Edmonds, Washington.

I had grand plans for this weekend- I was going to finally make it up to the Skagit Valley to explore Skagit Game Range, Samish Flats, etc, with stops in Edmonds and Anacortes on the way.  Unfortunately I only got to bird Edmonds.  Upon arrival in the Skagit area my check engine light came on and the weird wobble my car developed last week reached new wobbly heights.  Boo.  I ended up driving all the way back to Portland.

But Edmonds was great...

The marina hosts tons of crows, pigeons, gulls, and a Belted Kingfisher:

A Bald Eagle kept watch on the rocks bordering the marina...

Sharing the rocks were dozens of Heermann's Gulls...

Mmm, poop-covered rocks.  A couple of gulls along the public pier:

I am hoping to take the next gull ID class offered at the Audubon Society but until then, I'm just guessing... Glaucous-winged? Olympic?  Here's a more helpful angle:

There were several Red-necked Grebes out on the water including one just below the pier:

Along with Horned Grebe:

Dozens of Surf Scoters were near the pier also...

Now my favorite thing about the Edmonds pier is that alcids are often not far from shore for once... I found this pair of Pigeon Guillemots looking adorable:

A little farther out were several Rhinoceros Auklets feeding with some gulls...

There were many Red-breasted Mergansers around...

And lastly, a bunch of Buffleheads:

Well, at least I managed to see some good birds before the car trouble started... And now I'm off to find some new tires and someone to check the engine.  Just how sketchy is Tires 4 Less???  And why is Les Schwab closed on Sundays??  Anyway.... Good times!