Hi Tweets,

There was a hybrid Goldeneye in the Ship Canal off Commodore Park again
today. The head was shaped more like a Common with a head spot intermediate
between the two, crescent shaped but rounder than a "normal" Barrow's they
were showing off their iridescence in the sun and this one was purplish
rather than green (I'm always amazed at how they can glow like that) The
spots on the flanks were larger than the other Barrow's, but completely
enclosed. (I always think of this as a kind of Daliesque ladder - both side
rails were there and the rungs, but all were narrower than a Barrow's but
wider than a Common and the Common is missing the bottom rail.) Nothing
else at all unusual today, except for the male Red-breasted Merganser with
2" of what looks like fishing line coming out of his head. He seems to be
able to fish just fine. Also the Hatch year Greater White-fronted Goose is
still there, usually in the Gardens amongst the Canadas. The Canadas are
starting to pair up (Spring???) I wonder what will happen to it during
nesting season?

The Herons will eat anything thread reminds me of a Heron I saw this late
summer. It was checking out an almost dead sockeye on the Ship Canal rocks.
It poked at the Salmon as if wondering how to eat it, then us tourists
scared the Heron away. I happened to run into one of the state Dept of Fish
and Wildlife biologists today at the locks (Zero steelhead so far) and he
said he's seen dead salmon in the spawning grounds with stab wounds that
looked like they could be made only by Great Blue Herons. Can they get
something from salmon or are they just exploring? Interesting.

Cliff Drake
Seattle WA
cliff at cliffdrake.net