Had a rare opportunity to do a midweek/midday scan of the bay near the
fishing pier and the north end of the Marina parking lot plus Des Moines
Beach Park. There were about 35 Brant geese "foraging" in the shallows
at the north edge of the public beach. Eel grass doesn't seem to grow
here; could the geese have been eating algae, small invertebrates, or just
gathering grit? About 20 American wigeon were also here, the largest
flock of these very common ducks since the Christmas storms drove most of
our 300! wintering residents away. The tide was quite high; the water was
mostly calm, and the sun was warm and wonderful. Nice day!

Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu Univ of WA and Des Moines, WA