On Monday over 30 Skagit Audubon members and guests met at the Wiley Slough parking lot to welcome new trip leader Jeff Ernst, look around for interesting birds and renew acquaintances. Several long time SAS members took advantage of the great weather and ventured out for the gathering. We walked the parking lot area and tree lined channel to the north to spot our local and migrating passerines. At one point we spotted what seems to have become a nesting pair of black phoebe flycatching in the channel. While on the walk along the dike to the south of Headquarters, long time member Keith Wiggers spotted a distant flight of American white pelicans (rare, but seen locally for the past couple of years). In the late morning we departed Wiley to check out the tides at the Hayton Snow Goose access. Conditions were not great there for viewing shorebirds or ducks and after a brief look around we dispersed the dwindling crowd. All in all we recorded 47 species at Wiley and 13 species at Hayton with a combined total species count of 51.
Thanks to all members and guests for participating in this wonderful field trip on a sunny Monday.
Photos by Sheila Pera
