Whidbey Island Field Trip (August 21, 2010) Highlights

At the first car stop, the Ewing Ponds held just enough water to bring Wilson's Snipe and Virginia Rail into scope view.  At the next pond stop, the group could hardly wait to get out of the cars where 3 American Bitterns posed and slunk around in the tall grass.  Nearby, an Osprey kept an eye on its nest in the top of a conifer tree.  There were a few shorebirds at Sunlight Beach, including Semipalmated Plover, yellowlegs, and Western and Least Sandpipers.  At the nearby dike, 4 Belted Kingfishers were perched either on a wire or post while a River Otter played in the stream.  Several Virginia Rails tempted the group with their call at the Lincoln Street marsh, but all were no-shows.  However, a Cooper's Hawk put on a great aerial show.  At the Earth Sanctuary, a male Yellow Warbler with a youngster not only sang but came in for close views.  Things went quiet, however, when the Sharp-shinned Hawk landed in a tree next to the pond.  At Double Bluff the stately adult Bald Eagle posed in the tree next to the parking lot, while a Baird's Sandpiper was scoped along the beach.  At a neighborhood pond, seen on the way to Crockett Lake, a side-by-side comparison of Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs made for a good study.  At Admiralty Bay a flock of graceful Red-necked Phalaropes swirled in the water.  All 3 cormorant species were perched on the old pilings near the Keystone Ferry dock, again a good comparison.   Following lunch at Fort Casey, a single bat seemed to be picking off insects that the group kicked up with their feet.  No one had ever been that close to a bat before.  During the walk through the woods, a Brown Creeper was spotted and chickadees seen.  At Partridge Point, the fog rolled in then out, challenging our viewing skills.  However, Common Loons were seen as well as Surf Scoter.  The walk up the hill to the trees and shrubs paid off with a family of Olive-sided Flycatchers coming in to call, just as they did last year.  A Willow Flycatcher also showed up, along with House Finch and Cedar Waxwing.  The tide was in at the Hastie Lake viewpoint with Pigeon Guillemot, Harlequin Duck and White-winged Scoter seen in the calm waters.  In the water across from Bos Lake, a single Marbled Murrelet seemed to hanging out with 2 Red-necked Grebes.  Again because of the high tide, only 2 Black Turnstones could be found at the Oak Bay Marina.  At Dugualla Lake, a Great Egret made the day's last-bird-seen on Whidbey Island list.  The final bird of the day was the Black-bellied Plover, actually many, seen from Jensen Access.  Many of the birds seen were lifers for some in the group which always enhances the day's field trip and makes for a day of successful birding.