Is it shaping up to be another odd Winter at East Bay? (This is the East
Bay of Budd Inlet, an easy walk from downtown Olympia.)
It's too early to tell, but the first half of October has me worried.
Like, where are the Horned Grebes?
I read here that Maureen Ellis has begun to see them at the Des Moines
Marina, but none have reached my corner of Puget Sound yet. In the past 4
years, they have shown up around the Autumn equinox; in 1993, I even saw 2
on 21 August. But so far, nothing.
I know it's early. But by the end of the month, I'll be expecting the
first few "bay" and "sea" ducks, and I usually whet my appetite on the
little grebes first.
Instead I've got a Greater Scaup to keep me company. The drake showed up
last week, a "Winter" waterbird on an 80 degree day, breaking the arrival
mold for the species. I didn't expect a scaup till around Halloween.
Today's big news was a Western Meadowlark on the shoreline, a first-time
sighting after about 300 visits to the bay. (Er, no, I'm not certain it
wasn't an Eastern. I'll play by the 95% rule in this note.)
What more is in store? Will the waterbird numbers rebound after slipping
the past two Winters? Will the Barrow's Goldeneyes put on their
late-November show? Will the scoters be back at all?
I'll let you know.
--
Scott Richardson
Seattle, Washington
salix at halcyon.com