Tweeters,
During a noon outgoing tide, the Duwamish River was alive with birds, many of which were feeding on the exposed mudbanks, in the river and the shoreline vegetation, and in the air. A 25-minute sojourn wasn't nearly enough time to see all that was happening, but...

The one adult, very muddy (mud on tail and on the top of the head) BALD EAGLE sitting on a piling, being harrassed by two CASPIAN TERNs was soon swooped upon by another adult eagle. After engaging in talon-cuffs, they retired to the nearby pier. One stayed for a bit, then flew downriver, but the muddy eagle settled in. A male MALLARD below the eagle cruised the shallows underneath the pilings.

It was good to see a pair of COMMON MERGANSERs paddle by, especially since I'd not seen them for over a week. The exposed mudbank and drier shoreline beyond the mergansers yielded 14 LEAST, 2 WESTERN, and 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERs, as well as a lone KILLDEER.

As the tide continued to move out, approximately 37-40 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTs (none in breeding plumage) landed in front of me about mid-river and started to dive and feed. I can't ID the fish they were chowing down on: 4-6-in long, slim, and silver. The cormorants kept diving and feeding, moving from mid-river, to near the opposite shoreline, downriver, back upriver, etc. The constant feeding soon brought in about a dozen GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLs, most of which harrassed the cormorants when they surfaced. Several times I saw a gull "spook" a cormorant when it surfaced, then snatch the catch away. Usually, the gull was then set upon by its species-mates.

Four male and six female BUFFLEHEADs landed among the cormorants, but left shortly thereafter. Not so the 6 GREAT BLUE HERONs that arrived about 10 minutes after the cormorants started feeding. They patrolled the shoreline closest to the cormorants, switching sides of the river as the cormorants shifted their feeding areas.

Downriver, the OSPREYs were visible--one on the nest and the other on the power tower nearby. A SONG SPARROW maintained a noontime serenade, while two BEWICK'S WRENs scouted the blackberry tangles. A preening AMERICAN ROBIN was joined momentarily on his perch by a HOUSE FINCH, and then by a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. The robin paused its preening just briefly as each of the interlopers landed and departed.

As I left, I glanced across at the eagle, which was still as muddy as ever, but which was starting to preen. It had a lot of work. The MALLARD below still maintained its cruise of the shoreline.

Denis J. DeSilvis
Phantom Works
denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com