Subject: Olympia birds
Date: Apr 24 07:24:12 1998
From: "S&C Richardson" - salix at halcyon.com


Tweeters,

Did my census at East Bay, Olympia, Thursday late afternoon and was pleased to
find 4 Purple Martins on the pilings in the south end. Three were males and the
fourth looked to be a female. All were quietly hunched, a response, I assumed,
to the cool, sprinkly air. Another piling held a male Belted Kingfisher, a
species that has been largely absent from East Bay for the past couple of
months, at least.

Buffleheads and Horned Grebes are still around. I'm suspicious that the grebes
are not those that have been present in recent weeks; they appeared, in
general, to be less advanced toward alternate plumage than the ones I've been
watching transform during the past few weeks. The only other duck on the bay
was a subadult Common Goldeneye.

A near-adult Bald Eagle swung through the area, inspiring collaboration among
crows and gulls. They did a marvelous job harassing the intruder.

Vaux's Swifts returned to my life on Wednesday (22 Apr). I heard one in the
morning and saw two in the afternoon near the southwest edge of West Bay.

I haven't had a day without Evening Grosbeaks all week. Do others have the
impression they are more common now than recently, or am I confused after
moving to a new town? (I think I went 2.5 years in NE Seattle without hearing a
flyover of grosbeaks at my place.)

Final note: Thanks to Charles Swift for suggesting nighthawks can be starlings.

--
Scott Richardson
Olympia, Washington
salix at halcyon.com