Dear Tweeters,
Today, 15th May, a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER was my personal bird of the day in Skagit County. That's because it showed up at the mouth of the Baker River in Concrete. I cannot recall ever seeing this species upriver before. It was a female, swimming with a flock of 20+ Common Mergansers.
I also made a dash up to the Hardy Burn. There were very few birds in evidence; I had to do a lot of pishing and a lot of scanning to see any birds. I was finally rewarded by a Clark's Nutcracker, visible up in the burn only by scoping from the parking area. I was far too lazy to hike up there, though.
Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch