Hi Tweeters,

I just scanned Ruth Sullivan's photo of a Yellow-billed Loon in breeding
plumage at Smith Island on 27 October--not a great scan, but you can get
the picture (pun may or may not have been intended). Ruth told me there was
some discussion about the significance of the bump on the forehead of this
bird. As far as I know, presence or absence of such a bump may represent
individual variation or perhaps even is under control of the bird. If it
has anything to do with the sex of the bird, this is new information for
me.

http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/YBLO.html

Hey, I think someone should alert the highway patrol to a potential road
hazard. Yesterday morning I saw not one, not Two, but THREE Peregrine
Falcons in my 45-mile commute from Seattle to Tacoma. One (presumably
"Freeway") was on top of the I-5 bridge in Seattle, the other two were
hunting in downtown Tacoma and Old Town, respectively (gee, I guess they
should be named "Tacoma" and "Old Town"), both on the waterfront and both
probably interested in the huge flocks of Rock Doves in the area.
Unfortunately you can only watch one for so long when speeding along on a
freeway. Maybe when the day comes that I see 10 of them on the commute,
they'll be so ho-hum that they'll deserve only a passing glance.

Had a great trip to southern Africa; if anyone plans to go there, feel free
to contact me about info. Remember, I'm not subscribed to tweeters right
now.

Dennis

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 253-756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 253-756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html