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A feast for the binoculars
By Meg
Olson
The
local chapter of the Audubon Society reports Blaine Marine
Park has become a hot spot for bird sightings in the last
month.
Shorebird lovers may grow roots near the mouth of Cain Creek,
where thousands of ducks share the mudflats with two yellowleg
species, dunlin, black-bellied plovers, black turnstones
and ruddy sandpipers. Three godwit species – marbled,
hudsonian and bartailed – have been spotted, along
with a few red knots. The state department of fish and wildlife
also reports sightings of lapland longspurs in the area.
The mass of ducks may first appear to be solid mallards,
but a closer look will find northern pintail, green-winged
teal and American widgeons. Sharper eyes may even pick out
an eurasian widgeon in the mix.
Attracted by what must seem like a smorgasbord, peregrine
falcons have been regular visitors, swooping through clouds
of shorebirds and startled ducks and occasionally tangling
with a bald eagle to hold onto their prey.
The North Cascades Audubon Society maintains updated reports
of bird sightings on their web site, http://www.northcascadesaudubon.org/index.html,
and general information about birding in Whatcom County
and chapter activities. The group meets monthly and has
half a dozen field trips. Next stop in Blaine is a trip
to Marine Park December 9.
In Birch Bay, a slide show by Audubon member Joe Meche on
November 24 will highlight the regulars and the oddities
that make up the local resident and transient bird population.
Sponsored by the Friends of Birch Bay State Park and the
Shoreline Enhancement Citizens Advisory Committee, the event
is at Birch Bay Leisure Park from 2-4 p.m.
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