Kelly,

I didn't notice any bovine-types in the fields. As far as I could tell,
the fields were
unused. However, they did appear to be growing grass (i.e. pasture).

Perhaps the cows were in for the weekend? If they had been giving birth
in the
fields, or the farmers dumping the afterbirth in the fields, it would
explain why
the gulls and eagles were "walking" (not something either do well) about
in the
fields (I did see them apparently feeding too, e.g. bending down and
picking up
something).

If Dennis were listening in, he would be commenting by now about the
abundance of eagles and how they seem to fall into a rather scruffy lot
in the food-chain and behavior style ;-) In other words, isn't it great
that they are so
common that they are becoming part of the background (like gulls and
red-tail
hawks) when we go looking for really exciting birds?


Michael Patrick
(206) 743-8204
mpatrick at eldec.com

>----------
>From: alleyes at mail.tss.net[SMTP:alleyes at mail.tss.net]
>Sent: Monday, February 03, 1997 12:50 PM
>To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>Subject: Re: Boundry Bay eagles (Skagit too)
>
>At 08:38 AM 2/3/97 -0800, Michael Patrick wrote:
>>Tweeters,
>
>>As for eagles - we got tired of counting them! There were at least 50 in
>>the stretch of open fields between the border and Delta. They were in the
>>trees, in the fields (hoofing it with the gulls, they were apparently
>>finding
>>something of enough interest to walk about), on the fence posts, flying
>>around,
>>sheesh!
>
>A co-worker went to the Skagit River delta this past weekend and met with
>Libby Mills,
>the Nature Conservancy's steward of the upriver Skagit River Bald Eagle
>Natural Area.
>There are reportedly more bald eagles in the delta than upstream right now.
>Perhaps
>high water has made salmon carcasses largely unavailable, I don't know.
>But, I was
>told that *afterbirth* was the big attractor in the pastures near the delta.
>
>Could this be the big draw at Boundry Bay as well?
>
>Kelly McAllister
>Olympia, Washington
>
>