Subject: On the Duwamish - 8-20-2004
Date: Aug 20 12:40:48 2004
From: Desilvis, Denis J - denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com


11:23am start - water level medium, with most mudflats either exposed or starting to be that way (low tide 2:20pm)
11:56am end

Tweeters,
Yet another fine day at Turning Basin #3 (TB3), with a couple of raucous notes: GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS and EUROPEAN STARLINGS. Of the 47 gulls (high count for some time), about 25 were feeding on something out of my view at the south end of TB3. Their uproar was quite loud. But not as all-consuming in constancy as that of the starlings. My initial estimate of the latter was 1000 birds, then 2000, and finally I rose to yet another conservative number: 3000. Most of them were concentrated at the south end of TB3 and along the north and west sides of the goose-exclusion area, and feeding either on the rocky area, or on the drier parts of the mudflats.

The seven COMMON MERGANSERS were sleeping at one of their usual spots, but I also scoped another COME upstream a about 300 yards, also sleeping on the bank. The first GADWALL I've seen for some time was in the stormwater drainage channel. Another, smaller duck was near it, but it disappeared around a bend in the channel before I could ascertain a positive ID. (It wasn't the Wood Duck I saw the other day.)

The STELLER'S JAY was in the taller trees in the restoration area.

Birds seen during this scan include the following:
Canada Goose (38)
Gadwall
Mallard (16; including Fuzzy, which was sleeping high on the mudbank)
Common Merganser (8)
Great Blue Heron (2)
Osprey (at the Hamm Creek tower)
Killdeer (12)
Glaucous-winged Gull (47)
Rock Pigeon (22)
Steller's Jay
American Crow (19)
Black-capped Chickadee (2)
Bewick's Wren
American Robin
European Starling (3,000)

May all your birds be identified,

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