Happy New Year Tweeters All!! (Day after...)

First bird - Junco! Not my Creeper, but did see it today around 3pm this afternoon - I must have been in Everett when he/she showed yesterday!!

Birded (my friend's and my - 5th New Year's day bird outing) in Everett yesterday (using updated Birder's Guide to WA and Birding in Snohomish Guide (Pilchuck Audubon Society) between the two finally found a parking lot at least) - trying to get to Spencer Island and the water treatment ponds (road closed), which we could see from the trail (my scope was in the car - I know, bad idea!!) covered with a gazillion water fowl - ring necked ducks, ruddy ducks (I'm quite sure), and a cast of thousands!

Walked along the Snohomish River trail (?) where not much was showing and then (on the way back) found the cutoff we missed just off the trail that would have taken us directly to the Spencer Island Bridge (too worn out by then having walked more of the river trail - which is lovely - we must have had our faces to the sun and the river and totally missed it!) Any suggestions for our next visit would be most welcome!! It's a definite place to revisit - and a long overdue place to visit! Where is the best viewing place of the ponds? Please fill me in!!

We did initially see a few "friendly" GC and Song Sparrows (partaking of some seed someone had laid out for them or dropped by accident...;-)) Nice to be able to view so closely after seeing the White throated Sparrows in my garden. But they must have been juvies or females - no strong markings. It's the subtleties that'll get ya! And oh, those gulls!!! (That's almost all we saw along the river...but there were Bewick's Wren and Bushtits and other unidentified flying objects.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the park there was a juvenile eagle in one of the trees. Then we saw two beautiful Red Tails (in addition to one we saw sitting on a freeway lamp post coming and going (was it the same one?)...or will my raptor class change my identification?

As the sun started to set and we walked back along the river, a lone Common Merganser gave us a nice view. A few dives and then it flew off into the sunset.

The drive back for us was difficult - the sun directly in our eyes, cars coming to a halt. But as we got closer to the 145th exit, The Mountain showed her beautiful face to us and New Year's Day birding came to a close.

Apologize if this doesn't make sense - it is the day after New Year's Day after all! If the weather holds, we'll be headed back north for a visit to Spencer Island! (We had to temporarily rename it Dufous Island since my friend's daughter Spencer broke up with her daughter over Christmas!! TMI??? Sorry!!)

Caryn / Wedgwood

Happy New Year!!!! 2016