I went down to Shilshole in Seattle yesterday, and it was just
stunning. Perfectly calm, moderate temps; the ducks looked
like they were just skating along. I saw enough EARED GREBES
and HORNED GREBES that I got so I could tell the difference
between them. COMMON MERGANSERS (male and female) and
COMMON GOLDENEYES (m & f) were also there. With the image
stabilizers in my Canons I can get a really clear non-shaky
picture of the bird to help me identify it. I'm such a
neophite that I hold the book up with one hand and look thru
the bins with the other! Once I've got the ID, tho, then I
look at them without the glasses, and start learning how
they look at distance, when flying, behaviors, etc. This
works really well for me.

The docks in various parks seem to be wonderful places to
see shorebirds. I'm going to try Kingston and Everett
docks probably this weekend. I'm trying to go to places
I can drive to from Northgate in Seattle in an afternoon.