It was cold (low 40s), it was wet (rained all day, in a region where we =
seem to have nearly as many terms for the various categories of rain as =
the Inuit have names for snow..), it was windy (10-25 knots), there was =
usually about 2 to 3 feet of chop on the water. And it beat the heck =
out of sitting in front of a computer all day.

I was out working in the field (for a change) today. Launched at 7 =
a.m.out of Brownsville, 4 miles east of Silverdale, and worked up =
through Port Orchard via Agate Pass to Port Madison and along the east =
side of Bainbridge. Didn't have a lot of time to pay attention to =
birds, but saw a lot of the usual...

Common Loon - ~9 in Pt. Orchard, a few in Port Madison, and several =
flying S along E Bainbridge
Pacific Loon - Lots! A couple of flocks just off Brownsville at dusk of =
24 and 14, maybe 75 up toward the Agate Pass bridge at daybreak, and a =
fairly steady stream of singles, pairs, small groups, etc., going by E =
Bainbridge all day.

Western Grebes - must have been 200 in Port Madison alone
Red-necked Grebes - a couple dozen seen, scattered
Horned Grebes - a couple dozen, mostly near shore in Port Orchard/Agate =
Pass

Double-crested Cormorant - Common, including a Douglas Fir "full" of =
these birds at dusk in Brownsville
Brandt's Cormorant - several, mostly E Bainbridge, a few in Port Orchard =
near Brownsville
Pelagic Cormorant - only saw 1, near Skiff Point.

Pigeon Guillemots - 4 around the Agate Pass bridge, a couple others to =
South, 7 in Por Madison
Common Murres - common in small groups, most in Port Madison and along E =
Bainbridge
Rhinoceros Auklets - a few dozen, mostly singles in Port Madison, at =
Yeomalt Point, etc

Bonaparte's Gull - still pretty common, esp in Port Madison
Glaucous-winged Gull - common, with lots of 'intergrades'
California Gull - a couple dozen; saw most in Port Madison and Port =
Orchard
Mew Gull - a dozen or so, mostly in Port Madison
Heerman's Gull - about 3 dozen, mostly along the E shore of Bainbridge =
(you could always tell where a sea lion was eating a fish, by the =
Heerman's gulls flocking to the spoils...)

PARASITIC JAEGER - 1 sitting on the water about 1 mile N of Brownsville =
at dusk. Kind of late?

White-winged Scoter - Lots in Port Orchard and Agate Pass - maybe 200.. =
Some on 'outside' too..
Surf Scoter - More common E Bainbridge and in Port Madison, some in Port =
Orchard
American Wigeon - a flock of ~80 just north of Rolling Bay
Greater Scaup - 6 in Port Orchard
Harlequin Duck - 7 in northern Port Madison

OLDSQUAW (Is Long-tailed Duck the politically correct term, now?) - A =
flock of 21 of these beautiful birds were about 1 mile SE of Keyport in =
Port Orchard.

California Sea Lions everywhere, and Harbor Seals (a few)

Also, about 4 p.m. I saw some neat behavior from a Bald Eagle. A purse =
seine vessel had just set its net near Point Monroe, with the skiff end =
about 100m offshore, and they were towing the net. A California Sea =
Lion was working along the net apparently caught a chum salmon and was =
shaking it apart. Of course, about a dozen glaucous-winged gulls and =
1/2-dozen Heerman's gulls arrived to fight over the spoils. A large =
(female?) adult Bald Eagle flew from the timber above the town, and =
dropped down to join the fray - scattering the gulls. The eagle buzzed =
low along the cork line 4 or 5 times, then finally snagged what looked =
like a small piece of fish from the water and returned to the trees.

Who says a Northwesterner can't have fun in the rain?

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net