[Tweeters] Skagit and Samish Flats - birding report.

[jimbetz at jimbetz.com]

May all your tweets be birds!

   I've been out on the Samish and Skagit Flats and also to Fir Island
several times since my last report.  This one is different - because
it is more about what I'm not seeing than what I am:

   Bald Eagles - pretty much everywhere there is a nest near ... and
                 no where else.  Usually within a 1/2 mile or so of
                 the nest.
   Harriers - still there but no where near as many.
   Short Eared Owls - I see just one or two every other time I go to
                      the Samish Flats (and especially the East 90).
   Great Blue Herons - still around, but again not as many.  Maybe
                       because half of them are on the nests on
                       March Point?  *G*  Did you catch that great
                       video of one defending its egg from an eagle
                       on youtube?
   Snow Geese and Swans - none (any more) - my binoculars don't reach
                          all the way to Wrangell Island.  I think it's
                          something about the curvature of the Earth?
   LOTS of Passerines - mostly sparrows and finches but also some
                        Grosbeaks and an occasional Pipit.  Robins and
                        Towhees!
   Doves - common, even the occasional Ring-Necked.
   Raptors - RTH everywhere but not numerous, a few other hawks, an
             occasional Peregrine and/or Kestrel.
   Waterfowl and Shorebirds - a few Mallards still (resident?) and
             Kildeer, not much else.  Have not been out at the prime
             times of the tides.
   Gulls - lots of gulls in good condition.
   RWB and Starlings - everywhere but not in great numbers.
   Woodpeckers - others keep reporting them, but I haven't been where
                 they are (up in the forests).
   Turkey Vultures - we see them almost every day and often more than
                     once a day.  Just this morning there were 5
                     sitting in the trees on the bottom of the hill.

   Our backyard fountain (bubbler, not spray) continues to be very
popular with the birds.  I see lots of finches and sparrows, robins,
grosbeaks, doves, and even our resident Anna's ... every day from
early to late.  They get right into the flow (2" bubbles about 1"
tall) and have a good time drinking and fluttering.  I saw a pair of
Flickers that were 'trading places' between the fence and the
fountain - *NICE* - and learned that they like to turn their head
sideways and drink thru the side of their bill.
                                                      - Jim