[Tweeters] Swans and geese in Skagit County

[Josh DeSilvey]

Thanks to everyone who responded and offered their suggestions! They were
quite helpful.

In spite of a little rain, we were (not surprisingly) successful in finding
geese and swans on Fir Island. Though the vast majority were out on the
water, an occasional eagle would spook them and the great SNGO flock would
rise to the air! The best views we had were from the North Fork Access at
the end of Rawlins road. Totally worth the drive!

Happy New Year!
Josh DeSilvey

On Fri, Dec 29, 2023 at 18:33 Alan Roedell <alanroedell at gmail.com> wrote:


> Wendy and I spent the afternoon in the Stillaguamish, Skagit and Samish

> areas today. It was a grand day with Kestrels, eagles, Red-tails, Harriers,

> Merlins, Rough-legs, Short-eared Owls and a few hundred swans. No Snow

> Geese! Are they hanging out in the Sound, as someone suggested?

> Anyway, get up there and take it in.

> We love so close to a . magical area.

> Alan Roedell, Seattle

>

> On Fri, Dec 29, 2023, 12:01 PM Karen Wosilait <karen.w.mobile at gmail.com>

> wrote:

>

>> I’ll add to what Nancy said:  look up and listen for Snow Geese too.

>> Their “vees” are rather disorganized and remind me of iron fillings under

>> the influence of a magnet.

>>

>> Hayton is a great place to go early to try to catch them taking off for

>> the day.  I’ve also seen them settling in for the night on nearby fields

>> from Hayton.

>>

>> Karen Wosilait (she/her)

>> Seattle, WA

>> karen.w.mobile at gmail.com

>>

>> On Dec 29, 2023, at 10:38 AM, Nancy Crowell <nkcrowell at gmail.com> wrote:

>>

>> 

>> I live up here. The snow geese seem to be hanging out on the water during

>> the daytime - visible from Hayton (Fir Island Farm Reserve) & Jensen

>> access. Swans are plentiful. Many hanging around the outskirts of La Conner

>> lately. If you get lucky you might spot the great egret either near the

>> ditch on Calhoun, or La Conner Whitney.

>>

>> Nancy

>> "Images for the imagination."

>> www.crowellphotography.com

>> ------------------------------

>> *From:* Tweeters <tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu> on behalf

>> of Jamie Holland <jamietholland at gmail.com>

>> *Sent:* Friday, December 29, 2023 10:24:16 AM

>> *To:* Josh DeSilvey <jmdesilvey at gmail.com>

>> *Cc:* tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>

>> *Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] Swans and geese in Skagit County

>>

>> Hi Josh,

>>

>> I hope someone who has been up in the last day or two replies, as they

>> seem to move around depending on the day. I didn't see a single (living)

>> Snow Goose on our trip through that area just before Christmas, but the

>> swans were much more widespread. I also wasn't scouring every small field,

>> so perhaps more diligence would yield better results.

>>

>> To route the trip, I used the maps and driving directions located in the

>> Birder's Guide to Washington. The Skagit section is here:

>> https://wabirdguide.org/skagit-flats/, and the Samish section is here:

>> https://wabirdguide.org/samish-flats/.

>>

>> If you have a whole day, I'd suggest starting in the Skagit flats as

>> recommended in the Birder's Guide, at Exit 221 for Conway Road, and slowly

>> working your way east and then north into the Samish flats. If you're

>> looking purely for swans and geese, I'd skip the upland walk at Padilla

>> Bay. That's likely to get you to the Samish East 90s corner by

>> mid-afternoon, which seems to be a good time to spot dueling Short-Eared

>> Owls and Northern Harriers.

>>

>> We actually thought we might've seen Snow Geese far out on the water when

>> we were on Fir Island at Jenson Access, but my mom had just taken a spill

>> and I was too distracted to set up the scope. I told myself they were

>> probably gulls, but there was something ungullike in their appearance, and

>> someone said recently that Snow Geese will take to the water in certain

>> circumstances to do with the cycle of the moon.

>>

>> Jamie Holland

>>

>>

>>

>> On Fri, Dec 29, 2023 at 6:23 AM Josh DeSilvey <jmdesilvey at gmail.com>

>> wrote:

>>

>> Hello - if the weather is favorable on Saturday, I was planning a trip up

>> to Skagit county to view the populations of swans and geese that winter

>> there, (as read on Tweeters listserv). I took a look at eBird and it looks

>> Fir Island could be a good place. But in thought I would ask here for some

>> guidance as to where some of better fields are.

>>

>> Thanks for your help and happy new year!

>>

>> Josh DeSilvey

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