Tweeters:

Today at Green Pt. (Washington Park) I had 5 gull species, including a early returning HEERMANN'S adult beginning to molt. Also present were 4 alcid species, including an estimated 600 RHINOCEROUS AUKLETS.

In the humorous category, out at March Pt., two BULLOCK'S ORIOLES provided escort to crows apparently too close to nearby nests. The funny part was that two crows perched on the barbed-wire fence next to the road, and one of the orioles landed very close by, on the same barbed wire, acting if it was begging--but in fact it was a threat posture. This was underscored when one crow took off, as the oriole repeatedly dive-bombed it until both were past the refinery and out of sight.

Also of note, a pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL were in the slough near Milltown, extreme south coastal Skagit County. They have been unexpectedly scarce so far this year in Skagit Co., in contrast to Cinnamon Teal.

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