Hello,
Such a refreshing, bright day! There have been a few additions over the
week in our area. The seasonal Coot population has doubled to perhaps 14.
The Horned grebes are more numerous than I can remember in my past 3
seasons of monitoring this area. They seem to be everywhere about the
pier, near the beach, all in amongst the boat slips.......maybe up to 50
now. Our Christmas bird count for the Kent-Auburn area that includes the
Marina is Dec 28; we may set a record this year for Horned grebes.

The other winter-water residents: American wigeon, Surf and White-winged
scoters, Red-necked grebes, Barrow's and Common (MANY more Barrow's)
goldeneyes, the expected species of gulls, Western grebes and
Double-crested cormorants are here in the "regular" numbers. There are
several dozen mallards, mixed truly wild and domestic-ferals; an
unusually marked male was spotted; his entire body was rufous with a
whitish oval on the upper breast and a blackish-bluish-greenish head,
quite distinctive!

Two Belted kingfishers, both MALES, were rattling about the moored
sailboats.

Our wintering Bufflehead have arrived, and are settling where they usually
do in the cove between Des Moines Beach and Marine View Parks. We almost
always have a few winter here; the first arrivals this morning were two
lovely males. Early Friday, Nov 13, as I was driving to Burien P & R, I
saw the first wintering Bufflehead in the small spring-fed/runoff pond
that can be viewed on the east side of the First South-SW 200th
intersection. This is the same little pond that had a pair of Wood ducks
earlier in October.

Well, off to Dungeness and Sequim on a Seattle Audubon field trip tomorrow
at the crack o' dawn.
Cheers,
Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu Univ of WA and Des Moines, WA