This year for New Years Eve Marian and I went to a dance in Seattle, but before the event stopped at a parking lot in Bothell near the well known crow roost there, and for my first time watched the spectacle of my estimated 15,000 crows coming to roost. Pretty cool. On the morning of Jan 1 we headed north to visit Ron and Linda Bahr, and to visit some of the North Puget Sound areas where it is easier to get a few species tougher to find near Tacoma and in the south sound area. On the drive up we drove across Fir Island, with a very quick stop at Wiley Slough NWR, with a distant Rough-legged Hawk the best bird there, though the many thousands of Snow Geese flying around were great too.
Our first stop with Ron and Linda after a really good pizza for lunch in Bellingham was at Birch Bay SP, where lots of Black Brant, sea ducks including a few Long-tailed Ducks were found, but missed Black Scoter which is fairly regular there in winter. It was a beautiful sunny day all day long, despite rain in the forecast, so I took this as a good omen for 2020.
We drove through the town of Birch Bay, then over to the Semiahmoo Spit. There Ron found a pair of distant Black Oystercatchers, we saw Harlequin Duck, Sanderling, and a really nice sunset from the bar at the resort.
After a really good visit, and catching up on family, work, and our lives, Ron dropped us back in Bellingham. He has a new F-150 all decked out with spacious back seats, and we were amazed at the comfort of a pickup truck. We spent the night in LaConnor at the Heron Inn and Day Spa B&B, and they made us a customized vegan breakfast, very nicely done.
By last night the slight cold I seemed to be catching on NY Eve blossomed into a full blown head old, so today instead of birding the Samish Flats we just headed south. I caught a good nap, and birded Ruston Way from the car in late afternoon, adding the usual birds, plus a 5 each Western Meadowlark and Black Turnstones , bood Pierce County birds at Dune Peninsula.
Happy New Years and Good birding.