As of today, April 23rd, we have added 122 species to our 2018 year list. There have not been any code 5 sightings so far this month. Code 4 sightings include Clark's Grebe along the waterfront on April 16th, and a second Say's Phoebe on April 17th (first was March 26th). It was flycatching in the marsh early in the morning and then moved out to the marina's north breakwater where it was seen from the public pier. Code 3 sightings include Red Crossbills near Pine Ridge Park on April 4th, a Common Yellowthroat in the marsh on April 15th, a Western Meadowlark in the marsh on April 17th, a Greater Yellowlegs in the marsh on April 19th, American Pipits in the marsh on April 21st, and California Quail and Purple Martin on April 23rd. The quail was at the marsh and a single martin was heard at the pier and seen at the marsh. Fifteen pipits were in the marsh today, which is a large number for Edmonds.

Code 2 sightings include Osprey at the Highway 99 nest site on April 4th, a Caspian Tern over the marsh on April 15th, a Black-throated Gray Warbler in Yost Park on April 23rd. Code 1 sightings include several California Gulls near Haines Wharf on April 9th, a Barn Swallow in the marsh on April 15th, an Orange-crowned Warbler at the Willow Creek Hatchery on April 15th, a Least Sandpiper in the marsh on April 17th, and several Western Sandpipers on the waterfront on April 19th. Least Sandpiper numbers have been increasing, with somewhere between 20-30 birds this morning. Both Violet-green and Tree Swallow pairs are investigating the nest boxes we installed in the marsh a few years ago.

In my last roundup I noted an absence of Pacific Loons. The next day I saw several and have been seeing them on and off since then, including this morning. There have been good numbers of Bonaparte's Gulls around for the last few weeks. There are continuing Red-necked Grebes and Horned Grebes in alternate plumage. Cormorant numbers are down as those species appear to have headed for their nesting sites. About 300 Brants continue to bulk up on eel grass before leaving for their arctic breeding grounds. This afternoon I saw the immature Peregrine Falcon (code 3) that has been spending time in the Haines Wharf neighborhood since at least last October. I also had good scope views of three Common Loons (code 3) in alternate plumage offshore from Haines Wharf. For those unfamiliar with our area, Haines Wharf is a small city park near the waterfront in the north part of Edmonds. It is an eBird public hotspot.

To recap, we have added three species to the Edmonds checklist: Swallow-tailed Gull, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. We have documented 273 species within the city. If you would like a copy of the revised 2018 checklist, in Adobe Acrobat format, please send your request to checklistedmonds at gmail.com <mailto:checklistedmonds at gmail.com>. We also maintain a list of birds seen throughout the year in the bird information display box on the outer wall of the Olympic Beach Visitor Station, at the base of the public pier.

If you see a good bird in Edmonds that you think we might not have on our year list, please let me know.

Carol Riddell
Edmonds, WA

Abundance codes: (1) Common, (2) Uncommon, (3) Harder to find, usually seen annually, (4) Rare, 5+ records, (5) Fewer than 5 records
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