A fine sunny afternoon in Skagit.

A visit to Fisher Slough, new to us, produced the two reported Sharp-tailed
Sandpipers and hundreds of Long-billed Dowitchers. Thank you to Blair and
especially Doug for getting us in the right place. We paid these birds
forward several times today.

Then onto Wylie Slough which was awesome! Highlights including a Taiga
Merlin who we watched devour his kill (probably a Goldfinch), many
Yellow-rumped Warblers and a couple Common Yellowthroats. Many sparrows
including: Savannah, Fox, Lincoln's, White-crowned and the usual suspects,
but no White-throated. Calling Virginia Rail and late *Sora* (the Sora
oddly doing the whinny twice after gunshots, which fortunately didn't
happen often). Many Greater and fewer, but still a lot of Lesser
Yellowlegs and a few Long-billed Dowitchers.

Asta spied a JV *Northern Shrike* and I got on what I thought was a *Rusty
Blackbird*, which was independently IDed by Dave Slager, an ornithologist
who is working on his PhD in evolutionary biology at U of W. Dave is from
the midwest and felt confident with the Rusty Blackbird ID. We found the
bird on the main dike heading West, it was in trees on the left with no
other blackbirds around it.

Here are Asta's pics of the bird:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86563450 at N05/10260711984/

Cheers,

Cara Borre
Gig Harbor
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