Subject: Chittenden Locks
Date: Dec 08 20:46:10 1997
From: Cliff Drake - birder at juno.com


Nothing unusual, but there was a nice selection of waterfowl at the locks
this afternoon. There was a female Belted Kingfisher on the railroad
bridge support and the Dusky Canada Goose was still there, this time
about two feet from the sidewalk at the west end of the large lock. I
literally had to walk around its typical tame cousins, they were drinking
from the puddles on the sidewalk. The Dusky was a bit smaller, certainly
thinner, and overall a darker, richer brown, especially the breast. I
had a close encounter with a Stellar's Jay that startled us both, that
was kind of cool. Birds seen all numbers approximate:

Horned Grebe, 5 (There were 10 on Sat, big numbers for this location)
Western Grebe, 12
Red-necked Grebe, 1
Double Crested Comorant, 6
Canada Goose, 50, 1 Dusky
Gadwall, 1,1 (Gadwalls are very rare here for some reason.)
Mallard, 6
American Wigeon, ~30 (I've yet to see a Eurasian here)
Barrow's Goldeneye, 20
Common Goldeneye, 1,1 (also very rare)
Bufflehead, 1 female. (also rare)
Common Merganser, 8 all females
Red Breasted Merganser, 2 pair plus 2 females swimming with female
commons
Lots o' Coots
Mew Gull, 20 all fishing in the spillway.
Bonaparte's Gull, 1 with the Mew Gulls
Lots of Glaucous-winged Gulls and hybrids
Great Blue Heron, 1
Belted Kingfisher, 1 female (1 male seen Saturday)
Crows, Starlings, a few Robins and a Stellar's Jay

The rares and pretty rares are for my viewing at the locks only.

I have to wonder if the spillway has something to do with the female
Kingfisher hanging around. There are lots of herring, sole and other
small fish around the locks, and the churning water of the spillway
brings the small fish to the surface. It's used to control the level of
Lake Washington and the Green River salmon runs.
I also saw a mystery bird for about two seconds, I'm guessing a
Rhinoceros Auklet because it was small, compact and dull. It dove, and I
never saw it resurface. They're not at all uncommon around here.

=================
Cliff Drake
Seattle, (Ballard) WA
Birder at Juno.com