We had 88 species in Edmonds for the first month of 2015. If you would like a copy of the recently-revised Edmonds checklist, please mail us at checklistedmonds at gmail dot com .

With the persistence of three Barn Swallows for over a week, seen both along the waterfront and at the marsh, I am going to call this a code 5 (fewer than five records) appearance of a code 1 species. We have only seen a winter Barn Swallow once before, several years ago. With these recent sightings, Edmonds has been part of a larger winter appearance of this species in the Puget Trough.

In the last two weeks we have had two code 4 (rare, 5+ records) species: one Trumpeter Swan that flew by the public pier on January 19th, and several sightings of a Western Gull (presumably the same bird) at both the marsh and along the waterfront.

New code 3 (harder to find but usually seen annually) sightings include Dunlin on the waterfront and Wilson's Snipe in the marsh. Code 2 (uncommon) species added are Red-tailed Hawk, Merlin, Sanderling, and Hutton's Vireo.

Some species we might have expected to see by now, but have not, are Northern Shoveler, White-winged Scoter, and Red-throated Loon. The most abundant waterfowl at the marsh right now is the Green-winged Teal. Along the waterfront there are small numbers but continued sightings of Black Scoters and Harlequin Ducks. The Brants move in toward shore and then move farther out. Sometimes you can see them without optics and other times you need a scope. The large rafts of Western Grebes seem to have moved north of Edmonds waters.

We wish you many good birds in the coming weeks.

Carol Riddell
Edmonds, Wa