Friends,
Because of a mis-scheduling on my calendar (our SAS Sequim field trip is
NEXT Sunday, rather than the 16th), I was up and out before sunrise on a
Sunday morning in the winter. So, surveyed the Marina instead, and the
sunrise first light on the wintering water birds, especially the Surf
scoters and the Barrow's goldeneyes, was surreal.

The winter resident Red-breasted mergansers have arrived (we had previous
flyby's only.) So far the half dozen or so all seem to be females and/or
eclipse males.

Two basic-plumed Pigeon guillemots were foraging very close to the fishing
pier, and I heard their vocalizations for the first time, a kind of faint,
plaintive, repeated 'cheep' or 'twit.' The bright red mouth lining and
legs were very visible. Two Western grebes swimming adjacent to the pier
were a bit nervous at my binoculared scrutiny......one of them gave a
strange and complex 'alarm' call (described in Bent's Life Histories.),
also an auditory first for my field notes.

The early survey also allowed watching our wintering Double-crested
cormorants (7 so far) fly across the Sound from Maury-Vashon. They perch
on our Marina totem and forage in the area during the day, but apparently
roost overnight on the opposite shores.

Have a great week,
Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu Univ of WA and Des Moines, WA