On Thursday Lydia wrote (slightly condensed):

>I'm new to this list and would like to become a "more organized" birder.
>I've always been interested in what I see swimming around local ponds
>and have seen quite a variety of water birds.

First off, welcome. I read your list and it reminded of my first years here,
when I ran into a variety of birds I didn't think were possible. Following
are some comments and suggestions, I hope they are of help.

>I've seen what must be "rare birds":
>Eurasian Wigeons
>Wood Ducks
>Harlequin Duck (the first time I saw one of those I questioned my
>sanity....wondered if I hallucinated it!

Not "rare" in the sense that a Bristle-thighed Curlew is rare (see a number
of other postings about that), but certainly wonderful to behold. Wait till
you discover your first (male) Western Tanager (you will have to look up in
trees for that), now there's an unexpected looking bird for this climate.

>Dug out my Petersen's and it's never been far from reach since
then....about four >years ago....in the "Lakes" subdivision in Kent.

Good reaction. May I suggest you visit Flora and Fauna Bookstore in Pioneer
Square or the Seattle Adubon store next time you come into Seattle. Pick up
a copy of the Washington Ornithological Society's handy checklist of
Washington bird species. It's cheap ($ 2), but by comparing it to your
Peterson Guide you can narrow down the most likely species you will
encounter in this area. They also list the ones that have been recorded 15
times or less, so you'll know the real rarities.

Visit the Tweeters website. It will give you not only an immense array of
links to information about birds from all over the world, it will also give
you that same Washington birds list. In addition you will find descriptions
of areas that are good to find birds, often with detailed instructions on
how to get there. If you prefer that information in book format, pick up
either a Gene Hunn's Birding in Seattle and King County or Terrence Wahl and
Dennis Paulson's A Guide to Bird Finding in Washington. Both readily
available at aforementioned locations.

>Buffleheads
>Hooded Merganser
>Merganser (variety, not sure)

Since you are describing fresh water, most likely the other merganser was
the Common Merganser. The Red-breasted Merganser is more likely found on
brackish and salt water (but never say never). Look for the reddish band
across the male Red-breasted's breast.

>Northern Shoveler
>Lesser Scaups
>Blue-winged teal
>Mergansers (later corrected to cormorant, most likely Double-crested
Cormorant) hanging their wings out to dry
>A smaller variety of heron (Not great blue, but something else)

I'm venturing a guess that you've seen Green Heron. In adults the dark "cap"
and the chestnut on the neck and green on the back should help with
identification. However, American Bittern (all brown, streaked breast) and
Black-crowned Night Heron (grayish with black crown and back) also occur in
the area. If you think you see Black-crowned Night-Heron, let us know, they
are rarer. Keep in mind that immatures of these species are more difficult
to tell apart, since they are basically brown with streaked fronts, although
right now it's still a bit early to see immatures out and about. Look for
adults nearby or study the more elaborate descriptions in the field guide
for clues. Cattle Egrets do occasionally occur here, but the all white bird
with rusty wash is easily identified.

>How many of what I listed are "rare" or unusual in an urban setting?

As I said, non of them (unless you saw Black-crowned Nigh-Heron) are really
rare in the area. But that shouldn't discourage you. I find much delight in
the most common species around. It also makes it possible to do more than
"just" identify in your back yard. Especially this time of year there's a
lot of behavioral stuff to see.

>And those hybrid Canada Geese that live at the Riverbend Golf Course in
>Kent! Anybody know what the "other half" is in those unusually striking
looking
>geese?

I have not seen the particular birds you mention. However, in Seattle and
other places, I often see what look like domesticated geese or barnyard
geese, which often are descendants of the Greylag Goose, a Eurasian species
brought to this continent initially by the Pilgrims. That's why one
particular breed of these domesticated geese is sometimes referred to as
"Pilgrims." They are the all white males, with orange bill and feet and
striking blue eyes, the females usually have some brownish-gray feathers on
them, especially the wings. If you cross Canada geese with these
(genetically speaking) Greylags (or rather if they hybridize), you get some
pretty amazing (striking if you will) individuals.

If the domesticated variety has a large knob on the forehead, you are most
likely looking at a Chinese Goose. This is a domesticated variety of the
Eurasian Swan Goose. The domesticated variety comes in either all white,
with orange feet and bill and knob, or brown (dark brown stripe down back of
neck) with black feet and bill and knob (sometimes know outlined in white or
orange). This species too, can hybridize with Canada Geese.

>Via private e-mail will someone please tell me about birding activities
>in the Seattle-Tacoma area.

I also posted this to tweeters, so others can see that a reply was sent (see
several other postings from Thursday).

>My cats are also birders, but for very different reasons!

Ouch! If you search the tweeters archives (use key words like cats and
birds) you will see a spate of messages that discuss this topic, heatedly.
It's a thread that periodically crops up on tweeters; the gist of it being
that cats are foreign to this environment and really belong inside or on a
leash. The number of (song)birds killed by pet and feral cats each year is
astounding and ranks right up there with other major threats. Now, if your
cats only watch, than of course you can just disregard the above.

>I hope to learn more from this list!
>Bye for now!

It helps when you ask questions like you did. I hope my answers were of
help. One final suggestion: join a local Audubon Society chapter. They often
organize outings to some good birding spots. You'll meet some pretty neat
people with similar interest too that way.

Happy birding,
Martin Muller, Seattle
MartinMuller at email.msn.com