There was a Western Kingbird yesterday (4-25) afternoon at the Edmonds marsh. It hung around long enough for two of us to see it and get some distant photos before it was spooked off by a five-engine freight train rumbling by. That seems to be common for vagrant passerines around the marsh. The resident birds accommodate the trains and new arrivals often leave quickly. Western Kingbird is still a code 5 for Edmonds proper even though it is a code 3 Snohomish County bird. This is the fourth sighting around the marsh. The most recent three sightings have all been within the last five years. An earlier sighting may go back about seven years. This seems consistent with increasing Western Kingbird sightings in the county. My ID-quality photos are in this eBird checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29211214 <http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29211214> .

Carol Riddell
Edmonds