Can someone tell me why certain parts of bird's names are capitalized? I'm
new to this group and learning!

Mary Shane
Montesano, WA
-----Original Message-----
From: Maureen Ellis <me2 at u.washington.edu>
To: Tweeters News Group <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, October 25, 1998 11:43 AM
Subject: 10-25-98 Des Moines, WA, Marina Follow-up


>Hi Folks (and thanks to Jim Flynn for reply about the Pied-billed grebes),
>What a nice day---near dead calm water, and the sky is coming out after
>all the grey of yesterday. Up to 2000 birds of varying species were out
>on the Sound within easy view of the fishing pier until the adult BALD
>eagle cruised over. I noticed different behavioral strategies: The
>American wigeon freaked and scattered in the air, while the Surf scoters
>stayed put on the water and bunched themselves a bit more.
>
>Up to 5 WHITE-WINGED scoters were seen on the margins of the Surf group,
>and small numbers of COMMON loons could be seen further out. A few female
>Goldeneyes have joined the 2 male Barrow's; 1 of these was a COMMON
>goldeneye female; no male Common's are here yet. The WESTERN grebes were
>seen again, perhaps 5-8. The HORNED grebe wintering population is clearly
>growing, now maybe dozens of birds in our proximate area. And a few MEW's
>gulls were seen flying about making a good comparison to the other small
>gull species we have here now, the BONEPARTE'S. I haven't seen any
>Franklin's gulls yet, but will watch for them.
>
>The biggest treat of the morning was spotting the pod of 8-12 DALL'S
>porpoise Phocoenoides dalli. This group was swimming south in the middle
>of the Sound and passed the point between the Maury Island Lighthouse and
>the end of our fishing pier about 10:30AM PT. I have also been able to
>tentatively id the large jellyfish I saw yesterday at the surface
>of the water just off the fishing pier, perhaps it was the quite common
>MOON jellyfish Aurelia aurita and they can grow to over 40 cm in diameter,
>even larger than the one I saw. If I had known to look, the gender of
>this creature could have been discerned from the colors of the visible
>internal organs.
>
>The forest area near the Senior Center was very quiet with only a few
>chick-a-deeing noises from a couple of Black-capped's......and bunches and
>bunches of crows, of course. I'm still looking for our wintering Robins
>and White-crowned sparrows to arrive.
>
>A lovely day indeed,
>
>Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu Univ of WA and Des Moines, WA
>
>"Finding the occasional straw of truth awash in a great ocean of
>confusion and bamboozle requires vigilance, dedication, and courage."
> -Carl Sagan-