a few Common Murres. Finally, a Common Tern in basic plumage appeared on one of the dive park plastic barrels and remained in the area for at least an hour. As far as we know, this is only the second Snohomish County sighting this fall. Unfortunately, its presence was not sufficient to lure a Parasitic Jaeger over from Point No Point. I couldn't see any loons this afternoon although Pacific Loons have been seen in the last week or so. Cormorants today included Pelagic, Double-crested, and one Brandt's. I tried again later this afternoon for the shrike but did not see it.

Good birding,

Carol Riddell
Edmonds