Dear Catherine and Tweeters,

Canvasbacks have decreased in Skagit County. It used to be practically a given that a few could be found on Big Lake. Over the last few years, that has not been the case. Last winter, I searched numerous times, and found nary a one. The same could be said for Redheads--they used to be on nearby Beaver Lake every year, and last winter there were none. I have not checked these lakes this fall yet,l but have not heard of any Redheads or Canvasbacks yet. I am told that there are still a few Canvasbacks being seen on the large lakes near Anacortes--Lake Erie, I believe. I have not tried for them. This winter, however, I notice a huge amount of open water on the Green Road pond (Butler Flats, just northeast of I-5 exit 232). In the past, when that pond had open water, a few Canvasbacks could be found there, so I will be checking it this winter.

One easy way to see a lot of Canvasbacks is to go out to Padilla Bay. The problem is, the Canvasbacks there all seem to be decoys, set out by some optimistic hunters!

Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch
near Sedro-Woolley


Squeakyfiddle at aol.com wrote:
I'm wondering about Canvasback sightings this winter. For the last 5 years
I've been doing regular counts at points along the shore of south Lake
Washington from Sayres Park to Pritchard Beach. Up until this year I've seen small
groups (2+ birds) of Canvasbacks from Sayres Park to Andrew's Bay (off Seward
Park) starting in mid-October, with peak counts in mid November (30-40+) and
tapering off through March. So far this year the count is zero. Does anyone have
any insight into what might be happening here? Could they just be hanging out
somewhere else this year? I hate to think that something catastrophic has
happened to the flock.

thanks,
Catherine Alexander
Lakewood Neighborhood
Seattle


Yours truly,

Gary Bletsch

near Lyman (Skagit County), Washington

garybletsch at yahoo.com


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