I looked for the reported Common Moorhens this morning (Sep. 1) and the
closest I could get to that species were two juvenile coots. These
birds, of course, did not have red bills, but because of the low light
angle at the time, it was not always easy to determine the bill color.
At times even, a glint of light would flash off the bill, and for an
instant it appeared red. With a good angle of light, the bills were
grayish-white as expected for coot. The sides were overall grayish
contrasting somewhat with the darker wings and breasts. Again, at the
right angle, there appeared to be a narrow whitish stripe along the
sides, below the wings - but only for an instant.

I encourage others to head out and take a look anyway just in case there
really are two Common Moorhens around and they were just hiding from me
while I was there.


Jim Johnson
Vancouver, WA
jimjohn at teleport.com
H 360-576-6984
W 503-285-6800, ex. 4359
or
360-699-2391, ex. 4359