Hi Patrick and Tweets

Patrick, if you were at the bayside "picnic area" at Bayview State Park
yesterday, a possible bird for you is a female Long-tailed Duck. While
we were viewing the bay from just south of that location yesterday about
1115 we had that bird. At first glance, from a distance it looked like a
Ruddy Duck. But as it got closer, and thru the scopes it was clearly a
Long-tailed Duck. Dark head with the very white face, the most
noticeable difference being that the normally fairly long tail was very
short and being carried high like a Ruddy would.

Brian Bell
Woodinville Wa
bellasoc at isomedia.com

Yewamahops at aol.com wrote:

> As i was hurrying along the Padilla Bay Shoreling trail trying to
> catch up with my wife and our dog I came upon a single brown duck
> about the size of the American
> Coot we had just passed ,however it was quite different as follows,the
> ears and surrounding area ,really the whole side of the head except
> for the crown was a pretty snow white:the eyes seemed small possibly
> because of all that white.I viewed it with my scope and the bill
> looked ducklike(possibly green : my color perception is a little on
> the weak side)Overall it looked brown , kind of smudged.I thought it
> ought to be easy to identify when we got back to the truck.So here I
> am anybody got any ideas?
> We were on a mad dash to retrieve our camping trailer at Bayview
> State Park
> which we had to leave for a week because of the snow.Got to see the
> Gryfalcon at the West 90 on New Years Day and when we left yesterday
> on the 11th saw another
> Gyr from the parking lot at the Farmhouse Inn or maybe the same bird
> anyway quite impressive.
> patrick nelson jr.
> Eatonville,Wa(yewamahops at aol.com)