SEPTEMBER 2010
FIELD TRIPS

By Libby Mills

 

Beginning birders are always welcome on Skagit Audubon field trips, and membership in Skagit Audubon is not required. Participants gladly help each other identify and enjoy the birds. Please be prepared for the weather with suitable clothing, and bring field guides, binoculars, and spotting scopes. Don’t forget snacks or lunch and a thermos with warm drinks for winter walks. Carpool whenever possible and please offer to contribute to the driver’s expense.

Watch the e-mail reminders for the latest information, including any changes and/or additions to the field trip schedule. To be added to the e-mail distribution list contact Libby Mills: libbymills@gmail.com

Please note that the field trip descriptions are deliberately brief and do not describe complete trip itineraries. If you plan to join a trip other than at the described starting point, call the leader the day before to ensure a successful rendezvous. Plans change as conditions shift and opportunities arise. Timely notification by e-mail isn’t always possible.

End of Aug. or Early Sept.
Make-up Dragonfly Field Trip

Date, to be announced on field trip reminder email. We had a good field trip on a sunny day in July and next time the weather offers us reliable sunshine again we’ll send out an email to the field trip roster to let you know about the make-up day. Get on the list by sending your email address to libbymills@gmail.com.

Saturday, September 11
Watching Vaux’s Swifts Roost,
Frank Wagner School, Monroe
Self-guided, but organized by Pilchuck Audubon

There will be Swift experts on hand to meet you when you get to the school the evening of September 11. Swift fly-in time is between 7:00 and 8:30 p.m. Leave Mount Vernon about 6:00 p.m. to arrive in time to watch the swirl. Bring a picnic dinner and chairs and relax on the school grounds. I went to a similar swift show in Portland last September and it was terrific. I recommend this for a self-guided field trip! This phenomenon is a migration event and should be good from roughly Sept 5- 20th, with peak numbers somewhere there in the middle.
Here's a link to learn more:
http://www.vauxhappening.org/Vauxs_Happening/Vauxs_Happening_Home.html

Lunch Time, June 22nd, Big Four Mountain Birding Field Trip
Photo by Pam Pritzl

Saturday, September 18
Mountain Birds near the North Cascades Highway
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

On this day-long trip, with a starting point at Blue Lake Trailhead along S.R. 20, we’ll search for birds around Rainy and Washington Passes and on the 4-mile roundtrip hike to Blue Lake (1,000 foot elevation gain).
Read about the Blue Lake hike at www.seattlepi.com/getaways/32672_hike26.shtml. We’ll look for higher elevation species such as Mountain Chickadee, Gray Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Townsend’s Solitaire, Three-toed Woodpecker, and more. We may spot Mountain Goats too! Meet in the parking lot of the National Park Service/U.S. Forest Service office in Sedro-Woolley (810 State Route 20 just before Highway 9 North) at 7:00 a.m. to arrange carpools. If you’d rather camp the night before at one of the
campgrounds along the highway, meet us at the Blue Lake Trailhead near milepost 161, one mile west of Washington Pass, at 9:00 a.m. (Northwest Forest Pass required for parking). Bring binoculars, snacks, lunch, water. Wear hiking boots, dress for a range of weather and temperature. Leader: Tim Manns (360-336-8753)

Saturday, September 25
Nichol’s (river) Bar, a new park by Lyman
7:30 a.m.to Noon

Let's go birding at a brand-new locale! We will explore Skagit County's newest park, Nichol's Bar, located just west of Lyman. Meet Gary Bletsch at 7:30 a.m. at Lyman Elementary School to arrange car-pooling (the lot at Nichol's Bar is tiny). To get to Lyman, take SR 20 east from Sedro-Woolley. Just east of Minkler Lake (unsigned body of water south of SR 20), take a right (turn south) onto Lyman-Hamilton Road. Drive a couple of minutes to the town of Lyman--you will pass Robinson Road, the access to Nichol's Bar, on the way to Lyman. The school is on the left (south) side of Lyman-Hamilton Road, at the west end of town. After we explore the park, we may also visit other sites nearby, such as the shorebird spot in Lyman. Bring walking shoes, a lunch, and maybe some insect repellent. You might want a scope, especially if we go to the shorebird spot. We should wrap things up by lunchtime. Leader Gary Bletsch Contact Gary at garybletsch@yahoo.com for further details.

Samish Island Bird Walks
with Howard Armstrong

As weather and time permit, Howard Armstrong leads bird walks on Samish Island for beginners and experts alike. To be contacted when these walks are scheduled, send a message to Howard (godwits@wavecable.com) asking to be added to his e-mail notification list.