Hi Tweets

I lead a trip for Eastside Audubon today to Whidbey Island. Great day with sun and no wind. We explored the south end of the island and took our time so we covered half the island up to the Keystone Ferry terminal.

The ferry crossing was almost completely birdless except for some GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLs. A CASPIAN TERN did fly over part of the way over to Clinton. Our first stop on the island side was the neighborhood bog area on Rollinghill Rd. We saw AMERICAN ROBIN, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, BARN SWALLOW, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, SONG SPARROW, EUROPEAN STARLING, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, RUFOUS and ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDs, heard CALIFORNIA QUAIL, and WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE.

Possession Sound Park was fairly quiet, but we did see BELTED KINGFISHER, BALD EAGLE, AMERICAN CROW, CALIFORNIA QUAIL, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. Dave Mackie Co. Park over in Maxwellton gave us nice views out into Puget Sound/Useless Bay. We saw COMMON MURRE, PIGEON GUILLEMOT, RHINOCEROS AUKLET, MARBLED MURRELET, WESTERN GREBE, PACIFIC LOON, BALD EAGLE, WHIMBREL, GREAT BLUE HERON, OSPREY, Harbor Seal, and about 15 HARBOR PORPOISE (the most I have ever seen from a single location).

The Maxwellton Outdoor Classrom preserve was active with AMERICAN ROBIN, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, SONG SPARROW, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, all singing in good numbers and BROWN CREEPER (two). This is a very nice location with good trails and a nice boardwalk.

The Ewing Road wetlands had AMERICAN COOTs with young, a PIED-BILLED GREBE on the nest with young, CINNAMON TEAL (with a male with female chasing a second male away), MALLARDs, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, CANADA GOOSE, OSPREY with fish, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, BARN and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWs, a displaying AMERICAN BITTERN (and another calling).

Deer Lagoon was at low tide, but we saw 9 WHIMBREL, a couple of KILLDEER, BARN SWALLOW, OSPREY, and heard HOUSE SPARROW. The public access off Lincoln Ave. also was at low tide and the birds present were waaaaay out and unidentifable with a few BONAPARTE'S GULLs visible, but a VIRGINIA RAIL gave a brief call in the marsh. Back up on Bayview Road there was a female NORTHERN HARRIER perched on a fence wire. We took a lunch stop at the Freeland County Park (a single Bald Eagle on the top of a mast). A brief stop at Earth Sanctuary yielded WARBLING VIREO, SWAINSON'S THRUSH, AMERICAN ROBIN, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, CEDAR WAXWING, teenage/preteenage/and duckling HOODED MERGANSERs, calling OSPREY, NORTHERN FLICKER, STELLER'S JAY, SONG SPARROW.

The Crockett Lake didn't have many birds on it, but a single PURPLE MARTIN was perched on one of the houses. Keystone Ferry terminal had several PIGEON GUILLEMOTs on the old platform and in the water. Some RHINOCEROUS AUKLETs were offshore.

Elsewhere we saw RED-TAILED HAWK, ROCK PIGEON, AMERICAN CROW, COMMON RAVEN, TREE and CLIFF SWALLOW, BEWICK'S WREN, MARSH WREN, EUROPEAN STARLING, SPOTTED TOWHEE, DARK-EYED JUNCO, BREWER'S BLACKBIRD, HOUSE FINCH.

A very nice day with 64 species seen.

Good Birding,

Brian H. Bell
Woodinville Wa
mail to bell asoc at iso media dot com