Hello Tweets,
Late on Sunday Carol and I decided to look for some shorebirds around the Stanwood area and were very surprised to see a Townsend's Solitaire busily foraging around the beach at the English Boom Park on Camano Island. It was actively feeding and moved from one perch to another around the boardwalk at the parking area. It's sure to be in migration and may not be there for long.

We had stopped first at Eide Road and found two Greater Yellowlegs along with many Green-winged Teal and Northern Shovelers. Savannah Sparrows were singing and a Northern Harrier made an early evening appearance. From the English Boom we drove to the end of Thomle Road and found a flock of about 45 Black-bellied Plovers in the field by the dike. It's good to see them in breeding plumage. Two Short-eared Owls were flying in the area. At Bow Road a flock of about 4,000 Snow Geese were gathered in a field until a coyote running among them got them all up in the air. The coyote looked a bit dazed and not sure what to do with his own success.

It's good to be able to bird in the evening again.

Andy McComick
Bellevue, WA