We have 77 species in Edmonds for the first two weeks of 2015. If you would like a copy of the recently-revised Edmonds checklist, please request it at checklistedmonds at gmail dot com.

We have had no code 4 or 5 species sightings yet. Code 3 species are those that are harder to find, but usually seen annually. Our code 3 sightings include Cackling Goose, Ring-necked Duck, Harlequin Duck, Common Loon, Brandt's Cormorant, Brewer's Blackbird, Purple Finch, and Red Crossbill.

There are a lot of Canada Geese in Edmonds right now and one Cackling Goose, that appears to be a Taverner's or Richardson's subspecies, has been associating with one of the flocks. The Ring-necked Duck has been seen at the marsh and on the waterfront. Several Harlequins are being seen from Sunset, looking north towards the Shell Creek beach and closer to shore. Common Loon has been observed a couple of times as a Puget Sound fly-by. Brandt's Cormorant can be anywhere along the waterfront on any given day. It requires looking through the cormorants carefully. A Brewer's Blackbird pair has been frequenting the marsh and waterfront for some time. The pair disappeared for the CBC but has surfaced again around the Senior Center on Railroad Avenue, between the public pier and the ferry dock. Purple Finches were recently near the tennis courts on the north side of the marsh. Red Crossbills were seen just the other day in my neighborhood, but I missed them. (I am now staking out the taller firs with the hope that they were on a circuit and will return.)

Some code 2 (uncommon) birds of interest on the waterfront include Black Scoter, Common and Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Pacific Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, and Marbled Murrelet. At the marsh or at Yost Park we have seen Hooded Merganser, American Coot, Sharp-Shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Hermit Thrush, Townsend's Warbler, and Fox and Golden-crowned Sparrows.

Carol Riddell
Edmonds, Wa