Beautiful weather kept me birding in the Edmonds Bowl all morning today. There were over 300 Western Grebes (code 2) far off shore. There were probably 200 Brants (code 1), divided into two large flocks (one at Marina Beach and one north of Brackett's Landing North) and many smaller groups spread over the off-shore waters. There were 18 Common Goldeneyes (code 2) at Marina Beach and 9 Barrow's Goldeneyes (code 2) off Sunset Avenue. There were 11 Harlequin Ducks (code 3) off Marina Beach and another 4 off Sunset. There were also 13 Black Scoters (code 2) off Sunset. Harlequin and Black Scoter numbers seemed high for Edmonds. A surprise was 2 Sanderlings (code 2) on the marina's south breakwater. Other than Killdeer, we have seen very few shorebirds this winter. A few Bonaparte's Gulls could be seen along with the expected Mew, Glaucous-winged, and Olympic hybrid gulls. Both the Redhead (code 5) and Western Meadowlark (code 4) put in appearances this morning.

Surf Scoters, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Buffleheads continue in somewhat diminishing numbers. I only saw about 5 Pigeon Guillemots and 1 Rhinoceros Auklet. The Pelagic Cormorants are looking striking in their alternate plumage. There are still lots of Horned Grebes but fewer Red-necked Grebes around. Yellow-rumped Warbler numbers are increasing and a few Townsend's Warblers persist. Reports of the Barred Owls in Yost Park are coming in. Pacific Wrens are singing their heads off.

We saw our first Lincoln's Sparrow (code 2) of the year near the Marsh on March 10th. We had a Western Gull (code 4) and a female Long-tailed Duck (code 3) on the Sound on March 9th. There were 3 Canvasbacks (code 5) seen from the public pier on March 4th. After my last post, I heard from a birder who confirmed he saw the Northern Mockingbird (code 5) on February 27th. I have checked a couple of times since then and not found it, but I have asked the homeowner to keep his eye out for it and let us know of any further sightings. There have been no swallow sightings yet over the marsh.

Just a reminder that if you would like a copy of the Edmonds bird checklist, send your request to checklistedmonds at gmail.com. We are up to 97 species for the year.

Carol Riddell
Edmonds, Wa