Subject: [Tweeters] Edmonds Roundup: Jan - Mar
Date: Sun Apr 7 19:16:49 PDT 2019
From: Carol Riddell - cariddellwa at gmail.com

Hi Tweets,

I got off to a slow start this year so I'll provide highlights of January, February, and March in this post. As everyone will recall, January was sunny and mild for Western Washington, we got walloped with a lot of snow in February, and March brought chilly but sunny weather.

JANUARY: The Harris's Sparrow (code 5) found in mid-December reappeared at the marsh on January 1st. A number of birders got a chance to see it over the next few weeks. The only previous sighting was also at the marsh. The bird appeared in December 1994 and remained for the winter. Some saw it in breeding plumage before it left the area. A single Black Turnstone appeared on the marina breakwater on January 1st and there were multiple sightings of 1-3 birds throughout the month. One Surfbird (code 4) was first seen on the marina breakwater on January 4th and there were multiple sightings of 1-3 birds throughout the month. An Eared Grebe (code 4) was seen on January 18th from Brackett's Landing North. A Peregrine Falcon (code 3) was at Haines Wharf Park on January 3rd. The falcon arrived as an immature bird at this location more than a year ago. It is now an adult and irregularly frequents the area. Common Raven (code 3) was reported in a south Edmonds neighborhood on January 11th. This is a known location for a pair of ravens that have both Richmond Beach and Edmonds in their circuit. A Eurasian Wigeon (code 3) was spotted January 27th on Goodhope Pond at Pine Ridge Park. Several White-throated Sparrows (code 3) were seen at private residences.The first was reported January 1st in a north Edmonds neighborhood. The first Barred Owl (code 2) report came in on January 15th from a location in between Yost and Pine Ridge Parks.

FEBRUARY: Sightings of Black Turnstones, Surfbirds, and the Eared Grebe continued through February. A Eurasian Wigeon (code 3) was reported and photographed on the waterfront on February 6th. A pair of Wood Ducks was spotted February 24th on Goodhope Pond at Pine Ridge Park. Given the February snow, I think a lot of birders enjoyed their yard birds, including lots of Varied Thrushes.

MARCH: A Herring Gull (code 4) was on the waterfront on March 20th. The first Tree Swallow (code 3) appeared at the marsh on March 15th, The first Violet-green Swallows arrived the following day. An Osprey (code 2) made an early appearance at the marsh on March 23rd. Four Red Crossbills (code 3) flew across Goodhope Pond at Pine Ridge Park on March 8th. A Wilson's Snipe (code 3) was not seen until March 24th. Unusually high water levels in the marsh may have kept them away or just out of sight until the tide gate was reopened by the city so that mud would be exposed at low tide. The first Savannah Sparrow (code 2) appeared at the marsh on March 21st. The first Rufous Hummingbird (code 2) was visiting a north Edmonds private residence March 21st.

For those of you using eBird, I would like to encourage you to use the public hotspot for the Edmonds Waterfront. It is intended to cover the one mile stretch from Marina Beach Park to Sunset Avenue, including everything in between: the marina, the pier, Olympic Beach and the Senior Center, Brackett's Landing on both sides of the ferry dock. If it is helpful to you to know where you birded, just describe that in your checklist general comments so you'll have that information. There is a huge number of personal hotspots throughout the area covered by the public hotspot. This is a result we were trying to avoid because the Edmonds waterfront is fairly short and should work well with one public hotspot. I hope you will consider moving your checklists to the public hotspot. It makes it so much easier to keep tabs on what is being seen. Thanks!

We are at 112 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 an electronic copy of the current Edmonds checklist, please request it at checklistedmonds at gmail.com <mailto:checklistedmonds at gmail.com>.

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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