Skagit Trip 2-19-18

[Bill Anderson]

My son and I made a trip to Skagit County on Presidents Day in search of the elusive short-eared owl. Although I have seen many of them in the past, there has been a dearth of sightings this year per reports on Tweeters. First stop was the DFW site known as "the West 90", located west of Edison and south of Samish Island.

The West 90 offers distant views of Mt. Baker.


Waterfowl.


Raptors such as eagles....


and rough-legged hawks.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Closeup shots included a western meadowlark,


a female kestrel,






and two song sparrows so engrossed in what they were eating that they waited until the last second to run a short distance ahead of us. They finally flew off to a nearby bush to wait for us to pass.

 

[Bill Anderson]

The best show was put on by the northern harriers that patrol the area.




One flushed several meadowlarks that were in a field.






No sightings of a male northern harrier or short-eared owls like in past visits.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Our next stop was the end of Rawlings Rd. on Fir Island by Skagit Bay near the mouth of the North Fork of the Skagit River.

The temperature remained cold enough to keep the water frozen in some roadside ditches.


The only bird sighting was a northern harrier....




but there were more scenic views of Mt. Baker and the Cascade foothills.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Next stop was Wylie Slough, a DFW site on Fir island.

A (Coopers/sharp-shinned?) hawk was perched in a tree near the entrance to the east parking lot.


A birder pointed out this black phoebe. According to my Sibley's, we are north of its normal range.


My attention was drawn to a pair of (greater/lesser?) yellowlegs.

 

[Bill Anderson]

The hawk left the tree and perched on driftwood and a dead tree in the slough.








Still no short-eared owls, but we had one more stop to make on Fir Island where a sighting had been recently reported. My son took this shot from the pickup of some roadside swans on the way.

 

[Bill Anderson]

Our last stop (and last chance) for a short-eared owl sighting was a DFW site off Fir Island Rd. which has recently undergone restoration.


A flock of dunlin was in a field next to the access road.

 

[Bill Anderson]

A large eagle nest is on the other side of the access road. Local birders have named the pair Martha and George. I stopped to photograph the single eagle that was present.


I drove the short distance to the parking lot, a stroke of bad luck. After exiting my car, I photographed what I thought were two harriers flying past where I was standing five minutes earlier photographing the eagle.


Looking at my camera's viewing screen, I discovered that one of the "harriers" was the elusive short-eared owl.


It perched on the fence on the opposite side of the road where I had been photographing the eagle.


Proof that I had not completely lost my bird spotting ability. The owl flew over a levee, followed by this harrier.

 

[Bill Anderson]

After the owl and harrier flew away, I positioned myself to take some artsy photos with Skagit Bay and the Olympic Mountains in the background before I lost all light.


The flock of dunlin had settled down on a mudflat with Mt. Rainier in the distance.


1Dx + 100-400L II telephoto zoom.



5DIII in HDR mode + 24-105L wide angle zoom.


On the way back to the pickup, we spotted a rabbit munching grass. Very dangerous territory with the eagle nest nearby.


I hope you enjoyed the trip and our quest for the short-eared owl.

 

[squirl033]

Wow... quite a day, Bill! Looks like you got lots of good stuff! Kinda fun to shoot something besides the marsh or the fishing pier, isn't it?

 

[Bill Anderson]

Wow... quite a day, Bill! Looks like you got lots of good stuff! Kinda fun to shoot something besides the marsh or the fishing pier, isn't it?

Yes, I do need to get out of town more often.