I've been remiss in posting East Bay reports to Tweeters, but thought I'd
start fresh in the new year. I went out Friday morning and tallied 21
individuals of 9 species in the waters south of the East Bay Marina.
Strange to have nearly every other bird be something different. Three
grebes = three grebe species, for example.
The featured birds were three Rhinocerous Auklets, one of them working on
downing a little fish just a few feet away from where I stood. This
species' occurrence varies from year to year, with this winter being one of
the best.
A mini-mystery that's puzzled me for some time came back to mind after the
count. Among the goldeneyes, males were Barrow's and females were Commons.
The total number of goldeneyes was small, though -- maybe nothing's going
on with this, but it seems odd. Common Goldeneyes, incidentally, are about
the most consistent wintering waterbird from year to year in my area, being
found in similar numbers every winter (this being the fifth). Barrow's, on
the other hand, either arrive in big flocks or barely appear at all (as is
the case this winter).
--
Scott Richardson
NE Seattle
salix at halcyon.com