On Fawn Lake here in Mason County, the first buffleheads of
the season arrived on October 20. From now until late
spring they will be feeding and courting on the lake. Also
on Oct. 20 I noticed the first loose flock of golden-crowned
kinglets. After being absent all summer, a flock of
double-crested cormorants is now fishing the lake each day;
they roost in a nearby tree and entertain us with their
pig-like sounds.

Yesterday there were eight pied-billed grebes in close
proximity on the lake. They do nest here, but this is more
than I have ever seen together here. The lake has only a
few scattered lily pad clumps, with perhaps eight or ten
lily pads per group, but these are the favorite spots for
grebes to rest. A question: Do the grebes anchor
themselves to the lily pad stems with their feet? Do the
lily pads provide a bit of restful flotation to the grebes?

Another question I've wondered about for a while. Several
years ago at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon I
photographed an American kestrel. Sitting on a fence post,
it was looking away from me and the patterns of light and
dark feathers on the back of its head appeared to create
large eyespots that could act as a deterrent to larger avian
predators. Has anyone else noticed this? I know that some
moths have eyespots that look like an owl's eyes. If anyone
is interested, I could post this photograph.

Lee Rentz
lee at leerentz.com