My wife Carole and I went on a two day birding trip this Tuesday and
Wednesday (Jan. 24& 25). We started with a short stop at Lake Union and
successfully located the Swamp Sparrow. We continued on to Blaine and
birded the waterfront and the pier at the end with the channel leading to
Drayton Harbor. Most common bird were White-winged Scoters. Also seen were
Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Horned - and Red-necked Grebes, Red-breasted
Merganser, Double-crested - and Pelagic Cormorants, Greater Scaup and a
single Eared Grebe inside the Blaine Harbor,
Continuing to Semiahmoo Spit, we found large numbers of Northern Pintail
and Dunlins around the shores of Drayton Harbor. At the spit, inside
Drayton Harbor, were the largest number of White-winged Scoters I have ever
encountered. On the north side of the spit, the best find was a pair of
Black Scoters and many Brants spread out over the bay. In addition, there
were Harlequin Ducks, Surf Scoters and many Common Loons. A stop at the end
of the spit, overlooking the channel and the Blaine Pier, 2 male and three
female Long-tailed Ducks were a nice surprise. There was a large
concentration of loons, cormorants and gulls just north of the channel.

Our next stop was on on the Samish Flats, at the East - and West 90's in
the late afternoon. There were at least three Short-eared Owls hunting at
the West 90 wildlife area. A single Rough-legged Hawk was on a telephone
pole on Samish Island Road at dusk. We went back to West 90 about 2;00 PM
yesterday, but no Short-eared Owls were seen. Instead a female American
Kestrel hunted from the trees at the parking lot. At East 90 we found two
Rough-legged Hawks. The trip ended at Wylie Slough with the Northern Shrike
previously reported. What a fabulous two day birding trip with great birds!


Good Birding!
--
*Hans Feddern*
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
thefedderns at gmail.com
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