Dear Paul and Tweeters,
?
Yep, Concrete Airport is still reasonably accessible to the public.?Every summer, they have?a fly-in there. That would be a horrible time to show up randomly for birding, because there are hundreds if not thousands of people, and scores of airplanes, buzzing around. If a birder showed up at the airport during the school year, it might also be busy there, especially around eight in the morning and three in the afternoon, since the Concrete schools are clustered around the airport. Other than that, it is usually very quiet there. Some of the old trails that lead off into the forest from the airport are now posted "no trespassing, " but there is still a lot of undeveloped land nearby for exploring.
?
Common Nighthawks are pretty reliable at the airport, sometimes even into September.
?
Paul, I suspect your long-ago bird would have been a Townsend's Solitaire;? when I lived there, I used to get them at my place in Concrete in winter sometimes. Then again, a Varied Thrush can look awfully grey on a winter's day up there.
?
Yours truly,
?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!"


>________________________________
> From: Paul Hicks <phicks at accessgrace.org>
>To: "', tweeters'" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>Sent: Sunday, August 4, 2013 4:20 PM
>Subject: [Tweeters] long-held mystery bird, Skagit County
>
>
>
>
>Tweets, Gary Bletsch, and other Skagit County
birding enthusiasts,
>Was just recalling a ?mystery bird? I saw probably around 1968 or 69,
and wonder what your experience or speculations might be. What I saw momentarily
was a gray, roughly robin-size bird with white wing flashes. Mockingbird,
shrike, or solitaire come to mind. I was walking to school, Concrete High, on a
chill if not frosty clear morning (winter or maybe early spring). The bird was
barely 50 feet (if that) off SR 20 at the bottom of the assent up to the
school. It MIGHT have been perched on the utility line, but don?t recall
for certain. In those days the lots on either side of
Superior Ave were not developed. Other
goodies present nearby during my high school days as a budding birder, at
Concrete airport ?behind? the school: Say?s Phoebe (2, March),
Mountain Bluebird (flock, March), Lark Sparrow (1 male, June). All you
Skagit County
birders, if you have time you might check out the airport during migration?
if it?s still accessible. Good birding!
>-- Paul Hicks / Tenino / phicks AT accessgrace DOT org
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