Subject: [Tweeters] Skagit Co ROSS'S GOOSE
Date: Mar 1 20:40:31 2014
From: Scott - scottratkinson at hotmail.com


Tweeters:

Today Tiny and I went from a mid-day drive up Rt 11 and out to the West 90, hoping to see SHORT-EARED OWLS (had just one, a big change from last year's hordes). The bird of the day was in a flock of white SNOW GEESE along the west side of Thomas Road, just south of Field Road: a white juv. ROSS'S GOOSE. I was able to get two great looks at the bird spanning about 15 seconds total; the only reason the views were brief was that it kept moving eastward and getting obscured in the proverbial crowd. This bird has a darkish stubby bill and a weak dark eye line; the upper back and onto the lower part of the back of the neck are dusky, but the bird is white otherwise. Don't give up if you don't see it right away; the flock today was large (about 1000 Snows) and they tend to cling close together. Also in this group were two (BLUE) SNOW GEESE, which Tiny found first, and one which I got a partial photo of:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14115261 at N05/12870296374/

Other barely-reportable highlights included single Western and Herring Gulls in the gull hordes roosting in the area; and a EUR. (COMMON) GREEN-WINGED TEAL drake at the inlet near the south end of the Padilla Bay trail (very near Rt 20). There were significant numbers of W. Meadowlark at the W-90, with several birds in song. Large swan numbers and about 60 Bald Eagles in the immediate vicinity of Samish Flats, but Harlan's type Red-tails were represented by just one bird, no falcons or Rough-legs, seemed odd.

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