Tweeters:

Just thought I would advise that yesterday (8/10) about 6:30 a.m. there was a female/imm. LESSER GOLDFINCH at the residence at 18512/18502 Skagit City Rd just north of the Skagit City x Moore Rd intersection at the northeast corner of Fir I. The bird was in the company of very impressive movement of birds through the property there, which is heavily landscaped and vegetated. It was detected by voice--picking through the AM. GOLDFINCHES there, I heard what to my ear sounded like a far-off HERMIT THRUSH--but said to myself, "this is way to early for a migrant." Then hearing it a couple more times, and hearing a siskin-like/Cardeulis-like quality to it, I zoomed in with the binos on the bird. Compared to a lot of LESSERS, this bird was very dull and nothing was terribly diagnostic separating it. It had the stubby little blackish bill and short un-notched tail. But the voice was the clincher.

At this property and the adjacent Black Cottonwoods, there were also 6 warbler sp, 4 BULLOCK'S ORIOLES and three lingering RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS, and an
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, along with numbers of our resident birds in family groups and multiple W. WOOD-PEWEES (I ended up with 29 for the entire day). You can park at the boat launch (almost directly opposite down a little road). Full list for the island is posted to Ebird.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com