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<p>Hello to all in Tweetdom,<br>
<br>
First - and again - Wylie Slough is open again and it appears it will stay open for the<br>
forseeable future. I did go there once late last week and I have mixed emotions. What<br>
they did to the roads, fences, dikes, etc. is simply great. What I do not understand is<br>
why they also took down about 75% of the large trees that were along the edges of the<br>
dikes - and most of the brush ... both of which were important habitat for the birds.<br>
The number of birds and the number of bird species was dissappointing - but I can't<br>
completely discount someone arguing "wrong day/wrong time of year/wrong state of<br>
the tide/etc.". It just seemed "lonely" - not in terms of people but in terms of how<br>
many birds there weren't. *big disappointed frown"<br>
<br>
Second - the arrival of Snows and Swans and ducks continues. Just one example - just now I<br>
saw thousands of birds flying up high and moving "generally South" ... whether or not they <br>
would have decided to do a stop over here in Skagit or further South is anyone's guess. We are<br>
noticing larger and larger numbers of snows and swans here. However, with respect to the<br>
ducks I still have yet to see "hundreds of ducks in a single field" which isn't all that unexpected<br>
considering that we don't have the ponds/small lakes/flooding of the fields that the non-stop<br>
rains will create.<br>
<br>
Third - I was at Nisqually NWR yesterday morning - only my second time there. It was "about<br>
the same as the first time which was in the same weekend of November. There was a fairly<br>
large group going out as I was coming back to the parking lot and they seemed to be some<br>
kind of guided birding outing - lots of people carrying spotting scopes and at least 20 birders.<br>
Billy Frank parking lots were FULL when I was leaving about noon. There were 2 Bald Eagles<br>
in the large trees near the Twin Barns but too high up and too many branches in front of them<br>
to get a picture.<br>
<br>
So far I have not seen any SEOWs at the East 90. On two different occasions I've seen<br>
some birds that were behaving 'suspiciously like SEOWs' but on -both- of those occasions<br>
any actual/firm ID came back as Harriers.<br>
<br>
From my perspective the numbers of shorebirds (wading and etc.) are down from a<br>
month ago - both in terms of quantities and numbers of species. But there is still some<br>
good opportunities at places like Channel Drive ... if you get some good light (or don't<br>
care because you don't have a camera with you).<br>
<br>
Today has been a particularly good day to spot birds from here at our house - because<br>
there have been low clouds in the distance ('Sedro Wooley') but full sun here around<br>
Burlington Hill ... so the birds "pop out from the background" very well. But all - sigh - <br>
were at considerable distance so no pictures this time.<br>
We are also seeing Bald Eagles on the top of what we call "The Eagle Tree" that is<br>
right in front of us at the bottom of the hill. This was common back in 2021 and before<br>
but for the last couple of years they've only been on that tree occasionally.<br>
<br>
- Go Birding. Encourage others to go birding! - Jim</p>
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