Hello Tweeters,
Saturday May 14th (the global big day) Adam Crutcher, Mitch Blanton, Phil
Wegener, Noah Sunday, and I did a big day in Whatcom county. We also birded
with Randy Knapp at Mt. Baker, which turned out to be one of our best stops
of the day so thank you Randy. Sadly Phil Calise, Casey McHugh and Ken Lane
could not join us as they were busy, and they were definitely missed.

We ended the day with 145 species, crushing our previous record from last
year of 129. It was an incredible day to say the least, so many birds came
our way, and we found some unusual/rare species which is always a bonus. Of
course we had some misses including Western Sandpiper, Downy Woodpecker,
and Hutton's Vireo, which is incredibly frustrating but what can you do!!

Highlights include:
Vesper Sparrow- Eastwood rd, Kendall
Northern Goshawk- Mt. Baker (probably the bird of the day, as it was a full
adult that was a lifer for some and a county bird for others, and just an
incredible beautiful bird!)
Dusky Flycatcher- Mt Baker
Pectoral Sandpiper- Hannegan rd
Red Knot- Semiahmoo Spit
Yellow- headed Blackbird- Lummi Flats
And then a lot of birds we have missed on other count days like Long-billed
Dowitcher, Pileated Woodpecker, Ruffed Grouse, and Cassin's Vireo!

Casey McHugh, Ken Lane, and I started doing the big day when Casey and I
were probably around 12 and 13. The best birds were Pacific-slope
Flycatcher, Bullock's Oriole and MacGillivray's Warbler, and we barely hit
100. It is fun to see how much this Whatcom county big day has improved and
the new people it has involved!

Good birding,
Fanter
Acme, WA
fanterlane at gmail.com
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