Hi Tweets,
Just a few notes on a short visit to the GRNRA yesterday morning. There was
an immature Peregrine Falcon perched in a snag in the SE corner of the pond
area, and an American Kestrel flew through. Among a dozen species of ducks,
there were three Eurasian Wigeons, two in adult male plumage and one in
rufous-morph female (or is it perhaps 1st winter male?) plumage. The
northernmost of the three observation towers was littered with good-sized
owl pellets, from a bird that apparently had been sitting in the roof beams.
A question for birders who visit the revamped Kent Ponds site: Does anyone
know what the official walking boundaries are at this site? We came on at
least two places, one with a wide-open vehicle gate, that were marked nearby
something like "area closed beyond this sign", although a well-used track
continued on down toward the pond. We didn't go beyond the signs on these
tracks, but I watched at least one birder continue down them almost to the
water's edge. Although it is not entirely clear whether the signs refer to
crossing the expanses of grass as opposed to continuing down the track, it
seems reasonable to assume that going that close to the pond edge would
disrupt the waterfowl there sitting out the hunting season. This one
birder's approach to the edge pushed the entire raft of ducks well across
the pond.

Bob Sundstrom
Seattle, WA
mailto:ixoreus at home.com