12:05pm start: Water level at 5.6ft
12:38pm end: Water level at 7.0ft

Tweeters,
Balmy day, with a few surprises on the river. A lone OSPREY carrying a small fish passed directly overhead--the faceful of water I received from the dripping catch attested to my surmise that the fish was caught in the not-too-distant past. The PIED-BILLED GREBE, normally seen near the goose-exclusion area at the southwest bend of Turning Basin #3 was swimming under the pier directly to my west, at least until the three guys in the research boat came by, whereupon the grebe went dive-surface-dive-surface-etc., to the exclusion area. When the researchers left, the grebe used the same dive-surface method to get back to the pier. Four COMMON MERGANSERS were also feeding in the pier area. Over 40 MEW, CALIFORNIA, and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS, most on the mudbank near the exclusion area, was a high count for this family. The 17 ROCK PIGEONS bathing in the river to the south of the pier was an interesting sight, especially when the wake of a passing fishing boat came up on them: airborne quickly! A first on the mammal front: two harbor seals swam by, dove, then surfaced together. Then again: Synchronized seals.

Birds seen today included the following:
Pied-billed Grebe
Mallard (5)
Common Merganser (4)
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer (3)
Mew Gull (11)
California Gull (6)
Glaucous-winged Gull (24)
Rock Pigeon (28)
American Crow
Bewick's Wren
European Starling (~20)
Song Sparrow
House Sparrow

May all your birds be identified,

Denis DeSilvis
Seattle, WA
denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com