Post by b1schmor on Jan 28, 2007 19:47:38 GMT -8
Hello birders,
Carolynn and I finally found some time to get out birding. We decided to go for a couple of lifers that have been reported recently in Washington: Whooper Swan and Thick-billed Murre.
The Whooper has been reported in fields close to a large church in Conway, which is about 5 or so miles south of Mount Vernon. The Thick-billed Murre has been reported on the Kipsat Peninsula, at a light house called Point No Point. To get there, we needed to take a short ferry ride from Edmonds to Kingston.
We arrived at the church in Conway at about 9 am this morning to a few fields full of Tundra and Trumpeter Swans, but no Whooper. We decided to head east of the I5, to Cedardale Rd., where we had seen some large flocks of swans as we were driving in. I don't know which was more plentiful, the swans or the birders. We knew we had the bird when we had to park about half a mile from the flock of swans. The light was hitting the flock perfectly and within a minute we found the Whooper, bright yellow bill gleaming in the sunlight, in the 150+ flock of swans.
With one checked, we headed to Point No Point. This was a very pleasant place to bird; Mount Baker glaring to the north and Mount Rainer to the South. We quickly spotted Marbled Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Pigeon Guillemot, all sorts of grebes, cormorants, scoters, loons, goldeneyes, seals, sea lions, but unfortunately, no Thick-billed Murre.
One out of two ain't bad.
Hope you all enjoyed the sunshine this weekend,
Brent Schmor
Abbotsford
Carolynn and I finally found some time to get out birding. We decided to go for a couple of lifers that have been reported recently in Washington: Whooper Swan and Thick-billed Murre.
The Whooper has been reported in fields close to a large church in Conway, which is about 5 or so miles south of Mount Vernon. The Thick-billed Murre has been reported on the Kipsat Peninsula, at a light house called Point No Point. To get there, we needed to take a short ferry ride from Edmonds to Kingston.
We arrived at the church in Conway at about 9 am this morning to a few fields full of Tundra and Trumpeter Swans, but no Whooper. We decided to head east of the I5, to Cedardale Rd., where we had seen some large flocks of swans as we were driving in. I don't know which was more plentiful, the swans or the birders. We knew we had the bird when we had to park about half a mile from the flock of swans. The light was hitting the flock perfectly and within a minute we found the Whooper, bright yellow bill gleaming in the sunlight, in the 150+ flock of swans.
With one checked, we headed to Point No Point. This was a very pleasant place to bird; Mount Baker glaring to the north and Mount Rainer to the South. We quickly spotted Marbled Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Pigeon Guillemot, all sorts of grebes, cormorants, scoters, loons, goldeneyes, seals, sea lions, but unfortunately, no Thick-billed Murre.
One out of two ain't bad.
Hope you all enjoyed the sunshine this weekend,
Brent Schmor
Abbotsford