Subject: [Tweeters] Y.B. Loon/Ancient Murrelet +
Date: Nov 7 18:40:22 2004
From: Wilson E Cady - gorgebirds at juno.com


I finally had a chance to chase the YELLOW-BILLED LOON above
Bonneville Dam on Sunday, 11/7/04. I arrived at the Eagle Creek Overlook
at about 9 A.M., there were several other birders there who indicated
that neither the loon or the ANCIENT MURRELET on the Washington side of
the Columbia had been seen yet.
At about 9:30 I spotted the Ancient Murrelet just off of the
Washington shore as it raised up and flapped its wings before diving. It
took about a half hour before Jerry Martin and I spotted it again just a
few yards off of the dam on the Washington side. We had a tantalizing
glimpse of what may have been 2 White-winged Scoters as they slipped
around the point of land where the Western Grebes congregate but they
never reappeared for confirmation.
At about 10:30 Jerry spotted the loon between the barge that is
upstream and the Oregon shore. After viewing it for awhile we decided to
go to the Bonneville Dam visitors parking lot on the Washington side to
get better views of the murrelet. From this spot we could see the
murrelet much better and were able to put our scopes on the loon as it
worked along the shore immediately below the Eagle Creek Overlook. I
don't think that a person on the overlook would have been able to see the
loon as it was right against the shore. Matt Bartels joined us and also
viewed the loon and alerted me to Mountain Chickadees in the Cascade
Crest Trailhead parking lot across the highway from the Bonneville Dam
entrance. When I stopped there I found 3 MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES in with a
mixed flock of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES,
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, and RED-BREASTED
NUTHATCHES. That was a lot of hyphenated birds in one spot.
At Rock Creek Cove on Stevenson there are three GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE that are hanging out in the county park with the
local Canada and domestic geese and beg for bread from park visitors.
Wilson Cady
N45 35.618' W122 13.738'
Washougal, Skamania County, WA