Hi Tweeters,

I last updated Edmonds 2018 birds in the middle of August. I didn't intend to let so much time go by . . . but it happened. So here's the end of 2018, month by month.

September: Red-necked Phalaropes (code 3) on the waterfront (9-2-18); Ruddy Duck (code 3), a single bird at the marsh (9-9-18); Black Swift (code 4) two seen along the waterfront (9-9-18); Parasitic Jaegers appeared on the waterfront; Sabine's Gull (code 4) seen on the Sound from Haines Wharf Park (9-27-18); Northern Harrier (code 3) at the marsh (9-19-18) and seen over several days; California Scrub-Jay (code 4) a single bird at yard feeders in north Edmonds (9-11-18).

October: Snow Goose (code 3) a large flock flying over an east Edmonds neighborhood (10-26-18); Greater White-fronted Goose (code 3) multiple sightings during fall (starting 10-23-18) with the last sighting of a single bird at the marsh on 12-31-18; Redhead (code 5) a single male at the marsh for several days (10-14-18); Ancient Murrelet (code 2) several sightings along the waterfront, but not the expected numbers (10-11-18); Slaty-backed Gull (code 5) at Haines Wharf Park (10-8-18); Northern Shrike (code 3) several sightings around the marsh over several days (10-7-18).

November: No new year sightings.

December: Long-tailed Duck (code 3) seen from the waterfront (12-12-18); Swamp Sparrow (code 5) in the blackberry brambles above the BNSF tracks near Brackett's Landing North (12-15-18); Harris's Sparrow (code 5) near the marsh (12-15-18) with sightings continuing into 2019.

We missed Greater White-fronted Geese in spring migration so were glad to have multiple fall sightings. Eurasian Wigeon was a big miss this year. We had a possible sighting last winter in Pine Ridge Park but it ended up being a hybrid bird. Cliff Swallow is a species we expect to see at least once a year, usually at the marsh, but there were no sightings that we are aware of. Nonetheless, we ended the year with 186 species. This is about the number we expect to see each year.

We have revised the city checklist, adding Manx Shearwater as the 274th species, and fine tuning a few of the abundance codes. If you would like a copy of the checklist, please request it at checklistedmonds at gmail.com <mailto:checklistedmonds at gmail.com> and we will send you a PDF file. The new checklist has been posted in the bird information box at the Olympic Beach Visitor Station (at the base of the pier) and already includes many 2019 sightings. As always, if you see a good bird (code 3 or higher) in Edmonds, please let me know about it in case we do not already have it on the year list.

Happy New Year,

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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