Today I decided to not let the rain spoil the rest of my time in the San
Juans since 5/17 would be the last day I'd be up here for another week. So
I decided to catch the early ferry out to San Juan Island for a bike ride
in hopes of finding the recently reported Black-billed Magpie on the south
side. There were light showers throughout the whole day but otherwise, the
weather was not quite as bad as I expected it to be. At about 10 am I
realized that I was doing pretty good for the day and I may as well shoot
to break the San Juan County Big Day record of 99 species. I had tried the
day before on Orcas but had stopped because of the heat. After thoroughly
birding San Juan island and getting 86 species, I caught the 2:50 back to
Orcas and finished up my day there!

Here were some particularly good birds per stop:

SAN JUAN ISLAND

Trumpeter Inn Marsh:
- 8 Cinnamon Teal. County lifer!
- 6 Blue-winged Teal

False Bay:
- 1 Short-billed Dowitcher
- 2 Spotted Sandpipers were the only ones I had for the day.

Pile Point:
- 3 CACKLING GEESE flew over while looking for recently reported magpie.
Unfortunately, I dipped on the magpie.
- 1 Pacific Loon
- 1 Mourning Dove flew by

False Bay Creek:
- 1 WESTERN KINGBIRD sallying along the fenceline.

American Camp
- 1 Northern Pintail. Nice male down in Jakle's Lagoon with 2 Mallards and
a Gadwall.
- 2 White-winged Scoters
- 1 Red Crossbill

Beaverton Valley
- 2 Virginia Rail were the only ones of the day
- 3 American Coots

ORCAS ISLAND

Orcas Ferry Terminal
- 4 Wild Turkeys strutting along the road by the turnoff to Victorian
Valley!

Turtleback Mt.
- 1 Hammond's Flycatcher calling by the trailhead
- 1 Cassin's Vireo

Coho Preserve
- 1 American Dipper

Wilwood Loop
- Sharp-shinned Hawk flew over our cabin!

So 101 species for the day! I could probably have gotten more had I used a
car the whole day but I'm glad about what I got :)

Good birding, Alex Sowers
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