Skagit Eagle Run

I ran the Skagit Eagle Run today. I made this run up, all on my own, which I do sometimes. Puts the fun back in the run. In honor of the Skagit Eagle Festival, the rule was I had to run until I saw an eagle. I DNFed, somewhere in the middle of the Nookachamps Valley, after about seventy-five minutes. I saw one raptor sitting in a tree above Francis Road, and it might’ve been a juvenile eagle, but I think it was a hawk, or maybe a falcon. It wasn’t bald—it was brown, sort of like the peregrine falcon in the picture here. Apparently there are five falcon species in my backyard in the winter months---the word is the Skagit is one of the best birding places in the United States, which sounds right to me. As far as birds go, the Skagit reminds me of the Eastern Chesapeake Bay area, which is also an estuary, rich in bird life. On my run, I passed a herd of Canadian Snow Geese, and maybe some Trumpeter Swans, sitting in a barren field in the Nookachamps. Then I saw a few pods of Pipers, swarming as a group up and down and into trees. Pipers = Favorites.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/012397/prey23.html

Yesterday I ran up to the top of Chuckanut Mountain. Fragrance Lake was frozen over and you could throw rocks on the lake and it would make a piiiiiiing echo sound. There was snow on top of Chuckanut, ankle deep. The best part of that run was heading up into the snowclouds, which were flying over the top of the mountain. Lots of people out, even in the snow covered areas, which was nice to see.