[Tweeters] excellent Upper Skagit birding

[Gary Bletsch]

Dear Tweeters,
Today, the ninth of April, Mike Nelson and I enjoyed a very fine day of birding in the Upper Skagit. The weather bordered upon the absurd, with alternating sun, clouds, rain, sleet, and snow flurries. Lather, rinse, repeat. I think that the changeable weather helped the birding.
At the roadside by Ovenell's Heritage Inn, across the Skagit River from Concrete, we were unable to relocate the Vesper Sparrow that Mike had seen yesterday, and which Joel Brady-Power had relocated earlier this morning. However, we did see four Mountain Bluebirds and a Chipping Sparrow. Twelve Turkey Vultures landed in a cow pasture and foraged near some crows, too.
Along the Concrete-Sauk Valley Road, by Kinley Road, we ran into a flock of about eight Townsend's Solitaires. We'd seen one earlier in my yard near Lyman, so this was a good day for them.
Bryson Road was fantastic. We saw a pair of Mountain Bluebirds foraging with a pair of WESTERN BLUEBIRDS. A dark-morph Harlan's Hawk was there when we arrived, but soon flew off, as Harlan's Hawks usually do when people get within a few hundred meters of them.
After walking around the trails at Bryson Road, we were getting ready to leave, but a quick final scan revealed a SAY'S PHOEBE! Then, just as we were getting ready to leave again, a flock of Townsend's Solitaires arrived. There were at least six of them.
At the Skagit County part of Sauk Prairie, we heard a bird calling a strange, four-note call. We never did see the bird. The call sounded tit-like, high-low, high-low. 
Large flocks of American Robins were almost everywhere.
Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch

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