Subject: Kingfishers
Date: Feb 12 15:28:01 1998
From: StahlfeldE at aol.com - StahlfeldE at aol.com


For whomever is collecting data on kingfishers, on the way back from Port
Orchard to West Seattle today (2-12-98), I saw a female kingfisher on the
telephone wires along the water about 1 mile west of the Southworth ferry
dock, and a male kingfisher (saw and heard) at the Southworth ferry dock
(south side). Also saw a pair of Hooded Mergansers at the dock.

I also saw a duck I couldn't identify at the Vashon ferry dock. The bill and
black/white pattern around the eye looked exactly like a Smew in the Peterson
field guide. However, the pattern of white on the wings looked much more like
the winter plumage pigeon guillemot in Audubon Master Guide to Birding. It
definitely had two generally large patches of white along the wings, but that
white looked more like the guillemot than the smew. But the bill did not look
at all like the bill in the Audubon guillemot photograph. It simply didn't.

Does anyone know what that bird might be?

Eric Stahlfeld
Burien, WA