SKAGIT AUDUBON FIELD TRIPS FOR MARCH 2010by Libby Mills |
Skagit Audubon Field Trips
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.
We are short on field trips this month and hope to make up for it in birdsong-filled April. Please consider leading a field trip for us! If more leaders come forward for March after the newsletter date they will be announced on the field trip reminder email list. To join that list please email field trip coordinator Libby Mills at:
If you have not been getting reminders weekly, you are not yet on the list or your email on our records is incorrectly entered.
Sunday, March 7
Samish Flats BirdNote Field Trip
Meet at Edison Elementary School
Edison, WA 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Skagit Audubon will help host and welcome beginning and other birders from around the region to search for Red-tailed Hawks and other raptors on the Samish Flats. If you know some of the hot spots to find raptors, and would like to share your knowledge and enthusiasm for birds, or if you are one of the beginner or intermediate birders, please come help us show off our area and teach others how to safely and responsibly enjoy the birds on Samish flats. We will also enjoy any other birds we find: from Trumpeter Swans to singing Marsh Wrens. Don’t forget your Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife parking pass if you have one. And spare change for the local bakeries and coffee shops after the birding.
Local leader, Libby Mills, 360-757-4139, libbymills@gmail.com
BirdNote leader, Adam Sedgely
Check the BirdNote web site for details. Below is th link:
http://birdnote.org/birdnote-info.cfm?id=1735
Saturday, March 20
Birch Bay, Lake Terrell, and Tennant Lake
8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
In late March the water bird diversity in these areas is at its winter peak, with breeding behaviors and plumes coming on. At Birch Bay, we will be searching for waterfowl with some of the key species being Eared Grebes, Harlequin Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, Brant, and Loons. At Lake Terrell we’ll seek more freshwater birds: hopefully some Redhead ducks, as well as passerines. At Tennant Lake we'll spot waterfowl again and passerines, perhaps the swallows and maybe a Bittern. Bird song with the resident wrens and others should be going strong! Bring what you need for snacks and lunch. Be prepared for wind and rain and bring your binoculars, and scope if you have one. We will meet everyone at 8:30 at the Park and Ride East of I-5 (Exit 250) on Fairhaven Parkway in south Bellingham. You can see the parking area on your right as you exit the freeway. As you exit, turn right and then right again into the parking area.
Leaders are Andrea Warner, 360 734-9881 (cell 360 224-9291) and
Joan Bird, 360 734-1030.
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.