Subject: Bowerman Basin 11/6
Date: Nov 6 21:46:42 2003
From: snowyowl98683 at comcast.net - snowyowl98683 at comcast.net


Hi Everyone--

I've never seen a Pink-footed Goose anywhere, not even in a zoo, so I had to go see these, no matter where they turn out to be from. I spent most of today 11/6 around Bowerman Airport, standing around the hangars, walking the Sandpiper Trail, cruising the settling ponds. I arrived at 9:45, apparently after the morning excitement. A pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS screaming at each other in mid-air over the hangars was interesting. I counted 200 CANADA GEESE (Western, Taverner's, Dusky, Cackling), 3 SNOW GEESE, and one white-faced GRAYLAG GOOSE in the runway assemblage. The wigeon raft north of the Sandpiper Trail contained 5 male EURASIAN WIGEONS. A young MERLIN posed with its headless prey on the boardwalk railing for several minutes. At high tide, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS were standing on every available tree stump, and a log along the farthest point of the boardwalk was covered from end to end with WESTERN SANDPIPER and DUNLIN, along with one RED KNOT.

Toward afternoon, I drove around Hoquiam to some areas that the Bean Goose frequented last year: the east end of K Street, Hoquiam High. Nothing. I returned to the sewage lagoon around 3, met up with the Sullivans, and watched the Pink-foots fly in. The injured GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE is still here, and another odd-looking GRAYLAG GOOSE. The Pink-foots seemed to gravitate towards the Graylag, but they each went around in their own orbits. Since they went unseen from 7am to 3:30pm, it's a fair bet that they spend the middle of their day away from the airport. If you should find them in an area not closed to hunting, please be discrete in disclosing the location, lest they end up on someone's dinner plate.

FYI: DO NOT WALK IN RESTRICTED AREAS OF THE AIRPORT. Fences are going up soon around the west end of the runways.

Mark Miller
Vancouver, WA
snowyowl98683 at comcast.net