Tweets,

I saw a still-in-summer-plumage marbled murrelet right off the fishing
dock at the Des Moines, WA Marina. This is my first season of routine
monitoring of this area. Are marbled murrelets normally seen along the
people-populated southeast Puget Sound shores? This was a real treat
because I was able to observe the bird at close range for several minutes
as it dove and re-surfaced. There is a good wintering population of mixed
grebes, sea-and-bay ducks, alcids-mostly pigeon guillemot & rhino auklet,loons,
geese and so forth judging from my first winter here, but
this is the only murrelet I've seen near the Marina since relocating in
December, 1994. What are other south Puget Sound folks seeing?

Maureen E. Ellis, Research Associate
Toxicology Group at Roos 1
DEH, SPHCM
Box 354695
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98198
me2 at u.washington.edu