Good morning Tweets,

Yesterday I joined up with a loosely-banded group of Tweeter compatriots in
P.A. to see the COMMON EIDER. And what a show we got from 9:30 to 10 a.m.
We had very close views, were able to watch this male swimming just below
the surface. When he surfaced and hopped up on a log we got a good look at
the contrasting colors of the toes (orange) and webs (black). We saw
wing-spreads, great profiles, resting position, and good views both front
and from the back so we were able to appreciate the color patterns. We
worked much harder for confirmed views of the BAR-TAILED GODWIT at the
Dungeness River mouth.
But, for me, the best part of the day was meeting and birding with some of
you whom I had never before met. There are, indeed, many delightful birders
in Tweeter Land. Thank you for sharing part of your day with me.

Now to the Purple Martin reference. I ended up staying the night on the
Peninsula and caught a ferry this morning that put me on the Edmonds
waterfront at 10:30 a.m. Since the scope was still handy and I could see
Martin activity as I left the ferry, I pulled into the Senior Center parking
lot and set up the scope. You may remember that Kevin Li mounted four
gourds for us this last March. One gourd is on the farther-out single
piling. Three are on the closer-in triple piling. I confirmed two
nestlings in the gourd on the single piling. On the triple piling there was
one nestling observed in the gourd on the left and two in the center gourd.
I continue to see no activity in the gourd on the right. This is great for
the first year. As I said in the Subject line, it isn't exactly the great
activity that Kevin keeps reporting at Jack Block Park but it is sure a
successful first year for these birds in Edmonds.

Good birding,
Carol Riddell