Hi Tweeters,

We have had a reasonably good month of birding in Edmonds. By far, the best sighting goes to an adult Broad-winged Hawk (code 5) seen near the Willow Creek Hatchery on the morning of May 9th. Next best was a Red-eyed Vireo (code 5) seen in a north Edmonds neighborhood on May 22nd and documented with a photo. As far as we know, there has not been a Red-eyed Vireo sighting in Edmonds since May 21, 2001, when one was seen near the marsh. The third code 5 sighting was a Dusky Flycatcher in a southeast Edmonds neighborhood on May 19th. This is the third Dusky in Edmonds that we know of.

Three Wilson's Phalaropes (code 4) stopped in the marsh on the afternoon and evening of May 14th. Usually we see one every few years. Three birds (two females, one male) were a treat. A large number of American White Pelicans (code 4) passed over the Edmonds Bowl on May 19th. Until the last few years, this pelican was a code 5 bird. But when the diaspora occurred a few years ago, bringing a large number of pelicans to summer at Deer Lagoon on the west side of Whidbey Island, we have had a few more sightings as they cross the Sound. It is definitely a species to be on the lookout for when birding the Edmonds waterfront.

Code 3 species include Semipalmated Sandpiper (marsh; May 6th); Spotted Sandpiper (marsh; May 12-31); Cassin's Vireo (east neighborhood; May 13th); Evening Grosbeak (east neighborhood; May 14th), and Blue-winged Teal (marsh; May 18th). This has been a long run for the Spotted Sandpiper. It mostly sticks around the lead from Willow Creek into the marsh, at great distance from the various viewing platforms. But its characteristic bobbing can be seen even from a distance. Our first Whimbrel sighting was in late April but there have been several others of this code 3 species during May. The most recent sighting was May 30th on the beach below Sunset Avenue. It is the latest waterfront sighting for spring migration, at least in eBird records.

Other migrants seen in May include Swainson's Thrush, Black-headed Grosbeak, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, and Warbling Vireo. Cedar Waxwings were first seen on May 2nd and will be around all summer. Brown-headed Cowbirds first appeared in late April. We consider the cowbird an uncommon species for Edmonds in general, but it can be seen in small numbers almost daily through summer at the marsh. Caspian Terns and Ospreys are being seen regularly on the waterfront. Marbled Murrelet sightings have picked up. Purple Martins returned in late April and they are around in fair numbers. It looks like they will be nesting on the Olympic Beach pilings again. We are awaiting the arrival of Heermann's Gulls, which should be in the next week or two.

We are at 152 species for the year. Species on our collective list are noted in the bird information display box at the Olympic Beach Visitor Station at the base of the public pier. If you would like a copy of the current Edmonds checklist, please request it at checklistedmonds at gmail.com <mailto:checklistedmonds at gmail.com>. As always, if you have a good sighting for Edmonds, please email me directly so that we will know about it. Thanks.

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






-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20180531/dd16ef41/attachment.html>