Hi Tweets,

April was a good birding month. We have added 32 species to our year list. Here are the highlights:

An Arctic Loon (code 5), a review species for Washington, was observed from Water Street on April 2nd. Four birders were able to see it from Water Street and from Sunset Avenue before it left.

Townsend's Solitaires were seen in a north Edmonds yard on April 5th and in Yost Park on April 29th. These two independent sightings take this code 5 species to a code 4 as we now have 5 records of this species in the city. With more and more birders out each year, I predict we will begin to see more reports of solitaires.

A female Mountain Bluebird (code 5) was reported at Brackett's Landing North on April 19th. At least five birders got to see this bluebird. The only previous report in Edmonds was in September 1999 in the same vicinity.

A Nashville Warbler (code 4) was in Yost Park on April 27th.

Cinnamon Teals (code 3) were seen in the Edmonds marsh on April 12th and 21st.

The first Common Yellowthroat (code 3) was seen in the Edmonds marsh on April 14th and there have been subsequent sightings.

The first Northern Rough-winged Swallows (code 3) passed through the Edmonds marsh on April 18th.

A Eurasian Collared-Dove (code 3) was in a waterfront neighborhood on April 20th.

A Greater Yellowlegs (code 3) was at the Edmonds marsh on April 23rd. A Semipalmated Plover (code 3) was there on April 28th.

Purple Martins (code 3) arrived at the Edmonds marsh on April 26th and were the first seen in Snohomish County this year. There have been several subsequent sightings at the marsh and around the martin nest boxes on the waterfront.

A Cassin's Vireo (code 3) was spotted in Yost Park on April 28th.

A Spotted Sandpiper (code 3) was at the Edmonds marsh on April 30th.

A number of code 1 and 2 species arrived in Edmonds during April: Least and Western Sandpipers at the marsh; Orange-crowned, Black-throated Gray, and Wilson's Warblers at various locations; Pacific-slope and Hammond's Flycatchers at various locations; Violet-green, Tree, and Barn Swallows are back at the marsh; Ospreys are back at their Edmonds nest site; Sanderlings were at Marina Beach, near the base of the breakwater, early in the month; a Cackling Goose in a south Edmonds neighborhood; Brown-headed Cowbirds at several locations; Warbling Vireos at Yost Park.

Recently I was told about a sighting of the female Brewer's Blackbird at Civic Field. We have one Brewer's Blackbird in Edmonds, a female that pretty much stays near the Senior Center and Olympic Beach. She had a mate but he disappeared a few years ago. She persists. I have wondered what will happen to her when the city begins to raze the Senior Center in the near future to make way for a new community center. There are other buildings with lawns along Olympic Beach that might host her. I think it is a good sign that she has recently wandered more than a mile away to Civic Field. Hopefully she will be resilient and adaptable when she loses her home territory to construction. It would be a shame if Edmonds could not support its lone Brewer's Blackbird.

We are at 135 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
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20190501/3784e077/attachment.html>