1:19pm start: Water level at 7.0ft
1:45pm end: Water level at 6.8ft

Tweeters,
Calm and cool today here on the river. A DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT caught what to my unknowing eye appeared to be a sole (sandab?), which was very much larger than the cormorant's head. From 1:36pm until 1:40pm, the DCCO attempted to swallow the fish, but was unsuccessful; although once it appeared to be close. At just after 1:41pm, it managed to get the fish into its throat at about a 45-degree angle and started to swallow. However, the cormorant was not able to manipulate the fish any longer, and the fish appeared to be stuck in its throat, with the fish's tail projecting well out of the cormorant's beak. From then on, the cormorant didn't appear to attempt to swallow the fish further, although probably it was trying. I couldn't see any beak movements at all. At 1:43pm, the cormorant, with two Glaucous-winged Gulls swimming directly behind, paddled out of my sight downriver, throat very distended and fish-tail projecting out of its beak.

As for the Ospreys: I've not seen one (except in New Jersey late last week) for a while. I'll expect them in the late-Feb, early-Mar timeframe next year.

Birds seen today include the following:
Double-crested Cormorant (4)
Great Blue Heron
Mallard (5)
Mew Gull (7)
Glaucous-winged Gull (13)
Rock Pigeon (23)
Belted Kingfisher
American Crow (10)
European Starling (~1500, perched on the top tier of the western power tower)
House Finch (2)
House Sparrow

May all your birds be identified,

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