Bob and I headed north on I-5 to Skagit County. Our first stop was at the Skagit State Wildlife Recreation Area. This turned out to be a very good birding site. There were several large wetland ponds and dike trails.
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We saw lots of Barn Swallows, Starlings, and Red-winged Blackbirds on the wires once we exited from I-5. One of the swallows looked like it might have been a Bank Swallow.
Swallows
The first birds we saw in the wildlife area were a large flock of sandpipers: Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, and a few Short-billed Dowitchers, and a pair of Belted Kingfishers were flying back and forth across the pond next to the boat launch parking lot.
Sandpipers
Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs
Sandpipers
Greater Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
Belted Kingfisher
We saw a large nest that probably belonged to a Bald Eagle, and a Northern Harrier made multiple passes over the area. As we walked along the dike trails, we saw lots of Black-capped Chickadees, American Robins, and a few other species. Mallards and Wood Ducks were in the ponds, and we saw an American Coot (variant with white frontal shield). We stopped when I briefly saw a very yellow-orange breasted and headed warbler, but it dropped into dense vegetation. It was probably a Yellow Warbler, and we waited for about five minutes, but it did not reappear. There was a Common Yellowthroat in the same bush.
Great Blue Heron
Northern Harrier
Northern Harrier
American Coot
Common Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat
Black-capped Chickadee
I first thought that I got my second Song Sparrow on this Seattle area trip, but when I saw the brown chevrons on its breast, I thought had to be a Fox Sparrow (Sooty sub-species). However, it really was a Song Sparrow - they are much darker in the Pacific NW than here in Virginia.
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
When we got to the end of the dike trail, I saw a yellow flycatcher that might have been a Pacific-slope FC, but I ws looking into the sun again, and the photos are not definitive.
Flycatcher
Flycatcher
Flycatcher
Flycatcher
On out return hike, we saw many of the same birds plus a Bewick's Wren, a Northern Flicker, and some sandpipers that I could not identify. We also stopped to take some photos of Mt. Baker.
Bewick's Wren
Bewick's Wren
Northern Flicker
Unidentified Sandpipers
Mt. Baker
As we approached the beginnig of the dike trail near the boat launch parking lot, I saw a few more interesting birds. One of them was almost certainly a Willow Flycatcher.
Willow Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
But the other flycatcher there was more yellow, had bolder eye-rings, and each eye-ring came to a point at the rear - a Pacific-slope Flycatcher and another life bird for me.
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
And I saw a bird high up in a conifer that looked like a female Western Tanager.
Western Tanager
I had planned multiple stops north from there, so we went looking for more birds. We searched fields for birds as we drove, skipped most of Samish Flats, and stopped at several places along Padilla Bay.
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We were disappointed as we only saw a few birds at these stops - probably the wrong time of day (low tide) and wrong time of year.
Killdeer
Western Sandpiper
Savannah Sparrow
Ring-billed Gull
Bald Eagle
I had a hard time identifying one of the birds we saw there - it was an immature Brown-headed Cowbird.
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Samish Island was also disappointing. We saw a Great Blue Heron and a few distant gulls.
Great Blue Heron
We had a little afternoon light left for the day, so we headed to Butler Flat where I had read that we might see a Lazuli Bunting (potential life bird). I stopped at the location noted in the ABA guide, got out of the car, and heard the chirping of a Bunting - similar to our Virginia Indigo Buntings, but a little different. I played a recording of a Lazuli Bunting chirp, and a young female Lazuli Bunting immediately appeared. I played it again, and this time, another Lazuli Bunting (young male?) appeared. I had hoped to see an adult male of this species, but a life bird is a life bird!
Young female Lazuli Bunting
Young female Lazuli Bunting
Young male(?) Lazuli Bunting
Young male(?) Lazuli Bunting
And then another Willow Flycatcher came to say hello.
Willow Flycatcher