Fall migration has been underway in Edmonds for the last two weeks, as it has been elsewhere. Lots of Least and Western Sandpipers are pushing through. We had a Lesser Yellowlegs (code 4) show up in the marsh on July 6th and remain for several days. A second small flock of Black Swifts (code 4) passed over the marsh several days ago. We?ve been looking hard for a Pectoral Sandpiper and haven?t seen one yet. Five Greater Yellowlegs (code 3) were in the marsh this afternoon, mostly staying in Willow Creek on the south side of the marsh. Chipping Sparrow has been a code 5 species for Edmonds. I found one this morning in the marsh. It is the fifth sighting in the last five years, so we will revise the abundance code to 4 on the next printing of the Edmonds checklist. A couple of Common Yellowthroats (code 3) have been in the cattails on the north side of the marsh recently. I first saw a female along the boardwalk several days ago. Then a male showed up near the observation platform by the tennis courts. It was gathering worms in its bill, which suggests feeding young. We may have a nesting pair.

An exciting find was a Northern Saw-whet Owl (code 5) in Yost Park in early June. A visitor saw it active in a deciduous tree and photographed it. My Edmonds News recently posted the photo on line. The last known observation of this species was in January 2009 when one was heard calling in the same park.

There are good numbers of Heermann?s Gulls and California Gulls on the waterfront. There are the periodic sightings of Osprey and Caspian Tern, as well as Marbled Murrelet.

Two big misses for our collective year list during spring migration were Olive-sided and Willow Flycatchers. We have inched up to 153 species for the year.

Carol Riddell
Edmonds