Dear Tweeters,
Today, Friday the thirteenth, was a very windy day in coastal Skagit County. Indeed, I was told that there were gusts of over sixty miles per hour. From what I could observe at Rosario Head and Washington Park, there were periods of sustained gale, and even strong gale, Beaufort Scale 8 to 9. 
Mike Nelson, Joel Brady-Power and I spent several hours at Rosario Head, and Mike and I also visited Washington Park. Each place offered challenges to birding. Only in a very few spots was it possible to shelter oneself enough to avoid the wind and spray. Rosario Head is close to the height of a climbing rope's pitch, but at times, the spray came over the top and drenched us and our optics. Most of the spots that offered shelter also offered minimal views for birding. At Rosario, there were also times when the sun was right in our face. 
When I arrived at Rosario in the morning, for my first of two visits there, a large tree branch had fallen in the parking lot, right onto the hood of a parked pickup truck. Later in the day, the park ranger came and told everyone to get their rigs out of there, so he could close the gate and put up the "Emergency Closure" sign. When that happens, they also lock the restrooms, by the way!
We did not find any of the hoped-for rarities. At Washington Park, Mike and I had glimpses of a grebe that I was 90% sure was a Clark's, but I will leave it as Aechmophorus species.  Mike and I also made a short detour to Skyline in Anacortes, where it took about fifteen seconds to spot the three Snow Buntings that have been previously reported there. They were on the lawn between the 72-hour-parking loop and the beach. The beach itself was untenable there, what with waves crashing up and over the beach and onto the edge of the lawn.
Tomorrow, I reckon I will give these spots a second try. I will bring an extra supply of wiping towels this time!
Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch
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